The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 180 Series Connection
But problems arose. When Professor Funi assigned her tasks such as field research and data collection that required her to complete independently, she always encountered problems, either failing to complete them on time or producing subpar results.

Almost every time, it was Professor Funi who personally stepped in, or Assistant Zhou who quietly cleaned up the mess for her.

"So, that's why. Almost every seemingly impressive research paper published by Assistant Sun includes the names of Professor Funi and Assistant Zhou in the author list, because without them, those results simply wouldn't be complete."

At this point, Song Liu posed a question with a surprising twist: "From another perspective, doesn't it seem like Teacher Funi and Assistant Zhou are piggybacking on Assistant Sun's achievements?"

[Lian Xinyi]: Holy crap, now that you mention it, taking the scene out of context... it's terrifying to think about. Isn't this exactly what Professor Funi and Assistant Zhou are doing—abusing their academic skills and exploiting the hard work of "genius" Assistant Sun?

[Song Hu]: Calm down. We know Professor Funi's character. With her status and achievements in academia, she has neither the need nor the inclination to "piggyback" on anyone's achievements. It would do her no good.

[Song Liu]: Don't worry, Song Hu is right. I specifically checked some of Professor Funi's past internal application records. Interestingly, Professor Funi has proactively applied to the academy more than once to arrange independent assessment opportunities for Assistant Sun, attempting to allow her to publish her findings independently, and even leave her research group to work independently. Moreover, to accommodate Assistant Sun, the research topics for these assessments were all chosen by Assistant Sun herself, focusing on the areas she excels in and that are most theoretically sound. Unfortunately, she failed the assessments every time, and naturally, she did not meet the Star Alliance Academy's strict standards for awarding the title of "Professor."

[Sally]: That's strange. Assistant Zhou clearly said that Assistant Sun was very capable, so how come she couldn't even pass the assessment?

[Lei Qingya]: I know that. The difficulty of obtaining professorships in certain core disciplines within the Star Alliance is practically hellish. My teacher is incredibly powerful, a five-star hunter, the pinnacle of strength. Yet, when he tried to qualify as a professor of combat theory at the Star Alliance Academy, he still failed miserably. He's now respectfully called "Professor Doug," purely as a term of respect for his abilities and contributions, and it's completely different from the official professorship granted by the Star Alliance Academy.

[Shen Zhaoming]: I've recently been preparing for the professor qualification exam in the field of bioartificial intelligence. This is not just a recognition of academic ability, but also signifies the acquisition of independent research rights.

[Charlie]: Brother Shen, aren't you a teacher at the research institute? Do you still need to take this exam?
[Shen Zhaoming]: My current roles at the research institute are "Project Manager" and "Distinguished Researcher." This means I can work under a senior figure like Professor Lingfei, responsible for project execution and managing team resources. However, the title of "Professor" signifies the qualification to independently develop projects, apply for major research grants independently, and build a team entirely of one's own. This is the fundamental difference. Without this title, many core privileges are inaccessible.

Shen Zhaoming looked at the discussion in the group and felt a ripple in his heart.

He felt that his position in the research institute had reached an invisible ceiling.

So two years ago, he began to learn more and plan for a "professor" position at the Star Alliance Academy.

But reality is cruel. In the purely academic assessments where the use of supernatural abilities is not allowed, he found that he was still "a little short" and failed the assessment for two consecutive years. This made him realize that to truly reach that peak, he needed more than just hard work. He needed to have core talents that no one could replace, which were enough to shake the field, like Professor Lingfei.

Because Lingfei is irreplaceable, her position remains rock-solid no matter how the management team changes.

She wields immense power, even directly influencing the interstellar government's decision-making in the field of artificial intelligence.

This is the power that comes with absolute strength.

Shen Zhaoming stared at the screen, his eyes shining with determination. He longed to become that kind of person.

[Su]: Hmm... Now that you hear what I've said, I'm thinking of applying to become a professor too.

The group chat was instantly flooded with a row of neat ellipses.

[Sally]: Ninglong, your thinking is quite leapy. What kind of professor do you want to become?
[Su]: Of course, I'm a professor specializing in developing new sacred artifacts. Looking across the entire universe, I reckon only my master and I have this real skill. From now on, we'll be setting all the exam questions! (Accompanied by a smug emoji)

[Lei Qingya]: And then, I was the only candidate?
The group members were instantly amused by Lei Qingya's teasing remark, and they flooded the chat with emojis such as "hahaha," "laughing to death," and "feel sorry for Qingya for 1 second," filling the group with a joyful atmosphere.

Su Ninglong was also a little embarrassed when she saw Lei Qingya's words.

That's right! Having a professorship title but no students coming to learn is a waste! (accompanied by an embarrassed, scratching head emoji)

After the relaxed atmosphere in the group chat eased slightly, Song Liu continued his intelligence broadcast.

"Alright, alright, let's get back to the main topic. Let's continue with Assistant Sun. Her academic abilities are indeed outstanding, especially in the areas of material analysis of sacred artifacts, structural restoration of sacred artifacts, and interpretation of sacred artifact inscriptions. She is an expert and truly versatile."

“However…” Song Liu pointed out the key point, “Her biggest weakness in wanting to become a professor is her extreme lack of practical experience in personally leading teams to conduct on-site archaeological excavations. This is a hard requirement that the Star Alliance Academy cannot bypass in assessing professor qualifications.”

“To make up for this fatal flaw,” Song Liu continued, “Assistant Sun has spent a lot of time and effort over the past few years inviting top hunters like Yun Fei and Tong Zi to serve as her bodyguards, attempting to organize several ‘safe and comfortable’ archaeological expeditions. However…” He deliberately left it as a cliffhanger.

"As an ordinary person without any special abilities, Assistant Sun should have stayed at the rear of the team and provided logistical support. This was the consensus of the operation when venturing into dangerous ruins. However, once on site, her performance was disastrous. Not only was she unable to cooperate, but she also repeatedly interfered with and even obstructed the hunters' normal command and action deployment under the pretext of 'protecting cultural relics' or 'professional needs'."

"Her core demand is to protect historical relics at all costs and in every aspect, because only in this way can she ensure that her subsequent research materials are flawless. If the excavation were carried out in an ordinary, safe site, such obsessive caution might be understandable."

"But the problem is that they are venturing into the ruins of the darkest era, a place fraught with danger and peril at every turn. In such an environment, actions must be highly efficient and decisive, and often a difficult choice must be made between 'preserving cultural relics' and 'preserving lives.' It is impossible to pursue so-called 'perfection,' nor is it possible to proceed slowly and methodically as in a laboratory."

"In contrast, Professor Funi and Assistant Zhou are much more clear-headed. They will listen carefully to the hunter leader's assessment of the level of danger at the scene, and propose feasible plans for the protection of cultural relics based on that assessment. If the proposed plan cannot be implemented due to real danger, they will quickly adjust their strategy and selectively prioritize the protection of the most core and valuable cultural relics."

"Assistant Sun is completely different. She seems to equate her experience of locking herself in the workshop day after day to repair the sacred artifacts with having the authority to give orders in dangerous situations. She stubbornly believes that her workload is so huge that she has no time or energy to adapt to the pace of exploring the ruins, and that all these difficulties are caused by the lack of professionalism and effort of her fellow hunters."

In other words, she didn't treat the hunter's life as a precious resource to be cherished. What's even more speechless is her behavior after the operation ended.

Upon returning from the ruins, Assistant Sun mostly immersed himself in the restoration of the sacred artifacts, neglecting crucial tasks such as subsequent data processing, image and video archiving, and even writing preliminary excavation reports.

She would often just verbally recount her "findings" to Assistant Zhou, and then completely wash her hands of the mess, as if Assistant Zhou were her personal, free document writer.

But Assistant Zhou wasn't one to take the blame and work hard without complaint.

Being good-tempered and helpful doesn't mean she won't fight for her rightful rights.

She devoted a great deal of time and energy to completing this work that shouldn't have been hers alone, so her contribution should naturally be recognized in the final research findings.

This is not only about fairness, but also about respect for labor. Of course, this isn't the most important part; the real issue is that Assistant Sun's performance in the ruins was so poor that the hunters simply couldn't bring themselves to give her an excellent rating.

[Song Liu]: That concludes the analysis and summary of Assistant Sun's operational style based on feedback from multiple hunters. Alright, enough with the preamble, let's get to the main course: have you heard of the "Key of Prophecy"?

[Charlie]: The Key to Prophecy? What's that? It sounds so mysterious!
[Lian Xinyi]: Never heard of it, have no recollection of it at all.

【Shen Zhaoming】: The name of a certain sacred artifact.

[Song Hu]: I have a rough idea of ​​what it is.

[Su]: Yes, I know.

[Lei Qingya]: Heh, I know that all too well. (Accompanied by a meaningful smiley face)

[Lian Xinyi]: Wait! No, where did you big shots get these information channels? How come I don't know about this again?
[Lei Qingya]: Do you remember that thing? It's the one that Su Ninglong nicknamed "fortune-telling board".

[Lian Xinyi]: ...I, I really have no words to describe Sister Su's naming skills.

As everyone knows, Su Ninglong names the sacred artifacts entirely according to her personal preferences, without caring what they were originally called. She just names them whatever sounds good to her, which is full of her personal style.

[Xuanxi]: I'll raise my hand. Um... what exactly is a divination board? What is its purpose?
[Song Liu]: Everyone, we don't need to delve into what earth-shattering events the "Key of Prophecy" can specifically predict. We only need to be clear on one point: it possesses some kind of prophetic function, and in the eyes of a considerable number of people, it has transcended the category of "sacred artifact" and has been fervently elevated to the throne of a divine artifact. Okay, background information complete. You all know very well that Assistant Sun has never independently completed any significant research project, right? How could the Star Alliance possibly entrust a core project of the "divine artifact" level entirely to her alone? This simply defies common sense.

However, just a month ago, Assistant Sun quietly submitted a so-called exclusive research report on the "Key to Prophecy." Even more audacious, two afternoons before Professor Funi's incident, she preemptively and brazenly published this report online. The only name listed in the byline was Assistant Sun. This was the direct trigger that ignited Professor Funi's fury.

[Su]: Wait, didn't she have a work contract with the Star Alliance? Shouldn't the contract clearly stipulate the ownership, confidentiality, and publication rights of the research results? How dare she so blatantly monopolize the results and directly jump ship to the Star Alliance?

[Song Liu]: Good question. That's the most surreal part of the whole thing. The timing was perfect, right around the start of the new semester at the Star Alliance, which should have been a crucial time for her to renew her core research confidentiality agreement with the academy. But what happened? That very afternoon, she casually handed over a "feeling unwell" note, turned around, and showed up on Star Alliance's territory with that "exclusive report." The next day, she even gave an interview to Star Alliance.

[Lei Qingya]: Tsk tsk, usually she's so eager to work. But when it comes to meticulously planning her escape, she's so patient and methodical, waiting until the research report is released, she's given all the interviews and made a name for herself before finally packing up and making a grand exit with her "spoils." I admire her cunning.

[Shen Zhaoming]: Was the report really that revolutionary? So valuable that she was willing to completely break off all ties with him?

[Su]: I happen to know some inside information about that report. It's incomplete, just a work in progress, more like a gimmick to attract attention. Just wait and see, the Star Alliance and Assistant Sun will definitely have more big moves to make.

Su Ninglong understood.

She was 100% certain that the broken divination board in her hand was also genuine.

Based on her understanding of sacred artifacts, the primary condition for such objects involving "prophecy" to exert their legendary prophetic abilities, which are considered divine artifacts, is probably that they must be "complete".

Unfortunately, Assistant Sun was clearly impatient.

Ten years have passed, and Assistant Sun has remained stagnant, with the professorship that symbolizes independence and authority still out of reach.

Extreme resentment and a thirst for "success and fame" ultimately overwhelmed her professional ethics and the last shred of affection for her former employer. She chose to take a risk, attempting to use this incomplete report about the "artifact" as a ladder to achieve upward mobility and gain a foothold in her new environment.

Suddenly, Su Ninglong had a flash of inspiration and connected the information that Bai Cai had given her earlier.

She immediately switched out of the group chat and quickly dialed Funi's number.

"Teacher Funi, is the divination board still in the Star Alliance? Also, a student at the school named Little Phoebe switched to Star Alliance Academy around the same time as Assistant Sun. He happens to have the ability to steal keys from a distance."