I am a necromancer, and I absolutely love America.

Chapter 91 Capitalism Turns Good People into Ghosts (7K Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

early morning.

Office of Research, College of Arts and Sciences, Princeton.

Caldersen turned on his computer, and the OA system received a preliminary compliance review of the project.

He clicked on it and saw that it was a project initiated by Christina.

Christina was listed as the project leader, while Edgar was the project PI, working on skin anti-aging.

Anti-aging skincare? Calderson immediately had an idea.

This research direction and budget are perfect for Dominic! Calderson immediately picked up his phone: "Dominic! I saw a great project, a skin anti-aging study initiated by Christina, which is related to your research area. The PI is a PhD student named Edgar, and the project budget of $100 million is just right, perfect for you."

Dominic felt a chill at the thought of Christina: "Will the project PI be locked onto Edgar?"

Calderson said confidently, "Don't worry, I know the research directions of those researchers in the cell lab. Edgar's direction isn't this; it should be an exploratory project, and more application-oriented. I guess—I heard Christina went for cosmetic surgery; maybe she suddenly had an idea while getting plastic surgery and just casually tossed it to Edgar."

Dominic thought enviously: Is this what genius is? Getting project inspiration just from getting a facial?

However, Christina's aloof image began to crumble in his mind.

In his eyes, Christina was originally a cold and aloof goddess who was detached from worldly affairs, but now she seemed to have fallen into a depravity.

Even someone as strong as Christina is still a woman; she actually injected hyaluronic acid into her face.

Trying to maintain a youthful appearance when you're old is futile!

To date, technology still lacks effective methods to combat aging, and humanity's understanding of itself remains very limited.

After studying it for so long, doesn't she understand?

Natural aging is the most beautiful.

Of course, not believing in the research direction of this topic doesn't stop him from using it to publish papers, obtain professional titles, and make money.

"Go and make the preparations," Calderson said in a deep voice. "I'll discuss it with Professor Christina and see if we can replace Edgar."

He glanced at the list.

Edgar is the nominal PI, the lab technician is yet to be determined, and there's also Daniel (a useless socialite), and Richard...

Calderson's lips twitched.

Christina makes no attempt to hide her intention to groom Richard.

While he was dismissive, he was also a little flustered.

Although Christina was not pedantic, she never did anything particularly outrageous, and for decades she never gave her papers to incompetent people.

Even if that person is the child of a professor or an important figure.

Christina's dedication to nurturing Richard only demonstrates Richard's exceptional talent; even at a young age, his education is worthy of her significant investment.

Will this kid grow up before I retire?

Caldersen could only suppress his worries and focus on the project itself.

With this setup and funding, it's definitely an experimental small project. If I wanted it, Christina wouldn't mind and would definitely give me that favor.

"I have another similar project here, although it's only $30, but it's more suitable for his direction. If it succeeds, he can get first authorship, and I won't need the corresponding author. As for the skin anti-aging project, I can also reserve a second authorship for Edgar, pushing Richard down, since he's just a co-author anyway."

So, it's like trading a million-dollar first-author project for a 30-dollar communication project plus a first-author project, plus a million-dollar second-author project. Edgar isn't really losing out, and he can also gain the favor of his own dean.

Caldersen thought Edgar had made a huge profit.

Dominic was overjoyed: "A small research project with a Nobel laureate's name on it is 100% guaranteed to succeed, and it can even get published in a CNS journal. Thank you, professor, I'll start preparing now."

"Okay, I'll send you the materials. Professor Shepard is very strict with his scholarship. If you're given the project and you can't complete it yourself, and you get scolded, don't say you're my student."

"Don't worry, mentor!"

At Catherine's home.

Debbie snapped, "Mom, listen to what you're saying! You're telling me I have to never marry? What is this? Am I transported back to the Middle Ages, becoming one of those poor nuns in a castle?! Should I wear a black burqa and cover my face? I never wanted to be that damned saint! That flock of birds was just an accident, you know! Why is everyone talking about this?!"

Catherine pursed her lips.

She wasn't stupid; of course she could see what Debbie was thinking. Debbie's feelings for Richard were growing deeper and deeper.

You have no idea what kind of person Richard is.

He would never allow you to marry anyone else, and it's highly unlikely he'll marry you.

Ultimately, you will never be able to get married in this lifetime.

Catherine felt a pang of guilt, but it was quickly offset by her admiration for Richard.

It is an unparalleled honor for a daughter to serve the true gods.

Catherine said softly, "And in exchange, Archbishop Sawyer has agreed to get you a strong letter of recommendation, guaranteeing you admission to Princeton."

"Harvard or any other Ivy League school, you can go wherever you want."

"Get into Princeton?" Debbie automatically ignored the other Ivy League schools. Wouldn't that mean she could be in the same school as Richard?

She hesitated.

Catherine thought Debbie was attracted by the reputation of Ivy League schools, and that most young people would be attracted to them, only knowing that they couldn't get in.

Catherine calmly replied, "You don't need to worry about tuition; I'll pay for it."

Debbie's eyes lit up: "Can I be a cheerleader? Those old men at church won't forbid me from dancing, will they?"

Catherine waved her hand: "The church requires candidates for sainthood to be unmarried, but your chances of being canonized are very low. Even if you fail, you still got into Princeton, didn't you? Let's get the benefits first, and we'll talk about the rest later. As for the cheerleading squad, don't worry, Mom will definitely help you get it."

Catherine was mentally prepared that if she was really close to success and Debbie was very determined, she could just create a scandal.

For example, in New York, Debbie could openly declare that she likes women.

The church was in an uproar when this news came out; it would be a miracle if they could be canonized.

However, this would definitely offend Sawyer, but with a real god as his backer, what was there to fear from a church of a false god?

Debbie hugged Catherine and kissed her: "Thank you, Mom."

At night, Richard works in the morgue at OCME.

Corpses were brought in one after another.

As the NYPD cracks down on gangs, the number of bodies has recently surged from an average of about 50 per day to 80.

Everyone was exhausted.

Even the usually enthusiastic Kyrie Irving was exhausted, but he was still gritting his teeth and persevering.

Richard, however, enjoyed it; with his physical strength, doing these tasks was nothing.

Most importantly, by sewing up a large number of corpses every day, his knowledge of "flesh and bones" began to advance little by little. Although it was slow, he was deeply fascinated by the feeling that he could keep growing as long as he worked hard.

With practice on a large number of corpses, Richard's suturing skills improved by leaps and bounds, far surpassing the level of most forensic pathologists (the remaining pathologists were rather stubborn), and he gained recognition within OCME.

Through the analysis of the bodies of these gang members, he saw a large number of memory fragments, gained some understanding of the BG Gang and the Ghost Gang, and gradually figured out some of the internal organizational structures of the two gangs.

The Ghost Gang is a purely local gang.

The BG gang is quite complex, and it also involves the intelligence agencies of some South American countries.

However, Antonio, the BG gang leader whom Richard was most looking for, was still elusive and rarely seen.

The Ghost Shadow Gang leader, Dali, was also very well hidden. That guy was even more cunning; when he met with his accomplices, he always wore a Ghost Shadow mask, and only a very few gang members had ever seen Dali's true face.

That makes sense, if they were that easy to find, the NYPD would have killed them long ago.

In short, there were just too many corpses, and the forensic doctors were exhausted.

Moreover, there's not much to autopsy about these gang members; they all died in internal shootouts and confrontations with the police, so the causes of death are very clear, and autopsies are just routine procedures.

Richard thus gained a great deal of valuable practice opportunities.

The lights on the dissection table were white and cold, illuminating everything on the table in perfect detail.

Richard lightly gripped the scalpel, the handle cool against his fingertips, bringing him clarity.

This was his first dissection.

.

With the first cut, the skin parted quietly, the incision clean and precise, without any dragging or hesitation.

Medical Examiner Jackson paused, glanced at the document, and said nothing.

Richard didn't say anything and continued doing his work.

Clamping, separating, stopping bleeding—every step was executed precisely where it was meant to be.

Jackson glanced at it again: "Is this really your first time dissecting something?"

"first."

"It feels like I've mutilated hundreds of corpses," Jackson muttered.

Richard said this while his hands moved quickly: "I have indeed watched the forensic doctors dissect hundreds of bodies and learned a little bit from them."

Jackson was a little flustered: "If you could learn something just by watching, I would have learned everything I needed to know about dogs in school!"

Richard quickly followed the standard procedure.

Finally, sew the seams together, ensuring even spacing and neat knots.

Collecting the body, bagging it, and pushing it into the morgue—the whole process was done with the efficiency of a seasoned forensic doctor who had done it hundreds of times before.

And it's much faster than most forensic examinations.

What takes others a long time to do, he only needs a third to a quarter of the time.

Because Richard is strong enough, he can accomplish things that many forensic doctors struggle with as easily as picking up an apple from a table.

After watching the entire process, forensic pathologist Jackson said admiringly, "You have such skillful hands, so steady. I've supervised over a dozen interns, and none of them could do this."

"Abilities are accumulated over time, and I still have a lot to learn," Richard said modestly.

The two chatted for a few minutes.

Richard began the cleaning.

Jackson became distracted and glanced nervously at the distance.

Helen was reviewing documents, her long hair styled in a bun at the back of her head and covered by a hood. The serious and rigid uniform could not hide her beautiful face.

She's started paying more attention to makeup lately, and she looks exceptionally charming.

Jackson said softly, "Richard, I want to pursue Helen. Is there any chance?"

Richard glanced at him in surprise.

You're telling me this isn't appropriate?

You clearly saw Helen sitting next to me that day; your emotional intelligence is practically nonexistent.

He then took another look at Jackson's appearance.

He was in his early thirties, with thinning hair and an excessively broad forehead.

Thick, black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, behind which were small, lifeless eyes.

His cheeks were covered with freckles and acne scars, his chin was short and receding, and he was thin. His white coat hung loosely on his body.

He looked worse than some of the corpses in morgues.

He stood next to Helen, looking exactly like a real-life version of "Beauty and the Zombie".

Even more fatal was his personality: introverted, shy, stuttering, and blushing when making eye contact with strangers.

It would be a miracle if it succeeded.

"How do you plan to pursue her?" Richard asked curiously.

Jackson mustered his courage: "I'm going to confess directly."

Richard gasped, "Are you sure? Confessing your feelings isn't the battle cry, it's the MVP award. It only works if you confess after you've slept together."

Jackson blushed slightly and said nervously, "I wasn't thinking about that. But what you said is very true. Could you teach me how to date?"

Richard shrugged and joked, "I was the school bully in school, and school bullies never need to chase girls."

Jackson looked on with envy, then recalled his miserable elementary school, middle school, college, and graduate school years.

Doctoral studies...

Okay, and then there's work time, it's all tears.

Richard began to offer theoretical advice: "With any girl, you can't confess your feelings directly at the beginning. You have to get close to her first, chat with her, and wait until you're familiar with each other before making any moves."

"Is that so?" Jackson hesitated. "It doesn't seem like that in the movies. The male and female leads don't always fall in love at first sight."

"MF is a movie!" Richard was speechless. "Are you the male lead?"

"Okay, okay," Jackson said timidly. "So, does that mean I need to hurry?"

"Yes, she is a goddess."

Jackson mustered his courage and laboriously moved over, his face flushed: "Helen—"

Richard drank some water, getting ready to watch the fun.

Helen looked up: "Ah! Teacher, is there something you need?"

Jackson seemed a bit overwhelmed: "Don't call me teacher, we're only less than ten years apart in age."

Helen remained respectful.

Jackson was extremely frustrated. Why did it feel like he was a generation behind him?

Helen tentatively asked again, "Teacher? What's wrong?"

Jackson mustered his courage: "Can we have dinner together tomorrow?"

Helen paused for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening.

As a beautiful woman, she was pursued countless times.

Most of the time, a decisive refusal is the easiest solution.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jackson. I don't want to go on dates right now. I have a lot of student loans to pay and I need to focus on my studies."

"It's okay, I can pay it back for you."

Helen instinctively took a step back: "I'm sorry, I'm not looking for Sugar Daddy."

"No! That's not what I meant!" Jackson was even more flustered than she was.

Richard couldn't help but burst out laughing.

That's so damn awkward!

Helen saw Richard and breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly sat down next to Richard, very close, and looked at Jackson warily.

Jackson wasn't stupid either.

You said you don't want to go on a date right now, does that mean you don't want to go on a date with me?

He walked over with a long face and explained, "Helen, that's not what I meant. You were talking about Sugar Daddy, I didn't mean that, it's just..."

'

Helen firmly refused: "I'm sorry, Jackson."

"Okay," Jackson said helplessly. "I understand. It's always been like this since I was a kid, I'm used to it."

He sat down dejectedly to the side.

Richard looked at him.

Jackson's desires were fueled by neither hatred nor anger, but by disappointment and inferiority.

There's nothing we can do about it.

You haven't discovered where the real treasure is at all.

Simply post a few videos of your daily life on any of the University of Tokyo's social media platforms, and you'll quickly receive a bunch of "I love you" comments.

There might even be nude photos.

Even if Black people and scumbags are popular there, it's even more so for a well-paid white person.

"Richard, tell me the truth, how did you get girls to like you?" Jackson asked earnestly.

Richard thought for a moment: "Maybe it's modeling."

Damn it! Jackson's face darkened, feeling as if he'd been stabbed again: "The corpses tonight are all yours."

Richard was more than happy to oblige: "Okay, you should rest. You look very tired."

Jackson said a little embarrassedly, "It's okay, I'll rest for a bit and then I'll help you."

He was actually exhausted and covered in sweat.

Its daybreak.

The shift changers have arrived.

Helen and Richard walked out of OCME side by side.

Amidst envious glances from numerous male forensic pathologists, Helen got into Richard's car.

The vehicle slowly started moving.

The morning sunlight slanted in through the car window and fell on Richard's profile.

Helen glanced at it a few times, then mustered her courage and said, "I really don't know anything about Jackson. Don't overthink it; he acted on his own."

Richard waved his hand: "It's alright. Jackson is a very simple person; he will find his true love."

Helen was somewhat relieved, and tentatively suggested, "You must be very tired today. Why don't you come to my house and I'll make you breakfast?"

Richard wasn't actually tired.

But of course he wouldn't refuse an invitation from a beautiful woman.

The two arrived at YC Apartment.

"It's a small place, please don't mind." Helen was a little nervous, her face flushed.

This was the first time she had brought a man home.

Richard pretended to look around curiously, but in reality, he had already seen through Helen's house with his magic eye.

"It's okay, we live in the same apartment, so it should be about the same..."

'

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

The door to the side bedroom was not closed.

Standing in the living room, you can clearly see the shooting bed inside.

Lighting, filming equipment, and a figurine with the OF logo, which Helen liked to hold during the shoot, are now prominently displayed on the bed.

Helen froze, her mind blank.

A few seconds later, she rushed over in a panic, slammed the door shut, and was speechless, her face flushed.

"You're still a news anchor?" Richard chuckled.

"I, I, I..." Helen was at a loss, her face flushed red and she was about to cry.

She didn't know if Richard had seen the 0F figure.

If Richard knew I was shooting OF, he would definitely look down on me.

"I didn't—I didn't—" she blurted out in a panic.

Richard could only pretend he hadn't seen it: "What? I didn't understand? Isn't that bedroom convenient?"

A sliver of hope rose in Helen's heart. Could it be that she really didn't see it?

"I didn't mean—that room is off-limits to visitors."

"No problem, it's your territory, you're in charge." Richard didn't tease her too much: "What do you want to eat?"

"ah?

"I mean, what are we having for breakfast? Didn't you invite me to breakfast?"

"Huh? Oh! Right! Time for breakfast!"

In a state of confusion, Helen made a mess of a breakfast.

The only thing that pleased Richard was that she seemed to have some knowledge of Eastern cuisine; she didn't add too much sugar, but simply fried an egg and put it in bread.

The eggs weren't cooked properly; they were a bit burnt, and I forgot to add salt, so they were only passable.

Helen was nervous and didn't know what to say.

Richard finished his meal quietly, put down his cutlery, and said, "I should go back now. I've been busy all night and need to rest."

Helen saw him to the door, feeling nervous, fearful, and shy.

"That room just now—I mean, if you saw it—I mean, I'm a believer, I swore to my mother that I wouldn't have sex after marriage, really, you believe me."

Americans often fall into two extremes: either extremely permissive or extremely conservative.

Richard glanced at her and smiled, "It's alright, I won't tell anyone."

"That's good."

Helen breathed a sigh of relief and closed the door.

In a split second, she realized what "I won't tell anyone" meant.

Oh no, he saw it.

Ah!

She rubbed her face in pain.

Why did you forget to close the door?!

Helen felt her face burning red. After hesitating for a long time, she sent Richard a message: "I didn't show anything—"

"I know, Rose."

""

"Ah!" Helen couldn't hold back any longer and immediately logged into her OF account, deleting all the videos.

Richard almost burst out laughing.

Look, this is capitalism.

Helen, a socially awkward student, dismembers corpses and films OF videos, but she is a devout believer.

Capitalism drives good people to become monsters.

Hi, Daniel.

95

Dominic greeted Daniel warmly.

"Dominic," Daniel said with a smile, having a lot of acquaintances at Princeton and being able to chat with almost anyone.

-

"How have you been lately?"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Dominic got straight to the point: "I want the PI for that project."

"

Daniel paused for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening and deflected, saying, "That project belongs to Edgar."

Dominic said sincerely, "I've always been very interested in combating aging, and that project is perfect for me."

"Suitable for you? My foot!" Dominic thought to himself. "You're a surgeon, you don't even study this!"

They're just after Professor Shepard's name on their papers, which guarantees admission to CNS journals.

However, Daniel wouldn't say it aloud: "Then you should also go find Edgar; that's Edgar's project, right?"

Dominic chuckled, "I'm not familiar with Edgar, so I hope you can introduce him to him."

Are you out of your mind?! By doing this, aren't you making Edgar think I'm conspiring with you to screw him over? Daniel frowned.

Moreover, this project actually belonged to Christina; my decision to take it upon myself will definitely displease my supervisor.

Daniel was very resistant to it.

Dominic added, "My advisor has another project worth around $30 that he can give to Edgar. If it yields results, Professor Calderson is willing to help Edgar communicate with the paper's reviewers when he publishes it. In addition, Edgar can also be listed as a second author on this project."

Daniel's eyebrows relaxed slightly.

First author of a CNS paper, then first author of a smaller project, and then second author of another CNS paper.

The deal is still unbalanced, but it wasn't a complete steal; there's room for negotiation now.

In particular, Caldersen is the dean of Princeton.

If Edgar wants to get a teaching position at Princeton, he has to get past Calderson.

Edgar did suffer some losses, but not by much, and he also gained the dean's goodwill, so it's hard to say how much he lost overall.

It depends on Edgar's opinion.

"Okay, I'll take you to talk to Edgar."

Daniel was only thinking about Edgar, forgetting that there could only be two people in the sequel.

Christina is a permanent member of the university-level seed funding review committee, but she rarely attends, and Julian usually votes on her behalf.

"Julian, you'd better go for me this time. I don't have time. Just keep an eye on Edgar's anti-aging skin treatment. You can choose any other treatment you like."

Julian nodded: "OK. I have a class later, I'll go right after class, the timing is perfect."

He had done it for Christina many times and was very skilled at it.

Christina didn't take it to heart.

It was just a small project worth 100 million. Christina had her opponents, but no one would cause her any trouble with such a small project; it was completely pointless.

After finishing his class, Julian went to the review meeting.

This is a very small lecture hall with only three rows, which can seat a maximum of about 20 people.

The first row consists of grant review committee members and senior professors, most of whom have gray hair.

The last two rows are the recorders and some of the participants involved in the project.

Julian sat in the corner of the first row, chatting and laughing with several committee members.

Professor Bird, standing nearby, casually remarked, "Hey Julian, Professor Shepard doesn't mind the change of personnel for that project, does he?"

"Change the player? Change who?" Julian was a little confused.

"Your skin anti-aging program?"

"How come I didn't know?"

"Really? I heard you're going to replace him? Edgar is just a PhD, he's not suitable. Replace him with a postdoctoral fellow."

"What postdoctoral fellow?"

Julian realized something was wrong.

What's going on?

Is someone spreading rumors?

Or did someone mishear something?

Should we ask Christina?

Julian hesitated for a moment, then gave up.

If you bother Christina with such trivial matters, it only makes you look useless.

He believed the review committee wouldn't dare reject Christina's project.

Besides, it's just a small project worth 100 million; no one would risk offending Christina over something like this—it would be a losing proposition.

At this point, Calderson went directly to Julian and whispered, "Could the PI assign that anti-aging project to Dominic?"

Julian paused for a moment, then finally understood and said directly, "Dr. Shepard thinks Edgar is very suitable."

"No, I didn't mean to replace Edgar," Calderson said softly. "I have another project here, around $30, which I can give to Edgar. I heard he wants to work at Princeton after graduation?"

"This..." Julian hesitated, unsure whether he should agree.

In this way, it becomes unclear whether it's good or bad for Edgar.

Moreover, he was clear about the process of establishing this project: Christina proposed the idea, and incidentally helped Richard write a paper. Edgar and others were secondary, and it seemed that it wouldn't matter if someone else were involved.

However, he instinctively didn't want to change the project.

Calderson was, after all, the dean, and he dared not offend him too much, so he could only say tactfully, "I think the current situation is better."

Calderson was displeased: "It's just a small project, Julian. If Christina were here, she wouldn't refuse. How about this, let Edgar take the second authorship of the original project, and Dominic the first author."

Julian's eyebrows furrowed.

In this case, Edgar + Daniel or Colin would be two sequels, so what about Richard?

Julian knew Richard's place in Christina's heart—her academic heir, like a son to her!

Richard was in charge of selecting all the personnel for the project!

"That won't do!" he said decisively.

Calderson's face darkened.

The review meeting has begun.

The first project is an anti-aging project.

The projects are sorted in reverse order; whoever submits their application first will be discussed last.

The skin anti-aging program was added urgently, so it was the first thing discussed.

Caldersen began by saying, "This project is good, but the staffing isn't quite right."

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