I built the Black Tower City in Sumeru.

Chapter 9 Nasita's Test

Chen Bo inquired with the system.

[The doll's firewall is merely a random setting by the Black Tower. Cracking it requires unlocking the branch of mathematics, cryptography, and upgrading it to level 4, or spending 3000 points. The system will then provide a solution.]

3000 points!

Even if I did the task 24 hours a day, it would still take almost a month!

This was just a random setting.

However, for Silver Wolf, it might indeed be quite easy to crack the firewall of a Black Tower doll and manipulate it with a simple touch.

There is no hope of cracking it for the time being.

But how do you open this black tower doll?

Chen Bo searched the outside area but couldn't find the switch.

"Could it be voice-activated?"

"Is Lady Black Tower the most beautiful?" Chen Bo asked tentatively.

The doll did not react.

"Spinning around?"

Still no movement. "System, is this thing broken?"

Chen Bo poked around with his fingers; the skin on his face felt cool and bouncy, but he just wouldn't move.

The system replied

[Not damaged.]

The system's text box appears in view.

[When the system borrowed the Black Tower puppet, it was placed into a forced silence state to avoid detection. The countdown is down to two hours and fifty-eight minutes. The Black Tower puppet will automatically restart in three hours.]

[Within the system, the silent state will refresh; only system items can be stored in the system space.]

It turned out to be the case.

Under normal circumstances, the puppets of the Black Tower will remain in an automatic response state even if they are not connected to the Black Tower.

I can answer some simple questions.

"However?" Chen Bo felt something was off about the description: "Borrowing? You call this borrowing? Does Black Tower himself know about this?"

"Do you need to avoid being discovered when you borrow someone's place?"

This system is dedicated to providing the host with the highest quality research assistance. As for the source of the materials... as long as the result is good, the process is not important.

The process itself is not important.

Chen Bo looked at the line of text and thought to himself that it was a pity this system didn't join the Pleasure Faction.

the other side.

Black Tower Space Station.

The group chat of "Ms. Black Tower Singles Club" completely exploded.

"Emergency! The mannequin near the reception center is missing!"

"I was just about to take a picture there, but the place was completely empty."

"Could it be that they were controlled by Lady Black Tower and left?"

"Impossible, Lady Black Tower never uses the doll in that position."

"Someone has stolen Lady Black Tower's property!"

"Now, immediately count the number of all the dolls."

"They must be interstellar merchants passing through."

"I suspect it was an inside job, how despicable, they beat me to it."

"I really like that doll from the Black Tower."

"I propose that the entire space station be sealed off immediately and all rooms be searched."

……

Main control section.

Alan turned off the communicator and looked at Estella with a serious expression.

"Station manager, we've checked. The surveillance cameras didn't capture any suspicious individuals, and the sensors didn't record any alarms. The mascot just vanished into thin air."

Estella pressed her temples.

The surveillance footage shows that the Black Tower mascot remained stationary in the same spot.

But in reality, the Black Tower doll is no longer there.

This situation is beyond her ability to handle.

"I will inform Ms. Black Tower."

Chen Bo's side—

It will take a while for it to be untied.

But since we have to wait another three hours, sitting around doing nothing isn't a good idea.

Chen Bo then opened the system panel.

Strangely, a new flashing icon appeared at the bottom of the taskbar.

It's like a message waiting to be processed.

QQ and WeChat have those unread message icons.

Chen Bo immediately clicked on it to take a look.

[Random Task: A Stepping Stone to Academics]

[Note: A research paper is proof of academic ability. Scholars should not only learn knowledge, but also continuously research and create new knowledge. A scholar who cannot write papers is not a qualified scholar. Now, publish a paper and begin your academic career.]

[Requirement: Publish one paper in *Xumi Journal* or a journal of equivalent level.]

【奖励：学科经验（基于论文影响因子结算）、200点积分。抽奖机会x1（奖池：85%垃圾，10%科技样品，5%图纸）。】

Publish a paper?

Chen Bo raised an eyebrow. He was very familiar with this job.

Before arriving in Sumeru, Chen Bo was already a doctoral student.

I have naturally published several papers.

Actually, publishing papers isn't difficult. Many journals have low entry requirements; as long as your English level is good, you can get through by simply publishing some low-quality papers.

Chen Bo knew a professor from another major who published dozens of papers a year.

It's terrifying!

Of course, those papers were actually not very useful.

The vast majority of papers, 90% or even more, are of very low quality.

It's a makeshift operation, that's how it is.

Chen Bo felt that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Sumeru's circle was similar.

Different worlds, same academic circles.

But Chen Bo doesn't plan to post irrelevant content.

He is currently lacking money, resources, and, most importantly, an identity that would allow him to establish himself in the Order of the Fathers.

A high-quality paper may even secure substantial funding.

Research funding is still very important.

"As for the research direction..."

If I want to specialize in mechanics, then the most important thing is energy.

"If we could optimize the energy conversion structure of element crystallization..."

Chen Bo has basically determined the direction of his thinking, which is the use and optimization of element crystal energy.

By the way, points... points seem like they can solve technical problems, right?

Chen Bo immediately asked in his mind, "System, can points be exchanged for technical solutions?"

Of course. As long as you have enough points.

"I need a solution based on the existing Sumeru process that can significantly improve the utilization rate of element crystallization. Budget... 100 points."

Points deducted: 100 points.

[Searching...Solution generation in progress...]

The next second, a complex yet orderly stream of information rushed into Chen Bo's brain.

A great deal of knowledge was forcibly crammed into my brain.

I feel a little dizzy and a little pain.

"Two-phase combustion structure?"

Traditional Sumeru mechanisms only utilize the direct energy flow from the crystallization of grass elements.

This solution involves adding a miniature fire element activation ring around the core.

By utilizing the "combustion" reaction between grass and fire elements, the originally dissipated waste grass elements can be ignited a second time, generating a high-pressure energy flow.

A Teyvat version of "turbocharging"?

This solution improves energy utilization efficiency by 300% compared to the standalone grass element crystallization function.

Igniting a grass crystal with a fire crystal consumes very little fire element, but the burning grass element provides a large amount of fire element energy.

That's it; the energy structure needs to be redesigned.

A paper like this should be able to secure a lot of funding.

I glanced at the time; the Black Tower doll wouldn't wake up for another two hours. I figured I'd better go to my dream to talk to Nasida and refine the new plan.

Chen Bo lay in bed, his consciousness drifting into a dream.

Nasida had been keeping an eye on Chen Bo, and when Chen Bo entered the dream world, she also sent an application to enter.

Chen Bo immediately gave permission, and the light of the grass element condensed into the figure of Nasita, appearing in the dream.

Good evening, Chen Bo.

Nasita cleared her throat, her voice soft and sweet: "Even though it's a dream, you can't slack off on your studies. How much of what I taught you yesterday did you learn?"

In order to be a good teacher, Nasita made a special effort to connect to the void during the day and watch many recordings of teachers' classes.

And they chose a teacher to imitate.

Chen Bo walked to a cotton candy chair, sat down, and smiled confidently: "I think I've mastered it."

"Comprehensive understanding?"

Nasita was slightly taken aback. However, the knowledge she had taught yesterday was incomplete. Moreover, she had been teaching the second-year textbook of the Mysterious Theory School, which most scholars could only barely pass after a year of study.

Nasida shook her head, recalling the recording of the class she had watched during the day.

When the teacher asks if they have learned the material, many students will hide their true learning situation and answer that they have.

However, when asked a question, they couldn't answer it.

If you haven't actually learned it, why do you claim you have?

Humans always do strange things.

So now, I should imitate the teacher and move on to the question-and-answer session.

Naxida raised her delicate white hand and gently made a sweeping motion in the air.

The green grass elemental energy converged into light, outlining an extremely complex three-dimensional geometric pattern in the air.

"In that case, let's do a little test."