I am a necromancer, and I absolutely love America.

Chapter 99 Academic Fraud (8K long chapter, please vote and subscribe)

Lisa's eyes lit up when she saw Richard, even though she thought Richard was one of the more handsome men at Tokyo University.

"Hey, Richard."

The two sat down and chatted casually.

"I heard you're an international student. Are you going back to your home country for Christmas? Would you like to come over to my house for Christmas?" Lisa asked tentatively.

Richard is handsome, but Lisa prefers her boyfriend Leon and isn't particularly interested in people with yellow skin. She's trying to figure out how to politely decline.

"No need," Richard shook his head. He didn't want to get too close to Brian, and wouldn't approach him unnecessarily.

He can just spend two days resting with Helen or Debbie. He's a student at Tokyo University and doesn't celebrate Christmas, so he can just treat it as a two-day holiday.

However, Helen said that she has grandparents who love her very much. They live in a small town near New Jersey and go back to spend Christmas every year instead of staying at the YC apartment.

Let's stay at Debbie's then. Catherine can cook some Chinese food that suits his taste. The modified Chinese food at American Chinese restaurants is just unbearable.

In fact, he had spent Christmas alone every year.

Tang Yuanfan will take his daughter Tang Yuqing back to China for Christmas.

Richard didn't feel much about it, except that he felt a little lonely during holidays and Chinese New Year.

The two chatted casually for a few minutes.

Richard was surprised to find that Lisa was quite an interesting girl. She was restrained, emotionally stable, and did not have the aggressiveness of a privileged child. She just deliberately kept her distance, but she did not have the arrogance commonly seen in white people.

After chatting for a while, Lisa smiled and said, "My boyfriend's name is Leon. I'll introduce you to him sometime."

This statement is somewhat abrupt.

Richard glanced at Lisa, his eyes sparkling with two emotions: kindness, restraint, and detachment.

Richard finally realized that he had taken Brian's words as a blind date!

Without hesitation, he used Debbie as a shield: "Councilor Anderson asked you to contact me, right? Don't overthink it, I also have a girlfriend named Debbie. She was my high school classmate and the school's cheerleader."

Lisa immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Richard immediately noticed a relaxed flame appearing above her head, and the aloofness vanished.

After confirming it was a misunderstanding, Lisa spoke more relaxed.

"Cheerleader?" Lisa said with a hint of envy, "I also love dancing, but unfortunately I don't have the talent. Maybe you can ask Debbie out sometime?"

Once she confirmed that Richard had no ulterior motives, she felt much more relaxed.

"Of course, no problem," Richard said with a smile.

Lisa laughed and said, "Lyon has a yacht and likes to go sea fishing. I'll invite you guys to join him next time; it'll be a lot of fun."

In reality, she was reminding Richard again: You have no chance, my boyfriend Leon is a rich second-generation.

Judging from Richard's appearance, he should be quite wealthy, not poor, but not extremely rich either.

Richard understood, but didn't care. Instead, he asked in surprise, "Going sea fishing in this cold weather?"

"Yes, we can find a safe harbor. That's good; we go there often."

Richard initially didn't want to go, but then he suddenly thought of sailing on the waters off New York and perhaps trying to get closer to Hart Island.

This is a good opportunity.

After a brief exchange, Lisa was completely relieved.

Grandpa must have known Richard's elders, which is why he arranged this blind date for his children.

Now that they've talked things out, they feel much more relaxed.

Richard's attitude made her feel very comfortable.

After learning that she was the granddaughter of a congressman, some people would try to befriend her for various reasons.

Richard didn't; he's probably the son of a high-ranking official from the University of Tokyo.

The two left the coffee shop chatting and laughing, and agreed on a time to meet again.

"Huh? Richard." A skinny man wearing an oversized suit walked by.

Richard frowned slightly: "Dominic."

Dominic had been trying to hold back, but he couldn't resist the urge and said with a grin, "Have you heard? An unlimited investment is coming in soon, and I can apply for 200 million in funding. Luckily, I didn't go through with that million-dollar grant last time, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this project. Why don't you also get your name listed on my project?"

Richard listened quietly and then said "Congratulations".

Dominic glanced at the quiet Lisa beside him.

The girl wasn't particularly pretty, but her eyes were captivatingly curved, and her attire suggested she came from a wealthy or powerful family.

How come this guy found another pretty girl?!

Dominic was incredibly jealous: "Looks like you're pretty good at knowing people who can be useful to you."

Richard looked at him quietly, as if he were a fool.

Dominic was a little embarrassed. He wasn't sure if Richard understood, so he deliberately said, "Does Helen know? I mean—never mind."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Is this kid crazy? Richard frowned slightly.

Lisa wasn't stupid either; she saw through Dominic's attempt to sow discord: "Who is that person? He doesn't seem very friendly."

The fact that the other party didn't recognize him suggests that he wasn't from a wealthy or noble family, but he also didn't look like the child of an ordinary middle-class family.

Richard said, "Calderson's student, Calderson took good care of him."

Lisa understood and nodded.

"Does he have a problem with you?"

"Yes, a little. Dr. Shepard stole one of his research topics."

"That makes sense." Lisa smiled, then suddenly said mischievously, "By the way, who's Helen? Why did you say your girlfriend is Debbie?"

"Who knows what the future holds?" Richard blinked.

Lisa seemed to have caught Richard red-handed, and smiled smugly, her eyes curving even more like crescent moons.

However, she also knew that this kind of behavior was normal for the second generation, and it was just a casual joke.

Richard didn't care.

Lisa smiled and left, saying, "I'll ask you to go fishing next time."

Lisa certainly knew Helen.

After that dinner, everyone who knew Richard would tell his family: Richard is Christina Shepard's academic successor.

Helen is Richard's girlfriend; don't mess with that girl.

Nobody's a fool.

Pretty girls are everywhere; there's no need to offend a big shot like Christina for the sake of one girl.

Christina wouldn't say anything if someone took Helen away, but Richard would definitely be very unhappy.

Who knows what Richard might do?

Seventeen or eighteen years old is the most difficult age to deal with. If Richard makes things difficult for Christina even slightly, it may lead to irreparable losses in the future.

Besides, it's not worth it for a beautiful woman.

In upper-class society, power and wealth are the only hard currency; beauty is merely a bonus.

So after the dinner, no one bothered Helen, and no one provoked Richard.

Except for Dominic, who's neither the best nor the worst.

Richard saw Lisa off and headed in the direction Dominic had left.

This kid has provoked me time and time again, so Richard decided to teach him a lesson.

Richard quickly caught up with Dominic and followed him to an administration building next to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Richard watched Dominic walk into the administration building from afar and followed him inside.

With Christmas approaching, there weren't many people in the building, and Richard could clearly hear Dominic's labored climb up the stairs.

This building is too old; it doesn't even have an elevator.

The heating in the building was on very high, and the temperature in the stairwell was at least 25 degrees Celsius.

Christmas celebrations were everywhere – stickers, fairy lights, and snacks.

One office was in a complete mess, with a lot of leftover food scattered on the table and a strong smell of alcohol, indicating that someone had a party there last night.

The temperature inside the building was too high, and there were even flies buzzing around.

As Richard walked, he casually reached out and caught a fly.

Snapped.

Squeeze it to death gently.

The fly was tiny. A little bit of fresh flesh and blood entered its body, and the fly came to life, rubbing its hands together on the spot.

Richard followed Dominic's footsteps to the third floor.

His reaction and speed are extremely fast; he catches flies with ease.

"Go to that office and see what the people inside are doing."

The fly buzzed and took flight.

Richard went downstairs, found a bench to wait, and like some students, draped his coat over the back of the bench to sunbathe.

The people of Lighthouse have an unusual obsession with sunbathing; they take every opportunity to do so.

Even in winter, this is no exception.

The most extreme case is in the summer, when some women like to tan themselves until they are bright red, like a big, cooked fish.

On the beach in Miami, girls wearing bikinis proudly display three white patches on their tanned skin, a symbol of their ability to vacation in Miami.

Those who don't have money use a tanning machine to get a tan, making it look like they're on vacation in Miami.

This results in many people having very poor skin; it looks fine from a distance, but up close it's covered in freckles, wrinkles, and tiny sunburn scars.

As a student of Tokyo University, Richard could not understand this aesthetic.

After waiting for about 30 minutes, the fly returned to Richard's hand, and a flood of memories instantly appeared in Richard's mind.

Richard quickly dragged the fly's memory fragments as if he were operating a video, and soon found the part he wanted.

After the fly flew in, it hid on the wall, which was right behind Calderson's computer.

Dominic walked in.

After a brief exchange, Dominic locked the door, and the two began revising a paper in the office.

Calderson, wearing glasses, said, "This set of data amplifies its significance. By increasing the sample size from 12 to 24 and removing this unreasonable p-value, it becomes significant. With this data, your paper should be fine."

The master and apprentice made numerous corrections and revisions, changing a significant amount of data in just a few minutes.

Good grief, academic fraud, huh?

You, the dean of Princeton, do this kind of thing?

Richard saw every modification on the screen through the fly's memory, even Calderson's rapid keystrokes as he entered passwords for some private internal systems.

Finally, Calderson saved the original paper in an encrypted hidden folder and handed the revised and polished paper to Dominic. "Heh, interesting." Richard wrote it all down.

Caldersen was in a good mood after revising Dominic's paper.

"With this $200 million, you should be able to complete your project, and with other things, it should be enough to apply for a faculty position. I'll help you."

Dominic felt immense pressure.

Getting a teaching position is just the beginning; there will be even fiercer competition to come.

He had to cling tightly to Calderson's coattails; Princeton University had a strict "publish or perish" policy, and he started as an assistant professor.

With the year countdown underway, young teachers face immense pressure: if they don't get promoted, they're out.

Within a few years, one must publish a sufficient number of high-quality papers, secure research funding, build connections in academic circles, and also fulfill teaching duties.

If you fail to meet the assessment requirements, you'll have to pack your bags and leave.

If all else fails, I'll have to work in a hospital or research institute.

But where in a hospital can you find a wider network of connections than at Princeton?

With Calderson's support, he can live very comfortably in the liberal arts college. Needless to say, the programs are great, and with Calderson's help, the faculty positions are much easier to manage.

Working in a hospital might earn you more money, but at Princeton you'll meet more children of the powerful and wealthy. Once you've made friends with three or four, your future path will be much smoother.

"I heard you're going fishing this weekend. Your fishing gear is all ready, and the bait is the same as last time. It's all in the trunk," Dominic said with a smile.

Calderson was very satisfied. Dominic was indeed a genius, but the reason he was treated so well wasn't just because of their family friendship; it was also because Dominic was very good at flattering him and made Calderson feel very comfortable.

Caldersen's son... let's not talk about him, he's a daughter now.

Damn LGBT!

He cursed inwardly, but dared not say it aloud; this was New York, and to do so would be suicidal.

Dominic keenly noticed that Calderson's expression was a bit off, and not knowing which of his words had given him away, he quickly said goodbye and left cautiously.

Calderson regained his composure.

Applications for projects with unlimited donations have begun.

Calderson accessed the system and viewed each professor's grant application form.

Of the $1500 million, Dominic has already taken $200 million, leaving $1300 million to be distributed among dozens of professors, which is definitely not enough.

What seems like a difficult problem is actually an opportunity for Calderson.

He can win over people who are willing to cooperate with him; those professors who are not on good terms with him will obviously not get the application.

Unrestricted funding, ostensibly a benefit for professors, actually grants enormous power to deans and other fund allocators.

My phone rang.

Professor Bird sent him a message inviting him to a private dinner to discuss project collaborations for the new semester.

Calderson's lips curled into a slight smile: "That's the advantage. Professor Bird can get funding, but he also has to take the opportunity to slip in one or two students and get some papers published."

He didn't agree immediately, but continued to review the applications, pondering how to allocate the funds to maximize his own interests.

As he looked, his eye twitched slightly.

Christina Shepard!

An unexpected applicant!

"Why did she apply too?" A bad feeling rose in Calderson's mind.

Christina hasn't applied for this kind of funding in over 20 years.

Because she has received so much funding that she simply cannot conduct all the research.

He dared not restrict Christina's application. He clicked on the application and a huge number appeared in front of him: 1500 million!

Calderson laughed in exasperation.

The entire liberal arts college only costs 1500 million, and you alone want 1500 million?!

He glanced at the title of the research proposal: Rejuvenation...

It's clearly one of those titles that was just thrown together randomly. Christina has obviously let loose. Who knows what kind of research she's planning to do? There's probably no hope for any papers or results.

Caldersen was speechless.

Is Professor Christina under too much pressure?

Do you still feel your skin is too wrinkled?

Rejuvenation? That's outrageous.

He could ignore the research of other professors, but not Christina's.

He pondered for a long time, devised various countermeasures, and mentally prepared himself before cautiously picking up the phone to call Christina: "Dr. Shepard, I'd like to discuss your application for the unrestricted funding project."

Christina stated bluntly, "1500 million, I'll take it all."

"Impossible!" Calderson almost blurted out, but could only patiently and humbly persuade him, "All the professors are waiting for this money. You can't take it all; it will cause the college a lot of trouble, and I simply won't be able to explain it to the other professors."

"I see." Christina pondered for a moment. "Then give me 1000 million. I haven't applied for such a small amount of funding in ten years."

Calderson's lips twitched.

Listen to this! Is this even human language?!

Think about yourself, how much funding do you receive each year?

However, Calderson held back.

He's a Nobel laureate, a tyrant in the field of biochemistry, incomparable, incomparable.

Calderson pleaded, "That's too much, Dr. Shepard, really too much. It's $1500 million in total, and you're taking $1000 million. I can't explain this to the other professors."

And your topic is about rejuvenation—"

"What's wrong with this project?" Christina's tone was utterly matter-of-fact. "If successful, it can advance human technological progress. So what if it's difficult? If it weren't difficult, why use unlimited funding?"

Calderson could only reluctantly reply, "No problem, it's perfect, very forward-thinking, and very challenging."

This is too challenging for MF!

You simply can't do it!

Calderson held his breath, not daring to say anything.

If Christina asked for 500 million, he would complain a couple of times but then happily accept.

When the other professors start arguing, throw Christina out and make her the target of their attacks.

And most people can accept it, what?

You're dissatisfied?

Why don't you bring back a Nobel Prize too?

But Christina took all 1500 million, which is a completely different story. It's clearly unreasonable, and if I accept it, it only shows my incompetence.

"This is unreasonable, Dr. Shepard, it's really unreasonable. I can't do it. Five million, five million at most."

Christina said slowly, "Eight million. If the school can't come up with that money, I'll find it outside."

Calderson felt a crack in his skin.

Dealing with Christina is too difficult.

No one knows if Christina will make some breakthroughs. This woman has always been capable of doing such things, otherwise she wouldn't have reached the status of a biochemical tyrant today.

If Christina hadn't taken a single penny from the school and had actually achieved great things in the future, she certainly wouldn't have included Princeton in her thesis.

The consequences are hard to predict.

If the paper is mediocre, then Princeton University's higher-ups won't care.

However, if the paper is valuable, or even makes some groundbreaking progress in a cutting-edge field, then Calderson will become a laughing stock.

When Princeton's top executives attend various conferences and banquets, executives from other Ivy League schools certainly won't miss the opportunity to make sarcastic remarks: "I heard that Professor Shepard from your school wrote a groundbreaking paper, but the school's name wasn't mentioned. Why is that?"

Oh, so it turns out that when Christina was initially initiating the project, the academy was unwilling to provide funding.

Calderson is blind!

Caldersen could already picture the principal pointing his finger at him and yelling at him.

"Okay, 8 million it is." Calderson was very distressed.

"OK." Christina hung up the phone.

Caldersen stared at the figure of 800 million and fell into deep thought.

With so much money, funding for other professors will inevitably have to be cut.

He tugged hard at the few hairs he had left.

Damn!

For the first time, he felt as if he were sitting on a volcano, sitting in the dean's seat.

He could already picture the day the funding allocation review would take place, with a group of professors arguing endlessly around him.

Christina took the majority of the 800 million.

How do you explain that the others only have 700 million left?

There's no way to explain it.

The dean is utterly incompetent!

If Dominic were to take another 200 million, the professors might all jump up in protest, and even the dean wouldn't be able to withstand so much opposition.

Calderson gritted his teeth and crossed out Dominic's $200 million.

Dominic has to make a sacrifice, otherwise I won't be able to convince the public.

Let's help relieve some of the pressure on the supervisor.

He didn't inform Dominic, since the project was originally given to him by him, and it was only natural for him to take it.

Actually, deep down he was afraid to call Dominic.

Even if he was Dominic's mentor, making a promise and then denying it would only make him lose face.

After pondering for a while, he made all the applications public.

Dominic's project wasn't withdrawn either; he waited until a dispute arose before withdrawing it, which would make him appear selfless and give him the upper hand.

I even withdrew my own students' projects, what else is there to say?

According to the review committee's procedures, all research proposals for unrestricted funding projects must be published on the internal network.

Professors also critique each other.

If there is significant unfairness, it will be difficult to move things forward.

He seemed to have forgotten to change Christina's project from 1500 million to 800 million; it still clearly stated 1500 million.

This little trick allowed Christina to share some of the firepower.

He knew that Christina wouldn't care about such small details; she was an extremely rational woman who would only care about achieving her goal.

She is never afraid of offending people; it is others who are afraid of offending her.

As soon as the news was announced, the professors in the College of Arts and Sciences were thrown into chaos.

With only 1500 million, but applying for a 5800 million project, most people are destined not to get their own funds, or not to get the amount they want.

Christina's application was the most extravagant, ranking first with a bid of 1500 million!

How come that tyrant is involved in this year's unlimited fund allocation?!

Everyone was a little panicked.

Given Christina's status, it's inevitable that she'll take the biggest slice of the pie once she joins the competition.

Then look at Christina's research project: rejuvenation.

Everyone was both amused and exasperated; the name of this topic was clearly chosen arbitrarily and was just a perfunctory attempt.

What Christina really wanted to research was something nobody knew.

According to the requirement of unlimited research topics, all research is conducted in a black box. As long as the laboratory keeps it confidential, no one will know what it is researching.

Unrestricted research projects never require the publication of methods and processes; only the final results need to be published.

Many research projects often end up with only a hundred-page final report, which can be summed up in one word: failure.

Some intelligent professors who were on good terms with Calderson began to communicate with him frequently.

Dominic also saw the project list, $1500 million.

He almost laughed; the number was too outrageous and there was no way the college would agree to it.

If you take it all, what will happen to the others?

Christina's demand for such a high price will only make her a target of public criticism.

He picked up his phone, intending to send Richard a provocative message, but then decided against it.

There's no need for that. He's just a middle school student. It would seem petty of me to keep staring at him.

Dominic gracefully turned off his phone, brimming with confidence. After all, he had already secured his 200 million, and his teacher couldn't possibly be lying to him.

The remaining task is to figure out exactly where to spend this money and how much of it to keep for yourself.

Yes, this is also an unspoken rule of unlimited research funding; everyone will try to put a portion of the funds into their own pockets, it's just a matter of how much or how little.

University professors have long had a well-established and secure scheme for embezzling research funding: summer salaries, inflated material costs, project consulting fees, external collaboration consultations, intellectual property patent revenue sharing, and personal travel disguised as academic conference trips or field research.

Every professor has various ways to legally transfer funding into their own pocket.

Dominic studied under Caldersen and naturally learned many tricks and tips.

Dominic couldn't resist his schadenfreude and sent Richard a message: "Dr. Shepard applied for $1500 million, and I've heard other professors discussing it. You could tell your advisor to calm down; that's too much, not realistic."

Richard smiled, not caring at all.

The funding allocation review meeting began a day later.

All professors applying for the project must be present.

It covers almost all professors in the entire liberal arts college.

Everyone was on edge, as the distribution of tens of millions of dollars would be decided this afternoon.

Not everyone has access to a billion dollars in funding every year like Christina. Many professors struggle to even secure a million dollars in funding each year.

Princeton University has more than 300 project principal investigators, and each of them receives an average of only about $100 million in research funding from the university each year.

Moreover, the allocation of research funding is extremely uneven.

The top 10-20 big shots took away most of the school's funding.

The newly hired assistant professor is struggling even to apply for $20 in funding.

Most research funding within the university requires a specific research topic, undergoes multiple levels of review by higher authorities, and must yield tangible results upon completion, creating immense pressure.

Therefore, the unlimited funding from private donations each year became the most lucrative prize in the eyes of all professors.

There are no restrictions on the topic, time, or results; even the methods and processes do not need to be disclosed.

This is the ideal funding in the minds of most professors.

The first item on the agenda was Christina's project.

Dominic attended as Calderson's assistant.

Richard sat next to Christina, silently memorizing words.

Academic English! Fk!

Christina simply sat calmly, occasionally exchanging a few words with Professor Bird next to her.

Professor Reed spoke first: "15 million for research on rejuvenation? I don't doubt Professor Christina's abilities, but 1500 million is far from enough. 1500 billion would be more like it."

Soren-Reid and Christina have always been at odds, and the two have been rivals for many years. Of course, this is only Soren-Reid's impression.

In most people's eyes, Christina completely overwhelmed Soren from beginning to end, and never even considered him a rival.

Sure enough, Christina didn't even lift her eyelids.

Everyone laughed.

Soren is right.

There's still no clue how to reverse aging; it's not that easy.

Everyone had already read Christina's brief description of her research topic, which, in short, aimed to restore youthful skin by improving telomere length.

However, after glancing at Christina's face, which had been filled with hyaluronic acid, they all smiled knowingly.

Christina was clearly aware of her aging and wanted to make a last-ditch effort.

Hmph, how could that be?

For countless years, has humanity ever been able to reverse aging?

It's just a fantasy.

Even if one really wanted to research rejuvenation, it wouldn't be something that could be solved with just this little bit of money.

15 billion is just the beginning. Whether it's a 1500 billion or 150 billion pitfall, nobody can say for sure.

No one knows exactly how long it will take.

Over the past 25 years, the longevity biotechnology sector has seen a total of over US$5500 billion in investment and financing, with major investors including Silicon Valley tech billionaires, Middle Eastern royalty, Wall Street capital tycoons, and established European and American financial groups.

Even these wealthy individuals, who are extremely obsessed with longevity, have been persistently investing in this huge pit for decades, yet so far, they haven't seen a single truly reliable result.

Decades have passed, and apart from countless papers and dozens of theoretical directions, nothing has actually come out.

Whether it's cell reprogramming, gene repair, clearing senescent cells, or even more sinister methods like stem cell and gene editing to cultivate brainless and mindless biological carriers, or cybernetic digital immortality...

Not a single reliable result was achieved.

Christina simply said, "I think 1500 million is enough to complete the initial phase of research."

Ha. I'd be a fool to believe you. No one said anything.

Apart from Soren Reid, who was at odds with Christina, no one would openly offend her.

The immense pressure was once again upon Calderson.

He had to make a decision: should he give Christina 800 million?

Once this figure is revealed, it essentially cuts off Dominic's 200 million, and perhaps only 50 can be given to compensate him.

Caldersen glanced at Dominican Republic's expectant eyes, feeling very conflicted.

Regardless, he still liked this student very much.

Or rather, he was too afraid to face Dominic's disappointment.

Several judges whispered among themselves, discussing: "Christina has to be paid, but 1500 million is outrageous. 500 million seems more appropriate."

Just then, Richard whispered something in Christina's ear.

Her eyes lit up slightly, and she immediately looked down and sent a message.

Ding!

Calderson's phone rang.

He glanced down at his phone and froze on the spot.

There was nothing written on it except for a few numbers, all of which were data he had just revised in his paper.