Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot-Chapter 988 - 394 Ancestral Virus_2

This kind of miraculous thing, isn't it already unbelievable to find just one, let alone two? That's way too fake!

However, seeing that Wang Tao didn't seem to want to talk more about it, Qu Shilin didn't press on.

Anyway, there was no need to fuss over the origins of the thing right now. It couldn't possibly have been made by Wang Tao, could it?

What she needed to do now was thoroughly research the technology behind the Food Compressor. If it could be popularized throughout the base, it would definitely be great news for those going out.

The only problem now was a small one that Qu Shilin was facing—she had too many projects on her hands!

Mechanical body, Powered Armor, Crystal Energy Engine, Crystal-powered Weapons, Night Demon Heart, Iron Beetle, Food Compressor, the Weapon Equipment Wang Tao had previously given her, and her own favored research into biology and viruses... she was swamped, absolutely swamped!

Qu Shilin sneakily glanced at Wang Tao, then placed her hands behind her back and coughed lightly.

"Ahem, Wang Tao, could I discuss something with you?"

"What is it?"

Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. After getting to know Qu Shilin better, he found that she generally preferred to be straightforward. Why was she suddenly so shy?

"Could you..." Qu Shilin extended her right hand, her index finger and thumb making a pinching gesture, "sponsor me a little bit of research funding?"

"Huh? Research funding? Doesn't your institute have its own budget?"

Wang Tao was immediately surprised, not expecting Qu Shilin to be asking him for money.

Logically speaking, research institutes should be quite wealthy, right? After all, this was Changhe Base's strongest and only research institution. City Hall would surely not be stingy with investment in this area. And not to mention anything else, just the profit from the Inhibitor alone should be enough for the research institute to make a lot of money, so how could Cheng Yiyi be short on money?

Seeing the confusion in Wang Tao's eyes, Cheng Yiyi explained with a slight sense of helplessness:

"The research institute does have money, but we also spend a lot. Not to even mention, just for researching the energy within the Crystal Core, we are directly using Crystal Cores, which is literally 'burning money'... Of course, the institute isn't so poor to the point of borrowing money from others, since it is maintained by City Hall and can continue researching... But as the number of projects increases, the needed funds are growing too. Eventually, we might start running at a deficit. City Hall itself is short of funds, after all, they have to cover every aspect, we can't depend on City Hall forever... So we have to figure out a way ourselves..."

Hearing this explanation, Wang Tao silently nodded. No matter the era, research was always a money-burning endeavor.

Qu Shilin continued to explain:

"If you could become a sponsor of the research institute, whenever something new is developed, sponsors will certainly get priority access and enjoy VIP treatment! If it's a marketable mass-produced product, there might be bonus dividends later on! If sponsors have any special needs, they can also request custom products... and there are many other perks!"

"But we also have to be wary of sponsors taking our research results to do bad things, so we can't just accept anyone who wants to sponsor... If you sponsor me personally, and something unexpected happens, I'll be the one carrying the can..."

She hadn't planned to seek sponsors because accepting others' money would mean less freedom.

Even though the institute had a policy that sponsors should not interfere with any research, in theory, they could continue unaffected even after taking the sponsorship. But in reality, it was impossible to be entirely uninfluenced by others, as there's a saying, 'he who pays the piper calls the tune'..."

Qu Shilin still preferred to be uninhibited and a bit more free.

But now, with more and more projects at the research institute, it was highly likely that subsequent funding wouldn't keep pace... Especially with Qu Shilin personally juggling so many projects, the institute's allocated funds were already insufficient, and she had even started putting her own money in. But research is a bottomless pit, and these funds are clearly not enough.

So, when she returned this time and the institute mentioned finding sponsors again, she thought of Wang Tao.

Strong abilities, wealthy, and not too busy—clearly, a great partner for collaboration.

Then again, just because she thought highly of Wang Tao didn't mean he would think the same of her. Sponsorship required the satisfaction of both parties...

Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao with eager eyes.

"No problem, how much do you need?"

Wang Tao nodded with a smile.

He had a good relationship with Qu Shilin and, in Wang Tao's view, research was a rather sacred endeavor that benefited the masses. If Wang Tao didn't have the capability, then it was out of the question, but if he did, then supporting it was no issue.

Seeing that Wang Tao didn't reject but instead seemed quite interested, Qu Shilin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She believed that she had a good relationship with Wang Tao, but money was the thing most likely to cause a rift between friends. She didn't care much for money herself, but who knew how Wang Tao viewed it...

"Ahem, are you sponsoring me, or the whole research institute?"

"Of course it's you personally."

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"Ahem, I currently have 10 projects in my hands, so could you... sponsor me ten million Crystal Coins to start with?"

Qu Shilin tentatively said.

"Ten million, sure."

Wang Tao agreed without hesitation.

He currently had over sixty million Crystal Coins, and there were still some items he had acquired on his trip that he hadn't sold yet. Additionally, he had many valuable items in his possession, so ten million Crystal Coins wasn't a big deal for him.