By Friday, whispers about Tony Snow had already begun to spread quietly through academic circles and university networks.
The previous night, someone had posted on a niche academic forum claiming that, according to a reliable source, a third-year undergraduate from a non-mathematics background at Westbridge Institute had successfully published a paper in Mathematical Advances—one of the world's top mathematics journals.
At first, the claim was met with skepticism and derision. But as students and faculty from different universities chimed in, some even reaching out to contacts at Westbridge for confirmation, the tone began to shift. By Friday morning, the rumor had taken on a life of its own, circulating in group chats, forums, and even casual departmental conversations.
Despite the storm brewing around his name, Tony's life remained undisturbed—for now. No one outside the administrative circle knew that he was the student in question.
At noon, after a morning class, Tony and Clara Quinn headed to the cafeteria for lunch. As they reached the campus quad, they happened to cross paths with Dr. Howard Quinn, the Dean of Life Sciences.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Quinn."
"Hello, Professor," Clara added with a polite smile.
If this had been the Tony from before the life simulator, he would've probably ducked behind a vending machine and prayed the professor hadn't seen him. But now, he greeted his professor with ease.
"Ah, Tony. Clara. Just finishing up class?" Dr. Quinn said with a friendly nod.
He glanced at the two of them walking side by side. "Grabbing lunch together, huh?"
The question was casual, but there was a faint glimmer of curiosity in his eyes—purely human curiosity about whether the two students were a couple. He didn't ask out loud, of course, but it flickered in the back of his mind.
"Yes, we're just heading over now," Tony replied, then added, "Actually, Professor Quinn—there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Oh?" Dr. Quinn smiled, intrigued. "Why don't you two join me in the faculty dining room today? My treat."
"Oh, we wouldn't want to impose…" Tony began with half-hearted courtesy.
"Nonsense. Come on," Dr. Quinn said with a wave of his hand, already heading toward the faculty entrance.
Soon, the three of them sat at a quiet table in the more upscale dining area reserved for faculty. Tony noticed that while the food was slightly fancier than the student cafeteria, it wasn't dramatically better—and certainly not worth the price difference. Still, it was the company that mattered.
Once they were seated, Tony got straight to the point.
"Professor Quinn, I'd like to excuse myself from your lectures going forward. I feel confident that I've mastered the material. If you want to test me on it first, I'm happy to."
He said this calmly, taking a bite of steamed vegetables and rice.
Dr. Quinn paused, chopsticks midair, then chuckled. "Well, if you insist. You don't need to attend my classes anymore."
He said it so nonchalantly that it almost startled Tony.
But then again, considering the circumstances—Tony's accepted paper in Mathematical Advances, the letters from Princeton and Paris—Dr. Quinn probably wouldn't blink even if Tony asked for an early graduation certificate right then and there.
Clara, sitting quietly beside Tony, blinked in surprise. She glanced at Dr. Quinn, then at Tony, clearly curious but unwilling to interrupt.
"There's something else I'd like to ask you for," Tony continued.
"Go ahead," said Dr. Quinn. "If I can help, I absolutely will."
"Actually," Tony said, "I've been preparing to write a biology-related paper. It involves a series of experiments. But the school's lab equipment might not be enough, and I was hoping you could help me secure access."
Dr. Quinn looked at Tony with surprise this time—not dismissive, but genuinely curious. "A biology paper? What kind of experiment are you conducting? Do you have a working title?"
It wasn't an unreasonable question. After all, Tony's recent reputation was entirely built on a math paper—biology was a different beast. Unlike mathematics, which could be written purely through logic and proofs, biology required hands-on experimentation, data, replication, and usually months of lab work.
Dr. Quinn also knew Tony's history. Until just last semester, he'd been largely indifferent in his lab sessions—often distracted or disinterested. The sudden pivot raised natural suspicion.
But what Dr. Quinn didn't know was that nearly two weeks ago, Tony had chosen the [Skill] upgrade for the first time in the life simulator—gaining advanced lab skills and dramatically enhancing his hands-on scientific ability.
"The working title is Several New Cell Culture Methods," Tony answered.
Dr. Quinn waited, expecting more—but that was it.
"That's it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tony nodded. "That's the whole title. The methods apply across different cell types, so it didn't make sense to specify just one."
Dr. Quinn leaned back, arms crossed. "You understand that culture methods are typically very specific. Even if someone discovers something new, the title would usually reference the specific type of cell. Yours sounds… unusually broad."
"I know. But that's why it's important," Tony said. "These methods can be applied across various cell types. And don't worry—the experiment can be completed in under a week. It's not complicated."
Dr. Quinn stared at him for a moment longer, eyes narrowing—not suspiciously, but analytically. He was assessing whether Tony truly understood what he was claiming.
He finally nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to the lab director and get you access to the extended facility. But you'll need to document every step—and I'd like to see your results as soon as the experiment concludes."
"Of course," Tony said.
He didn't mention that his original plan had been to wait until his math paper officially published next month before proposing this project. Once the paper was public, the faculty would take his requests seriously.
But since Mathematical Advances had already mailed letters of acceptance, and since Dr. Quinn had personally seen them, Tony decided to accelerate his timeline.
No need to wait any longer.