27: A swift response and sugar-coated bullets

To Excellence's surprise, the next morning, just as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the gaps in his dormitory curtains, his phone pinged with a new email notification.

The speed of the reply far exceeded his expectations—less than twelve hours had passed since he sent his request for help.

His heart skipped a beat, and his fingers trembled slightly as he opened the email.

The sender was not Evelyn's private email address, but rather one that appeared official, yet the phrasing of the email was unexpectedly warm and natural.

The email began: "Dear Student Excellence: We are very pleased to receive your letter.

The Prophet Foundation has always been committed to supporting young people with an innovative spirit and a desire for exploration, especially students like you who are 'full of passion for technology.'

We believe that it is precisely this unconstrained curiosity that is the true driving force behind human progress."

Excellence held his breath and continued reading:

"Regarding the 'difficulties encountered in obtaining special electronic components' that you mentioned, we deeply understand.

Many cutting-edge explorations are often limited by resources rather than imagination.

To this end, we are willing to provide you with a small 'Explorer's Research Grant.' Although the amount is not high, it should be sufficient to cover most of the component procurement needs you listed."

The email attachment contained two files: one was a standard, clearly worded grant agreement template, and the other was a simple application form that needed to be filled out.

Excellence carefully reviewed the contents of the application form and found that only the most basic information was required—name, school, major, and project name (vague entries like 'Exploration of New Energy Technology' were allowed).

The entire process appeared exceptionally standard and formal, filled with an atmosphere of goodwill that encouraged innovation.

Excellence even noticed that the agreement contained many clauses protecting the rights of the grant recipient, such as intellectual property rights belonging entirely to the creator, with The Foundation only requesting non-exclusive rights to be informed of research results.

"It looks... almost too good to be true?" Excellence muttered to himself, feeling both pleasantly surprised and uneasy.

[Emergency Warning: No obvious loopholes found in the surface terms of the agreement. However, based on an analysis of the historical behavior of the 'Prophet Foundation' and its affiliated organizations, the suspicion level of its benevolent motives is as high as 92.7%. It is strongly recommended that the host immediately reject this funding.]

The system remained on high alert, projecting a red warning sign onto Excellence's retina.

But Excellence's gaze drifted involuntarily toward that list of materials; those astronomical price tags seemed to be scorching his retinas.

He recalled the painful memories brought about by the system's punishments, the bone-deep agony that made him shudder.

The inner struggle was like two little people arguing fiercely:

One voice said: "This is a trap! There's no such thing as a free lunch! They must have an ulterior motive!"

Another voice retorted: "But this is the only chance! Without these materials, the mission will definitely fail! Do you want to experience that agonizing punishment worse than death again?"

In the end, the fear of mission failure overwhelmed the concern about unknown risks.

Excellence thought: I'll just take it this one time! Once I buy the components, I'll cut off contact! I shouldn't be so unlucky as to get targeted, right?

He took a deep breath and began filling out the application form.

In the project name column, he hesitated for a long time, finally writing down "Preliminary Exploration of New Wireless Energy Transmission Technology"—neither too specific, yet able to generally indicate the direction.

The moment he clicked send, his fingers were still trembling slightly.

An inexplicable premonition told him that this decision might change many things.

To his surprise, the reply came even faster—just half an hour later, he received a confirmation email: "Application received and is undergoing rapid review. The funds will be transferred to the account you provided within three business days."

The efficiency was staggering.

A trace of doubt couldn't help but rise in Excellence's heart: How could the approval process of a large foundation be so rapid?

It was as if they had opened a green channel specifically for him.

Three days later, a remittance did indeed arrive in Excellence's bank account.

The amount was just right, enough for him to purchase those expensive components on the list, with even a small surplus for other expenses.

Looking at the balance displayed on his mobile banking app, Excellence let out a long sigh of relief, even feeling a hint of secret joy.

It seems the system was too cautious? Isn't this going very smoothly?

He immediately set about purchasing those expensive components.

To avoid attracting attention, he deliberately chose different suppliers, placed orders in batches, and filled in an off-campus express delivery station as the shipping address.

However, Excellence did not know that at the very moment he clicked send on his application, another scene was unfolding in a luxurious office on the other side of the city.

In this office located on the top floor of a premier downtown office building, outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the bustling scene of the entire city.

The interior decoration was highly futuristic, with cold metallic lines cleverly combined with warm wooden elements.

Several abstract artworks hung on the walls, and a closer look would reveal that they contained complex technological elements.

Morpheus Li—the founder of the Prophet Foundation—was standing in front of a giant display screen, looking at Excellence's application form and procurement list on the screen.

He was about fifty years old, his hair meticulously combed, wearing a well-tailored dark suit, exuding the aura of a successful businessman, but his eyes revealed the sharp radiance of a scholar.

"New wireless energy transmission technology? Interesting..." he muttered to himself, his fingers tapping lightly on the mahogany desk, "Efficiency over 30%, effective distance of 5 meters? This is already far beyond the current technical level in the public domain."

Standing behind him, Evelyn was still wearing that simple yet elegant outfit.

Her face was expressionless, but a glimmer of something imperceptible flashed deep in her eyes.

"Father, I think this young man is worth watching." Evelyn's voice was calm and without waves, "Those designs of his in the library, although riddled with loopholes on the surface, show extraordinary insight in their core ideas."

Morpheus turned around and looked at his daughter thoughtfully: "Do you think he came up with this independently? Or is there someone guiding him behind the scenes?"

Evelyn shook her head slightly: "Not sure.

But his biological signals show that when talking about these technologies, he is expressing true cognition and understanding, rather than simple repetition."

The corners of Morpheus's mouth curled into a meaningful smile: "Then let us see how far this little guy can go.

Give him enough rope... and see if he hangs himself."

Evelyn nodded slightly: "As per your instructions, the minimum amount of funding has been provided, enough to solve his current predicament, but not enough to support long-term research."

"Very good." Morpheus turned to look at the city night view outside the window, "Remember, Evelyn, the most valuable prey often requires the most patient waiting.

Let us see what kind of surprise this Student Excellence... will eventually bring us."

Meanwhile, Excellence was on his way back to his dormitory.

The night was deep, and the campus was quiet.

In his hand, he held the first package he had just picked up, which contained high-frequency oscillation crystals worth tens of thousands.

The package was light, but it felt like it weighed a ton.

The streetlights stretched his shadow long, and occasionally late-returning students passed by him.

No one knew that in the hands of this seemingly ordinary student, he was holding key components capable of changing the landscape of certain industries.

Excellence's heart was both excited and uneasy.

Excited that the mission finally had the possibility of progress; uneasy that he always felt countless eyes in the dark were watching his every move.

[Multiple abnormal signal sources continuously detected tracking the host. It is recommended to increase movement speed and change the return route.] The system's warning sounded again.

Excellence quickened his pace, deliberately took a few turns, and finally entered through the side door of the dormitory building.

He dared not look back, but he could feel those invisible gazes still following him like a shadow.

Back in the dormitory, he locked the door, pulled the curtains, and only then let out a long sigh of relief.

However, when he opened the package and took out the exquisite high-frequency oscillation crystal, he found a small card inside:

"Wishing you success in your research! If you have any needs, please feel free to contact us. - Prophet Foundation"

On the back of the card was a tiny, almost imperceptible logo that emitted a faint fluorescent glow at certain angles.

Excellence's heart sank.

He realized that this transaction was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.

He had not only received funds but had also opened a door that might never be closed again.

The night was deep, and Excellence lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

He knew that from today on, his life had stepped onto a path of no return.

And whether the end of this road was light or darkness, no one knew.