21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 902 - 896: Confusion

Chapter 902 -896: Confusion

In the laboratory, Inomata Naoki stretched, moving his arms and neck, stiff from maintaining the same posture for too long. He tidied up the scattered items on the desk and then finally stood up from his seat.

Scientific research had always been an exceedingly dull and tedious endeavor, especially in the field of biomedicine. Many times, it involved conducting an enormous number of repetitive experiments, continuously accumulating experimental data and samples, comparing different results, and extracting the desired findings from the process.

Such a process was often extremely lengthy. It might take tens of thousands of identical experiments to produce just a dozen or even one or two valuable experimental results. Sometimes, tens of thousands of experiments might not even yield the desired results.

Doing research often felt like buying lottery tickets—persistently hoping that one day, a big prize would come your way.

But in reality, the odds of hitting the jackpot in scientific research were far slimmer than buying a lottery ticket. With a lottery, as long as you invest enough money and buy enough numbers, your chances of winning incrementally increase since the combinations of ticket numbers are finite.

However, scientific research had no such limits.

It was about searching for the sole correct answer among countless possibilities. If you were going in the wrong direction, you might spend years—or even decades—without obtaining it.

Even if you found the correct path, uncovering the answer required prolonged exploration and a vast amount of tedious, repetitive experiments to finally bring it to light.

The time and energy consumed in this process, along with the enormous research funding burned through, were unimaginable to ordinary people.

It was like back when Chen Yu and Inomata Naoki were still at the University of Tokyo, working on broad-spectrum anti-cancer drugs. Even though Chen Yu had the correct formula in hand, it was only after conducting numerous experiments that they finally determined the right chemical composition and dosage.

During that time, setting aside the effort and dedication they poured into the research, just the dozens of lab mice consumed in each experiment represented a significant expense.

When their research funds ran dry, Chen Yu and Inomata Naoki even had to scrimp on their own meals to buy lab mice for experiments.

If not for Kohinata Kaori occasionally helping them out and Professor Kube constantly applying for additional funding, it was uncertain whether the research project could have been completed at all.

But that was all in the past. For Inomata Naoki now, since Chen Yu had successfully developed the broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug, the laboratory was enjoying essentially unlimited research funding. Every condition was met, and everything was provided at the highest standards.

Money? There was money. Personnel? They had personnel. You could say that as long as Chen Yu’s research required it, whether it was the Eastern University Affiliated Hospital or the Japanese Government, they would offer their fullest support. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Thus, the only thing Inomata Naoki needed to worry about was the progress of the research.

It was precisely because of this favorable setup that during the week after returning from Kyoto, he practically hadn’t stepped outside the laboratory, eating and sleeping there, just to complete his current experiments as quickly as possible.

Though, admittedly, part of it was also an attempt to use work to forget the lingering impact of the dream he experienced in Kyoto.

He had to admit—work was indeed the best way to forget one’s troubles. Immersed in work for an entire week, Inomata Naoki found himself with neither the time nor energy to dwell on the strange sensations left by that dream. For seven straight days, his undivided attention stayed on the experiments before him.

But the moment Inomata Naoki stopped working to take a break, the emotions he’d suppressed all week would resurface from deep within him, unavoidably bringing Minami to mind.

Initially, Inomata Naoki thought he could quickly forget the odd feelings evoked by that dream, but it was clear he hadn’t. On the contrary, the week’s work seemed to intensify those emotions.

This feeling left Inomata Naoki vexed. He couldn’t recall exactly what he had experienced in that dream, yet the sensation rising from his heart seemed to suggest that he had once loved with deep, unforgettable passion. But now, he had forgotten the person, the emotions, and the experiences he was supposed to remember—leaving behind only an inexplicable hollowness and a stirring emotion, reminding him that something had slipped from his grasp.

The emptiness and vague sense of loss in his heart stirred in him an impulse to smoke, though he didn’t even have the habit of smoking.

This feeling of wanting to ease his gloom but having no outlet made Inomata Naoki increasingly dejected. The urge to vent but with no avenue to do so left him deeply uncomfortable.

Taking out his phone, Inomata Naoki originally intended to call his girlfriend to relieve some of his frustration. But at that moment, he suddenly remembered the strong feelings he experienced whenever he saw Minami. This hesitation caused him to falter.

After some thought, Inomata Naoki put his phone away, said a quick goodbye to a research colleague nearby, and left the laboratory. Exiting the hospital, he made his way to Minami’s little shop.

By the time Inomata Naoki arrived at Minami’s shop, it was already evening and the city lights were lit. The shop had begun its business for the day, with warm yellow light seeping out from its entrance, creating a cozy atmosphere.

Even though it was only his second visit, for some reason, standing at the shop’s entrance gave Inomata Naoki a nostalgic feeling, as though he’d been here countless times before. The shop evoked a sense of memories and familiarity.

Inomata Naoki knew this was just an illusion, brought on by the experiences he’d had in the dream, causing this sense of familiarity.

This realization left Inomata Naoki inwardly annoyed, quietly blaming Chen Yu for creating this situation that left him trapped in a confusion of dream and reality.

But regardless, Inomata Naoki still pushed open the shop’s door and stepped inside.

“Welcome!” Minami, dressed in a neat, dark blue outfit, was jotting down customers’ orders in a small notebook. Hearing the door open, she instinctively greeted the newcomer. But as she raised her head and saw Inomata Naoki, her greeting shifted unexpectedly into: “Long time no see! The usual?”

Despite it being only his second visit, Minami’s casual “the usual”—a phrase one might use for a regular—came out naturally. What should have been odd felt completely normal between the two. Without giving it a second thought, Inomata Naoki nodded and replied, “The usual. Another cup of…”

“I know, oolong tea.” Minami smiled, turning to the kitchen.

Watching Minami’s figure as she disappeared into the kitchen, Inomata Naoki sat down at a seat. For reasons unknown, the agitation in his heart had vanished entirely, leaving only a sense of peace.