Naruto world: The Rise Of The Sand Village

The style of Central City University is a perfect match for Central City itself; whether in cutting-edge technology or in arts and culture, it enjoys a prestigious reputation.

"Ah-ha, Mr. Watt, I almost forgot that Dr. Wells had a student like you."

An elderly white professor with high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and golden hair—bearing the typical features of Germanic descent—stood at the university gate, shaking Hardy's hands.

"Professor Mueller, I certainly haven't forgotten you."

Hardy smiled slightly as he replied.

Just yesterday, he had memorized information about professors whose tenures matched up, including the man before him: Gerald Mueller, head of the Physics Department at Central City University.

"I'm glad you remember me. Perhaps it's just my age—some things from the past are getting a bit hazy for me," Professor Mueller said, testing him briefly before chuckling.

"That's not your fault, Professor. When I was an undergraduate at Gotham University, I was already juggling my studies and starting a business. When I came to Central City University, I was a commuting student. Aside from occasionally working on projects with my mentor Dr. Wells, I was busy with other matters most of the time."

Hardy delivered the explanation he had long prepared.

"So that's how it was. No wonder you're so accomplished at such a young age."

Professor Mueller accepted this explanation and laughed heartily with several other teachers nearby.

He welcomed Hardy onto campus, gave him a brief tour of the university grounds, and then led him to a large lecture hall, asking Hardy to give a talk to the students—mainly to encourage them.

Hardy calmly took out some papers.

He was well prepared.

The content on those pages was a speech that Barry Allen had stayed up late to write the night before.

Barry's scientific literacy was more than sufficient, and he had studied at Central City University for seven years, so he knew the university inside and out.

No one was better suited to write this speech for him.

Judging by the professors' reactions, Barry had done an excellent job with the speech.

To avoid giving himself away, Hardy didn't allow a Q&A session for the students, and instead proactively asked to move on to the next item on the university's agenda.

A tour of the Physics Department's laboratories.

As a prestigious university in the DC world, Central City University naturally had more than one physics lab.

After touring several of them, Hardy arrived at the true destination of his visit.

"Mr. Watt, I imagine you must feel nostalgic for your time here. Back then, Dr. Wells painstakingly refined his theories here, bit by bit, and designed the particle accelerator. What a pity…" Gerald Mueller sighed with emotion.

Thawne was a man from the future, possessing technological knowledge far beyond the present era, and was himself a highly educated intellectual of his time.

So, in Professor Mueller's eyes, Thawne—disguised as Harrison Wells—was a bona fide genius.

Had the particle accelerator experiment succeeded, he would have become a scientific giant on par with Newton and Einstein.

Hardy also put on a look of deep emotion, casting a nostalgic gaze around the lab, as if he had truly worked there years ago.

Life is like a play; it all depends on your acting.

It was time to put to use the espionage skills he'd learned at ninja school!

Cisco subtly nudged Hardy's arm and signaled with his eyes in a certain direction.

By the wall stood a piece of equipment taller than a person.

That was their true target: the core of the early particle accelerator built by Harrison Wells.

Hardy strolled over, acting completely natural, and placed his hand on the core of the particle accelerator.

"When I was here, this thing didn't look like this yet. Mentor Wells devoted his life to perfecting it—for this very machine!"

Professor Mueller's eyes flickered, and he stepped up beside Hardy.

"Yes, this particle resonance RF generator is the most crucial part of the particle accelerator, and it's what sets Wells' design apart from conventional accelerators. To prove his theory, Wells spent nearly ten years and completed this masterpiece with only the limited funding from the university. What a pity…"

Professor Mueller shook his head.

In his view, the fact that Wells' particle accelerator ultimately went out of control and exploded meant that there were flaws or incompleteness in Wells' theory.

So this thing is called a particle resonance RF generator.

And Professor Mueller's words had a hidden meaning...

As Hardy touched the particle resonance RF generator, he understood.

Wells had built it using university funding, so naturally, ownership belonged to the university. It couldn't be considered Wells' personal scientific property to be inherited by Hardy.

Unless more money changed hands.

"I wonder how much it cost for my mentor to build the particle resonance RF generator?"

"Over the course of ten years, at least a million dollars was invested, not to mention the university's support in manpower and resources. Plus, it contains unique technical achievements left by Wells himself.

So, in terms of value, this particle resonance RF generator is truly priceless!"

Professor Mueller said solemnly.

"Professor Mueller."

"Yes?"

"Is there any equipment our Physics Department still lacks? I'm willing to donate another five million dollars to contribute to our university."

Professor Mueller stroked his graying beard.

This student of Wells certainly knows how things work!

After Wells, the professors and scholars of the Physics Department had already studied this equipment thoroughly. There wasn't much left to learn, and other than showing it to freshmen and visitors, no one really used it anymore.

"Ahem, of course, Mr. Watt, as Dr. Wells' student, as long as you can prove you're capable of continuing the particle accelerator research, you can certainly take this equipment. If a single device can open up new knowledge for physics, then—"

Such knowledge is truly priceless."

Professor Muller looked at Hardy and continued, "However, I haven't seen any recent publications from Mr. Watt in academic journals these past few years. I wonder about your company's research capabilities…"

The university had investigated and found that Hardy's businesses mainly revolved around automobiles, freight, and food restaurants, which didn't seem to have much to do with cutting-edge physics or technology.

No matter what, the university's rules still had to be followed.

"Ahem, there's no need for you to worry about that, Professor Muller."

Hardy pulled Barry and the other two over to Muller and introduced them one by one.

"Before he passed, Mentor Wells transferred ownership of STAR Labs to Barry. The current STAR Labs still retains some of the core staff and most of the equipment from Mentor Wells's time. By collaborating with my company, I intend to invest in STAR Labs and continue the unfinished work of Mentor Wells!"

Hardy said sincerely.