Chapter 269 Camilla Has Land!
Camilla looked at him with an expression of speechlessness and couldn't help but laugh.
"Take it, Uncle Sebastian; my dad's braised beef is really delicious, and not everyone gets to eat it."
"What did you call me?" He stepped closer, one hand propped against the wall.
Camilla had nowhere to retreat, so she could only look up at him innocently. "I'm just passing on my dad's words, it's not like I said it."
"Sebastian, the hallway is narrow, could you step back a bit?"
Sebastian, remembering he had a cold and didn't want to infect her, sighed lightly, withdrew his hand, and stepped aside.
Camilla marveled again at how easygoing and gentlemanly he was.
Sebastian accepted the beef jerky, Camilla took the rest home, and then sent a photo to Alistair.
Alistair replied quickly: [Did you give it to Sebastian?]
Camilla: [Yes! Dad, aren't you being too nice to him?]
He didn't even say to keep some for herself.
Alistair, too lazy to type, sent a voice message: "Of course! You should be generous and share good things with friends!"
Camilla was speechless and thought, 'Sebastian should hear this.'
Thinking back to earlier, Sebastian had cornered her, leaning in close, his scent and breath enveloping her, Camilla's face flushed and her heartbeat quickened. In high school, boys would get close deliberately, making her blush. Even before meeting Leopold, she felt cramped and uncomfortable near men. She thought being in a relationship and breaking up would help, but it only seemed to make things worse. Camilla attributed her series of reactions to "old habits," without thinking any deeper.
In the afternoon, she invited Hestia and Royce to her home. "Let's discuss the lab situation."
"Okay."
"On my way!"
They arrived quickly, Hestia still wearing plush slippers, and Royce in casual home clothes.
Clearly, they had rushed over from their respective places.
"Camilla, did you think of a solution?" Hestia's eyes sparkled as she eagerly asked upon entering. Royce also looked at her expectantly.
Camilla handed each of them a drink, then sat down opposite them, her expression serious and her gaze stern. "Waiting months is unrealistic; we can't delay the project or experiments, and there's no guarantee we'll get the lab back without new issues. Regarding Sebastian's invitation to use his lab, I've thought it over. Cross-disciplinary borrowing of labs means the equipment won't match, and managing relationships will waste a lot of energy. If we don't want to stay after two days, we'll have to move all the equipment again, which is too troublesome. Most importantly, borrowing a lab isn't a long-term solution. Someone is clearly trying to frame us, and if we don't tackle the root cause, these problems will only escalate."
Hestia, who had been hopeful, slumped on the sofa as she listened, looking utterly dejected.
Royce frowned. "Is there no other way?"
Camilla was about to speak when Hestia suddenly broke down. "What a crappy academy! We've been so wronged, and they pretend not to see it! Just because we borrowed his lab, we have to put up with this? Forget it then! It's just a rundown room anyway, my dad has plenty of houses. We need our own resources to have confidence! They lent us a lab without CPRT or proper fire equipment. We work hard and even buy our own equipment, only for the college to take the credit? How is that fair?"
Hestia had never been so wronged, and her fiery temper led to an outburst that left Royce and Camilla dumbfounded.
"Did I scare you?" Hestia's round face flashed with embarrassment, and she quickly explained, "I'm not usually like this; sometimes I just can't control my temper!"
Royce swallowed hard.
Camilla's eyes sparkled, and she couldn't help but nod. "Hestia said exactly what I wanted to say! As long as the lab is borrowed from the academy, we can't make our own decisions."
The academy could reclaim it, find fault, or lend it to others at any time, leaving them at others' mercy.
"Then we won't borrow from the academy?" Hestia probed.
Camilla nodded.
Royce asked, puzzled, "Then where will we borrow from?"
Camilla said, "Why borrow? Like Hestia said the other day, why not build our own?"
Royce was stunned.
Hestia was initially surprised, then excitedly jumped up from the sofa. "Yeah! We can build one! How great!"
A lab of their own, no longer worrying about it being taken back or targeted by petty people.
Camilla said calmly, "I've checked, Harmony College's regulations and the Life Sciences Department's rules don't prohibit students from creating independent labs. As long as our paperwork is complete and our qualifications are in order, it's fine."
Hestia immediately raised her hand. "I can fund it! How much? Five million dollars, or ten million dollars?"
Royce was shocked.
Camilla thought for a moment before saying, "I can also contribute money, plus a piece of land."
Hestia and Royce were stunned!
"Camilla, you have land too?"
"Yes." Camilla smiled, "Plot 72, East Suburb, lots 3-5, currently undeveloped."
Even Hestia, who was wealthy, couldn't help but gulp.
"Camilla, how many more surprises do you have for us!"
Camilla laughed. "Now that we have money and land, there's only one last hurdle."
"What?"
"Approval."
Building the lab wasn't something they could just decide to do, especially a biological lab like theirs. Microorganisms, particularly viruses, posed biosafety issues, and the use of large amounts of organic solvents required careful consideration of emissions. If the research involved radioactive materials, there were national regulations to follow, making it even more complicated. In short, the various approvals and procedures were the hardest part. Any minor holdup could easily delay the process by a year or more.
Hestia asked, feeling dejected, "We need connections in the relevant departments, right?"
Camilla nodded.
Royce, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, "Maybe I can give it a try."
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