Chapter 14

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the dormitory of Jiangzhou University, Zhou Wen laid on the bed after taking a night shower. He suddenly remembered Wang Huiyao’s remarks yesterday. It was about time for him to get started on his graduation thesis. 

Frankly, he had yet to find a direction for his thesis until now. It was tough to come up with a creative view in the biology field. For example, when he was an undergraduate student, Shi Lei’s graduate thesis was titled, ‘The Freshwater Aquaculture Technology of Pufferfish’.

Zhou Wen could not just write his thesis on the topic of some prawn or grouper, right? He pondered for a moment but did not manage to think of anything. In addition, there was a screeching noise coming from the bed next to him that annoyed him. So, he brought up the individual property panel instead. 

Host: [Zhou Wen]

Occupation: [Apprentice Pharmacist, 0/1000]

Truevision: [Lvl 0; 217/1000]

Courses:

Pharmacology: [Allows you to learn the clinical application of different medications. Lvl 1, 0/5000]

Pathology: [Allows you to learn the causes of different diseases. Lvl 0; 100/1000]

Biochemistry: [Allows you to master the chemical composition and chemical change of an organism. Lvl 1; 0/5000]

Biological Immunology: [Allows you to understand the mysteries of life. Lvl 0; 50/1000]

Systematic anatomy: [Allows you to understand the physical structures of an organism. Lvl 0; 250/1000]

Linguistics: [Allows you to communicate with the world without barriers. Lvl 1; 0/5000]

Sub-discipline: None 

Course Experience: [0]

Point: [1200]

Inventory: [4]

Taskbar: [Mission (New)]

Zhou Wen felt a little surprised upon seeing the taskbar that had been quiet for a very long time. It finally displayed a new mission! 

Other than the missions that were actively triggered by him, the system had not given him any new missions recently. After completing the mission of helping Shi Lei, it remained in dark gray since then. 

He clicked the taskbar. [Mission 1: Greenhorn

Explanation: Where there’s gold, it shines. Your talent has already been discovered by the PCR Team’s leader, Zhang Shuguang, from the First People’s Hospital. 

Requirement: Become a formal employee of the First People’s Hospital within a week. 

Reward: 1000 Course XP, 1000 Points. 1x Loot box Chance (Black metal)]

Zhou Wen almost leaped up in excitement upon reading the mission’s details. 

He was still thinking about how he could get an internship in a medical research unit a few days ago, yet he did not expect that he would find an opportunity without even putting in any effort. The opportunity was delivered right to his doorstep, just like that. 

Moreover, the box was actually ranked ‘black metal’. He wondered what sort of item would he acquire from the loot box. 

Nevertheless, it was truly difficult to fulfill the requirement of this mission. It would be tough to be hired as an official employee within a week. 

He thought about the civil service examination that was akin to a thousand horses crossing a single-plank bridge. The competition in public institutions, albeit not as strong, was still a rather challenging environment. 

At that moment, Zhou Wen did not have the slightest confidence to accomplish it. 

He continued to scroll through the panel and found that the second mission remained as the ‘Aphid Experiment’. It had not been removed all this time. 

The third mission. [Mission 3: Graduation Thesis

Requirement: Receive a score of no lower than 10 for a written thesis. 

Reward: 1000 Course XP, 1000 Points. 1x Loot box Chance (Black metal)]

“Score 10 for the thesis? What kind of joke is this?”

Zhou Wen almost had a seizure after reading the mission requirement. 

If one were to categorize the thesis by rank, the Cell, Nature, and Science, abbreviated as CNS, was the most incredible three journals. To publish a journal on CNS, one would need to prove an incredible link between Factor A and Result B in his or her experiment. 

What was the significance of this? It meant that your research subject and result appeared to be poles apart yet you claimed that the two parties were related. In fact, others would find that you were indulging in wild fantasies and that your brain had been fried even. 

For example, there was an article on Cell in the past that claimed that the probiotics in the intestines could possibly devour a host. It sounded incredulous; however, no one could figure it out regardless of how hard they tried. 

On the other hand, the author did not only have to discover it but also had to prove it. This was the CNS standard. 

In comparison, the standard of a ten-point thesis was one level below the CNS journals. Even though this places it behind CNS, it was still awesome beyond words! One may not necessarily need to overturn logic but one would certainly need to make an innovative discovery. 

Obviously, it felt as though the system was forcing him to do things beyond his capabilities. 

Just five minutes ago, he was still contemplating the topic of his thesis. How could the system expect him to make an innovative discovery?

Then, Zhou Wen’s gaze swept past the (Black metal) loot box mentioned in the mission’s reward. He could not help but feel a bit demoralized in his heart. 

What a waste that he was really incapable of accomplishing the assigned mission. 

…

Xu Shuangyu’s injury to her leg was almost fully healed. Other than her inability to run and jump, she had no problem with walking normally. 

However, she was still not feeling too good. This was because Zhou Wen’s face emerged on her mind a few times a day over the past two weeks. 

It was hard not to think about him. If you were stabbed by a person, would you not think about the person that stabbed you at all time?

It was just the same for Xu Shuangyu. As soon as she felt the pain in her leg, she remembered the culprit- Zhou Wen. She could describe her feelings with the lyrics of a song. ‘Do you know the feeling of missing someone? It’s just like drinking an ice-cold cup of water…’

With her ability to walk, Xu Shuangyu spent her time strolling around the School of Health Sciences lecture theatres rather than attending her classes. 

In the beginning, she was still pretending to look for the person leisurely. She thought about how she would make the person apologize to her in tears after bumping into the person “coincidentally”. 

Yet, she did not manage to bump into him at all despite her efforts. 

Afterward, she asked around for him, yet her efforts were futile as well. 

The person that knocked and injured her seemed to have vanished into thin air! 

Just as Xu Shuangyu was feeling rather dejected and in despair, a second-year post-graduate senior told her, “I’m certain that this person is not from the School of Health Sciences. I won’t say that I’m acquainted with every man in our school, but I’m surely capable of recognizing them.”

Then, Xu Shuangyu asked curiously, “Then how could he be so familiar with pathology and pharmacology?”

The senior chuckled and replied, “What’s strange about that? The School of Health Sciences is not the only school that studies pathology; those from the biology and pharmacy faculties learn it too!”

Xu Shuangyu was immediately enlightened upon hearing the senior’s comment. 

“I see, I see…”

Almost everyone from the entire School of Health Sciences knew about the man that saved another man in the night market. If the person were a medical student, they would all be acquainted with him. 

Hence, there could only be one possibility. The person lied! 

As for the reason behind the lie, if she was not mistaken, he did it so he could earn the patient’s trust as soon as possible. 

Even though Xu Shuangyu understood the reasoning, she was still in a very bad mood when she thought about how she had foolishly searched for him for two days. 

Clearly, there was new hatred that was added to her former resentment. She made up her mind that she must find him and make him compensate her for the injustice that she endured over the days. 

…

It was a warm, bright, sunny day the next morning. Gold-yellow rays of light shone through the green leaves and projected ripples of light spots about the size of coins along the boulevard. It made the plain, dull road turn colorful. 

Shi Lei rushed to the public bus station in the west with a bag in his hand. He had already submitted the tasks that were due in the laboratory the day before, and today was his first day at his new job. He could not allow himself to be late. 

He had just arrived at the entrance when the phone in his pocket rang. It was an unknown number. 

“Hello, who am I speaking to?”

“Hello, my name is Wu Yan. I’m from the laboratory department of the First People’s Hospital.”

Shi Lei spoke on the phone while he walked, “I’m sorry. I’ve already handed over the work in the laboratory to someone else. You may look for him if you need to talk to someone. I will pass you the number…”

Before Shi Lei could finish his sentence, Wu Yan interrupted by saying, “I’m actually looking for you. I have something that I wish to discuss with you in person.”

“I’m sorry. I have some urgent matters to attend to here. I don’t have the time to do that at the moment. Let’s just talk about it on the phone here.”

“Alright, then. This is it. The DNA that you extracted produced amazing results for our experiment. Hence, we would like to hire you to become a full-time laboratory technician for our hospital’s laboratory department’s PCR team. What do you think about that?”

Zhou Wen wrote down Shi Lei’s name as the person-in-charge. As a result, Wu Yan thought that the DNA was extracted by him. 

Shi Lei felt really surprised by Wu Yan’s words. 

A person that could make the laboratory department of the First People’s Hospital took the initiative to reach out to him; it was a massive statement about the quality of the DNA extraction. 

Shi Lei responded in an exploratory manner, “So…”

Wu Yan understood where Shi Lei. She chuckled and added before he could finish his sentence, “You wish to ask about the terms of employment, right? I can only give you a rough reference. It’s about 5000 to 7000 RMB, and we will pay for your six insurances and housing allowance. You should be receiving some remuneration for your house rental, transportation fee, and such. As for the specific terms of employment, you will need to report to the hospital for the civil service examination first. I can’t issue a letter of employment to you yet for the time being.”

Shi Lei felt mixed emotions in his heart upon hearing Wu Yan’s offer. 

He had studied Biology and graduated with a master’s degree. Meanwhile, Zhou Wen graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Shi Lei’s current monthly wage was 5000, with five insurances and a housing fund allowance. With this offer, Zhou Wen’s monthly wage would be 5000 to 7000, with six insurances and a housing fund allowance. He was in the private sector, while Zhou Wen would only be in a public institution. 

More importantly, he got the job through a connection, while Zhou Wen was headhunted. Any fool could tell which one of them had more potential, right?

Frankly, Shi Lei was extremely envious of Zhou Wen. He had no idea how Zhou Wen did it actually. 

“Student Shi, do you think that we can discuss this in person?”

Upon hearing Wu Yan’s question, Shi Lei hesitated for a moment in his heart before he told her the truth. He couldn’t pass off as Zhou Wen anyway. He would be exposed once he started work at the hospital.