Chapter 26

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The laboratory department was in a tense state for two days due to the filoviridae virus incident. 

The Food City where they had their dinner had been sealed off entirely while the exotic food restaurant’s boss was rumored to be taken in for investigation. 

The virus storm passed just like that. However, it was a crushing blow to Zhou Wen’s mental state. He clearly realized how fragile mankind was when confronted by a virus. At the same time, he had also learned that medication played a quintessential role in the medical industry. 

It would not be an exaggeration to say that a pharmacist was the uncrowned king!

Wednesday was Zhou Wen’s day off. Unfortunately, there was still no news about his employment status. Zhou Wen regretted the outcome in his heart. He would not have chosen this mission had he known. He might as well spend the time accumulating experience in the library. 

Later that day, he began pondering on the topic of his thesis. 

Frankly, he had been thinking about this all week during work. He came up with an idea to reduce the reproduction of rice root aphid using genetic modification. 

He would not have had the courage to even think about this topic before he acquired the system because the primary method of genetic modification involved spraying heavy metal chemical or biochemical on the leaves of the paddy plant and letting the rice root aphid consume it in small amounts then observing its hereditary traits to determine if there was any genetic mutation. 

It was a long process. 

A rice root aphid needed ten days for each reproduction cycle. Moreover, one would need to carry out the experiment countless times in order to observe the genetic mutation in the rice root aphid while also monitoring and studying the subject continuously during the period. 

If the pharmaceutical companies had his time, they would rather perform research on organochlorine pesticide, which was faster and more profitable. However, it was a different situation now. He could use his points to speed up the experiment process. 

The reproduction cycle of ten days would only take one minute for him. In fact, he could even complete it in one second.

Adding the time spent in the observation center, he would be able to perform two sets of experiments in one day, at the very least. Even a large-scale laboratory was akin to a giant in the presence of a supergiant like him. 

The only concern was the points that would be utilized. 

After careful consideration, he decided to choose the thesis title – ‘Genetic Modification of Rice Root Aphid.’ 

If he could succeed in this, it would be a great thing that could benefit the country and its people. 

Then. he headed over to the laboratory at nine in the morning. 

After being in the prestigious hospital’s laboratory department, Zhou Wen felt unaccustomed to the simple and unsophisticated laboratory in the university. 

It was all quiet in the laboratory, with only Yang Yudong and Gu Hongyun around. 

Zhou Wen’s arrival amused Yang Yudong. He said, “Hey there, busy man. How come you’re free to come here today?”

Zhou Wen smiled and said, “It’s my day off.”

To which Gu Hongyun replied smilingly, “Oh, you have a day off now. I’m so jealous and envious of you.”

Zhou Wen chuckled and said, “I’m a single man, and there’s nothing to be envious of. I’m envious of married couples like you!”

They chatted leisurely for a while before Zhou Wen asked Yang Yudong, “Are you familiar with the people from the chemical laboratory?”

Yang Yudong joined the students’ club in the past, so he had a relatively wide social circle. He said, “Yes, I do. What do you want?”

Zhou Wen answered, “I want to get some chemicals for my experiment.”

“I see. I shall give you a phone number.” Yang Yudong called out a series of numbers as he spoke. “You can tell him that you are my junior from the same course. You can tell him whatever chemical you want him to make for you. His name is Lu Qing.”

“Sure…” Zhou Wen saved the number. “Thanks a lot.”

“What’s there to thank anyway? It’s just a small matter.”

Zhou Wen chatted with them for a while more before he left the laboratory. 

He was in a rush to make the call. This was because he needed an extensive range of chemicals in large quantities. Also, he could not just have the person make it for him free of charge just because of Yang Yudong’s reputation. He needed to make some form of payment. 

He bought a pack of Dunhill cigarettes from the campus store and withdrew 500 bucks of cash. In fact, he obtained the money from a cash advance account. 

Soon afterward, he made a call to Lu Qing. After introducing themselves, Lu Qing agreed to meet up with him. They agreed to meet in front of the academic building of the School of Chemical Sciences. 

Zhou Wen explained about his requests rather straightforwardly. 

Although Lu Qing was still smiling in the beginning, the smile quickly faded when he heard the number of chemicals requested by Zhou Wen. There was a look of impatience in his eyes. 

‘We may be friends, but it’s not an excuse for you to treat me as free labor.’

‘Moreover, these chemical reagents are not cheap if you were to purchase it!’

Meanwhile, Zhou Wen passed the black plastic bag in his hand to Lu Qing and said with a smile, “Thank you for taking the trouble, Brother Lu. This is a small token of appreciation for your hard work.”

“Oh, no need, no need…” Lu Qing’s dim expression faded when he realized that Zhou Wen was a generous man. “It’s just a small favor, why are you…”

A stick of cigarette worth 200 bucks would only suffice for two days’ at most. As for how many chemicals he could make, it would depend on his mood. 

“I should; I should…” Zhou Wen pushed the black plastic bag back to Lu Qing’s hand, pretending to return his money. “Sorry for bothering you, Brother Lu. I shall treat you to a meal when I’m done with my thesis.”

“You’re too courteous.”

“Alright, then. Don’t let me hold you up, Brother Lu. I shall leave now.”

“Sure, sure, sure. Goodbye.”

“Mmhmm…”

Lu Qing waited until Zhou Wen vanished from the street before he turned around and walked two steps forward. He then opened the black plastic bag in his hand. 

The word ‘Dunhill’ came into view. Lu Qing’s eyes lit up, and the smile on his face spread rapidly. “Not bad, not bad. This little junior is quite generous.”

Meanwhile, he noticed a few red notes slipped into the side of the cigarette box. He took it out and counted to find that it was worth 500 RMB. 

Lu Qing beamed with joy at once! 

‘I must fulfill the little junior’s request to the best of my abilities!’

… 

Zhou Wen began to search for the latest information he could find from the internet as he began preparing for his thesis. 

He bustled about for the entire day, and very soon, the day had passed. 

At night, Chen Ziyuan treated him to a meal at the luxurious restaurant outside the campus. As for the reason why he treated him to the meal, it was very simple as well. He met a girl through an online game and wanted to introduce her to everyone. 

The girl had a fair complexion and a beautiful face with graceful mannerisms. She was a local too. 

The few of them ordered food frantically, fueled by jealousy and envy. 

Meanwhile, Chen Ziyuan’s face turned pale. “Hey, let’s just order one of the roasted baby pigeons; we can’t possibly finish everything you ordered…”

“According to scientific research, it is discovered that the nutritional value of abalone is less than a chicken egg…”

Chen Ziyuan had his hand over his chest when the meal was ordered. “I should have treated all of you to spicy hotpot tonight.”

Liu Yukun sniggered and said, “The spicy seafood hotpot along West Street? You’ll sure have fun paying for a meal that costs 100 RMB. Shall we try out the place tomorrow?”

“Go away…”

“Hah-hah-hah…”

The girl’s name was Xiao Lingling, and she was only 19 years old. She was a first-year student in the School of Foreign Languages, and she was an extrovert who was also an enthusiastic and chatty person. She mixed freely with the girlfriends of Zhang Wei and Deer Maiden. 

“I have a high school friend who is studying in Jiangzhou University’s School of Health Sciences. Her name is Xu Shuangyu; do you know her?”

Zhou Wen, who was feasting on fish, suddenly raised his head and asked, “What’s her name again?”

Xiao Lingling said smilingly, “Xu Shuangyu. Her surname ‘Xu’ is the same as Dan Renxu’s name, and her name ‘Shuangyu’ means Pisces in Chinese. Do you know her?”

“Oh… Uh…” Zhou Wen could not refrain himself from cursing about how the world was too f*ck*ng small. 

Nevertheless, soon afterward, he denied. “No.”

“Click…” Xiao Lingling raised her phone and snapped a photo of Zhou Wen. Then, she recorded her voice, saying, “Old classmate, look who I have here?”

Zhou Wen hastily called out aloud, “Damn it! Delete it, quick…”

Xiao Lingling giggled and said, “You said you’re not acquainted with her, right? Then why are you panicking so much? Could it be that both of you are…”

Zhou Wen rubbed his nose. “How am I panicking? I just don’t want to add on to my list of worries.”

“So, you’re saying that you know her?”

Xiao Lingling stared at Zhou Wen before she giggled and continued, “Xu Shuangyu is an authentic beauty with fair complexion. She is also rather wealthy. Uncle, could it be that you’re not interested in her? Let me tell you this… If you can date her, you will not need to push yourself in your career for the next 30 years, at the very least!”

Upon saying that, Xiao Lingling and the rest of the group cast a deadly glance at Zhou Wen. 

Zhou Wen replied, “Don’t look at me; I really don’t know her.”

“Oh, Old Zhou, you’re a bore. Since you already have a girlfriend, why are you hiding her from us?”

“That’s right. Could it be that you’re afraid that we might try to take her away from you?”

“That might be true. Yukun is famous for helping himself to his friend’s partners. It’s not that you’re incapable of seizing others’ girlfriends anyway.”

“B*llsh*t. I’m a young, good-looking man who can get any woman I want. Do I need to seize another person’s girlfriend? You’re insulting my moral character tremendously.”

“Do you have any moral character?”

“Don’t I?”

“No…”

“Hush…” Xiao Lingling made a quiet gesture to beckon everyone to be silent. “The beauty Xu has replied.”

The crowd quieted down instantaneously. 

A crisp, sweet voice was heard coming from the phone. “Who’s that? I don’t know him.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Poof… Hah-hah-hah…”

Soon afterward, the group broke into clamorous laughter. 

Later, Xu Shuangyu showed up after Chen Ziyuan’s constant urging and Xiao Lingling’s profuse invitation. 

She still looked like her usual self. She was dressed in a loose red sweater, a pair of baggy jeans, and a pair of white canvas shoes. She even had a baseball cap on her head. Her simple outfit made her look young, lively, and adorable. 

Of course, it was mainly due to her beauty too. 

She had pitch black, crystal clear, huge eyes with soft, plump red lips, and a cute little button nose in addition to her smooth cheeks and beautiful jawline, as well as her facial complexion that was so delicately fine. She was a living and walking true beauty. 

A girl like her would look good in anything. Even if a gunny sack was sheathed over her body, one could not help but stare at her. 

If a 200-pound chubby girl dressed in the same outfit, she would be described as an ugly b*tch creating trouble.