An Academic Battle

Following that, Chen Chen and the other two began to kill the white mice used in the experiments.

Although living results were more valuable, it was not as if these experiments could not be replicated. Moreover, the dead mice would be soaked in formalin, making it easier to preserve the evidence.

As the three of them left Mongan Pharmaceutical Company with this hoard of data, the world seemed to be bathed in sunlight. Even the exhaust fumes of vehicles in the city were incomparably invigorating.

"Oh, right."

On the way back, Chen Chen seemed to recall something. He turned to remind Xia Yin, "Remember, if there isn't any need to do so, don't tell anyone about the results of our experiments. Wait until I've submitted the papers."

"Oh, but I've already told my tutor."

Xia Yin stuck out her tongue and said guiltily, "As I applied to delay my return to classes, I directly told my tutor about this. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Forget it then. I'm just being extra cautious." Chen Chen smiled and said nothing else.

Upon reaching the campus, the three of them parted ways. Chen Chen and Wang Wei returned to their dorm.

In the dorm, Wang Wei made a beeline for his bed, muttering that he would never get up again.

These three months of diligent effort had diminished Brother Wei by a few kilograms. Now that the weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he conked out in less than five minutes. 

A soft snore rang out in the dorm.

Chen Chen did not want to waste any time. While the drug was still working, he brought his laptop to his old haunt, the library, and started writing the papers.

A Discussion on the Aging of Stem Cells, Based on the Results of Autologous Stem Cell Therapy and Cloned Stem Cell Therapy.

Rebuilding the Immune System with Mesenchymal Stem Cells Allows SD Rats to Regain Youth.

Chen Chen opened up LaTeX and typed out two titles.

However, on second thought, Chen Chen deleted everything and typed out the titles in English instead.

During this period, Chen Chen did not stop his learning. Whenever he had a spare moment in the three months of experimentation, he flipped through a few academic books, including English.

In addition to his perseverance, the effects of NZT-48 also played a crucial role.

Upon taking NZT-48, one's emotional urges would be suppressed, resulting in extreme rationality. With this state of mind, anyone who was not a complete wastrel could become an exceptionally diligent bookworm.

Since Chen Chen's English had improved over time, he might as well forego the process of writing the papers in Chinese, then translating them into English. He could just write them in English right off the bat.

He did not bring the records of the experiment to the library with him. Still, all the information was already in his head. He could access it anytime he liked.

The two papers would be rather lengthy, totaling around a hundred thousand words. However, it was as if Chen Chen already had a mental outline. All he had to do was list out the experiment process and the resulting data in the right places, then use the appropriate words to connect everything.

With this super efficiency, the process of writing was incomparably swift.

It was as if countless streams of information were flowing through his mind and before his eyes while his fingers typed out one word after another without a single mistake. 

The manner in which each stage of the experiments should be described, the format and layout of the paper, the choice of words, sentence structure, and even terminology – all of these were so accurate that no one would be able to pick out any flaw.

In this way, Chen Chen had finished writing two papers at an astonishing speed before the library was closed…

…

When Chen Chen woke up in his dorm, he experienced an unusually strong headache.

It felt like someone had reached into his skull and kneaded his brain vigorously or his head had turned into a washing machine drum that was spinning frantically.

His thoughts were being blended into smithereens…

Chen Chen forced himself up, staggered to the toilet, and started relieving himself.

However, just when he was peeing, he felt a sudden twist in his stomach, and he vomited violently.

"Cough cough cough!"

His windpipe was choked up with vomit, causing a severe fit of coughing.

Fortunately, there was no one in the dormitory to witness all this.

Chen Chen's applied semester delay was not over yet, so he did not have to wake up early for classes.

"My body…"

After a long while, Chen Chen finally recovered his senses. He braced himself against the sink and stared into the mirror blearily.

In the mirror, a pale youth with a numb expression gazed back at him wordlessly. The youth's hair was disheveled and he looked unspeakably haggard.

"My body is showing signs of NZT-48's side effects…"

Chen Chen murmured to himself.

It had been four months since he had obtained the USB drive and started taking the drug.

Four months was enough time for NZT-48 to begin eroding his body and brain.

These were just the beginning symptoms.

Chen Chen knew that at an intermediate stage, his thoughts would often become scattered. He would forget everything that had happened before as if he suffered memory loss from drinking too much.

If Chen Chen still had not charged the USB drive sufficiently by the time the drug ran out, that would be his expiry date.

"I must speed things up."

Chen Chen croaked hoarsely. Following that, he leaned over the sink and washed himself.

Before he could finish washing up, his phone suddenly rang by his side.

Chen Chen rubbed his eyes and saw that Xia Yin was calling.

After wiping his hands, he picked up the call.

"Chen Chen…"

Over the call, Xia Yin sounded rather gloomy.

"Go on. Ahem!"

When Chen Chen spoke, he found that his voice was hoarse and he hurriedly coughed twice. "What's going on?"

"My, my tutor wants to meet you."

Xia Yin whispered, "I'm sorry…"

Chen Chen's heart plummeted.

In an instant, he understood that the thing which he most wanted to avoid had truly happened.

Xia Yin explained, "I just found out that my tutor knows the person in charge at Mongan Pharmaceutical Company. He learned that I've finished an experiment and called me early this morning, asking about how the experiment ended up…"

"So, you told him?" Chen Chen asked calmly.

"It's all my fault. Can you come over now? I'll wait for you at Office Block Three…"

Xia Yin repeated.

"Alright, I'll be there right away."

With that, Chen Chen hung up.

"Huff, I hate feeling like things are out of my control."

Chen Chen raised his right hand and stared silently at his palm, then looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Currently, for some reason, his eyes in the mirror were dull with a faint bloody gleam.

"So, you want to be credited as the corresponding author?"

Without even guessing, Chen Chen knew what the other guy was thinking.

Xia Yin's tutor was vying for the position of the corresponding author only because he wanted the intellectual property rights. Compared to lead author and second author, this was the most valuable thing.

Of course, if the price was right, it was not a big deal to sell it to someone else. Chen Chen was just afraid that the tutor would try to take advantage of his young age and strip him of what was rightfully his at a very low cost…

If that was the case, no one could blame Chen Chen for whatever happened next.

Chen Chen wordlessly shut his eyes, took out an NZT-48 pill from his undershirt pocket and placed it in his mouth.