“Oh, do you need something?” Jiang Fuyue replied to him in Arabic, her tone cold.
Kaza was taken aback: “…Xie Dingyuan asked me for experimental equipment, for you.”
Her gaze shifted slightly: “Has it all been delivered?”
Uh!
Kaza had originally come to probe this girl’s background and hadn’t planned to be polite, but at this moment, meeting her clear, detached eyes, he inexplicably nodded: “Del-delivered.”
He even stuttered! D*mn it!
“Will you have people help move it in? Or should I go move it myself?”
“…Someone will be responsible.”
“Oh.” Jiang Fuyue nodded. “Do you have anything else?”
Kaza: “?”
“Actually, no… nothing else.”
Jiang Fuyue folded her arms and used her gaze to see him off.
“Then I’ll be going…”
Halfway through, remembering the purpose of this trip, Kaza gritted his teeth and turned back, speaking quickly: “You know Xie Dingyuan? Then you know he has a girlfriend, right?”
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow.
Kaza thought she’d taken it in: “He really likes his girlfriend. Every day he takes out her photo to look at it, so if you have any unrealistic ideas, you should give them up early. Xie Dingyuan doesn’t fall for that.”
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes turned subtle: “You’re saying he looks at the photo every day?”
“Yes! Not only does he look, he also touches it, and while touching it he even smiles.”
Instantly, the girl’s expression became even more subtle.
But Kaza thought he had persuaded her. Satisfied, he nodded and turned to leave.
Two minutes later, he appeared next door.
Facing Xie Dingyuan: “No need to thank me too much.”
The latter: “?” Completely baffled.
……
As new experimental equipment was delivered one after another, Jiang Fuyue became extremely busy.
Inspection, calibration, testing, every step required her personal oversight.
Now the disadvantage of not having a team became apparent: big or small matters, everything had to be done by her own hands.
Fortunately, this batch of equipment was of good quality and didn’t require too much worry.
“New equipment? Where did it come from?”
“How come she gets new ones? We’re still using antiques!”
“On what grounds?”
“Because she’s good-looking? Looks down on everyone?”
“Not fair!”
If previously Jiang Fuyue’s unexplained absenteeism and her seemingly close relationship with Professor Xie and Kaza were still within everyone’s tolerance, at most fodder for gossip, then now this kind of differential treatment inevitably touched a sensitive nerve.
This was no longer about gossip, but about unequal resource allocation!
Dan Pinghua’s old face darkened.
Bai Chuanhao couldn’t help frowning as well.
No matter the circle, there is always a set of established rules.
And Jiang Fuyue’s joining had violated the rules from the very beginning! Now it was actually getting worse?
“Professor Dan! Aren’t you going to do something?”
This time, Dan Pinghua surprisingly didn’t smooth things over: “I’ll go find the person in charge.”
Bai Chuanhao couldn’t sit still either.
Although he didn’t have that big an issue with Jiang Fuyue and wasn’t opposed to working with her, this time it was a matter of principle.
The two of them went together to find Kaza.
After a round of explanation, they concluded: “…Clearly, this is not fair to the other two teams.”
“Fair?” Kaza chuckled softly and shook his head. “There was never absolute fairness in this world to begin with, especially when it comes to resource allocation. Leaving other things aside, just between your two teams, has it ever been completely fair?”
Of course not.
Relying on his seniority and age, Dan Pinghua, despite his team’s overall strength being inferior to Bai Chuanhao’s, still received higher national research subsidies.
Even if the younger generation felt dissatisfied, they didn’t dare say much out loud.
After all, the old fellow did have his own advantages.
But Jiang Fuyue?
What merit did she have?
In terms of seniority, she couldn’t compare to Bai Chuanhao; in terms of strength, she had only three CNS papers, barely passable. But Dan Pinghua, Xu Kuan, even the annoying Xin Hongcheng, who among them didn’t have CNS papers in hand?
If there was one advantage, it was probably youth and limitless potential.
But who can say for sure about potential?
Becoming a dragon or a worm, everything is an unknown.
Bai Chuanhao said, “Although there’s no absolute fairness, relative tilting of resources still needs a reason that convinces people, doesn’t it?”
For example, his strength.
Or Dan Pinghua’s seniority.
“Then what is Jiang Fuyue’s reason?”
Kaza applauded, raised his eyes, and looked straight at Bai Chuanhao: “Good question. You have ideas.”
Bai Chuanhao’s gaze was steady as he calmly met his eyes.
Dan Pinghua spoke at the right moment: “I think that if there isn’t an appropriate reason today, it will be very hard for us and for all the team members to be convinced.”
“Of course, the equipment is provided by the base. Who you choose to favor is your freedom,” Dan Pinghua said in a low, measured tone. “But how everyone thinks about it is no longer something I can control.”
“There’s an old saying in Huaxia—‘Do not worry about scarcity, worry about inequality.’ Crude conditions and outdated equipment can all be overcome, but unfair distribution and scattered morale cannot be salvaged. Officer Kaza, do you understand this principle?”
For Dan Pinghua to have made it to his current position, it had to be said—he did have some real skill.
Just listen to that meaningful tone and those pointed words, an old yin-yang master indeed, wielding Taiji and Bagua with consummate finesse.
That kind of posturing and affectation, if it were Bai Chuanhao, he definitely wouldn’t be able to pull it off.
Kaza, as a mixed-race man with half Huaxia blood, had been influenced by his mother since childhood. Not only could he speak Chinese, he was also well-versed in traditional Huaxia culture.
Naturally, he knew exactly what “do not worry about scarcity, worry about inequality” meant.
He raised his eyes, his calm gaze sweeping over Dan Pinghua and Bai Chuanhao: “The tilting of resources toward Jiang Fuyue naturally has its reasons…”
Dan Pinghua narrowed his eyes.
Bai Chuanhao also pricked up his ears.
Kaza said lightly, “She intends to research a live attenuated vaccine. Before this, no team has attempted it. That means there’s no reference data and no existing equipment. The base is adding new equipment for her, what’s the problem with that?”
He said a long paragraph, but when Dan Pinghua and Bai Chuanhao heard the very first sentence, their minds were already blank.
She wants to research a live attenuated vaccine?!
Not improving a recombinant vaccine, but researching a live attenuated vaccine?!
H-how could this be?
Does Jiang Fuyue know what she’s doing?
How does she dare?!
“Nonsense!” Dan Pinghua slammed the table and stood up, roaring in anger. “She’s gone mad, does the base have to go mad along with her?!”
Kaza’s face was expressionless, his tone turning cold: “Professor Dan, please control your emotions. If you can’t, I will have someone escort you out. We can talk again once you’ve calmed down.”
Dan Pinghua took a deep breath, reason returning: “Sorry. But you can’t do this!”
“Oh?”
“If live attenuated vaccines were so easy to develop successfully, why have none of the virus laboratories and research teams around the world, big or small, published any results in this area to date? There are even pitifully few related papers.”
Kaza followed up smoothly: “Why is that?”
“Because live attenuated vaccines simply cannot succeed! Those who’ve touched it have already backed off; those who haven’t should learn from the lessons of the former, and know what should be done and what should not be done!”
Kaza said, “Professor Dan, I think you need to understand one thing: in this world, there is nothing that is absolutely impossible.”
“Ha, just her—Jiang Fuyue? Alone? Without any team? Without any achievements? And she wants to crack a problem that global experts and scholars have been unable to solve?”
This is too absurd!
“If the base supports her, then all the investment and effort will go down the drain! If you don’t believe it, just wait and see, I’ll put my words here first.”
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
Bai Chuanhao didn’t say anything either, and followed him out.
On the way back, he remained in a daze the whole time, his mind echoing over and over with that one sentence—
She wants to research a live attenuated vaccine.
It looped endlessly, like a demonic chant reverberating.
“Old Bai? Old Bai?!” Xu Kuan leaned over to his ear and even waved a hand in front of his eyes.
“…Huh? Go on.”
“What’s going on? You went out once and came back with a completely different expression, spacing out nonstop. By the way, did you and Professor Dan get any results from seeing Kaza? Did he agree to replace our equipment too? If not, adding a few new ones would be fine! Jiang Fuyue’s stuff is really making people jealous.”
Bai Chuanhao shook his head.
Xu Kuan: “What do you mean? He didn’t agree? No, why not?”
“Because she wants to research a live attenuated vaccine.”
Xu Kuan waved his hand, clicked his tongue: “Tch—who cares what she’s researching, live attenuated vaccines aren’t even…” useful.
His voice halted abruptly, cut off mid-sentence.
Xu Kuan’s eyes widened, shock filling them: “What did you say she wants to research?”
Bai Chuanhao: “Live attenuated vaccines.”
“D*mn! Has she lost her mind?!”
That had been Dan Pinghua’s first reaction as well.
Bai Chuanhao: “Whether she’s lost her mind or not, I don’t know but I’m about to lose mine.”
Xu Kuan muttered blankly: “I’m not far behind.”
At lunchtime, Xu Kuan deliberately seized the chance and followed behind Jiang Fuyue.
He still couldn’t believe it, so he planned to ask her personally.
Just as he was about to step forward, he saw Dan Pinghua walking toward Jiang Fuyue from another direction and stopping in front of her.
The two of them said something, no one knew what, but Dan Pinghua was clearly very agitated, spittle flying everywhere. That last sentence was almost roared out with all his strength—
“You’re simply overestimating yourself!”
Jiang Fuyue replied calmly: “That’s not something you need to worry about.”
Dan Pinghua turned away angrily and strode off, as if looking at her for one more second would pollute his eyes.
There was no emotion on Jiang Fuyue’s face. Compared to Dan Pinghua’s fury, she was calm to the point of being abnormal.
“Come out.”
Xu Kuan froze. The next second, the girl’s clear, cool gaze landed on his face.
So he’d been discovered long ago.
He coughed lightly and walked out, his expression somewhat awkward.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eaves—” listen.
Jiang Fuyue cut him off: “What is it? Say it directly.”
Xu Kuan: “Do you really plan to research a live attenuated vaccine?”
“Mm.” She admitted it openly, without hiding anything.
Xu Kuan was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.
So she really had been holding back a big move and it really was a trump card.
The moment she laid it on the table, it was aimed straight at blinding everyone.
“…Why?” Xu Kuan didn’t understand. “You don’t choose the easy path, but insist on choosing the hardest one?”
“Because the greatest scenery lies at the perilous peak.”
After saying that, Jiang Fuyue strode away, leaving Xu Kuan alone, standing there dumbly, unable to react for a long while.
The greatest scenery…
At the perilous peak?
In less than a day, the news that Jiang Fuyue was researching a live attenuated vaccine spread throughout the two experimental zones.
On Xie Dingyuan’s side—
“A newborn calf isn’t afraid of tigers, but honestly speaking, calves usually don’t end well, most of them get eaten.”
“Who? That bold?”
“That great beauty who often comes over here to look for Professor Xie, Jiang Fuyue!”
“Her? Live attenuated vaccine? You’re kidding, right?”
“This tough bone even Professor Xie hasn’t managed to bite into, and she’s boldly trying to gnaw at it.”
“All you can say is that her courage is commendable.”
“I suspect she’s here to be a joke.”
“Just wait and see, she’ll probably give up in a couple of days.”
The road of research is long and arduous, how could a little girl like her endure it!
Next door, the members of Dan Pinghua’s and Bai Chuanhao’s two teams exploded—
“Am I deaf? Why am I hearing ‘live attenuated vaccine’?”
“I heard it too.”
“+2”
“What did Professor Dan say? Huh? Where’s Professor Dan?”
“The professor said early this morning that his chest hurt, so he didn’t come to the experimental area and is resting in the dorm.”
“Was he angered by Jiang Fuyue and the base’s series of outrageous moves?”
“Very likely! I heard that when the professor went to see Officer Kaza yesterday, they got into an argument, really loud.”
“How do you know?”
“Old Huang heard it when he went out for a smoke.”
Old Huang nodded. “Mm-hmm!”
“Is Old Huang reliable? Last time he also said, while smoking, that he saw Professor Xie carrying Jiang Fuyue. In the end, that scoop turned out to be nothing. Could this be wrong again?”
Old Huang: “……” I’ve never been wrong! It’s just that you people don’t believe me! It’s too hard!
Huang Huang felt wronged.
“……”
“So the news is all true, Jiang Fuyue is going to research a live attenuated vaccine?”
“Something this big shouldn’t be a rumor.”
“Is her brain broken?”
“And the base supports her doing this? What’s the person in charge thinking? Anyone with a bit of common sense knows how difficult it is to research a new vaccine. Jiang Fuyue has no chance of succeeding!”
“The equipment’s already been delivered, what do you think?”
“If she just wants to show how unconventional she is, there’s no need to use this method.”
“Leaving academic standards aside, there’s something wrong with her character as a person!”
“It’s impossible to succeed.”
“I think so too…”
Only Xu Kuan, amid this chorus of pessimism, was lost in thought.
The entire night, he couldn’t fall asleep.
Whenever he closed his eyes, Jiang Fuyue’s calm and composed appearance would surface in his mind.
Judging from her reaction at the time, she had clearly anticipated what the situation would become once the news spread.
Yet she remained unhurried, fearless.
That confidence radiating from within, that sense of holding victory in her grasp, made her seem as if she were glowing.
Especially that line—“The greatest scenery lies at the perilous peak”—it rang out forcefully, deafeningly loud.
“Old Bai, maybe she’ll succeed…”
“What?”
Xu Kuan turned his head, looked at him, and enunciated each word clearly: “Maybe Jiang Fuyue will succeed.”
Bai Chuanhao let out a soft chuckle and shook his head with certainty: “You’re thinking too simply.”
If success were that easy, then what would all their efforts count for?
Jiang Fuyue was indeed a genius, but even geniuses have peaks they cannot surmount.
She wasn’t that strong.
At least, in Bai Chuanhao’s view, she still wasn’t enough.
……
No matter how others discussed it, Jiang Fuyue wasn’t affected in the slightest.
At this moment, she was sitting with Xie Dingyuan on the base’s rampart, watching the sunset.
The sun slowly sank westward, a warm orange-red, round and whole, like an egg yolk.
The wind rose, yellow sand swirling.
The setting sun, the desert, dusk, sunset, interwoven into a painting.
Suddenly, she extended her hand toward Xie Dingyuan.
“What?” The man froze.
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