Was data produced this quickly reliable?
All the senior leaders had this doubt in their hearts.
So this set of data and the report were handed over to the most authoritative Doctor X and the scientific research team for review.
In the end,
“The experimental logic is clear, the conclusion data accurate, and the steps reasonable and standardized.”
It was hard to believe this had actually been completed by a single person!
Research team representative: “Unbelievable.”
“Ah Yuan, back then you didn’t have this kind of efficiency either, did you? This rising wave is really rolling hard, about to crash straight onto you, the former wave. You’d better watch out!”
Xie Dingyuan held the report in his hand. Hearing this, he was unconcerned, clearly not taking it to heart.
The other party felt he was overly confident, even somewhat underestimating the situation, and could only shake his head helplessly.
Little did he know that what Xie Dingyuan was thinking at that moment was,
The rising wave is my wife. What crashing, what rolling? We’re all family.
I’d be happy even if I got hit!
If that old professor knew he was thinking this way, the glasses on his nose bridge would probably shatter from falling.
So what if you have a wife?
Xie Dingyuan: It really is that impressive!
……
With the success of the first phase of the second-stage experiments, the news came out. Everyone was stunned, yet Jiang Fuyue was not surprised at all.
“It’s only been how long? How did the first-phase experimental data already come out?”
“Did Jiang Fuyue ride a rocket?!”
“Fake, right? If I remember correctly, it’s only been seven days. She alone finished so many experiments?”
“D*mn, Is she an octopus spirit or something? With tentacles, too?”
“Is the news reliable? Did it really succeed? Don’t tell me it’s just a rumor?”
“The higher-ups personally stamped it, how could it be fake?”
“I heard even they were shocked and completely couldn’t believe Jiang Fuyue could finish a first-phase experiment in such a short time.”
“If this pace continues, it won’t take long at all to develop the vaccine…”
“One word, awesome!”
“Truly impressive. No wonder she was so arrogant from the start.”
“What arrogance? That’s such an ugly way to put it! That’s called ‘a genius’s restraint and pride,’ thank you very much!”
“Hey, between Jiang Fuyue and our Professor Xie, who’s more impressive?”
“Hard to say… but ginger gets spicier with age, right?”
“So our professor just has the advantage of being ‘old,’ then?”
Is that really an advantage?
“Ahem! Ahem ahem ahem!”
“Is your throat uncomfortable? I’ve got medicine here, have one.”
“Hello, Professor!” Seeing that hinting didn’t work, the violently coughing person could only say it outright.
A light “Mm” came from behind.
The one who had said “old” felt his back stiffen instantly, cold sweat pouring down.
In the end, he still turned around, plastered on an awkward smile, and stammered out, “P-professor… hello!”
Xie Dingyuan glanced at him and accurately called out his name.
It was over, his back stiffened even more, and the cold sweat increased.
“That joke wasn’t bad.”
Leaving behind such an ambiguous remark, Xie Dingyuan clasped his hands behind his back and walked away.
“?” Was the professor praising me? Probably… right?
……
While everyone was discussing and the higher-ups were still shocked, Jiang Fuyue had already started the second-phase experiments without pausing.
In March, the spring breeze swept across the land, and new shoots began to sprout from the grass gridwork on the embankments.
The withered yellow gradually faded away, replaced by tender green.
The Schankwo virus, however, was still raging across the land of Continent F. Due to the inactivated vaccine’s vaccination rate failing to meet standards, coupled with the continuous emergence of new strains and the prevalence of seasonal influenza in spring, multiple epidemic areas saw concentrated outbreaks, and the situation gradually slipped out of control.
As the number of infections surged sharply, people’s emotions also began to spiral out of control under the torment of death.
First, riots broke out frequently in the epidemic zones. The Su side responded actively, dispatching troops from the base to suppress them.
After that, similar situations successively appeared in several other epidemic zones.
Kaza was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, personally leading troops out many times.
With this movement, the situation across the entire northern part of Continent F also began to tense up.
……
As early as late February, Ming University had already started the semester.
Unfortunately, Jiang Fuyue couldn’t return.
It could only be handled by the relevant departments of Huaxia stepping in, providing written explanations to the university and securing half a year for Jiang Fuyue. Externally, it was uniformly described as going abroad for an exchange program.
This explanation was also noted in her academic records.
After the project ended, it would be revised again.
This was considered an explanation to the school.
But what gave the higher-ups a headache was how to explain things to Jiang Fuyue’s family.
Two days before Lunar New Year’s Eve, Jiang Da and Han Yunru brought Jiang Chenxing to the imperial capital, planning to spend the New Year with the old master at the Han family home.
That night, the Spring Festival Gala was playing on television. The whole family happily stayed up for the New Year, reunited together. With Jiang Fuyue missing, the day inevitably carried a touch of melancholy and regret.
Just then, the old master suddenly took out his phone, clamoring to call Yueyue.
The whole family immediately gathered around, waiting for the call to connect.
But all they got was a cold, mechanical “Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off.”
At the time, Jiang Da and Han Yunru already sensed something was wrong, but they didn’t show it.
They called again the next day, sure enough, it was still powered off.
Now, the whole family’s hearts were lifted into their throats.
“How could it be powered off?” Jiang Da’s brows knitted into deep creases.
“By the timing, the plane should have landed a day ago already!” Han Yunru was so anxious her eyes reddened, tears shimmering. “Could something have happened?”
Han Shen patted her back, offering some comfort: “Don’t panic yet. Maybe the phone just broke, or the local signal is too poor. I’ll make a call and ask around.”
“Okay.”
Han Shen began using his network of connections to inquire about the situation.
Han Ke didn’t stay idle either. He also knew quite a few high-level figures; he just didn’t know whether any of them were responsible for matters related to the assistance team for Continent F.
During this time, the unease in Han Yunru’s heart kept growing.
Jiang Chenxing was also extremely anxious, all kinds of sudden accidents popping into his mind, air crashes, epidemics, armed kidnappings, and so on.
But aside from worrying himself sick, there was nothing he could do!
Never before had he wished so much to grow up quickly like he did now.
At least then, when his sister was in danger, he could be like his two uncles, someone to turn to, some way to think of solutions.
Twenty minutes later,
Han Shen shook his head dejectedly: “I asked around, there’s no news at all.”
But from another perspective, no news was good news.
Soon, Han Ke also put away his phone: “This assistance operation Yueyue is participating in involves certain classified matters. The upper levels are keeping things very tight.”
Han Yunru instantly grew tense: “What do you mean by involving classified matters? Isn’t it just a simple assistance operation? Just like those volunteers on TV, handing out supplies and such, right?”
Han Ke’s gaze flickered slightly; the tightly pressed corner of his mouth revealed a hint of seriousness.
“Second Brother?” Han Yunru held her breath.
Jiang Da also stared at him with burning eyes.
Han Ke clenched his teeth: “This time, Yueyue went with a research team, not as a volunteer.”
“Is there a difference?”
“If I’m not mistaken, Yueyue and her group should have gone to research the Schankwo virus…”
“What?!” Han Yunru swayed, nearly collapsing.
Fortunately, Jiang Da reacted quickly, supporting her and pulling her into his arms: “Ah Ru? Pull yourself together!”
“It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!” Han Yunru’s tears surged out. “When she said she would come into contact with patients, I thought she was just a volunteer, wearing a mask, taking proper protection measures, it couldn’t be too dangerous. I never thought she was actually going to research the virus!”
“Why didn’t I ask more clearly back then? It’s all my fault! If I’d known it was like this, even if I had to tie her up, I would’ve kept her here! It’s all my fault…”
Jiang Da gently wiped the tears from her face with his rough fingertips. “No, Ah Ru, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know, none of us knew…”
What’s more, once Yueyue had made up her mind to go, no one could stop her.
Jiang Da might be simple and not very clever, but he understood his daughter.
“Ah Ru, don’t cry anymore…” Han Heng was equally anxious, irritably raking his fingers through his hair. “Big brother, second brother, do you have any way to contact Yueyue? At least let us know she’s safe right now.”
At this moment, the old master, who hadn’t spoken all along, stomped his cane and finally spoke: “Ah Ru, don’t panic yet. Now isn’t the time to cry.” As he spoke, he shot Jiang Da a look, signaling him to persuade her a bit.
Then he went straight upstairs to the study to make a phone call.
This call took quite a while, but it was clearly more effective than Han Shen’s and Han Ke’s.
In the end, it was confirmed: “Yueyue is currently at a certain military base in Suweitan. She’s very safe. Because of regulations, all signals are completely blocked, so the outside world can’t contact her.”
Only then did the family finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Han Yunru nodded repeatedly. “As long as she’s safe, that’s good, that’s good… Then did they say when she’ll be back?”
The old master fell silent.
“Dad?”
“…They only said her return date is undetermined.”
Han Shen frowned. “One or two months is an undetermined return date; ten or eight years is also an undetermined return date. Can’t they give a definite answer?”
Han Qishan let out a heavy sigh. “I asked. It involves confidentiality regulations, they wouldn’t disclose anything.”
As soon as Han Yunru heard this, her heart tightened again.
“Dad,” she grabbed Han Qishan’s hand, gripping it so hard her whole body trembled, “can you let Yueyue come back?”
This was asking him to use his connections.
The old master looked at his daughter, whom he owed so much to. In the end, love and guilt won out. He gritted his teeth and agreed: “I’ll try.”
For the following week, the old master spent most of his time in the study, making phone call after phone call.
Originally, things were almost settled.
But right at the final step, something unexpected happened.
“Old friend, for the sake of our decades-long friendship, I’ll give you a bit of insider truth. Your granddaughter is remarkable. I can’t say much about the specifics, but in short, at the beginning she was dispensable, now she’s indispensable! Originally, I could still find a way to send her back to you, but now I can’t.”
With things said to this extent, Han Qishan knew there was no way to force it.
“You don’t need to get stuck in a dead end. If this battle is won, your granddaughter’s future will be boundless, nothing but a bright road ahead! If I were you, I’d be secretly smiling already. What’s there to sigh about?”
Han Qishan was like a fuse had been lit, he exploded instantly. “You don’t know sh*t! Whether a child is successful or not isn’t important, what’s important is peace and health! She’s not your family, so of course you don’t feel the pain, but I do!”
The other end twitched his mouth. “Yes, yes, you care, you care the most…”
“Easy for you to say when it’s not happening to you! How about you send that kid of yours to F Continent to mess around with viruses and see how it feels? I’m afraid you’d cry yourself awake even in your sleep!” Han Qishan continued to blow up.
“I’d love to send him to toughen up. The problem is, he doesn’t have that kind of ability… If my kid were as capable as your granddaughter, I’d have thrown him out long ago to take a beating from reality. Without a diamond cutter, you don’t take on porcelain work.”
It wasn’t sarcasm, he was genuinely envious.
“You tell me, Han Qishan, you muddled through the first half of your life, lost your daughter, then lost your wife; the second half hasn’t exactly been wise and clear-headed either, so how is it that you just happened to get such an incredible granddaughter for free?”
“How incredible?”
“She’s gotten the attenuated live, uh! Trying to get information out of me? Not saying any more, not saying any more, if I keep talking, I’ll be violating regulations!”
In the end, Han Qishan solemnly asked one question: “Can you guarantee her safety? For the sake of our decades-long friendship, I want the truth.”
The other side let out a low sigh. “…Old Han, where in this world is there absolute safety? You could be walking down the street and get hit by something thrown from above, let alone doing virus research in an epidemic zone. But I can promise you this: we will do everything in our power to ensure she returns home safely and enjoys all the honors she deserves!”
When Han Qishan relayed this to Han Yunru, he told half the truth and concealed the other half, sharing the good news but not the worries, finally managing to calm her down.
But Han Yunru insisted on knowing a specific time. Unable to resist her, the old master lied and said she would be back when the semester started.
Now, the semester had long since begun, yet there hadn’t been a single phone call from her daughter, nor had anyone seen her. Far away in Linhuai, Han Yunru completely lost her composure.
“Didn’t you say she’d be back when school started? It’s already been a week since classes began… I’m going to the capital! Right now!”
Back then, she was willing to return to Linhuai and stay put precisely because she believed her daughter would be back very soon.
But now…
“You were lying to me, weren’t you?”
Jiang Da had no choice but to comfort his wife on one side while urging his father-in-law on the other.
“Dad, I can barely hold Ah Ru back anymore. Do you still have no news about Yueyue?”
Han Qishan was troubled as well, worried about his daughter on one hand, and concerned about Jiang Fuyue on the other.
Phone call after phone call went out, yet there was still no news.
“Old Han, I’m not hiding things from you, it’s just that now even I don’t know the specific situation.”
“How could you not know? Haven’t you always been in charge of this area?”
The other side fell silent for a long time. “…To tell you the truth, an even higher-level department has taken over all of Jiang Fuyue’s information. I no longer have the authority to intervene.”
Han Qishan was badly shaken. “Even someone at your level doesn’t have the authority?”
“Yes. Otherwise, why would I say your granddaughter is impressive? The outcome may be even more… remarkable than we imagined.”
“That’s all I can say. Don’t call me again! You keep nagging and nagging all day, so annoying I’m about to die!”
In truth, it was because his heart hurt too much, he didn’t want to see Han Qishan.
The moment he heard his voice, his sense of imbalance flared up. Others might not know what Jiang Fuyue was doing, but he knew perfectly well!
Before, he felt this little girl might not necessarily succeed, so his mindset hadn’t been so unbalanced.
Now, however, she was completely unstoppable…
This time, the sourness had no limits at all!
Why didn’t Heaven give him a granddaughter as outstanding as Jiang Fuyue’s? A grandson would’ve been fine too!
He’d competed with Han Qishan for half a lifetime, one in politics, one in business. When they were young, they compared abilities, families, children. He’d always thought he’d never lost.
In the end, in old age, he lost completely when it came to the grandchildren.
How could anyone accept that?
After getting a definite answer from his old friend, Han Qishan turned around and told Han Yunru.
“…Remarkable?” she murmured in a daze.
Remarkable in what way?
“Ah Ru, Yueyue is an eagle soaring in the sky, not a sparrow perched on a branch. You have to be mentally prepared to let go and let her fly.”
“Children all grow up one day. They always have to leave their parents and their home.”
“Do you understand?”
Just like when the old master found her again, no matter how reluctant or unwilling he was, he ultimately respected her choice and let her stay in Linhuai to live her life with Jiang Da, rather than forcibly bringing her back to the capital.
Han Yunru should treat Jiang Fuyue the same way.
Too much reluctance would only become shackles binding a child. Could she bear to see her only stare blankly at the sky, unable to spread her wings and fly with all her strength?
That night, Han Yunru lay awake all night. Jiang Da stayed silently by her side the entire time.
But after that, she never again mentioned going to the capital or calling Jiang Fuyue back.
The couple’s life gradually returned to normal.
……
Let’s set aside domestic matters for now and return to F Continent.
On March 10th, twelve days after the completion of the first-phase experiments, the second-phase experimental data was released, along with an analysis report, and delivered to the senior leadership on both the Su and Chinese sides.
It was then handed over to Doctor X and the research team for review and verification.
This phase of experiments was even more complex than the previous one.
The steps were also far more cumbersome.
But the results were shocking,
Not a single piece of data was wrong!
On March 18th, only eight days after the second-phase experiments, the third-phase experimental data and analysis report were released, likewise verified as correct.
At this point, the project’s second stage came to an end, and the first Schankwo attenuated live vaccine was born!
“So she really did pull it off.” The moment Dan Pinghua received the news, he collapsed into a chair, his entire body drained of strength.
Xin Hongcheng shook his head. “Th-this… how is that possible? It hasn’t even been two months! How could it be?”
Old Huang wiped away his sweat, his back bending further.
The person they once looked down on now stood at an even higher place, becoming an existence they could only look up to.
However, Jiang Fuyue did not sink into complacency or slack off. Instead, she immediately launched into the project’s third stage, the vaccine efficacy trials!
The F Continent side is almost finished.
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