Interstellar president (17): Enthusiastic citizen Zhou Qinghao.

Qin Zhao and Clement agreed that Director Zhang was right—their teacher really was someone who got distracted by love.

Wait, that wasn’t the main point right now.

Did they miss something just now? Did Director Zhang say the experiment was a success?

The experiment was a success?!

Clement asked, “Director Zhang, did you just say the experiment succeeded?”

“Yes,” Director Zhang replied. “After the patient was injected with the gene agent prepared by Gu Juntian, he recovered. However, his genes have undergone some unknown changes, so we’ll need to observe him for a while.”

After using the gene agent, Commander Qian’s body indeed recovered and even became extremely strong, but his genetic structure had changed to some extent, and there might be side effects.

The gene agent could not be widely used yet; they needed to conduct more experiments on other people to confirm its safety.

Once there were enough experimental samples, it could be promoted—after all, countless patients suffering from genetic collapse syndrome were waiting for this drug to save their lives.

For a drug like this, even being delayed by a single day could mean the loss of many lives. Director Zhang hoped it could be released as soon as possible.

No wonder Gu Juntian was in such a hurry to produce results—now he was anxious too!

Wait, Gu Juntian didn’t seem to be that anxious.

Even after creating the first gene agent and with clinical trials scheduled that night, Gu Juntian still made time to be with his boyfriend and wasn’t even answering messages!

Right, Zhou Qinghao also had genetic collapse syndrome. Was Gu Juntian in such a rush because of Zhou Qinghao?

Director Zhang fell silent at the thought.

But he had to admit—Gu Juntian was a genius.

Thinking this, Director Zhang turned to Clement and Qin Zhao. “Since we can’t get in touch with your teacher right now, let’s try again tomorrow. In the meantime, come help me.”

All the physical changes Commander Qian experienced after using the gene agent had been recorded by the medical pod.

They now had a massive amount of data to analyze and were short on people.

Clement and Qin Zhao happily agreed—they were more than willing to participate in such an experiment.

This was an experiment that could change all of humanity!

Director Zhang even woke up all the researchers in his lab who had already gone to bed. A group of people surrounded Commander Qian, analyzing his data, while Commander Qian kept eating.

Although his body had recovered, he had lost a lot of weight and was extremely, extremely hungry.

Director Zhang planned to give him a nutrient injection or feed him nutritional paste, but Commander Qian refused.

He had been lying in a medical pod every day, without any real meals for a long time—he wanted proper food!

He accepted all the snacks, biscuits, and instant food the lab researchers had stocked as emergency rations without complaint.

At the same time, Commander Qian asked about Gu Juntian’s situation.

“Gu Juntian always had excellent grades. Why didn’t he even get into graduate school after university?” Commander Qian didn’t understand.

Minghui’s lab was quite good, considered a major institution, and someone as outstanding as Gu Juntian would typically be recruited by top scientists as a student.

Director Zhang said, “Textbook knowledge is relatively simple. As long as you work hard, your grades won’t be bad. That’s why in university, many people don’t just look at grades.”

Gu Juntian’s grades were indeed excellent, but that was something that could be achieved through hard work alone. In research, you need more than just diligence.

Many labs and professors consider other factors during a student’s university years.

For example, whether they’ve participated in professors’ experiments or published any papers.

Gu Juntian had none of that.

That gave people the impression that he was just someone who could only bury himself in textbooks.

But Director Zhang had seen Gu Juntian’s file and knew that wasn’t true.

Gu Juntian had signed up for many competitions but never managed to participate in any.

When applying to labs, he had submitted his information, but it would always mysteriously go missing.

Someone had sabotaged all of Gu Juntian’s chances to present himself to the outside world.

When Director Zhang discovered this, he was furious and felt that Zhou Jinhai had held Gu Juntian back.

But because Gu Juntian was still very young, he didn’t feel too strongly about it at the time.

Now, it was different!

Gu Juntian actually developed a gene agent in such a short amount of time!

He was a complete genius!

Someone like him had been held back for so long!

If he had been able to show his talent in his freshman or sophomore year, the gene agent might have been developed long ago!

Zhou Jinhai was unforgivable!

Director Zhang, full of anger, told Commander Qian about Gu Juntian’s situation.

Commander Qian was furious and immediately contacted his old friends, asking them to support Minister Li’s investigation into the case.

As a result, early the next morning, new officials showed up again.

Minister Li curiously asked, “Is Zhou Qinghao planning to donate his business to the country?”

The higher-ups were extremely supportive of Zhou Qinghao, and after thinking it over, he could only think of one possibility—that Zhou Qinghao planned to donate his assets to the state after his death.

“Zhou Qinghao? This has nothing to do with him. Commander Qian just thinks Zhou Jinhai was too cruel to Gu Juntian.”

Minister Li was a bit confused.

So the higher-ups’ concern about this case was actually related to Gu Juntian?

No matter what, with the military’s help, he had nothing to fear!

Today, he would bring back all the researchers who had been transferred away, and anyone involved with Zhou Jinhai would also be arrested as soon as possible.

While Minister Li was getting busy, Gu Juntian went to Director Zhang’s lab.

He had seen the messages sent by Director Zhang and the others early that morning. After breakfast, he hurried over.

In fact, once he had formulated the gene agent, he had a strong feeling that it would work.

He hadn’t expected it to actually work—this was truly amazing!

After doing a few more experiments and making some improvements, he could give it to Zhou Qinghao!

Once Zhou Qinghao was healed, they could get married immediately.

Feeling overjoyed, Gu Juntian entered the lab and asked Director Zhang, “Director Zhang, can I take a look at yesterday’s data?”

Of course, the data had to be shown to Gu Juntian. Director Zhang immediately allowed him to go over it.

Gu Juntian read through the data rapidly.

He had a photographic memory—once he saw something, he wouldn’t forget it. By the time he finished, he already had some ideas in his head about how to improve the drug.

For a drug intended for the public, the formulation process should be simplified to make mass production easier. As for the version meant for Zhou Qinghao, he could customize it to ensure that Zhou Qinghao would gain greater benefits from this genetic evolution—and suffer less pain.

He also needed to prepare a dose for himself.

Otherwise, if Zhou Qinghao evolved and he remained weak, how could he satisfy Zhou Qinghao?

Gu Juntian didn’t mention to Director Zhang or the others that he planned to create a special version just for Zhou Qinghao. Instead, he began discussing the issue of mass-producing the gene agent.

The version Commander Qian used was specially made by him, involving a sudden inspiration and many complex steps.

That kind of agent would be very difficult to mass-produce. To do so, simplification would be necessary.

That was what Gu Juntian and Director Zhang were now discussing—ways to simplify the formula.

Director Zhang: “…” He hadn’t even fully understood the data yet, and Gu Juntian was already figuring out how to mass-produce it?

Was this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person?

But it really was an important matter! Director Zhang began brainstorming with Gu Juntian.

After discussing it for quite a while, Director Zhang suddenly remembered something else: “Wait, there’s still one more thing we need to do!”

“What is it?” Gu Juntian asked.

Director Zhang said, “We only have one experimental subject—that’s too few. We need to conduct more trials.”

“That’s not a problem. I can prepare a few more doses later,” Gu Juntian said after thinking for a moment. “How about this—I’ll try making a batch using a formulation suitable for mass production today. You all can observe and learn the process, and let the AI learn it too. Once the AI learns it, we can start mass production.”

Director Zhang was stunned: “You’ve already figured out how to prepare a mass-producible version of the gene agent?”

Gu Juntian said, “I figured it out when I was discussing it with you just now.

Director Zhang: “…” Hearing Gu Juntian address him formally as “you¹,” he suddenly felt a little out of place.

He now even wanted to call Gu Juntian “teacher,” just like Qin Zhao and Clement.

In any case, the next step was to have Gu Juntian try formulating a mass-producible, basic version of the gene agent.

Director Zhang and the others surrounded Gu Juntian, waiting for him to demonstrate his skills.

At the same time, they activated various recording devices, ready to capture his every move.

Then, they watched as Gu Juntian began preparing the gene agent with smooth and fluid motions, like flowing water.

His process was fast and complex—just watching with the naked eye wasn’t enough to learn it in one go.

Thankfully, the AI was monitoring everything!

This time, Gu Juntian was preparing a slightly simplified version of the gene agent, so the process was quicker.

In just over an hour, he had completed one batch.

As soon as it was ready, the agent was taken away and administered to a volunteer.

This volunteer was very different from Commander Qian—he was just an ordinary man with a poor background.

After falling ill, in hopes of leaving some money for his young children, he came to Director Zhang’s lab and volunteered to test medicines.

He had been living in the lab for two years. During this time, he had fully cooperated with the researchers, participating in many experiments. Now, he was close to death.

Director Zhang wanted to give him a chance to live.

Since he was near death, the lab placed him in a medical pod to ease his suffering.

After getting his consent, Director Zhang had the agent injected into his body.

The man felt a wave of intense pain and quietly closed his eyes.

He thought he was dying.

But if he died, at least it was for a worthy cause.

Since coming to the lab, he had lived an extra year and earned some money for his family.

Thinking about all of this, he fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Director Zhang and the others saw his vital signs return to normal and couldn’t help but cry.

The medicine worked!

Just like they had done with Commander Qian, they woke this man up and helped him clean up a bit…

The man, who had thought he was going to die, stared blankly at the surrounding researchers.

He hadn’t died! How was he still alive?

Had the lab really developed a treatment for Gene Collapse Syndrome?

Suddenly, the man burst into tears and asked Director Zhang, “Director Zhang, how much does the medicine cost? Can I keep testing for the lab? I want to earn money… my kids might need this medicine too…”

Director Zhang said, “Don’t worry, the price of this medicine won’t be expensive.”

Previously, he had discussed the price with Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian suggested pricing it at 10,000 per dose, with installment payments allowed. Patients could receive the injection without paying upfront and only repay after recovering.

This price wasn’t cheap for ordinary people, but it was affordable.

Of course, once mass production began, the medicine would be prioritized for critically ill patients. Those with mild symptoms or healthy people wouldn’t be able to purchase it.

Additionally, those who had committed serious crimes would never be eligible to buy or use the medicine.

Zhou Jinhai’s genes were already close to collapse, but Gu Juntian had no intention of giving him something he’d worked so hard to develop!

The patient was injected around noon.

So, Gu Juntian didn’t stay—he had to go back to eat lunch with Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao had just experienced a wave of cyberbullying, and his company’s stock was still falling. He needed support right now.

Besides, after working so hard, Gu Juntian felt he deserved a reward at lunch—otherwise, it would all feel meaningless.

Happily, Gu Juntian ate with Zhou Qinghao, and of course, shared a kiss.

The gene agent had shown results. It wouldn’t be long before Zhou Qinghao recovered!

Gu Juntian was thrilled and wanted to tell him the good news—but in the end, he didn’t.

Director Zhang had instructed him not to share anything externally yet.

Moreover, Gu Juntian wasn’t completely confident in the medicine yet. He didn’t dare use it on Zhou Qinghao right away… it was better to wait a little longer.

Gu Juntian didn’t bring it up, and Zhou Qinghao didn’t ask either.

He knew Gu Juntian had gone to Director Zhang’s lab that day.

Gaining Director Zhang’s recognition would be a huge help for Gu Juntian’s future—he should be doing his best to impress him. But Gu Juntian still made time to see him.

Gu Juntian truly treated him well—he really loved him.

He was dying, but to experience a mutual, genuine love before the end… that was a blessing.

After lunch, Gu Juntian returned to Director Zhang’s lab to continue formulating the gene agent.

That afternoon, he planned to make ten doses at a time and repeat the process three times.

That way, the AI should be able to fully learn the formulation process.

Once the AI had mastered it, more clinical trials could be conducted. Once the trials confirmed the medicine’s safety, he could finally give it to Zhou Qinghao.

When Gu Juntian arrived at the lab, he saw that it was even more crowded than before. Many of the newcomers were people featured in textbooks—or had written them.

Among them were people from the lab that had previously rejected the original owner.

But Gu Juntian was focused on completing his afternoon task, so he didn’t pay much attention to them.

He concentrated on formulating the medicine.

After completing one large batch, he did a few stretches and immediately began preparing the second.

All afternoon, he stayed busy—over four hours, he completed three large batches, totaling thirty individual doses.

Everyone who came to observe him was deeply impressed.

This young man was truly relentless!

As they watched him formulate the drug, they also read the papers he had written and reviewed his recorded experimental data—every bit of it was deeply inspiring.

Gu Juntian was truly remarkable.

For someone so young to be this accomplished, it couldn’t be separated from his hard work.

He hadn’t rested all afternoon—most people wouldn’t be able to endure that.

So, after Gu Juntian finished formulating the third batch of the drug, everyone came forward to urge him to take a break.

“Mr. Gu, aren’t you tired? How about eating something and resting before continuing?”

“Mr. Gu, your health comes first. You should rest a bit.”

“Mr. Gu…”

Gu Juntian looked at them in confusion and then said, “I’m not planning to continue—I’m clocking out.”

He had already done more than enough for one day, far more than other researchers. It was time for a break.

He wasn’t going to keep working!

At most, he’d cuddle with Zhou Qinghao tonight and read a little data.

“It’s getting late, I’ll be heading out,” Gu Juntian said as he removed his protective gear and walked out.

The many people waiting to talk to him: “???”

Director Zhang cleared his throat and said, “I know you all want to talk with Gu Juntian, but at this stage, your questions don’t need to trouble him. His students and I can help answer them…”

If they had questions, they could come to him. Expecting Gu Juntian to personally answer everything? That was highly unlikely.

With that in mind, Director Zhang added, “These drugs will be used on people immediately. You’ll still be able to observe the full treatment process of the patients.”

Hearing this, the researchers stopped worrying about where Gu Juntian had gone and got to work with Director Zhang.

These researchers stayed busy through the night, without sleep—and they weren’t the only ones awake.

That same afternoon, the people under Minister Li had arrested everyone involved with the private lab.

Once everything was wrapped up, he immediately posted an official clarification online for Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao had come under suspicion just the morning before last—barely two and a half days ago.

At that moment, online discussions about Zhou Qinghao were still raging.

Although he had been “taken” early the previous morning, the authorities had released no official statement, leaving the public uneasy. People kept demanding the government punish Zhou Qinghao severely.

“Everyone needs to speak up about this, or else the rich will keep trampling over regular people!”

“It’s been so long, and Gu Juntian still hasn’t appeared—could something have happened to him?”

“Please let Gu Juntian be okay.”

“I heard this afternoon that Zhou Jinhai was taken away by the police. Gu Juntian must just be assisting with the investigation.”

“Whatever happens, Zhou Qinghao must be punished severely!”

…

After dinner, more people had time to get online, and participation in the conversation grew rapidly.

Just then, the police released an official statement: “Thanks to a report by concerned citizen Zhou Qinghao, we dismantled a private lab conducting illegal human experiments several days ago…”

The statement, written under Minister Li’s direction, was very clear and detailed everything about the private lab.

It also named those involved in the case—Zhou Jinhai, and the high-ranking officials backing him.

But at first, the public only focused on one detail.

Concerned citizen Zhou Qinghao? That wasn’t what they had expected at all!

That lab had been funded by Zhou Jinhai—and it was Zhou Qinghao who had reported it?

“I wrongly blamed Zhou Qinghao?”

“There were that many people involved, even high officials?!”

“So the key researchers and data were secretly moved? Thank goodness they were recovered!”

“I need to apologize to Zhou Qinghao!”

…

People began to speak out one after another, and at the same time, the police spokesperson said during a livestream that Zhou Jinhai had intentionally fathered many illegitimate children to use them as body backups.

And the one he initially targeted was Gu Juntian’s body.

Because of this, he had been suppressing Gu Juntian for years—isolating him, denying him any opportunity to shine. Gu Juntian had nearly been pushed to the brink.

Notes

1. When saying “you” to Director Zhang, Gu Juntian uses the word 您(nín), which is the respectful form of “you” in Chinese, used to address someone with courtesy and politeness, often to elders or superiors. It is the formal way for the word “you” 你(nǐ) ↩︎