Chapter 75: Am I going to die?
Tonight, the clouds were very thick, reflecting the ground lights, and emitting a faint orange glow, a gloomy and unsettling color.
The obstacle lights on the top of the biology department’s R&D building were flashing, and the red dots were diffused by the thick fog.
For the convenience of material circulation, this place was very close to the research institute. The overall building was in a light color, with a consistent clean and rigorous scientific research style, so much so that when Cheng Ming first came here, she almost thought that she had returned to the research institute.
“Put her up.”
A hand, which was particularly fair against the red nail polish, pressed a button. The authority was passed, and the pod door opened.
The owner of the hand gave a lazy command.
It was nine o’clock at night, and the building was sparsely populated. The one who received them was a lady of about forty, with raspberry red, wavy, fine curly hair half-tied at the back of her head. She had a rose-colored hollow shawl on her shoulders, and her whole body was quite colorful. She didn’t look like a researcher at all, but more like some kind of metaphysics master, and she was just short of a crystal ball to cosplay a witch.
Yan Rong entered the medical pod for a physical examination. Cheng Ming looked at the control panel, and then at this person, a little unsure of the situation.
Until Qiu Ju, who had rushed over, called out “Director Tan,” she was surprised for a second in her heart.
This was actually the highest official of the biology department, Tan Shuqin, and also the general person in charge of the R&D group.
“It’s fine, little comrade, look how anxious you are.”
This Ms. Tan was a good half a head taller than her. She put her elbow on her shoulder without any airs and proudly introduced, “The new special medicine developed by our department is no worse than those broken enterprises. It’s only a matter of time before we break their monopoly! It’s just that we’re still short of a few clinical trial data… you’ve come at a very timely time!”
She smiled, and her external image instantly changed from a master to an old fox.
Clinical? Hadn’t it been used on people yet?
Hearing the keyword, Cheng Ming was a little stunned and asked, “Has the animal experiment been passed?”
She couldn’t help but suspect that she had pushed Yan Rong into a fire pit. She glanced at Qiu Ju next to her, who was holding a document and was looking at her nose and heart, unable to help.
“Hey, don’t worry about this! The phase 1 trial has already been verified, and the effect is very good, with no side effects! Besides—”
Tan Shuqin pointed to the various organ function values displayed on the transparent pod’s light screen. It could be seen that Yan Rong’s physical functions were declining sharply.
“You have no choice now, little comrade,” she patted her on the shoulder. The force was not heavy, but it was like hitting her heart. “If you don’t use the medicine soon, your sister might not be able to breathe tomorrow.”
She was exaggerating, but Cheng Ming did have this hidden worry.
She didn’t know when the pharmaceutical company had noticed, and whether there was a problem with the medicine they had given Yan Rong before, which had led to such a sudden illness.
Tan Shuqin was still squinting and smiling, looking very kind. She gestured for Qiu Ju to take out the informed consent form and said to her, “How about it, do you accept this experiment?”
She was right, they had no choice.
Cheng Ming looked at Yan Rong. The latter was lying on the side of the platform, her face weak and tired. Hearing their conversation, she still struggled to give her a smile, meaning to reassure her.
Cheng Ming took the agreement, read it line by line, and finally, signed her name at the bottom.
Three hours later, the patient’s physiological data was collected, and the members of the team responsible for the development of the special medicine also gathered at the scene.
It was clear that most of them had been temporarily notified from their dormitories. Many of them were wearing pajamas under their white lab coats, and cotton slippers in their shoe covers. They were quite untidy, but there was no dissatisfaction with their rest being disturbed. Their eyes were all full of excitement and anticipation.
Cheng Ming stood in the outer circle and watched them busy. The feeling of sending Yan Rong to the experimental table to become a guinea pig was even stronger.
Rows of soft tubes were surrounded by precise and expensive instruments and facilities. The tip of the syringe flashed with a silver star-like cold light. Under the watchful eyes of countless pairs of eyes, the light blue medicinal liquid was pushed into the subject’s vein.
She had been moved from the medical pod to a spacious treatment bed, and the streamlined structure was more in line with the human body structure. Yan Rong had already fallen asleep.
Beep, beep. The life device was operating, and the values on the light screen were fluctuating steadily. Tan Shuqin stroked her shawl and yawned, saying, “It won’t be effective so quickly. Go back and get some sleep. Come back at seven in the morning.”
After recording the data, everyone left in a scattered manner. Cheng Ming stayed behind to accompany her.
At 4:30 in the morning, during the coldest and darkest period before dawn, the situation suddenly worsened.
The instrument made an abnormal sound, and Cheng Ming was startled awake. She turned on the bedside lamp and found that Yan Rong’s body was convulsing. The breathing mask had fallen to one side, and she didn’t know if her mouth and nose were blocked by secretions.
“Rongrong! Open your mouth!” Worried that she would suffocate, and not finding any suitable items for a moment, she decisively put her fingers into her mouth to keep her airway open, and at the same time, she pressed the emergency call button with her other hand.
Yan Rong’s teeth were fine and sharp. This was the second time she had experienced it. She guessed that her thumb had been bitten and was bleeding on the spot.
“There’s a sedative in your right storage compartment,” Xiao Ming reminded, not wanting to see her get hurt.
She was in a panic and had lost her head. After calming down and remembering these emergency supplies, she immediately grabbed a sedative from the compartment and injected it with the help of the mycelia.
Yan Rong’s body was originally weak, and she was worried that this type of drug would cause low blood pressure and respiratory depression. Before the professional personnel arrived, she didn’t dare to inject too much.
But fortunately, it was effective.
The person on the bed slowly regained consciousness, and her body also stabilized. She opened her mouth and left a circle of blood marks on the edge of her thumb. It was not necessarily all Cheng Ming’s. With a damaged immune system, the oral mucosa and gums were prone to bleeding.
“Sister…” as soon as she opened her mouth, more blood seeped out, and under the dazzling light, it stained her pale lips bright red.
Cheng Ming helped her up and saw that the blood vessels under her skin had formed a blue and blue network of lines, and her iris also had deepened radioactive stripes, which looked terrifying.
“Sister, it hurts so much… am I going to die…” she cried, and wanted to hold her hand, but when she saw the remaining blood on the back of her hand, she realized that she might scratch her. In the end, she only grabbed her sleeve, and her nails dug deep into her palm through the cloth. Her body was trembling against her.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Cheng Ming was also in a mess and comforted her weakly.
Swish. The air valve opened, and the scientific researchers rushed in while changing into their sterile clothes.
Seeing them swarm forward, either prying open her pupils and shining a light, or pushing other instruments to check, and injecting new medicine, Cheng Ming retreated to the side, leaving a hand for Yan Rong to hold tightly.
An hour later, the cold and slender hand that was clutching her was released after being inserted with a nutrient needle.
Yan Rong fell into a deep sleep again.
And the rest of them couldn’t sleep anymore.
“No… this is not right,” Tan Shuqin had also arrived. She was flipping through the data records and repeatedly replaying the surveillance video. “This situation has never happened before. There can’t be a problem with our formula, unless—”
She paused and looked at Cheng Ming.
Her eyes were slightly narrowed, but the smiling curve was gone, and her expression became solemn and cold. “You were using the pharmaceutical company’s medicine before.”
Her tone gradually became certain.
And the volunteers who had undergone clinical trials before were all people who couldn’t buy the officially listed special medicine, and had accepted the new drug experiment of the biology department as a last resort.
So, what did this mean?
Cheng Ming wrapped her arms around herself, her fingers clenched. She felt a rush of blood to her head, which made her ears buzz, but her torso was cold. She looked at the people in the treatment room and finished Tan Shuqin’s words for her, “They tampered with the medicine.”
Her voice was very calm, a suspended calmness.
A suppressed anger.
“So vicious!” a researcher looked at the blood analysis results and also said angrily. “This is not saving people at all. It’s creating a drug dependency, just to monopolize the entire industry!”
“Whew, good thing we found it this time. Otherwise, if our medicine were to be promoted like this, I don’t know how many people would be harmed…” another person sighed with lingering fear.
As soon as these words of relief were uttered, Cheng Ming followed the sound and looked over, “Then what about my sister?”
She hadn’t had a good rest for more than twenty hours, and her eyes were bloodshot. She stared at the other without blinking, and it had to be said that it was quite scary.
The latter immediately fell silent.
This was also why there was a rule in the emergency room of a hospital that was similar to a strange story. Even when they were not on duty, the medical staff could not do anything to relax, such as playing with their phones. Otherwise, if the family members of the patient who were anxiously waiting for rescue saw it, their mental state was already poor, and it would be troublesome if they were to do something in a rage.
“Will it work if we switch back to the original medicine?” Cheng Ming closed her sore eyes, turned her head, and asked again.
Everyone looked at each other.
Finally, someone said, “I’m afraid not. From the current test results, her genetic damage is too serious. Even if Ms. Chu Xiuru were here, she might not have a solution…”
The Chu Xiuru that this person was talking about was not a scientific big shot in the Defense Center, but a famous medical scientist and pharmacist who was born in the late 1980s.
At the beginning of this century, she had led a team to invent a groundbreaking therapy for genetic diseases, and was a pioneer in breaking through another fatal disease. After the outbreak of nuclear pollution in the 1940s, the treatment for radiation was developed by countless professional personnel who had stood on the shoulders of this giant, and had dug deep into her research results. Only then could they develop a solution in a short period of time and stabilize the turbulent society.
She was the mother of genetic medicine, and Shenzhou Pharmaceutical was once founded by her. She had a pivotal influence in the ENS Foundation.
Now, because she was already 87 years old, and her body had been worn out by her early research work, she had not appeared in the public eye for a long time.
But her great achievements would be remembered forever, so much so that this name itself had become a symbol, and had become a catchphrase and adjective for medical scholars, with an effect similar to “Hua Tuo is alive.”
So, the common meaning of that sentence was—no one could save her.
…
March 18th, 9 AM.
In an office on the 299th floor of the research institute, a soothing ringtone sounded.
Leaning against the bright glass window, the woman’s silhouette was outlined very softly. She slowly picked it up and was the first to speak, “What? I’ve already arranged what you wanted. Are you not satisfied?”
“Chu Lanying!” a furious reprimand came from the other end of the phone. “Can this little bit of stuff make up for our losses? Whose side are you on? Look at you, you unfilial daughter! Don’t you care about the old lady’s life or death anymore?”
These words, whether they were accusations or threats, had no effect on Chu Lanying, who had already established a firm foothold in the Defense Center.
“What are you so excited about,” she chuckled. “Her old lady’s achievements and family business have all been taken by you. Shouldn’t you be the ones to take responsibility?”
As soon as the words were out, the road was blocked. There was a moment of silence on both ends of the communication, and an inexplicably awkward atmosphere spread.
It was precisely because they did not have enough leverage to pressure her that they had tried to take the initiative. Seeing that she did not fall for it, and that the hard approach did not work, they could only try the soft approach.
The other coughed and his attitude softened, and he played the family card, “Lanying, we are a family. Your second uncle even held you when you were a child…”
Chu Lanying smiled elegantly and amiably, “I also held your ancestor when I was a child.”
After a long time of fruitless persuasion, the man on the other side finally became angry and embarrassed.
“Why didn’t you die in that sea trip!” As soon as his voice fell, along with an abrupt and angry reprimand, the phone was hung up with a click.
Looking at the interface that showed the end of the call, Chu Lanying was used to it and threw her phone on the desk.
She often suspected that because the medical technology was not perfect back then, this whole family had XYY syndrome and had not been diagnosed, which was why they were so irritable and easily angered.
She casually adjusted the photo frame on the corner of the desk and looked at the photo. In front of the background of the blue sea and the white ship’s railing, next to the beautiful young girl, was the lady with a serious face but a loving look in her eyes.
This group photo was taken decades ago. At that time, Chu Xiuru was still in good health. She had been running around doing research, forming a team, and raising funds. The mother and daughter did not see each other often, but their relationship was very good.
It was undeniable that the other’s achievements in medicine were very outstanding.
Everyone remembered her unparalleled contribution, but they had forgotten, or rather, this past had been deliberately sealed away. Chu Xiuru had once been an excellent marine biologist.
She and Professor Jin Xia were sworn sisters and had once dedicated themselves to the same cause.
They both firmly believed in the existence of mermaids and insisted that they had obtained some mermaid cells—although other scholars at most recognized it as a new species, and it had not received much attention at that time.
But, the furthest sea trip had still yielded no results, and Chu Xiuru’s body had been worn out. And her son was full of the smell of money and could not understand and empathize with his mother’s creatures. And so, after this little daughter was born, Chu Xiuru had put the character “Lan” in her name.
And then, in order to fulfill her mother’s unfinished wish, Chu Lanying had met with Jin Xia from 2138 to 2139, and had searched for the oceanographers and industry newcomers of that year from all over the country. After everything was ready, she had organized another sea trip.
This time, they had encountered a shipwreck.
