"Another genius who wants to run away to the US."

Many outside media outlets wanted to interview Zheng Li, but he refused them all; the school turned them all away on his behalf.

After publishing in Nature, Zheng Li felt that nothing was different from before. His classmates still called him "God Zheng" now.

He got to know more people, and occasionally when he walked around the school, people would point and whisper about him. Even the school's senior leaders knew him.

He didn't go to class before, and now no one cares if he doesn't go to class. After he received the ARMA, the dean directly asked him to teach advanced algebra and mathematical analysis classes to the newly recruited graduate students.

The college teachers told him to take all the courses he could get and try to graduate in two years, since he would only take exams anyway.

"Zheng Li, you have to participate in this year's Qiu competition. We're waiting for you to win a gold medal for the school."

Liu Gui was pleased that Zheng Li no longer had to run to the School of Biology every day, and he hoped that Zheng Li could help the School of Mathematics win a gold medal in the Qiu Mathematical Olympiad.

Over the years, the School of Mathematics at Jiangcheng University has only won a silver medal at most.

Zheng Li verbally agreed, but he didn't actually have time to think about these things. He was constantly trying to contact Mr. Lei of Da Mi through the school's channels.

He went directly to the principal and got Lei Jun's phone number, then declared to the principal that he was a loyal fan of Lei Jun.

Then he asked the principal to make an appointment with Lei Jun in advance, which was scheduled for a weekend evening. Lei Jun heard that he had a fan who published in Nature as a freshman at Jiangcheng University, and he was happy to give the other party a chance to hear what he had to say.

Such a person is definitely not someone who simply makes a phone call to express admiration; even being called a fan is just an excuse.

Lei Jun, being a top-notch shrewd individual who has been in the startup scene for many years, understands this very well.

However, considering that he published in Nature at the age of 18, he was willing to give Zheng Li a chance.

On the weekend night, Lei Jun thought he was giving the other party a chance, little did he know that this was the biggest opportunity of his life.

"Hello, Mr. Lei? This is Zheng Li from Jiangcheng University." Zheng Li was prepared to try and get things done through Lei Jun, thinking that if things didn't work out, he would find another opportunity.

Lei Jun laughed heartily after receiving the call: "Hello Zheng, this is Lei Jun. I heard from the principal that you are my fan and would like to chat with me. Do you need some life advice or experience from your seniors?"

Zheng Li felt that he was overthinking things. "It's like this, Mr. Lei, I wonder if you know the contents of the paper I published in Nature?"

Lei Jun: "If I remember correctly, it's a molecule that is artificially synthesized."

Zheng Li nodded and continued, "This molecule is called endorphin. Endorphins can act as analgesics, and I have discovered a method for large-scale production of endorphins."

"I need venture capital to register patents worldwide, and I also need to conduct clinical trials to prove that this analgesic is more effective and has fewer side effects than other analgesics."

Lei Jun perked up after hearing this:

How can you prove that endorphins are more effective than other analgesics?

Zheng Li: "Because it was previously impossible to artificially produce endorphins, there were limited experimental records on the analgesic effects of endorphins."

"However, through limited experiments, we can see that endorphins are far less addictive than morphine, and their analgesic effect and sequelae are also better than those of morphine."

"These effects have been demonstrated in small mammals, and there are currently no experimental records in humans."

"But based on my intuition, endorphins are also more effective in the human body than other analgesics."

After listening, Lei Jun asked directly, "How much venture capital do you need to achieve the results you want?"

"In addition, please prepare a PPT and a detailed plan. Give your identification information to my assistant, and I will have my assistant book a flight for you on Monday. Come over and we can discuss it in detail."

It's easy to see the value of a new drug without even thinking, let alone a new drug like analgesics with an extremely wide range of applications.

If endorphins are really that effective, he'll make a sure profit from this business.

"Mr. Lei, please help me book a train ticket. I'm not flying."

Zheng Li will not fly until he has mastered magic.

After finishing his conversation with Zheng Litong, Lei Jun called his assistant and gave the following instructions:

"Xiao Li, tomorrow you need to prepare an introductory document about endorphins, as well as an analysis report on the domestic and global analgesic market."

Give it to me before I go to work on Monday.

......

After meeting, Zheng Li and Lei Jun had a very pleasant conversation, and Lei Jun expressed a strong desire to invest in the project.

Lei Jun asked, "How much money do you need?"

Zheng Li: "The first phase will cost at least 50 million."

Lei Jun: "I want 30% of the shares."

Zheng Li refused, saying, "Fifty million, and I can only give you a maximum of ten percent of the shares."

Lei Jun: "You only have one Nature paper right now. You only say that large-scale production of endorphins is achievable, but you don't actually have any supporting evidence."

"Furthermore, the actual effectiveness of endorphins and whether they can truly replace the effects of traditional analgesics such as morphine are still unknown."

"Investing in your project is a huge risk for me."

Zheng Li remained unmoved: "Venture capital is inherently risk-taking. Mr. Lei, you are investing in people. If the problems you just mentioned are resolved, this venture capital investment probably won't go to Da Mi."

“Fifty million for 10 percent of the shares is already a lot. This is only the first round of investment. If I give you 30 percent of the shares in the first round, my own share will be reduced to a very small amount later.”

"And the 10% of shares you're given come with voting rights."

Lei Jun said, "But 10% is still too little. Fifty million is not five million."

Zheng Li said speechlessly, "President Lei, please don't treat me like a student. I'm talking to you about a new drug, a new drug with broad market prospects."

“You know very well the cost of developing a new drug; hundreds of millions of dollars could just go down the drain.”

"Now it's a mature new drug, and we need venture capital to register the patent and conduct clinical trials."

"Fifty million is not expensive at all; it's already very cheap."

“I believe that if I stay at Jiangcheng University for a few more years and graduate by then, you won’t even be able to get 5% of the shares for 50 million.”

Zheng Li refused to budge an inch.

The essence of venture capital is investing in people, not to mention that Lei Jun is very optimistic about both projects and people.

2019 is different from 2010. In 2010, venture capitalists emphasized investing in people with a wolf-like mentality.

Even in 2016, why didn't Zhu Xiaohu invest in Toutiao? It was because he felt that Zhang Yimin was not aggressive.

What was the focus in 2019? It was research and development capabilities. Large sums of money were invested in the chip industry, and the fact that technology was the primary competitive advantage was fully demonstrated at that time.