Chapter 299 Naked Academic Fraud!

Fang Jianxing was half-supported as he took out the bacterial strain sample that he regarded as a treasure.

His hands were shaking so badly he couldn't even hold the test tube steady.

On Su Yue's side, Xiao Chen also submitted their control group sample.

For Fang Jianxing on stage, the long half-hour wait was agonizing, with every second feeling like torture.

Finally, an elderly professor with white hair walked up to the podium, holding two freshly printed test reports.

He cleared his throat and announced solemnly, "The test results are in."

“The ‘new strain’ sample provided by Professor Fang Jianxing was tested three times, and its fermentation unit activity was almost zero.”

boom!

The crowd erupted in chaos!

"And the control group samples provided by Comrade Su Yue's laboratory have a fermentation unit activity that is...seven times higher than the current national standard!"

The entire room fell silent.

Then came thunderous applause!

The truth has come out!

This is no longer a simple academic debate, but a blatant academic fraud!

"Impossible... This is impossible..." Fang Jianxing collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself, completely losing all his energy and spirit.

Su Yue didn't look at him again.

She picked up the remote and pressed the next slide of the PowerPoint presentation.

On the big screen, a technical roadmap appeared with an incredibly complex structure but an exceptionally clear logic.

"Distinguished leaders and experts, after rejecting the wrong approach, our laboratory has finally found the right path through unremitting efforts."

"We call it 'gene fragment knockout and recombination technology.' By precisely removing undesirable gene fragments that cause strain degeneration and grafting high-yield and stable genes, we can fundamentally solve the problem of strain degeneration and significantly improve its activity..."

Her voice was calm and confident, and coupled with the technical diagram that embodied countless efforts and wisdom, she deeply captivated all the experts present.

An elderly professor, who was an academician, even stood up excitedly from his seat, adjusted his glasses, stared intently at the screen, and kept muttering, "Genius... what a genius idea!"

The outcome of this debate is no longer in doubt.

Fang Jianxing was suspended from his post by Qiongzhou University on the spot for investigation on suspicion of academic fraud and theft of scientific research results.

Nurse Wang and Qian Fen, who facilitated his actions and leaked the laboratory's discarded data, were also taken away by the police officers who were already waiting outside.

The farce has come to an end in the most thorough and convincing way.

The nomination for the Young Scientist Competition went to Su Yue without any doubt.

The reputation of the affiliated laboratory of Qiong Island University reached an unprecedented peak after this battle.

...

In distant South America, the sweltering heat is unsettling.

Lin Wan'er slammed a document onto the table.

"What do you mean? What do you mean the surrounding land has been bought up? And the water supply has been cut off?" she screamed at the local manager in front of her.

The manager wiped his sweat and answered nervously, "Ms. Lin, it's true. A company called 'New Hope' bought out all the land within a ten-kilometer radius of the 'Hope Star' mine, along with the upstream water source mining rights of that river, the day before we signed the contract. We... we have no way to transport large equipment in now, and even if we could, without water, we can't wash and screen the ore at all."

Lin Wan'er swayed.

Her gold mine, her future business empire, became a trapped, isolated island.

She invested all of her $100,000, only to end up with a visible but forever unexploitable abandoned mountain!

It's another scheme! And it's Su Yue again!

There could be no one else but her!

Lin Wan'er trembled with anger, her immense resentment and rage almost consuming her.

She couldn't understand why, even though she had been reborn and had the upper hand in the future, she still couldn't defeat Su Yue!

Just as she was on the verge of despair, her manager cautiously spoke up: "Ms. Lin, actually... there is another way. General Barrera, who lives here, is very interested in our mine. He has expressed his willingness to 'invest' in us and help us solve the problems of access roads and water sources."

Lin Wan'er was taken aback, then she understood what the so-called "investment" meant.

Cooperating with warlords is tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin.

But she had no way out. Her funding had dried up, and she was all alone here.

"What does he want?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Fifty percent of the shares."

Lin Wan'er closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, all that remained was a frantic and resolute expression.

"Okay, I agree."

...

On Hainan Island, the moonlight is gentle at night.

After finishing up the remaining work in the laboratory, Su Yue returned home.

The children were fast asleep, their peaceful sleeping faces softening her heart.

This turmoil is finally over.

She sat at her desk, looking at the moon outside the window, and suddenly missed the man who was far away in the South China Sea.

I wonder what he's doing now, whether his mission is going smoothly, and whether he's eating on time.

Su Yue took out paper and pen and began to write him a letter.

In the letter, she made no mention of Fang Jianxing, the thrilling debate, or the dirty schemes.

She only wrote about the children's funny stories, how much taller the twins had grown, how the little one had learned to say "Dad," and how the braised pork she made today seemed to have improved a bit.

Between the lines, there is the warmth of an ordinary family and a deep longing for him.

After finishing the letter, she prepared to head to the provincial capital to participate in the finals.

The day before she was to leave, she received a phone call from Beijing.

It was Academician Qian calling.

"Xiao Su, how are the preparations going?" Academician Qian's voice sounded somewhat solemn.

"Everything is ready, Mr. Qian, please rest assured."

“Well, I’m not worried about your skill level.” Academician Qian paused for a moment before saying seriously, “I have to remind you of something. The chairman of the judging panel for the finals of this competition is Academician Li Zhenbang.”

Su Yue's heart skipped a beat.

She had heard Director Zhou mention the name Li Zhenbang before.

He was a leading figure in the domestic biological community and also the most steadfast opponent of Director Zhou's academic approach back then.

This person held extremely conservative views, especially regarding technologies like "bacteriophages," which were considered cutting-edge at the time, and harbored great prejudice and hostility towards them.

Academician Qian continued, “Academician Li is stubborn, especially against new things outside his understanding. He has criticized ‘phage therapy’ as nonsense on more than one occasion in public. Your research direction has just run into his line of fire.”

Academician Qian's tone was more serious than ever before.

"I'm worried that he might launch a devastating attack on you during the final defense. Xiao Su, this final is likely to be a fierce battle."

......