Chapter 300: The Final Round of the Young Scientists Competition!

The final of the Young Scientists Competition in the provincial capital.

The auditorium was solemn and dignified, with a tense atmosphere permeating the air.

Rows of experts and scholars dressed in Zhongshan suits or white coats sat on the judging panel, their identities representing the highest level of scientific research in Hainan Island and even the whole country.

Su Yue, as the most anticipated contestant, was the first to step onto the stage.

She could clearly feel the scrutinizing gaze, even carrying a hint of barely perceptible hostility, emanating from the judges sitting in the center of the panel, like a tangible thorn falling upon her.

Chairman of the Judging Committee: Li Zhenbang, Academician Li.

A leading figure in China's biological community, an elderly man known for his conservative views and rigorous scholarship.

Su Yue took a deep breath, clearing her mind of all distractions.

She turned on the projector, and the words "Military Family Special Drug Laboratory" appeared on the big screen.

"Good afternoon, esteemed judges. The topic of my presentation today is our laboratory's exploration and breakthroughs in the field of antibiotic resistance."

Her voice was clear and steady, echoing in the quiet auditorium.

"Our core research direction is to use an ancient and effective biological weapon to combat the increasingly serious threat of superbugs. We call it the 'Bacteriophage Project'."

The words had barely left his mouth.

"Oh."

A soft, clearly disdainful sneer came from the center of the judges' panel.

Academician Li Zhenbang leaned back in his chair, his body slightly tilted back, picked up the teacup on the table, and slowly blew away the foam.

He didn't even look at Su Yue; he simply spoke to the air in a low but loud voice that everyone in the room could hear.

"Bacteriophage?"

The old man put down his teacup, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it hit the table.

"Young comrade, isn't it a bit too sensationalist to bring up something that was completely phased out by antibiotics decades ago?"

His words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

"When we do scientific research, we must be down-to-earth and take one step at a time. We should not always think about finding alternative paths, let alone taking shortcuts, or using some pretentious things to attract attention."

Academician Li's authority is beyond question.

With his opening remarks, he practically defined the entire nature of Su Yue's project.

A middle-aged judge sitting next to him immediately chimed in, “Professor Li is right. Some young people these days are just too ambitious and always want to make a big splash. They haven’t even laid a solid foundation yet, but they want to touch things that have long been proven to be dead ends. This is irresponsible towards scientific research.”

Whispers spread like a tide from the audience below the stage.

"So it's an outdated technology. I thought it was something amazing."

"I knew it. What earth-shattering things could a girl in her early twenties possibly do?"

"What a pity, she's quite good-looking though."

Questioning, mocking, sympathizing, pitying.

Countless complex gazes focused on the slender figure in the center of the podium, as if they wanted to devour her.

Despite the overwhelming pressure, Su Yue remained completely calm.

She stood there quietly, waiting for the murmurs to subside.

Then, she bowed deeply to the judges' panel.

"Academician Li, you are right."

She straightened up and met the scrutinizing gaze with composure.

"Scientific research truly requires a down-to-earth approach."

"Therefore, what I bring today is neither empty theory nor sensationalist gimmick."

Her voice was calm, yet it possessed a power that penetrated the heart.

"It is a living example, someone who has just been pulled back from the brink of death."

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Su Yue pressed the remote control, and a shocking photo appeared on the big screen.

The photo shows a young soldier with extensive burns all over his body, his skin charred black, and various tubes inserted into his body. His body is swollen due to infection, and he looks unrecognizable.

"This soldier, 22 years old, suffered burns in an accident during a mission, with burns covering more than 80% of his body. After being admitted to the General Hospital of the Military Region, he developed a severe mixed infection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus."

Su Yue's voice was devoid of any emotion; she was simply stating a fact.

"We have used all the highest-level antibiotics available in China, including vancomycin, but none of them have worked. His organs are beginning to fail, he has a persistent high fever, and we have issued several critical condition notices."

Inside the auditorium, you could hear a pin drop.

There were many clinical medical experts present, and they were well aware that in modern medicine, this situation was tantamount to a death sentence.

Su Yue changed the subject and pressed the next slide.

"Just three days ago, the first batch of 'phage preparations' that our laboratory urgently prepared was used clinically for the first time on this soldier."

"This is the latest test report, which was just faxed from the General Hospital of the Military Region 72 hours after the medication was administered, which is 8:00 AM this morning."

On the big screen, a detailed lab report was magnified to its maximum size.

The dense data above is incomprehensible to laymen.

But the experts present were watching with their hearts pounding.

The total number of the two superbug colonies in the patient's body dropped drastically from more than 10 to the power of 8 per milliliter to less than 10 to the power of 3.

It dropped by a full 99,999 times!

The white blood cell count has returned to normal from a dangerous peak.

All vital signs have stabilized!

Ironclad facts speak louder than any eloquence.

This isn't just effective, it's a miracle!

Li Zhenbang, who had been leaning back in his chair, unconsciously sat up straight.

He leaned forward abruptly, adjusted his reading glasses, and stared intently at the near-perfect report on the screen. For the first time, a violent emotion flickered in his cloudy eyes.

Several clinical medical experts around him couldn't help but stand up, whispering and excitedly discussing every piece of data and every detail in the report.

For the first time, clear cracks appeared in Li Zhenbang's perception, which was as solid as granite.

...

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away on Hainan Island, at the Gu family's courtyard.

Zhang Huilan was holding a diagram left by Su Yue, which contained complex molecular structures, and was playing with her two grandchildren who were less than a year old in the yard.

"Peace and tranquility, look! This is a drawing by Mom, isn't it beautiful?"

Little Ping An, with his tiger-like head and chubby face, grabbed a corner of the picture book and tried to put it in his mouth.

Gu Ningjing, who had been quiet all along, suddenly stretched out her chubby little finger and started babbling.

Without the slightest hesitation, her small hand pointed precisely to an extremely complex ring-shaped structure region on the map.

That region bears a striking resemblance to the "cytokine storm" theoretical model that Academician Li Zhenbang made famous in his early years.

Zhang Huilan didn't pay attention at first.

But Gu Ningjing's next action stunned her.

The little guy pointed his finger at that area, making a "tap tap" sound, while his other little hand clumsily made a "connect" gesture in the air.

A thought flashed through Zhang Huilan's mind like lightning.

She suddenly remembered that Su Yue had once mentioned to her that although Academician Li's theory was great, it had a fatal flaw that remained unresolved: the inability to control the "chain reaction intensity" after cytokines were activated.

The endotoxins released by bacteriophages when they lyse bacteria are one of the key factors that trigger cytokine storms.

One controls, the other triggers.

Could there be something between these seemingly contradictory things...?

Zhang Huilan's heart was pounding.

She dared not delay any longer, rushed into the house, grabbed the phone, and quickly connected to the backstage hotline of the provincial finals.

...