Chapter 45

When Lin Mo came out of the teaching building, it was already completely dark. As a college student, having to attend class until nine o'clock was truly heartbreaking and brought tears to the eyes of anyone who heard it.

He followed the crowd toward the dormitory, hearing the whispers of his classmates.

"The school is really sick. They're still holding extra classes at this hour. They might not even survive until tomorrow."

"Exactly! Pollution? Isn't that something that only exists in novels and games? How could something like that appear in the real world!"

"I heard that someone next door got infected and awakened superpowers. That's so cool."

"How many people have awakened their superpowers? How many have died? The events of half a month ago didn't affect you, did they?"

Due to pollution in the city half a month ago, the university suspended classes for several days, but each subject still had a certain number of class hours, so students could only make up for it in the evenings.

Lin Mo majored in biology, which was originally considered a dead-end major with little future. However, after the pollution occurred, the research institute recruited a large number of undergraduates majoring in biochemistry, and these two majors were unexpectedly revitalized.

Dean Zhou Zhi, who developed the third and fourth generation antagonists, was widely publicized and quickly became a national idol.

Of course, none of this mattered to Lin Mo. His only reason for being happy was that the research institute offered a good salary, which greatly increased his professional value and allowed him to have a decent income to pay for his mother's medical treatment.

Lin Mo came from an ordinary family. His father died early, and his mother raised him alone, living a very frugal life.

He originally wanted to start working after completing compulsory education, but his mother said that studying would lead to a bright future, so he worked several jobs every day to earn tuition fees.

After entering university, he won all the school's scholarships with his excellent grades. In addition to attending classes, he spent his spare time participating in various activities to improve his comprehensive assessment score. He would also frequently go to the laboratory, on the one hand to work on projects with the teachers, and on the other hand, the teachers knew about his family situation and would occasionally let him do some simple experiments to earn some extra money.

Just when everything was getting better, the mother was suddenly diagnosed with a genetic disease.

Although the doctor said that the disease was most likely due to genetics and could be cured with current technology, Lin Mo was still deeply mired in self-blame.

If I hadn't gone to university and had started working earlier to help support the family, would my mother have avoided getting sick from overwork?

The disease can be cured, but where will they get the money? Treatment for any genetic disease is extremely expensive; how could they possibly come up with so much money?

Lin Mo returned to her dorm room with a heavy heart, where she could hear her roommates laughing and clattering on their keyboards.

Under the bright lights, the eldest brother was video chatting with his girlfriend in bed, the fourth brother had just bought a new graphics card and was enthusiastically downloading games, and the second and third brothers were complaining about the recent school lockdown and not being able to go out to play.

Everyone else seemed to have no worries, except for him, who was concerned about the future.

For him, university meant attending classes, doing experiments, working part-time, and occasionally participating in activities just to meet the comprehensive assessment requirements.

"Sixth Brother is back!"

Did Old Man Li take attendance today?

"Going to class in this cold weather, that's really impressive."

"Thank you for your roast duck rice."

As Lin Mo pushed open the door and entered, the dormitory instantly became lively. He put down his backpack, placed the roast duck rice he had bought on the way on Lao Wu's desk, and then quietly sat down at his own desk.

A brightly colored piece of paper caught his eye.

[Hiring Lab Assistant]

Job Requirements: Bachelor's degree or above, with a major in biochemistry preferred; excellent communication skills, quick thinking, patience, meticulousness, and a passion for academics; strong sense of responsibility.

Job Responsibilities: Prepare reagents, chemicals, instruments, and equipment needed for experiments; maintain laboratory cleanliness; assist lab staff with simple operations...

Salary: 20k-23k/month

This was clearly a job posting, and the salary offered attracted Lin Mo, who met almost all the job requirements.

My mother's medical expenses are now covered.

...

"Dean, the target site of the contamination has been identified. Shall we proceed with further experiments?"

Specialized antagonists are currently the only antagonists capable of completely eradicating pollutants. Zhou Zhi drew inspiration from data left over from the laboratory. Previously, he had always tried to find a substance that could eliminate the source material, which was his habitual way of thinking. He experimented with different substances on source materials extracted from different pollutants, without even standardizing the variables; how could he possibly succeed?

Just as there are more than 10,000 types of proteins, the source of each pollutant is also different. They need to classify the pollutants first before conducting experiments.

First, it is necessary to clarify the pathway of action of the source substance in the human body and find the key target of action. The next step is to find the lead compound that has an effect on that target. Finally, the structure of the compound is optimized to produce a special antagonist that targets a certain type or even a certain class.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow," Zhou Zhi said, raising his hand to rub his temples. His wounds were still throbbing, and the long hours of intense work were taking a toll on his body.

Upon hearing that they could leave work, the researchers immediately relaxed and quickly began tidying up the various instruments in the laboratory.

It's 8 PM now. Zhou Zhi picked up his phone and scanned the QR code for two seconds.

Eight o'clock is a relatively early time for him to leave work. He doesn't need to rest in the laboratory building and can go home for a good night's sleep.

The house was very tidy, and the refrigerator was also very tidy. Zhou Zhi realized that because he hadn't been back for a long time, all the food in the refrigerator had been consumed. Last time he left home, he cleaned out the vegetables that were starting to rot and the expired food.

He could have gone downstairs to buy things at this time, but after a long day, he rarely didn't want to do anything and just wanted to lie on the sofa for a while.

Bang bang—

The knocking sounded, and Zhou Zhi was a little surprised, because apart from Ye Ting, no one knew his address, and no one would come to visit.

It's not entirely deserted; contaminants frequently attempt assassinations, but they usually fail. Firstly, because the area is usually deserted, making it difficult to detect any patterns in reconnaissance. Secondly, because they are outmatched.

But those people wouldn't be so polite. Who could it be at this time?

The person knocking on the door had a very regular pattern: three knocks followed by a pause of one or two seconds, as if they were exchanging some kind of secret code.

He opened the door and saw a familiar face.

Xiao Shengyun stood outside the door wearing a casual bear-patterned pajama set and cotton slippers.

"You moved here?" Zhou Zhi realized from the other person's clothing.

"Yes, my neighborhood is polluted. I thought the place you stayed last time was nice, so I was too lazy to look for a place and just rented one here. I think the neighborhood you chose shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Xiao Shengyun smiled. His smile was very approachable, and people would unconsciously develop a good impression of him.

"This place is actually quite nice. You live in this unit?"

"No, it's next door, but there's a staircase outside that connects the two sides. I saw that there were lights on your side, so I thought I'd visit my neighbor next door."

"They're neighbors from the building across the street." Perhaps infected by the other person's smile, Zhou Zhi also relaxed.

"I made pork rib soup. You probably haven't had dinner yet, right? It would be such a shame to miss it," Xiao Shengyun said pitifully. Perhaps because he looked young, like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old college student, even with this expression, it wasn't offensive, and it seemed no one would refuse his request.

"No." Zhou Zhi shook his head, remembering Ye Ting's reminder that he should talk more when chatting with people, as saying just a few words at a time often kills the conversation. He continued, "Some of the vegetables I bought at the supermarket last time were spoiled, so I threw them all away. I might need to buy some more ingredients tomorrow."

"Then it seems I arrived just in time."

Xiao Shengyun's eyes lit up, and he seemed to become cheerful. He led the people downstairs. There was a door in the stairwell on the next floor, and outside was a small platform that connected all the units in the building.

The platform was on the tenth floor, and the wind was strong. The thin pajamas were blown by the wind, and the little bear on them was slightly wrinkled, outlining the owner's tall and slender waist.

Zhou Zhi stared blankly at the expanse of fair skin. He recalled the disappointment he felt when he woke up in the hospital, opened his eyes, and instinctively looked at the next room, only to find it empty.

Human emotions arise from connection.

"Let's eat." Xiao Shengyun enthusiastically brought the food to the table, and the aroma quickly filled the entire room.

The pork rib soup, simmered for two hours, turned a milky white color. The meat was completely tender, and corn and yam were added. It was already very delicious with just a few grains of salt.

In this chilly autumn, a bowl of warm soup is truly a delight for both body and mind.

"Is your injury any better? I saw your medical records at the hospital. Even the shortest fracture can't heal in ten days," Zhou Zhi asked. Then, realizing his tone was a bit stern, he added, "What I mean is that you can stay in the hospital for a longer period of treatment. No matter how busy the operations department is, we can't let wounded soldiers go on missions while injured."

"I'm much better. Captain Ye is very kind. He told me to get some rest and even gave me a subsidy." Xiao Shengyun explained, not wanting Ye Ting to be misunderstood.

"That's what they should do. The research institute offers generous bonuses, and it's not as dangerous as the operations department. Why don't you consider it?"

Zhou Zhi didn't give up. Those who couldn't be contaminated were practically born with innate scientific geniuses—no, they were born with a divine body for scientific research. Especially after the development of a special antagonist, there was an urgent need for a large number of talented individuals.

Moreover, he felt that the other party was better than the idiots around him.

Xiao Shengyun... He shamefully felt a flutter in his heart for a second.

You can stay with your source core every day, and there's plenty of food there.

But he was still afraid. First, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself and would dig out the source core directly. Second, he was afraid that the other party would find out his identity and dissect him.

Most importantly, he knew absolutely nothing about chemistry, and the only thing he could do there was wash bottles.

"No need." Xiao Shengyun shook his head firmly. His fragile heart couldn't take it if he had to slice up his own kind every day.

"What exactly is it about the Operations Department that attracts you?" Zhou Zhi wasn't angry, just puzzled, and his mood was somewhat complicated. This was the first time he had personally extended an olive branch, and it had been rejected several times.

“I’m better at fighting, battling pollutants on the front lines, and rescuing many people gives me a greater sense of accomplishment,” Xiao Shengyun responded firmly.

He looked extremely righteous and awe-inspiring, much like a naive and innocent newbie who had just joined the action unit and been successfully brainwashed.

"Okay, but we've been through so much together, so we're friends now. You can contact me anytime if you have any questions."

The word "friend" rolled on his tongue as if he were saying it for the first time.

"Today's dinner was delicious."

His expression was very serious, or rather, Dean Zhou was very serious about everyone and everything around him.

He was so serious that Xiao Shengyun felt a deep sense of guilt.

I'm giving you dinner because I want to have you as my dinner.

“Okay,” he vaguely heard himself say softly, “then we’re friends.”