YX Factor
Every time, Li Qiang would grab the edge of the bed tightly in a half-conscious state, mumbling "No, I won't go" and "It's okay" incoherently, with a kind of fear in his eyes that they could not understand.
Li Qiang vaguely knew that he had touched something he shouldn't have touched. That old house, especially the attic, exuded an evil aura. Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare go back.
But he wasn't willing to give up just like that. The unknown substance in the water, the soil that made ordinary cabbages grow wildly... the secrets hidden behind this were enough to make him a sensation in the world of biology.
Fear and ambition fought back and forth in his mind, but in the end, the desire for success prevailed.
On the fourth day, Li Qiang was finally able to get out of bed and walk. His face was still frighteningly pale, but his eyes were bright and unusual. He ignored his parents' objections, saying that his bones were weak from lying there and he wanted to go out for some fresh air.
Late that night, after his parents had fallen asleep, Li Qiang slipped out of the house again in the dark. He didn't dare approach Zhong Ling's old house, but went straight to the burned vegetable patch behind the house.
In the dim moonlight, he looked at the charred land, his heart pounding. He took the largest shovel in the house and several thick snakeskin bags, and like a tomb robber, he dug frantically in the vegetable garden.
He specifically picked the edges that hadn't been burned too thoroughly, and put large handfuls of the soil underneath, which had a somewhat special color and texture, into bags.
He dug for most of the night, not stopping until several snakeskin bags were bulging. Looking at the vegetable patch he had dug into, he panted heavily and laboriously smoothed the scorched earth on the surface, trying to cover up his tracks.
By the time he was done, the sky was already turning pale. He dragged the heavy snakeskin bag, like a thief, along the village path, and quietly returned home, hiding his "trophies" under the firewood pile in the corner of his yard.
The next day, Li Qiang hurriedly left Yunxi Village, ignoring his parents' concerns, on the pretext of "an emergency at school."
He hired a car and after several rounds of transfers, he finally transported those large bags of "precious" soil back to the school.
He took the remaining water and soil to the laboratory, locked the door, drew the curtains, and began taking samples for analysis. At the same time, he began to organize all previous experimental data and records.
He temporarily named the unique, unclassifiable signal peak detected in the water sample "YX Factor" (YXF).
Afterwards, he recorded in detail the differences in growth data of Chinese cabbage grown in Zhong Ling's soil and ordinary control group soil, including various indicators such as growth rate, chlorophyll content, and stem strength, and attached clear comparison photos.
These data and findings are enough to constitute a very impactful paper.
Li Qiang sat in front of his computer, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard. He poured all his discoveries, speculations, and data analysis into this paper.
He deliberately concealed the specific source information of the "YX factor", and only vaguely described it as "special water and soil samples collected from a village in China", emphasizing its amazing effect on promoting plant growth and its potential biological activity value.
He knew the potential stir and risks this paper would cause once published, but he was too obsessed with it. His repressed ambition and extreme desire for success forced him to take the risk.
After writing the last word and checking it over and over again to make sure there were no obvious flaws, Li Qiang took a deep breath and clicked on the online submission page of the top international biology journal "Cellular Discovery".
He packaged the paper and all supporting data and uploaded it, then solemnly clicked the "Submit" button.
Looking at the "Submission successful" prompt that popped up on the screen, Li Qiang's face showed a complex and fanatical smile.
The seeds have been planted, and now we just have to wait and see what kind of fruit they will bear.
He leaned back in his chair, feeling his heart beating violently with excitement and fear, and looked out the window, as if he had already seen the day when he would stand at the pinnacle of academia and receive everyone's attention.
For Li Qiang, every second after submitting the paper was torture.
Half a month passed.
The initial excitement mixed with fear had long been worn away by the long and anxious wait.
He paced back and forth in the dormitory like a wild beast trapped in a cage. His computer screen was basically on all the time, and he refreshed the email interface every hour, but he never received any email.
The bags of soil stolen from Zhong Ling's house were hidden under the bed, wrapped in thick black plastic bags.
He didn't dare to fall asleep easily. Once he closed his eyes, dazzling golden light and twisted runes would sway in front of him, and the remaining numbness in his fingertips seemed to come back again.
His parents called, their voices filled with worry, asking him how he was doing at school and whether he was feeling better.
He was vague, saying only that he was busy with studies and that the experiment was going well. He suppressed his irritation and fear and hung up in a hurry. He didn't dare say more, for fear of making more mistakes.
Cellular Discovery is a top journal in the field of biology, with a huge number of submissions and a long review cycle.
He understood the principle, but the feeling of waiting was exhausting him.
He began to wonder if the data in his paper wasn't solid enough? Had those renowned international reviewers seen through his vague source material? Or perhaps the paper had simply been buried in the sea, unworthy of even a review?
He began to regret his impulsiveness. Perhaps, the safest path was to quietly conduct research, accumulate experience, and publish a few papers in ordinary journals.
But when he thought about the disruptive potential represented by the "YX factor" and the possible fame and status in the future, he was unwilling to give up.
Just when Li Qiang was about to give up, the email icon in the lower right corner of the computer, which had been silent for half a month, suddenly flashed.
"Ding Dong." A soft sound.
Li Qiang's heart skipped a beat, nearly jumping out of his throat. He rushed to the computer and clicked on the unread email.
From: Editorial Office, Cellular Discovery.
Email title: Decision on Submission.
Li Qiang's fingertips hovered over the mouse, hesitant to click. Was it a rejection? Or...
He took a deep breath and pressed the left button sharply.
The email content expands.
"Dear Dr. Li Qiang,"
The first word of the title made his eyes warm.
"We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript entitled'Preliminary Study on YX Factor (YXF): A Novel Bioactive Substance Promoting Plant Growth' has been epted for publication in Cellular Discovery."
epted!
Accepted!
Li Qiang widened his eyes and stared at the word, as if he wanted to engrave it into his mind.
He looked at it three times to make sure he was not dazzled and it was not an illusion.
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