Chapter 96 - 93: Stop Them
Li Dong hadn’t actually bolted early just to dodge the recruitment teams from Shuimu and Yan University.
Just two days before the scores were released, Sun Xiang had given him a call.
"Li Dong, we got news from Zhejiang University! The batch of Alpine Willow Chrysanthemum callus we infected with Agrobacterium before the New Year has successfully differentiated into T0 generation seedlings!"
"We can now start extracting leaf DNA, perform PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing, and identify the positive knockout lines!"
This was the most critical step: identifying the positive mutants to lay the foundation for restoring the Alpine Willow Chrysanthemum’s sexual reproduction and achieving Mendel’s 3:1 segregation ratio in the T1 generation!
The moment Li Dong heard this, he couldn’t care less about checking his college entrance exam scores. He immediately bought a high-speed rail ticket and headed straight for Zhejiang University.
Meanwhile, at the Zhejiang University School of Life Sciences’ Plant Tissue Culture and Molecular Identification Laboratory.
Li Dong, dressed in a white lab coat, sat before a clean bench.
In just a few months, the original callus had grown into vibrant green seedlings.
He was using forceps to carefully snip and collect sterile leaves from the Alpine Willow Chrysanthemum seedlings inside the clean bench. Then, he moved to a regular lab bench, placed the leaves into a mortar filled with liquid nitrogen, and swiftly ground them.
He possessed [Life Analysis], and with his Concentration Attribute already at 0.3, his movements were a sight to behold—fluid and graceful. Even when faced with the immense workload of several hundred samples, after completing the time-consuming DNA extraction, his use of a multichannel pipette to prepare the PCR reaction mixes was effortless.
Even a third-year grad student passing by couldn’t help but stare in admiration, his own pipetting slowing by half a beat.
...
Meanwhile, in Professor Zhang’s office.
A middle-aged man was sitting on the sofa, grinning as he pressed his palms together toward Professor Zhang Minfang.
"Professor Zhang, thank you so, so much this time! If it weren’t for your cooperation, we really wouldn’t have known where to intercept the kid."
Professor Zhang Minfang, however, did not look pleased.
He lifted his teacup and took a sip.
"Director Wang, let me be clear."
"This is the first and last time."
The man sitting before Professor Zhang was none other than Director Wang from Zhejiang University’s admissions office.
Just this afternoon, the college entrance exam scores for the Sichuan-Chongqing Region were released.
Li Dong of Jiangcheng Sixth Middle School, total college entrance exam score: 723!
Aside from 133 in Chinese and 140 in English, he got a perfect 150 in Math and a perfect 300 in Comprehensive Science!
The undisputed top science scorer of Sichuan-Yu Province!
Although the Sichuan-Chongqing Region used the relatively simple National Paper A for their exam.
But perfect scores in both math and science? Even in Jiangzhe Province, notorious for its nightmare-difficulty exams, that would be considered incredible.
What’s more, all the top universities knew this kid had also won a one-million-yuan prize from Huaxuan Technology—a first in the history of the Huaxuan Cup.
And Huaxuan Technology still hadn’t released the answer to the final question of the competition, which had started plenty of talk.
Of course, they didn’t know about the two million in external research funding yet...
So, the moment Zhejiang University’s admissions office got the data, they went into a frenzy, immediately mobilizing their entire network to track down Li Dong’s whereabouts.
And what did they find? The kid was already doing experiments in their own School of Life Sciences building! Under the supervision of none other than Zhang Minfang!
Director Wang immediately scurried over to Professor Zhang, hoping he would act as an intermediary.
Professor Zhang was a researcher in the purest sense. What he despised and looked down on most were these kinds of underhanded recruitment tactics.
Besides, as a C9 League university, Zhejiang University wasn’t exactly short on outstanding students.
But...
Professor Zhang sighed internally.
’I really have high hopes for Li Dong!’
’The kid’s hands-on skills are just ridiculous. I’ve supervised so many doctoral students, and I’ve never seen anyone handle reagents on a lab bench so flawlessly.’
"Director Wang, don’t get the wrong idea."
Professor Zhang waved his hand.
"The reason I had him come to Zhejiang University at this critical juncture wasn’t to give your admissions office a convenient excuse to coordinate with."
"It’s because the experiment has genuinely reached the crucial stage of identifying the T0 generation mutants, and I needed him here to handle it personally."
"I won’t be the one to say anything to him, but..."
"He just started the PCR program a few dozen minutes ago. It should be done in about an hour, and after that, he still needs to run a gel electrophoresis."
Professor Zhang pointed toward the door.
"You can go talk to him yourself when the time comes. I’m not getting involved in this messy business of poaching students!"
Director Wang didn’t get angry upon hearing this.
"Understood, understood! I won’t disturb you any longer, then. I’ll go downstairs and wait!"
Director Wang jogged all the way to the ground floor of the laboratory building.
Just then, a few members of his admissions team arrived, panting, to meet up with him.
"Director Wang! Is the top science scorer from Sichuan-Yu Province... really upstairs in our building?"
a young staffer asked excitedly.
"Yes, he is. He’s up there doing an experiment right now!" Director Wang nodded.
Hearing this, the group grew incredibly excited.
Their excitement wasn’t because Li Dong’s score was earth-shatteringly high—after all, there’s a top scorer every year, and how many points they get doesn’t affect their salaries.
What they were excited about was...
This year, today! It seemed their Zhejiang University could finally go head-to-head with Shuimu and Yan University on the main battlefield of student recruitment!
The thrill of snatching a prize from the tiger’s jaws was even better than getting a year-end bonus!
Just then, Director Wang’s phone suddenly rang.
It was the security captain he’d posted as a lookout at the Zhejiang University gate.
Director Wang answered the call.
"Hello? Old Zhao, what’s the situation?"
"Director Wang, Shuimu University’s recruitment car has pulled up to our main gate!"
Director Wang’s heart skipped a beat.
’Are these guys part dog? How is their sense of smell so sharp!’
Then, Old Zhao twisted the knife: "It’s not just Shuimu—Yan University’s car just pulled up next to them! Both groups are getting ready to come inside!"
"Stop them! Stop them at all costs!"
Director Wang roared into the phone.
"Notify the security department! Tell them the School of Life Sciences is conducting a confidential experiment today. No outside vehicles or personnel are allowed on campus!"
After hanging up, Director Wang paced anxiously at the foot of the building.
’Hurry up, Student Li... Time waits for no one!’
Ten minutes later...
The glass door of the laboratory building was finally pushed open.
Li Dong, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, emerged slowly, rubbing his slightly aching temples.
Extracting DNA from several hundred samples and preparing the PCR reaction mix had drained a tremendous amount of his energy, but thankfully, the machine had been running smoothly for a while now. The intense, high-precision work had left his head feeling a bit fuzzy. With an hour to go before the PCR finished, he decided to step out for some fresh air.
Director Wang’s eyes lit up, and he dashed forward in a single bound.
"Ah! Student Li, hello, hello!"
"I’m Director Wang from Zhejiang University’s admissions office!"
Although Li Dong’s head was still a bit fuzzy, the moment he heard the words "admissions office," he knew exactly why the man was there.
Before he could even speak, Director Wang hurriedly began.
"Student Li, congratulations on becoming the top science scorer in Sichuan-Yu Province! We’ve all seen your scores—they’re simply phenomenal!"
"When you’re choosing your university, you must give top priority to our Zhejiang University!"
"If you agree to come, you can pick any major you want! You’ll get direct admission into the elite class of Zhu Kezhen College! And you’ll immediately be awarded the highest-tier, full-ride scholarship for undergraduate freshmen!"
Afraid that wasn’t enough, Director Wang decided to play the emotional card.
"And look, aren’t you already working on a project here with Professor Zhang Minfang in our School of Life Sciences?"
"Professor Zhang is a national-level authority in his field! If you come to Zhejiang University, not only can you logically continue with your project, but getting your master’s and Ph.D. under him would be as simple as asking. How convenient is that?"
Director Wang looked at Li Dong, his face full of expectation.
After listening to this pitch, Li Dong paused for a moment.
He shook his head politely.
"Director Wang, thank you for your kind offer."
"But I’ve actually already spoken to Professor Zhang about this..."
Li Dong’s gaze was clear and resolute.
"I probably won’t be choosing Zhejiang University."
"Huh? Wh-why?"
Li Dong replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Because I like physics."
With that, Li Dong gave a polite nod, walked around Director Wang, and headed toward the campus gate.
His mind was currently preoccupied with running the gel electrophoresis after the PCR finished. Once tomorrow’s Sanger sequencing results came back, it would be clear at a glance whether the homologous genes in those Alpine Willow Chrysanthemum strains had been successfully knocked out.
Director Wang stood frozen at the building’s entrance, like a statue.
"Likes physics?"
"Then why did you come all the way to our Zhejiang University School of Life Sciences lab to work on a project?"
Director Wang was utterly baffled.
He simply could not figure out this top science scorer’s train of thought.