Li Zheng and his two companions had a brief discussion before heading upstairs on time and entering the meeting room, where the other participants had already taken their places.
Seeing these three appear like daunting figures, Zhang Shandong, who was conversing with those beside him, suddenly startled and stood up from the table. "How did you guys get here?"
This left Li Zheng somewhat puzzled as he spread his hands and said, "Aren’t we here to discuss our project?"
"Ah... right," Zhang Shandong hurriedly retracted his surprise and gestured with his hand, "Sit... please sit, we’re about to start."
Li Zheng and his group then greeted several teachers and made their way to some empty seats on the side.
Just from Zhang Shandong’s reaction, a lot of information was already revealed.
It seemed he had no intention of notifying Li Zheng’s group; instead, it was Professor Bing from the Biology Institute who had informed Mo Nian.
As for the two professors from the Biology Institute, Bing Qingquan had short hair mixed with white strands and possessed a demeanor like Ning’er, though he currently appeared quite confused.
The other professor, a man with thick hair, showed a surprise similar to Zhang Shandong’s.
Once seated, Zhang Shandong introduced them, and they learned that this professor was named Hu Haibo, whose research focus was on biomacromolecules and proteins.
Of course, for Li Zheng, such introductions weren’t really necessary.
[Bing Qingquan]
[Academic Power: 2358]
[Scholastic Wealth: 5702]
[Hu Haibo]
[Academic Power: 1882]
[Scholastic Wealth: 10047]
According to Li Zheng’s judgment, Bing Qingquan’s academic credentials were in basic agreement; Hu Haibo’s figures were somewhat inflated, but still within a tolerable range.
As for Zhang Shandong, data of such a miscellaneous nature was directly disregarded.
On the other hand, Wu Yue, sitting there, visibly uneasy, kept trying to give Li Zheng some looks, but retracted in silence.
The atmosphere was undeniably strange.
"Alright, let’s begin," Zhang Shandong said, forcefully starting the meeting, "First of all, on behalf of Yingpei, I would like to thank Professor Hu and Professor Bing for coming to guide us. Although we have few students here today, they are all absolutely outstanding. Let’s give a round of applause to thank the two professors."
In the obligatory applause, Hu Haibo and Bing Qingquan exchanged looks and then smilingly said, "Teacher Zhang is too kind. Although we started our specialties a few years earlier, often our research can become stereotyped. It’s a rare opportunity for us to discuss issues from an interdisciplinary perspective with the students of Yingpei."
"Professor Hu is too modest," Zhang Shandong continued elaborately, "This meeting mainly discusses the initiation of experiments related to ’Electron Beam Molecular CT Scanning Technology.’ I believe all teachers have already reviewed the proposal report, so first, may I invite both professors to briefly comment on this project?"
Li Zheng wanted to interrupt and clarify the situation, but Hu Haibo immediately picked up the thread of the discussion.
In five minutes, he generously affirmed the project idea and expressed a desire to immediately delve deeper into cooperation.
When it was Bing Qingquan’s turn to speak, she exchanged a look with Mo Nian, then set down the report in her hand and asked the opposite side, "As far as I know, you have already collaborated with the Chemistry Institute on this project?"
Mo Nian waited for a nod from Li Zheng before standing up.
"Yes, and we have already submitted the final report for publication. I believe Teacher Zhang is also aware of these matters, so I can’t understand why it’s necessary to waste Professor Bing’s and Professor Hu’s time, nor can I understand why this meeting is taking place."
The meeting room instantaneously fell into an awkward silence.
After a long while, Zhang Shandong forcefully maintained a soothing smile.
"I’ve heard a bit about your collaboration with the Chemistry Institute, but that doesn’t affect the academy’s commitment to providing further, better support for you. As for the project’s conclusion... this is the first I’m hearing of it. After all, the cycle for such research is at least three to six months."
"Alright, I can understand," Mo Nian said, spreading his hands. "So, what are we doing now?"
"Uh, Mo Nian, please take a seat," Zhang Shandong pressed down with his hand and sighed, "Here’s the thing, since a project application was made to the academy, the academy is obligated to provide support. We are pleased to see that you could start cooperation with the Chemistry Institute in your own way, but that doesn’t mean our internal processes have to stop. On the contrary, the academy connected you with the best professors from the School of Biological Sciences and managed to secure access to the most advanced 300KV cryo-electron microscope. Not just me, but including Professor Hu and Professor Bing, we all believe you can achieve even deeper research results with the aid of higher-end equipment."
"Teacher Zhang, I’m not sure you understand what I’m saying," Mo Nian said sternly, pausing between each word. "We have already completed the project."
Zhang Shandong looked embarrassingly at Hu Haibo.
After a brief thought, Hu Haibo raised his hand and said.
"Mo Nian, right? Please, take a seat."
"I’ve heard Professor Bing mention you, extremely impressive."
"For that reason, you must also understand that cutting-edge experiments are highly dependent on the environment and equipment."
"Take our Biology Institute’s microscope, for example—its efficiency, resolution, stability, data storage capacity, processing capacity, and software algorithms are all a generation ahead of other microscopes in China. With the support of such equipment, I believe you can judge the depth of research and breadth of results yourself."
"It’s great that you’ve completed the research; I congratulate you. However, in the academic circle, it’s quite normal and reasonable for several teams to conduct similar research or even for one team to delve deeper into the same project they did before. I’m sure more advanced microscopes could inspire you to discover more findings."
"Dear students, continuing the project here doesn’t contradict your past research."
"For instance, your previous focus was on the analysis of single substance powders and small molecules in compounds. If you have access to better equipment next, you could undertake analyses at the sub-micron level, pushing resolution to 0.5Å; this is the advantage the new microscope can offer you."
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
After Hu Haibo finished speaking, he confidently scanned the three individuals.
"To put it another way, from a worldly perspective, producing two different top-tier papers in the same field only has advantages, no disadvantages. This includes teachers from Yingpei and Dean Niu, who is visiting abroad; they would all be pleased to see such outcomes."
"What do you say?"
Hu Haibo spoke with too much conviction, he even completely could not find a reason to reject it.
But...
"Have you read our paper?" Li Zheng suddenly spoke up.
Hu Haibo was startled for a moment, then innocently replied, "How could I? It hasn’t been published yet."
"Then how do you know the data focuses listed in our paper are on the analysis of single substance powders and the small molecules in compounds?"
"I heard about it; it’s not a secret."
"Heard from whom?"
Zhang Shandong suddenly interrupted, "Ah, Li Zheng, this isn’t any scientific secret. There’s no need to hold it so dearly. Teacher Hu coming here to guide us is because he appreciates our fellow students’ talents. You shouldn’t talk this way."
"Teacher Zhang." Li Zheng gently shook his head, "If you don’t understand, then don’t interrupt recklessly. This is a serious issue of academic plagiarism, and now things are very serious. Please, don’t speak for now."
Zhang Shandong was taken aback.
Completely.
Dumbfounded.
He found no reason even to be furious.
Li Zheng continued looking at Hu Haibo, "As Teacher Zhang said, our group, including the team from the Chemical Institute, treasures its work highly. Everyone is prohibited from leaking any research progress and specific details. So it is essential for me to know where you got our research details. I fully believe you were informed unwillingly, but I just want to know who broke the confidentiality agreement."
At that moment.
Hu Haibo was also almost dumbstruck.
Struck silent, he could not utter a word for a long time.
"......."
Li Zheng was truly relentless, "So you insist on protecting that leaker, right?"
"Li Zheng...student..." Hu Haibo’s complexion visibly became more agitated, "It’s not that serious, and there’s no need. I just, in the process of understanding the topics, heard someone reveal it unintentionally. This isn’t exactly leaking, and it’s far from plagiarism."
"Fine, I understand. Now, back to the previous question." Li Zheng straightforwardly said, "We have satisfied ourselves with the research and exploration of this topic. Henceforth, we leave the matter to our peers. Specifically, the 200KV electron microscope has already completely met all experimental conditions. Increasing it to 300KV might improve efficiency by about 20%. We welcome peers to perform similar optimizations, but for us to do it would just be duplicating papers. I clearly understand my own level, and I will not waste time on such matters."
"...Okay, I understand," Hu Haibo’s face had already sunken completely, then he turned to look at Zhang Shandong.
"Then, Li Zheng, you may leave," said Zhang Shandong, nodding with suppressed anger.
Is that all?
Li Zheng was briefly lost in confusion.
"Excuse me, Teacher Zhang," Bing Qingquan suddenly raised his hand, "After Li Zheng and the others leave, will we continue the discussion?"
"Hmm… actually, initially Li Zheng and his team weren’t invited..." Zhang Shandong said with a grimace, shaking his head, only addressing Li Zheng, "Any other questions?"
Before Li Zheng could speak, Chang Keqing was the first to rise.
"According to my understanding, the ownership of this topic now lies with the institutes; the institutes plan to continue promoting it and have assigned Wu Yue and Liu Yuwei to lead, is that correct, Teacher Zhang?"
Zhang Shandong cocked his head and said nothing, not even nodding.
He thought these issues had already blocked out Li Zheng’s team, but unexpectedly, they surfaced again.
Seeing this situation, Li Zheng’s scalp tingled.
It wasn’t that the logic of the situation was too complex for him to figure out.
It was just that the shamelessness exceeded his imagination.
Mo Nian was even more agitated and stood up, though at first, he could not find the right words to say and struggled for a long time before shouting out.
"You can’t do this!!!"
"Alright, there’s nothing more for you here," Zhang Shandong vaguely waved his hand, "Differential research on similar topics is quite necessary on a grand scale... The equipment, resources, and outcomes all belong to the university; you individuals need not be so sensitive..."
"Teacher Zhang, Professor Hu." Chang Keqing, supporting himself on the table, looked at them one after the other, "Of course, you can conduct differential studies based on our work, but it must happen after our papers are successfully published. You should be very clear about the editorial and revision cycles of scientific journals, which range from three months to two years. If you start research or even publish ahead of us, while ours is still not published, describing such an act as plagiarism seems too gracious—it’s robbery!"
Bang!
Zhang Shandong finally slammed the table and stood up.
"Have you had enough?" Zhang Shandong pointed at them and yelled, "I told you, no one has seen your paper. If you can be inspired, does it forbid others from conducting research? This is a university, a temple of academe, not a place for rushing to register patents!"
Chang Keqing raised his hand to curse, but Li Zheng held him down.
"I understand now." Li Zheng held down Chang Keqing’s hand, scrutinizing Zhang Shandong, shook his head and smiled, "You’re bullying us plain students, right? No connections, no backing? Cunning and forceful, Teacher Zhang, you have indeed taught me a lesson."
"Enough, get out!" Zhang Shandong’s hand flipped towards the door, "Another word and you will be disciplined according to school rules!!!"
"School rules?!" Mo Nian immediately grew furious, his hand flung his notebook fiercely against the wall, pointing at Zhang Shandong and burst into fierce cursing, "Us coming to Yingpei was giving you face! Every person at Zhongke Jinghua was begging me to join them! You qualify?"
"Mo Nian!" Bing Qingquan, who had been quiet, suddenly stood up and scolded, "That’s enough, come out with me!"
"..." Mo Nian glared fiercely at Zhang Shandong and jabbed the table with his finger, actually producing a dull thud.
Fortunately, Bing Qingquan had already rounded the table and was forcefully pulling him outside, while calling out to Li Zheng and Chang Keqing, "You two come out too."
Just then.
Ding, ding.
Li Zheng’s cellphone rang.
No time to look.
Ding, ding.
It rang again.
Then.
Ding ding ding ding ding ding...
Ringing incessantly.
At the same time, Chang Keqing’s and Mo Nian’s cellphones also started ringing.
The three exchanged glances, sensing the same thing.
No time to go outside, they grabbed their phones impatiently.
Bombarded by one notification after another scrolling across the screen.
[Zhou Yi:]
[Quick, check the "Science" website!! Made the front page headline! Record speed!!! A never-before-seen rapid publication! Forget those idiots, smash the door and go out! Right now, smash the door and leave!!]
[Hu Zengwu:]
[The reviewer is a friend from the University of California, Los Angeles Branch, Chemistry Institute. They reproduced the experiment the night they received the paper and were shocked by its simplicity, which led them to request an expedited revision to publish before other journals. I’ve given them your email; they’ll invite you to register your own scientist page on the "Science" website. The rest you can ask for yourself; this is all I can help with.]
[Shen Yiyun:]
[So angry! You were clearly taught by me!! (cry) (cry) (cry)]
[Shi Yang:]
[Hahaha, Old Hu’s friend is really reliable. Open your eyes on Monday, and it’s actually published!]
Before they even finished reading these messages, a series of phone calls followed.
They looked at each other and laughed.
Without even glancing at the people in the room, they followed Bing Qingquan outside.
Zhang Shandong became panicked, trembling as he stood up: "Wait... it’s only been a few days... it’s already published?! Is it a domestic journal?"
The group of people walked away briskly, paying no attention to him at all.
Li Zheng was the last one out, but not without turning back to give a gentle knock on the door.
"It’s not over until I say it’s over."
Then!
Bang!
As Zhou Yi commanded, they smashed the door and left!
Zhang Shandong collapsed back into his seat with a crash.
On the other side, Hu Haibo quickly glanced at his phone, chuckling as he stood up to say,
"Students from your institute... really have character... Since Li Zheng and Teacher Bing are not too keen on continuing... I can’t perform this monologue alone... We’ll collaborate in the future if there’s a chance, if there’s a chance."
After speaking, Hu Haibo nodded to the others and hurriedly left as well.
At this moment, the conference room was left with only Zhang Shandong, the woman teacher beside him who never spoke, and Wu Yue and Liu Yuwei further beside.
For some reason, Wu Yue appeared relieved and leaned in to advise, "Then... Teacher Zhang, we’ll go back to working on our philosophy history project... Don’t take today’s events too much to heart."
Zhang Shandong seemed as if he heard nothing, simply sitting there dazed, continuously muttering to himself.
"So fast... how could it be so fast... is the editor his father... that person... quickly check... is his father the editor... which obscure domestic journal is it... "
"It’s ’Science’." The woman beside put down her phone and shook her head, "Less than three weeks into school, ’Science’, unprecedented, Teacher Zhang."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shandong completely collapsed.
The woman teacher quickly waved her hand at the two students, "You go ahead."
Wu Yue and Liu Yuwei then also rose and took their leave.
After leaving the meeting room, Wu Yue took a deep breath, "Phew... that’s good... otherwise, I might not have been able to handle it..."
"Good? What’s good!" Liu Yuwei turned her head, wanting to scold him, but looking at Wu Yue’s timid appearance, she eventually swallowed her words, "Ah... never mind."
At the entrance of the office building.
Li Zheng, Chang Keqing, and Mo Nian couldn’t even walk, let alone respond to messages, as they were continuously taking calls.
First came the call from Zhou Yi.
There was no content, just laughter.
"Haha! Haha!"
"Hahahahahaha!!"
"Hahahaha!!!"
The 40-something-year-old dean laughed like a toddler who’d just received a new toy.
Li Zheng couldn’t simply hang up, so he had to listen, listening to him laugh a few times, and eventually, he too was infected and started laughing along.
Chang Keqing, beside him, received a call from Shen Yiyun because she couldn’t reach Li Zheng on his phone, so she had to call Chang Keqing.
With Shen Yiyun’s description, the reason for the rapid publication became much clearer.
The talks were all about a twist of fate.
The friend whom Hu Zengwu had asked to call wasn’t a preliminary editor, but a senior editor at the University of California’s School of Biochemistry, a powerhouse who directly requested the manuscript from the preliminary editor after Li Zheng submitted it, shocked by the streamlined breakthrough content, immediately gathered three to five students to perfectly replicate it in their lab.
Insiders knew the ropes, as a rule, the breakthrough and difficulty of experiments are directly proportional—the more remarkable the result one wants to achieve, the longer it takes. Experiments like these, extremely simple yet tremendously revolutionary, are one in ten thousand yet urgently needed; even a slight delay of three to five days could lead to someone else or another journal scooping the publication.
The powerhouse hence immediately went through the emergency process, the other two senior reviewers also started reviewing under his urging. Normally, even excellent research papers need to be sent back for one or two rounds of revisions, but this time was special, first because the situation was urgent, very susceptible to being scooped, and second because the manuscript was of substantial foundational strength, making it hard to find any issues worth noting, truly the handiwork of a veteran "Science" contributor.
Thanks to both Hu Zengwu and the senior reviewer’s mutual endorsement and managing the interests with editor-in-chief Chen Qing after, it truly got published first on the electronic version and the homepage of the website; considering the printing cycle and other issues, the print weekly would probably be delayed by about two more weeks.
Looking at the whole process, Hu Zengwu definitely played a crucial role.
Although his personality was unpleasant, he was indeed a pragmatic and generous professor who enjoyed giving opportunities to the youth.
Of course, for him, Huan Bao’er was his darling.
On the phone, Zhou Yi laughed until he seemed to cry, or maybe he really cried. Either way, he sounded like a drunken man, inexplicably opening up about all sorts of past incidents, and casually cursing how incredibly lucky Li Zheng was, and how many unrepresented talents struggled to find shelter while you, bastard, became famous right out of your mother’s womb.
On the other side, due to his limited social circle, Mo Nian had time to read the comments from all sides.
And this made him very unhappy.
Whether it was in chat groups, forums, or any larger community, almost everyone was discussing Li Zheng, occasionally mixed with the stench of Shi Yang.
[God Zheng! Take your place!]
[It’s over, Ji University is empty, God Zheng is at Jinghua.]
[I think we can hire him as a professor already...It’s no big deal compared to building rockets.]
[Quiet God is gone forever below.]
[Has no one noticed that Cobalt God is also the first author? I only ship brotherly CP from the restroom!]
[Didn’t anyone notice Zhou Chenghuan? He scouted a lifetime for high school students, finally made it to "Science"! It was he who raised God Zheng himself. Throw confetti! Forever the god, Huan Bao’er!]
The information was so overwhelming that the three didn’t even notice Wu Yue and Liu Yuwei slipping past them, nor did they notice Bing Qingquan leaving first.
After bearing the bombardment of information for nearly half an hour, the three finally had a moment of peace.
In front of Li Zheng, a task completion message finally popped up, but now was not the time to look at that.
As the dust settled, Li Zheng then pressed down on their shoulders and said.
"Happy as we are, let’s settle something first."
"Generally speaking, for things like today, I don’t have time and I don’t care, what’s past is past."
"But this time, a line was crossed. You both know, I’ve long cared about more than just myself, I really focus on the environment."
"So, it’s up to us."
"Just let it go?"
"Or not done yet?"
Mo Nian and Chang Keqing didn’t respond, just smiled.
Li Zheng smiled as well.
Good.
This isn’t over!