Chapter 26: Special Treatment

  The man pointed to the newspaper headline and said, "Meining University announced that they have found a new key to curing cancer—a new type of gene immunotherapy drug. It can directly kill cancer cells without surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy, and theoretically achieve a 100% cure rate. Reportedly, if all goes well, the first batch of reagents will be ready for clinical trials in three months, and the official product might hit the market next year..."

  "If it's on the front page, it must be true."

  His words immediately drew the attention of everyone present. A cure that required no surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy to directly kill cancer cells—this might not seem like much to healthy people, but to this group of patients and families who had long battled cancer, it was nothing short of a bombshell.

  But someone quickly sneered in disbelief. "How could that be? That must be fake news. These days, people make up anything for money—qigong therapy, starvation therapy—they all turned out fake. I bet this is just hype, right, Director Tu?" The man grabbed Director Tu, who happened to be walking by, and asked.

  The latter also happened to be holding a newspaper. Hearing the question, he surprisingly pulled up a chair, sat down, raised the paper, and smiled. "I don’t know about other things, but this announcement came from Academician Zheng Yuntai and Academician Ding Pengshan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Academician Shangguan Hong from the Chinese Academy of Engineering. They’re all senior experts in gene engineering and cellular immunology. Especially Professor Shangguan—he’s an absolute authority in biological immunotherapy..."

  "Three academicians made the announcement? Then it must be true!" Everyone’s eyes lit up. A cancer cure—that was something scientists around the world didn’t even dare dream of.

  Director Tu pondered for a moment, then said, "Hehe, let’s wait and see. Right now, most targeted drugs on the market are imported, extremely expensive, and not long-lasting. Worse, some patients develop resistance to them. If an immune drug can truly and completely kill cancer cells, it would be a milestone in the history of human medicine."

  After Director Tu’s words, everyone became excited, including Xu Danlu and her parents. Xu Danlu in particular grabbed Zhang Yang’s arm and shouted, "Zhang Yang! Zhang Yang! It’s from Meining University! This is amazing! Academician Zheng even taught us before!"

  Though her voice wasn’t loud, everyone nearby was immediately drawn to her words and crowded around.

  "Really, young lady? You were Academician Zheng’s student? Wow, that’s such an honor..."

  "What does Academician Zheng look like?"

  Xu Danlu was instantly surrounded by the crowd, while Zhang Yang calmly slipped away, picked up the newspaper they’d dropped, and skimmed it. After a few lines, his brows furrowed.

  The reason was simple. At the end of the article, there was a small note in fine print: "Reportedly, the government has allocated 30 million yuan in research funding for the project. According to the dean of Meining University Medical School, they will be collaborating with the local pharmaceutical giant Bai Group to jointly develop the first batch of reagents."

  Bai Group? Zhang Yang’s brow arched slightly.

  The so-called collaboration basically meant handing over the future production rights of the drug to Bai Group. That was like giving them a massive pie from the sky. If the drug truly reached the market, Bai Group’s value would skyrocket like a rocket.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  If Bai Group were genuinely contributing to the research, fine—but Zhang Yang knew better. The drug’s development relied entirely on the theories he’d provided. Bai Group was just reaping free benefits. He believed Professors Zheng and the others weren’t the ones making that call. The government funding would go through the institute before reaching the research team. So the decision to cooperate with Bai Group must have come from certain leaders at the institute—who no doubt received terrifyingly large kickbacks from them.

  Zhang Yang was furious. That was something he’d exchanged for fifty system points after enduring days with the title of Vile Scum Overflowing with Evil! Why should Bai Group get the profit?

  Zhang Yang reached into his pocket, intending to call and protest, but when he pulled out his phone, it was dead.

  "Damn it!" he cursed his luck.

  "Zhang Yang!" Xu Danlu suddenly called out from the crowd.

  "What’s up?" Seeing her surrounded, Zhang Yang thought helplessly, Auntie, I’m not capable of saving you right now.

  "A call for you! Qiao Xier..."

  "Uh..." Zhang Yang was stunned. She’d even managed to track down Xu Danlu? Impressive.

  Zhang Yang took the phone and said hello, only to be met with an earful of shouting.

  "Hey! Where the hell have you been? Your phone’s been off for days! I even went to your dorm and couldn’t find you! I was this close to posting a missing person notice online for a manhunt! Turns out you’re off on a trip with your little girlfriend? You heartless bastard! Don’t let me catch you, or I’ll beat you half to death!"

  "Huh?"

  "‘Huh’ my ass! Do you even know Professors Zheng and Shangguan were about to chop your Dean Cao into pieces?!"

  Zhang Yang nearly jumped, picturing two old men with white hair chasing another old man with white hair wielding kitchen knives. "Wh-why?"

  "Why? You’ll find out when you get back!"

  "I still have things to do," Zhang Yang added. "Serious things!"

  "Serious things? Is it about Xu Danlu’s father?" Qiao Xier asked quickly.

  Zhang Yang thought for a moment. Since she already had Xu Danlu’s number, knowing about her father wasn’t surprising. So he answered honestly, "Yeah."

  "Don’t worry about that. Professor Shangguan already arranged everything. For the next month and a half, two chief physicians and a world-class oncology expert will personally oversee your future father-in-law’s case. All the expenses will be covered by the research team. That lineup’s way better than what you could get yourself, right?"

  "Uh..." Zhang Yang gasped. World-class? What kind of treatment was this? "Alright then... but help me find a place to stay. I... uh, got expelled, so I’ve got nowhere to go."

  "Expelled, my ass! I’m officially informing you—you’ve been accepted for guaranteed graduate admission. Also, you’re now an official member of the major research project codenamed ‘Dragonborn,’ serial number 2012aa9a0012."

  "Uh..." While Zhang Yang was still processing that, a group of people suddenly entered the radiotherapy room. Leading them was a man with silver hair but sharp, spirited eyes. A crowd of white coats followed—definitely someone important.

  Then Zhang Yang saw Director Tu quickly step forward to greet him. "Vice Dean Wang, what brings you here?"

  "Hehe, Xiao Tu, did your Radiology Department recently take in a patient named Xu Maogen?" Vice Dean Wang asked cheerfully.

  "Hmm, let me think." Director Tu pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I believe so. Why do you ask...?"

  "From today, I’ll personally take charge of his treatment," said Vice Dean Wang, rolling up his sleeves. "Have someone bring me his scans and pathology reports."

  Director Tu stared in astonishment. He knew Vice Dean Wang was the hospital’s most senior oncology expert. He never took personal cases unless it involved a national leader. And now he was personally treating Xu Maogen? Who on earth was this man?

  "Is there a problem?" Vice Dean Wang frowned.

  "N-no, not at all." Director Tu quickly stood up and looked around the crowd for Xu Maogen. Then it hit him—he’d transferred Xu Maogen to one of his subordinate physicians! If this patient turned out to be a big shot, he might’ve just screwed himself. He wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

  Luckily, he spotted Xu Maogen in the crowd. Rushing over, he grabbed his hand and led the confused man toward Vice Dean Wang. "Dean, this is Mr. Xu Maogen."

  Vice Dean Wang nodded without saying much, his eyes landing directly on Xu Maogen’s swollen lymph nodes. Then he looked sharply at Director Tu. "When’s Mr. Xu’s turn?"

  "I’ll check right away." Director Tu wiped more sweat and ran toward the control room.

  "No need. I’ll handle it myself," said Vice Dean Wang, leading two experts into the control room.

  After a while, he came out, nodded, and said, "Prepare a special ward for me."

  Then he smiled at Xu Maogen and nodded. "Mr. Xu, I’m Wang Jinchong. I’ll be in charge of all your treatment from now on. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me anytime."

  Director Tu quickly explained, "Vice Dean Wang is our hospital’s most senior oncology expert and a world authority on treating squamous cell carcinoma. With him handling your case, you can rest easy."

  "World-class?" The surrounding patients were stunned, and even Xu Maogen himself was dumbfounded. His mouth fell open. For such a big shot to treat him—how much would that cost?

  He blurted out instinctively, "I... I don’t think I can afford it."

  Hearing that, Vice Dean Wang smiled kindly. "Hehe, don’t worry about money. Your entire treatment will be covered by the hospital. I assure you, we’ll use the most advanced medications for you. From your pathology report, your condition doesn’t look too severe. As long as you follow our instructions, I guarantee you’ll be discharged in at most two months."

  "No charge?" Xu Maogen was stunned. After rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, he hesitantly asked, "Can you tell me why?"

  Vice Dean Wang smiled again and said, "Well, do you happen to know a young man named Zhang Yang?"