PCJ – Chapter 612 A World-Class Breakthrough

Xia Hui, Ma Zhenyuan, and Luo Huaping had just come out when they were immediately surrounded by a large crowd. They were so nervous they could barely speak.

“Luo Huaping, do you guys know where Zhang Jiaohua went?” Huang Zhongfang asked.

“Zhang Jiaohua didn’t… didn’t come back today. Did he get into some kind of trouble? Didn’t you try calling his phone?” Luo Huaping thought something bad had happened to Zhang Jiaohua. Because of exams, the three of them hadn’t been to the lab in the past few days and naturally had no idea that Zhang Jiaohua had done something earth-shattering again.

“His phone is turned off,” Huang Zhongfang replied.

“He might have gone back to the dorm. Or maybe he went to the lab,” Xia Hui said quickly.

Huang Zhongfang called the lab, and Dr. Liu Ping answered. Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t gone there.

“Then he must be in the dorm,” Xia Hui and the other two led everyone there.

The three of them suspected that maybe Zhang Jiaohua had cheated on an exam, which was why so many people showed up. But then again, that didn’t seem likely. Zhang Jiaohua’s ability made cheating unnecessary.

“Mr. Huang, is there something going on with Zhang Jiaohua?” Ma Zhenyuan asked nervously.

“There is something, but it’s a good thing. Don’t worry,” Huang Zhongfang reassured them, noticing their anxiety.

The three let out a sigh of relief.

“Scared me to death. I thought he was in trouble,” Xia Hui chuckled.

“Same here. I was panicking too,” Ma Zhenyuan laughed.

“What’s going on then? Why are you looking for him so urgently?” Luo Huaping asked.

“It’s because he solved that math problem. The math department is trying to poach him from our major!” Huang Zhongfang said irritably.

“Huh? So it really is a good thing,” Xia Hui laughed.

“Of course it is! Do you know what kind of problem he solved? One of the world’s top ten unsolved mathematical problems! A genius capable of solving a millennium-old mystery is bound to become a titan of mathematics like Chen Jingrun! It’s a huge waste to keep someone like him in biotechnology,” Fan Yichou added.

“What use is a math genius? Solving even more global math problems won’t really change the world. But do you know what kind of impact Zhang Jiaohua’s biology experiment could have? He could fundamentally change the world!” Huang Zhongfang retorted.

“Mathematics is the foundation of all sciences. Without it, no field could’ve developed to where it is now,” Fan Yichou said angrily.

“You said it yourself—it’s just a foundation, just a tool. That’s why the Nobel Prize doesn’t even include mathematics. Don’t deceive yourself. Let me tell you, Zhang Jiaohua is a genius—not just in math but also in life sciences. You can forget about stealing him from our Life Sciences Academy!” Huang Zhongfang glared at Fan Yichou.

Everyone could tell this argument wasn’t just about one student—it stemmed from some personal history between them.

“Teachers, please don’t argue. Zhang Jiaohua’s not in the dorm,” Xia Hui, who had run ahead to check, returned.

“Not in the dorm?” Huang Zhongfang was puzzled.

“Then where could he be?” Fan Yichou stopped arguing, more concerned about finding Zhang Jiaohua. If he was willing, they’d do whatever it took to transfer him to the math department.

Huang Zhongfang regretted letting Zhang Jiaohua take an exam that now seemed pointless. For someone like him, exams were meaningless. Without the exam, all this chaos wouldn’t have happened. But thinking about it, he smiled—only a monster-level genius like Zhang Jiaohua could cause this kind of stir again and again.

Suddenly, his phone rang—it was Mei Qing. Huang Zhongfang assumed she had found Zhang Jiaohua and picked up quickly. “Did you find him?”

“No, his phone’s still off. Professor Huang, you’d better come back to the lab. His experiment has made progress—you need to see it,” Mei Qing said.

“What?” Huang Zhongfang was thrilled. He knew what such progress could mean. “I’ll head there immediately. Keep the lab closed to everyone. Stay there and wait!”

He glanced at Fan Yichou, wanting to say something but held back, then quickly left the dorm.

He told Ma Nanli, “Wait here for Zhang Jiaohua. If he comes back, send him straight to the lab.”

Ma Nanli nodded. “Got it.”

Fan Yichou’s expression changed. He hadn’t heard what was said over the phone, but judging from Huang Zhongfang’s reaction, it was clearly related to Zhang Jiaohua.

“Student, what kind of experiment is Zhang Jiaohua doing in the lab?” Fan Yichou asked Ma Nanli.

“Can’t say,” Ma Nanli replied.

Fan Yichou snorted in frustration.

“Director, what should we do now?” Li Yang asked.

“We’re not going anywhere. We’ll wait here,” Fan Yichou said.

But they hadn’t waited long before the math department called—saying the university president had arrived at the department in person.

Solving a world-class mathematical problem was an extraordinary achievement anywhere in the world. It was something that would go down in history and bring tremendous prestige to the university.

Fan Yichou sighed, “Since Zhang Jiaohua hasn’t returned, we’ll head over.”

He had considered leaving Li Yang behind to wait, but given Li Yang’s key role in the breakthrough, it wouldn’t be fair not to take him to meet the president.

“This Zhang Jiaohua always causes a huge scene no matter what he does,” Xia Hui said, tongue-in-cheek, after they left.

Ma Nanli smiled. “You guys will have to get used to this. Since Professor Huang rushed to the lab, that must mean Zhang Jiaohua’s experiment made real progress. If it succeeds, it’ll be another major scientific breakthrough.”

“No way, it’s that fast?” Ma Zhenyuan was stunned.

“It’s not that fast. His prep was incredibly thorough. What’s surprising is that it didn’t happen sooner. It’s a pity—his experiment was harder than mine and Senior Mei’s, yet he got results before us,” Ma Nanli sighed.

“Are your results really that far behind his?” Ma Zhenyuan asked.

Ma Nanli shook his head. “Not just a little—it’s like heaven and earth. If we succeed, it’s still a big achievement, but his success would be a milestone in human scientific history. It’s a whole different level.”

“Wow… that amazing? Should we go check it out? We can leave a note here—he’ll head to the lab anyway,” Xia Hui suggested.

Ma Nanli shook his head. “Don’t go. Even if you do, Professor Huang won’t let you in. Didn’t you hear him tell Senior Mei to lock the place down? This kind of breakthrough can’t be leaked. What if someone else steals it? When you guys go into research, remember: science is all about timing. There could be many teams working on the same thing. If someone beats you to it, all your work is wasted.”

The others were disappointed. Missing out on a major moment like this was a real shame.

Huang Zhongfang had rushed to the lab, where Mei Qing was waiting anxiously.

“Professor Huang,” she sighed in relief when she saw him.

“How did this batch of experiments progress so fast?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Zhang probably didn’t expect it either. Otherwise, he would’ve stayed to observe. He did stop by at noon, but that math professor came running like a madman, and Zhang had to rush to the exam. He didn’t have time to check on the experiment. If he had observed it then, he would’ve noticed how fast it was progressing,” Mei Qing explained.

Huang nodded and entered the lab. Opening the reactor, he saw that the embryo had already formed. Unlike previous attempts, where the embryos stopped developing and died, this one was forming an oval-shaped structure.

Zhang Jiaohua used lab mice, which are mammals and normally don’t lay eggs. Yet this embryo had formed a shell-like structure—not a hard eggshell, but a skin-like membrane around it.

Zhang would definitely regret not observing the formation of this sac, especially missing the key moment he was most interested in—how a soul emerges from the embryo. But since it had succeeded once, he’d be able to repeat it and observe everything he needed next time.

However, Huang didn’t know this and was concerned it might be an accidental result. If so, Zhang would need to figure out the exact cause. No matter how the success happened, an externally cultured embryo was a world-shaking achievement. Still, Zhang might face scrutiny—if others couldn’t replicate it, some might accuse him of fraud.

“Let’s hope this experiment was part of Zhang Jiaohua’s original plan,” Huang said.

Mei Qing nodded. “Professor Huang, if this result was planned, do you think it could win a Nobel Prize?”

“Nobel Prize? This is beyond the Nobel. This is a milestone in human history—a scientific achievement that will go down in the books,” Huang replied.

At the same time, joy filled the math department’s meeting room.

President Xu Qingze had rushed over and asked several times, “Are you sure this problem is solved? Really sure?”

“President Xu, don’t worry. We’ve verified it many times—no errors. We just haven’t found Zhang Jiaohua yet. Apparently, he even has a more elegant method. This is Professor Li Yang, who made the exam and first recognized Zhang’s solution,” Fan Yichou said proudly.

“Professor Li Yang, your out-of-the-box thinking was excellent! Just be cautious next time or too many students will complain. So, where is this Zhang Jiaohua? No one knows?” President Xu Qingze asked.

“We went to the exam hall, but he left early—probably avoiding us,” Fan Yichou said.

“Well, we need to contact him quickly. If the solution is solid, publish it right away. And nurture this kind of genius!” President Xu Qingze said.

“President Xu, I was just about to tell you—Zhang isn’t in our department. He’s in the Life Sciences Academy. And Huang Zhongfang is opposing the transfer,” Fan Yichou said.

“That won’t do! A talent like this must study math. I’ll speak with Huang myself,” Xu Qingze said.

Hearing this, Fan Yichou smiled.

President Xu Qingze dialed Huang Zhongfang. As soon as the call connected, he said, “Dean Huang, this Zhang Jiaohua is an excellent candidate for math…”

Before he could finish, Huang cut him off: “President Xu, it’s true Zhang is a math genius, but he’s an even greater genius in life sciences! I have great news—we just made a world-class breakthrough. Something worthy of the history books! Far more meaningful than any math problem!”

Xu Qingze frowned, thinking Huang was just trying to block him. “Dean Huang, I’m talking about serious business—don’t interrupt. I’ll come check your ‘breakthrough’ later. For now, let’s discuss Zhang’s transfer.”

“You don’t know the full situation, so don’t meddle. Come see the lab results and you’ll understand!” Huang said and hung up.

President Xu Qingze was stunned. He hadn’t expected to be shut down so rudely.

Fan Yichou immediately added, “See, President Xu? Huang Zhongfang is being completely unreasonable.”