“Xu Jialan, stop right there.”
A sharp female voice called out from behind.
The woman not far away gradually halted her steps and turned around.
Her face was elegantly cold with a touch of brilliance, her light-colored eyebrows and eyes gazing forward, pupils dark like bottomless abysses. She wore a simple black high-neck sweater layered over a white shirt and wide-leg suit pants, her long hair tied in a low bun with a few strands falling along her cheeks—casual yet radiating an untouchable chilliness.
The woman striding over found Xu Jialan’s demeanor even more detestable.
She stopped in front of Xu Jialan and snorted coldly, “Don’t think just because Master supports you, you’ll smoothly secure that Bureau of Medicine project. You should know your project isn’t only time-consuming in research but, more importantly, burns through money. The Bureau of Medicine won’t approve it.”
Xu Jialan’s gaze remained indifferent, as if barely registering the woman’s words.
“So?”
The woman curled her red lips, “So, you’re destined to lose to me. The Bureau of Medicine project will undoubtedly fall into my hands.”
At this, the woman took two confident steps closer to Xu Jialan, her eyes sharp.
“And you, are destined to become my defeated rival.”
“Finished?” Xu Jialan asked.
The woman narrowed her eyes slightly and chuckled, “You only know how to pretend you’ve got it in the bag, but in reality, you’re fated to be my defeated rival.”
Xu Jialan’s thin lips curved slightly, her voice clear, “Song Zhiya, is this all you’re capable of?”
What exactly that capability was, she didn’t specify.
But both of them knew perfectly well.
After saying this, Xu Jialan turned and left the Medical Association building.
Song Zhiya stood in place, glaring fiercely at Xu Jialan’s retreating figure before turning to head back the way she came.
…
Parking lot.
Xu Jialan opened the driver’s side door and got in.
She didn’t start the car immediately, her gaze distantly fixed ahead as Song Zhiya’s words replayed in her mind.
Song Zhiya was right—completing the project to develop a new cancer drug required not just technology and time, but also a very practical issue: money.
It was undoubtedly a promising project.
But for the Bureau of Medicine, there were pros and cons to weigh.
Xu Jialan closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Truthfully, she wasn’t as composed as she had appeared in front of Song Zhiya.
It was just that she had long grown accustomed to keeping everything buried deep inside.
After a moment, Xu Jialan started the car and drove away from the Medical Association.
She had a class to teach at Nan Cheng Medical University this afternoon.
If she hurried, she could still make it.
…
“Ring—”
The class bell rang.
A figure in white stepped into the Laboratory right on time.
Xu Jialan wore a Lab coat, holding teaching materials in hand, her eyes slightly downcast. The efficiency and coolness in her every movement always created a sense of distance.
Seeing her arrival, the medical students also in Lab coats instinctively straightened up, addressing her respectfully, “Good afternoon, Professor Xu.”
Xu Jialan looked up, glanced at them, and gave a slight nod. “Hello.”
She didn’t waste many words. “The focus of this lesson is to check the homework assigned last week. Everyone will perform their experimental assignments in class, and I will inspect them.”
“If the inspection fails, the paper for this experiment must be redone.”
The students held their breath slightly and responded, “Yes, Professor Xu.”
After speaking, they silently exchanged glances, able to see the tension in each other’s eyes.
The laboratory was filled only with the sound of clinking glassware.
Xu Jialan stood by the operating table, watching the students’ operations.
Her eyes were calm, making it unclear what expression she wore.
It was impossible to guess whether their experiments were correct or flawed.
The more nervous they were, the more prone to mistakes.
A female student suddenly realized she had taken the wrong reagent, and it was almost her turn.
Panicked, she hurried to the reagent storage cabinet to find the one she needed.
Just then, someone urged her.
Having just found the reagent she needed, the female student grew flustered at the urging and, without time to double-check, grabbed it hastily.
Unintentionally, she also picked up a bottle from the corner of the cabinet.
Unaware that this bottle was different from the reagent in her hand.
The female student rushed back to the operating table, set down the bottles, and prepared to proceed with the experiment.
Xu Jialan happened to approach her at that moment.
Her dark eyes swept over the student briefly, saying nothing.
She habitually glanced at the reagents on the operating table.
Scanning from right to left, bit by bit.
When her gaze reached the left side—the female student’s left, farthest from Xu Jialan—
Xu Jialan narrowed her eyes slightly, staring intently at one of the bottles.
“Which experiment did you choose?” she asked abruptly.
The female student froze for a moment before stating her experiment.
Xu Jialan quickly scanned the reagents on the table; all were necessary for the student’s experiment.
Yet, there was one extra bottle.
Noticing Xu Jialan’s expression, the female student grew anxious, thinking she had made a mistake.
“Pro… Professor Xu, is there a problem?”
As if she had discovered something, Xu Jialan’s pupils contracted sharply, and she spoke coldly and sternly, “Get out, leave the laboratory immediately, now!”
Her words left all the students stunned, unable to react for a moment.
Seeing them frozen in place, Xu Jialan shouted, “What are you waiting for? Do you want to die?”
With that, she grabbed the female student and pulled her away.
…
“Wee-oo—”
The alarm sounded.
Within a minute, several fire trucks rushed out one after another.
“Where is the fire location?”
“Captain, it’s at South City Medical University. Reports say an explosion occurred in a laboratory, and students and teachers are trapped inside.”
Hearing this, the man frowned slightly. “If it’s a laboratory explosion, there might be a second blast.”
The expressions of everyone grew more solemn.
The fire trucks drove unimpeded into South City Medical University, stopping in front of the laboratory building.
Figures in orange jumpsuits leaped out of the trucks.
The man got out of the vehicle, looked up, and saw raging flames engulfing the laboratory building.
He immediately turned and issued firefighting orders.
Then, he was the first to charge into the inferno.
His team members followed closely behind.
Water jets from the fire trucks sprayed around the burning laboratory.
At that moment, the only people left in the entire laboratory building were on the fifth floor—inside the laboratory where the explosion had occurred.
“There are many hazardous materials in the laboratory. There’s a high probability of another explosion. Everyone, be careful and stay safe.” The man reached the fifth floor and spoke to the team members beside him.
“Yes, Captain.”
Flames roared like a giant dragon ready to devour everything in its path.
An orange-red figure fearlessly cut through the layers of fire.