Seeing Bai Yu take this stance, the doctor was also dumbfounded.
With a slight quiver in his voice, he said, “Professor Bai, are you really refusing to continue the experiments? But your body is clearly improving! I will have the team figure out the reason behind your sudden recovery as fast as possible and cure your illness. I just beg you not to give up on the lives of ordinary people like us!”
Hearing this, Bai Yu felt a bitter knot twist in his heart.
Doctor Song knew nothing of the internal backstabbing and power struggles within the research team; he simply assumed Bai Yu was unwilling to continue the experiments. Yet things were far from that simple.
In this research project, if he did not hold absolute authority—rather than simply being reduced to a puppet—the true colors of the research center’s director, who had traded medical treatment for his compliance, had already exposed the entire center’s ugly face completely.
Bai Yu merely dropped his gaze and maintained his silence.
Seeing him like this, Zhou Wang had no idea what to do next. Did he really have to agree to Bai Yu’s conditions?
However, the current configuration of the new team was the result of a delicate multi-party balance, and upsetting anyone right now would cause problems.
He instantly clenched his fists, feeling the weight on his shoulders grow heavier by the second.
For a moment, he froze, his expression turning thoroughly dejected.
“Let’s go to the lab then. Bring the wheelchair,” Bai Yu said suddenly after a long pause.
Zhou Wang snapped back to reality instantly. “What did you say?”
Bai Yu merely gave him a cool, detached look before shifting his gaze to the doctor. “Get up.”
The doctor was equally stunned, but instinctively asked, “You’re willing to enter the lab?”
Bai Yu remained silent, pulling back his gaze with drooping eyelids and an indifferent expression.
Only then did Zhou Wang react, feeling a mix of surprise and, more than anything, the desperate relief of someone trapped in a dead end. “Bai Yu, are you serious?”
Bai Yu raised his eyes and replied flatly, “The wheelchair.”
Zhou Wang nodded hurriedly, saying with a hint of excitement, “I’ll go get the wheelchair right now. We really need you right now, Bai Yu. Our country and all of humanity are counting on you.”
Yet Bai Yu couldn’t help offering a sarcastic internal chuckle. Sweet-talking and making grand statements was the easiest thing in the world to do.
As for his sudden change of heart, he simply wanted to go and see just how badly this research project had been ruined by the new team over the past week while he was too sick to monitor the outside world.
He genuinely wanted to save humanity from the suffering of biological genetic contamination, but too many subjective and objective obstacles always stood in the way of forging a new path.
It was simply exhausting.
If he had a passion for political infighting, he would be a politician right now instead of a researcher who only knew how to bury himself in experiments.
Terrified that Bai Yu might instantly change his mind, Zhou Wang rushed to grab a wheelchair and conveniently fetched a set of protective isolation gear from the disinfection cabinet.
The doctor also scrambled up from the floor to help Zhou Wang transfer Bai Yu into the wheelchair.
Bai Yu was currently too weak to walk on his own feet.
Once suited up in his isolation gear and seated in the wheelchair, Bai Yu was pushed out of the special isolation ward, as Zhou Wang had already notified the lab staff of his arrival.
The moment he left the ward and entered the laboratory, a group of researchers waiting outside all turned their eyes toward him in unison, wearing varying expressions.
Through the transparent visor of his protective suit, Bai Yu caught every single emotion on their faces at a glance—anticipation, contempt, awkwardness—a truly colorful display. A complex mix of feelings welled up in him, though he felt little surprise, finding it all utterly ironic.
If it weren’t for this experiment, he would never have realized the ugly faces many people wore behind his back. In the past, his oversight had been entirely due to burying himself in research while ignoring the most fundamental aspects of human nature.
His gaze swept quickly over the dozen or so researchers in protective suits, failing to spot a single member of his original team. The sarcasm in his heart ballooned instantly, and a cryptic smile even blossomed on his face.
Sure enough, his team members had truly been taken hostage by those people to keep him under control.
Subduing his emotions internally, Bai Yu wiped the smile from his face, turned his head toward Zhou Wang beside him, and asked, “Tell me, what went wrong?”
Zhou Wang’s heart sank. His gaze swept past the dozen researchers, each harboring their own hidden agendas, before landing on Bai Yu’s sharply chiseled profile. Struggling to find the words, he said, “Some experimental data was destroyed and is currently being recovered. We need you to oversee and verify it. You’re the only researcher in the research center who can keep all the experimental data completely memorized in your head.”
Hearing this, Bai Yu was taken aback.
Experimental data was destroyed?
Were these people out of their minds?
He never could have imagined such an outcome. Without even thinking, he knew another ruthless power struggle must have happened behind the scenes.
Bai Yu was so exasperated he laughed, fixing a deep, heavy gaze on Zhou Wang. “Good grief, you’re treating me like a human hard drive.”
Zhou Wang’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly protested, “We didn’t mean it like that.”
Bai Yu let out a cold laugh. “I don’t know where you all get the confidence to trust someone bedridden like me so blindly. What if I hadn’t memorized that data?”
Zhou Wang was instantly choked into silence. The expressions of the surrounding researchers shifted instantly, their faces turning somewhat embarrassed. After all, what Bai Yu said was the truth, and they knew it, yet even after the disaster struck, they still found themselves instinctively relying on Bai Yu.
Watching the emotional shifts across these people’s faces, Bai Yu felt no particular sentiment only a profound sense of sorrow.
At that moment, a plump researcher let out a cold snort and said impatiently, “If you hadn’t memorized the data, would you even be standing here? Stop putting on an act. The lab isn’t your stage hurry up and restore the data.”
As soon as those words fell, the entire laboratory plunged into absolute silence. Everyone’s expression shifted, revealing shock, displeasure, and a touch of schadenfreude.
The person he was talking to was Bai Yu.
Zhou Wang was equally startled, his face darkening instantly as he snapped angrily at the speaker, “Dong Xun, what kind of nonsense are you spitting!”
Seeing Zhou Wang reprimand him, the researcher named Dong Xun turned cold as well. He shot an unpleased glare at Bai Yu before looking back at Zhou Wang with a sneer. “Oh, did I say something wrong? If Professor Bai hadn’t been dragging his feet all this time, would the experiment’s progress be in this state?”
“You!” Zhou Wang was so furious he was left speechless.
He had gone through all that trouble to coax Bai Yu into coming back and continuing the experiments, only for a member of his own team to directly offend him right off the bat. He had no idea if the guy was doing it on purpose or nursing a long-standing grudge.
Instead, Bai Yu suddenly smiled, staring deeply at Dong Xun with profound eyes. “You seem to harbor a lot of resentment toward me?”
Dong Xun’s brow knitted tightly, though he chose not to answer.
Bai Yu continued with a smile, “You’re asking a favor of me yet putting on such a condescending attitude don’t you know that’s behavior exclusive to trash? Are you trash?”
The remark made Dong Xun’s expression shift instantly from shock to boiling rage. “Bai Yu, you!”
Bai Yu’s face chilled instantly as well, and he said in a deep voice, “I don’t recall ever offending you. Your thought process is truly twisted.”
Dong Xun sneered, opening his mouth to fire back, but Zhou Wang cut him off with a dark-faced roar, “Dong Xun, why must you cause trouble at a time like this? What are your intentions?”
Hearing Zhou Wang say that, Dong Xun’s expression shifted once more, turning somewhat peculiar. However, he reined it in, clamped his mouth shut, and simply stared at Bai Yu with malevolent eyes.
Bai Yu glanced briefly at his expression, finding it utterly inexplicable.
This guy Dong Xun…
Watching Bai Yu’s cold expression, Zhou Wang felt a mix of anxiety and heavy sighs. Weighing his words carefully, he said, “Bai Yu, shall we get started then?”
Bai Yu merely clicked his tongue lightly, looking at Zhou Wang with a meaningful gaze. “You really do view me as a brick to be placed wherever needed.”
Zhou Wang was speechless for a moment, able only to stammer awkwardly, “No, that’s not it.”
Bai Yu curled his lips, abandoning further argument. “Show me which part of the data is missing. I don’t guarantee I remember everything.”
Zhou Wang nodded hurriedly and added, “The head of the team will also be coming over later to talk with you.”
Bai Yu raised an eyebrow, offering a flat “Oh.”
Soon, Bai Yu wheeled himself up to the experimental console, watched the researchers operate the equipment, and pointed out which experimental segments were missing data.
He had no interest in listening to how they managed to lose the data; once the situation was clear, he silently began directing people to record the missing entries.
His memory was indeed exceptional, allowing him to securely retain vast amounts of information like a storage drive—an advantage that set his research apart from others.
It took about an hour, but Bai Yu finally restored the critical missing data and proposed suggestions for the current experimental progress. Several researchers instantly experienced sudden moments of enlightenment, breaking through the bottlenecks that had been choking their progress, and looking at Bai Yu with a renewed sense of respect.
Once that was finished, Bai Yu’s energy reserves hit their absolute limit. Refusing to say anything more, he had Zhou Wang summon the doctor to wheel him back to the special isolation ward.
The doctor arrived promptly, took the handles of the wheelchair, and wheeled Bai Yu back toward the ward.
Just then, Dong Xun’s sarcastic voice rang out from behind him: “Acting all arrogant and talented just to be completely selfish.”
Hearing this, Bai Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. Was this Dong Xun determined to pick a fight with him?
Bai Yu lightly tapped his fingertips against the wheelchair armrest, then paused abruptly, turning back to address the doctor. “Stop. I have something more to say.”
His voice was moderate, loud enough for both the doctor and the researchers trailing behind to hear clearly.
Zhou Wang’s expression shifted instantly. After shooting a fierce glare at Dong Xun, he hurried forward to face Bai Yu. “What else is the matter?”
Bai Yu instructed the doctor to turn the wheelchair around so he could face Zhou Wang and the group of researchers standing behind him with varying expressions.
His face remained cold and aloof, though his brows and eyes now carried a deep solemnity as he spoke in a soft voice: “Kick Dong Xun out of the team. How does that sound?”
As the words fell, Zhou Wang froze, and the researchers froze as well, their faces instantly twisting in shock.
Dong Xun’s eyes widened, his expression contorting into fury as he stared viciously at Bai Yu. “Bai Yu, what do you mean by that?!”
Bai Yu’s expression remained unchanged as he replied, “I should be asking you: what do you mean?”
With that, he suddenly broke into a smile. Yet those handsome eyes were as sharp as an X-ray scanner; under that piercing stare, Dong Xun’s pupils shrank instantly, panic washing over him.