Chapter 60: Clinical Trial

When Qin Hao saw this news, his expression remained calm.

To him, this news that had blown up the whole world was not surprising.

He just didn't expect that from the optimization proposal he had provided, results would come so quickly.

"Do you feel the speed is a bit fast?"

Cheng Haitang's voice came from beside him; he had already guessed what Qin Hao was thinking.

"It is a bit."

Qin Hao admitted frankly, "I thought it would take at least one or two years to digest and verify."

"You greatly underestimate our nation's scientific foundation."

Cheng Haitang's tone carried a hint of pride: "In the field of nanorobot-targeted therapy, Academician Liu Aihua's team has been silently cultivating for nearly twenty years."

Various theoretical models, biocompatible materials, and algorithm prototypes have accumulated massive data and experience; it can be said that everything is ready, lacking only the most crucial data."

He paused, then continued:

"The technical data you gave them wasn't to start from scratch, but gave them a universal key that could solve all problems.

It optimized the robots' drive mechanism, solved the energy supply bottleneck, and most importantly, provided a near-perfect swarm targeting algorithm.

Our scientists only need to combine their years of research with this key, and breakthroughs will come naturally."

Qin Hao understood.

That was the result of countless researchers' painstaking accumulation over decades; at the critical juncture, the optimization plan he provided gave them a firm push.

"So, you are the one who is truly indispensable."

Cheng Haitang concluded solemnly.

……

Three days later, Shu City.

As the central city of Yanhuang Guo's southwest region, this place not only has a leisurely pace of life and spicy cuisine, but also boasts a top-tier national comprehensive hospital—South China Hospital.

It houses Asia's largest single-building medical complex and the most advanced medical equipment.

The site for the first batch of nanorobot clinical trials was chosen here.

The hospital had cleared an entire inpatient floor in advance, taken over by relevant security personnel, setting up layer after layer of checkpoints; the atmosphere was solemn.

One hundred volunteers from across the country and their families had all arrived the previous day, completing final physical examinations and information verification.

They were the lucky ones.

According to data later released by the authorities, within twenty-four hours of opening the registration channel, the number of valid applicants exceeded three million.

At this moment, in the trial floor's central control center, the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Academician Liu Aihua and his core team members had all donned sterile gowns, personally taking charge.

On dozens of high-definition screens, real-time vital-sign monitoring data from the hundred isolation wards were displayed, along with a simulation animation of the treatment process about to begin.

"All units, please check the final match between treatment plans and patient information."

Academician Liu Aihua held a walkie-talkie and instructed everyone:

"Team One: match correct."

"Team Two: match correct."

……

"Team Ten: match correct."

"Very good." Academician Liu Aihua put down the walkie-talkie and turned his gaze to one of the split screens.

On the screen, a young man wearing a mask stood half by the bedside, giving water to an old man who had lost all his hair and was reduced to skin and bones.

"Mom, don't be afraid! It's just an injection, like a regular IV."

The young man forced a smile, but his voice trembled.

He was the son who had burst into tears upon seeing the news in the ward; his name was Wang Qiang.

His mother had advanced pancreatic cancer, with cancer cells spread to her liver and lungs; doctors said she had less than a month to live.

Upon receiving the notice of selection, Wang Qiang felt it was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard in his life.

The old man's cloudy eyes glanced at his son, then at the new equipment flashing indicator lights in the ward; she weakly nodded, saying nothing.

She actually understood everything, but she didn't want to make her son feel worse.

It was exactly nine o'clock in the morning.

Academician Liu Aihua picked up the microphone and issued the command to the central control console:

"Sentinel Clinical Trial, officially begin!"

The command was transmitted via the internal communications system to each isolation ward.

Doctors and nurses who had been waiting nearby inserted a syringe filled with clear liquid into the patients' arms.

Wang Qiang watched everything, his eyes fixed on the plunger slowly pushing the clear liquid; his palms were sweaty, his heart pounding as if it would leap from his throat.

In the central control center, everyone held their breath.

On the big screen, the vital-sign data curves of the hundred patients remained steady as usual, showing no signs of adverse reactions.

"Report to Academician Liu: the Sentinel has entered all patients' circulatory systems, with no rejection reactions detected!"

"Vital signs are stable!"

"The swarm algorithm has been activated inside each body, beginning autonomous targeting, locking onto targets..."

The researcher in charge of data monitoring reported rapidly.

Academician Liu Aihua's gaze locked onto the central large holographic projection, which displayed a real-time simulation of the interior of Wang Qiang's mother's body.

Countless tiny blue specks flowed with the blood, rapidly spreading throughout the body.

A few minutes later, when most of the blue specks converged onto the ominous dark-red patches in the pancreas and liver, everyone's hearts in the central control center rose to their throats.

「The first batch has reached the lesion area! 」

「Pheromone marking begins! 」

One could see those blue light points, like trained worker bees, swiftly surrounding and permeating the tumor area, then releasing a virtual signal that precisely marked each cancer cell.

「Marking completion 10%……30%……70%……」

「Report! Patient in Bed No. 3 shows slight heart rate fluctuation! 」

Liu Aihua's gaze instantly sharpened:

「Bring the data over! Let me see what's happening? 」

A doctor immediately replied: "It's due to the patient being overly emotional, not a physiological rejection reaction. Already soothed, the heart rate is returning to normal."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Amid the anxious waiting of countless relatives and the tense gaze of research staff, the injection process was completed within ten minutes.

Treatment completed.

On the surface, everything was uneventful; the patients were just like usual, receiving an injection.

But everyone knew that an invisible war was fiercely unfolding within these hundred bodies in an unprecedented manner.

Wang Qiang watched the nurse pull out the needle, apply pressure to stop his mother's bleeding, and rushed forward, his voice hoarse as he asked:

「Mom, how… how do you feel? 」

The elderly person on the bed, eyes closed, seemed to be asleep.

Just as Wang Qiang's heart sank, thinking it was an illusion, the old person's dry lips moved.

Her voice was as weak as a mosquito's hum, but in the quiet ward it was as clear as thunder.

「I feel warm all over. 」

Wang Qiang froze.

He saw that on his mother's face, twisted from long-term pain, her brows seemed to relax a bit.

At the same time, in another ward, a middle-aged man looked at his wife with hopeful anticipation.

「Do you feel anything? 」

The wife kept her eyes closed, feeling for a long time, then opened them somewhat uncertainly: "I don't know if it's psychological, but that heavy, painful feeling in my chest seems to have eased a bit?"

Hope, like a stone tossed into a dead pond, began to send out ripples.

In the Central Control Center, watching the stable data on the screen and the preliminary feedback from each ward, many young researchers could not help but tear up.

Academician Liu Aihua slowly removed her mask, revealing a face filled with fatigue yet sparkling with light.

The real test, however, would come twenty-four hours later.

At that time, the first batch of detailed examination reports will be released, and the data will tell them the final answer.

But at this moment, he already had ninety percent confidence.