Chapter 89: A Pin Drop Can Be Heard

The group arrived at the Experimental Building in a grand procession, attracting another wave of onlookers along the way.

In an instant, the Experimental Building was packed to capacity, crowded to the point of being impassable.

Luan Youdong took a shortcut and arrived at the laboratory a step after the group from Professor Yuan Nansen's team.

The members of the professor's team had already prepared all the necessary reagents and instruments.

Taking advantage of the fact that the professor's team was not paying attention, Luan Youdong swapped out a reagent bottle used for purification.

To ensure Chen Che would use the swapped reagent bottle, he specifically stood guard by the lab bench, waiting for Chen Che and the others to arrive, then guided Chen Che to use the lab bench he had tampered with.

Chen Che and Xu Fengyuan were both in position, and Ma Zijun, Li Qingyan, Qian Rongrong, and others had all arrived as well.

Other onlookers also filled the laboratory, the hallways, and every other spot from which they could see the two competing.

"The Kelo Poison Test Solution, medicinal materials, chemical formulas, and purification equipment have all been prepared for you two. The time limit is thirty minutes!"

Yuan Nansen held a timer and said, "Within thirty minutes, whoever's Kelo Poison Test Solution is clearer in color will be the winner."

"If there are no objections, shall we begin?"

Yuan Nansen asked the two of them.

Chen Che shrugged, indicating that he could start at any time.

Xu Fengyuan was full of fighting spirit; he glanced at Chen Che and nodded heavily: "Let's start."

"Good, timing... start!" Yuan Nansen pressed the timer.

The competition officially began. Chen Che first picked up the slip of paper on the table, glanced at the chemical formula on it, then slowly examined the medicinal materials, and even took a sniff of the Kelo Poison.

He looked not at all anxious, and completely without a plan, as if he didn't know how to proceed at all.

Xu Fengyuan, on the other hand, was different; he placed the chemical formula in a conspicuous spot, then skillfully selected the medicinal materials, crushed them, and placed them into the vessel to purify and extract the juice.

If one only looked at the operational process, the difference in skill level was immediately apparent!

"Is that Chen Che completely ignorant of Medicine? Xu Fengyuan has already started purifying, and he's still over there... sniffing the Kelo Poison?!"

"Professor Li said he understands it, so it shouldn't be fake. Maybe he's just curious about the Kelo Poison and wants to study it?"

"Professor Yuan Nansen has studied it for ten years and even holds the patent for the antidote; what could he possibly research? Besides, the chemical formula has already been provided. All he needs to do is follow the formula, select the materials, and prepare the antidote. What this tests is merely one's familiarity with the properties of the materials and the proficiency of the purification."

"I think he's just a pig with green onions stuck in its nose, pretending to be an elephant! He has no confidence in beating Xu Fengyuan, but he can't back out. When people are embarrassed, they usually act very busy!"

The watching students whispered to each other, feeling confused by Chen Che's behavior, and all expressed that they did not think highly of him.

Xu Fengyuan's close friends, Li Haotian and Chen Yifei, also cheered for their brother at this moment.

"Xu Fengyuan is our school's recognized genius of pharmacy; even Professor Yuan Nansen often praises and acknowledges him. Plus, he has won awards in many competitions, and he has long since mastered the medicinal materials and chemical purification!"

"That's right, and Xu Fengyuan has always wanted to be Professor Yuan Nansen's graduate student, so he has put a lot of effort into researching Kelo Poison. This competition can be said to be tailor-made for him!"

"Wouldn't that be unfair, then?" someone in the crowd whispered.

Li Haotian said, "No, there are quite a few students in our school who study Kelo Poison privately. Besides, when Professor Yuan set the topic, he did so based on the principles of fairness and justice. If you really have to say something, it's just that Brother Feng is lucky, but luck is also a part of strength!"

Chen Yifei chimed in, "Don't worry, Brother Feng is sure to win! Once the dust settles in a moment, that Chen Che will be so ashamed he won't know where to hide. That way, he won't have the face to be with Professor Li anymore. We won't have to worry about our goddess marrying the wrong person!"

"Quiet, everyone!"

Yuan Nansen scolded in a low voice. His eyes flashed with keen light because Chen Che had finally started selecting materials for purification.

Chen Che tossed the chemical formula aside and began fiddling with the equipment to purify the juice of the medicinal materials.

He suddenly froze, discovering that the reagent bottle needing to be heated had a one-millimeter crack.

This crack could not be discovered without a close look. And although this kind of crack was small, if the heating time was too long, it would still result in the dangerous outcome of the reagent bottle exploding.

Chen Che furrowed his brows, realizing someone was sabotaging him. However, this was not the time to ferret out the mastermind; he channeled his True Qi, covered the crack, and started the heating button.

Zhang Zicheng, hiding behind the crowd at the back door, saw this scene, and a sinister sneer curled the corners of his mouth.

Luan Youdong looked nervous, glancing at Zhang Zicheng from time to time.

Zhang Zicheng didn't care about the competition at all; his goal was to make Chen Che's reagent bottle explode.

Of course, he knew very well that this level of damage couldn't do much to Chen Che, and he wasn't aiming to hurt Chen Che either.

He was doing it just to make Chen Che make a fool of himself and suffer social death!

Once the reagent bottle exploded, even if Chen Che wasn't injured, his face would be a mess.

If a mobile phone recorded that scene, how wonderful it would be!

If it also affected the other onlookers, the public outrage caused would be enough to make Chen Che suffer.

Every time Ma Zicheng thought about being able to take revenge on Chen Che, he felt indescribably excited.

However, the scene he had envisioned did not appear.

Ten minutes of heating had already passed, and the reagent bottle was still perfectly fine.

This made Ma Zicheng very confused, and he looked at Luan Youdong with eyes full of questioning.

Luan Youdong shook his head innocently, indicating that he was also confused and didn't understand.

Time passed second by second. Xu Fengyuan had already purified and diluted several times, and had dripped the antidote into the reagent bottle containing the Kelo Poison over and over again.

The originally ink-black test solution gradually became transparent, and in the end, only a thin layer of black, like gauze, remained mixed in the colorless liquid.

Xu Fengyuan also stopped his movements; he knew very well that he had reached his limit, and continuing would not completely neutralize the toxin.

Yuan Nansen, standing to the side, nodded with satisfaction. As a student, it was already very rare for Xu Fengyuan to be able to achieve this level.

And based on his performance today, Yuan Nansen could completely make an exception and accept him as a graduate student!

Xu Fengyuan was very excellent; this was obvious to everyone present and could not be denied. Even Li Qingyan could not help but show an expression of admiration.

There were thirty seconds left. Xu Fengyuan had already stopped his movements, and for a moment, everyone's gaze was focused on Chen Che.

The solution on his table was still a thick black, and from beginning to end, he hadn't put a single drop of the prepared antidote into it.

Yet he seemed not at all panicked, quietly waiting for the purification equipment to heat up to the required temperature.

"Has he... given up?"

"Half an hour has passed, and he hasn't even purified the juice yet. With twenty seconds left, what else can he do? He's definitely finished!"

"So he really doesn't understand Medicine; he is actually quite honest about that point himself!"

"Professor Li said he understands it, so he must understand it, it's just that his level... it really doesn't seem to be very good. I don't know what exactly Professor Li sees in him!"

Li Haotian smiled with a proud face: "My brother Feng is just awesome, he's really stolen the show this time! Perhaps Professor Li will also look at brother Feng with new eyes!"

"Does that even need to be said!"

Chen Yifei jumped up, just waiting for the timer to end, and cheered loudly: "The suitor completely defeats the current boyfriend; my brother Feng is truly the protagonist of a satisfying novel! He is one step closer to winning the beauty's heart!"

Yuan Nansen watched Chen Che with a grave expression, feeling somewhat disappointed in his heart: "Ten seconds left, Mr. Chen, are you still not planning to add the antidote reagent?"

"Adding it now."

Chen Che turned off the heating button and used a pipette to draw up the test solution extracted from the boiled mixture of medicinal herbs.

At the final five seconds, he dripped a drop of the crystalline antidote solution into the Kelo Poison reagent.

Everyone present held their breath, staring fixedly at the test solution.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One...

Time is up.

However, the test solution did not change color; it remained a thick, ink-black.

A smug smile curled at the corners of Xu Fengyuan's lips; it was the joy of victory, the happiness of proving himself to the goddess!

Ma Zijun frowned, feeling it was a pity. He had originally thought Chen Che would also be an expert in Medicine, but now it seemed his expectations had fallen through.

Lin Su had no expression on her face, but a trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes.

Ma Menghan looked regretful, thinking that she must comfort Chen Che properly in a moment.

Li Qingyan's brows were tightly locked, and she still stared fixedly at the test solution; she did not believe that Chen Che would fail!

"Tch, so this is all the skill you have? Mr. Chen, did you put a drop of water in there? Even if you added water, it would at least dilute it, but yours has no reaction at all. And here I thought you were so amazing!"

Seeing that Xu Fengyuan had won, Li Haotian immediately backed his brother and spoke up to mock Chen Che.

"No way, no way? The Divine Doctor's boyfriend actually lost to a student; that is too embarrassing to tell anyone!"

Chen Yifei also seized the opportunity and said sarcastically.

Chen Che looked at the black test solution and rubbed his chin, wondering if something had gone wrong in one of the steps.

Yuan Nansen sighed, completely disappointed. He put away the timer and said: "Time is up, the winner is..."

"Look!"

Li Qingyan suddenly shouted.

Everyone's gaze gathered on the black reagent once again.

They saw that the test solution, which had just been ink-black and thick, was flowing and boiling bit by bit. The thick black color gradually shrank and condensed into a single point, becoming smaller and smaller, until it finally disappeared.

The originally ink-black reagent was now clean and transparent, and the reagent bottle looked as if it had never contained any liquid at all.

Seeing this scene, the entire venue was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop!