Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 181：Pointing Out the Problem

The General Hospital of the Kyoto Military District!

Jiang Fan stood outside the window, gazing at the frail form of Long Lao, lying in the intensive care unit. His heart was heavy with guilt.

A month ago, he had left this place for the northwest base. At that time, Long Lao's weight was still around 65 kg. Now, after just a month, Long Lao had lost a significant amount of weight, dropping to 50 kg, a loss of 15 kg. His hair had thinned considerably as well. He looked like he had aged nearly ten years in such a short span of time.

Beside Jiang Fan, Old Qiao couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow at the sight of Long Lao. Though they often enjoyed bickering, there was a deep mutual respect between them. He never imagined that after just a month apart, Long Lao would appear so frail.

At that moment, Dr. Wang emerged from Long Lao's room. Jiang Fan and Old Qiao immediately inquired about Long Lao's condition.

"Long Lao was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer a month ago. If he had cooperated with the treatment here at the hospital, the cancer cells wouldn't have spread so quickly. But he insisted on being discharged..." Dr. Wang explained, his voice tinged with regret.

Jiang Fan and Old Qiao listened intently as Dr. Wang described Long Lao's condition.

After Dr. Wang finished speaking, Old Qiao asked, "How much time does Long Lao have left?"

Dr. Wang shook his head helplessly and sighed. "If we're optimistic, perhaps two months. If his condition continues to deteriorate, maybe just half a month."

The news hit Jiang Fan like a physical blow. He stood frozen for a moment, unable to comprehend it. For the first time, he truly felt how close death was. His heart was overwhelmed with fear and unease.

He thought back to the first time he met Long Lao, when his hair was graying at the temples but his spirit was still sharp, his voice booming with vigor. In just three months, their mentor-student relationship was faced with the prospect of a final, irreversible separation.

"Doctor, isn't there any chance for treatment? Surgery, or any other methods?" Jiang Fan asked, his eyes red from the strain.

"If it had been detected earlier, or in the middle stages, surgery might have offered a glimmer of hope. But in the late stage, the only options left are medication and chemotherapy to control it," Dr. Wang explained.

"But if the best medication is used, is there still no hope?" Jiang Fan asked, still clinging to a thread of hope.

"The best medication on the market is the targeted cancer drug Lenvatinib from the United States. But Long Lao rejected it, choosing instead a cheaper drug from Y country," Dr. Wang replied.

Jiang Fan understood Long Lao's stubbornness. For his entire life, his greatest enemy in the field of science had been the United States, and he had never relied on their products.

"Does Long Guo have no effective cancer treatment drugs?" Jiang Fan asked in frustration.

At that moment, Song Zhe, who had been sitting quietly in the corridor, stood up and spoke.

"Currently, Long Guo has no cancer drugs of its own. All of them are imported. I... I should have known Long Lao was suffering from cancer..." Song Zhe said, his voice filled with regret.

Song Zhe reflected on the past days, when Long Lao had been working tirelessly with their pharmaceutical research team. Despite being urged to take care of his health, Long Lao insisted on working late into the night, often until 2 or 3 AM. If only Song Zhe had known about Long Lao's condition, he would never have allowed him to participate in the experiments.

Now, the drug molecule NM-9 that they had developed had failed in the preclinical trials, and Long Lao's body had succumbed to the illness. He believed that if the experiment had succeeded, Long Lao would not have fallen ill.

Jiang Fan and Old Qiao learned from Song Zhe that Long Lao had been working on cancer drug research despite his deteriorating health.

"Teacher, his body is already in such a state, how can he still be focused on developing cancer drugs?" Jiang Fan asked in confusion.

Sighing, Song Zhe explained, "I understand why Long Lao did this. He wanted to make his final contribution to Long Guo before his life ended."

Jiang Fan was filled with admiration for his teacher, who always thought first of the country, no matter the circumstances.

But alas, life was so cruel. Long Lao had been struck down by cancer, and now it sought to take him from them.

Jiang Fan felt a deep sense of helplessness. What could he do?

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind, the system's voice.
[System]: Task triggered!
Assist Song Zhe in completing the preclinical trial successfully!
Task reward: Cancer Cell Devouring Capsule!]

Jiang Fan was immediately struck with a surge of excitement. The Cancer Cell Devouring Capsule-he understood from the name that it could devour cancer cells within the human body, restoring health! He had never imagined the system was so powerful, capable of offering such a solution.

If he could obtain this capsule and give it to his teacher, would it not heal Long Lao? His heart raced as he tried to contain his excitement.

But first, he had to complete the task to earn the reward.

Looking at Song Zhe, who was wearing a white research coat, Jiang Fan asked, "You're Song Zhe, right?"

"Yes," Song Zhe replied, surprised that Jiang Fan knew his name.

"How is the cancer drug research going?"

"We developed a drug molecule, NM-9, which had an 80% chance of success in theory, but it failed during the preclinical trial," Song Zhe explained.

"Can you write out the chemical equation for the drug molecule NM-9 and its target?" Jiang Fan asked.

"Do you understand chemical molecules?" Song Zhe asked, taken aback.

"A little," Jiang Fan replied modestly. In fact, with the system's rewards, he was extremely knowledgeable in chemistry, mastering all the chemical knowledge from Blue Star.

Song Zhe quickly retrieved a pen and paper and wrote down the chemical equations for the target and drug molecule NM-9.

Jiang Fan carefully studied the equations, then frowned slightly. "The NM-9 drug molecule is a small-molecule anticancer drug, with four different groups connected to a chiral carbon atom. You've made a small error here. -COOH, phenol -OH, and -COOC- all react with bases, so 1 mole of this organic compound should react with 4 moles of NaOH..."

"Hiss!" Song Zhe grabbed the paper back and carefully examined the issue Jiang Fan had pointed out. Suddenly, he burst into laughter, a look of enlightenment crossing his face.

He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Jiang Fan and, excited, hurried off to correct the mistake.