Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 182：Worsening

Two hours later, Long Lao regained consciousness, but his body was extremely weak.
After finishing her class, Chu Ruoxi hurried over as well.
Seeing Long Lao, who had transformed so drastically in just a month, she couldn't help but feel tears welling up in her eyes.
After receiving the doctor's permission, Jiang Fan took Chu Ruoxi's hand and entered Long Lao's room.
"Xiao Fan is back! How's the research on the thruster going?"
Long Lao smiled weakly as he spoke, his voice frail.
Even in his frail state, Long Lao was still concerned about the scientific research.
Jiang Fan's nose tingled, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
He held Long Lao's hand, nodding repeatedly.
"Teacher, we've made progress!"
"Really?"
Upon hearing this, Long Lao's spirits lifted, and he tried to sit up, propping himself up with his arm.
But his weak arm couldn't support his body, and he collapsed back onto the bed.
"Cough, cough..."
The excitement caused Long Lao to cough violently, and the pain in his liver area intensified, distorting his expression.
Jiang Fan quickly patted Long Lao's chest to calm him down, urging him not to get too excited.
Old Qiao also expressed his concern.
"Long Lao, given your condition, you mustn't overexert yourself!"
Chu Ruoxi gently held out a cup of water.
"Grandfather Long, please drink some water!"
Jiang Fan helped Long Lao sit up slowly. He took a few sips of water, which helped ease his coughing.
Then, he grasped Jiang Fan's hand and said,
"Teacher, I was right about you. With your achievements, I have no regrets even if I were to die now."
"Teacher, don't worry, you won't die!"
"Didn't you say you'd be the one to witness my marriage with Ruoxi?"
Hearing this, a smile spread across Long Lao's face.
With his other hand, he took hold of Chu Ruoxi's, gently placing their hands together.
"Xiao Fan, Ruoxi is a good girl. You must treat her well, do you hear me?"
"Yes, I will!"
Jiang Fan responded, glancing at Chu Ruoxi, who shyly lowered her head.
At that moment, the doctor entered the room and addressed the group.
"Long Lao has just woken up and needs to rest well. You all should leave now."
Before leaving, Old Qiao turned to Long Lao and said,
"Long Lao, take care of your health. Once you're well, we'll have a marathon duel!"
"Alright! How about we wager your collection of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy?"
"You old rascal, you're as greedy as ever! Last time, I lost a set of Song Dynasty porcelain tea sets to you, and now you want my calligraphy as well! Ha ha..."
"What, you dare not?" Long Lao retorted.
"Tch, who says I'm afraid? It's a deal. When you're better, you'll see how I beat you!"
Old Qiao and Long Lao exchanged a knowing smile.
As Old Qiao had other matters to attend to in the lab, he bid farewell to Jiang Fan and left.
Jiang Fan and Chu Ruoxi stayed by Long Lao's side, keeping watch over him.
Although they were there, there was little for them to do, as the military hospital had arranged nurses and caregivers for Long Lao, who was also a state official.
By noon, Jiang Fan and Chu Ruoxi went to the hospital cafeteria for lunch.
It had been a month since they last met. Ever since Long Lao had joined their hands together, Jiang Fan had not let go of Chu Ruoxi's hand.
As they ate, Chu Ruoxi shared some interesting things that had happened at school during the past month.
After finishing their meal, they walked back slowly to Long Lao's room.
At this moment, Jiang Fan noticed the doctors coming in and out of Long Lao's room, with the curtains drawn.
He hurried over to inquire about the situation.
The doctor informed him that Long Lao's condition had suddenly worsened, causing instability, and they were working to stabilize him.
Jiang Fan and Chu Ruoxi immediately grew anxious and tried to enter the room, but they were stopped.
About an hour later, Dr. Wang came out of Long Lao's room, drenched in sweat.
"Dr. Wang! How is my teacher?"
Dr. Wang said tiredly,
"Long Lao's cancer cells suddenly worsened, leading to infections in other organs. Although we've stabilized the situation for now, based on the current condition, it's not looking very optimistic."
Jiang Fan understood what Dr. Wang meant—if Long Lao's cancer couldn't be controlled, there was a real risk of him deteriorating at any moment.
He felt an overwhelming sense of urgency.
He wondered how the preclinical experiments were progressing.
He urgently needed the system's reward: the Cancer Cell Devouring Capsule, to save his teacher.
But he also understood that achieving success in the preclinical experiments wouldn't be easy.
They had to test on lab mice, observe the results, and go through the entire process, which would take at least a day.
If there were any errors, they would need to start over, making the time frame even longer.
In the afternoon, Jiang Fan and Chu Ruoxi stayed by Long Lao's side, waiting for the doctor's permission to visit.
When the doctor allowed them to enter, they spoke briefly with Long Lao.
Long Lao's condition had clearly worsened since the morning.
Fortunately, his body had stabilized by the afternoon, and nothing like what happened at noon had occurred again.
It wasn't until the following morning that Jiang Fan finally heard the system's voice in his mind, signaling that he had completed the task.