by <unknown>
By this point, Chen Chen's conjecture had a sixty percent possibility of being true.
One should not underestimate this sixty percent. In this world, other than incontrovertible truths such as "the sun rises in the east", "water flows to the lowest point" or "objects will fall, not rise", most events were simply random with a certain degree of probability.
Sixty percent possibility was enough for Chen Chen to bet on.
Therefore, when Chen Chen entered the office, he first displayed an acquiescent attitude to lower Zheng Jian's guard.
Following that, he worked with what he had, fiddling with the clock to plant a "seed" in Zheng Jian's heart.
This was a common method of hypnosis.
Human consciousness could be divided into the conscious and the subconscious. In general, when one was awake, the conscious mind was dominant.
Through guidance and suggestion, hypnosis allowed patients to enter a light sleep state. At this point, the subconscious would be released and the hypnotist could bypass the conscious mind and communicate with the patient's subconscious directly.
This was the reason why Chen Chen had immediately sent the data over. He wanted Zheng Jian to be fully at ease.
Still, even then, Chen Chen was unable to hypnotize his target.
Although the concept of hypnosis was mysterious, it all came down to one thing. For a psychologist to hypnotize someone, the person must be actively cooperating. Otherwise, it would be a futile effort.
Chen Chen also knew that no matter how submissive he appeared, Zheng Jian would not completely let down his guard.
Nevertheless, all these were just the first step.
The second step was when the clock struck the hour.
When this happened, Chen Chen brought up the question "Who is the woman in the photo?". This would link the clock's chime and the previous wife in Zheng Jian's subconscious.
However, because Chen Chen had set the clock forward by five minutes, it was only 9:55 then. After that, Chen Chen corrected the clock once again, thus planting the "seed" deeper in Zheng Jian's heart.
Then, it was the third step.
Chen Chen had abruptly turned confrontational, interrogating Zheng Jian about the cause of his wife's death. This extreme turnaround in approach would usually take the other person by surprise.
Furthermore, the pointed questions would cause Zheng Jian to become discombobulated.
This was why Zheng Jian was so furious.
Sometimes, an expression of anger was a way to mask one's guilt when one was caught off guard.
At the same time, Chen Chen laid his cards on the table by telling Zheng Jian that he was going to be hypnotized.
Although this would make Zheng Jian highly vigilant, it was also a form of suggestion to Zheng Jian.
It was this suggestion that truly buried the seed of "I might be hypnotized" into Zheng Jian's heart.
After that, it was the last step.
Chen Chen had deliberately acted out an attempt at hypnosis, which drove Zheng Jian into a panic. However, Chen Chen suddenly slipped up and the frame fell to the floor.
At this point, Zheng Jian's immediate assumption would be – Chen Chen's attempt at hypnotizing him had failed.
Finally, Chen Chen left.
Seeing that his interrogator had left, Zheng Jian's tightly wounded mind would relax instantly. His mind, in a few short minutes, had switched violently between relaxation, tension, extreme tension, then relaxation again.
Having gone through such a rollercoaster, Zheng Jian's mental state sunk into exhaustion.
It was at this point that Chen Chen's final attack landed!
"Bong!"
The clock struck once like the trigger of a pistol being pulled.
In this instant, the seed buried in Zheng Jian's heart exploded, igniting the terror and guilt he had suppressed for many years!
It was like a torrent rushing down a mountain. In the state of hypnosis induced by Chen Chen, Zheng Jian leaped down from the fifth floor and ended his sinful life…
It was just that simple.
'Still, I'm truly being decisive. That was a living person but I killed him just like that.'
Chen Chen pondered silently.
Was all these a side effect of NZT-48 or the liberation of his own dark side upon abruptly gaining power?
Chapter 26: The Price of Growing Up |
The next day, Chen Chen shook hands with the police officer before him and walked out of the police station.
Since he was the last person to see Zheng Jian, he was asked to go to the police station to provide a statement.
Chen Chen did not hide other details. He told them the reason the other party met up with him and informed them some of his speculations as well.
Naturally, Chen Chen did not tell about how the other party died due to his hypnosis. Instead, he told them that he had committed suicide out of guilt.
Even though the officials were suspicious of how orchestrated the entire event seemed, Chen Chen had an alibi.
At the time the other party jumped off the building, Chen Chen had already left Zheng Jian's office.
After that, the officials used Chen Chen's speculations as a lead. They discovered Zheng Jian's laboratory records from several years ago. They also uncovered the death report of Zheng Jian's ex-wife, which led to the discovery of a terrible case —
Three years ago, Zheng Jian used the stem cell of his ex-wife to induce cancer cells. Then, he infused them into the body of his ex-wife via IV infusion, causing her to die of cancer.
However, this shocking case was ultimately covered up by the school.
After all, the implications of such an event would be devastating not just to the school, but even the entire academic field. It may even mislead people to believe that cancer could be transmitted and cause mass panic.
Even the principal and a group of professors went out of their way to meet Chen Chen, Xia Yin, and Wang Wei - the trio that had set off the chain of events.
"And that's how the whole thing went."
Chen Chen appeared shy before the microphone. "Professor Zheng was after our research results. He threatened me to hand over the research results or else he won't let the three of us graduate…"
"How did you respond at the time?" The principal immediately followed up with a question.
"At the time, in a mixed state of anger and frustration, I noticed a picture on his desk. I found out from Xia Yin that the person in the picture was his ex-wife, which was how I arrived at my conclusion —"
Chen Chen declared sternly, "He was afraid of his ex-wife and unknowingly had the picture facing backward toward him the entire time. But why was he afraid of his ex-wife? I determined that even though the circumstances of her death looked like she died of an illness, it was actually a murder!"
"What I didn't expect was that when I exposed his vile actions, he broke out in tears. He went down on his knees, begging me not to expose him. Of course, as one of the three righteous younglings of the Earth Federation, I didn't agree."
A hint of fear showed on Chen Chen's face. "I never thought that he'd commit suicide out of guilt before I even had time to call the police after leaving his office."
The group of professors sitting before Chen Chen exchanged strange glances among themselves.
Their confusion stemmed from their great surprise by the entire sequence of events.
To think that a mere green boy was able to corner an associate professor to his death just by going off several strands of loose clues. Even though the other party had always been somewhat scummy, they were still bewildered.
"Could Zheng Jian have committed suicide because you were too harsh when you spoke with him?"
The principal who spoke in the middle questioned again, "Does Xia Yin know of the conversation between you two?"
"I didn't know about it. The tutor asked me to leave right after I brought Chen Chen over." Xia Yin quickly shook her head, looking clueless.
<
br /> "Zheng Jian brought this all on himself. This was the conclusion the officials had arrived at as well. It's unnecessary to bring this up again."
Professor Wang Xi, who had been sitting on the side, took a sip of tea from his cup. He then glanced at Chen Chen with a hint of a smirk. "What I'm more interested in is what the three of you discovered with your research. So much so that even Zheng Jian got so hooked and even cost him his own life."
"This…" Chen Chen became more embarrassed.
"What is it? You worry I'm going to claim your research results for myself? There are so many pairs of eyes watching here, I can't claim it even if I wanted to," when Professor Wang Xi saw Chen Chen hesitating, he began to tease him.
"Of course not. I don't mind if you want to see the data from our research. The only problem is our research data was taken as case evidence and we can't get them back from the police station at the moment," Chen Chen promptly explained.
"How about the thesis?" Professor Wang Xi asked again.
"There's no problem if it's just the thesis. I kept it in my email. Professor Wang Xi can take a look at it whenever," Chen Chen quickly informed.
"Alright, send it to me after the meeting. I'm curious to see what sort of earth-shattering experiment my student came up with!" Professor Wang Xi laughed heartily.
It was obvious that Wang Xi held a respectable position in the school. Just a sentence from him was enough to brush over the case of Zheng Jian's death. Even the principal had no choice but to give up on pursuing the matter.
Chen Chen understood that this was Wang Xi covering for him.
The meeting had subsequently ended following Wang Xi's interruption.
Even though the meeting was not necessarily disadvantageous to the trio, there was still a considerable amount of pressure from the rounds of questioning. Judging by Professor Wang Xi's behavior, he had undoubtedly spread his wings over them, protecting them like he would protect calves.
Chen Chen silently took note of Professor Wang Xi's gesture.
After leaving the meeting room, Wang Wei did not know whether he should be crying or laughing his heart out. "I never thought that a day would come where we get to meet so many bigshots of the academic world."
"This is on me." Chen Chen shook his head. "I never thought that Zheng Jian was so mentally fragile."
"What do you mean 'it's on you'? You've done the kingdom a service by getting rid of a threat, alright?"
Wang Wei quickly responded, "If it wasn't for you, our three months' worth of progress would have been taken away by Zheng Jian. How could he call himself a professor?"
Chen Chen glanced at Xia Yin who stayed silent and gave Wang Wei a subtle signal.
"Ugh, look at me going off like that." Wang Wei quickly chuckled. "Xia Yin, none of this is your fault."
"It's no big deal, I just felt a little guilty." Xia Yi shook her head. "If it wasn't for what I said, none of this would've happened. Tutor Zheng wouldn't die…"
"If it wasn't for you, then there would be more people getting threatened by Zheng Jian. What Chen Chen did was doing the kingdom a service, addressing the root of the problem!" Wang Wei explained.
"…"
Chen Chen paid no mind to Wang Wei who was running his mouth. He took out his phone and forwarded the thesis in his mail to Wang Xi, Xia Yin, and Wang Wei. Then, he turned to Xia Yin. "I emailed the thesis to you guys, take a look. If there's no problem then I'll submit it."
"Well, I'm not going to bother." Wang Wei patted Chen Chen's shoulder. "I trust Lil Chen."
"Me too." Xia Yin nodded. "Oh yeah, how much for the publication? I'll transfer it to you."
"It's alright, I sent it to Professor Wang Xi. He can probably bill it to the school." Chen Chen waved his hand. "I'm going to meet Professor Wang Xi. You guys want to come?"
"No, I have something to do so I'll head back first."
Xia Yin shook her head and mustered a forced smile before turning around and left.
"Xia Yin doesn't seem to be doing so well." Wang Wei shook his head.
"Her tutor died, it's normal to feel down." Chen Chen turned toward Wang Wei. "You coming?"
"No, not like it has anything to do with a second author anyway. Besides, Professor Wang Xi obviously had his eyes on you."
Wang Wei gave Chen Chen's shoulders several thumps. "I'm going to head back first. Don't forget to treat the entire dorm after passing!"
"It's a promise."
After the two of them bumped their fists, Wang Wei turned around and left.
Watching Wang Wei and Xia Yin's figures slowly fading away, Chen Chen sighed silently.
He began to feel like he was getting somewhat distant from Wang Wei.
It was not due to Wang Wei intentionally distancing himself, but his own fault.
The absolute mental calmness and rational processing that came with taking NZT-48 were ever so slowly affecting Chen Chen's personality.
Apart from that, there was also the aspect of driving Zheng Jian to his death.
Even though it was not said out loud, it was still a human life at the end of the day. When other people see Chen Chen, they would instinctively withdraw themselves out of fear.
All of these factors slowly contributed toward driving Chen Chen away from other people.
In truth, it was not just Wang Wei. It was the same for the other two buddies in Chen Chen's dorm as well.
Perhaps this was a part of growing up?
Chen Chen understood that from the moment he had acquired the USB drive, he was destined to belong in a different world compared to others.
Either reach for the peak or fall into the ashes and dust.
No matter what, he refused to continue living a plain and simple life!
Chapter 27: Dropping Out |
In Professor Wang Xi's office, the printer rattled endlessly.
Chen Chen sat on a couch arranged on the side of the room. He had his arms crossed as he silently stared out the window. He was looking at an old man whose ashen hair was illuminated by the auburn ray of the evening sun.
At the same time, Professor Wang Xi, who was in front of him, wore a pair of reading glasses and was flipping through the printed material. Apart from that, the entire office was eerily silent.
This sort of silence was unnatural. Chen Chen began looking at the walls and the sections of the door frame.
At the edges of the door frame, the walls that were thicker than ordinary walls could be seen. It was a good thirty to forty centimeters thick.
Which was to say, this room, that was twice the size of Zheng Jian's office, was soundproof. Perhaps it was even heat proof and bulletproof.
You had to admit that the senior academics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences enjoyed greater benefits.
"Sigh…"
After god knew how long, Professor Wang Xi suddenly sighed after reading through the final page of the thesis.
Chen Chen perched up as well.
"I'm getting old."
Professor Wang Xi turned toward Chen Chen and smiled as he looked at him. "I'm really getting old. Back in my day, it wasn't until I was thirty years old when I was able to write a thesis of your level."
"Professor Wang, you're a pillar of our nation, I wouldn't dare compare myself to you." Chen Chen quickly noted.
"Have you checked the thesis for a duplicate?" Professor Wang Xi smiled. He did not speak more than he needed to.
"Not yet."
"Then I'll check it for you, save you some money too."
Professor Wang Xi opened CNKI as he spoke. He submitted the two theses together.
After a moment, the duplicate verification results were out. Between the two theses, the highest repetition rate was only fifteen percent, the lowest was only five percent.
"Not bad."
Professor Wang Xi nodded contently. There went his final strand of worry.
It was not because he did not trust Chen Chen. It was more so that he could not fathom the fact that these t
wo well-constructed theses with such sharp analysis were penned by a mere freshman.
Truth be told, even the Ph.D. students under his wing were not able to achieve such standards.
It was a shame that he could not see the source material.
"I originally thought that perhaps I could help you make some amendments if there are any shortcomings in the thesis, but I didn't expect…"
Professor Wang Xi shook his head. "Which journal do you plan to submit this to?"
"I've already discussed this with Xia Yin and Wang Wei. We plan to submit it to Cell," Chen Chen answered.
"That's good. Between these two, 'Rebuilding Immunity System with Stem Cells' can make the cut for Cell. The other one might have a smaller chance, I wouldn't count it out."
Professor Wang Xi jested. "It'll be a great badge of honor for the Institute of Biological Sciences if both of your theses are published on Cell. Small wonder that Zheng Jian brat started getting ideas."
"It was all thanks to your teaching." Chen Chen followed up quickly.
"I can do without the sweet talk. You think I wouldn't know whether I have taught you before?"
Professor Wang Xi shot a look at Chen Chen. "Alright, if you want to submit it, you can just do it here. I'll cover the publication fees for now."
"Professor Wang, I have a favor to ask…" Chen Chen spoke after pondering for a moment.
…
When Chen Chen had exited Professor Wang Xi's office, he had an additional form in his hands.
It was a copy of "University Student Business Loan Application Form".
Professor Wang Xi was truly astounded and could not comprehend it when he heard that Chen Chen wanted to drop out of school to start a business. He then settled down when he considered the fact that Chen Chen had displayed an understanding of biology which was far superior to even postgraduate students.
It was true that there was very little left that the school could teach Chen Chen.
After a slight hesitation, Professor Wang Xi made an offer to take in Chen Chen as his disciple. He would let Chen Chen follow his guidance. It was going to be a position more esteemed than the Ph.D. students.
This sort of royalty treatment was indicating that he would one day be the one to receive the passing of the torch.
