Chapter 4: Mission Accomplished

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhou Wen followed the experiment’s procedures to blow out the supernatant fluid. 

The word ‘blow out’ was a technical term to extract supernatant fluid using a pipette. The liquid was then blown out with the purpose of mixing it evenly with the solution inside the test tube. 

He performed the ‘blow out’ process repeatedly before he extracted the DNA specimen from two test tubes and placed them into the centrifuge. 

The centrifugation process was completed in 15 minutes. 

He extracted the supernatant fluid from Group A and made his way to the electrophoresis equipment next to it, and then added the liquid to the gel. 

He closed the lid of the electrophoresis equipment and selected the settings for the equipment, including the electrophoresis’ current and direction. Then, he turned on the switch and began to run the gel. 

Soon afterward, he did the same for Group B by extracting the supernatant liquid and adding it into the gel of another electrophoresis equipment. Next, he ran the gel similarly. 

The next step would be a long wait. 

The computer would be performing a gradual comparison of the white mouse’s DNA extracted by Zhou Wen with the sample available in the NCBI GenBank in the United States. The process would take at least six hours. 

This was because there were 250 million base pairs in a white mouse”s 20 pairs of chromosomes. As a result, it was a time-consuming process. 

One could read a novel, watch a television series, and even munch on sunflower seeds while waiting. However, Zhou Wen did not have the time. 

He grabbed a little white mouse and used his Truevision to analyze it. 

Unexpectedly, a summary of information appeared before his eyes. [Mouse name: Laboratory white mouse, a mutation from the common house mouse. Gender: Female. Mouse age: 11 months.]

“Huh, why am I looking at this instead?” Zhou Wen turned his head to look at Lin Jiayi, who had her back facing him. The display that he saw previously appeared right before his eyes once again. 

[Name: Lin Jiayi. Gender: Female. Age: 24 years. Occupation: Student. Physical state: ??? Mental state: ???]

He recalled the method to view DNA information, so he squinted his eyes ever so slightly. Soon afterward, the scene before his eyes began to turn clearer. 

“Oh, sh*t… Oh, sh*t oh sh*t…”

The white lab coat cladded to Lin Jiayi’s body slowly turned into fiber structures in his eyes. It spread out, expanded, and enlarged. It continued to pan further out until he saw the white chemical fabric. 

The pores of the chemical fabric thickened right before his eyes before his vision finally penetrated the layer of chemical fabric and turned into black cotton fabric. 

Next, he saw the stratum corneum, which was the outermost layer of the epidermis, dermis, veins, and pores. 

Meanwhile, Lin Jiayi suddenly turned around and asked, “Zhou Wen, what are you looking at?”

The scene before Zhou Wen’s eyes vanished when he was interrupted. He was jolted back to reality, so he rubbed his nose and said, “Uh… You weren’t looking at me, so how could you tell that I’m looking at you?”

Lin Jiayi pointed to the stainless steel frame of the clean bench by her side. Zhou Wen’s reflection could be clearly seen on the surface. 

Lin Jiayi giggled and asked, “Oh Zhou Wen, you’re so kind to help Shi Lei out, could it be that you’re doing it so you can stay back and accompany me?”

Zhou Wen replied, “Why would you come up with such an unrealistic idea?”

Ever since Qu Fangfang left, Lin Jiayi’s way of speaking became more and more sensual and unrestrained. Perhaps, it was because no one else in the laboratory could threaten her beauty. 

Of course, Lin Jiayi was rather good looking. She had beautiful facial features as well as a superb figure. In fact, her tightly altered lab coat accentuated her curves. 

The only thing was that she was an overly practical woman. Her sole goal in life was to look for a tall, rich, and handsome boyfriend. Moreover, she was overly cunning and scheming. Sometimes to the point where it was even a little obnoxious. 

Lin Jiayi beamed with joy as she responded, “Hey… It’s okay if you won’t admit it… Forget about it. Let me tell you something; I have a boyfriend. So, it’s too late for you to pursue me even if you want to do it now.”

Zhou Wen turned around and broke another white mouse’s neck. While he cut open the mouse’s stomach, he chuckled and said, “Congratulations on being in a relationship. Tell me, who is the lucky man?”

“He’s from our university too. He is one year a junior to me. He is a local, and he is in the computer science program…”

The majority of Zhou Wen’s attention was fixed upon the mouse in his hand when Lin Jiayi was speaking to him. 

He realized that he could already see the DNA chains when he extracted the bone marrow from the white mouse’s thigh bone. 

It would be much easier for him to identify the possible issues that occurred during the DNA extraction process. In a brief moment, he discovered that the loss of DNA segments was too high during the cleaning process. 

He wondered if this was caused by the concentration level of the low penetrant solution. However, it was good that this would not affect the extraction of genes so he could look deeper into the issue with the concentration level later. 

Next, it was the centrifugation. Zhou Wen performed the centrifugation again, one test tube at a time. 

He found the reason behind Group B’s failed extraction soon enough. It was because there was a problem with the DNA extraction link. 

It was a problem that was common among newcomers. There were other reasons that could affect the number of DNA chains extracted and success rate including temperature control, timing, and method too. 

There was nothing one could do in this situation under ordinary circumstances. There would be a difference in extracting it using the left hand or right hand, and it could possibly fail if it was left in the centrifuge for one second less or one second more. It would also be greatly affected by the slight elevation or drop in temperature. 

As one could not see DNA with their naked eyes nor feel it, the newcomers could only fumble and find out the possible issues by performing the procedures over and over again, and this was commonly known as ‘accumulating experience’. 

However, now that Zhou Wen possessed Truevision, it allowed him to see DNA directly. The result would be completely different. He transcended beyond the process of accumulating experience and became a top specialist right away. 

…

Time passed quickly. It was already half-past five in the evening without him even realizing it. 

Lin Jiayi stood up and stretched her body. She massaged the back of her neck as she made her way to Zhou Wen’s side and said, “Hey Zhou Wen, would you like to have dinner together?”

Zhou Wen, who was mixing up the gel, answered without even looking up, “You should go ahead first. I’ll be done soon.”

Lin Jiayi did not notice that the waste bin next to him was piled up with a white mice’s corpses. She nodded and said, “Alright. I’m leaving.”

“Hmm.”

The electrophoresis analysis was only completed at half-past seven in the evening. 

After comparing the result, Zhou Wen discovered that Group A’s extraction was successful, while Group B’s data did not make any sense, just as he had expected. This signified that the extraction had truly failed. 

Zhou Wen reread the datasheet, and the corners of his lips cracked into a smile beyond his control. 

The mission required him to produce six gene segments, but he had extracted a total of 8 segments in the evening. Three of the segments were identified as completed products after examining them through electrophoresis analysis while one was identified through the electronic microscope, and the remaining four were identified with his very eyes. 

Meanwhile, a soft, gentle voice was heard in his ears. It sounded pleasant and melodious. 

[The mission has already been accomplished. Would you like to submit the assignment immediately?]

Zhou Wen was stunned for a moment before he became overjoyed all at once. He immediately turned on the pharmacist system. 

On the blue property board, a dialogue box popped up with the words displayed, ‘Would you like to submit the assignment immediately? Yes/No]

Zhou Wen selected ‘yes.’

[Ding! Mission accomplished. Loading reward… Congratulations, you have received 100 Course XP, 200 Points.]

After the XP points were received, a dialogue box popped out once again. [Would you like to open the loot box now? Yes/No]

“For heaven’s sake, please be one million… No, 10,000 will do. In fact, 1,000 will be fine too.”

He was really short of cash now. There was only 100 RMB left in his entire wallet. 

It was only the 19th of March now, and the 100 RMB would need to last him until the start of next month. 

Actually, he still had 2,000 RMB with him when he came to the university one year ago. 

He dropped his phone and broke it accidentally so he spent 1,000 RMB on buying a third-hand Ulefone Note 7P from his junior, and then he added 600 RMB to his meal card and bought a few items here and there. In the end, he was left with 100 RMB. 

Zhou Wen prayed silently in his heart. Then, he selected yes. 

As soon as he made the selection, a pitch-black chest with wood striations bounced out before his eyes. The chest was engraved with intricate patterns, and an ancient-looking key was floating next to it. 

“Why bother putting so much effort into making this?” Zhou Wen rubbed his palms in excitement. Then, he muttered to himself, “Money, wealth, riches abound, find your way to me safe and sound…”

[Open]

Before his voice died away, the key levitating next to the chest plunged into the keyhole in the chest automatically. 

It rotated one round, and the chest opened up slowly with an object shimmering with white radiance emerging. 

Before Zhou Wen could see what the object was, a dialogue box popped out. 

He took a close look. [Congratulations, you received Biotype N99 Mask X10]