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Mad Academic Conspiracy
墨書 Inktalez
It was 11:48 PM.
I rubbed my tired eyes once again, trying to refocus my vision under the microscope. The fluorescent-labeled cells were faintly visible, resembling the twinkling stars in the night sky. This was already the seventh experiment I had repeated today.
"Something's not right... these data are definitely off," I muttered to myself, my fingers quickly tapping on the keyboard to input the new data into the Experiment Record. Staring at the numbers on the monitor, I became increasingly convinced of my judgment—these results were far too different from what Professor Zhou had published last month.
"Maybe there’s an issue with the experimental conditions?" I stood up and retrieved the original experiment log from the filing cabinet. The entire laboratory was empty, and even the usual hum of operating instruments seemed unusually clear. I flipped through the yellowed pages, carefully checking each experimental parameter. Suddenly, my movements froze.
On one of the blank pages, there was a barely noticeable ink smudge. Instinctively, I brought the log closer to the desk lamp and adjusted the angle slightly—I could vaguely make out traces of someone having deliberately altered the date field. This was no ordinary correction.
"You're still here, junior?"
The sudden voice startled me, and the Experiment Record snapped shut with a loud clap. Looking up, I saw Senior Zhang leaning against the doorframe, holding two cups of coffee. He always maintained this meticulous demeanor; even the pen in his lab coat pocket seemed positioned as if measured with a ruler.
"Are you working late too, Senior Zhang?" I tried to make my tone sound casual. Even in the late hours of the laboratory, I didn’t want anyone to notice something was off with me.
"I'm preparing for next week's group meeting report." Senior Zhang walked in and placed one of the coffee cups beside me. "The pressure has indeed been high lately; Professor Zhou has been pushing hard."
Hearing Professor Zhou's name made my fingers instinctively tighten. Taking the coffee, the warmth of the paper cup did little to dispel the inexplicable chill in my heart. For two years, Professor Zhou had been my ideal mentor—academically accomplished, humble in nature, and caring towards his students. But now, that image seemed shrouded in an opaque shadow.
"Thank you, Senior," I said softly, catching a glimpse of Senior Zhang's slightly weary face out of the corner of my eye. Lately, he often seemed hesitant to speak, his gaze hiding something unexplainable.
Senior Zhang sat down at the workstation across from me, the blue light from his computer screen illuminating his furrowed brow. "Yuwei," he hesitated for a moment, "sometimes in research, you don’t have to be too..." He paused as if weighing his words carefully, "too serious about it. Do you understand what I mean?"
I was taken aback. Looking up to see his expression, I found he had already turned away to face the computer, his fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard. This unusual reminder stirred a sense of unease within me.
The next day at the team meeting, I sat in the back of the conference room, mechanically taking notes. Professor Zhou stood in front of the projection screen, explaining the latest experimental progress. His voice remained gentle and refined, as if last night's discovery had been nothing but an illusion.
"This set of data shows that our newly developed nano-carrier has excellent targeting capability at tumor sites..." He pointed to the chart on the PPT with a laser pointer. "The drug's accumulation in tumor tissue has increased by nearly 300% compared to the control group."
I looked down at my notebook, but the pen tip remained still. My mind kept flashing back to the correction marks I had seen last night. Why was the Experiment Record altered? If the experimental results were indeed that good, why was there such a significant discrepancy in the data I obtained from repeating the experiment?
"Yuwei." Professor Zhou's voice pulled me back to reality. "How is your recent verification experiment going?"
I felt my blood run cold. Raising my head, I realized all eyes were on me. I forced myself to calm down.
"The experiment is ongoing," I said, "but..." I hesitated for a moment. "Some data points seem to differ from the previous results..."
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