Chapter 136: Recovery
Two months later.
“This is truly unbelievable...”
Professor Evans turned toward Professor Wang Xi upon reviewing the readings on the CT. At last, he exclaimed with amusement, “You know, the ‘age spots’ in your brain have vanished entirely. On top of that, 90% of all neuron contractions have recovered with no signs of recurrence. Thanks to the neural stem cells transplantation during this period, your brain appears to be younger than your actual age...
“Only because we addressed it early on. Things might have turned out differently if it was the middle stages of the disease.”
Professor Wang Xi carefully inspected the extracted data and asked with profound interest, “How much does my treatment cost? Would it be possible to publicize this form of treatment globally?”
“Uh...”
Evans showed a strange expression. “Sure you want to find out?”
“Alright, I get it,” Professor Wang Xi suddenly appeared slightly apologetic. “Another question. What are the general odds of achieving the degree of recovery that I displayed, how high is it?”
“It’s not exactly very high.”
Evans expressed with a shadow of doubt, “To be honest with you, I find it strange as well. The general consensus was that this procedure is only able to contain the condition but isn’t able to completely eradicate it. However, since half a month ago, your condition seems to be vanishing without a trace...”
“That’s because there’s a saying where I came from, ‘The noble ones are favored by the heavens’.”
Chen Chen pushed open the door and broke into the conversation. “Thanks to the favor of the heavens, Professor Wang Xi’s condition has only been getting better.”
“Hm, when you folks from the Mainland speak of ‘Heaven’, are you referring to God?” Evans asked curiously.
“I see you guys going on about the heavens.”
Professor Wang Xi exchanged a glance with Chen Chen before explaining, “No, my friend. We don’t believe in God, you can think of the ‘Heavens’ referred to in Chinese culture as ‘God of Spinoza’ which refers to the world’s laws of physics.
“In ancient days in Mainland China, we referred to the sky with terminologies such as ‘Emperor Heaven, Cang Tian, Haotian’, and so on. These are also the official supreme gods in ancient times. The so-called ‘heavenly sacrifices’ are also dedicated in the same vein.”
“Oh, I get it.”
Evans nodded in approval and made a thumbs-up gesture. “A godly entity without a fixed persona, that’s how it is. The profound culture of the Mainland is truly fascinating...”
Chen Chen changed the topic. “Old Wang, now that you’re cured, don’t forget to help me out a little. I’ve already completed a thesis so if somebody comes to you for verification, please do put in a good word for me.”
Wang Yi obliged with a nod. “Of course, where are you planning to publish this time?”
“Since I’ve already published twice on Cell, let’s try Nature this time.”
Chen Chen brushed the lower part of his chin. “Oh yeah Old Wang, since I’ve published so many SCI, do you think the school can make an exception and issue me a bachelor’s degree certificate? It’s not easy to accomplish much out there without a bachelor’s degree these days...”
“...”
It was only then when Professor Wang Xi remembered that this model student of his had dropped out for nearly a year now...
Several days later.
After sending Professor Wang Xi to the airport and watching the plane fade into the horizon, Chen Chen found himself absorbed in deep thought.
The truth was that Chen Chen had considered extending the offer to Professor Wang Xi to become a part of his company.
After all, Professor Wang Xi was seventy years old. He was at the age where he was eligible for applying for retirement.
In addition, with Professor Wang Xi’s role as the leading biologist across the entire federation, his field knowledge and experience greatly surpassed the professors Chen Chen had found.
Chen Chen gave up on the idea in the end.
He did not even have to give it a shot to know that there was no way that Professor Wang Xi would accept the offer to join him.
The reason was very simple. There was no way Professor Wang Xi was going to leave the Mainland.
Having dedicated his lifetime effort to the Mainland, why would he retire in a foreign land?
Why would he abandon his reputation and honor?
If not for the fact that Chen Chen was his student, Professor Wang Xi would have rather died of Alzheimer’s than go abroad for treatment. This was a matter of ethics.
The truth was that there had always been a prevalent issue of local scientific talents heading abroad. However, as the icon for the Chinese academic world, the least he could do was to preserve whatever honor he had, it was worth it.
Even if the price he had to pay was his very own life...
This was not the work of stubbornness but a symbol of persistence of the older generation of scientific researchers.
Still, Chen Chen no longer had to be concerned with Professor Wang Xi’s health after curing him of his Alzheimer’s. Based on the professor’s condition, he should easily be able to live another ten years at least.
By that time, there should be plenty of time and opportunities to continue extending the life of this national treasure-level scientific researcher.
The point was that this was a delicate process that could not afford to be rushed.
The true reason for Professor Wang Xi’s sudden recovery had to do with the AD-001.
Hannibal and Li Lei’s analysis had concluded that the AD-001 was able to effectively rid the effects caused by Alzheimer’s disease. The toxic side effects were almost nil and were perfectly adaptable for the human body.
So, Chen Chen sneakily injected AD-001 into Professor Wang Xi. Within half a month, Professor Wang Xi’s condition had undergone a sharp recovery.
Even Professor Evans, the man in charge of the “Alzheimer’s Disease Reversal Treatment” project was not aware of the existence of AD-001.
Chen Chen was extremely strict with this piece of information to ensure that its existence would not be leaked for at least the next few years to come.
Once the results were published in Nature, news of the first-ever cure for Alzheimer’s disease, performed on the man who was a symbol of the academic world no less, would surely cause a gigantic uproar in the academic world.
This kind of reception would equal to a dazzling golden banner for Chen Chen’s Eco Science City.
The original motive of constructing the Eco Science City was to take Switzerland’s place as the new primary healthcare facility for the entire Federation. The treatment process that Chen Chen had incorporated before was a series of technologies including TOM1 protein genetic overexpression, supplementary Solanezumab antibody, and many others.
How much could Chen Chen serve to benefit from this arsenal of technologies?
As the innovator of this class of technology, the official opening of the Eco Science City should grant passage to an endless stream of Alzheimer’s disease patients here to seek a cure.
There should be a terrific amount of profit surging in.
If Chen Chen pulled out a drug like AD-001 which was way ahead of the current technological scale, it would almost render the aforementioned procedures completely useless. Regardless of how high the price of manufacturing AD-001 could be, how high could he possibly sell it for?
Could it be any higher for the long set of treatment procedures?
Besides, revealing the line of treatment procedures could positively astound the world while also keeping it under the realms of plausibility. Directly pulling out the AD-001 would make it appear too “other-worldly”.
The problem was not that he could not take out AD-001, it just was not the right time yet to maximize profits.