Mismatch

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed. Li Mu Chuan and Li Qingxiao had hidden together in this cramped space, relying on each other for survival.

Under such circumstances, the relationship between the two had improved considerably.

That morning, Li Qingxiao stared intently at the computer screen before pressing the Enter key.

The computer screen froze for a moment, and the CPU began running at full capacity.

Standing beside her, Li Mu Chuan could clearly hear the hum coming from the computer case—the sound of the fans.

"It's done!"

Seeing that the software on the screen had finally finished, Li Qingxiao was overjoyed. She immediately began entering her data.

She had not been idle these past few days. Following several plans she had envisioned, she had entered all the data into the computer.

Once it obtained the relevant data, the program immediately began its simulation calculations.

Li Qingxiao waited nervously, while Li Mu Chuan noticed that the progress bar on the computer seemed rather slow.

If the computer had not still been running smoothly, he might have thought it had frozen just from looking at that one-percent progress bar.

Li Qingxiao noticed it too. After waiting for a long while and seeing the bar advance only slightly, she could only leave the computer alone for the time being.

Li Qingxiao turned back to prepare food, though she kept glancing over at the computer from time to time to make sure it was still working.

"Once the progress bar fills up, will the serum be developed?"

Li Mu Chuan asked curiously.

Li Qingxiao shook her head. "How could it be that simple? Even if the progress bar fills up, it might still conclude that the match failed. We have to see what conclusion the computer gives."

"And even if the computer concludes that the match succeeded, clinical trials will still be necessary. Only after the serum is developed and proven to actually work can it be considered a success."

Li Mu Chuan clicked his tongue in amazement. Developing this serum really was not so easy.

It was only because Li Qingxiao herself worked in this field that she still believed the serum could be developed even now.

Unlike some of the other survivors, who had long since believed death was inevitable and had begun to grow twisted inside.

After confirming that the computer would not finish calculating anytime soon, Li Qingxiao returned to her workbench.

It looked like she was searching for other possible serum-matching plans.

Li Mu Chuan checked the time. In about another five days, he would be able to return to his original world.

The supplies left in the room were still fairly abundant, so they would not starve to death.

After he left, the remaining supplies should be enough for Li Qingxiao to use for a while. Later, he would also tell her where he had found the supplies.

Time passed bit by bit.

A day later, at seven in the evening, the two were sitting down to eat.

The computer beside them suddenly made a sound—a crisp ding that was incomparably pleasant to the ear.

Hearing it, Li Qingxiao reacted as if by reflex and quickly turned toward the computer.

The joy on Li Qingxiao's face vanished the instant she saw the screen, her expression turning utterly grim.

A red border appeared on the screen. Inside it was a large ×, followed by the words, "Mismatch!"

Those three scarlet characters stabbed straight into Li Qingxiao's eyes.

This had been the data and plan she had been most confident in, yet after being entered into the computer, it had been deemed incompatible!

She had absolute confidence in her data. It could not have been wrong. In that case, the serum development plan she wanted to pursue was wrong.

And this data and plan had been calculated over more than a year.

It was the same as destroying more than a year of her hard work in an instant.

"How could it be a mismatch?"

Li Qingxiao's eyes were unfocused. She could not understand why it had failed to match.

Seeing Li Qingxiao like this, Li Mu Chuan immediately grew worried.

He could tell that this result had dealt her a rather severe blow.

Li Qingxiao sat before the computer. Only after a long time did she close the page, then enter another plan for biological computation.

Once the computer began calculating, the progress bar once again seemed stuck. The fans continuously hummed as they cooled the computer case.

"Eat something first. It should finish calculating by tomorrow morning."

Li Mu Chuan glanced at it and spoke softly.

Judging from the first calculation time, the second one probably would not finish quickly either.

Li Qingxiao nodded. Though she appeared to heed Li Mu Chuan's words, she could not sleep at all.

The computer's result was the key to whether she could develop the serum. If she could not even pass this stage, humanity truly would be finished.

The next day.

When Li Mu Chuan woke up, the pain from his wound had already lessened considerably. Looking up, he saw that the computer's progress bar had reached ninety-eight percent.

At some point, Li Qingxiao had already awakened and was staring fixedly at the screen before her.

A moment later, the progress bar on the computer reached one hundred percent, then disappeared.

At that moment, Li Qingxiao grew even more nervous.

The next instant, a bright red border popped up again.

"How could this be?"

Looking at the large red border, Li Qingxiao felt confused, disappointed, and overwhelmed by a deep sense of defeat.

She had worked so hard for this day, yet now the computer was telling her that all her calculations had been wrong.

That meant she simply could not develop the serum!

"Why not try another approach? With your abilities, you should be able to develop the serum."

Seeing how badly Li Qingxiao had been shaken, Li Mu Chuan could not help trying to encourage her.

Over the past few days, Li Mu Chuan had clearly felt how hard she had worked and just how desperately she wanted to develop the serum.

After failing again and again like this, anyone would feel defeated.

Li Qingxiao took several deep breaths, nodded, and plunged back into her workbench without even bothering to eat something.

Li Mu Chuan sighed and shook his head, then casually opened some food and ate.

Li Qingxiao worked until late afternoon, when the sun was nearly setting. She emerged with a trace of delight on her face and prepared to enter the data again.

"Why don't you restart the computer? It's been running for so long—it must be getting a little sluggish."

Li Mu Chuan made the suggestion from beside her.

Li Qingxiao accepted Li Mu Chuan's suggestion. After rebooting it, she ran the program again.

The progress bar was still somewhat slow.

Li Mu Chuan prepared some food, and he and Li Qingxiao sat facing each other as they ate.

"Don't worry. It'll definitely succeed this time," Li Mu Chuan said encouragingly as he looked at Li Qingxiao's worried expression.

Li Qingxiao nodded lightly. "It should succeed this time!"

At that moment, she was full of confidence as well. She believed she had learned plenty from the previous two failures; there was no reason for this attempt to fail too.