Perfect Special Medicine

Perfect Special Medicine

Professor Lu sighed as he sat in his office, still thinking about the unfathomable Hua Xu.

He had previously shown up at various research institutes, but ever since they discovered they had been deceived, that person had never appeared again.

"How could it be such a coincidence? I was planning to have Professor Lin pretend not to know, then wait for him to visit the lab again. But he just stopped coming altogether, and the number Professor Lin wrote down can't be reached either..."

Professor Lu sighed repeatedly, unable to understand how Hua Xu had learned of it in advance.

"Could there be a mole among us?"

Professor Lu opened his inbox and looked at several contacts he knew, suspicion in his eyes.

They were all medical professionals. He did not want to suspect them, but had they really all been fooled? What kind of scammer could be that capable?

Perhaps some of them had only pretended to be deceived, when in fact they were covering for Hua Xu and deliberately helping him!

That would explain why Hua Xu had operated so smoothly. Someone had provided him with information, someone had provided him with fake identities, and afterward they claimed, "I was deceived too. There was never any such thing."

Perhaps Hua Xu really was the hidden student of some professor. For some reason, he simply could not reveal his true identity!

The more Professor Lu thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and he began wondering who was most likely to be involved.

Suddenly, his computer chimed as an email arrived.

"Hm?"

Professor Lu looked and found that a stranger had sent him a paper.

"A new H1N1 virus? Isn't that the Level Five virus the World Health Organization announced a few days ago?"

Professor Lu was somewhat surprised. He had only just learned about H1N1 himself. It was said to have already spread across national borders, which was why it had been classified as Level Five.

So far, no country had made any major breakthrough in researching it. Many domestic scholars were still studying the relevant materials.

Even a simple and direct detection method had yet to be developed, let alone a solution.

Yet the title of this paper claimed to have a solution?

"It is probably just preventive measures like washing hands frequently and wearing masks."

Professor Lu read the email. Sure enough, it described the virus's properties, symptoms, and transmission methods in detail, while its prevention measures were explained with extreme thoroughness.

It even predicted that the virus should be classified as Level Six, claiming that without a Special Medicine, it would inevitably become a global pandemic.

"Yes, that is indeed what the World Health Organization experts have concluded."

Professor Lu had read several reports published by the World Health Organization, and they had also predicted that trend.

This paper was even more detailed than the World Health Organization's descriptions. Many of its characteristics and details made it seem as though countless clinical tests had been conducted.

"Who in China researched this? This is probably China's first paper on H1N1."

"Why send it to me? It should be submitted to the editorial department of a major academic journal..."

As he pondered, Professor Lu noticed a line at the bottom of the paper: "The synthesis formula for the Special Medicine is in Attachment 1."

"Huh?"

"What is this? A Special Medicine?"

Professor Lu nearly thought he had read it wrong. No wonder it had not been submitted to the editors of major journals. It was probably someone's fantasy.

How long had it been? How could a Special Medicine already have been developed? Had there been clinical trials?

Still, with the mindset of taking a look, Professor Lu downloaded the attachment.

"Not bad. It even includes a formula for a detection reagent. The synthesis formula is quite detailed."

"And this Special Medicine... it is actually this simple?"

"Could this really not be speculation? How could a Special Medicine appear so quickly?"

Professor Lu had not believed it at all at first, but after reading it, he felt that it somehow made a great deal of sense.

The main reason was the detection reagent. With his discerning eye, he could tell at a glance that it was genuine.

Though it was difficult to judge whether the Special Medicine was real, the synthesis formula was simple enough. They could just try it.

So he immediately returned to the university and had two graduate students help make the detection reagent.

Testing the Special Medicine was not so simple. It required approval and actual patients.

The detection reagent was easily produced, revealing the skill of the paper's author. The materials used were all extremely simple.

But whether it worked or not would only be known after testing.

Professor Lu brought the reagent back to the hospital and began selecting cases, screening flu patients.

He then had their blood samples collected and tested.

Professor Lu spent the entire day busy with this. At four in the afternoon, the test results came out.

"Of the twenty-four people, one tested positive. We obtained a virus sample from them, and after comparing its genes with the international database, we confirmed it was H1N1."

"It really works!"

Professor Lu was overjoyed and immediately took the test report to the Magic City Institute of Drug Research.

At present, Magic City had only this one institution that had officially launched a project to tackle H1N1.

"This paper must be published as soon as possible!" Worried that the other party might not see an email in time, Professor Lu personally carried the paper to the institute.

However, when he arrived, he found professors from several universities already there.

Dean Hong smiled. "Look! Another one!"

"..." Professor Lu looked utterly bewildered, having no idea what was going on.

"You are already the sixth professor to come here with this paper," Dean Hong said with a smile.

Only after hearing the explanation did Professor Lu learn that the same email had been sent to many professors. Some were not even specialists in virology or pharmacology, yet they had all received the paper.

Moreover, this was also China's first paper analyzing H1N1.

The very first paper contained such an important discovery and directly solved the detection problem. It undoubtedly had to be published on international forums for experts from every country to study.

"Then why haven't you published it?" Professor Lu asked.

"There is no need. The capital has already published it... Academician Gong in the capital completed the experiment at once and directly sent it to the World Health Organization," Dean Hong said.

"Not only that, Magic City and Yang City also published the same paper right afterward. The World Health Organization even asked us why we had sent the paper three times."

Professor Lu was speechless. He had not expected the email to have been sent to so many people simultaneously.

Still, that was fine. The sender had probably cast a wide net in case someone failed to see it in time.

But why would an institution or individual capable of producing such an important result so quickly not publish it themselves? Why not reveal their name?

Why sign it as... Messiah?

"Who is this Messiah?"

"Who knows? It sounds like a foreign name, but it was written in Chinese. No idea why they used a pseudonym."

As the two spoke, another expert rushed in from outside: Professor Zhu.

"Well, here comes another one! Old Zhu, you made it!"

When everyone asked, sure enough, he had also come to deliver that paper.

Old Zhu said, "Have you tested that Special Medicine yet?"

Dean Hong said, "We are testing it now. I am waiting for the results."

"That drug is useless. I already tested it once at my university. It has no effect on the virus at all!" Old Zhu said.

"Ah, so it really is fake." Several professors looked somewhat disappointed upon hearing that.

Dean Hong frowned. "No, that medicine changes the structure of the gut microbiome, causing bacteria to release a brand-new enzyme that helps the immune system identify the H1N1 virus."

"In other words, it targets bacteria. The medicine has to enter the gastrointestinal tract. If you directly used it to kill the virus in your experiment, of course it would not work."

Professor Lu said, "But can this really work? Wouldn't it be better to find a Special Medicine that directly helps the immune system identify the virus? This person's thinking is strange. They are clearly treating a virus, yet they made a Special Medicine targeting bacteria..."

"If we directly synthesize the enzyme they mentioned, wouldn't that itself become a Special Medicine?"

"I do not understand this person's logic... Why make bacteria secrete it?"

Dean Hong suddenly shuddered as though he had realized something, then sank into thought.

Afterward, he said, "This line of thinking is somewhat like Hua Xu's..."

"What? Hua Xu?" Professor Lu's eyes widened.

Dean Hong immediately found a computer, logged into his email, and pulled up the paper Hua Xu had once sent him.

"Look, this was the paper Hua Xu wrote when he deceived me."

"What is this even saying? It is a complete mess." Professor Lu frowned after reading it for a while.

Dean Hong said, "It is a little messy, but the data is correct. Many derivations were omitted, so it needs explanation before you can see it. Back then, Hua Xu introduced to me a method of using medicine to affect the gut microbiome, then reshape the immune system and cure various diseases."

Everyone studied it for a long time. With Dean Hong's explanations, they gradually came to understand it as well.

"The theory is good, and it is feasible. As a form of medicinal cuisine, it would be useful for health maintenance... But for treating diseases, forgive me for being blunt, isn't this needlessly roundabout?" Old Zhu said with a laugh.

Professor Lu also said, "Exactly. No matter what compound he makes bacteria secrete to help the immune system, couldn't we directly analyze that compound and synthesize it artificially? Wouldn't the treatment be more direct?"

Dean Hong nodded. "That was what I thought too. At the time, he was merely an 'undergraduate student.' After hearing him out, I was only amazed by his knowledge, which was why the impression stuck with me."

"When you put it that way, I remembered that the authors of these two papers share the same line of thinking."

At that moment, the Magic City Institute of Drug Research finally produced its experimental results.

Everyone was invited into the conference room, where the deputy director told them in great shock, "The Special Medicine works, and it is extremely effective!"

"In just four hours, the patient's immune system produced the corresponding immunoglobulin, precisely identified H1N1, and destroyed it!"

Everyone was speechless. This was a perfect Special Medicine!

Antibodies had been produced in four hours? H1N1 had not even had time to cause symptoms yet!

In the field of epidemic prevention, this was a perfect solution.

What did four hours mean? It was like a group of enemies sneaking into a city, hiding in civilian homes, still lying low as they waited for the right moment and made plans!

Before they could launch their attack, the guards suddenly reached their doorstep, surrounded the house, held up their pictures, and shouted, "You are surrounded!"

When had the immune system become so formidable? The virus had not even committed a crime, yet antibodies had already been produced!

There were many types of Special Medicine, and this one was the best kind: it directly helped the immune system produce antibodies.

Normally, this relied on vaccines. In other words, Doctors injected a group of enemies that looked the same but had already been weakened into useless trash into the human body. They caused trouble directly and even carried loudspeakers, shouting everywhere, "I am a virus!"

That way, the immune guards would immediately eliminate them, rapidly gain experience, and produce antibodies.

After that, if the same virus caused trouble again, the immune system could deal with it.

"But this Special Medicine is clearly not a vaccine, nor is it a virus-targeting recognition agent. It targets bacteria," Professor Zhu said.

Dean Hong said, "It is that enzyme! Through this medicine, Messiah made bacteria secrete some new enzyme, which then caused the immune system to produce antibodies."

It was as if H1N1 were hiding in a civilian home, with no intention of acting today.

But then the local gangsters of the city—the bacteria—were suddenly hammered by the Special Medicine, and that medicine was hammering them by imitating H1N1.

Personified, the chemical process was like this: "I, H1N1, am going to hammer you to death today! I will slaughter this city!"

The bacteria then realized there was a group of enemies in the city.

This is the city where I live!

The bacteria immediately reported the enemy's intelligence to the immune guards.

The immune guards analyzed the enemy's appearance from the intelligence and immediately mobilized!

The analogy was not quite accurate, but that was essentially the process.

After everyone finished reading the report, the more they thought about it, the more astonished they became.

"This Special Medicine is not a vaccine, yet it indirectly accomplishes what a vaccine does. The ingredients in this Special Medicine are completely unconventional; they even harm bacteria. Yet under that harm, they 'just happened' to make the bacteria secrete that enzyme, which in turn happened to affect the immune system, causing antibodies to appear ahead of time. The virus was still lying dormant, yet immunity had already been established."

Professor Lu clicked his tongue in amazement. "No matter how you look at it, this Special Medicine seems like pure luck... It just happened to hit the mark!"

"Next, as long as we synthesize that enzyme and combine it with suitable ingredients to make a Special Medicine, we can cure H1N1, right?"

The deputy director stood up and shook his head forcefully. "No... It was not luck!"

"And synthesizing that enzyme cannot produce a new Special Medicine."

"Why? Does it have side effects?" everyone asked.

The deputy director said, "The Special Medicine provided in this paper does have side effects, though they are minor. At most, some people may have allergic reactions."

"The key issue is that the enzymes secreted by the bacteria in the bodies of several patients... were different!"

Everyone was stunned, then erupted into uproar. "What did you say? You are saying every person generated a different enzyme after taking the same medicine?"

P.S. Sorry. The virus plot has finally been skimmed over like this. Next, the story will move on to a new arc.