Final Exams

Two days later, the Freshmen of Class 2020 faced the first final exams of their university careers.

Unlike high school, university final exams generally were not very difficult. They consisted mostly of basic giveaway questions and tested how well students had mastered the key concepts.

Aside from their major-required courses, students at the School of Life Sciences also had to take foundational required courses such as Life Ethics, Linear Algebra, Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Natural Science, Organic Chemistry, Advanced Mathematics, University Physics, and Introduction to Biology.

After several nonstop exams, the students were all dizzy and disoriented, unable to tell what day or year it was.

But it was nothing to Chen Chen. Other people needed cheat sheets for exams, yet Chen Chen had already thoroughly mastered dozens of textbooks. Even taking graduate entrance exams directly would have been a piece of cake for him, let alone final exams.

As Chen Chen maintained his record of being the first to hand in his paper through several consecutive exams, he thoroughly established his reputation as the top student of Class 2 of School of Life Sciences.

After all, many people had only handed in their papers after seeing Chen Chen fill his completely. And whenever the bored proctors picked up Chen Chen's paper to look it over, their faces showed surprise rather than the expression of someone so angry they were about to pass out. Clearly, his error rate was low.

Thus, after yet another exam, Li Bo and Zhou Jie forcibly dragged Chen Chen back to the dormitory for a secret transaction that could not be spoken of.

At Li Bo and Zhou Jie's request, after finishing each exam, Chen Chen had to copy down the answers to the multiple-choice questions for them. In exchange, starting next semester, the two of them would fetch boiling water for Chen Chen for an entire semester.

After signing this humiliating and unequal treaty, the two wore complicated expressions whenever they looked at Chen Chen. Yet once they entered the exam room, that complexity turned into the eagerness and reverence one would show a savior.

Amid this suffering and anticipation, Li Bo and Zhou Jie secretly swore that they would study hard starting next semester and strive to turn things around before their sophomore year.

After several days of grueling exams, the freshmen of Shangdu Jiao Da finally welcomed the first vacation of their university lives. Countless students far from home cheered as they embarked on their journeys back.

As the campus gradually grew deserted, Chen Chen and Wang Wei saw off Li Bo and Zhou Jie, then arranged a place to meet Xia Yin and prepared for the experiment.

In an empty classroom, Wang Wei was reading through thick experimental materials while Chen Chen flipped through a Cell Biology textbook.

Although Chen Chen looked completely casual, every time he turned a page, all the knowledge on it was permanently imprinted in his mind, never to be forgotten.

Before long, light footsteps sounded in the hallway. Then, a girl with long hair draped over her shoulders appeared at the door.

The girl had bright, clear eyes. When she saw the two people in the classroom, she smiled gently, and the youthful air unique to a young woman overflowed from her.

"You are...?"

Seeing the girl enter, Wang Wei hurriedly stood up and said in amazement, "Miss, you must be Xia Yin, right?"

"Hello, I am."

She was no longer wearing those black-framed glasses, having switched to contact lenses and even put on makeup. But such minor details might as well not have existed in Chen Chen's mind.

With Chen Chen's imagination, even restoring the woman before him to her naked form would have been so easy.

"Why are you dressed like this?" Chen Chen asked, feigning surprise.

"It's vacation, after all. Is it too much to spare some time to dress up?" Xia Yin pretended to be angry. "Doesn't it look good?"

"You look very pretty. I thought you were some kind of rich—cough, cough, cough!"

Wang Wei had just started to speak when he realized something and broke into a frantic coughing fit.

After introducing the two to each other, Chen Chen shifted the topic to the matter at hand. "This time, I've tentatively planned three experiments, all related to Autologous Stem Cells."

As he spoke, Chen Chen pulled a thick stack of printed materials from his backpack and handed it to Xia Yin. "Stem cells are cells in the human body with unlimited self-renewal capabilities, and they can differentiate into at least one type of daughter cell."

"For example, Hematopoietic Stem Cells can differentiate into Red Blood Cells, White Blood Cells, Platelets, and so on. Skeletal Mesenchymal Stem Cells can differentiate into bone cells, Chondrocytes, Muscle Cells, Adipocytes, and more."

"Stem cells in the human body work every day. Hair keeps growing, nails keep growing, and new cells replace aging cells every day. The source of these new cells is the various stem cells within the human body."

"My first experiment concerns the therapeutic use of Neural Stem Cells for brain injuries."

Chen Chen explained, "As the name suggests, Neural Stem Cells are a type of adult stem cell capable of repairing nerves. The principle behind the procedure is that, after implantation, they stimulate the body's own stem cells to automatically secrete Cell Growth Factors—a category of Small Molecule Proteins with broad biological activity—thereby repairing Brain Nerves."

"Stem cells can also be divided into 'autologous' and 'allogeneic.' As the names imply, 'autologous' stem cells come from one's own body. Your own stem cells are extracted, cultivated externally to multiply, and then injected back into your body. Stem cells originating from oneself have no compatibility issues and avoid Transplant Rejection, making them the best option."

"For this experiment, we need to create a Brain Injury Model, so SD rats are better than Kunming mice. Larger animals are easier to operate on, after all."

At this point, Chen Chen's expression gradually turned solemn. "...As for the autologous Neural Stem Cells needed for the experiment, I'll obtain them in two ways: first, artificial cultivation; second, extraction from a clone through cloning."

"Cloning?"

Wang Wei was immediately startled. Looking up, he asked, "You want to conduct two batches of experiments and compare which type of Neural Stem Cell is more effective?"

"Correct. That's exactly it."

Chen Chen snapped his fingers. "The outside world has always exaggerated stem cells into something miraculous, claiming they can proliferate indefinitely and never age. But if human stem cells truly could proliferate infinitely, why would humans still age and die? So I want to see whether artificially cultivated stem cells and newly generated stem cells from clones differ in effectiveness, given that both are Autologous Stem Cells."

"Then why not use induction?"

Xia Yin sat down in front of Chen Chen, propping up her chin with one hand. "The experiment is ultimately for humans, isn't it? If you want to compare the differences between stem cells, wouldn't stem cells produced through Directed Differentiation Technology be more practical?"

"The technology for producing directed induced stem cells is too complicated, and the cost is high."

Chen Chen explained, "Besides, the technology isn't mature. Induced stem cells carry the risk of tumor formation and immune rejection."

"We could also try cloning other animals, such as Domestic Rabbits," Wang Wei suggested.

"Domestic Rabbits can certainly be tried, but don't forget the funding and time constraints. SD rats have a gestation period of twenty days, while Domestic Rabbits take twice as long. That limits our experimental materials in terms of time."

"Alright, I didn't think it through," Wang Wei said apologetically.

Chen Chen continued, "For the second experiment, I'll destroy the Spinal Nerves of several rats, leaving them with High-level Paraplegia without endangering their lives. Then I'll likewise cultivate stem cells and see whether this method can restore their mobility."

"Then comes the final experiment, and also the one I consider most important..."

Chen Chen's expression gradually turned grave. "The first two experiments are nothing special; they've been done all over the world. But the third is different. It concerns rebuilding the Immune System."