Chapter 43: Black-Haired Tofu

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Ouyang Xing was shoveling a mouthful of rice in when the phone lying on the table suddenly lit up. He inhaled a grain and began choking.

Even while coughing, he did not forget to snatch up the phone and tap it open. He coughed as he scrolled through the message, looking thoroughly disheveled.

“Senior, there’s no need to rush. The rice isn’t going anywhere. Slow down,” Xu Chen reminded him.

Ouyang Xing immediately held the phone out toward Xu Chen, wanting him to look. He seemed about to say something, but the rice stuck in his throat made speech impossible.

Puzzled, Xu Chen took the phone and glanced at the notification.

“Plan and Guidelines for Supporting Domestic Research into Internally Administered Antifungal Drugs”

One look was enough for Xu Chen to understand. The message had been sent by another senior student—one Xu Chen remembered from the internship group.

So that was it. Senior Ouyang had found himself standing at the forefront of a new wave of research. The only question was whether they had achieved any results.

At last, Ouyang Xing managed to cough up the rice lodged in his windpipe. His face was flushed, making him look like a bashful, sunny young man. He was clearly bursting with excitement.

“Xu Chen, do you remember that fungus capable of infecting humans?”

Xu Chen fell silent for a moment. That was something difficult to forget. With only a little effort, he could recall the person whose entire body had been covered in fungus.

He glanced at the more-than-half-full plate of rice on the table. He was not quite nauseated, but he had lost his appetite all the same.

Seeing his expression, Ouyang Xing understood immediately. His face reddened again as he apologized. “Sorry. I forgot we were still eating… Shall we talk after we finish?”

“No. I suddenly don’t feel hungry anymore. Senior, tell me about your research.”

“All right. I’ll make it up to you with a proper meal later.” Excited himself, Ouyang Xing had no intention of continuing to eat. He took the phone from Xu Chen and tapped at it several times.

Then, perhaps having received a reply, he grabbed Xu Chen and pulled him to his feet.

“Come on. I’ll show you.”

“Wait. You’re no longer keeping it confidential?”

“The clearance level was lowered ages ago. Don’t worry. Come take a look at our results.”

“What about the other seniors?”

“No problem. Your original theory made everyone take us seriously for once. Even Academician Qi praised us and directed a great deal of resources our way. They’ll be delighted to see you.”

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And so Xu Chen was dragged, half pulled and half shoved, to the laboratory.

When he arrived, he found that the place had hardly changed. The only difference was that the isolation chamber in the center no longer contained the patient who had once made everyone physically ill at the sight of him.

Several senior students who knew Xu Chen greeted him. Xu Chen noticed that a few familiar faces were gone, while quite a number of unfamiliar ones had appeared.

“These are underclassmen from our department who work in this field…” Ouyang Xing paused. “Well, to you, they’re practically all seniors. The best students get dragged in here to do hard labor.”

Xu Chen looked around. Although Ouyang Xing described them as laborers, not one of the newcomers seemed unwilling. On the contrary, they were all brimming with enthusiasm.

“Back when we were trying to combat that terrifying fungal infection, I experimented with all sorts of new drugs. The most effective was a compound designated EXC07. It had extremely severe renal toxicity, but it could kill a full forty percent of the fungal infection.

“At the time, I wasn’t satisfied with only forty percent. If we were going to save the patient, we had to save their life. Besides, EXC07 had such serious renal toxicity. So I immediately turned to searching for a more effective antifungal drug…

“EXC07 was eventually abandoned because we changed direction.”

Xu Chen listened quietly. “And afterward?”

“Afterward? You already know, don’t you? The patient died. Dean Yang still demanded that we continue our research. Anyone unwilling to do so had to sign an agreement and leave. Apart from you, three others left: one couldn’t bear the psychological impact of that patient, and the other two had chosen different paths…

“After that, our research shifted from saving the patient to developing antifungal drugs.”

“And the results?”

“The results? I screened the original drugs again and discovered that EXC07 had considerable potential. Let me tell you, the molecular structure of this drug is chiral. It exists in two mirror-image isomers, and the difference between them is far from negligible. So I led the group in separating its L-form and D-form to study their respective effects. When we separated the L-form, I used—”

“Stop, stop! I’m only a freshman! Just tell me the result.”

Ouyang Xing smacked his lips, his face full of regret. “What a pity. Our group used a wonderfully precise method to reduce EXC07’s renal toxicity… We’ve renamed it EXC08.”

“You mean you’ve developed an antifungal drug? Can it fight the fungal infection from before?”

Ouyang Xing shook his head. “It isn’t that simple. Can that thing even still be called a fungus? The Balance Academy has also developed a spray called KK03, which is currently the most effective drug against that organism. It boasts an antifungal efficacy of fifty-eight percent.

“But you know that isn’t nearly enough. That fifty-eight percent means that no matter how much drug you use, you can destroy at most fifty-eight percent of a sample. After that, the fungus comes roaring back.

“Our drug merely reduces renal toxicity. In fact, to achieve that reduction, its antifungal efficacy is considerably weaker.”

“So we still have no way to deal with that Aspergillus flavus?”

“That’s right… Fortunately, the fungus has been contained.”

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“Then what use is this EXC08 of yours?”

“The mutated Aspergillus flavus is terrifying, but other fungi are much weaker. Of the human-infecting fungal samples from overseas that Academician Qi brought back, only a very small number are as horrifying as our Aspergillus flavus. Most of them are no real threat.”

“Wait. Are you saying there are fungi overseas just as terrifying as the mutated Aspergillus flavus we’ve managed to contain?”

Ouyang Xing nodded. “Yes. Here, take a look.”

With that, he pulled up a photograph on his phone and showed it to Xu Chen.

Xu Chen was caught off guard. His eyes met the dark, indistinct presence on the screen head-on.

It was… perhaps a human being.

Unlike the people Xu Chen had seen infected by the mutated Aspergillus flavus, this person’s outline was nowhere to be seen. They had been completely enveloped in black fuzz, instantly bringing to mind a single food: hairy tofu.

Yet the growth covering the thing in the photograph was even denser and longer than the most luxuriant hairy tofu Xu Chen had ever seen. Worse, it was black. The fuzz around its edges looked unreal, as though someone had applied a blur effect.

The black mold growth resembled an endless fractal, filled with infinite self-similarity. A single glance was enough to draw the eyes inward.

Then came the feeling of fear.

Fear. Fear. Fear.

Endless fear.

Danger. Danger. Danger.

Utterly dangerous.

Xu Chen could not imagine what the human body inside that mass must look like.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Ouyang Xing added. “Apparently, the person was still alive when the photograph was taken.”

Xu Chen could not help gagging, but he managed to hold it back. He was grateful that he had not eaten much lunch.

At last, he understood. The news was, in the end, merely a tool. To prevent panic, there were some things that would never be published.

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