In the restaurant, Li Zheng held his cellphone, listening to Zhang Shandong’s excitent as if a festive event was being planned, his face expressionless as if a young maiden had just heard she was to be married off.
He was still very young and naive, and many things didn’t co to him so quickly.
But Zhou Yi and Zhang Shilei had already helped him clarify everything.
People consider their own interests, which is quite understandable.
Therefore, Zhou Yi made it very clear from the start, although his confidence was limited and he did not expect Li Zheng to achieve any results, since the resources ca from the Chemical Institute and the risk was borne by him, Zhou Yi, the benefits should also go to the Chemical Institute. Otherwise, why would he apply for the project or wrest resources from Hu Zengwu?
For this reason, he didn’t even hang any na on it; he only wanted the reputation benefits for the Chemical Institute and a future for Shi Yang.
Zhou Yi might not have been deeply cunning, but his approach was clear from the start—he made a definitive statent—
He didn’t give face even to Dean Yingpei Niu Gang.
As for Li Zheng, although he wanted to give vitality to Yingpei and foster a brighter interdisciplinary future,
the promise to Zhou Yi could not be changed at all.
At that mont, Li Zheng just held his cell phone, trying hard to control his emotions as he responded, "Thank you, Teacher Zhang, for the consideration, but the project has already started here."
"It’s started?" Zhang Shandong asked in surprise, "With whom has it started?"
"The Chemical Institute."
"Did you contact them yourself?"
"Yes."
"Not... How long has it been? Didn’t you give us a chance to discuss and give feedback?"
"You didn’t indicate then that you wanted to go back and discuss it."
"What are you saying? I clearly expressed it, I asked you to wait a bit so we could consult with other institutes’ experts. After all, it’s such a specialized experint, we ought to be more cautious, how could our three teachers decide lightly?"
"I don’t recall such a statent."
"Rest assured, I definitely expressed it, perhaps you weren’t in the right fra of mind at the ti," Zhang Shandong panted, "Let’s not argue anymore. For now, just tell which professor from the Chemical Institute you are collaborating with, and we’ll formally initiate contact."
"Teacher Zhou Yi."
"Dean Zhou, ah… okay, I got it."
After hanging up the phone in haste, Li Zheng didn’t think further and imdiately relayed the full story to Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi responded with only four words—
"Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Zhang Shandong’s call ca chasing after him again.
"Li Zheng... Dean Zhou seems to think you are a student of the Chemical Institute... and doesn’t seem very inclined to communicate with us..."
"Mhm."
"You… don’t ignore this, listen to , Li Zheng..." Zhang Shandong pleaded softly, "From a procedural perspective, the topic was first raised in our institute, this definitely predates the Chemical Institute, right?"
"You can discuss that with Teacher Zhou; I need to get busy now."
"Wait, wait! Just a few more things… specifically about the ownership of the project... Well, I’ll just say it straight, our institute should lead, and if results do erge, I could even argue for your position as the first author. If Dean Zhou does it, not only will he surely take the position of first author, but he might even arrange for his students to be involved... In the end, you might still be an author, but those team mbers might not even get a chance to be acknowledged. You are busy working with the Chemical Institute, likely making the wedding dress for soone else, Li Zheng!"
Upon hearing this, anger imdiately surged through Li Zheng.
He always prided himself on being very empathetic and understanding of others.
But he really did not know where to begin with this narrative.
"It’s okay, I’m hanging up," Li Zheng said with utmost restraint.
"Wait, Li Zheng, don’t hurry," Zhang Shandong started to soothe him urgently, "listen to , I would never harm you. Let’s do this: temporarily hold back your project and hand it over to us, since you first raised it in our institute, we will provide you with protection and the rights you deserve, and we will never allow others…"
Snap!
Li Zheng hung up the phone.
This was, of course, very impolite.
But if he had listened any longer, he would have beco even more impolite.
After a long ti, Li Zheng finally let out a sigh of relief, "I’m going to block this person."
"Zhang Shandong?" Mo Nian asked from across the table, gobbling up vegetarian food, "Do you feel like punching soone?"
"Yeah, haven’t felt this way in a while." Li Zheng looked down at his Fierce Battler fists, trying not to think too much, "I need to avoid this person from now on..."
"Speaking of emotional relief, I have a quick and easy thod," Mo Nian pointed towards Lin Moming and said, "Try imagining that person as Lin Moming."
Li Zheng’s eyes widened, and he forcefully turned towards Lin Moming.
"Uh..." Lin Moming shuddered, "Don’t scare like that."
Li Zheng glared for a long ti, trying hard to make Lin Moming appear greasy.
Greasy... greasy... greasy...
However...
It was completely impossible!
The most he could imagine was a little mouse stealing oil.
Finally, Li Zheng lowered his head in defeat, "I can’t do it... the dissonance is too strong..."
"Then just take it out on Lin Moming," Mo Nian said while knocking on Lin Moming’s head, "Like this, bully her a bit, it’ll make you feel much better."
"Hey!" Lin Moming, covering her head, turned her face angrily, "I’ve told you not to treat like a tool, I’m a key researcher! I bring funding to the group! I’m a language bridge!"
Seeing her defiant look, Mo Nian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Li Zheng, "How about it, feel any relief?"
"Actually, I feel a lot better... it’s magical..." Li Zheng swallowed, then leaned forward to reach out, "Moming, don’t move. Let pull your ear one more ti, it won’t hurt, just once."
"Annoying, annoying!!" Lin Moming, visibly upset, slamd down her chopsticks, covered her ears, and darted behind Keqing, shaking Keqing as she clamored, "Sis, help scold them!"
However.
Keqing suddenly turned around and grabbed with both hands.
Squeezing Lin Moming’s face, she started kneading it madly.
Li Zheng and Mo Nian were both stunned.
Soft, bouncy, and it even ca with "umm umm" sound effects.
So relieving...
This is really so relieving.
After enough kneading, Keqing also had a trace of satisfaction on her face, "That feels so much better."
Lin Moming had already fled with her face covered in sorrow, "I... I’m not playing with you guys anymore!"
"Okay, okay." Mo Nian chuckled, turned around, and pulled out a box of cream puffs from her backpack, gently placing it on the table, "To make up to you, here are so cream puffs."
"!!! You actually had these!" Lin Moming lunged forward but then recoiled cautiously, "Just... just this once... don’t bully anymore!"
"Of course."
Lin Moming instantly forgot, charged back to the table, and started gobbling up the cream puffs, charging up like she was recharging, functionality fully restored in monts.
It has to be said, her uses are really broad.
Li Zheng took the opportunity to lean towards Mo Nian and asked, "I get the logic, but why do you carry cream puffs with you?"
"To handle her," Mo Nian gestured with his lips towards Lin Moming.
"Is this... is this what fatherly love is..."
"What nonsense," Mo Nian blushed, burying his head to eat his vegetables, "If I had such an adorable daughter, I’d wake up laughing from dreams."
"Hmm..." Keqing pondered on the side, "Biologically it’s impossible... but you could marry Tu Yikou and then adopt a mixed-race child from abroad..."
"???"
"???"
"Not funny, huh..." Keqing shook her head and continued eating, "Then I’ll have to work on my sense of humor..."
It appears not only is Lin Moming...
Keqing, since that day, also seems to be letting herself go, developing new functions.
...
After Zhang Shandong’s call, Li Zheng simply blocked all unknown numbers.
Knowing the character of such people, if he couldn’t persuade them himself, they might inevitably ask a counselor, horoom teacher, or soone else to diate. For the sake of convenience in studying, Li Zheng really didn’t want to add so many people to the block list; it would be better not to give them the chance to intervene.
Once he had blocked these people and matters, the world finally seed beautiful again.
Li Zheng’s focus gradually shifted from experintal procedures to writing papers, leaving the operation of the electron microscope entirely to Mo Nian and Shi Yang.
Perhaps it was the ability of Scholar’s Eye, or maybe just luck, but Li Zheng had never expected that the first ti he ford a group to tackle a research topic, everyone would be able to perform at 100% efficiency.
Except for the leader.
It was probably better for him not to fully exert himself for the ti being.
Thus, under the vigorous advancent of Science Frontier, by the early morning of Saturday, the first draft of the paper was sent to Zhou Yi’s email, finally titled—
[The CryoEM thod MicroED as a powerful tool for small molecule structure determination]
Zhou Yi woke up in the middle of the night and was astonished just by seeing the title.
That scent… that scent…
Yes!
It slled of "Science"!
Zhou Yi continued to scan downward.
In the authors section, the nas of Li Zheng, Shi Yang, and Mo Nian were listed in the top three positions, marked with "†" to indicate they were the first authors.
Chang Keqing, Lin Moming, and Tu Yikou followed closely afterward.
But at the very end, Zhou Yi’s na also appeared, marked with "$" indicating the corresponding author.
Listing Zhou Yi as the corresponding author was not just a superficial gesture.
Placing it at the end wasn’t a sign of disrespect either.
On the contrary, the corresponding author often plays a pivotal role.
The corresponding author typically handles the funding of the project, supervises the paper, and is responsible for submitting it, communicating with peers and the editorial reviewers.
Placing the corresponding author at the end differentiates their role, on one hand giving due honor to the first authors, and on the other, clearly showing who the big shot responsible for the resources was.
Though this system of authorship may not be perfect, it is much better than indiscriminately keeping prominent nas always at the forefront.
As for Zhou Yi, after all the work put in, both substantively and ceremonially, he indeed deserved the title of the corresponding author.
With his na so placed, it wouldn’t be easy for Zhou Yi to ask Li Zheng to remove it, so he could only laugh bitterly and continue reading.
The paper wasn’t lengthy; 21 pages of content, with experintal diagrams making up half of it and just ten pages of text, of which two were taken up by referenced works.
At first glance, it seed rather slim.
But this is actually the golden ratio for such papers.
Considering the strictness of the wording, the elegance of the layout, and the comfort of the images.
Zhou Yi truly couldn’t believe that this was written by a native Chinese speaker, nor could he believe it was the work of soone writing a paper for the first ti.
When one reads a clear and confortable paper, one’s mood inevitably improves. Zhou Yi smoothly read through the 21 pages in just 20 minutes, made three to five trivial suggestions, and then sent the email back.
Only then did he notice that the initial draft email had also been cc’ed to Hu Zengwu, asking for his guidance.
Just as he was about to shut down the computer and go back to sleep, the webpage chid. Hu Zengwu, also a night owl, had already sent a reply—
[Read. Although I had heard so from Yi Yun, seeing the first draft still shocked .]
[The results are extrely open-ended, and the paper’s completion is peak level. Yi Yun is far from its standard.]
[If Dean Zhou is indeed the corresponding author and willing to take responsibility for the experintal data and results, I suggest submitting it imdiately. I will contact friends at "Science" to give the first-ti authors a chance for revision.]
[Considering the simplicity and easy access of the experint, publication should be expedited.]
[Eagerly awaiting your prompt reply.]
At this, Zhou Yi was again utterly astounded.
He understood now!
What does currying favor an? This is it!
There was no need for flattering or gifting fruit and such.
Just send results at first instance.
Was there any better way to curry favor with Hu Zengwu?
Unexpectedly, the most challenging part of the process turned out to be the smoothest.
It was Yingpei’s part that should have been the most supportive...
Forget it, forget it.
At least it wasn’t as bad as Yi Yun...
Once Zhou Yi understood the situation, he didn’t dare delay and quickly composed a follow-up reply.
[Professor Hu:]
[The draft has no major issues; I also provided full guidance on the experint, and all data and conclusions are authentic.]
[I will suggest to Li Zheng to list you as the corresponding author to ensure publication.]
Within half a minute, Hu Zengwu replied again.
[No need to list . Just send the final draft my way.]
[Don’t reply now. You’ve already awakened twice this night.]
When Li Zheng received these many ssages, he too was extrely exhilarated and spent five minutes making a final round of edits before once again waking Hu Zengwu.
Hu Zengwu beca agitated.
But then he considered the ti difference, and wondered if now was actually the best ti to communicate by phone; was Li Zheng reminding him of this fact?
So, to get a good night’s sleep, he imdiately sent out submissions by email, and made two phone calls on the side.
Finally.
[Submission done; microscope will be returned tomorrow.]
[Don’t disturb again.]
...
No one besides Li Zheng expected that the research project would unfold and conclude at such breakneck speed.
Next ca the long wait.
There might be revisions, outright rejections, may need to wait a month, or even half a year.
In any case, there was that feeling similar to an unknown writer, as if the submitted manuscript was still tethered to him, making his heart quite uneasy.
Given Li Zheng’s style of doing things, he obviously shouldn’t be just twiddling his thumbs waiting now, but should be starting a new project.
The trouble was, his system interface had been locked due to a glitch... no chance of working on anything else until this technology was officially unlocked.
It seed that just producing results and writing papers was not enough to unlock technology; probably it had to be published and generate an impact first.
In such a sticky situation, Li Zheng had nothing else to do...
So he just went to classes.
Thus, on that Monday, when Li Zheng stepped into that classroom.
The previously relaxed atmosphere among the students of the School of Physics instantly tensed up.
Even Lin Yujing, who was catching up on howork while munching on bread, was startled by the familiar aura and turned around abruptly.
As their eyes t.
One hastily dodged.
The other forcefully pushed forward.
The monster slayer was back!
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