Chapter 71
71 The Breakthrough
She slid the image to the center of the table, her fingertip tracing the edge of the virus particle
“And during nucleic acid extraction, I found the sample wasn’t sensitive to DNase, but the bands disappeared after RNase treatment.”
A wave of gasps spread through the room.
Everyone stared at the fresh–faced young girl like she’d lost her mind.
In the observation room-
The professors saw the result as well and immediately scoffed.
“She really must be desperate for attention. Drawing a conclusion from morphology and enzyme digestion before the sequencing results are out?”
“I’ve seen the data. I also support that it’s a poxvirus. This girl has no idea what she’s doing.”
The professor next to Rebecca added coldly.
“Does she even know who she’s challenging? That’s Professor Hugh–an authority in the field. Whether she’s crazy or not, Mr. Wayne must be.”
Rebecca let out a careful sigh.
“Professor Gogh, my sister tends to do things just to get attention. She doesn’t mean any harm.”
“Could you help her out?”
Professor Gogh gave her a surprised look.
“Hard to believe you’re so knowledgeable and humble, while your sister’s the complete opposite.”
Rebecca lowered her head in shame.
“Sorry to embarrass you.”
Seeing how pitiful she looked, Professor Gogh couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic.
“She’s her own person–you’re different. Don’t associate with her going forward.”
“Also, I’m very interested in your paper. Send it to me–I can recommend you to Jandale University. A friend of mine teaches there.”
Rebecca’s eyes filled with tears of joy. “Really? Thank you so much, Professor Gogh. That’s incredibly kind of you.”
“Alright, no more tears. Remember–trust the worthy and steer clear of the unworthy. Your fue will be bright.”
Rebecca nodded. “Yes, I’ll take your advice to heart.”
14.06
71 The Breakthrough
Not far away, Micah had overheard the conversation and couldn’t help glancing at Rebecca in surprises
Her advisor was Calvin–how could she have another professor help revise her paper?
What would that do to the relationship between Professor Miller and Professor Gogh ?
And yet Rebecca agreed without hesitation.
Micah felt deeply unsettled.
He wanted to go stop it, but he didn’t dare break protocol here.
Besides …
He was more worried about Scarlett.
If she really was challenging experts just to stand out, the consequences would be disastrous.
Would it implicate their entire lab?
At that moment, the surveillance feed changed. Everyone quieted down and turned their attention to the screen. Micah’s attention was mostly drawn back as well.
Inside the lab-
Aside from Professor Hugh, the other experts looked at Scarlett with visible disapproval.
“You realize this will delay our entire schedule, right?”
“Students nowadays–don’t understand a thing but still want to butt in.”
“They’re too impatient. Back in our day, we did our work step by step, building experience.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to prove yourself, but this isn’t the time or place for jokes.”
The pressure closed in like a tidal wave.
Scarlett’s back pressed against the hard wooden chair. Her palms were slick with sweat.
But when she turned her head, she saw Jasper’s calm, steady face.
The moment he sensed she needed reassurance, Jasper nodded.
Go ahead–no one messes with my people.
Just that one glance-
And Scarlett felt like courage was being pumped directly into her bloodstream.
Her voice rang out, firm and clear.
“I conducted a reverse transcription PCR.”
She turned her laptop toward them, letting everyone see the screen.
“Viral RNA showed specific bands after reverse transcription. But poxviruses are double–stranded DNA
71 The Breakthrough
viruses . ”
The display switched to a real–time PCR amplification curve. A sharp orange– red melting peak appeared exactly 48°C.
Chen Liming’s laser pointer dropped from his hand. “That’s… the signature melting temperature of a paramyxovirus”
As a seasoned expert, he wasn’t angered by being questioned–just stunned, and deeply intrigued by the science.
At this point, he already regarded Scarlett as a peer. His tone was filled with respect.
The others were frozen in shock by the evidence.
All their earlier snide remarks died on their tongues.
No one dared say a word.
Their faces flushed red with embarrassment. None of them could meet Scarlett’s gaze.
But Scarlett only grew more confident. Her voice rang stronger and clearer. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ƒindNoᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access s of novels early and in the highest quality.
“More precisely, it’s a new, untyped strain in the subfamily of paramyxoviruses.”
She quickly brought up a 3D reconstruction from the electron microscope. The virus’s surface spikes were arranged in a distinct helical pattern.
“I cross–referenced the global virus database. This spike protein’s glycosylation sites share 87% homology with a bat–borne strain–but there are twelve key mutations in the envelope protein coding region.”
The conference room fell completely silent.
Professor Hugh’s hands trembled.
He stared wide–eyed at the graph.
“Excellent… Excellent… Truly excellent!”