Xie Yongqing's home is next to an ordinary country river, at the moment the road he walks on is not only the main road in the village, but also part of the embankment, in his childhood memory, this road is a dirt road, both sides are overgrown with reeds and weeds, the river is also crystal clear, every summer he will take a lifebuoy to swim, but this scene has disappeared for a long time, now all he can see is a spacious cement road, the river exudes a similar smell to the air, across the road is a whole large chemical park, Huge cans and pipes are entrenched like a giant snake.

A few years ago, the village also made trouble for this chemical factory, went to the city to collectively petition, Xie Yongqing was also specially invited by his father to come back to investigate these factories - in the eyes of the villagers, Xie Yongqing can be regarded as most of the experts, Xie Yongqing ran back and forth for more than a month, checked the relevant standards, sent the extracted samples to the laboratory for testing, and after taking the report home, his father showed him the newly bought second-hand van and said to him: "Don't worry about this, it has nothing to do with us." ”

How can it be okay? Xie Yongqing's house is no more than a kilometer away from the chemical plant, and he can even be woken up by the smell when he sleeps at night without closing the window...... But my father didn't think so, he thought a van was more important, because many people in the village had already driven it, but he didn't.

Xie Yongqing originally thought that he would be a little homesick when he came back this time, or he would have some feelings, maybe these thoughts would make him change his mind, but he was surprised to find that he didn't have it at all, stepping on the cement road, he felt more down-to-earth than any time he came back before.

There is no one at home, the Spring Festival couplets of the New Year are still posted on the door, my father planted some flowers and plants at the door, but they all have long wilts, I don't know if it is because of the environment or because no one takes care of it, Xie Yongqing took a kettle, poured some water on them one by one, and then put down the bag, moved a stool and sat at the door, took out paper and pen, and wrote while basking in the sun.

"Coming back?" Xie Yongqing, who had written a little in his mind, raised his head, it was his mother, he put away the paper that had been written to most of it, nodded, and helped his mother take the things in his hand.

"Your dad is out, and he won't be back until the evening," said the mother while washing the vegetables in the kitchen. ”

"I took two days off, and I have to go back tomorrow."

"Oh, that's right." The mother's voice was a little regretful, "I knew that you were back, so I specially made you back pot meat." ”

After eating, his mother went out again, Xie Yongqing stayed at the door in a daze, doing nothing, not looking at anything, just staring at the air with blank eyes, thinking about his childhood, thinking about his high school, thinking about his college, sometimes thinking about it, he would be inexplicably excited, and sometimes he would be inexplicably sad. The memory of more than 20 years is obviously far from enough to be reminiscent in one afternoon, and before Xie Yongqing could come up with a reason, there was the sound of tires rubbing the ground not far away.

Xie Yongqing didn't look up until he heard the sound of the door closing, and saw his father's figure in the sunset enveloping him, he stood up and looked at the man whose hair had already appeared pale: "Dad." ”

Father's face moved: "I haven't eaten yet." ”

So I ate again, dinner was richer than lunch, my father brought back a few braised vegetables from the town, Xie Yongqing tasted them one by one, but finally ate the noon back to the pot meat.

At night, Xie Yongqing wanted to sit at the door and watch the stars, but soon found that there were no stars here, so he could only go back to the room in a daze, at 7 o'clock, a strong smell of chemicals wafted in from the window, Xie Yongqing silently went to close the window, he knew that the night shift time of the chemical plant was coming again, Xie Yongqing remembered that when he was in college, he still secretly lined up at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, but now he ......

Before going to bed, Xie Yongqing continued to complete the content that he had not finished during the day, and found his suitcase to put the paper in, and then re-set a password for the lockbox, what number is good? 888, take a good omen, go to bad luck.

……

The next afternoon, Xie Yongqing returned to Shenhai, as he said to Han Le, went directly to the school, punched into the laboratory, mechanically changed shoes, undressed, dressed, disinfected, and found that there were a few more people in the empty laboratory today, the leader of the project team, Professor Li beckoned him over and explained to him: "Xiao Xie, you are here, these students are all here to see the excitement, isn't this time and bird flu, just you are in charge of this part, you can also tell them." ”

Xie Yongqing's work during this period sounds very high-end, and it can be said that it is a small part of the "Human Genome Project", but in Xie Yongqing's opinion, it is actually very boring, at least Xie Yongqing himself does not have the excitement of being in a large-scale project at all, as he said before, the most interesting part has been put forward by the predecessors, and their task is to complete the remaining boring part - most of the scientific research work is done in this part of the work, and with the improvement of the level of science and technology, this part of the work accounts for an increasing proportion.

The general blueprint of the human genome project was almost drawn more than ten years ago, of course, it is just a physical map, if all the human genes are compared to a puzzle, then completing the physical map is like finding out all the puzzles - the next thing to do is sequencing, which is also the work that many governments and research institutions have been doing over the years, this work is generally done by computers, and in this process, all research institutions are also in accordance with their own interests, Interpret this unfinished puzzle – that is, complete the work of genetic mapping, and deeply interpret the DNA information, including the products they express, the intermediate processes, and the role they play. This stage is like a treasure map full of treasures, everyone who studies the map can't wait to dig out some treasure from the part they are responsible for researching, and there are indeed many people who have gained in the process, many monogenic diseases directly related to genes have been found, and more complex polygenic disease research is now underway.

Affected by the previous two large-impact diseases, domestic policy-affected scientific research institutions are more inclined to research and immune-related content in this regard, while the West is more interested in oncology, cardiovascular diseases, etc., because many of their research forces come from private pharmaceutical companies, once there is a breakthrough in these industries, it is easy to bring huge and long-term profits to enterprises. The reason why Xie Yongjin agreed to join this project team is not only because of the requirements and recommendations of his mentor, but also because this is one of the few lines related to the research of virulent infectious diseases in China.

"Avian influenza pathogens are viruses and there is no way to live on their own." In front of the test bench, Xie Yongqing manipulated live chicken embryos, that is, eggs, through isolation gloves, extracted tissue fluid from them through a syringe, and while skillfully making smears, he told the curious juniors and sisters on the side that he can now operate this process almost with his eyes closed, and he can't count how many times he has repeated it.

"What if we have terrorists here who break this glass and snatch the eggs?" A junior looked at Xie Yongqing's operating hand and asked, "Could it be like what Resident Evil said, the door can't be opened, and we will all be 'handled' here." ”

"You don't have to worry about this, you can take a look at the operation process here", this student's idea Xie Yongqing also had it when he first came into contact with the P3 laboratory, after all, the pathogens that can be accessed here are all partially powerful, but after reading the rules and regulations, he has no idea, "All operations involving pathogens will have at least three layers of isolation and protection here, or even more than three layers." ”

Visitors like this come across every once in a while, sometimes from school leaders, sometimes from the Ministry of Education...... Of course, Xie Yongqing doesn't have much opportunity to show his face in front of the leaders, let alone explain them in detail, but there is still this opportunity here for students, there will be such waves every year, and Xie Yongqing also came here like this at the beginning, so the content he is introducing now often seems to be saying to himself:

"The first layer is personnel isolation, that is, the protective clothing we wear, the second layer is operational isolation, including this fully enclosed operation table, isolation gloves, and even a high degree of freedom robotic arm will be used to replace it in the P4 laboratory, and the third layer is building isolation, the whole building is not in direct contact with the outside world, and there are strict disinfection procedures for entry and exit. In addition to isolation measures, the laboratory also has some protective measures, the simplest means is negative pressure, because the most harmful infectious diseases can be transmitted through the air, so if the scene in the movie happens here, such as if there is really a test tube with the virus broken on the ground, it is impossible to affect the outside of the laboratory through the air. ”

The students just wanted to be lively, and they all left after staying for dozens of minutes, but Xie Yongqing still had to stay, and worked here with another senior brother until dinner - generally speaking, Xie Yongqing would not even go to dinner, because he felt that the set of procedures of going out and coming back was too annoying, it was better to go directly to the evening to have a good meal, every minute in the laboratory at this level is very precious, many other projects are waiting in line behind them to be used, if it weren't for the relationship between the old man, maybe Xie Yongqing wouldn't even have the opportunity to come in.

At dinner, the team leader and his senior brother left, and Xie Yongqing and two other staff on duty were left in the whole laboratory - they are all students who are responsible for maintaining the daily operation of the laboratory, and sometimes they will help the experimenters do some routine work, and they will also do their own private work when the laboratory is free - they are one level lower than Xie Yongqing, but they are essentially the same, they are all part of the scientific research line. According to the spirit of the regulations, there must be at least three people in the laboratory in order to supervise each other, and they all have to wait for the team leader and senior brother to come back before they go to eat, of course, if Xie Yongqing wants to go, one of them will have to wait for the third batch - but this rule is not 100% carried out in many cases, and it is usually reluctant for two team leaders.

"I heard you're from Oxford?" Xie Yongqing spoke in English to one of the international students from the United Kingdom, while taking an egg, fixing it and then going to get the syringe.

"How much do you Chinese like Oxford," the other party corrected Xie Yongqing's mistake again, "It's Manchester, where there is the best football team in the world!" ”

"I haven't heard of it," Xie Yongqing shook his head, and then asked another compatriot for support, "Xiao Tang, have you heard of it?" ”

Xiao Tang turned his face a little embarrassed, pretending not to know Xie Yongqing, and after a while, he carefully explained: "Manchester United is very famous." "He doesn't watch much football either, but he's heard of fame to some extent.

"It seems that I am lonely and unheard," Xie Yongqing smiled wryly, then clapped his hands and put down the freshly made smear, "No, no, I am hungry and have low blood sugar, I will go change my clothes first." ”

It takes more than ten minutes to enter and exit the laboratory, and the two of them have been out to eat for a while just now, and when they come back, Xie Yongqing is almost good - it can be regarded as a small loophole in the system, which was a common thing in the past.

In a separate locker room, Xie Yongqing took off his protective gloves, protective clothing, and protective glasses one by one, and there were already sporadic blood stains in the gloves, after all, there was a layer of separation, and the strength on his hands was uncertain, but fortunately, he had practiced a few times at home, and he still had the right place, Xie Yongqing cleaned the blood stains with disinfectant in the fastest time, and took out a band-aid from his coat pocket to stop the bleeding, and then he put on his coat, and at this time he heard the sound of the laboratory door being opened, Then came the sound of the first layer of air sluice.

"I said let you go eat first," Professor Li saw Xie Yongqing who had already changed his clothes when he came in, and said to him with a smile, "Don't rely on your youth to fight hunger, and fight against illness at my age, go quickly." ”

Xie Yongqing wore a mask, nodded to Professor Li and didn't speak, and when he walked to the door, he said to the wall: "Professor Li, I may not come at night, there is something wrong." ”

"Oh," Professor Li frowned, but still asked more, "Have you said hello to Professor Liu?" ”

"I was about to go and tell him," Xie Yongqing said, "I'm sorry to cause you trouble." ”

"It's okay, it's okay," Professor Liu waved his hand, and then gossiped about speculation, "Is it about marrying your girlfriend?" ”

But no one answered, Xie Yongqing had already left.

The incubation period of avian flu is generally one to three days, seven or eight days, if you are unlucky, you will get sick in more than ten hours, so there is not much time left for Xie Yongqing, he knows that at this moment, the virus is multiplying in his own blood, the number is increasing exponentially at a high speed, and the immune system is not even responding at all, because the size of the virus is small enough, they will follow their own blood to all corners of the body, appear in various secretions, including saliva, with their own breathing and action, the virus will be spread rapidly - So Xie Yongqing tried to avoid crowds along the way. Perhaps the avian flu that actually occurs outside cannot be transmitted through people, but Xie Yongqing knows that the virus in the chicken embryo he chose can do it - if it can't do it, there is no need to study it, let alone use it himself.

Xie Yongqing wanted to find a secluded place to call, but he soon found that it seemed a little difficult to do so, more than seven o'clock was the time when the university was lively, and Xie Yongqing could see a couple every few steps, and the more secluded the place, the more this phenomenon would be, and finally Xie Yongqing could only go back to the dormitory to finish.

"Professor Liu, I tried the material preparation method you mentioned last time after I went back," Xie Yongqing said on the phone, "let me try it out, the relevant materials are here, why don't you come and get it?" ”

The voice on the other side of the phone was very noisy, and it could be heard that it was eating, and after a while, it was a little quieter, and the old man pressed the phone and said, "I am entertaining a few big heads of the Ministry of Education, and I will talk about your affairs when I go back." ”

In the dark dormitory, Xie Yongqing grinned for some reason, and he thought of a very interesting idea: "Why don't I go over to find you, where are you now?" ”

"What are you doing here?" Professor Liu's tone was more serious, "Don't mess around. ”

"It's okay," if Xie Yongqing was still in awe before, then he really doesn't care about anything now, "You should be a referral to me, what you said before is right, it doesn't hurt to know a few more people." ”

"It's good that you can figure this out yourself," Professor Liu's refusal was not very resolute, and symbolically pushed Xie Yongqing a few times, but he was pushed back by his resolute attitude, and reluctantly agreed, "Then it's okay, it's just starting here, but you have to dress formally, by the way, don't forget to ask Director Li for a leave of absence from the laboratory." ”

"I've already asked for it."

Hanging up the phone, Xie Yongqing felt the darkness in the closet looking for clothes, the only decent set in it was the suit he bought for about 2,000 yuan when he graduated with a master's degree, except for going home to wear it once during the Chinese New Year, Xie Yongqing almost touched the opportunity to wear it, and he didn't think he would have the opportunity to wear it in the short term - now Xie Yongqing himself knows that he is wrong.

After putting on the suit and turning on the bathroom light, Xie Yongqing combed his hair with a comb dipped in water again, and then smiled at the dog-like guy in the mirror: "Handsome!" It's so handsome! ”

“Пустьяростьблагородная，Вскипает，какволна！” On the way out of the campus, Xie Yongqing simulated the Russian accent with his tongue curled in the headphones, and sang loudly and recklessly, not only singing, but also making excessively exaggerated command movements with both hands, which made passers-by look sideways and rationally kept a distance from him.

At this time, a familiar figure came from the opposite side, she was holding a bunch of books in her hand, and there was a library card on the book that he was very familiar with, Xie Yongqing didn't have time to turn his head to avoid, the other party had already recognized him and came over to say hello: "Xie Yongqing, what are you so happy about!" ”