CH 254

“You stay out of this,” Li Zheng impatiently reprimanded. The chief engineer of Zhourui’s most renowned laboratory seemed completely immersed in the investigation of the drug issue and didn’t even notice his boss’s dark expression.

Chairman Zhou didn’t speak further; he simply looked deeply at his once most trusted research staff.

The atmosphere in the room became even more somber, and some of the pharmaceutical researchers followed Li Zheng’s lead and began to think quickly.

The more silence there was, the more the management team sensed the unfavorable atmosphere in the room. Some perceptive employees rushed to defend their boss. “Professor Li, I’ll say something blunt. Chairman Zhou didn’t mention it, wanting to save face for you, but in this three-stage analysis and the problem with TERN, aren’t you the most suspicious one?”

This was a very serious accusation, but Li Zheng didn’t care at all. He didn’t even have the interest to argue.

The person wanted to say more but was interrupted by a female researcher from the Nao Kangning team. “Manager Wang, Nao Kangning is a project from more than a decade ago. To thoroughly investigate the development issues, there are hundreds of thousands of compounds involved in the initial screening alone. The specific experimental process is incredibly complex, and it involves hundreds or thousands of researchers. Do we have so much time now?”

“Thorough investigation?” The person known as Manager Wang, sneered. “Feng Zhenzhen, you really have a simple mind. Didn’t you understand what the chairman said earlier? If everyone starts attacking each other, the company will surely collapse. We can only overcome this difficult situation by uniting.”

“Manager Wang’s words are quite interesting. So if we investigate the problem thoroughly, the company will collapse. No wonder you want everyone to stay silent—to hide what can be hidden, and when it can’t be hidden, find a scapegoat.” The female researcher sneered, standing up. She patted the shoulders of her two colleagues next to her and said, “Make way, I’m going out.”

“Feng Zhenzhen…”

Chairman Zhou, sitting in the center, looked at Li Zheng across from him and softly called the female researcher’s name, with a serious tone that increased the pressure.

“Chairman.” The female researcher imitated Li Zheng’s manner from earlier and said to her boss, “I’m just going to sit for a while. I don’t have any leverage against you, so you don’t have to worry.”

She was wearing a pair of mismatched sports shoes and sat next to Li Zheng with a light and brisk pace. Now, there were 18 empty seats out of the original 20.

The calm captain of the criminal investigation division, who seldom spoke, maintained his composed attitude. “And who are you?” he asked.

“Feng Zhenzhen. I was previously involved in the initial screening of compounds and later worked in the Nordren team,” Feng Zhenzhen said decisively, pointing at the manager who had just berated her. “Before you all arrived, Manager Wang warned us, the lower-level employees, not to speak recklessly in front of the police.”

“Feng Zhenzhen, please refrain from attacking others indiscriminately.”

“Oh, of course, you wouldn’t say it like that, but that’s how it sounded to me,” Feng Zhenzhen said contemptuously.

The female researcher’s gaze wandered over her colleagues sitting across from her. Each person had a different expression, and amidst the crowded seats, some looked at her coldly, some showed disdain, and others stared at the timeline on the wall as if reminiscing about something.

“You’re disgusting!”

Rebels naturally provoke strong collective hostility.

A woman with curly hair couldn’t bear it any longer and coldly said to Feng Zhenzhen, “How is it possible that they won’t find any problems if they continue investigating? The police just want to arrest a group of people and quell the public’s anger. Manager Wang and Chairman Zhou have already made their intentions clear! By stepping forward now and sacrificing the interests of other colleagues to satisfy your own sense of justice, you think you’re so great? So remarkable? Have you ever considered other people?”

These words also stirred up the indignation of others. The crowd became fervent, and Feng Zhenzhen became the target of criticism.

Huang Ze instinctively looked at Xing Conglian, but apart from initially arranging the 20 empty seats and announcing the rules of the game, Xing Conglian had not controlled the situation. He had been observing the development of events with a cold eye. Huang Ze felt anxious because he realized he couldn’t grasp the other’s thoughts, just as he had never been able to understand Lin Chen’s thoughts.

Feng Zhenzhen’s voice rang out, overpowering everyone else. “I’m the troublemaker who disregards collective interests. Compared to whether you all go to jail or the company goes bankrupt, what matters more is my own conscience.”

“Hypocrites always act so righteous!”

“So what? We are pharmaceutical researchers. I have to take responsibility for the products I develop and for the health of the patients who use these drugs. I don’t have time to consider you right now!”

At this point, Professor Li Zheng, who had been immersed in his thoughts, finally interrupted the female researcher next to him. “Enough. Arguing with them is meaningless. You should also think about what exactly went wrong with TERN.”

“I’ve thought about it, but I can’t figure it out. I believe that Dr. Tan Kang must have discovered something, which is why he changed the TERN configuration and mentioned in his notes that Shen Lian was poisoning people. So there must be more detailed information in his notes. What exactly did Shen Lian do, and how did she do it?” Feng Zhenzhen’s gaze fell on Comrade Xiao Wang, who was operating the computer.

Wang Chao looked frustrated as he said, “The smart electronic pen contains fragmented text. I’ve been sorting through it for a while, and it subtly mentions the drug issue and Shen Lian’s poisoning… And who the hell knows if it’s true or not…”

“What if we change our approach?” Perhaps Feng Zhenzhen’s words had an effect, as someone else spoke up in the crowded seats of Zhourui’s side. “If we investigate what Shen Lian did in the Nao Kangning and Nordren related project teams, maybe we can understand how she poisoned and what methods she used to turn our clinical trial drugs into ones with toxic side effects?”

Upon hearing this, many hostile gazes were directed at the young man who interrupted.

Researchers were either silent or very distinctive. Upon seeing this, the young man said, “Do we have to go over there to speak? Then I’ll go.”

As he spoke, he turned to a few people beside him and asked, “Do you want to come with me?”

Several young people around him stood up in unison, led by a chubby young man. He pushed past the Zhourui executives sitting on the outside and led the group to the empty seats opposite.

After they sat down, the chubby young man proactively said to Xing Conglian, “We’re not part of the Nordren team, but it’s interesting to seize the opportunity to reduce their sentences.”

Wang Chao looked at these energetic young people with his mouth agape, and muttered to himself, “The young delusion of saving the world—the ancients don’t deceive me*.”

*This a sarcastic comment that basically says how young people’s actions are somewhat delusional and overly idealistic (which is ironic since it’s coming from him).

But the other people in the meeting room completely ignored him.

Feng Zhenzhen said, “I also think so. In the three stages Professor Li just mentioned, I believe the problem lies in the second stage—specifically, the stage from obtaining approval for Nao Kangning to when the company decided to improve the drug. The work done during this stage involves collecting and tracking clinical data, which Shen Lian could have tampered with it.”

Small beads of sweat formed on Xiao Zhan’s forehead. In the presence of the beautiful female researcher, he became somewhat hesitant and stammered. “I… I also think so, but… Shen Lian submitted a lot of things, and she might have submitted proposals in the name of the team, so… I can only compile a rough timeline. I’m not really an expert in pharmaceuticals, so I can’t understand it very well…”

“You’re already amazing,” Feng Zhenzhen said to Xiao Zhan.

Mr. Xiao blushed and quickly displayed the timeline on the large screen.

2008.1 Nao Kangning receives approval

2008.1 Shen Lian joins Zhourui Pharmaceutical Factory and is responsible for the production of Nao Kangning

2008.3 Shen Lian and her team propose a series of process improvement documents, involving hundreds of reports and suggestions

↓

2011.1 Nao Kangning improvement project initiated

Li Zheng asked, “Can we take a look at the production process improvement proposals submitted by Shen Lian and her team?”

Feng Zhenzhen interjected, “Do you want them printed? I can go and make a few copies.”

At this moment, Wang Chao inexplicably glanced at Xing Conglian. He pulled out his heavy backpack from under the table, unzipped it, and revealed rows and rows of materials inside. “We’ve prepared this a long time ago.”

The young man struggled to lift the bag onto the table, and Xiao Zhan began distributing the materials. Those who received the materials quickly started reading.

The conference room was filled with the sound of flipping papers. The heated argument session unexpectedly turned into an internal discussion meeting within Zhourui.

Chairman Zhou crossed his arms and looked at Xing Conglian, as if saying, “Captain Xing, you have great tactics.”

“Exactly. This compound is indeed TERN,” Feng Zhenzhen said again. “Should I go back to the laboratory and check again?”

Li Zheng first stopped Feng Zhenzhen and asked Xiao Zhan, “What kind of tests did you perform?”

“Gas chromatography* and liquid chromatography. The fragmented pieces produced matched exactly,” Xiao Zhan replied.

*A laboratory technique for separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the mobile phase, which carries it through a system (a column, a capillary tube, a plate, or a sheet) on which a material called the stationary phase is fixed. Because the different constituents of the mixture tend to have different affinities for the stationary phase and are retained for different lengths of time depending on their interactions with its surface sites, the constituents travel at different apparent velocities in the mobile fluid, causing them to separate.

“What do you mean by ‘matched exactly’? Did you simply isolate TERN from Nao Kangning, or did you reconstruct it?” asked the chubby researcher.

Suddenly caught in the crossfire, Xiao Zhan became even slower in his speech. He said, “I… I… didn’t have enough time. I… only compared it based on the structure you provided.”

“You were too hasty. A more reliable approach would be to conduct batch tests on the drug’s issues. After all, there are still many possibilities, such as interactions between various components, resulting in the formation of new toxic compounds,” Feng Zhenzhen added.

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the representatives from Zhourui improved significantly. If the police rushed their investigation, they would soon have a chance to turn the tables.

However, at that moment, Li Zheng stopped everyone from arguing and said, “Our approach to discussing the problem should not be like this. What if we accept two premises? First, the substance with severe side effects is indeed TERN, and second, there were no such severe side effects when Nao Kangning obtained approval in 2008. Assuming these two premises, we can draw a conclusion that Shen Lian did something after 2008 to cause the compound with the same structure to have toxic side effects. Let’s reason out what Shen Lian might have done.”

Under the sunlight, a young person seemed to have realized something and asked, “Professor Li, are you suggesting…”

The chubby researcher’s voice was somewhat eerie as he said, “Could it be an isomer*?”

*Are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula–that is, same number of atoms of each element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. Isomers do not necessarily share similar chemical or physical properties. Two main forms of isomerism are structural or constitutional isomerism, in which bonds between the atoms differ; and stereoisomerism or spatial isomerism, in which the bonds are the same but the relative positions of the atoms differ.

“The mass spectrometry fragments are the same. If TERN is really the issue, then the possibility of an isomer is the highest!” Feng Zhenzhen said with a shudder.

Kinky Thoughts:

Usually I provide some supplement knowledge when needed, but I was pretty bad at chemistry to the point of failing, so this might not be the most accurate explanation.

An isomer is a molecule that has the same number of atoms of each element, but its chemical structure is different. For example, hydrocarbon C3H4 has three structural isomers:

While they have the same number of atoms (carbon and hydrogen), their structures are different, making them different compounds. This can result in different physical and chemical properties.

Relating to this case, TERN has its own chemical structural compound, but Shen Lian changed the structural compound while still keeping the same amount of atoms in TERN. This change in structure completely changes the element.

As for how to detect whether an isomer is present, I’m not sure if chromatography can do it. That’s too much science for my brain to handle.

Anyway, I’m not a chemist, so if anyone’s more knowledgeable in this area, do chime in.