21st Century Necromancer

The Eastern University Affiliated Hospital, being an adjunct to The University of Tokyo’s Medical School, naturally has work related to medical and pharmaceutical research, and laboratories are, of course, an indispensable part of the setup.

Inside the laboratory, a group of white mice scurried about within cages made of transparent resin, squeaking intermittently, in their search for food to fill their bellies or something to gnaw on to wear down their ever-growing incisors and thereby avoid starving to death from their teeth getting too long.

But obviously, the white mice used for experiments usually don’t live long enough for their incisors to grow to the point where they lock up their mouths; they get disposed of because of various experiments, turning into non-recyclable waste. Even some white mice used for drug experiments require special incineration disposal.

Chen Yu, wearing protective goggles, was at that moment intently watching the group of white mice scurrying before him, carefully observing their condition and noting down each detail.

From the start of the experiment until now, Chen Yu had already spent close to fifteen hours in the laboratory, having even spent the previous night in the lab. Although he didn’t need to sleep and could simply meditate, his physical constitution had vastly improved since advancing beyond the ordinary person’s, but still, fifteen hours of work had left his face looking somewhat fatigued.

"Mr. Chen Yu, how is everything?" While Chen Yu was focused on recording the progress of the experiments, Jounouchi Hiromi walked in from outside, standing next to him and looking with interest at the group of white mice, she asked him.

"Hiromi, what brings you here?" Chen Yu looked up at Jounouchi Hiromi and smiled, then returned his gaze to the white mice. He explained to Jounouchi Hiromi, "Everything’s going well for now. I have performed two sets of comparative experiments. I injected the mice carrying cancer cells with a potion I originally developed to reduce their bodily activity.

One group was given only the revival potion to restore activity, another group just the new potion, and the final group both potions for comparison.

So far, the conditions of all three experimental groups seem ideal. The first group of mice showed a significant improvement in bodily activity after the injection of the revival potion. The third group of mice showed the same improvement, but the second group showed no notable change in bodily activity.

However, this was not beyond expectations; simply replacing the potion cannot improve the physical activity of the mice."

"Hey, hey, if the experiment is going smoothly, don’t push yourself too hard." Hearing Chen Yu say that the experiment was going well, Hiromi’s face also brightened with happiness. However, instead of congratulating Chen Yu, she advised him, "I heard you’ve been in the lab for more than a dozen hours since last night, without much sleep. How can this be sustainable?

As important as the experiment is, don’t wear yourself out, go and rest for a bit."

"I can’t stop now. I need to record the condition of the mice every hour, and I have to keep watching to prevent any accidents. Without an assistant, I have no choice but to do it myself." Chen Yu declined Jounouchi Hiromi’s advice, but in order to reassure his girlfriend and not to worry her, he continued, "Don’t worry, it’s just an experiment lasting a dozen hours or so.

Back when Naoki and I did animal experiments at school, we would watch over them for several days at a stretch without interruption. It’s no problem..."

However, before Chen Yu could finish speaking, Jounouchi Hiromi angrily snatched the experimental record book from his hands, glaring at him, "You will break down your body like this! Back then, there were two of you who could take turns, right? And now, isn’t Inomata-san lying in a hospital bed with late-stage cancer, waiting for you to save him? If you break down, who will save Inomata-san?

Even if you won’t think for yourself, you must consider Inomata-san who is waiting for you to save him!"

"It’s precisely because I need to save Naoki that I can’t stop!" Looking at the angry Jounouchi Hiromi, Chen Yu was not upset about the interruption, but gently explained, "Because Naoki is still lying in the hospital waiting for me to save him, that’s why I can’t stop.

Only if I complete the experiments a day earlier, progressing the potion to a stage where it can be clinically applied, then I can save him, right?"

Chen Yu tried to take his experimental record book back from Jounouchi Hiromi’s hands, but after a couple of tugs, he couldn’t pull it away. Jounouchi Hiromi’s fingers were tightly gripping the other end of the record book, preventing Chen Yu from retrieving it from her hands.

"Hiromi…" Chen Yu understood Jounouchi Hiromi’s concern for him, but obviously, he couldn’t just abandon the experiment and rest because he was too tired. Besides, with his physical condition, persevering was not really a major problem.

However, he couldn’t explain all this to Jounouchi Hiromi, so he could only gaze gently at his girlfriend and slowly pried her fingers open to take back his experiment logbook.

"But… but…" Jounouchi Hiromi was defeated by Chen Yu’s gaze. She looked at Chen Yu, bit her lip, wanting to say something to persuade him to change his mind, but she couldn’t think of anything that would.

"Don’t worry, Hiromi." Chen Yu hugged his girlfriend gently, pulling her into his arms to comfort her, "I know my own body. If I really can’t hold out, I won’t push myself."

Although there was no one else in the laboratory, such an intimate gesture from Chen Yu still made Jounouchi Hiromi somewhat embarrassed, and she wriggled out of his embrace, her face involuntarily flushed with a tinge of shyness.

"I can’t handle you!" Jounouchi Hiromi eventually chose to compromise, but she puffed up her cheeks and said to Chen Yu with annoyance, "Even if I can’t stop you from continuing your experiments, you still need to eat breakfast! You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you? I will go buy you breakfast. How can you forget to eat when you’re doing experiments!"

This time, Chen Yu didn’t argue and nodded in agreement, "Okay, then bring me two rice balls and coffee, unsweetened coffee, please."

"Got it, rice balls and unsweetened coffee." Jounouchi Hiromi said, then stood on her tiptoes and gave Chen Yu a peck on the cheek before heading out.

Touching the place on his cheek where Jounouchi Hiromi had just kissed him, Chen Yu smiled and tilted his head slightly. He then sat back down at the experiment table, opened the experiment log, and continued the work that had been interrupted by Jounouchi Hiromi.

"Sorry to interrupt." Not long after Jounouchi Hiromi had left, the door to the lab was pushed open again. This time, it was Doctor Higashiyama and Nakagawa Susumu who entered.

They approached Chen Yu and after bowing to him, they explained the purpose of their visit, "We heard Doctor Chen was conducting an experiment and wanted to come and see if there was anything we could do to help."

"Help?" Chen Yu felt somewhat surprised.

"Well, it’s like this, I told Miss Hanayama about the surgery plan you mentioned before, and she hopes to use that plan too. But I’m really not confident about carrying out such a surgery on my own, so I hoped Doctor Chen could help me." Doctor Higashiyama looked somewhat embarrassed, seemingly apologetic for his imposition.

"So, you want me to help with the experiment and then ask me to help with the surgery?" After hearing Doctor Higashiyama’s request, Chen Yu thought for a moment and agreed, "Alright, but it will have to wait until my own surgery here is done."