Conquering the deadliest disease in human history is an achievement that alone is enough to be recorded in history and to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which is well-deserved.
The dramatic part is that the professor, overjoyed at his son's rescue, forgot the time. Nominations for the Nobel Prize in Medicine close on February 1st each year. After rigorous screening, the nominees are submitted to the Nobel Committee for final selection. The winner is usually announced in October, and the award ceremony is held on December 10th at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
It's almost October, and the winners of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine have been announced: Dr. Andrew Fal and Dr. Craig Mello from the United States, who discovered the interference mechanism of RNA (ribonucleic acid). Just when the announcement seemed imminent, a dramatic turn of events occurred.
After intense discussions, the professors at the Karolinska Institute concluded that the emergence of the rabies cure had not yet stood the test of time. They decided to continue to observe and monitor its development over the next year. If it could truly cure rabies completely without recurrence, then a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Medicine, or even winning the prize, would be a natural outcome.
After rounds of discussions and confirmations by top institutions, Chen Xu's father was invited to participate in this year's pharmaceutical exhibition summit in San Francisco, USA, with "Rabies Buster." In just one day, orders reached 30,000 units… each priced at $888!
With rabies vaccines so readily available today, most rabies cases are due to accident or simply bad luck. This group is relatively small compared to other diseases; in fact, it's extremely small! So, the fact that so many were sold on the first day was quite astonishing to Chen Xu's father... because even domestic orders only totaled 50,000 doses.
However, this makes sense upon reflection: the wealthier people are, the more afraid they are of dying. Those who actually contract rabies aren't afraid to spend a small amount of money—$888 for a course of seven injections—which isn't much compared to other treatments. Many pet dog owners are also worried that the rabies vaccine might not be effective, so hospitals in many areas have purchased several hundred doses as a backup.
When Chen Xu's father returned to China, he received orders for 100,000 units from the United States alone, and orders from other countries were pouring in like snowflakes.
It sells for $888 overseas, but only 300 RMB in China... This price difference is considered outrageous overseas! However, for the domestic market, 300 RMB is not expensive at all, so it has earned considerable positive word-of-mouth.
Chen Xu was so shocked by what his father told him that his tongue practically stuck out. Just one drug had earned his father over a hundred million... dollars in just a few days?!
You should know that Chen Xu's father's pharmaceutical factory only makes a net profit of over ten million yuan a year!
Chen Xu's father was stunned by the data. Pharmaceuticals are inherently highly profitable, and the cost of this rabies remedy, including packaging, was less than ten yuan, not including labor and machinery costs. Drug development and research, however, are extremely expensive; a single drug could cost billions and still not be successful… But Chen Xu's father knew that he hadn't spent a single penny on this; his son had somehow stumbled upon a formula.
Chen Xu's father was most worried that the original owner of the drug would cause trouble. Although he had registered the patent, it wouldn't be good for his reputation. He also specifically hired someone to investigate the pharmaceutical factory in Zhengzhou that caught fire, only to find that it was just a factory that produced cough syrup and had nothing to do with rabies.
When asked, Chen Xu, that little brat, always dodged the question and pretended not to know anything, making people want to slap him a few times!
However, Chen Xu's father remained convinced that no matter what, his son would never harm him, and the benefits this prescription would bring to his family were far greater than he had ever dared to dream of before! Aside from the potential influence and benefits brought by fame, the economic income alone would be enough for him to earn for a lifetime!
“Son, since you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you,” Chen Xu’s father said to him. “We’re family, and your mother and I unconditionally trust you. You must have your reasons for not telling us, so we won’t ask. I never imagined that all these years of my hard work would amount to nothing compared to your casual gesture. Hehe, I’ve hit the jackpot this time. I’ve already made my will; everything from the pharmaceutical factory is left to you. Damn, I was thinking that if you weren’t so capable, I would donate all my assets when I die, so you wouldn’t ruin my life’s work!”
Hearing this, Chen Xu's eyes welled up with tears. He spat and said, "Dad, you're still going strong for your age! What nonsense about dying!"
Chen Xu's father chuckled a few times and hung up the phone.
Reporters from various countries naturally pressed for details about the origins of this rabies drug formula, as no one could believe that a small pharmaceutical company could have developed it independently. Furthermore, interviews revealed that many of the company's employees knew about it later than the reporters, which only fueled suspicion.
So Chen Xu's father attributed the origin of the prescription entirely to an ancestral medical book. After the news spread, a large group of veteran Chinese medicine doctors came to see this legendary medical book. These people were all well-known Chinese medicine experts in the country, the kind that are rarely seen in ordinary times.
Chen Xu's father finally realized that one lie led to many more to cover it up. He didn't have any ancient medical books, so he could only make up a series of excuses, saying the books were from a long time ago, and he had only glanced at them when he was bored, remembering a few prescriptions. As for the book itself, well, he didn't know where it was now…
Such a flimsy excuse was naturally unbelievable, but no one could force him to reveal it. They could only speculate that he was incredibly lucky or that the medical book was too precious to be easily shown. The group of veteran experts, though they thought he was stingy, what could they do to pressure him?
Moreover, this prescription has no flaws whatsoever, and the medicines used are all common Chinese herbs. No one would suspect that this prescription was developed in the future.
However, Chen Xu's father was also a capable man. He then announced that he would use the proceeds to invest in building several large pharmaceutical laboratories. Because rabies is a neurological virus, and there are many types of symptoms, if the formula could be successfully deciphered and utilized, it might be possible to develop drugs for other neurological diseases.
The initial investment in several laboratories reached as high as 300 million RMB, which attracted many veteran TCM experts to take the initiative to come and request to participate in the research, making Chen Xu's father extremely happy.
Firstly, this money is practically free, so spending it won't hurt. Secondly, Chen Xu's father also knows that the rabies patient population is relatively small. Even though the first batch of drugs sold was large, many were for urgent needs; sales of this drug will decrease over time until there's no profit. Therefore, resting on one's laurels is not the way of a businessman; knowing how to expand and innovate is the key.
A mediocre person, after earning their first pot of gold, will think about how to live comfortably in the future; a genius, after earning their first pot of gold, will think about how to make money make more money!
Although Chen Xu's father wouldn't dare call himself a genius, he certainly didn't belittle himself as mediocre. Besides, it was also to lay a good foundation for that brat Chen Xu...
Chapter 45 Assembly Language
Chen Xu became popular again at school.
Nowadays, all the students at He Xie University may not know who the principal is, but there is not a single one who hasn't heard of the famous Chen Banxian.
Because... given the series of accidents involving students, the school specifically contacted the hospital and arranged for all students at Guangda University to undergo a blood test... Although it was free, basically all the students at Hexie University were given a shot thanks to Chen Xu.
Walking on the road, almost every woman I saw carrying livestock had a miserable look on her face, clutching her arm, and gritting her teeth.
Chen Xu has been so scared that he hasn't dared to go back to his dorm for several days!
Besides a bunch of bastards wanting to challenge him to a duel to get revenge for the needle prick, another headache for Chen Xu was the dean of the medical school. Rumor had it that this old man actually stormed into the School of Information Science's office with two kitchen knives and declared on the spot that Chen Xu had to transfer to another department!
The college leaders were sweating profusely, none daring to utter a single word. Many of the dean's prized students were now working in major hospitals; offending him meant forgetting about ever getting medical treatment again—a simple cold might be diagnosed as appendicitis…
No one dared to mess with this powerful figure, so the leaders of the School of Information Science could only smile and say that as long as Chen Xu agreed, it would be fine.
This reason is perfectly legitimate and irrefutable; after all, this is an era that highly values human rights. But Chen Xu is in trouble. These past few days, every morning when he goes for his run, he's been caught red-handed by that old man, who uses every trick in the book—from waiving tuition to offering scholarships—to get him there…
Chen Xu was so frustrated!
His mother is a nurse and his father owns a pharmaceutical factory. Generally speaking, children from such families would definitely apply to medical schools. But Chen Xu chose to study computer science, which clearly shows he doesn't want to follow the traditional path of becoming a doctor!
So these past few days, Chen Xu has been avoiding anyone wearing a white coat, and he's been wearing sunglasses and a mask whenever he goes out... But when he thinks that this would make him even more noticeable, Chen Xu has to give up on that idea.
It has to be said that the old man at the medical school was really persistent. He played hide-and-seek with Chen Xu for days without giving up. Finally, he had to corner Chen Xu in the bathroom before Chen Xu finally broke the ice, saying he would never become a doctor or study medicine. Only then did the old man reluctantly give up. Before leaving, he didn't forget to tell Chen Xu to contact him again when he changed his mind…
Chen Xu dragged his tired body back to the dormitory. He felt he had never been this tired even during his morning run. But as soon as he entered, he saw the three lecherous men of the dormitory gathered neatly in front of Wu Yuan's computer, yelling and shouting something.
Upon seeing Chen Xu enter, Qin Xiao'an immediately shouted, "Third brother, close the door! Close the door now! Damn it, lock the door first!"
"Damn..." Chen Xu's eyes lit up: "What great movie did you download this time? You dare to watch it before I even got back?" He quickly locked the door and rushed over: "Whose is it? Japanese or Western? Maria Takagi or Ran Mutou?"
When Chen Xu rushed over, he discovered that Wu Yuan's computer screen wasn't displaying porn, but rather a picture of a girl. What was even more hilarious was that the girl's face was covered in cream, clearly smeared at a birthday party.
Chen Xu was greatly disappointed: "Damn it, I thought it was some great movie, but they're all so sleazy. Who are they?"
Wu Yuan and the others chuckled. Wu Yuan then switched to another picture and said, "What do you think of this one?"
Chen Xu couldn't take his eyes off the photo after just one glance. The girl in the photo was wearing a white dress that looked like a wedding gown, sitting on a cluster of flowers. Her fair legs were faintly visible below the dress, and her smile was as bright and charming as the spring sunshine.
This is clearly an artistic photo; these kinds of photos are super popular among girls these days. Makeup, clothes, posing, lighting, then Photoshop – it's an unbeatable combination, a super weapon that can even make Sister Furong look like Lin Chi-ling!
Chen Xu had dabbled in photography, lighting, and Photoshop... all because of his mother, who, despite her age, still loved to act cute. For a time, Chen Xu served as his mother's personal photographer and makeup artist, and through a combination of strict discipline and gentle persuasion, he learned a few Photoshop skills. So now, he can basically tell at a glance how many points need to be deducted from an artistic photograph to reveal the true appearance of a young woman.
"This is..." Chen Xu tilted his head and looked at it for a long time before finally exclaiming, "What kind of lousy makeup artist is this? Look at the lighting! The light on her face is so strong that you can't even tell what she looks like. At first glance, it looks okay, but from the perspective of an artistic photo, it's a complete mess. I can assure you, this girl is definitely prettier in real life than in the photos... Uh, why does she look so familiar?"
Wu Yuan chuckled a few more times and opened another picture, this time a candid shot. Upon seeing this photo, Chen Xu was immediately taken aback. He recognized the person in the photo—it was Gao Xiaojie, the one who had nearly broken his back from exhaustion!
Chen Xu scoffed and asked, "Where did you get this woman's photo?"
Wu Yuan chuckled slyly and clicked on a webpage: "See for yourself!"
"QQ Space?" Chen Xu craned his neck to look. "No way? Boss, how did you get this woman's QQ number? And all these photos are in her space?" Chen Xu grabbed the mouse and clicked. "Wait a minute, she set a password."
Wu Yuan and the others chuckled. Chen Xu's eyes widened: "Boss? You can crack QQ Space passwords?!"
Seeing Wu Yuan smiling, Chen Xu shouted, "Hero, teach me! Didn't you say you'd teach me hacking?"
Then Chen Xu lowered his voice in a lewd manner: "You guys were so lewd just now, did you have something in your photo album... umm? I heard that some narcissistic girls like to take selfies naked."
"Damn it!" All three of them gave Chen Xu the middle finger and said, "Third brother, you're so disgusting! My God, how can there be such scum and degenerate as you in this world?"
Chen Xu rolled his eyes and said, "You guys are all trash! Acting like you're so pure, ptooey!"
Then Chen Xu found it strange and said, "You're just looking at a photo, and it's not like you're looking at anything inappropriate for children. Why do you have to be so lewd?"
Qin Xiaoan said, "You just don't understand. Why would a little girl set a password to her photo album? Isn't it to protect herself from us—no, from you wolves? Besides, there's more in these photos, hehehehe..."
With Qin Xiaoan's wolfish laughter, Wu Yuan clicked on another photo. Chen Xu had been expecting to see something inappropriate for children, like nudity, but after seeing the photo, he screamed in horror, "Mommy!"
This photo was clearly a candid shot, taken when Gao Xiaojie was laughing. But it was obviously a prank; Gao Xiaojie in the photo was laughing so hard her nose and eyes were completely distorted, making her look like a silly girl with a facial deformity. Chen Xu felt a chill. He sometimes made similar mistakes when taking photos of his mother, either because of candid shots or shaky hands, but his mother would delete these photos immediately without saying a word, even if they were very precious, like photos taken during trips, or photos of places where there was only one of each, without hesitation… It was so embarrassing!
"Look at this!" Wu Yuan said, "You know, she's such a pretty young girl. If these photos get out, how will she ever be able to face anyone? So if you do something bad, you have to keep a low profile, understand? Look at you, now you've been diagnosed with a ruptured spleen and rabies. You've gone all out. Does that feel good?"
Chen Xu immediately shook his head like a rattle drum. Wu Yuan said that's it. The most important thing for us hackers is to keep a low profile! Unless you reach the level of SMMH, it's better to keep a low profile.
Speaking of hackers, Chen Xu remembered asking his boss to teach him. So he said, "Boss, you said you would teach me hacking attack and defense. Now that we have time, why don't you teach me? Look how smart and cute I am, I'm sure I'll learn it in no time. I definitely won't embarrass you!"
After a few flattering words and mentioning the benefits of three large chicken legs from the cafeteria, Wu Yuan finally nodded and said, "Then I'll teach you the most basic knowledge first."
Chen Xu eagerly awaited the answer, when Wu Yuan tossed him a book, saying, "Read all the contents of this book first, and then I'll teach you."
Chen Xu quickly took it, thinking it was some kind of martial arts manual like the Nine Yang Divine Skill or the Sunflower Manual, but upon closer inspection, it read "Computer Assembly Language"...
"Damn it!" Chen Xu exclaimed, "Boss, are you trying to fool me with this?!"
"I'm not kidding, to be honest, I'm learning too." Wu Yuan opened the Red Hacker Alliance webpage, where a pinned post was titled... "How to Become an Excellent Red Hacker".
"This training was conducted by top hackers in the Red Hacker Alliance, such as Blue Baby, Guan Pingchao, and Feng Zhuiyueying. Although it didn't systematically teach someone how to become a hacker, it pointed out what one must learn to become a hacker." Wu Yuan sighed, "I used to take many crooked paths and thought my skills were pretty good. Now it seems I was terribly wrong. If you want to become a true hacker, you should first learn the basics."
Chapter 46 Chinese Computer Languages
"Many netizens on our forum are quite knowledgeable about computers and hacking. However, many of them lack a solid foundation; to put it bluntly, they're trying to run before they can walk."
Many netizens rely on a few basic hacking tools at hand, such as PasswordCrackers, L0phtCrack, etc.
These tools certainly have some use, helping beginners scan for vulnerabilities and crack attacks, but once you get used to using these ready-made software programs, you will lose the most important spirit of hacking... autonomy!
No hacker uses software that can be found on the internet. The tools used for attack and defense are like a swordsman's sword; they don't necessarily have to be the best, but they must be the most convenient to use.
Therefore, we suggest that those netizens on the forum who aspire to join the Red Hacker Alliance and improve their skills should put down the tools they have already developed and learn the basics of computer science. Although this may be slower to show results, you will find that it is the most effective way.
Just like the legendary SMMH, who was able to resolve a highly dangerous virus in five minutes, it was precisely because of his vast and rock-solid foundation of knowledge!
This is a passage from a pinned post in the Red Hacker Alliance, which resonated with Chen Xu.
To be honest, he was also thinking of taking a shortcut. With Xiaomin, this super cheat device, he only needed to learn the basics of offense and defense from Wu Yuan. He didn't think about anything else.
There are actually many people like Chen Xu. Their computer skills are much better than those of someone who is a novice, but they are still far from being considered experts.
Such people adhere to the principle of "for domestic matters, consult Baidu; for foreign matters, consult Gougou." They are proficient in using various official software, understand operating systems, especially the processes of commonly used systems like XP and Vista, easily identifying the function of each process, and skillfully using system service lists and the registry. When encountering viruses and malware, they can effectively use Baidu to search for information and then use tools to resolve the issue, or they can do so manually.
These people are the kind with only a smattering of technical skills. If you give them a few basic hacking software programs and someone to guide them on how to use them, they can quickly reach the threshold of a junior hacker... but only the threshold. It's difficult for them to make any real progress because they are used to using readily available software and don't explore and discover on their own. Their future achievements will only be so-so.
The basics are a very important thing.
A tower without a foundation will usually collapse once it's built. In novels, righteous masters have a solid foundation and achieve success slowly, but they won't go astray.
What Chen Xu lacks now is a solid foundation.
The foundation of computers is actually quite simple: computer languages. These are the bridge between humans and computers. Assembly language is commonly used, but to outsiders, it's still too obscure and difficult to learn.
Chen Xu held the book with this expression, his face practically screaming three words... "I don't understand!"
Chen Xu asked with a pained expression, "Is there anything simpler?"
“Yes!” Wu Yuan tossed another book over… “Computer Hardware Architecture”.
"Damn it!" Chen Xu almost threw the book at Wu Yuan's face. Was he going to build a computer?!
Seeing Chen Xu's impatience, Wu Yuan sighed: "Brother, this kind of thing takes time to learn, and building a solid foundation is extremely important. Real top hackers, like SMMH, have a very deep understanding of computer hardware and software. To be honest, with your current skills, you could use a few software programs to hack into newbies, but don't show off that level; it'll only embarrass me!"
"My dream is to become a world-class programmer!" Wu Yuan waved his hand: "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? If you really want to do that, I can teach you, but then your level will only be limited to this."