8mi Chapter 131 Memory is a luxury
Chapter 131 Memory is a luxury
The mornings at Renxin Pharmacy are awakened by the rich aroma of meat and the roar of tractor engines.
Zhao Shihao, wearing a white vest printed with "Labor is the most glorious" and a pair of mud-splattered liberation shoes, was skillfully unloading baskets of fresh vegetables from his brand-new hand-held tractor.
Each basket of vegetables was kept chilled with ice and covered with a layer of damp burlap.
"Today's 'Calm No. 1' cucumbers have a water content of 94%, a core temperature of 12 degrees Celsius, and a sweetness that is 0.3 percentage points higher than yesterday." Zhao Shihao meticulously recorded the data in a small notebook, his serious demeanor even more focused than when he signed a multi-million dollar contract.
In the kitchen, Pierre was using a sharp knife to perform "fascia separation" on a piece of pork rump, muttering to himself, "The marbling is perfect, but the connective tissue is a bit tough."
Guan Shan squatted at the kitchen doorway, holding a stainless steel basin bigger than his head. The basin contained rice mixed with minced meat sauce made by Pierre from the leftover scraps. He ate without looking up, slurping like a small blower.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," Wang Minyu said leisurely, leaning back in his recliner behind the counter, holding his ever-present stainless steel tea mug.
Since the last "live tissue contamination" incident, Li Siyuan and Zhao Na's respect for Su Qing has reached a new level.
At this moment, the two of them were holding alcohol swabs and wiping every inch of the clinic's tabletop with an almost obsessive attitude, while reciting the "Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Aseptic Operation of the Treatment Environment" that Su Qing had prepared for them.
"The third rule is that the tabletop must be wiped using a '回' (hui) shaped motion to ensure no blind spots. The alcohol concentration must be 75%, and the evaporation time must be no less than 30 seconds..." Zhao Na read aloud as she wiped, feeling like she wasn't a doctor but preparing to launch a rocket.
Everything seemed so orderly, yet so... outrageous.
"jingle--"
The wind chimes at the door rang.
A woman dressed in a high-end custom-made business suit, with exquisite makeup, and exuding an aura of "keep away."
She was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, walking briskly, but her eyes held a hint of bewilderment and weariness that was hard to detect.
"Excuse me, is this Renxin Pharmacy?" The woman's voice was very capable, but if you listened carefully, you could hear a slight tremor.
Zhao Na, who was mopping the floor, immediately stood up and gave a professional smile: "Yes, ma'am, are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm not sick." The woman frowned, seemingly disliking the word "sick." "I'm just... a little forgetful lately."
She walked to the consultation desk, placed an expensive Hermes Birkin bag on it, took out a business card, and pushed it over: "I'm Qin Xue, Vice President of Peak Biotechnology. I need to get an appointment with... well, the most expensive one."
Li Siyuan took the business card and glanced at it, his pupils shrinking slightly.
Peak Biotechnology?
Isn't that the company where Zhou Wen, that industrial spy from last time, and Lin Feng, who climbed over the wall and got chased and bitten by a goose, worked? They're also the "S" organization's front man.
He calmly handed his business card to Wang Minyu, while saying to Qin Xue, "We don't have the most expensive appointments here, only the most suitable ones. The registration fee is one hundred yuan; please scan the code."
Qin Xue was clearly displeased with this "equal treatment" attitude, but she still patiently scanned the code.
"Tell me, how am I forgetful?" Wang Minyu didn't even lift his eyelids, still leaning back in the recliner, gently rocking.
"It's just... some details." Qin Xue rubbed her temples, looking troubled. "For example, the board meeting at 3 pm yesterday. I remember attending and even making a statement, but I can't recall the specific content of the meeting at all. And a contract I signed last week, which I signed myself, but I have no recollection of its terms. It's like... someone has ripped a piece out of my memory."
"Have you been to the hospital for a checkup? Like a brain CT scan or MRI?" Li Siyuan asked, following the procedure.
"I checked, went to Peking Union Medical College Hospital and 301 Hospital, did all the tests, and the result was 'temporary hippocampal dysfunction caused by excessive stress.' They prescribed a bunch of calming and brain-boosting medications, but they were practically useless." Qin Xue's tone was full of disappointment with modern medicine.
Li Siyuan and Zhao Na exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.
This symptom is indeed very troublesome.
From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, it seems to be "deficiency of both heart and spleen, and restlessness of spirit," but it doesn't seem to be that simple.
"Boss?" Li Siyuan turned to Wang Minyu for help again.
Wang Minyu finally sat up straight.
He didn't take Qin Xue's pulse or examine her tongue; instead, he asked a few seemingly unrelated questions at a leisurely pace.
"Mr. Qin, does your company provide complimentary afternoon tea for its senior executives?"
Qin Xue paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, there is a special coffee and snacks available every day at 3:15."
"What brand of coffee is it?"
"I don't know, but it's said to be a special supply from a South American estate, and it has a very rich flavor."
"Has your office air purification system been upgraded recently?"
"They just replaced it with a new one last month. They said it uses some kind of 'negative ion photocatalysis' technology, which can improve employee work efficiency." Qin Xue's brows furrowed even more. "Why are you asking these questions? Does this have anything to do with my illness?"
"One last question." Wang Minyu's gaze fell on the exquisite Patek Philippe watch on her wrist. "What did you eat for lunch yesterday?"
This question completely stumped Qin Xue.
She opened her mouth, but her mind went completely blank.
Yesterday at noon... she seemed to have eaten at the company's executive cafeteria, but she had no recollection of what she ate or who she ate with.
It felt like a segment of a movie had been cut, making the whole thing disconnected.
Seeing her blank expression, Wang Minyu already knew the answer in his heart.
On the system panel, several lines of light blue text appeared clearly.
Patient: Qin Xue
[Symptoms: Chemically induced short-term memory loss (targeted), neurotransmitter conduction blockade.]
[Etiology: Long-term, low-dose ingestion of a neurotoxin codenamed "Forget-River." This toxin enters the body via a specific carrier (such as caffeine) and, under conditions of high mental concentration (such as during meetings or document processing), selectively blocks the hippocampus's encoding of short-term events, leading to "memory gaps."]
[Source of the toxin: Within Peak Biotechnology.]
It really was them.
Wang Minyu's eyes turned cold.
This is no longer treating illness; this is committing a crime. Peak Biotechnology, or rather the "S" organization, is conducting live experiments on its own employees.
"This isn't an illness," Wang Minyu said slowly, his voice soft but like a heavy hammer blow to Qin Xue's heart. "You're... poisoned."
"Poisoning?" Qin Xue jumped to her feet as if she'd heard the biggest joke in the world. "Impossible! I have a comprehensive medical checkup every year, and all my toxicology indicators are normal! You're just exaggerating!"
"Conventional toxicology tests can't detect this 'clever' toxin," Wang Minyu pointed to his temple. "It doesn't affect your organs; it only affects your memory. It makes you forget things you shouldn't remember, turning you into an efficient, obedient tool, but one without a past. Mr. Qin, am I right?"
Qin Xue's face turned deathly pale instantly.
She recalled many strange details.
For example, the company has recently experienced very frequent personnel changes, but it seems that no one objects to this.
For example, some important project decisions, despite being full of logical flaws, always manage to pass unanimously.
It was as if... everyone was blindfolded.
"What...what evidence do you have?" Her voice trembled.
"I don't need evidence, I just need you to remember it yourself." Wang Minyu stood up, walked to the backyard, and picked a few purplish-red leaves with serrated edges from a row of flowerpots.
That was the "True Word Agave" that mutated after absorbing Zhao Yan's "Entangled Blood".
He threw the leaves into a stone mortar and had Li Siyuan crush them. He then added one-third of the cooled boiled water and filtered out a small cup of dark purple liquid.
"Drink it." Wang Minyu pushed the cup in front of Qin Xue.
"What is this?" Qin Xue looked warily at the liquid that emitted a strange herbal scent.
"The antidote." Wang Minyu's answer was simple and blunt. "Of course, you can also choose not to drink it. Continue to be your puppet vice president until one day you can't even remember who you are."
Qin Xue looked at the deep purple medicine in the glass, then at Wang Minyu's eyes, which seemed to see through everything.
Her hands were trembling, and she was torn between her inner turmoil and her own conscience.
To drink or not to drink?
This is a choice that concerns the fate of her soul.
Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she picked up the cup, closed her eyes, and drank it all in one gulp.