11: Chapter 11 Genius? Genius!

Professor Zhang's face turned serious upon hearing this, and he said,

"Your theoretical knowledge is indeed good, but are you sure you truly understand it?

The lab isn't child's play; the minimum threshold for my projects is graduate students, and some steps even require doctoral students to operate."

"If you've really made up your mind and are certain, I will subject you to a more rigorous assessment next.

These questions aren't things you can learn from textbooks. If you can answer them, I won't say anything more."

Chen Youhua's eyes were calm as he nodded.

Then came several hours of a relentless assessment barrage.

Every question required combining knowledge points from several specialized courses from freshman to junior years to answer.

One needed a deep mastery of every knowledge point, and even the ability to apply it by analogy, to provide an answer.

From genetics to advanced mathematics, no blind spot was spared.

He even had Chen Youhua describe the specific operating procedures for lab equipment, such as various centrifuges, microscopes, PCR machines, and Biosafety Cabinets.

It was almost insane.

But Chen Youhua had a cheat and was fearless.

He answered everything; even for questions that were beyond the syllabus, he answered them one by one using knowledge from textbooks and various literatures.

To be honest, these were no longer questions a normal undergraduate, or even a graduate student or master's candidate, could answer.

If it were any other professor or anyone else asking, he would have just turned and left.

Humans have limits, and memory has limits; no human could answer these questions with such absolute theoretical knowledge as he did.

Normal PhDs or biology experts certainly wouldn't remember everything clearly, but they would have their own knowledge networks and use their own ideas to answer these questions.

By the end, Professor Zhang even lost track of time; it wasn't until he got thirsty and drank a cup of water that he noticed it was already dark outside.

He then looked at Chen Youhua with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

Then he spoke in an extremely satisfied tone.

"That's enough. You can join my project from now on. I'll have a word with the department and your Class Advisor."

"As for classes, go talk to the subject teachers yourself; with your level, I don't think you need to attend classes anyway.

Regardless, you have to report to the lab every day, understood?"

After speaking, he looked at Chen Youhua as if he were looking at a monster, while wiping away his non-existent sweat.

Is this what a genius is?

Professor Zhang's gaze fell on Chen Youhua's young and calm face, but his thoughts drifted back to his own distant college days.

Back then, the country had just opened up, and research conditions were extremely difficult.

The most advanced instruments in the lab were a few pieces exchanged for precious foreign currency.

Equipment that seemed clunky and crude now.

An old centrifuge with unstable speeds.

A microscope that required manual film processing.

A buzzing, bulky Spectrophotometer...

Those were already the department's most precious treasures.

Their generation of students relied on a thirst for knowledge and a stubborn refusal to lose; in those harsh conditions, using the most tedious methods, repeating experiments over and over, and scrutinizing data bit by bit, they managed to produce results that were considered quite good at the time.

He had once been considered a standout among his peers, a genius.

But today, facing this freshman, Professor Zhang Zhenhua felt a huge gap for the first time, even a sense of bewilderment.

How was this possible?

Such a terrifyingly solid theoretical foundation, a familiarity with cutting-edge technology and experimental details as if he knew them by heart...

This was definitely not something that could be achieved by intelligence and hard work alone.

He's only a freshman!

He hasn't even truly stepped over the threshold of a laboratory!

Those complex operating procedures, precise instrument parameters, and tedious experimental techniques.

How did he master them? Just by reading books? Literature? Manuals? What kind of terrifying memory, comprehension, and spatial imagination would that require?

Professor Zhang looked at Chen Youhua as if he were looking at a creation from the future.

For the first time, he felt so clearly that he seemed to have truly grown old.

Not in age, but in the way and speed of acquiring and digesting knowledge, and the natural affinity for new technology; a generation gap had been opened by this young man in a nearly crushing manner.

The research model he was familiar with and proud of—relying on extensive practical exploration and accumulated experience—seemed somewhat... outdated in the face of this young man's armchair strategist ability based on massive theoretical absorption and logical deduction.

"Young people these days..."

Professor Zhang murmured to himself, his voice very soft, carrying an indescribable mix of emotions: shock, appreciation, and a subtle sense of loss from being gently brushed by the tide of the times.

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.

He admitted he couldn't quite understand it anymore.

"Professor? Is something wrong?"

Chen Youhua's eyes remained calm as he watched the professor murmur to himself, offering a reminder.

Zhang Zhenhua snapped out of it and said,

"It's nothing. Wait a moment."

After speaking, he took out his phone and made a WeChat call.

Not long after, a panting young man ran in.

Professor Zhang first spoke to the young man.

"This is Chen Youhua, a freshman undergraduate who is newly joining our group."

Then he introduced the other to him.

"Youhua, this is Wang Zhe, a Second-year PhD student. He's the technical backbone of our group, and his experimental operations are very standard.

Next week, you'll start by following Senior Brother Wang, beginning with the most basic lab safety regulations, preparation of common reagents, and Cell Subculturing to familiarize yourself with the environment and basic procedures as quickly as possible.

If there's anything you don't understand, ask Senior Brother Wang anytime, or ask me directly."

"Okay, Professor. Thank you, Professor."

Chen Youhua nodded calmly and turned to Wang Zhe.

"Senior Brother Wang, sorry to trouble you."

Wang Zhe looked at the freshman junior whom the professor had personally introduced into the group. His eyes were full of curiosity and a subtle, unnoticeable pressure as he quickly said,

"No trouble at all, let's learn from each other! Follow me, I'll first take you to get familiar with the lab zones and safety facilities."

Chen Youhua followed Wang Zhe toward the laboratory building.

He finally let out a sigh of relief.

He saw the expression on Professor Zhang's face clearly and knew that his excessive performance was somewhat unconventional.

But there was no other way; if he didn't show his hand, he would really be looked down upon.

It was a necessity. Nowadays, who in biology isn't a beast of burden? No matter how capable, one still has to settle and grind for a few years.

No matter how good the youth is, he still needs to be tempered.

He didn't have that much time to waste.

Anyway, he had heard the title of 'genius' countless times since high school.