The Mad Mosquito disease continues to ravage the world, even leading to scenes of mass death in some underdeveloped regions.

For these nations, this disaster is nothing short of annihilation.

But in the Celestial Empire, thanks to the appearance of the Angels, the disease has not only failed to become rampant but has instead become a topic of casual conversation.

It turns out that what can exert unprecedented international influence isn't just nuclear bombs, but also something called a definitive cure for terminal illness.

The "Relevant Departments" are still persistently trying to claim the credit; they brazenly appropriated Wang Zhuo’s scientific achievements. Those three impostor experts frequently appear on various television programs and in industry forums, lauded as national treasures, enjoying security protection comparable to that afforded to top leaders.

This actually gives Wang Zhuo a measure of satisfaction. If those three experts were him, he suspects their personal freedom would be severely restricted—escorted everywhere, every action under constant surveillance. Trying to sneak nutritious meals to the beautiful girls then would surely become a pipe dream.

The Relevant Departments certainly wanted to place him under twenty-four-hour "supervision" to ensure the firsthand data on the Angels didn't leak. But his rapport with the Qin father and son wasn't built for nothing. Qin Xue truly pulled through at this critical juncture, and with just one assurance, Wang Zhuo regained his freedom.

Viewed from another angle, if Qin Xue hadn't been effective and the Relevant Departments had truly placed him under house arrest, provoking him might actually have led him to publicly release information about the "Angels" on the internet. Damn it, if this Celestial Empire doesn't love me, why should I love it?

Sometimes, Wang Zhuo just has that damn temper. The way he could subdue Ma Qiang, cripple Yang Feng, or coax Qin Xue’s daughter into fetching him dried sausages shows a personality where he is king and the rest follow. He acts purely on impulse, doing things with unrestrained freedom.

As for the results? Who cares, just do it first!

Because the sudden appearance of the Mad Mosquito disease disrupted normal social order, with this world-shattering virus spreading rampantly, several universities in Jiangzhou either shut down their campuses or suspended classes.

While Wang Zhuo was selflessly devoting himself to developing the Angels, Jiangzhou Medical University decisively ended the semester early, sending teachers and students home for winter break.

So, by mid-February, the school had already reopened ahead of schedule!

Wang Zhuo’s first action upon returning to campus was heading to the morgue to speak with Ge Dagang, asking him not to dissect the family of three.

Logically, the bodies donated to various institutions are centrally allocated by the superior supervisory unit, adhering to a principle of confidentiality, so the school administration shouldn't know the source of the cadavers.

But when rules are allowed to slacken for too long, they become meaningless formalities. Furthermore, given the wide circulation of news regarding that homicide case—a notorious case, no less—nearly every teacher and student on campus knew about it. Every day, people came specifically to "appreciate" the three corpses.

Ge Dagang enjoyed a brief moment of glory for this. Although he couldn't charge admission, gaining small favors was easy enough.

Take Wang Zhuo, for instance. A big spender, generous too, instantly presenting a carton of Furongwang cigarettes. Ge Dagang’s post was unpopular; even gifts given to him were usually delivered without the giver staying around. No one had ever offered him a whole pack of good cigarettes so smoothly! So, this guy immediately treated Wang Zhuo as an honored guest, patting his chest to guarantee that Wang Zhuo could bring anyone to view the bodies anytime, and as long as he didn't speak, no one would dare touch a single hair on the family of three.

Ge Dagang’s word in the morgue was gospel, an unchangeable decree. Even the Principal couldn't overrule him, because without this eccentric character running the show, the entire morgue would fall apart! Thus, his guarantee greatly reassured Wang Zhuo.

"But you need to hurry," Ge Dagang couldn't resist adding. "The fat will liquefy over time. Once their features are gone, there won't be much to see."

...

When Wang Zhuo returned to the basketball court, a stiff smile remained on his face.

He inwardly cursed Ge Dagang; the man had mistaken him for a pervert! Damn it, he hadn't even finished admiring the beautiful women yet. How could he be such a degenerate as to go "appreciate" female corpses?

It seemed he needed to keep his distance from dead bodies in the future. Ge Dagang's thoughts were so depraved, it must be related to the nature of his job. Anyone fiddling with body parts all day, no matter how normal they start, must slowly become twisted!

"Coach Wang, long time no see!"

A male student called out to Wang Zhuo enthusiastically from a distance.

Wang Zhuo recognized the guy as Yuwen Feng. It was a surname belonging to a tribe from beyond the frontier. Yet, this person had narrow eyebrows, small eyes, and a look of gentle harmony. Students who enjoyed gossip speculated that he must have had mixed ancestry long ago, leading to a complete genetic mutation after generations of intermingling.

Waving back, Wang Zhuo asked, "Have you seen any of the guys from our class?"

"None have shown up yet," Yuwen Feng countered. "There's an inter-school challenge this afternoon. Are you coming?"

"Challenge? Which school?" Wang Zhuo felt a flicker of interest. As the number one shooter at the Medical University, it was his duty to meet any challengers who dared to come knocking.

Yuwen Feng replied, "The College of Architecture. I heard they have a small forward who used to play professionally."

A professional small forward? That was a direct matchup for him! Wang Zhuo was delighted. "Then I'll take on that small forward. What time is the game?"

After setting the time, he strolled leisurely toward the dorms. It had been a long time since he engaged in vigorous exercise; today was perfect for loosening up.

Not long after returning to the dorm, Geng Bin and the others, having heard the news, gathered around. Seeing that Geng Bin had gained another ring of fat over the winter break, everyone joked that unless he stayed at the university to work for Ge Dagang, he was destined to return to his original size after graduation.

"It's our family's body type, can't be helped," Geng Bin admitted with a laugh. "I gain weight just drinking water. I can't exactly stop eating, can I?"

The short Lv Tiefeng chimed in with a smile, "But you're quite handsome when you aren't fat—tall and sturdy, very popular with women."

"It's this stomach that’s a real problem, brother," one student patted Geng Bin’s round belly teasingly. "Can we see the 'little cannon' when you're... you know?"

A burst of laughter followed. Geng Bin gave a wry smile. "It really gets in the way. You guys don't know; when I was at my heaviest, even the barrel looked shorter, buried under the fat. My girlfriend never said anything, but I felt I wasn't enough."

Wang Zhuo finally burst out laughing. So, fat men had that kind of worry? Today was truly an enlightening day!

"Don't lose heart. My company is developing a new weight-loss drug, and we've made some progress recently," Wang Zhuo smiled at Geng Bin. "You surely know that obesity is one of the most difficult chronic ailments for humanity to treat. So many research institutions globally have studied weight loss but never achieved widely recognized results. But our company's research direction is different; we expect to give you a surprise soon."

The other boys were momentarily stunned.

If anyone else had said that, they would have dismissed it as boasting, exaggerating, or talking nonsense. If weight-loss drugs were that easy to develop, wouldn't the millions of weight-loss institutions worldwide be begging for scraps? But they couldn't doubt Wang Zhuo’s words, because Wang Zhuo was a man who had repeatedly created miracles. Not to mention the Wangchao Wuliang they now ordered at every restaurant; the newly crowned campus beauty, Xu Chu, whose family was in pharmaceuticals, couldn't solve her hirsutism, yet Wang Zhuo quietly cured it, making it look completely natural—no one would ever guess she used to be a 'beard-sister'!

While others were only half-grasping the implications, Geng Bin, deeply troubled by his weight, immediately smelled an explosive piece of information. "Boss, if this research succeeds, how big of a market is that?"

Wang Zhuo chuckled, "If the market wasn't that huge, why would I research it?"

"Is the weight-loss market big?" the rather slow-witted Zheng Peng interjected.

"Big? It should be infinitely huge!" Geng Bin exclaimed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg combined wouldn't measure up!"

"Holy crap!" The boys' eyes widened. Wang Zhuo never spoke without substance; if he said they made progress, there was likely something concrete. Was a dazzling new world's richest man about to be born right next to them?

"Look at how excited you are," Wang Zhuo said with a wry smile, waving his hand. "Don't you understand medical matters? There's a long road from developing a new drug to its application. I can only say I'll give Geng Bin a surprise first; the days of getting rich off this are still far off."

The truth was, his research into weight-loss drugs was currently stalled. Research paused after the 'Rebirth' project emerged, and then the Mad Mosquito virus disrupted his original schedule.

Developing a weight-loss drug was indeed incredibly difficult, otherwise, so many global research institutions wouldn't have hit a wall. But research on the "Angels" felt like it had opened a vast door for Wang Zhuo. It not only honed his knowledge, experience, and special abilities but also broadened his perspective and liberated his thinking. Thus, he was now full of confidence, surging with the drive to conquer this problem in one go!

His phone rang just then. He pulled it out to see a text message from "Dayuan Mingju."

"Dayuan Mingju? Is that Xu Chu texting?" The sharp-eyed Lv Tiefeng spotted the caller ID and asked, interjecting.

"Uh..." Wang Zhuo paused, asking with exasperation, "How did you know it was her?"

The other boys also looked at Lv Tiefeng with curiosity, wondering what 'Dayuan Mingju' meant.

"Association, it's pure association," Lv Tiefeng said with a dry laugh. "I don't know why, but the moment I see those four characters, I think of Xu Chu. Maybe it's because Xu Chu's appearance has features reminiscent of Western regions, or maybe it's because I saw those four characters on Wang Zhuo's phone."

"So, this Dayuan Mingju really is Xu Chu?" Geng Bin immediately showed an ambiguous expression. "Boss, looks like you've ridden her?"

The expressions of the others instantly turned into diagrams of gossip. Wang Zhuo's rumored relationships with the two campus beauties had been circulating wildly lately, and now they had a golden opportunity to get firsthand information!

Their envious faces brought Wang Zhuo more satisfaction than a thousand compliments. He genuinely wanted to brag, "Of course, I've ridden her," but he had to be mindful of the girls' reputations.