Shortly after, he walked out of Zhu Daoqi's office, and after his departure, Zhu Daoqi laughed in his office for a solid half hour, unable to compose himself.

Zhang Yang had come to borrow personnel—specifically, Shi Yan and Wang Lu, along with the other three who were participating in the activity this time.

Zhang Yang invited them to join his research group. Faced with such a request to "borrow" people, Zhu Daoqi had no reason to refuse.

He was acutely aware of how many people were coveting this project. Originally, the project was housed at the Third Institute, so they hadn't thought much of it; having a student from their university as the lead was sufficient.

But unexpectedly, Zhang Yang pulled five more people directly from the university.

Five people! If this project proved successful, these five would reap enormous rewards. Even if it failed, they would gain invaluable experience in a major research endeavor, which would have a long-term impact on their futures.

Zhu Daoqi agreed to Zhang Yang’s request without hesitation. The moment Zhang Yang left, he summoned the department heads of Wang Lu and the others, shared the good news, and instructed them that these students were excused from classes starting tomorrow and were to report directly to Zhang Yang at the Third Institute.

While Zhang Yang was busy, Wang Guohai was also working diligently at the Third Institute.

It was true that Zhang Yang was the overall lead, but he hadn't intended to stay involved in the day-to-day research. He was merely the supreme commander, setting the strategy, direction, and leaving the research materials behind, delegating everything else to them.

How to push the progress forward and how to submit reports—all of that was Wang Guohai’s responsibility.

This made Wang Guohai feel the weight of his burden, leaving him even busier than Zhang Yang that afternoon.

He was also recruiting research members. A research group couldn't function without people from the Department of Respiratory Medicine. However, Zhang Yang had already stated that the previous list ordered by the hospital was completely void; not a single person on it was to be included.

If even one person from that list appeared, he would withdraw from this project entirely.

This added considerable pressure on Wang Guohai. He had no choice but to rely on his understanding of the hospital staff and recruit three highly experienced specialists from Respiratory Medicine.

These three specialists possessed genuine talent but were types who hadn't achieved the recognition they deserved—in short, they lacked connections.

When Wang Guohai approached them, all three were initially somewhat disbelieving. They hadn't been immune to the allure of this project before. Unfortunately, the list of research members had been monopolized by hospital leadership, leaving them no way in.

Unexpectedly, circumstances had taken a sharp turn: Zhang Yang had summarily dismissed all the hospital's lists and placed the authority to recruit into Wang Guohai’s hands.

This was, in a way, an opportunity for them to finally step into the spotlight.

The addition of the three specialists brought Wang Guohai a measure of relief. After a moment's thought, he added two younger doctors to the list.

Both were internal medicine physicians with excellent potential for advancement who were generally very diligent. This time, it was a way to give them a boost; they would become pillars of the Third Institute in the future.

With the addition of these two, Wang Guohai's list was finalized.

Himself, Hu Ye, plus five doctors—a total of seven from the hospital side. If they included Zhu Zhixiang and Wu Youdao, who were already research members, the Third Institute would have nine people in the research group this time.

The number was slightly smaller than the dozen or so nominated by the hospital, but it was sufficient, especially since these were all people who would actively work. Unlike those leaders who just wanted to put their names down to share in the glory.

Nine from the Third Institute, six from Changjing University including Zhang Yang—the fifteen-person research team roster for this specialized project was quickly submitted by Wang Guohai to Zhu Zhixiang on Zhang Yang's behalf.

Zhang Yang was the lead, the group head, while Zhu Zhixiang was the deputy head. Regardless, this project had been his initiative, which he had forcefully pushed through despite opposition; his contribution to getting it approved was significant.

These matters deserved to be known by him.

“Director Wang, are you certain?”

Zhu Zhixiang stared blankly at the list after reading it. After a moment, he looked up and spoke to Wang Guohai.

“No mistake, Director. These arrangements were made precisely according to Zhang Yang’s requirements!”

Wang Guohai gently shook his head, fully understanding Zhu Zhixiang’s current predicament.

Not only had the original list been rejected, but even Director Xu Wu of the main Internal Medicine department and Director Tang Xiaojuan of Respiratory Medicine weren't participating. This indeed put Zhu Zhixiang in a difficult spot.

However, this was all Zhang Yang’s decision; Wang Guohai had no recourse.

“I need to discuss this with Zhang Yang!”

Zhu Zhixiang immediately set the list down and reached for the telephone on his desk.

As soon as his hand moved, Wang Guohai gently shook his head. “Dean, there’s no need to call. Zhang Yang made it clear: this is his requirement, and his only requirement. If this list is not followed, the entire project will be disbanded!”

Wang Guohai’s words caused Zhu Zhixiang’s hand to falter; he paused with the receiver in hand, unable to dial.

Zhang Yang’s stance this time was completely beyond his expectations. Zhang Yang might not care about the project, but Zhu Zhixiang did. This was a golden opportunity for the Third Institute to gain immense honor, making it famous nationally, even globally.

Wang Guohai watched him, sighing internally.

He knew Zhu Zhixiang was troubled, but he had no solution either. He hadn't failed to persuade Zhang Yang.

Wang Guohai knew Zhang Yang despised bureaucracy, but he hadn't anticipated Zhang Yang would employ such drastic measures, rejecting everyone else outright.

Then again, if Xu Wu and Tang Xiaojuan hadn't been included on the hospital's initial internal list, they might have been on the research roster, given their standing.

Unfortunately, they had misjudged the situation from the start, assuming that since the project belonged to the hospital, they would have control. This was the outcome of that miscalculation.

“I understand. I will speak with them persuasively. You and the team should begin work officially tomorrow as required by Zhang Yang. Director Wang, for now, please delegate your responsibilities to Deputy Director Liu. This project is crucial to our hospital, and I feel at ease leaving you to assist Zhang Yang!”

After a while, Zhu Zhixiang placed the receiver down and said softly.

He had yielded. Zhang Yang could afford to let go of such an important project, but he could not.

For a municipal hospital to secure a project from the Chinese Academy of Sciences was already a rare honor. He could not allow this project to be ruined; he had to sustain this glory and maximize its impact.

This effectively meant that anyone opposing Zhang Yang was opposing him.

This time, he was forced into a position where he stood with Zhang Yang, completely behind him in support.

The next morning, after seeing Mi Xue off, Zhang Yang went directly to the Third Institute.

He didn't drive his Bugatti today; he took a taxi, still remembering the difficulty of leaving the institute yesterday.

When he went to retrieve the car, a crowd had gathered around it, with some people taking photos. A car like that was a first in Changjing, attracting numerous car enthusiasts.

Word spread quickly—once people heard there was a Bugatti in Changjing, many flocked over.

This left a deep impression on Zhang Yang, so today, no matter what, he wouldn't drive the Bugatti to the hospital; he put it directly into the garage.

The hospital had allocated nearly half a floor of office space specifically for their research project.

Within this half-floor, there was a conference room. Before Zhang Yang arrived, Wang Guohai had already gathered the others there, including Shi Yan and the other five.

When Wang Lu arrived, she kept calling Zhang Yang a true brother for not forgetting them about such a great opportunity.

Everyone except Zhu Zhixiang and Wu Youdao was present, including Wang Guohai, and each member radiated excitement.

This was a chance for them to vault to a higher status, and they all understood that Zhang Yang was the one who provided this opportunity.

With Zhang Yang's arrival, the project officially launched. Zhang Yang wasted no time and immediately assigned tasks.

The two younger doctors, along with two students from Changjing University, were tasked with tracking Su Shaohua’s condition, reporting his daily treatment status, and meticulously recording detailed data.

The three Respiratory Medicine specialists would have one person specifically responsible for organizing all the data—including the reasons behind data changes and the implications of those changes.

He wouldn't be alone in organizing the data; Gao Fei would assist him, acting as support.

The other two doctors and two students would use the materials left by Zhang Yang, combined with Su Shaohua’s actual condition, to summarize and draft the research progress reports to be submitted to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Wang Guohai’s job was to coordinate all of this; eventually, everything would pass through him, with Hu Ye assisting him.

After giving these instructions and leaving a stack of materials, Zhang Yang departed with what seemed like irresponsible ease, handing everything over to them.

Watching Zhang Yang leave, the group was momentarily stunned. They had truly never seen a project lead shake off responsibility so completely on the very first day.

However, the materials Zhang Yang left behind were incredibly comprehensive. Even the three specialists praised them profusely, expressing deep admiration for Zhang Yang.

These materials contained much that they had never heard of, yet reading them brought a sense of sudden enlightenment.

They even remarked that with Zhang Yang’s level of skill, he could easily serve as their teacher.

While Zhang Yang was setting things up, a meeting was underway in the hospital’s conference room, but here, chaos had erupted.

“Nonsense! Utter nonsense! No organization, no discipline! Dean, how can you tolerate him like this? Haven’t you looked at who is on this list?”

In the conference room, Xu Wu roared in anger, and the expressions of the others were similar—furious.

Zhang Yang had rejected the hospital’s pre-selected list and rapidly established his own research group, already starting work.

This made them feel slighted and deeply humiliated. More importantly, their vested interests had been severely undermined.

Not being able to join the project meant forfeiting the rewards. Seeing the fruit about to be plucked by others, how could they stand by idly?

“Dean, Director Xu is right. You cannot indulge him like this. He isn’t even one of our Third Institute’s people anymore!”

A hospital leader spoke softly; his name had also been rejected by Zhang Yang, leaving him feeling quite sore.

As soon as he spoke, many others chimed in, coming close to explicitly stating that all of this was due to Zhu Zhixiang’s indulgence; without Zhu Zhixiang, Zhang Yang wouldn't dare act this way.

…………