Shen Xingkong was still very cautious. If the needle turned out to be worthless, he'd be disappointed for nothing. It was best to get it appraised. So, he carefully used the electron microscope to take a micrograph of the cells inside the golden needle.

There was a biological research institute in City Z, located on the eastern side near the sports stadium. The staff there were experts in biology. He decided to take the micrograph there the next day to have it examined and find out what kind of organism the needle really was.

After securing the micrograph, Shen Xingkong jumped back out of the window, making sure to close it tightly. He hoped that Professor Guo wouldn't notice anything the next day. In three to five days, no one would remember Shen Xingkong and Chang Le sneaking into the lab.

"So, how did it go?" Chang Le asked anxiously before they even left the second floor. "Are you your parents' biological child or not?"

"Yes, absolutely. Pure and genuine," Shen Xingkong answered with certainty.

As they walked out of the building, the sky had already darkened. There wasn't a soul in sight, let alone any girls. Shen Xingkong felt a bit guilty towards Chang Le, but Chang Le, always the carefree one, was smiling and didn't seem to mind.

Chang Le, after all, never lacked for female company. A simple crook of his finger could attract a line of girls from City Z all the way to Hainan Island.

Chang Le personally drove his Audi A6 to take Shen Xingkong home and then presumably went off to enjoy the nightlife elsewhere.

That night, Shen Xingkong was too excited and nervous to sleep, hugging his needle pack in bed. He woke up before six the next morning, skipped breakfast, and took a bus to the sports stadium on the east side of the city.

The biological research institute in City Z was right next to the sports stadium and was affiliated with a pharmaceutical company. Their daily work involved dealing with various small animals, conducting biological tests for new drugs for the pharmaceutical company. The environment was very nice, with white walls, green trees, and winding paths.

Shen Xingkong paced nervously in front of the research institute's gate, having skipped school for this. He waited until 8:30 a.m. when the institute officially opened before entering, only to be stopped by a security guard.

"What are you here for?" The security guard, holding a baton, looked at him with a stern attitude, sensing that Shen Xingkong wasn't someone important.

"Hello, I need to see an expert for some help," Shen Xingkong said, forcing a smile. He had to be polite since he was asking for a favor.

"See an expert? Do you know who the experts here are? They're busy with important work and don't have time for you. Get lost," the security guard said, waving his baton to chase Shen Xingkong away.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"I really need to see an expert. Can you just let me in?" Shen Xingkong pleaded.

"You dare call me just a guard?" The security guard was now really angry.

"If you're not just a guard, why are you stopping me?" Shen Xingkong retorted, hating people who bullied others with their authority.

"Get out, don't make trouble."

Shen Xingkong and the security guard argued at the gate, one trying to get in, the other stopping him. The security guard made a show of swinging his baton but didn't actually touch Shen Xingkong. Meanwhile, Shen Xingkong insulted the guard without using any profanities, infuriating him further.

At that moment, a Mercedes sedan approached slowly, driving past them and through the gate towards the office building.

Three people were in the car: a driver in the front and two elderly men in the back, both of whom exuded an aura of authority and intelligence.

"Hey, Old Chen, wait a moment," one of the elderly men suddenly said to the other.

"What's the matter? Xiao Wang, stop for a moment," the other elderly man instructed the driver, puzzled.

"Isn't that Shen Xingkong? What's he doing here?" The elderly man looked out the window at Shen Xingkong, appearing confused.

"Who is Shen Xingkong?" The other elderly man was completely baffled.

"He's my student... Old Chen, let's get out here," the elderly man said, opening the car door and striding towards Shen Xingkong.

The man named Chen had no choice but to get out of the car and follow.

Seeing the two elderly men approach, Shen Xingkong and the security guard were stunned. One of them was none other than Professor Shi, a traditional Chinese medicine authority at City Z's medical vocational school. The other man was the chief engineer of the biological research institute, surnamed Chen.

Shen Xingkong hadn't expected to encounter Professor Shi here, and inwardly groaned. He had skipped class to come here, and being caught in the act could have serious consequences, possibly even losing academic credits.

"Shen Xingkong, what are you doing here?" Professor Shi asked sternly, frowning.

"Well... actually, I'm here to seek help from an expert," Shen Xingkong quickly came up with a good excuse.

"What kind of help?" Professor Shi couldn't understand why a medical vocational student would need to visit the biological research institute.

"Well, it's about an assignment left by Professor Gao, the medicinal plant teacher. I couldn't figure it out and wanted to consult an expert here," Shen Xingkong said, feigning distress.

"What kind of assignment?" Professor Shi decided to get to the bottom of it.

"The other day, Professor Gao sent me to the mountains to collect Panax notoginseng and demanded it be done by 1 PM. The wild grass on the mountain made it impossible to find it until dusk. Professor Gao was furious and gave me this photo, asking me to identify the medicinal plant in it. She said if I couldn't, I would fail her course this semester." Shen Xingkong put on a pitiful face and handed over the micrograph of the golden needle's cells.

Professor Shi frowned deeper as he examined the photo. Not being a biology expert, he couldn't identify what it was either.

He had heard of Professor Gao being harsh on students but hadn't imagined it would be this severe.

"Professor Gao is really going too far..." Professor Shi muttered to himself.

"Old Shi, what's that? Let me have a look," said the other elderly man, the chief engineer surnamed Chen, smiling.

"Of course!" Professor Shi suddenly realized and introduced Shen Xingkong, "Shen Xingkong, this is Chief Engineer Chen from the biological research institute and an old friend of mine. You can ask him for help."

A chief engineer was indeed an expert. Shen Xingkong's eyes lit up with hope. He hadn't expected to find the right person so quickly. He bowed respectfully to Chief Engineer Chen.

"Hello, Professor Chen!"

As he bowed, Shen Xingkong thought to himself... hehe, my plan to get rich might finally have a chance.