After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Two days later.

Auditorium of the General Hospital of the Beicheng Military Region.

A red banner with white lettering hung on the stage: "Sino-British Symposium on the Treatment of Congenital Heart Disease and Biomaterials".

The first row was occupied by Vice Minister of Health Li, British Health Secretary Clark, and Dean Zhou Hai. The second row was occupied by Chinese and foreign experts such as Williams, Brown, and Gao Haiping. The back rows were crowded with young doctors and medical students who came to observe the proceedings.

The BBC camera was mounted on the side.

George stood behind the machine, his face expressionless. He had received a fax from BBC headquarters last night, in which John instructed him to "remain professionally neutral." In other words: keep finding fault.

George folded the fax, stuffed it deep into his pocket, and focused intently on the viewfinder.

Parker arrived on time. He was wearing a dark gray suit, a royal blue tie, and spotless shoes. He led the Gore team into the auditorium with a perfectly timed smile on his face.

He was the first to approach Clark and reach out his hand.

"Mr. Minister, thank you for giving Gore an opportunity to express its goodwill."

Clark looked at him.

"I hope it's truly well-intentioned."

Parker remained expressionless and turned to walk up to Zhou Hai.

"President Zhou, Gore & Associates has always respected the efforts of Chinese doctors. We are willing to help your country establish a safer and more internationalized treatment system."

Zhou Hai shook hands briefly, then quickly withdrew his hand.

"Welcome to exchange ideas."

Parker didn't seem to care and walked straight to the podium.

The assistant opened the slides, and a sophisticated graph was projected onto the screen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Gore has over twenty years of experience in the field of cardiovascular patches. Our artificial blood vessel materials have been proven to be stable, safe, and traceable in many European and American countries."

Parker spoke in a calm tone, neither praising himself nor belittling others; every sentence conveyed compassion and empathy.

"We understand that Chinese doctors want to reduce treatment costs. We also understand Dr. Ye's original intention in proposing the autologous pericardium approach."

He turned to the side of the first row.

"Frankly speaking, I respect Dr. Ye."

The room fell silent.

Ye Zhen sat in her seat, her white coat buttoned up to the top. Without even looking up, she turned a page of the postoperative record of a child patient in her hand.

Parker paused for half a second before continuing.

"But medicine cannot only focus on immediate success. The real test after the material is implanted in the human body is five, ten, or even twenty years later."

He made a gesture.

The cover of a report appeared on the screen: "Long-term calcification risk and clinical observation of autologous pericardium as a patch material for large blood vessels".

A murmur of discussion arose in the auditorium. Gao Haiping frowned deeply, while Liu Jianmin sat bolt upright.

"This independent research report suggests that autologous pericardial material that has not received sufficient international certification carries a high risk of calcification and tearing in long-term follow-up. We believe that China should exercise caution before widespread adoption."

Parker picked up a sample contract.

"Therefore, Gore is willing to supply standardized vascular patches to Chinese medical institutions at near-cost prices. We are not pursuing short-term profits; we only hope that children can receive more reliable treatment."

An impeccable statement.

Several young doctors in the back row hesitated. A calcification rate of 30% was indeed alarming. But Professor Ye's treatment plan was clearly very effective.

George's camera panned across these hesitant faces.

This is exactly the result Parker wanted. He didn't need to prove Ye Zhen wrong, just create doubt. Once the doubt takes hold, the promotion of the new plan will be hindered.

Parker pressed one hand against the edge of the podium.

"Everyone, we are not enemies. We are just providing a risk warning."

He looked at Ye Zhen again.

"Dr. Ye, what's your opinion?"

The cameras all turned to the first row.

Ye Zhen finally closed the medical record folder, pushed back her chair, and stood up.

She faced Parker directly.

"I have three questions."

Parker smiled and said, "Please."

"First, from which hospital did the clinical samples in the report come?"

Parker opened the files at hand.

"This data was compiled by a third-party organization and involves privacy, so it cannot be disclosed at this time."

Ye Zhen nodded.

"In other words, you don't know."

A few low laughs broke out in the auditorium.

Parker's smile was starting to falter.

"Dr. Ye, there are confidentiality agreements for commercial research."

"Second," Ye Zhen interrupted him, "what was the concentration of glutaraldehyde used in the experiment?"

Parker looked down and flipped through the report. The papers rustled.

The assistant leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

Parker looked up: "Two percent."

Gao Haiping slapped Professor Wang on the thigh, and Professor Wang let out a cold snort.

Ye Zhen stared intently at Parker.

"What is the standard concentration I'm promoting?"

Parker was stumped and speechless for a moment.

"0.6%! Temperature control, timed rinsing, repeated washing, and only after passing the residual aldehyde test can it enter the sterile table!"

Parker's cheek muscles twitched.

Ye Zhen then posed the third question.

"Was the pericardial membrane in this report fresh and uncrosslinked, or was it a material that had undergone standard tanning?"

The auditorium fell into complete silence.

Parker's Adam's apple bobbed as he looked down at the edge of the report.

He couldn't answer that question.

Ye Zhen walked to the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and wrote "fresh pericardium" on the left and "tanned pericardium" on the right, and drew a vertical line in the middle.

"Fresh pericardium is biological tissue containing water, cells, and residual antigens. Direct implantation will inevitably lead to degradation, calcification, and tearing."

The chalk was tapped twice heavily on the right side, and chalk dust fell in a flurry.

"After standard glutaraldehyde tanning, collagen fibers cross-link, antigenicity decreases, and mechanical strength increases. Concentration, time, temperature, and rinsing—each step determines its final form."

She threw down the chalk and clapped her hands.

"Taking untreated raw materials to create calcification models, and then using the results to attack standard tanned and qualified materials, is called a fallacy of equivocation."

There was a two-second silence in the auditorium.

Immediately afterwards, a burst of laughter erupted.

Brown coughed forcefully, his fist pressed to his lips, while Williams turned his head to the side, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

Gao Haiping pointed to the podium.

"This report is clearly designed to fool laymen!"

Liu Jianmin replied in a deep voice: "This is not a preliminary study at all; it's a fabrication."

Parker's face drained of all color. He gripped the edge of the podium tightly.

"Dr. Ye, this is just a risk warning. Medicine requires caution, and new plans must be subject to scrutiny."

"Questioning is acceptable," Ye Zhen said, "but fabrication is not."

Parker turned up the volume.

"The word 'forgery' is too strong! You need to provide evidence."

Gu Zheng, who had been sitting on the side, moved.

He stood up, carrying a chipped tin teacup, and slowly took two steps forward.

"Mr. Parker, I also have a small question."

Parker's heart skipped a beat. He recognized the Chinese officer and knew he was a man not to be trifled with.

Gu Zheng lifted the lid of the teacup and blew on the steam.

"Your company said they would provide those twenty-three British children with supplementary medications for free."

He pointed with the cylinder head towards the direction of the back ward.

"But all twenty-three surgeries were interventional closure procedures. They would make a small incision in the groin, insert a guide wire, put in the closure device, and the job was done."

He slammed the lid onto the rim of the cylinder, producing a crisp clanging sound.

"Not a single patch was used."

The auditorium was completely silent.

Gu Zheng stared at Parker.

"Are you genuinely generous, or are you just putting on a charity show?"

Someone in the back row couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. Soon, the Chinese doctors and British nurses were all laughing. Clark's secretary buried his head in a pile of documents.

Gu Zheng composed himself.

"I don't have any other flaws, I just love to be meticulous. What do you guys call that again?"

He made a thoughtful gesture.

"Yes, a worthless check."

Parker's face turned ashen, and he was so embarrassed he could barely stand.

Gu Zheng placed the teacup on the table next to him.

"They use useless materials to do favors, scare people with cobbled-together reports, and try to lock up the market with contracts at cost price."

Gu Zheng took a step closer.

"Your abacus beads, I could hear them coming from the Capital Airport."

George stood behind the camera, pressing the record button tightly.

Parker knew he had completely messed up.

"Mr. Gu, you don't understand medicine and may have misunderstood the complexity of business cooperation."

"I really don't understand business," Gu Zheng nodded. "I only understand one principle."

He pointed to the table with his finger.

"Anyone who dares to trade patients' lives will not leave this house unscathed."

As soon as he finished speaking, two fully armed guards snapped to attention and blocked his way in front of the two double wooden doors of the auditorium.

Parker broke out in a cold sweat.

Just as the stalemate was at hand, Clark pushed back his chair and stood up.

The entire auditorium fell silent.

The British Health Secretary picked up the microphone from the table.

"Mr. Parker, on behalf of the UK Department of Health, I announce that the UK government will launch a full investigation into Gore's actions."

Parker suddenly turned his head.

Clark's instructions were devoid of any warmth.

"During the investigation, the qualification review of Gore for inclusion in the NHS new supplier list is suspended indefinitely."

This was undoubtedly a death sentence.

Parker completely collapsed.

Williams also stood up.

"From an academic perspective, I do not accept this report as any valid evidence. It is not rigorous, not transparent, and contains subjective misleading elements."

He looked at Parker.

"Medicine allows for debate, but it absolutely cannot allow commercial capital to masquerade as truth."

Parker opened his mouth, but his dry throat could not produce a sound.

Two guards walked up to him.

"Mr. Parker, please."

Parker frantically straightened his tie and shoved the documents on the table into his briefcase, trying to salvage the last shred of dignity.

As he reached the door, he couldn't help but glance back at the first row.

Ye Zhen had already sat back down and opened the next medical record folder, not giving him a second glance.

This kind of disregard is louder than a slap in the face.

Parker and his entourage walked out of the auditorium looking dejected.

The door closed.

Thunderous applause erupted instantly, almost lifting the roof off.

Vice Minister Li leaned back in his chair, letting out a long sigh of frustration. He glanced at Gu Zheng beside him, thinking to himself, "This kid says 'there are no conspiracies under the sun,' but he's just dragging his conspiracies out into the open. How ruthless, but also how satisfying!"