"Brother Wu, do you want to cooperate or not?" Chen Ke asked casually, then couldn't help but stifle another yawn.

Wu Xingchen replayed what Chen Ke had just said in his mind and surprisingly found nothing amiss. Manufacturing and selling drugs did indeed require the assistance of brothers on the path. Wu Xingchen wasn't worried about Chen Ke playing any tricks. Moreover, Chen Ke was right; if Wu Xingchen got involved from the very beginning, the future profits would be substantial. If things felt wrong later, he could simply withdraw decisively.

However, the fact that everything seemed so reasonable was, in this world, unreasonable in itself. This wasn't a rational judgment by Wu Xingchen, but a completely emotional one. Wu Xingchen knew exactly how dark the current world was. Chen Ke must have some hidden scheme. Thinking of this, Wu Xingchen asked, "What exactly do you want me to do, Brother Chen?"

"First, I need you to find a few prostitutes infected with syphilis. I will personally go and collect pus from their sores. You won't need to handle this part," Chen Ke said earnestly.

Wu Xingchen nodded. Indeed, this was not something a young gentleman like Chen Ke could easily arrange.

"Second, after my medicine is made, I will treat these women for free. The efficacy will be obvious. This medicine is highly toxic; it will either cure them or kill them. We will need them to sign a life-and-death waiver. I definitely need your help with this."

So that was it! Wu Xingchen understood. Without the backing of the underworld, there was no way Chen Ke could pull this off. A few prostitutes dying of syphilis wasn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but if one lacked connections, it could become a troublesome legal matter. "I wonder how likely it is that Brother Chen's medicine will poison them to death?"

"Out of a hundred people, at most five or six."

"Eh?!" Wu Xingchen had expected three or four out of ten. These days, syphilis was treated with mercurials—essentially deadly poisons like mercury. The mortality rate was about thirty percent. Even if the syphilis was cured, many would end up demented from mercury poisoning. Compared to that, Chen Ke's medicine sounded formidable.

"And the third thing?" Wu Xingchen felt Chen Ke's previous requests weren't too troublesome, so he continued asking.

"Third, I certainly can't go hawking this stuff on the streets. Once the medicine is produced, finding patients in Shanghai and handling sales—I want you to take personal charge of that. Once the disease is cured, you collect the money, and then just give me my share according to our agreement."

"Is there anything else?" Wu Xingchen pressed.

"That's all."

Wu Xingchen looked at Chen Ke and couldn't detect any malice. Although he didn't know what medicine Chen Ke was selling in his gourd, up to this point, he seemed credible. Wu Xingchen didn't think there were any issues with what Chen Ke had said, and he was ready to cooperate. Not just for future money, but in a practical sense—Wu Xingchen knew high-ranking members of the Tiandihui who had syphilis. Even more among the middle and lower ranks. If he could cure them, his status within the Tiandihui would naturally rise with the tide.

Chen Ke had left a bad impression on Wu Xingchen initially. The failure of their first conflict was still fresh in Wu Xingchen's memory. Yet Chen Ke seemed completely unbothered by it, even wanting to befriend him. this pragmatic attitude was terrifying. But reality was reality; driven by both future and current interests, Wu Xingchen made up his mind.

"Then I will help you with this, Brother Chen."

The street was crowded. Chen Ke wore ivory-colored trousers and a white shirt of the same fabric as his lab coat. Over that, he wore the white lab coat itself. This strange all-white outfit was paired with black cloth shoes. It looked particularly conspicuous. Shanghai was, after all, a great metropolis of the East, and the citizens knew that Western doctors wore these white coats. Coupled with Chen Ke's short hair, it wasn't too bizarre.

Wu Xingchen glanced occasionally at Chen Ke beside him. He just couldn't get used to this "funeral" attire. Chen Ke, however, didn't have the slightest complaint; he even seemed to walk with a bit of swagger. Wu Xingchen couldn't help asking, "Does Brother Chen like white clothes that much?"

"In our line of work, this white coat is the uniform. Wearing it makes me feel at ease. You saw when I was dyeing cloth, I wore that blue work suit."

Wu Xingchen grunted in acknowledgement but said no more. The two walked in silence. Chen Ke was tall, but Wu Xingchen was even taller. Two tall men walking side by side naturally attracted attention. Chen Ke's white coat added another element of intrigue. Walking down the street, they were truly bathed in the bombardments of gazes from men, women, old, and young.

Fortunately, both were guys who didn't care about others' opinions. However, Chen Ke noticed that the way people looked at him was off. It wasn't curiosity, but something indescribable. Just as he was wondering about it, Wu Xingchen stopped. "Let's go in."

They were standing in front of a courtyard with a strange entrance. People dressed neither well nor poorly were coming in and out. These were the guys looking at Chen Ke with that confusing expression. Chen Ke looked himself over again: light-colored clothes all over, a slightly wrinkled white coat, a shining watch on his wrist, clean cloth shoes. Simple and clean. It shouldn't be repulsive.

Following Wu Xingchen into the yard, it looked like a cheap hotel. Men and women entered and exited the small rooms. The men wore lecherous looks; the women, loose smiles. This must be a brothel. There were two fierce-looking guys at the entrance. Seeing Wu Xingchen enter, they immediately stepped forward with ingratiating smiles, speaking in local Shanghai dialect. Wu Xingchen replied in a low voice using Shanghai dialect with a Northern accent, "Don't you have some here with syphilis, the ones currently breaking out in sores?"

"Oh, Boss Wu, you're making fun of us. Where would we have that kind of thing here? Don't joke." The leader of the two hurriedly said.

"This is a doctor who is making medicine for syphilis. He needs to find a few people to test the medicine." Wu Xingchen continued in a low voice.

The leader looked Chen Ke up and down. "Couldn't tell. A foreign-style doctor, eh? But, Boss Wu, we don't have money to buy medicine. And if you're looking for that kind of person, the streets are full of them. Why come here to mock me, brother?"

Wu Xingchen was tired of the brothel owner's chatter. "Take us to see them now. I can make the call—the treatment won't cost you money."

Seeing Wu Xingchen was serious, the brothel owner finally sighed helplessly. "Boss Wu, you really know how to joke with people." As he spoke, he led Wu Xingchen and Chen Ke out the back gate and further back.

It was approaching evening, the sun slanting west. Shanghai's architecture wasn't known for being spacious, and the empty alleyways felt chilly before sunset. Wu Xingchen, the brothel owner, the thugs. None of them were kind souls. Walking with them in this desolate alley made Chen Ke feel quite uncomfortable.

The destination was a secluded small courtyard far from the market streets. "This is it," the owner said.

Before them was a room in the corner of the yard, locked from the outside. It was dead silent nearby. Chen Ke, having just come from the main street, suddenly felt as if he had time-traveled again. Just moments ago, it was a sunny, bustling market; now, it was a deserted courtyard. He couldn't help looking back at Wu Xingchen and the others, only to see their eyes full of disgust as they looked at the door.

"Listen up, there's a doctor here to treat you. Get up and listen to the doctor's instructions," the owner shouted viciously. Although his voice was loud, he stood far away, not wanting to even look at the room.

A faint sound came from inside, but no one answered. "Did you hear me?" the owner shouted again.

"We heard," a woman's voice replied.

"The doctor is going in to see you now. Stay inside and behave, don't come out," the owner yelled again, then signaled the thug to open the door. He stepped back two paces, refusing to look at the scene inside.

Chen Ke took out a mask and put it on, waiting for the thug to unlock the door. The thug only unlocked it but didn't push it open. After waiting a moment, Chen Ke had to push the door open himself and walk in. As soon as he entered, the door was pulled shut by the thug, and the sound of the lock clicking came from the hasp. This really gave Chen Ke a start. Although he knew these people wouldn't lock him in, encountering such a thing was extremely unpleasant.

Despite wearing a mask that he had sprayed with floral water beforehand, Chen Ke was still overwhelmed by the stench. Sweat, urine, the moldy smell of stagnant air, and body odor made him frown slightly. The light in the room was very dim. It took a moment for Chen Ke's eyes to adjust. He saw several women with large pus-filled sores on their faces, sitting or lying listlessly on beds covered with straw mats. The women were disheveled. The weather was already warm, and most of them just wore an outer garment; through the open fronts, he could see naked chests covered in sores.

Chen Ke had never imagined that a female naked body could be so repulsive. It was a disgust that came from the depths of his soul. The sores on their faces, their bodies, and the ones on their lower parts that he couldn't see but shuddered to imagine—Chen Ke almost wanted to flee.

He steadied himself. The mission now was to get the pus samples, not to get emotional. He spoke in very broken Shanghai dialect, "Don't move, just sit on the beds." He said this because he was terrified these women might lose their reason and grab him; if that happened, he wouldn't be able to protect himself.

But Chen Ke's outfit was indeed unusual. The white coat and light clothes were one thing, but the white mask really scared the women. Looking at the door, they couldn't help but shrink back. Two women who hadn't gotten up at first slowly turned around, saw Chen Ke's appearance, and sat up in fright.

Even though they were frightened by Chen Ke's attire, their eyes remained dull. It seemed the torture of the disease and this dungeon-like "ward" had caused immense psychological damage. Their reaction to Chen Ke entering the room was very sluggish. Seeing that the imagined scene of "desperate women throwing themselves at his legs, crying and begging" didn't happen, Chen Ke felt somewhat relieved.

"Who among you is infected with this disease for the first time?" Chen Ke asked.

No one answered. The women looked at him with confusion. Chen Ke asked again; still no answer.

"Do you not understand what I'm saying?" Chen Ke asked first in his broken Shanghai dialect. No response. He switched to Mandarin and Henan dialect and repeated it a few times.

Finally, one woman asked in a JiangZhe dialect Chen Ke could barely understand, "Are you really a doctor here to treat us?"

Establishing communication didn't make Chen Ke feel much happier. On the contrary, he fought the urge to step back. He forced a smile. "I am a doctor, that's right. Everyone sit there, don't move, we can talk slowly."

"Doctor, we know this disease is dirty. You coming to treat us... how could we dare touch you." A woman who looked relatively clean slowly sat up, pulling her open clothes shut. Adjusting her garment, she said, "Sisters, sit properly, let the doctor examine us."

Hearing this, Chen Ke immediately felt respect for this woman. Her attitude gave Chen Ke, the makeshift doctor, a sense of security. The other women obediently sat up straight.

"Big sister, please ask for me, who is having their first outbreak? Ask those who are having their first outbreak to raise their hands," Chen Ke asked.

The woman spoke a few sentences in the southern dialect. Of the seven women in the room, five raised their hands. The woman speaking to Chen Ke did not. Chen Ke took out five test tubes and cotton swabs, collecting a sufficient amount of pus from each.

With a glimmer of hope, Chen Ke asked the woman who had been speaking to him, "Big sister, is this your first time getting sick?"

The woman gently shook her head. Chen Ke's heart tightened. His medicine could only cure primary and secondary syphilis. For those who weren't in the first outbreak, 606 or 914 wouldn't cure them. Only antibiotics like penicillin would work. He hadn't interacted much with this woman, but in this terrifying dungeon of a place, she seemed reasonable and sensible. He really wanted to save her. But reality dashed Chen Ke's hopes.

Just then, a woman couldn't help but ask, "Doctor, do you charge for the treatment?"

Looking at the fearful sores, Chen Ke forced a smile. "I won't charge, you can rest assured." Hearing Chen Ke's words, the women still didn't quite dare to believe it. "Doctor, we've never heard of this disease being curable..." Just as she said this, the first woman interrupted, "Since a doctor is here to treat us, how can you say such things?"

After speaking, the woman slowly knelt on the straw mat. "Doctor, I beg you. Please cure us. I will work like an ox or a horse in this life to repay you." Seeing this, the other women also knelt on the mats one after another. These weren't proper beds; just some broken wooden boards on two benches, covered with a tattered mat. As the women knelt on the "beds," the boards creaked and groaned. Chen Ke looked around the room. In the far corner was a chamber pot; although covered, the smell of urine wafted over. Beside each bed was a broken bowl; some empty, some with a bit of water. The window was tiny and high up, letting in very poor light.

Putting away the test tubes, Chen Ke said, "I will come back next week... in seven days. Take care, everyone. It will definitely get better then." After speaking, he walked to the door and knocked on the panel. "Open the door, I'm coming out."

It felt like a long wait; Chen Ke even worried that no one would ever open the door for him again. He felt the urge to roar at the people outside to let him leave this hellish place immediately. Finally, there were footsteps, the sound of the lock, and the door opened. Light poured in through the crack. Chen Ke rushed out of the room in three steps, charging into the brightness. Compared to the dark room behind him that was just inches away, the small courtyard that had seemed desolate moments ago now looked like a bright and tranquil paradise. A moment later, the sound of the door closing and the lock clicking came from behind him. Hearing these sounds, Chen Ke felt only a wave of relief. That hell was finally sealed away.

At that moment, a sharp cry came from inside the room, "Doctor, I'll wait for you to cure me. I beg you." Chen Ke could distinguish that it was the voice of the woman who had been speaking to him. As soon as her voice fell, the sound of banging on the door panel came from the room, followed by the weeping and begging of the other women.

The brothel owner started cursing angrily. His voice was fast and shrill, and Chen Ke couldn't understand a word. The women ignored the owner and continued begging for something. It was all in southern dialects Chen Ke didn't understand, but he knew what they meant.

"Let's go out first," Wu Xingchen said to Chen Ke. Ignoring Chen Ke's response, Wu Xingchen frowned and walked quickly out of the yard. clearly, the women's voices were upsetting him, and he wanted to spend as little time in this place as possible.

Chen Ke followed Wu Xingchen quickly out of the courtyard. Amidst the owner's angry curses, the women fell silent. Chen Ke's medicine couldn't save that sensible woman. He knew very well he wouldn't even let the owner administer his drug to the two tertiary patients. Even if they used the drug, it wouldn't have any effect. To increase the success rate of his drug and let Wu Xingchen witness the miraculous effect with his own eyes, Chen Ke would explain to Wu Xingchen beforehand that those two couldn't be saved.

Looking at the owner's attitude, he wouldn't let the primary and secondary patients live separately. Chen Ke had even decided that to avoid trouble, he would inject the tertiary patients, including that sensible woman, with saline solution. If he didn't inject those two women in a room full of patients, they would fight him desperately. And there was no need to waste precious medicine on people it couldn't help.

In this period, it was absolutely impossible for Chen Ke to develop drugs like penicillin. Only when he had a base area would he set up a pharmaceutical factory to produce penicillin. Even in the best-case scenario, that would be three years from now. That sensible woman wouldn't last that long. This era wouldn't give her the chance to live until the medicine that could save her life appeared.

That woman was doomed.

Reflecting on his cold calculations and the result derived from seeking truth from facts, Chen Ke found he had no emotions about it. This was the reality of this era; the lives of the weak were so fragile. If getting a "flower and willow disease" made it hard to generate sympathy, there were countless more innocent people also taking their last breaths in this cruel era, dying unnatural deaths.

Wu Xingchen and Chen Ke didn't stop. Walking out of the alley, the closer they got to the busy market, the louder the human voices became. Stepping out of the alley, the bustling main street suddenly unfolded before their eyes. It was evening, everyone was rushing home, and the cries of hawkers by the roadside were much louder. The whole street displayed a kind of vitality. Seeing this, Wu Xingchen let out a long breath, and the oppressive feeling from the small room was greatly relieved. He turned his head and saw Chen Ke staring blankly at the street, two lines of tears streaming down his cheeks. Seeing this, Wu Xingchen frowned. Crying over treating patients? Could it be that Chen Ke hadn't told the truth at all? Wu Xingchen couldn't help but become suspicious, and his gaze toward Chen Ke became much more cautious.

Wu Xingchen didn't follow Chen Ke back to the workshop but took his leave halfway. When Chen Ke returned to the workshop, there was a pile of cages in the yard containing a bunch of fluffy, cute rabbits.

Having retrieved the pus, the next step was to inject a little into the rabbits' testicles. Soon, an unhealing sore appeared at the injection site. These rabbits were the first batch of test subjects. Chen Ke didn't make 606; instead, he chose 914 first. 914 was slightly less effective than 606, but much safer.

Unfortunately, the first batch of rabbits receiving treatment were all poisoned to death. Looking at the pile of stiff corpses, no one dared to make a sound. Chen Ke waved his hand at the pile of rabbit bodies. The "cremator" had been built long ago. The rabbit corpses were burned to charcoal, rendering them inedible, before the crushed remains were thrown into the garbage heap. The bamboo cages the sick rabbits had lived in were burned as well. These two things were either toxic or full of bacteria and had to be completely destroyed. Especially the rabbit corpses—if someone picked them up and ate them, it could likely cost human lives.

The second batch of medicine had no effect. Chen Ke reused the waste, injecting this batch of rabbits with the third batch of medicine. Half of the furry little things began to recover, while half died. Chen Ke paid for another batch of rabbits and retested the third batch of medicine. Still, 10% of the rabbits died.

"This medicine should be good enough, right?" Chen Ke heard Du Zhenghui whisper outside the room.

"One out of ten people dying? You call that good enough? I wouldn't let He Zudao use this medicine," Qi Huishen scolded in a low voice.

"But it's been so long. I thought it would be done in a day or two," Du Zhenghui said with some dissatisfaction. The young men had been helping these days and were already familiar with the tasks they could handle. Under Chen Ke's simple instruction, their chemistry knowledge had advanced by leaps and bounds. An amateur like Du Zhenghui inevitably felt slack. Chen Ke could understand this feeling; in history, many new drugs in Europe and America were rushed out like this and then sold in China, poisoning quite a few Chinese people to death.

What puzzled Chen Ke was that Du Zhenghui thought these drugs were usable. Didn't he consider that if one-tenth of the rabbits died, how many people would die if used on humans? What was human life to Du Zhenghui? Just hearing these words, he shouldn't think about entering the core of the new political party anymore.

The fourth batch of drugs was quite good; the rabbits not only survived but recovered quickly. This was the first time this had happened. Chen Ke found a reason to send the other young men out to work, then called the few core members into the room and told them the good news.

You Gou said nothing, just gratifiedly wrote the word "Success" heavily in her notebook. Seeing You Gou's reaction, Qi Huishen rubbed his bloodshot eyes and asked joyfully, "Wenqing, is it a success?"

"Next, inject five times the dose," Chen Ke said calmly.

"Five times? You want to poison them to death!" Qi Huishen interjected.

"If five times the dose doesn't kill the rabbits, then the medicine can be considered barely successful. The medicine itself is toxic; we can't be irresponsible to the patients," Chen Ke replied.

"The rabbits are already cured and didn't die. As long as we control the dosage, I think..." Qi Huishen couldn't help but want to argue.

Chen Ke's deep and powerful voice interrupted Qi Huishen, "Uphold the spirit of revolutionary humanitarianism."

At this moment, no other words could so powerfully express Chen Ke's feelings. Recalling everything he saw at the syphilis-infected prostitutes' place a few days ago, Chen Ke continued, "Revolutionary humanitarianism means you have to be responsible to the people."

After Chen Ke finished, Qi Huishen's face became grave. He pressed his lips together, reflecting on this sentence. A moment later, Qi Huishen repeated in a low voice, "Revolutionary humanitarianism."

"Wenqing, last time you said revolution is not a dinner party..." Qi Huishen asked.

"Towards the enemy, revolution is naturally not a dinner party. But the revolution itself must stress humanitarianism. If not to save the country and the people, why make a revolution?" There was a hidden anger in Chen Ke's voice. This wasn't directed at Qi Huishen, but after hearing everyone's discussions countless times these past days, Chen Ke clearly felt that what the young people were passionate about was the revolution, just like this medicine that could cure syphilis. As long as it worked, they could accept it. Even if side effects flared up and killed someone, it was someone else dying. This mindset made Chen Ke quite dissatisfied. Everyone is human; what gives you the right to joke with others' lives?

Thinking of those women tortured by syphilis until they were better off dead, and their begging pleas, Chen Ke felt a palpitation in his heart. Constrained by the revolutionary situation, Chen Ke couldn't develop penicillin, so some people couldn't be saved—there was no helping that. But within the scope his medicine could control, Chen Ke didn't want any irresponsible things to happen.

"China is already sick. We want revolution, which is very much like being a doctor. You bring out the medicine, only caring if it has an effect, and whether the patient lives or dies afterwards is up to fate? Revolution is about killing germs, yes. But the revolution is to save people, not to destroy." By this point, Chen Ke's voice had become very stern. Suddenly, two hands simultaneously pressed on Chen Ke's shoulders. Chen Ke turned to look; Hua Xiongmao and You Gou each had a hand on his shoulder. Chen Ke understood their meaning. Sighing, he returned to the lab bench and picked up the syringe. Everyone in the room who had heard Chen Ke's venting speech looked at him. For a moment, no one spoke.

With five times the dose, half the rabbits didn't survive. Under this blow, no one dared to make a sound.

Chen Ke rubbed his temples, closing his eyes to think. Back then, Ehrlich selected from hundreds of samples. Chen Ke's goal was clear: to produce that specific product. It was impossible to synthesize the wrong drug. The reasons for the previous failures were all control issues in the reaction. As those problems were solved one by one, the efficacy had reached this level. Chen Ke thought it over repeatedly but couldn't figure out where the problem lay.

"Could it be that the purity isn't high enough?" You Gou suddenly asked.

Chen Ke wasn't sure about this, or rather, this was the hardest thing for him to handle. Without an advanced chemical industry, it was very difficult to raise the purity of chemical products. The chemistry industry looks like countless equations, but in reality, equations aren't the most important thing. In the chemical industry, "empirical parameters" are paramount. Many things don't have a reasonable explanation even in the 21st century, but empirical parameters play a huge role in them.

After a silence, Chen Ke finally said, "Let's purify the reagent one more time."

This was arduous work, but also very effective work. After just one round of purification, the final product could effectively cure syphilis and wasn't fatal to rabbits even at five times the dosage. When the second round of purification and synthesis was completed, Chen Ke hadn't slept for a full 40 hours. Although the rabbits that received the large dose injection were sickly, they had at least survived. Chen Ke sat down on the reclining chair and knew nothing more.