Surgery Godfather-Chapter 1986 - 1347: Applying for Academician Status (2)

"I understand, and I appreciate the trust and nurturing of the school." His response was as calm as ever, "I will cooperate with the relevant work. But my focus will still be on the current research and clinical issues."

For him, the Nobel Prize is international academic recognition of his theoretical value; being an academician is perhaps a summary and positioning by the domestic system of his contributions. Both are important, but neither will change what he does every day: analyzing data, considering cases, advancing research, and guiding the team.

He shared this news with Xiao Su. Xiao Su was feeding their one-year-old son, Xiao Shu, and paused with the spoon, blinking her eyes, "Academician? That’s great. Anyway, it’s something you deserve."

Yang Ping smiled.

Xiao Shu banged on the tray with an "ah ah," spilling some rice cereal. Xiao Su hurriedly wiped it up, muttering, "Oh... will there be social events during this time..."

She knew that her husband disliked social engagements the most.

Yang Ping chuckled, his wife’s concerns always so pragmatic yet warm. He walked over, took the bowl and spoon from Xiao Su’s hand, "I’ll feed him. Don’t think too much, life goes on as usual, and Daddy will handle everything, my life goes on as usual."

The team sent by Nandu Medical University quickly settled into Sanbo Research Institute. Under the coordination of Tang Shun and Song Zimo, they began thoroughly and meticulously organizing all the materials from Yang Ping’s medical career: educational background, work experience, every paper published, every patent obtained, every research project led, important academic reports, international cooperation records, list of students mentored, domestic and international awards received, focusing on the official documents and evaluations of his two Nobel Prizes... even including detailed medical records and societal impact analysis of typical cured cases like Sisi.

This is a massive and tedious project. Tang Shun and Song Zimo had to devote substantial energy to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and highlights of the materials. Zhang Lin was responsible for handling the increasing media inquiries about the matter, consistently deflecting them with "school-level matters, not convenient to comment" to avoid premature hype.

Meanwhile, some "informal" communications and exchanges began to increase. Certain academicians from the Division of Life Sciences and Medicine and the Division of Medicine and Health, either through old connections at Nandu Medical University or through academic cooperation networks, began contacting and interacting with Yang Ping under various pretexts, which essentially carried an "assessment" intent. Yang Ping was well aware of this but did not deliberately cater to it, mainly focusing on academic discussions. His profound scholarship, clear thinking, and deep insights into frontier issues often naturally impressed the other party during conversations.

Once, during a video exchange, a seasoned academician known for strictness sharply raised issues about the standardization and risk control of the systemic regulation theory in clinical applications. Yang Ping did not evade it and elaborated on the "certification-training-monitoring-feedback" system they were constructing, sharing the complete data and thoughts on the Heidelberg "Lina" case regarding the setbacks faced, adjustments made, and progress achieved in the treatment process.

"Scientific exploration inevitably accompanies the unknown and risks," Yang Ping said calmly on the screen, "The key is not to eliminate all risks but to establish a mechanism for quickly identifying, honestly facing, scientifically analyzing, and effectively responding to risks. Our open publication of failed cases and establishment of a data-sharing platform are precisely for this purpose."

The old academician listened, remaining silent for a long time, eventually nodding slowly, "Not shying away from failure, daring to share the twists and turns, that’s the real attitude for doing science, very good."

This positive feedback, accumulated through various channels to Nandu Medical University and higher levels, further strengthened the confidence of all parties.

However, just as the application process was proceeding in an orderly manner, a faint yet clearly malicious undercurrent began to sprout in a few online corners.

Initially, in a forum that went by the name of "academic fraud busters," which in reality was filled with various conspiracy theories and emotional venting, there appeared an anonymous lengthy post. The post had a sensational headline: "The Shadow Under the Nobel Halo: The Capital Game and Academic Packaging Behind the ’Youngest Academician Candidate’ Yang Ping."

The post was a hodgepodge of seemingly plausible but false information. It first "questioned" the "falsifiability" of systemic regulation theory, citing outdated viewpoints long refuted by mainstream academia. Then, it turned to target Yang Ping’s team’s collaboration with commercial capital, especially its deep ties with Ruixing Medical, Anning Insurance, and Giant Group. The post deliberately blurred the line between "academic cooperation" and "capital control," suggesting that Yang Ping’s scientific achievements and Nobel Prize were "products packaged by capital with vast investments," aimed at "monopolizing the future medical market and reaping huge profits."

More maliciously, the post dredged up old news of the "Zhu Cheng incident" at the Provincial People’s Hospital, insinuating that Yang Ping’s team "might also have similar issues," just "protected by larger capital and power."

Finally, the post sarcastically "called for": "In major events involving the purity of national academia like the application for academicians, relevant departments should conduct thorough investigations, be vigilant against academic stars being hijacked by capital, and prevent the Nobel Prize from becoming a tool for certain interest groups." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

This post, penned with an experienced hand adept at inciting emotions, was quickly picked up by several self-media accounts specializing in controversial content. After being edited and repackaged with even more incendiary titles, it began circulating on some short video platforms and niche social circles.

Although the spread was limited and far from forming a public opinion storm, its malicious intent and precise timing alerted Nandu Medical University and Sanbo Research Institute from the start.

"Same old trick," Zhang Lin said, eyes on the screen, sneering, "First slap on the ’capital’ label, then pull the ’academic purity’ string, and finally hint at a ’dark underbelly.’ It’s clear that when upfront challenges on theory don’t work, they’ve started resorting to dirt-throwing tactics."

Tang Shun looked serious, "This time it’s different. The timing is chosen during the sensitive period of the academician application—clearly aimed at creating noise and interfering with the review. Even if they can’t stop it, they want to disgust people and plant seeds of stigmatization. Plus, bringing up Director Zhu’s old story... that method feels familiar."

After reading the screenshot contents, Yang Ping showed no anger, only a cold understanding on his face. "It seems that some people are still unwilling to give up. Or maybe, the interests we’re touching are deeper and more stubborn than imagined."

Huang Jiacai’s response was swift and professional. Ruixing Medical’s legal and public relations teams immediately activated, preparing legal materials to pursue false statements and contacting reputable science and finance media to positively articulate the internationally common model and positive significance of industry-university-research cooperation and capital aiding technological innovation, to counter negative narratives.

Nandu Medical University also took the matter very seriously. Professor Su personally instructed that a special Chapter should be added to the application materials, clearly explaining the knowledge protection, benefit distribution principles, and social benefits reflection during the technological achievement transformation of Yang Ping’s team to rebut "capital control theories" with facts. Meanwhile, the school’s Propaganda Department prepared background materials introducing Yang Ping’s consistent low-profile, focus on research, and his team’s specific examples of assisting poor patients and sharing research results since his studies and throughout his career.

Soon, top official media also published articles criticizing such conspiracy theories and slander, asserting that thorough investigations must be conducted to bring justice to those involved.

This time, Yang Ping made no response. He no longer wanted to waste even a bit of time on this matter.