From the laboratory building to the dean's office, it's only a few hundred meters, yet Dean Xia walked as if he were trekking through mountains and rivers, feeling tormented inside.

The leader walked at the front, with a brisk pace, clearly having fully recovered from the awkwardness in the laboratory earlier, even feeling joyous for discovering Zhang Lin, such a "youthful talent." He occasionally turned back to chat a few words with Zhang Lin, who followed closely.

"Xiao Zhang, I saw your lecture in the laboratory just now, it was very passionate! And I noticed the audience seemed very interested, which shows your lecture was lively and attractive. Nowadays, there aren't many young people like you who love research and are good at expressing themselves."

At this moment, Zhang Lin's adrenaline probably hadn't fully subsided, and having received such praise from a significant leader in person, he felt dizzy and sweet, truly seeing himself as a young talent.

He completely forgot about Dean Xia frequently winking at him along the way, and his voice was a bit louder than usual, "Leader, you flatter me! It's mainly because the current policies emphasize nurturing us young people, and the platform of our laboratory is extremely good. The research direction led by Professor Yang Ping is very cutting-edge, and my colleagues are all excellent. I've learned a little by exposure, but compared to the outstanding colleagues, I have much more to learn."

Seemingly he was being modest, but he invisibly accepted the leader's recognition and praise.

Dean Xia, following behind, couldn't help but twitch his lips listening to Zhang Lin's modest remarks, cursing in his heart: Bit of knowledge? The bit of knowledge you've got is probably all in your glib tongue! If you're exposed later, let's see how you handle it!

He only hoped to quickly get to the office and find an excuse to send this "pest" Zhang Lin away.

However, the leader's interest seemed much higher than he anticipated.

Entering the spacious dean's office, the leader casually sat on the guest sofa and warmly pointed to the seat next to him, "Xiao Zhang, sit down, don't be shy. Dean Xia, you sit too. After working for a while, it's a good time to have some tea and rest, let's chat casually together."

The secretary soon brewed three cups of hot tea and served them. The tea leaves were high-quality Longjing, with a refreshing fragrance, but Dean Xia took a sip and only felt bitterness filling his mouth.

He was thinking about how to send Zhang Lin away, as this guy usually relies on his mouth and doesn't have real skills, worrying he would ruin the institute's reputation in front of the leader. With so many talents in the institute, the leader just happens to fixate on him. Just picking anyone would be a hundred times better.

The leader blew the tea foam, took a sip, then looked at Zhang Lin with a smile, beginning the formal "assessment."

"Xiao Zhang, I hear from your accent you're not a local. Which school did you graduate from?"

Dean Xia felt tense inside; Zhang Lin's graduating school isn't a top school. He quickly interrupted, "Leader, Xiao Zhang he..."

"Hey, Old Xia, let Xiao Zhang speak for himself." The leader warmly interrupted Dean Xia, still looking encouragingly at Zhang Lin. Having finally captured a youthful talent from the institute, how could he easily let him go? Surely he would have a good in-depth chat, while understanding the institute's progress and the level of talent.

Last time when he visited Sanbo Hospital, he only had a brief meeting with Professor Yang Ping. They didn't discuss any professional issues, just casual tea chat, and the conversation didn't last long, he learned nothing. Talking with Yang Ping, the leader dared not inquire about professional matters, fearing he would violate the principle of "not meddling."

This time, having decided on a secret assessment, he expanded the assessment scope a bit.

Zhang Lin was rather candid, mentioning his alma mater's name, although not a top school, it was a good key university. In the Sanbo Research Institute, where top talents gather, he really wasn't outstanding.

The leader nodded, not expressing any dissatisfaction; instead, he said, "Hmm, a good school, strong foundation. It seems your achievements were mainly gained during later scientific research practice. Rare, very rare indeed!"

Dean Xia: "..."

The leader continued asking, "Xiao Zhang, what's your current research focus? When young, you should focus and be patient."

Research direction? Can't say it's on a whim, that's quite not presentable.

Zhang Lin thought briefly and casually mentioned a direction, "I recently plan to focus on spinal cord injury research."

Manstein and August are currently working on this topic, Zhang Lin can manage to find some connection with them. Usually, mixing in forums and WeChat groups with them gives him access to cutting-edge knowledge in this area.

"Oh... this direction is good. Related to the topic of 'mitochondria transplantation' for spinal cord injury treatment? Are you familiar?" The leader asked concernedly, he's an expert in this field.

"Familiar, familiar!"

Zhang Lin usually encounters much more cutting-edge knowledge; he feels this is already outdated. Now his focus is on new techniques based on spatial orientation theory: Original Cell Repair! Actually, this is also a form of stem cell technology, utilizing the spinal cord's original cells for damage repair.

However, since the leader asked about the mitochondria transplantation topic for spinal cord injury treatment, he followed the lead and answered accordingly, to avoid undermining the leader's face and interest.

The leader continued in-depth on this topic, "Mitochondria transplantation for spinal cord injury treatment, as I recall, internationally, it's only in recent years that there's been breakthrough progress. Tell me in detail about your understanding of this, for example, in the recent issue of Nature, the new type of targeted delivery system. Compared to traditional viral vectors or physical injection, what are its specific advantages?"

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