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Chapter 16: 16

“The fifth floor here is the bio lab . ”

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After two hours, Chen Chen and Xia Yin followed a man into a building called Mongan Pharmaceutical Company .

The man looked around forty . He was dressed in a tailored suit and leather shoes, and had a rather charming appearance . Only, the Mediterranean Sea shaped bald patch on his forehead had completely shattered his charisma .

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“The laboratory is on the fifth floor of the building . It was originally the laboratory of our company’s internal department but the research was suspended recently . Our chairman was worried the equipment will have problems if left idle for too long, hence the decision to rent it out . ”

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Mr . Mediterranean continued explaining while leading the two out of the elevator, “After coming out from the elevator, the basic lab will be on your left side and the machine room on your right . This area is the dirty area1, you can enter after changing into slippers . ”

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Chen Chen put on the disposable slippers and entered the basic lab . He saw four worktables in the lab with common lab tools laid on them .

“Can you see the safety door at the back? That’s the entrance to the GMP Laboratory . ”

Mr . Mediterranean pointed at the blue alloy door in front . “Would you two like to head inside to take a look? I have the keys with me but the procedure can be a bit tedious though . ”

“Sure, of course . ” Chen Chen nodded . “This is what we came here for . ”

“Very well, come with me . ”

Mr . Mediterranean retrieved an IC card and swiped open the large alloy door . What was revealed behind the door was a narrow corridor . There was a door right in front and another door on the left side .

“The buffer corridor is on the left . There are transferring windows inside that are connected to every lab . Remember to use the transferring window when bringing things into the lab . ”

Mr . Mediterranean pushed open the door in front as he spoke, “And this is the changing room, each level is separated by a negative pressure device . Males take the left door and females take the front door into the second section . We’ll wait for you in the third section . ”

The final statement was directed at Xia Yin .

Xia Yin nodded . Chen Chen and Mr . Mediterranean first washed their hands in the sink and then put on a new set of disposable slippers .

After they got rid of the dust on their body, the two of them walked into the second section .

“We have different regulations from regular GMP labs here . You’ll have to put on a protective isolation suit . That way, you won’t need to change your clothes . Pretty convenient right?”

“Protective? Positive pressure protection suit?”

Chen Chen raised an eyebrow .

“Heh, you know a lot . That’s a top student of Jiao Tong University for you . ”

Mr . Mediterranean flicked his thumb and took off his jacket and pants . He then put on a large white coat which was already prepared in the room . After that, he sanitized his hands with alcohol disinfectant before putting on disposable gloves .

Chen Chen followed suit . After that, the two of them entered the third shift room .

There were several protective suits laid out in the third shift room . They were the complete self-containing type protective suit .

Chen Chen lifted one of them to take a look before asking, “These protective suits are usually used for hazardous microorganisms, is that right?”

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“Uh, I think so . I don’t have details about what exactly the company is working on . I just handle the business side of things . ”

Mr . Mediterranean chuckled . “But you won’t have to worry, they have been sanitized thoroughly . There’s nothing inside them . ”

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Chen Chen nodded and did not pursue further .

After the two of them put on their protective suits, Xia Yin, clad in a large white coat, walked out from the door on the side . The changing rooms were separated into different genders to avoid awkward situations .

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After the three of them put on their protective suits, Mr . Mediterranean opened the final door leading to the laboratory .

“After passing through this door, we’ll officially enter the cleanroom area . ”

Mr . Mediterranean explained with familiarity, his voice was filtered through the protective suit and became slightly distorted . “These walls are made of colored steel laminboard . There’s a set of air purifying systems in the lab . It has strict controls over the humidity, temperature, and gas content in the air . The room temperature is set at approximately twenty degrees Celsius, ensuring the air is fresh and uncontaminated . ”

The two of them looked down the corridor . There was an incandescent lamp overhead every five meters, the light emitted was bright but not blinding . The walls were entirely wrapped in alloy, reminiscent of futuristic sci-fi .

The floor in the laboratory was painted light blue . It was very straightforward and not a speck of dust could be seen . It served to lighten the heavy mood in the laboratory .

“The first room up the corridor is the quality control room . The cleanness level is class ten thousand . It’s well equipped with quality control instruments for use . ”

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Mr . Mediterranean continued . “The second, third, and forth room leading up the hallway are cell culture rooms . Each room is separated into a class one thousand buffer area and a class one hundred operating room located further inside .

“Moving on, there are the preparation room, decontamination room, and storage in the back . You won’t have to worry about the instruments, you should’ve everything you need . ”

Chen Chen nodded before entering the first cell culture room . As promised, he saw the fully complete setup .

“These should be the flow cytometer and PCR machine . There are also the centrifuge and separator over there . ” Xia Yin walked ahead and identified the machines based on what she knew .

Chen Chen walked to a PCR machine and opened it to inspect it .

Even though Chen Chen had never conducted GMP grade experiments, he had already figured out how to use these devices from reading the manual . He was just not very familiar with them yet .

Chen Chen continued inspecting several devices . After around fifteen minutes, Chen Chen nodded to himself before gesturing toward Mr . Mediterranean . “Give us a better discount . ”

“It’s already very cheap . I have already lowered the price to five renminbi per square meter, seeing that you two are students . I really cannot go any lower than that . ” Mr . Mediterranean waved his hands helplessly .

“Alright . ” Chen Chen nodded toward Xia Yin . As far as GMP laboratories go, this was a fair price .

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“Alright, after you two have finished surveying, we can head out to sign the agreement . ” Mr . Mediterranean suddenly became refreshed .

“We’re already done, let’s go . ”

Chen Chen took the lead and headed outside . After going through the three steps procedure, the three of them walked out of the laboratory and began to look at the prepared agreement .

The agreement Mr . Mediterranean had prepared was seven to eight pages long and contained hundreds of clauses . This was a department that Xia Yin was not familiar with . Chen Chen took a look at them . Even though he was not very informed on these matters, he managed to ask all the right questions . Even Mr . Mediterranean had a difficult time dealing with him .

Finally, the agreement was finalized after dozens of amendments were made .

The general detail of the agreement was that Xia Yin would rent the GMP laboratory located on the fifth floor of the building at the price of five renminbi per square meter per month . The rental period would last three months . However, the rental would not begin from the current date but on the day that winter break started in school .

The entire building was three hundred and fifty square meters, rounded down, the monthly rental was fifty thousand .

After signing the agreement, both parties were delighted . Mr . Mediterranean then happily escorted the two out of the building .

By the time the two of them left the laboratory and returned to school, it was already evening .

“Now that we have rented the laboratory, the rest is up to you, junior . ”

Xia Yin was jumping up and down excitedly along the way here . A lot of her stress was lifted off her shoulders, knowing that there was hope for her postgraduate .

“I can’t do it by myself . I’ll need two assistants . ” Chen Chen asked, “Do you have any suitable candidates?”

“No…” Xia Yin shook her head blankly .

“How about your roommates?”

“I don’t have a roommate . I live by myself,” Xia Yin answered in a hushed tone .

Chen Chen’s eyes bore into Xia Yin .

Xia Yin felt like she was going to be sucked in by his deep gaze, a tinge of panic suddenly rose in her heart .

After a while, Chen Chen turned around . “Then I’ll ask my roommate . ”

“Will there be any more expenses?” Xia Yin’s expression instantly turned sour . “Pretty much all of the money I saved up went toward the rent . There’s really not much left . ”

“No need for money . ” Chen Chen shook his head . “Just providing food, accommodation, and second authorship will do . ”

“Oh, right…”

Xia Yin heaved a sigh of relief . The two of them then exchanged phone numbers and WeChat . They agreed to discuss the experiment procedures tomorrow before going on their own way .

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