Chapter 66: Heisenberg's Entry into the Chemical World (5000 words) (Page 1/2)
(Seeing a reader ask in the previous chapter's comments, I forgot to explain. It was indeed for convenience that I placed characters from different regions in various movies and TV series on the same map.
Basically, in the movies and TV series, except for House who is in Princeton, the others have no connection to this place.
The author forcibly made them intersect here.
Also, regarding the issue of brain development, because this is fanfiction, I did not verify whether this statement is scientifically accurate or not.
Enhancing neural connections is indeed quite interesting, and I will consider it when improving NZT later.)
Walter White is an ordinary person, so ordinary that he couldn't be more ordinary.
Walter was originally a top chemistry student at Caltech and participated in Nobel Prize-winning research, but gave up becoming a research chemist to live a quiet life.
He is currently a chemistry teacher at J.P. Wynne High School, but unfortunately, he has been diagnosed with stage 3A lung cancer.
This was all the information Eddie learned from David.
He could tell why David was looking for Walter; it was simply for the improvement of NZT mentioned earlier.
But like Finch back then, he was very confused about this.
There are many brilliant chemists in the world, why does it have to be Walter?
Could it be that terminally ill patients get an intelligence bonus?
But after experiencing this day, Eddie learned not to question things faster than Finch.
Because he understood that every step David took had a deeper meaning.
This Walter must have other extraordinary qualities.
But when he saw Walter, who seemed unremarkable and even a bit meek in an ordinary suburban home, a look of disappointment involuntarily appeared in his eyes.
Because in his eyes, Walter was a pushover who was bossed around by his wife and disrespected by his teenage son.
He had absolutely no authority in the family.
Could such a man bear the important task of improving NZT? He highly doubted it.
Seeing the disappointment on Eddie's face, Walter, who opened the door, was quite puzzled.
While dealing with his wife Skyler inside who was demanding he pay bills, he asked:
"Can I help you?"
David put on a friendly smile:
"Of course, we're looking for you, Walter. Is it convenient to talk?"
Facing the friendliness shown by David, Walter looked troubled:
"Sorry, it's already late.
Why don't you just state your purpose? I don't have much time to chat."
David smiled, pulled out a wad of bills worth $1,000 from his pocket, and handed it over:
"Don't worry, this is paid consultation, charged by the hour."
Eddie watched this familiar scene, his eye twitching slightly.
No one is willing to resist the temptation of money, at least Eddie and Walter, who are burdened with debt, would not refuse this windfall.
So the next moment, even though Walter's suspicions deepened, for the sake of the money, he still invited the two into his home and made them instant coffee.
For Walter, he was the sole breadwinner of the family, and this money could solve his urgent needs, so he was willing to take some time to listen to what these two people had to say.
But he quickly regretted it.
Because the young man sitting across from him took out a transparent pill and placed it on the table.
Walter, who had worked in the field of chemistry for many years, immediately realized what this thing was.
Highly addictive drug!
Having lived a conventional life for so many years, he was unwilling to get involved with anything related to narcotics.
His face immediately changed, and he stood up to ask the two to leave.
But upon hearing the young man's next sentence, he forcibly suppressed the urge to throw them out.
Because what the young man said was:
"I'll give you two million dollars, and you improve this NZT-48, preferably to the point where it can be mass-produced."
Two million dollars! This was two million dollars!
Walter's breathing suddenly hitched.
God help him, he had never seen so much money in his life.
And the other party's request was to improve this tiny pill?
Walter slowly sat back down on the sofa, two thoughts constantly fighting in his mind.
He was now suffering from stage 3A lung cancer and was destined not to live much longer. According to his oncologist, he could last at most eighteen months to two years without aggressive treatment.
And his wife Skyler was already pregnant with their daughter Holly.
If he died, his wife, who hadn't worked for years, would inevitably be unable to adapt to supporting the family alone.
His son Walt Jr. and daughter would also suffer due to lack of money.
But how could he, an ordinary high school teacher making $43,000 a year, save up a substantial nest egg for his children?
Not leaving them with medical debt would be a blessing.
So this sum of money became incredibly important in his eyes.
In the face of this money, the voice of his conscience telling him not to do illegal things gradually weakened.
"Where's the money? I need to see the money first."
When Walter spoke again, his voice was incredibly hoarse, as if he had stayed up for several nights.
David smiled; he understood that Walter had agreed.
Then David asked for Walter's bank account number, and within a few minutes, two million dollars were directly deposited!
Walter widened his eyes and looked at the balance on his online banking app, counting it over and over in disbelief.
Finally, he confirmed that he wasn't mistaken; the guy opposite him had really transferred two million dollars directly to his account.
There was no routine of partial payment or paying according to research progress; it was directly transferred in full!
This generous method immediately shocked Walter speechless.
At the same time, he also understood that this was a form of invisible threat. The other party dared to transfer the full amount so generously, naturally not fearing that he would run away with the money.
According to the other party's way of operating, if he ran away, his fate would likely be very unpleasant.
Then how important was this little pill in front of him, that it was worth the other party going to such great lengths?
Walter vaguely realized that this little pill in front of him was probably of extraordinary significance.
"Want to know what it is? Why don't you try it yourself and find out?"
David's voice sounded at the right time, tempting Walter like a devil's whisper.
Walter hesitantly reached out and took the transparent little pill placed on the table into his hand.
Out of caution, he did not swallow it; instead, he held it up to the light and observed it carefully.
This was a crystal-clear tablet. Just by looking at the appearance, it was impossible to tell what material it was made of, and it was difficult to analyze its components.
Moreover, such a small pill would inevitably be used up after only a few experiments.
Just as Walter was about to say that it would be difficult to reverse-engineer the formula with so little.
David seemed to know what he was thinking and took out a bag containing about two hundred transparent pills from his jacket pocket.
"Are these enough for you to reverse-engineer the formula?"
Walter looked at the NZT on the table, which seemed to be given freely, and suddenly asked:
"What exactly do these drugs do?
At least tell me its basic properties.
I don't want to experience the effects of this drug myself without knowing what it does."
As if knowing that Walter would ask this sooner or later, David pointed to Eddie with almost no hesitation and said:
"Do you see him? What do you think he does for a living?"
Walter looked Eddie up and down. Aside from his recently groomed appearance, Eddie was unremarkable all over.
A cheap jacket, faded jeans, and worn-out sneakers.
Everything showed that he was struggling financially.
"Unemployed? Day laborer? Delivery driver?"
Walter listed three possibilities, all of which were denied by David.
"No, he is a writer, a writer who couldn't even write a single word yesterday.
However, now..."
David handed his phone to Eddie.
Eddie understood that this meant he was supposed to demonstrate.
He took the phone and his fingers flew across the screen, quickly typing. In no time, he wrote a two-thousand-word short story.
Then Eddie turned the phone around and handed it to Walter:
"I just wrote a short story based on you as the protagonist. If there are any similarities to real life, please don't be offended."
Walter took the phone with a mix of belief and doubt.
In his heart, how could this Eddie be a writer?
In his imagination, writers were refined people wearing designer glasses, with a cup of artisan coffee by their side.
How could it be a struggling... guy like Eddie?
But as soon as he saw the first sentence of the story, his mind was immediately drawn in.
Since it was an impromptu story based on Walter as the protagonist, the sense of immersion for Walter was quite high.
The general content was that Walter concealed the fact that he had cancer, and when he sought advice from his brother-in-law Hank at the DEA, he happened to join them on a ride-along to bust a major meth lab.
As a result, someone jumped out of a window at the back of the building. This person was his former student Jesse Pinkman.
And the story abruptly ended there.
Walter, craving more, kept scrolling down, but found no additional content.
The way it ended so abruptly made him feel like a thousand ants were crawling in his heart, itching unbearably.
"That's it?"
After asking this question, Walter suddenly realized how the person sitting in front of him could be a struggling writer; he was clearly a highly skilled storyteller!
The sense of suspense and immersion was simply perfect.
Just two thousand words hooked him, making him want to keep reading.
How could this level of skill be something a writer who couldn't produce anything could achieve?
This doesn't make sense!
Facing Walter's inquiry, Eddie smiled without speaking.
He developed the plot based on Walter's current situation and a photo in a frame showing Walter with Hank Schrader, a DEA agent.
The only fictional part was the appearance of that "Jesse Pinkman."
But a good story always needs to leave some coincidental suspense, doesn't it?
When he saw Walter's expression, he knew his impromptu creation was very successful.
Perhaps in the future, he could truly use Walter as the prototype to create a bestselling novel, thereby greatly increasing his fame and gaining higher approval ratings for his campaign.
Just as Eddie was lost in thought about future plans, David pushed the pills on the table towards Walter.
"Do you understand? He took this pill, which is why he went from a struggling writer to someone capable of writing compelling fiction.
So even though this medicine has side effects, I still recommend you take it.
It can awaken your dormant cognitive abilities, allowing you to efficiently access everything in your mind.
This will be invaluable to you in reverse engineering and improving the formula."
Hearing this, Walter's pupils suddenly contracted.
In his mind, David's words were automatically translated into simple terms.
This medicine can enhance human cognition, turning the brain into something like a supercomputer!
Has this kind of medicine, which only existed in theory, really been created?
And is it in circulation?
But Walter deeply understood that everything has its price.
Being able to enhance cognition means its side effects will be very severe.
Addiction is probably only the mildest among them.
Walter tried to find out the side effects of the medicine by observing Eddie's expression.
But he found nothing.
He could only look at David, who had remained calm. He knew this young man knew all the answers, but wouldn't necessarily tell him.
"Before I take it, can you tell me what its side effects are?"
To his surprise, David did not refuse to answer; instead, he nodded and began to explain.
"Of course, we are partners, you don't have to worry that I will hide anything from you.
The effect of this medicine varies from person to person. In the NZT-1 trials, many people could only use NZT once.
If they used it again, they would immediately hemorrhage and die on the spot.
I think you've also noticed that the NZT we currently have is already the 48th generation product.
Compared to the first generation, its adaptability has greatly improved, and correspondingly, its potency has also been reduced.
It releases different enhancement factors for different people.
Therefore, although the consequence of continuous use without maintenance can also be death, this timeline has been greatly extended.
As long as you don't suddenly stop taking the medicine, death can be avoided.
However, some side effects that are slightly less severe than death will still occur.
Including but not limited to symptoms such as blackouts, dizziness and nausea, rapid aging, hallucinations, muscle atrophy, and severe fatigue.
But compared to the achievements you can accomplish by using it, isn't it all worth it?"
After saying this long explanation, David picked up the instant coffee on the table and took a sip.
Hmm, terrible coffee.
Far worse than what Cameron makes.
Walter, sitting opposite him, had long been silently shocked by these words.
He only understood one thing from David's long speech.
This medicine used living people as test subjects.
This simply violated ethics!
This meant that even if he were to improve the medicine later, the test subjects would only be human beings!
For a moment, the remaining moral principles in Walter's heart clashed with financial desperation again.
Walter, finding it difficult to decide, gritted his teeth and swallowed the transparent pill in his hand.
He needed a mind that could make decisions!
But after swallowing the pill, he didn't feel any strange sensation, as if he had just swallowed water instead of NZT-48.
Walter asked incredulously:
"Are... are you lying to me?"
David smiled. For someone like Walter, who only took the medicine after such internal struggle,
waiting for 30 seconds was agony.
But in reality, 30 seconds passed in an instant.
As expected, the restless Walter slowly noticed the changes.
His foggy brain had never been as clear as it was at this moment.
He clearly knew what he wanted, what he needed to do, and what he was capable of.
He also understood David's purpose in constantly hinting for him to take the medicine.
This feeling now was as if he had become omniscient, possessing total clarity.
Numerous problems were no longer insurmountable to the current Walter.
He had ten thousand ways to handle those seemingly unpayable bills without touching the two million dollars.
And all of this was the change brought about by this magical little pill!
Walter glanced at his wife Skyler, who was still on the phone trying to extend payment deadlines, then turned back to look at David and said:
"I agree, but this matter cannot be revealed to my wife or son at all.
What we discussed today was only about life insurance."
David nodded:
"Naturally. In addition, I need you to report your progress to me every week. Any personnel you want to recruit into the laboratory must be approved by me.
Also, the distribution and testing of the medicine must be handled by me. Not a single pill is allowed to be privately released onto the market.
If there is, then you should prepare your own obituary in advance."
At this moment, Walter's face showed no fear.
After the boost from NZT, he understood all the implications involved.
Since David could possess NZT and knew so much inside information, there must be significant backing behind him.
He figured he was recruited probably because someone like him wouldn't easily attract attention.
He estimated that David should have recruited many people like him across the country.
What Walter had imagined was precisely the result David had intentionally guided.
However, since the purpose of coming here had been achieved, it was time to leave.
David stood up and, as he walked out the door, deliberately said loudly:
"Mr. White, please consider it carefully. Everyone needs life insurance. Choosing our company's accidental death policy will give your family the most generous benefits."
Walter also cooperatively said:
"Thank you, I will give it serious consideration."
Bang!
As the door closed, Eddie, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask:
"Is it really okay to give him so much NZT? I think giving him one pill at a time would be better.
That way we can monitor his progress and also prevent him from abusing the medicine."
David glanced at Eddie with a knowing look:
"Think about the first sentence I said to you, and you'll understand that he can't be omniscient and omnipotent.
When he sees that we can easily produce 2 million dollars, a large bag of NZT-48, and give it to him so casually,
what do you think his enhanced brain will conclude?"
After the hint, Eddie's eyes lit up, and he suddenly understood.
His method was good, but ultimately it would seem petty and controlling.
As for David's method...
"He will think that we have massive resources and power, and don't care about these things at all, and finding him is just one option among many.
Moreover, it simultaneously gives him an inflated impression of our capabilities, and combined with your threat, it makes him afraid to betray us easily.
Why didn't I think of this? I apologize."
"It's okay. Read more, observe more. Don't waste that enhanced brain of yours.
By the way, the impromptu story you wrote just now was good. Keep developing it.
A desperate man under immense family pressure meets the criminal underworld.
The collision between morality and necessity will definitely produce compelling drama.
You can use this as a prototype for your writing, and then use the popularity of this book to make the public focus on the harm of drugs to society.
Use this as your campaign platform to gain the support of ordinary people.
Alright, go do what you need to do. Don't waste the time that NZT is active on trivial things like hanging around bars.
Since you know NZT has side effects, you should use this time wisely."
After speaking, David waved at Eddie in farewell.
He casually hailed a cab on the road, preparing to return to the Continental Hotel.
As soon as he got into the car, he encountered a familiar face again.
"Travis, it's you again."
The cab driver Travis's face was ashen. To avoid picking up David again, he had specifically come to the outskirts of Princeton to pick up fares, but he still couldn't escape this cursed fate!
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