Chapter 72

"… Alright, that's it for today's class. Everyone, see you next time!"

After finishing today's lesson, Mr. Vogel glanced around the room and then focused his gaze on John Hunter's face, smiling as he said, "Mr. Hunter, could you please come with me for a moment?"

"Yes, sir."

John inwardly sighed with a bitter smile and quickly stood up to follow.

Behind them, the other students watched John's back with envious eyes, including his good friends Pick and Luther. John's performance in class today was truly outstanding. Although they didn't understand much of the content, they could clearly see Professor Vogel's reaction—his surprise and admiration were evident.

"Sir, is there something you need?"

After leaving the classroom, John asked softly.

Without directly answering John's question, Vogel first sized him up, then smiled and asked, "Your full name is John Hunter, right? An American?"

"German-American."

Nodding, John replied very frankly.

Hearing this, Vogel's eyes lit up, and his gaze became even gentler. He nodded with a smile, "Your performance today was excellent, and your understanding of bacteriology is very deep. That's great!"

"Uh, thank you for your praise."

John's habit from his previous life kicked in, and he immediately responded humbly with a smile.

However, before John could guess the meaning behind the other's words, Vogel cut straight to the point, "Mr. Hunter, are you interested in joining my laboratory?"

"What?"

Hearing this sudden invitation, John was instantly stunned.

...

It was already several minutes later when John returned to the classroom with a somewhat complicated expression.

Since it was the last class of the day, most of the students had already left, leaving only Pick and Luther chatting in the classroom. When they saw John enter, they immediately came to his side and stared intently at his eyes.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Feeling uneasy under the gaze of his two friends, John asked cautiously.

After a while, Pick said with a somewhat strange tone, "John, it seems… what you told us about Lister and Koch is true?"

"Of course it's true!"

John's heart stirred, and he quickly nodded, emphasizing, "I've always said that I have a thorough understanding of these two masters' theories. You finally believe me now, right?"

Luther nodded and smiled, "We believe you, completely… John, what did Mr. Vogel call you out for?"

"He just invited me to join his laboratory."

There was no need to hide anything from his two friends, so John immediately recounted what had just happened. At the University of Berlin, it was very common for excellent students to work in their mentors' laboratories, so there was nothing unusual about it.

Sure enough, the two didn't pay much attention to this answer, but Pick still pursed his lips, "John, instead of joining his laboratory, you might as well wait until next year when Mr. Koch takes up his position… Didn't he also show appreciation for you that day? I think you could apply then!"

"Um…"

Hearing Pick's suggestion, John opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. That day at the ball, he and Koch had only a brief encounter, purely to satisfy his own admiration. Such a scientific giant, although polite at the time, might have already forgotten about him.

After some thought, John shook his head, "I will definitely consider it seriously, but for now, I prefer to focus my main efforts on my studies and strive to become a surgeon, as I told Mr. Vogel."

"Hehe, there's no contradiction!"

Shaking his head disapprovingly, Luther smiled, "Didn't Mr. Koch also start his great research while working as a rural doctor? With your energy, handling both aspects shouldn't be too difficult."

"Uh… that's true."

After a moment of hesitation, John laughed.

Speaking of Koch's early career, it was indeed quite dramatic. Originally a rural doctor, he embarked on a scientific path after his wife bought him a microscope as a gift, something unimaginable in the modern world. However, in this era, scientific research was not as technically demanding, and many major discoveries came from chance and opportunity, as well as persistence and effort, much like many medical giants of the time.

Thinking about this, John could only sigh inwardly.

The more he understood about this era, the more he realized how valuable the knowledge in his head was, and how long his future path would be…

...

While John was sighing to himself, Mr. Vogel, who had finished his day's work, was on his way back to his laboratory. However, as he passed an office, he hesitated for a moment before finally knocking on the door.

"Come in!"

A deep voice came from inside the room.

Pushing the door open and walking in, Vogel smiled and greeted, "Ernst, aren't you planning to go home yet?"

"Ha ha, please sit, my old friend."

Seeing it was Vogel, a tall, white man in his forties immediately stood up from his desk, smiling and inviting him, "I want to finish reading this newly issued issue of The Lancet before going home… Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you."

Sitting down slowly, Vogel shook his head.

"Do you need something?"

Seeing that Vogel seemed to have something to say, the tall white man asked with concern.

Hesitating for a moment, Vogel smiled and asked, "Ernst, I remember once when we were chatting, you were very excited about the prospects of surgical techniques… Do you remember that conversation?"

"Of course I do, what's the matter?"

Hearing this, the tall white man became even more curious. As one of Vogel's good friends, he rarely saw him act this way, as if he had encountered something very regrettable.

Blinking, Vogel smiled, "Today, I met a second-year student who said almost the same things you did that day!"

"A second-year student? You can't be joking, right?"

The tall white man laughed.

"Of course not!"

Vogel pursed his lips, "That young man is very interesting. He is well-versed in Pasteur and Koch's research and even went to London to meet Lister… I wanted to invite him to my laboratory, but he refused, saying he wants to become a surgeon!"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the tall white man's interest was immediately piqued, and he quickly asked, "He really said the same things as me?"

"Pretty much!"

After thinking for a moment, Vogel nodded very confidently.

After getting confirmation from his friend again, the tall white man frowned in thought. After a while, he looked up, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, "If that's the case, I must meet this young man…"

...

I'm frustrated, researching takes so much time, and the content in the books is inconsistent, which is annoying.

That's it for today. I'll continue researching tonight and try to make some progress over the next couple of days.

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