After testing the food and seeing that the silver needles did not react to any poison, Qiao Jing picked up her chopsticks and took a bite.
However, as soon as the food touched her tongue, she sensed something was off.
It was not very obvious, and had it been anyone else, they would not have noticed, but Qiao Jing, well-versed in medical science and with a keen sense of taste, instantly identified that there was a problem with the dish.
Qiao Jing immediately spit the food out and closed her eyes to recall the strange taste and analyze the combination of drugs.
Soon, she had her answer.
Someone had laced the dish with an abortion drug!
Instantly, Qiao Jing’s expression turned utterly cold.
Without thinking, she knew it was John and Frank who had drugged the dish.
Just because she used pregnancy and drowsiness as excuses to delay the experiment, these two men dared to harm the unborn child in her womb with such ruthless measures—utterly inhumane!
However, she was not so easily manipulated.
If they thought they could control her this way, then they didn’t know Qiao Jing!
Meanwhile, in the surveillance room.
John and Frank sat side by side in front of the monitor, closely watching the situation in the lab.
Seeing that Qiao Jing had only taken one bite and then spat it out, both were quite surprised.
John, somewhat unsure, said, "Seeing her reaction, could she have discovered that we drugged the food?"
Frank was also puzzled, but he spoke with certainty, "Impossible. The drug I had prepared has almost no taste, and it’s an abortion drug, not poison. Silver needles wouldn’t detect it. How could she possibly know there was a drug in the food?"
If just tasting it could reveal there was something wrong with the food, wasn’t Professor Qiao a bit too incredible?
"Look, she’s getting up and heading towards the lab bench."
John, watching the monitor, was completely baffled by Qiao Jing’s actions.
"Maybe she had a sudden realization and went to do the experiment?"
Frank shook his head, dismissing the notion, "Even if she had a revelation, she wouldn’t just run to do an experiment in the middle of eating. I think she must have another purpose."
On one hand, John and Frank were utterly baffled.
On the other hand, Qiao Jing stood in front of the lab bench and quickly concocted a secret formula to neutralize the effects of the abortion drug using some available plants.
After concocting the antidote, she took it back to the dining table, poured it directly into the food on the table, and casually stirred it a few times with her chopsticks.
This action puzzled John and Frank in the surveillance room once again.
John frowned, "What is she doing?"
Frank, unable to understand Qiao Jing’s actions, could only repeat what he saw, "If I saw it correctly, she seemed to have just concocted some sort of powder."
As they were discussing this, they saw on the monitor that Qiao Jing picked up her chopsticks again and started eating nonchalantly.
However, there was no sign of excitement from John and Frank that their plan had succeeded.
Because Qiao Jing had already eaten nearly half of it and yet there was still no sign of the abortion drug taking effect.
"What...what’s going on?" John said, astonished, turning to glare at Frank and demanded, "Did you actually drug the food?"
Frank hurriedly explained, "Mr. John, I assure you, if I couldn’t handle such a simple task, how could I face staying by your side?"
Over the years, he had only made a mistake once, which was when he went to the Empire to capture Qiao Jing.
Besides that, he had never made a mistake.
John wasn’t really doubting Frank’s ability; he was merely baffled by the fact that Qiao Jing had eaten the food mixed with the abortion drug and yet showed no reaction.
After a moment of thought, he speculated, "Could it be that the powder she concocted earlier was actually an antidote?"
"Looking at this situation, it must be so..."
As he spoke, Frank’s face was full of shock.
He had never expected that the renowned Professor Qiao, not only a giant in agriculture, was also an expert in medicine!
To know by tasting that the food was drugged and to be able to concoct an antidote on the spot, such ability was simply heaven-defying!
"It seems, she is even more complicated than we imagined."
After saying this, John couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
Because the more complicated Qiao Jing was, the more they were at a loss with her, and their experiment was even further out of reach.
Seeing John’s gloomy face, Frank spoke to console him, "Mr. John, don’t worry too much, there will always be a way."
It was better left unsaid, as mentioning it only infuriated John even more.
He glared at Frank and said sternly, "What other way could there be? Tell me, which of your ideas has worked!"
Frank’s face instantly soured.
"If you can’t think of a good method, don’t show your face around me again."
With those words, John got up and left directly.
In the laboratory, Qiao Jing had already eaten her fill and was now luxuriously soaking in a hot bath in the bathroom, easing the fatigue of the day.
Although the previous incident hadn’t caused any serious consequences, it made her realize she must leave this place soon.
Otherwise, she didn’t know what more sinister measures John and Frank would resort to!
Plan after plan failing took a heavy toll on Frank.
As a result, he stayed up all night, racking his brains, and finally came up with another idea.
Early in the morning, he ran to Mr. John, eagerly presenting his new plan.
As usual, John was in the surveillance room, watching Qiao Jing through the screens.
Seeing that Qiao Jing was still dismissive of the experiment, he was extremely irritated.
Seeing Frank approach, he said irritably, "I told you not to show your face before thinking of a plan!"
"Mr. John, please calm down first, I’ve come to tell you that I’ve thought of a plan, and this time it will definitely work."
Frank swore confidently, looking like he had everything figured out.
Hearing this, John’s tone finally softened a bit, "Tell me, what is your plan?"
Frank raised his hand and pointed at the screen in front of John.
At that moment, the screen displayed Qiao Jing instructing George.
"Mr. John, you must have noticed, in these past few days, although Professor Qiao has been dismissive towards the experiment, she has been advising George and it’s clear that she’s doing so earnestly."
This, John had also noticed.
But he did not think that this had any connection to the experiment.
He glanced at Frank and asked, "So what?"
"Since Professor Qiao refuses to cooperate, we’ll have to approach this from another angle."
Frank smiled smugly, "Mr. John, think about it, once George masters all of Professor Qiao’s techniques, we won’t need Professor Qiao anymore, and George will then work for us."
"And, controlling George is much simpler than controlling Qiao Jing!"