A “newcomer's adventure” in a vaccine production workshop, this story witnesses the dual tempering of technology and humanity beneath the cold exterior of steel, data, and regulations. With ideals in his heart, graduate student Zhou Qiming steps into a grand, spotless vaccine factory. He soon discovers that it is no high-tech paradise like he'd imagined, but a meticulously ordered world of massive steel tanks, countless SOPs (standard operating procedures), and weighty records. Here, every parameter and every signature concerns human lives. A deviation of just 0.1% could mean losses worth millions and put lives at risk. Starting with the clumsy task of putting on three layers of cleanroom clothing, Zhou Qiming is guided by a demanding mentor, a QA (quality assurance) monitor so cool-headed as to seem inhuman, and colleagues with all kinds of personalities. Together, they face terrifying night shifts, the storm of a provincial inspection, and the failures and successes of process transfers. Meanwhile, dangerous municipal construction outside the factory walls, malicious threats lurking in the shadows, and an office romance quietly budding on the edge of the rules all make his path to growth more treacherous. When external crises and internal dangers erupt at the same time, Zhou Qiming and his colleagues must join forces to protect not only the hope of the vaccines developing inside the tanks, but also the dignity of their profession, the weight of human life, and the warmth of humanity still beating beneath the cold data.
