Chapter 116: What the Hell Can We Even Do Now
While chatting with Yang Jing, the sky suddenly started raining again, soaking both of them through. He had wanted to talk to her a bit longer, but since the weather wasn't cooperating, Zhang Yang had no choice but to give up and head home.
Back home, he thought over Yang Jing's words carefully. They made sense—after all, his current situation was indirectly thanks to Yang Fei. And now, since the system had given him an F-level mission, no matter what, he had to give it a try.
As for how to try, he hadn't thought that far yet. Tomorrow the system would refresh again—he didn't know who the next Star Mender target would be. His current system points had reached thirty-seven. If he could complete another M-level Find the Star Menders Mission successfully, that would be sixty-seven points, which opened up a lot of possibilities.
But hopefully, it wouldn't be like last time—when a whole crowd of beautiful women appeared right in front of him and the system decided to drop an M-level mission reminder. That had been a disaster.
*****
At Deyuan Tower, in the lounge next to the multifunctional conference hall, Bai Wensheng straightened his beloved red tie with confidence as he chatted with a group of sales agents. Every so often, he glanced at his watch—just two more hours until the latest anti-cancer drug developed by Shiteng Corporation, "Ailan," would officially launch in Huaxia. Though it was outrageously expensive—6,000 yuan for a 20ml vial—it was currently the best biological targeted drug for poorly differentiated cancers on the market.
Considering Huaxia had about eight million cancer patients a year, this drug was practically a godsend.
He'd already done the math. Six thousand per vial, five vials per treatment—that's thirty thousand per round. Each patient would need at least five rounds, totaling 150,000 yuan. His net profit from each patient would be around 30,000. If just 100,000 patients used the drug, his annual net profit would be 3 billion yuan.
With that, Bai Pharmaceuticals could sweep away the dark clouds hanging over it and pull its recently plummeted stock prices right back up.
As for the billions invested upfront for exclusive distribution rights? That was nothing but pocket change.
Of course, he wasn't stupid. He knew that Nanxing One had just been officially announced as successfully developed, which was undoubtedly a fatal blow to Ailan—but only temporarily.
He'd already confirmed that Nanxing One still had a long way to go before mass production. During that gap, Ailan could completely dominate the market. By the time Nanxing One officially launched, he could just pivot to other pharmaceuticals. For now, his imported drug line still held a dominant position in the domestic market.
What he needed now was to use this press conference to revive Bai Pharmaceuticals' reputation and push up its stock price—that was his real goal.
"Chairman, Mr. Shiheng has arrived," his assistant whispered in his ear after stepping in from outside.
Hearing that, Bai Wensheng's eyes lit up. The big shot was here. Shiheng Motoharu was the Head of R&D at Shiteng Pharmaceuticals—no small position. For him to personally attend Ailan's launch event in Huaxia was a huge favor.
"Good, I'll greet him myself." Bai Wensheng stood up from the lounge and walked to the conference hall entrance. As planned, his PR department had already sent invitations to all the major news outlets, so theoretically, the 600-square-meter hall should've been packed.
But as soon as he stepped outside, he froze.
Packed? My ass. The place was practically empty—barely twenty people scattered around, several of them from his own company's PR team. Subtract the three camera guys, and there weren't even enough reporters to count on one hand!
And among that handful, not one was from a TV station. Fine, no TV—what about online outlets? Nope, none. The only guy he recognized was from some sketchy local tabloid that usually advertised fake miracle cures in hospitals. That bastard had once blocked his car to ask if he had an STD—he'd been pissed for a week!
What the actual fuck!
His face darkened instantly. "Get me Director Wang from PR, now."
But before the assistant could even move, Director Wang came running up himself, sweating and panting, "Chairman, bad news!"
"What bad news? Walk properly, for god's sake. You're a director, act like one." Bai Wensheng scolded, noticing that Shiheng Motoharu was almost there. If that man saw such disorder, it'd be humiliating.
Wang took one look at him and went straight to the point, "Deputy Mayor Ma said he's busy and won't be coming."
"What?" Bai Wensheng froze. Deputy Mayor Ma was supposed to be one of the highlight guests—everything had been confirmed. How could he just bail like that?
"Director Yang and District Chief Huang also said they have more important matters and declined to attend both the conference and the dinner." Wang finally caught his breath and licked his dry lips.
"More important matters?" Bai Wensheng's scalp tingled. What the hell did that mean? Everything had been settled earlier—especially with Deputy Mayor Ma. He'd even promised a 'small token of appreciation' afterward.
Growing irritated, Bai waved his hand. "Forget that for now. Tell me this—didn't I tell you to invite all the major media outlets?" He pointed toward the pathetic handful of people in the hall, suppressing his rage. "Don't tell me you didn't."
"I did! They all confirmed yesterday! I don't—" Wang glanced around the hall and almost pissed himself. "This is impossible! There were thirty people here just a moment ago!"
"Thirty? You told me you invited over two hundred! And now look—aside from our own staff and that quack newspaper guy, there's only the local radio station left... Wait, he's leaving too?! Wang Futian, stop him right now! Goddamn it, what the hell are you even doing?!"
"Chairman, Mr. Shiheng has arrived," his assistant whispered again.
Bai shot him a death glare, his face black as coal. "So what if he's here? There's not even a single real reporter! What kind of bullshit press conference is this supposed to be? Wang Futian, go find out what the fuck happened!"
Wang flinched. "Chairman, that's... that's what I came to tell you. It's because today is the official opening of the Nuwa Company's Cancer Rehabilitation Center."
"What Nuwa—whatever—what's that got to do with us? I'm asking about the reporters—wait, what did you say? Cancer Rehabilitation Center? Is that the one Zhang Yang started in partnership with Zhongshan Hospital?"
"Y-yes, that's the one!"
"No way... why the hell did they have to pick today?!" Bai Wensheng almost collapsed.
"You should turn on the TV—you'll see. They're broadcasting live right now. Even Minister Chen from the Ministry of Health showed up in person!"
"Minister Chen? From the Health Ministry?" Bai Wensheng's eyes went black, nearly fainting on the spot. He'd begged Deputy Mayor Ma three times to show up, and now even he bailed—while that tiny rehab center managed to attract the freaking Minister of Health! Not a mayor—a minister! What the hell was going on!?
"Chairman, Mr. Shiheng has arrived," the assistant reminded him again.
"So what?! Tell him to fuck off! Damn it!" Bai Wensheng roared. "With no media here, what kind of press conference are we even supposed to have? Screw this shit!"
Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine—as if an invisible net was slowly tightening around him, his company, and even his entire Bai family...