Claire felt a pang of sympathy watching from backstage. This man had truly given his all; the vaccine he developed had helped so many people, including her.
Only Svetlana, who was resting on the cruise ship and hadn't come along, sneered and said to Annette, who was beside her, "Your husband really knows how to act."
"Whether he knows how to act or not isn't important. What's important is that he's very capable and he loves me very much, and that's enough," Annette said with a calm, understated expression. She wouldn't question any of Eddie's decisions; she wasn't qualified to. This was Jill's business; she was the true mistress.
"You really don't care about anything," Svetlana shook her head. This kind of life wasn't for her.
The press conference continued. Eddie was acting the entire time, cooperating with Alyssa, one attacking and one defending. The two worked together seamlessly, leading so many reporters in circles, simply because every word was explosive news.
"Ladies and gentlemen, to atone for my personal inability to save the 100,000 residents of Raccoon City, I am willing to fund the establishment of a foundation. I will personally provide money to offer whatever support I can to areas and citizens affected by terrorism. This is all I can do," Eddie's expression was heavy, at least his feigned one was believable to everyone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there is now a new type of terrorist attack called bio-terrorism. They use inhumane weapons for terrorist attacks and strikes. This is extremely detrimental to the global situation. Therefore, the Federation will establish a department specifically to combat bio-terrorist forces: the Federal Bio-Terrorism Countermeasure Committee, or FBC!" Kaplan stepped forward and announced.
"The duty of this department is to confront monsters, rescue and evacuate residents, and save more survivors in disaster events similar to Raccoon City! This department will be led by General Morgan, who once rescued a large number of survivors in Raccoon City and also found Umbrella's criminal evidence," Kaplan continued to promote.
General Morgan also stepped forward appropriately, saying, "This new type of terrorism is unacceptable. As long as I am in office, I will fight terrorism to the end, striving to prevent the Raccoon City disaster from happening again. Thank you, everyone!"
The rest of the press conference reported some of Umbrella's criminal evidence, but this evidence was very minor. Although there was evidence of monsters, there was no substantial proof to indicate that Umbrella was the true culprit behind the Raccoon City incident. Everything required evidence.
Despite the lack of evidence, being listed as a suspect was already a huge headache for Umbrella. Their stock plummeted, and the company was losing money hand over fist.
At the same time, other pharmaceutical companies also saw their stocks crash, as if collectively suffering misfortune due to the Raccoon City incident.
Only Mysterious Pharmaceutical, run by Eddie, was still doing well. This was a private enterprise and not publicly listed. It dealt in pharmaceuticals and online commerce.
Today was the press conference, the day some of the truth about Raccoon City was revealed. It was also the day a global shopping app appeared. As soon as this app launched, many people focused their attention on it: online shopping, easy home delivery, and free shipping!
Chapter 269: Explode at the Slightest Disagreement
The app, initially not favored, became widely spread after January hired a large number of internet trolls to promote it. Many media outlets were even paid handsomely to dedicate a section to promoting this shopping app.
Kaplan directly ordered the newspapers under his jurisdiction to promote this product, praising it as much as possible. He was swayed by the future Eddie described; as long as the logistics industry took off, his funds would be endless, allowing Dr. Mueller to conduct experiments.
The results of these experiments could then be provided to the family, gaining greater support. This was a virtuous cycle, and there was nothing better.
For Kaplan, he was not in a situation where he was being discarded after being useful, but rather intensifying his connections. He had to deal with Simmons, who had recently obtained virus samples and recruited a very powerful research team. This was a preparation to compete for status using the same methods.
This was a family civil war, a contest between men. Whoever lost would lose everything. The leader would not allow anyone who could threaten his position to exist; once he became the leader, he would have many ways to deal with opponents.
Kaplan's newspapers hyped up this shopping app, calling it a groundbreaking invention, talking about saving time, enjoying life, having more time to pick up girls and cheat, and other nonsense. In short, it was mindless praise.
Conversely, the newspapers under Simmons's command relentlessly trashed the shopping app. They called it a garbage invention, a laughingstock, flashy but impractical, and full of empty promises. Their goal was simple: mindless criticism, whether it made sense or not.
This played right into Eddie's calculations. He knew Simmons would definitely target him, not only because of Ada but also because of Kaplan's threat. With both factors combined, the unrequited Simmons would surely retaliate in a fit of rage.
When the lowest-level method of assassination couldn't be used, public opinion became the most crucial and invisibly deadly weapon.
Eddie went backstage and looked at the data on his phone. This was still the era when the Symbian system was prevalent. To expand mobile shopping, there had to be corresponding mobile phones; not everyone could shop in front of a computer.
However, although the Symbian system was outdated, it could still support operations for a while. The rapid iteration of mobile phones didn't significantly affect Eddie; he could also get into the mobile phone business, it just depended on whether it was necessary.
The first order had been successfully initiated. The order processing system designed by January and Suzuki Yoko quickly approved the order and deducted the amount from the bank account.
The order was sent to a warehouse, where a white man organized and packed the items according to the order. "Kiora, you son of a bitch, get over here and work! Deliver this to apartment 78 on Seventh Street. If you're a minute late, I'll kill you!"
A thug immediately ran over. He had initially been half-skeptically coaxed into delivering packages, door-to-door. And if they dared to cause trouble, several submachine guns would be pointed at them, ready to shoot them dead!
As the first order was completed, more and more customers began to place orders.
Where there was one trailblazer, there would naturally be a second. The first ten thousand slots enjoyed a 50% discount; everything was half price!
In just half a day, orders had accumulated to 100,000. This was incredible; in 1998, 100,000 customers in half an hour was a significant number. This was just the beginning, and while the profit wasn't huge, just enough to break even, it was still very good news.
Christine Yamata sat on the sofa, swinging her high heels. She didn't pay much attention to her image, nor did she need to; everything a beautiful woman did was pleasing to the eye. "Eddie, someone's starting to cause trouble. Simmons sent people to sabotage our packages."
Eddie wasn't surprised. He took out a cigarette, and Christine Yamata obediently lit it. "Then let VECTOR and his team start their operation. Dealing with me? Heh heh, overthinking it."
With a command, the Wolf Team trio, who had escaped from Raccoon City, arrived at a warehouse in Apple City. This warehouse was used to transport fresh food and vegetables, and it was also an operating warehouse under Simmons's command.
Hector Hivers installed the bomb and pressed the button from a safe distance.
Boom! A burst of fire shot into the sky, and the 500-square-meter warehouse was blown up. More than half of the staff working inside were killed or injured, and all the supplies were gone, completely burned down.
Eddie looked at the photos sent to his phone, put his phone away, and silently smoked a cigarette.
Meanwhile, Simmons was also overseeing things from his villa. He had sent people to disrupt Eddie's business, and as a result, one of his own food warehouses was blown up. Nearly 300 million in supplies were gone, all gone.
The Wolf Team's destructive work would certainly leave no trace.
Simmons was stunned when he received the news. He never imagined that the ant he could easily crush before now dared to oppose him.
Beep, beep, beep. The phone rang. Simmons answered, "Hello?"
"Simmons! I advise you not to cause trouble for me. If you have the guts, fight me fair and square. If you play dirty tricks, I'll sweep through all your company warehouses. Let's see if you can hold out or if I'll break first," Eddie sneered.
"Eddie Cai! Who do you think you are? What right do you have to fight me? You blew up my warehouse, so I'll blow up your company!" Simmons was incredibly enraged.
"Go ahead and blow it up. I forgot to tell you, the insurance company is yours. If you blow it up, you'll have to pay. Also, that area belongs to your family. Go ahead and blow it up, I don't care. I have nothing to lose. I'm actually very curious to see how a high and mighty acting leader turns into a drenched chicken that anyone can bully," Eddie blew a smoke ring and pushed Christine Yamata's head down.
-
Eddie leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking under his weight as he smirked at the phone pressed to his ear. His cock twitched as Christine, knelt between his legs without a word of protest, her lips already wrapped around the head of his dick.
Christine's hands gripped his thighs, her nails digging in just enough to make sure he knew she was there. She loved this—loved the way his cock filled her mouth, the way his voice roughened when she worked him over. She popped off with a wet *pop*, her lips glistening, and smirked up at him before diving back down, her throat working him like she was trying to milk him dry.
Eddie's free hand clenched as he fought to keep his composure. He wasn't supposed to let her get to him like this—not in the middle of a call. But she was too good at it, her tongue tracing the underside of his shaft before she took him all the way down again, her lips sealing tight around the base.
Christine's muffled laughter vibrated around his cock, and Eddie couldn't help but grin. She loved this game, loved making him squirm, loved the way his voice betrayed him. She pulled back just enough to whisper, "You gonna cum for me, Eddie?" before swallowing him down again with a lewd *gurgle*.
-
On the phone, Simmons was furious; he had been tricked. If he blew up the other party's company, he would still have to pay them. Furthermore, family rules dictated that such methods could not be used for competition; that was breaking the rules.
The family needed a wise person, not a brute who solved problems by killing, killing, killing.
Simmons was so angry his teeth were almost grinding to dust. "All your goods will be blockaded by me! You won't get through customs!"
"It doesn't matter. Kaplan will handle that. Money makes the world go 'round. Who's the 'ghost' here?" Eddie was laughing heartily. Fight him? This was his first comprehensive calculation, intellectually suppressing Simmons. This feeling was incredibly satisfying; he was a master of intelligence now!
Chapter 270: Carla
Simmons was so angry he almost vomited blood. The other party was not using a purely overt strategy, but also a covert one. The combination of online shopping and mobile browsing made this new business model an unstoppable overt strategy.
If you had a Lamborghini, who would want a nine-times-used Otto? The logic was obvious; consumers weren't stupid. On this point, Simmons had no control.
The covert part was the backup plans Eddie had laid out to counteract Simmons's despicable tactics. He wasn't afraid of escalating things; with charity work as a shield, no one would believe he was a bad person.
This was the benefit of reputation, a perfect disguise.
Simmons wasn't stupid; he could anticipate this. Eddie could also anticipate it, using his familiarity with the future to suppress Simmons first.
"Fine, then let's compete fairly. You'll regret opposing me!" Simmons angrily hung up the phone. He was very annoyed, having been outmaneuvered by a rival in love.
On the other side, Eddie was very happy. He had successfully defeated Simmons once. Killing Simmons wasn't realistic, nor was it the right opportunity. The death of an acting leader would greatly anger the family.
These stubborn families could accept defeat, but not assassination. That represented a disregard for their dignity, treating them as less than human, and would lead to an endless feud.
They could lose money but not face. The mindset of the rich was truly bizarre.
-
Eddie grunted, his fingers tightening in Christine's hair as she bobbed her head faster, her tits swaying with each motion. She looked up at him through her lashes, her mouth stuffed full, and Eddie's cock twitched.
Christine moaned around him, the sound vibrating straight to his balls, and Eddie's breath hitched. She was *trying* to make him cum, her hand working the base of his shaft in time with her mouth, her free fingers teasing his balls. He could feel himself getting closer, his thighs tensing, his cock swelling.
"Fuck—Christine," he growled, his voice rough. "You're gonna make me—" She didn't stop. If anything, she went harder, her throat fluttering around him as she took him deep, her lips pressing tight against his groin. Eddie's back arched, his free hand slapping against the desk as he came with a groan, his cock pulsing as Christine swallowed every last drop, her throat working greedily.
Christine swallowed and washed it down with coffee. "Eddie, what do we do now?"