Chapter 272: This Is Selling a Daughter
"Alright, your calculations were successful. I agree. Happy cooperation!" Eddie said, picking up his wine glass.
"Happy cooperation. Please take care of my Rita for me. The fact that you can accomplish this proves you still have mettle. My daughter won't be handed over to an ordinary person, especially with your current dangerous situation." Bridges smiled.
This cooperation was a win-win. The commonly used medicines were previously monopolized by Umbrella and other pharmaceutical companies. Bridges would advocate for medical welfare, and Eddie would then replicate these drugs and sell them at a relatively low but still profitable price.
Eddie would make money, and Bridges would gain reputation. This was a good thing; a careful analysis would reveal it.
The downside was that Eddie would be opposing other pharmaceutical companies. Cutting off someone's livelihood is like stealing their wife; it's unforgivable.
Since anyone could make this money, why shouldn't Eddie choose to make it himself?
Rita was completely bewildered. She could only sense that this was a test from her father for Eddie, to see if he had the ability to handle such a situation. If he could, it would prove he had the capability to protect her. At the same time, he would also be qualified to cooperate with her father, an elite Senator; there would be no connection without mutual benefit.
Riding on coattails to rise to power? Perhaps, provided the person also had some real ability.
The reception yielded good results. Eddie couldn't just cooperate with Kaplan, nor could he defeat Simmons so quickly. The process of their internal struggle was the basis for their cooperation. If one side became too dominant, allies would turn into enemies. Eddie needed to buy time to strengthen himself.
At the same time, Excella had already returned to Europe. She used her channels to send out Eddie's instructions and, leveraging her family's advantages in the transportation industry, developed a fleet of land transport, seemingly intent on monopolizing the logistics industry in Europe.
Many patients were surprised to discover that the disease-suppressing drugs, which previously had to be bought from various distributors, could now be purchased on a global online shopping platform. The owner of this company was none other than Eddie, who was currently at the center of attention!
By ordering online, the price didn't include the middleman's markup, allowing customers to buy the drugs at the most favorable price. With a small shipping fee, they could wait for delivery right to their door, without even needing to leave home.
This event infuriated all distributors. It bypassed them and sold products directly to customers. This was breaking the rules; it was disrupting the game.
The city of Petersburg in Europe was a hub for middlemen. No matter how much money you offered, they would charge exorbitant fees and markups to promote a product. The original manufacturers could only earn a pitiful profit. If they chose to resolve the issue, congratulations, they could celebrate their impending bankruptcy.
Excella remained elegant, walking into the distributors' hotel meeting in high heels, still arrogant and stunning. Her aristocratic charm combined with her exquisite beauty made it hard for any man to forget her after just one glance.
Behind her was Svetlana. After completing her three-month protection period for Eddie, and having received her payment from Alex, she chose to cooperate with Excella to develop her hometown's economy, taking the first step towards her dream.
A group of pot-bellied businessmen gathered in the conference room. There were both Black and White men, all with uniformly grim expressions. These were all famous resellers, connected to a vast network of businesses. If you wanted to buy something, you had to get it from them. They were a powerful force that no one, from top to bottom, dared to provoke.
As soon as Excella entered the conference room, she attracted many gazes: greedy, surprised, disdainful, and even malicious.
"Oh? My dear Excella, you're finally here. You know, it takes a lot of effort to keep these businessmen in line. You should thank me." A pale-faced man, clearly suffering from kidney deficiency, walked over.
"I'm not familiar with you, so don't bother with false pleasantries. It's unnecessary. I also don't need to keep them in line. Hmph, let's start the meeting, no more nonsense." Excella didn't even spare a glance for the man in front of her. She had already decided to follow Eddie, and once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it.
"Hmph, I hope you won't come crying to me for help when they pressure you." The kidney-deficient man's expression twitched unnaturally. He had thought he could easily make Excella submit, but now it seemed he had overestimated himself. This Queen of Trade was not easy to deal with.
The meeting officially began. A White man stood at the podium, staring fiercely at Excella.
"Gentlemen, I presume you've all heard the rumors. So-called online shopping is destroying our livelihoods. If everyone starts shopping online, what will become of us? Business will plummet significantly. All of this is because of this woman, who is one of us. A traitor has emerged from within our ranks!" The White chairman glared at Excella.
Click! Under everyone's angry glares, Excella, quite amused, took out a lighter, lit a herbal cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and looked utterly disdainful.
"Excella! What do you have to say for yourself? Why did you join this team? What we want is to monopolize the sales of all goods. Do you know how much trouble online shopping will cause for our physical businesses?!" The White chairman roared furiously.
"Exactly, you traitor! You betrayed us, you deserve to die, you must atone, atone with your people!" A man eyed Excella with ill intent. All men understood the meaning.
The next second, Excella directly pulled out a gun and shot the man, piercing his palm. "Put away your dirty thoughts, you're not worthy!"
No one expected Excella to open fire there. Immediately, many bodyguards nervously drew their pistols and aimed them at Excella.
Unexpectedly, Excella put her pistol away again, picked up another cigarette, and said, "Times have changed, gentlemen. To make money, you must keep up with the times. Online shopping is unstoppable. In the future, things will emerge that will cause you even more headaches. You wouldn't want to know how much impact this will have on you."
"State your terms, we can consider them!" A White-haired dark skinned man sat calmly in his chair, unconcerned by the drama.
"I will be responsible for the European region. You can join, and I will assign some tasks to you. Once I obtain the operating rights, you can open your own shop on his website and also make money. Besides selling medicine, can't you sell anything else?" Excella, with a few words, managed to divide some of the people.
Chapter 273: Alex Arrives
"You want us to be his dogs?" The White chairman, Solo, huffed unhappily. He also had his dignity.
"The daily transaction volume has already reached 300,000, and this is just the beginning. Once this software goes live in North America, you'll see how terrifying the breakthrough in transaction volume will be. How many people are there in Europe? People can shop from home, even the elderly will use it. Times have changed, Solo!" Excella spoke proudly like a queen, as if she had returned to her spirited days as a top student.
The population of Europe has already reached 700 million. What astonishing consumption potential is that? Those in the know understand.
"Haha, count me in, Excella. Can anything be sold? Slaves? White powder?" A Black Market distributor laughed.
"Heh heh, if you have the ability, selling those monsters from Raccoon City is no problem," Excella retorted with a sneer.
"How many points can we have?" asked the distributor chairman, Solo.
Excella held up a single finger. Solo asked, puzzled, "One hundred percent?"
"Heh heh, one hundred percent? Are you dreaming? One percent. Take it or leave it, or get out. If you don't do it, someone else will. Besides this industry, there's also the logistics industry. This is an opportunity. I can't promise much, but it'll be enough money for you to marry two more wives." Excella refused to negotiate, as strong as a queen.
"Hmph, one percent? Are you treating us like beggars? Do you think we're beggars?" Solo slammed the table, very angry.
"Are you doing it or not? Even if Travis's people came, it would be the same price. You have one day to consider. If you don't want to, just stay home and wait to die!" Excella finished speaking, stood up, and left in her ten-centimeter high heels.
"Audacious! Stop her!" Solo slammed the table. Numerous guards pulled out their guns. With so many guns, she would be shot full of holes!
Excella chuckled, "I'll leave it to you. Kill whoever you want."
The masked Svetlana, with a light step, rushed out with unimaginable speed. She threw a punch, sending a guard flying before he could react, directly breaking his fragile human spine.
She drew her Warrior's Blade, pulled a guard in front of her to block bullets, and pulled the trigger with her delicate hand, killing all the armed guards. Each guard had an extra bullet hole in their head, killed with a single shot.
One person fought twenty guards in less than five seconds, rapidly pulling the trigger without even giving them time to react.
This exaggerated display stunned everyone! Svetlana, however, tossed aside the guard who had been shot dead by his own people, and coldly followed Excella out in her high heels.
"What, what does this mean?" Solo roared in anger.
"It means we should accept it and stop talking nonsense. I think it's good, I agree, what do you all think?" said the man who had just flattered Excella.
"Let's see how things develop first," another member echoed.
Anyone with eyes could see that this was an unstoppable trend. Still resisting? Then they would just earn less money, but at least they wouldn't starve.
After spending some time in the city, General Morgan contacted other pharmaceutical companies, inviting them to join his Federal Anti-Biochemical Committee and participate in the drug research and development sequence. The goal was to research vaccines and drugs to combat the virus, in order to better execute his plan.
Eddie also participated in this project. Under the name of the Federation, he could more or less leverage its authority.
After five days spent settling matters in the city, Eddie returned to his cruise ship. He needed to find a base; drifting on the sea for a long time was not the best option.
As soon as he arrived in the laboratory, he saw a woman who greatly surprised him, chatting and laughing with Jill. Her blonde hair was coiled on her right shoulder, wearing a snow-white women's dress and high heels, with an exquisite and charming face, exuding the aura of a strong woman. It was his wife, Alex, whom he hadn't seen in a long time!
"Darling, you're back?" Alex didn't shy away, calling out openly, her face full of smiles upon seeing Eddie.
"Yeah, have you two greeted each other?" Eddie felt a little awkward; the scene was somewhat uncomfortable.
Jill, however, smiled thoughtfully, "We've met, and it was good. Would you like something to drink? Alex has something to talk to you about." She then walked over to the coffee machine in her high heels to make coffee, adding two sugar cubes as per the man's preference.