<
Chapter 127: You're All Dead
Zhang Yang waited outside the emergency room for about an hour before Xu Danlu was finally wheeled out. The doctor told him that the bullet had passed through her shoulder blade but, fortunately, hadn't hit any vital organs. It had been removed, and she only needed time to recover.
Hearing that, Zhang Yang finally let out a sigh of relief. Looking at Xu Danlu lying on the stretcher, still under anesthesia, her lips pale, eyes shut tight, his heart ached with pity. He followed her to the ward.
A while later, Gao Qi and Qiao Xier rushed in. Seeing Zhang Yang covered in blood, they were startled and immediately asked if he was hurt. Zhang Yang shook his head, glanced at Xu Danlu on the bed, and sighed. "Lulu took a bullet for me. I'm fine, but she's hurt. Luckily, her life isn't in danger."
"Who did it? Do you know?" Qiao Xier frowned.
"Assassins. Their target was me." Zhang Yang looked at her and asked, "How's that thing I asked you to handle?"
Qiao Xier nodded. "It's settled. Those two injured students won't press charges, so Bai Liangfeng should be released soon… but what happened to you?"
Zhang Yang glanced at her and said flatly, "I can't let Lulu's sacrifice go to waste."
When Lulu woke up, she looked at Zhang Yang and gently shook her head. "I'm fine. The company's business matters more."
Zhang Yang quickly took her hand, signaling her not to speak.
"You think the Bai family did this?" Qiao Xier bit her lip and frowned. "Wouldn't it be better to let the police handle it?"
"There won't be any evidence." Zhang Yang lowered his gaze. He knew Qiao Xier was worried he'd get dragged in, but he couldn't care less now. He patted Lulu's hand, sat down, took the laptop Gao Qi had brought, and powered it on.
It was a new model, one of the most advanced on the market—a perfect tool for hacking. He was going to check Bai's recent movements.
In the stock market, Bai's stock price had dropped instead of rising due to Ailan's failed listing, now sitting at around 1.28 yuan.
The Ailan setback also meant their massive 300-million-yuan investment in marketing had gone down the drain. Their order of Ailan from Shiteng had burned through a fortune in cash. Now that Ailan's sales had tanked because of Nanxing One, their cash flow was collapsing.
It seemed that using the Cancer Rehabilitation Center's establishment to hinder Ailan's listing was starting to pay off.
After some time, Zhang Yang easily hacked into Bai Wensheng's computer. He found some files, though not much of value—the man was cautious.
He then exited and breached Bai Pharmaceuticals' corporate site, using their server to slip into the company's internal network. From there, he stole an ERP system admin account, accessed their ERP, and scanned the warehouse and procurement modules—finding a mess.
Bai Wensheng was bold—he'd placed a two-year order for 500,000 bottles of Ailan. Clearly, they thought they could flood the market before Nanxing One began mass production.
This time, I'll make sure he loses everything!
Zhang Yang closed the laptop and asked Qiao Xier, "If we expand production now, what's our biggest obstacle?"
"Not materials. It's manpower and equipment," Qiao Xier said thoughtfully. "Early-stage processing and purification aren't an issue—China can handle that. But high-end ultrafiltration, dialysis, molecular separation, enzyme fermentation, and gel equipment all have to be imported from France and Germany, which takes time. But even that's not the main problem—it's the personnel."
"Right now, our lab only has Zixuan, Jenny, Tian Tian, Senior Wu Hao, Senior Ye, and me. Small-scale reagent production is fine, but for mass production, we'd need at least ten times the manpower. That risks leaks of core technology. Even with our patents, both domestic and foreign forces are eyeing our formula, waiting to steal it."
"Tech leaks aren't a big deal." Zhang Yang opened the laptop again. "Nanxing One's core is the adhesion between suppressor cells and anti-cancer cells, and the formula combining them. As long as we keep those key processes secret, no one can replicate it from the reagents or production steps. I've developed a segmented production plan—the critical binding and cell-separation steps stay with us. The rest can be outsourced to trusted partners. That way, we can scale safely."
"Of course, we'll still have to test loyalty. The extraction process isn't complicated, so for personnel, prioritize master's and PhD students from Meining University. Next are fresh graduates from Tsinghua, Xiehe, or Peking University Medical School. They lack industry ties and are harder to bribe. I trust you can handle that."
"You have a segmented production plan?" Qiao Xier stared at the file on his screen in surprise. "So you've been preparing for large-scale production already."
Zhang Yang nodded.
"Perfect. With this, it's doable. Copy it for me—within three months, we can hit 100,000 bottles a month easily," Qiao Xier said confidently.
"Thanks, that's a big help."
"Don't mention it." Qiao Xier shot him a glare. "Did you forget I'm one of the company's shareholders too?"
"And my girlfriend."
Qiao Xier's face turned slightly red. "I haven't agreed to that yet. Now go clean up. Lulu's fine with me and Qi-jie here."
"Alright." Zhang Yang handed her the laptop. "Copy it yourself. Password's your birthday."
Qiao Xier's heart fluttered, but she scowled. "Go wash up. You look like a mass murderer."
Zhang Yang smiled faintly, nodded, and after saying a word to Lulu, left.
He had killed—more than one. It was his first time, and only now did the shock hit him.
He hadn't expected that sheer will to survive could unleash such power. They had five men, at least two guns—and he'd walked away alive.
Of course, without Lulu, he'd be dead.
In Yang Jing's lounge, he cleaned up. Just as he was worrying about clothes, Yang Jing handed him a full set—new, from underwear to suit and shoes, perfectly sized.
Zhang Yang blinked, surprised. "These clothes?"
"I was going to give them to you in a day or two—as thanks for getting rid of that bastard Xie Long," Yang Jing said with a smile. "Do they fit?"
"Yeah, just right. Jing-jie, how'd you know my size?" Zhang Yang asked, suspicious.
"I asked Gao Qi." Yang Jing crossed her arms under her chest and leaned against the door with a knowing smile. "Why does she know you so well?"
"Uh…" Zhang Yang rubbed his wet hair awkwardly. "Lulu must've told her."
"Oh?" Yang Jing clearly didn't buy it.
She was about to speak when her phone rang. She answered, listened briefly, then frowned. "Two groups of police just arrived. They're asking for you. They said you're wanted for robbery and murder? What's going on?"
"Murder? Robbery?" Zhang Yang knew about the killing—that was self-defense. But robbery… shit, don't tell me it's about that girl's Beetle? Damn, he'd forgotten all about that.