Chapter 119: This Difficulty Is Too High
"I can answer that question." While Zhang Yang was feeling awkward, Qiao Xier stepped forward, looked at the cute reporter with bangs, and flashed a sweet smile.
Zhang Yang swore—she had never spoken to him with such a friendly expression before.
The cute reporter quickly turned the microphone toward Qiao Xier, who, clearly used to big occasions, kept her professional smile and said, "At present, Mr. Zhang Yang, my colleague and superior, and I are not in a romantic relationship. However… I can't guarantee we won't be in the future. Who knows? The world is full of surprises."
The cute reporter felt like that answer was deliberately ambiguous, but she didn't press further—otherwise, she'd sound like a gossip reporter.
With no better choice, she turned the mic toward Yang Jing. "Dr. Yang, as the head of the Rehabilitation Center, I'd like to ask—you're launching the first batch of one thousand doses, but there are over eight million cancer patients in the country. One thousand bottles is like a drop in the ocean. Many patients are hoping to become one of those lucky thousand. How will you allocate these precious doses?"
Yang Jing glanced at Zhang Yang and gave a professional smile, which made him sigh inwardly. As expected, beautiful women all have strong auras.
"Here's how it works. Our Nuwa Company will first accept applications from terminally ill patients through over 300 top hospitals nationwide—such as Meining University Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Hospital, and the Air Force Hospital. Then, from among the applicants, we'll randomly select one thousand patients via computer for treatment."
"And the cost?"
"We want to assure these one thousand lucky patients that they don't need to worry about treatment costs. For those who can provide evidence of financial hardship, we'll treat them for free. For others, our Rehabilitation Center will provide a detailed cost breakdown. But one thing is guaranteed—it'll be much cheaper than traditional treatments. Let's just say, even if you're loaded, you won't need to bring a hundred thousand."
Yang Jing's answer left all the reporters speechless—and outside the venue, Bai Wensheng, being questioned by two security guards, nearly fainted. Less than a hundred thousand? Even selling Elan at cost couldn't match that!
What competition? Even delaying the press conference was pointless now. No, he had to cancel that order of ten thousand Elan doses immediately.
He was about to lose his mind. He had assumed Nanxing One would be outrageously expensive—so even if it worked better, there'd still be people who preferred Elan's lower price. But now…
Damn, the only hope left was that their production capacity was low. From his understanding, such a complex new drug must be difficult to synthesize, and mass production couldn't possibly yield much. Maybe Elan still had a chance.
As he was thinking that, the cute reporter had already asked the question for him.
"Then what about production capacity, Miss Qiao Xier? We know your first batch is only one thousand bottles—far from enough for all patients. The audience watching this at home must be wondering the same thing—how many bottles will there be in the second and third batches? Many patients can't afford to wait too long."
Qiao Xier kept that same infuriatingly perfect smile. "Please rest assured. To meet patient demand, we've established a strong R&D and production team. If all goes well, the second batch will be ten thousand doses, expected to launch next month. The third batch, projected at one hundred thousand doses, will follow shortly after. So please, everyone, rest assured—we can keep up with the demand."
Holy shit! Bai Wensheng was about to faint for real. He shouted, "Fraud! Total fraud!"
The two security guards who'd been watching him for a while rushed over, kicked his fat ass a few times, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him out of the venue.
"Mr. Zhang Yang, thank you very much for joining our CCTV interview. Before we end, may I ask you, your research team, and the core members of the Rehabilitation Center to take a group photo together?"
"Sure… uh, wait, no!" Zhang Yang instinctively agreed, then almost yelled in panic—no way in hell.
But it was too late. Qiao Xier was already calling everyone over. Tian Tian, Ye Xiaoru, Liu Zixuan, Li Jennie, and Wu Hao, the core members, came up smiling, followed by Yang Jing, Gao Qi, He Shan, and two beautiful head nurses from the Rehabilitation Center, Zhou Jie and Deng Xiaoyi—plus Qiao Xier and that cute reporter, Lin Shanshan.
Twelve people in total—aside from Wu Hao, the other eleven were all stunning women.
At the moment the photo was taken, the system's voice rang in his head.
[M-level mission reminder: Sub-quest of the Find the Star Menders Program. Since the system has been active for two months, the monthly Find the Star Menders mission has begun. The target is within ten meters. Upon completion, the user may choose to accept the next mission. Mission logged. Remaining time: one year and ten months.]
I hate you, Lin Shanshan! Zhang Yang looked at the cute reporter, burning with the urge to strangle her.
Among these people, Gao Qi was already confirmed as Star Mender No. 34. That meant the target this time would be among the remaining ten. Of those ten, the most beautiful were Yang Jing, Qiao Xier, Lin Shanshan, and Li Jennie, followed by Liu Zixuan, then Tian Tian, Ye Xiaoru, and the two nurses, plus He Shan.
If it turned out to be Ye Xiaoru or He Shan, he wouldn't do it even if he died. Both already had lovers, and honestly, they weren't quite at the Star Mender level. The two nurses were also unlikely—it was their first meeting, and for the same reason.
That left six possible candidates. Of those six, aside from Yang Jing and Tian Tian, the other four had all been part of last month's M-level mission—and Gao Qi was confirmed as the one last time. So, could that mean these four were ruled out?
If that's the case, then this time's target was most likely Yang Jing or Lin Shanshan.
If it was Yang Jing, fine. But if it was Lin Shanshan… damn, that would be a nightmare. Unless he drugged her, there was no way—she was a freaking CCTV reporter!
Touch her tits, and he'd be dead for sure.
Damn you, Lin Shanshan. If you hadn't insisted on that group photo, would I be in this mess right now?
I hate you. So even if I have to drug you, I won't feel guilty about it.
Zhang Yang gritted his teeth internally but smiled outwardly, slowly extending his hand toward Lin Shanshan. "Thank you for the interview… Could I get your contact info for future correspondence?"
No matter what, he had to get her contact first. If he really ruled out everyone else later, how would he find her again?
Lin Shanshan stared at Zhang Yang in surprise. Damn, this guy was straightforward! Instinctively, she turned her eyes toward Qiao Xier beside her.