Chapter 567 - 370: Chain Reaction, Soaring Valuation

Chapter 567: Chapter 370: Chain Reaction, Soaring Valuation

In early May, New York finally recovered from its long winter.

The gym at the New York City Police Department’s 75th Precinct was located on the basement level. Unless absolutely necessary, the young male and female officers would never risk coming down here to get knocked out by the stench.

A black police officer in his late forties arrived early. Today was Monday, International Chest Day, and he planned to hit the gym for some bench presses before doing anything else. As soon as he entered the basement, his well-honed observational skills immediately drew his eyes to the seven or eight boxes of dark, frosted-bottle drinks sitting on a table by the door.

Next to them was a piece of A4 paper. It looked freshly printed, as the formatting wasn’t even aligned, reading: "LW Sports Drink. Free of charge. Please help yourself."

The signature at the bottom read: New York City Police Department Logistics Department.

The black officer took a glance and completely dismissed it in his mind. Every now and then, the New York Police Department would come up with some new gimmick for them—vegan protein bars, electrolyte powders, fatigue-relief chewables, and the like. Every time, they claimed the effects were great, but in reality, they were just so-so.

Entering the gym, he bumped fists with a few familiar meatheads, only to find that every single one of them had taken a bottle.

"Yo, Brother Ni," another young black officer greeted him. "How come you didn’t grab one?"

"I brought my own powder." The middle-aged black officer shook his shaker bottle. "I’m more old-school. I like to mix it myself."

"That’s your loss, man," the young black officer said, bobbing his head. "These LW sports drinks cost 5 USD a bottle, and a while ago, you couldn’t even buy them."

"Probably just another gimmick," the middle-aged black officer said. "Besides, supplying such an expensive drink for free? Looks like the chief asked the City Council for a massive budget again."

"You bet. 10 million USD a year," the young black officer replied.

After completing three sets of bench presses, the middle-aged black officer said goodbye to his colleagues and left the gym. Before leaving, he hesitated as he passed the table, then reached directly into the box, grabbed three bottles, and stuffed them into his gym bag.

At 5 USD a bottle, it was a crime not to take free stuff. Having been a cop for twenty-two years, he knew this rule inside and out. When he saw his new partner also carrying two bottles into the patrol car, he knew he wasn’t the only one who understood this unspoken rule.

"You grabbed some too?" his partner asked.

"Don’t mention it, it’s a perk from the council members." The middle-aged black officer turned the steering wheel. "The gym and the break room are fully stocked with them."

"This stuff was created by Li Wei." His partner excitedly placed the drinks under the armrest, unscrewed a cap, and handed him a bottle. "I heard the Los Angeles Police Department bought them first, and the effects are really good."

"The Los Angeles Police Department," the middle-aged black officer sneered. "Trash."

Born in New York and serving as a cop in New York, he looked down on all his peers outside the New York Police Department. New York’s finest were the only ones that mattered. However, despite his disdain for his Los Angeles counterparts, he reluctantly took a big gulp of the drink his partner handed him.

"Hmm?" He smacked his lips. "It tastes similar to Gatorade. Maybe slightly better."

Even so, by the time the patrol car had been driving for half an hour, he had already downed two bottles.

The patrol car drove south along Saratoga Avenue, passing a public housing project in Brownsville. At that moment, the radio crackled to life.

"All patrol units of the 75th Precinct, there is a grocery store alarm at the intersection of Christopher Avenue and Livonia Avenue. A male suspect snatched cash from the supermarket register and fled out the back door. Wearing a gray hoodie and dark jeans, he is fleeing south."

The middle-aged black officer hit the siren and slammed on the gas. Thirty seconds later, the patrol car arrived at the intersection. He immediately spotted the gray hoodie. The suspect was diving into an alley, sprinting at full speed. Looking back and seeing the police car, the suspect stumbled but then continued running deeper into the alley without looking back.

"I’m getting out."

The black officer slammed the brakes, pulling the car to the curb, and pushed the door open to give chase. He crunched over broken glass and splashed through puddles, his leather shoes CLACKING against the concrete.

The alley wasn’t long, its exit connecting to another street. The hoodie-wearing suspect vaulted over a waist-high chain-link fence, and the black officer initially thought he wouldn’t be able to make it over himself. To his surprise, he felt as light as a feather today. He vaulted over it in one fluid motion and continued the pursuit.

One fled, the other chased.

After running for over two hundred meters, the black officer launched into a flying tackle, grabbing the hood of the sweatshirt and yanking the suspect flat on his back. The officer quickly scrambled to his feet and pinned him against the hood of a parked car by the street.

"Stay down. Don’t move."

The suspect in the hoodie didn’t struggle at all, as if he was thoroughly familiar with the routine.

"Fack," he cursed. "I’ve never been caught before."

"That’s because you haven’t run into me, kid," the black officer said, panting. "Today is not your lucky day."

It wasn’t until he had handcuffed the man and stood up that he realized something. Something wasn’t right. He had just sprinted for almost a thousand meters, yet his breathing wasn’t particularly heavy. It felt like he had only run four or five hundred meters.

"Fack!"

His partner arrived belatedly. Seeing that the suspect had already been apprehended, he braced his hands on his knees and panted heavily. "Did you take too much pre-workout today or what? I couldn’t catch up to you at all."

"I didn’t drink any—"

Just as the black officer was about to retort, he remembered the two bottles of LW sports drink he had chugged half an hour ago.

"Does this stuff actually work?" he wondered. "Let’s go. I’m grabbing another two bottles when we get back tonight."

Similar situations were unfolding all across New York. Two days later, everyone in the New York City Police Department’s 75th Precinct was talking about the LW drink.

"Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle..." the middle-aged black officer told his partner. "Recently, after seeing New York and Los Angeles—well, mainly us—purchasing it, they’ve all started following suit."

"That must be dozens of cities," his partner said.

"Orders from forty-seven cities!"

Jin Heon was practically jumping up and down with excitement in her office. She was speaking to her assistant, who was watching the COO’s bouncing expression and couldn’t help but chuckle softly on the sidelines.

"If we lock down all forty-seven cities," the assistant said, "the annual revenue of LW sports drinks could increase by almost 57 million USD."

"Wouldn’t that mean the police system alone could bring in 70 million USD in annual revenue?" Jin Heon said with sheer excitement.

And this was just the police system. If the fire department and military followed suit later... But the most pressing issue right now was a lack of manpower. Although LW was in the midst of rapid expansion and already had over fifty direct employees, it still wasn’t enough. She planned to hire five more people who had previously worked in government departments to form a separate government procurement team.

Over in Long Island, Li Wei was also incredibly thrilled when he heard the news. After all, he currently held over 95% of LW’s shares, and LW drinks’ breakthrough in government procurement was bound to impact LW’s valuation.

Knowing that Jin Heon was preparing to strike while the iron was hot and conquer all forty-seven cities, Li Wei made a grand gesture, making grand promises to Jin Heon and all of LW’s employees. Once all these cities were secured, Jin Heon, as the COO, would receive an additional 1 million USD bonus, and all other employees would receive a 20,000 USD bonus.

When Jin Heon found out, she specially recorded a video of herself making finger hearts in her office and sent it to Li Wei to express her gratitude.

And the aftermath of this event wasn’t just limited to LW. That very afternoon, Mark Davis called.

"Mr. Li Wei," his voice sounded much healthier than before. "There’s something I want to inform you of in advance."

"Go ahead," Li Wei said.

"Wall Street noticed LW’s expansion speed in government procurement last week," Mark said. "My team at Merrill Lynch Securities, along with Goldman Sachs and a series of other consumer goods research teams, have been tracking LW’s movements."

"What did they say?" Li Wei said with a smile. "Do they want to invest? Or are they raising the valuation?"

"They’re preparing to raise it," Mark said. "Up to 3 billion USD."

"I think that sounds about right," Li Wei said after a moment of thought. "After all, part of the previous valuation was because I was an active athlete. Now, my influence isn’t as big."

"That’s right. Merrill Lynch actually downgraded LW’s valuation to 1.5 billion USD during an internal seminar," Mark said, sounding somewhat embarrassed. "I didn’t have the nerve to tell you at the time. It was bad news, anyway."

"You guy," Li Wei jokingly scolded him. "Since when do you only report the good news and hide the bad?"

"Well, it’s all good now," Mark chuckled. "The valuation is going to be further increased to 3 billion USD. You could say LW has squeezed out the inflation caused by your star power. It shouldn’t drop again."

"Still, 3 billion is pretty good," Li Wei mused. "Gatorade is valued at 24 billion USD."

"Mr. Li Wei," Mark Davis said weakly, "Gatorade took sixty years. LW’s first product has only been out for three months."

"Alright, got it," Li Wei said. "I’ll let you go for now. I need to get ready for dinner."

After hanging up the phone, Li Wei grabbed a shirt from his closet and walked out of the master bedroom.

He thought, "Three billion."

Even though his ultimate goal was the final evolution of his attributes, the increase in his wealth still brought him joy. Who would ever complain about having too much money?

Humming "Accidentally~ Invaded~ the Celestial Family," he walked to the railing of the third-floor hallway and called down to Anya in the living room below, "I’m going out for dinner with the editor-in-chief of the New York Times soon. Do you want to come?"

Anya was half-lying on the sofa, with a manicurist doing her nails and a hairstylist cutting her hair.

"I’m not going," Anya said without looking up. "I’m going shopping with Liz! The weather in New York is nice right now in May, neither cold nor hot."

"By the way," she added, "what car are you driving this time?"

"Let’s keep it low-key. The Cadillac Escalade. Chen Haisheng will drive me," Li Wei said after a moment’s thought. "After all, I’m going to discuss business. Why?"

"That’s perfect," Anya said excitedly. "You’re not driving the Ferrari SP3 that John Mara gave you, right? Then I’m taking it."

"Go ahead." Li Wei selected a Richard Miller watch from the winder that Anya had gifted him. "I’m heading out."