Chapter 657 - 306: Cutting Off the Supply

"We’re going to implement a medicine rationing system. Consolidate all our remaining inventory, and we’re going to manage these drugs like wartime supplies."

Ethan quickly jotted it down in his notebook, then looked up. "What if there’s still a shortage?"

"Get Evelyn."

Leo picked up his coat.

"Tell Saint Claude it’s time for her to prove her worth. The pharmaceutical giants have blockaded our domestic commercial channels, but they can’t block the entire global logistics network."

"She has connections with overseas pharmaceutical distributors, as well as those freight forwarders who operate in the gray areas."

"I want her to start placing orders now. From Canada, from Mexico, even directly from factories in Germany. Pay a premium to get the goods. The money will come from the trust fund."

"I don’t care what it takes. By tomorrow morning, I want to see the first batch of packages, marked as private medical donations, landing at the Pittsburgh airport."

Just as he finished giving Ethan his tasks, the office door was thrown open.

Frank Kovalsky rushed in.

The Union leader was drenched in sweat, his work jacket pulled open, a look of unprecedented panic on his face.

"Leo!"

Frank strode to the desk.

"There’s trouble!"

"Several steel mills in the South District nearly shut down just now."

"The workers are causing an uproar."

Frank panted heavily.

"George’s grandson is in the hospital waiting for dialysis, but they’re out of dialysis solution. George went crazy on the shop floor, grabbed a wrench, and smashed one of the machines."

"And the other workers."

"They said, if this is the good life you promised, then they’d rather not have it."

"They’re saying that even if it was more expensive, even if they had to take out loans from loan sharks, at least they could buy life-saving medicine. Now you can’t get it even if you have the money. They’re calling it murder."

Frank stared at Leo, his eyes filled with anxiety.

"Leo, I can’t hold them back much longer."

"The Union is starting to split. Some of them are organizing, planning to go on strike tomorrow. They’re also talking about marching on city hall."

"Their slogan is, ’Survival, not politics.’"

"If the medicine doesn’t come tomorrow..."

Frank swallowed hard.

"Pittsburgh will descend into chaos."

"Your base, the people who support you, they’ll be the ones to tear you down."

Leo looked at Frank.

He could feel his old friend’s fear.

It was his own fear, too.

Everything he had built was based on the promise of "making people’s lives better."

Now, that promise had become "leaving the people without medicine."

The cornerstone of trust was collapsing.

"I understand."

Leo stood up.

He walked up to Frank, reached out, and straightened his messy collar.

"Frank, don’t panic."

Leo’s voice was steady, so steady it was chilling.

"Tell the brothers to give me twenty-four hours."

"There will be medicine."

"How?" Frank demanded, his anxiety flaring. "The drug companies have cut us off! Are you going to pull it out of a hat?"

"I’ve already arranged for a new supply channel. It’ll be more expensive, but at least people will have medicine."

Hearing Leo’s promise, Frank nodded and left to go pacify the workers.

Ethan left as well, to carry out Leo’s orders.

Leo looked at the lawyer’s letters on his desk.

He picked up the one from Pfizer, his finger lightly tracing the blue oval logo.

The scope of these pharmaceutical giants’ attack was extremely precise.

They weren’t foolish enough to cut off supplies to the entire state of Pennsylvania. Their fire was concentrated solely on Pittsburgh and the surrounding cities of the Industrial Revival Alliance.

It was a brilliant move of political isolation.

They wanted to carve Leo and his allies out from the rest of Pennsylvania. While pharmacies in Philadelphia and Harrisburg continued to operate normally, Pittsburgh’s suffering would seem insignificant—even self-inflicted.

’They want to surround us, starve us out slowly.’

A defiant flame ignited in Leo’s eyes.

’Since they’ve drawn the battle lines, I’ll see this through to the end.’

He picked up a lighter and lit a corner of the letter.

The flame spread across the paper, devouring the logo.

"Let them wait and see."

Leo watched the dancing flame, as if he were seeing the smoke signals of his own counterattack.