Chapter 408: Predicament

Fang Tiancheng did not directly agree or reject him. Instead, he gave a perfunctory response. In his opinion, if he could not even do such a small thing well, how could he ask him to put in a good word for him in front of the old leader? Is he dreaming? What is he thinking?! Even if I want to recommend someone to the old leader, I won’t not find an idiot!

After he left, the chief heaved a sigh of relief. He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. The back of his shirt was drenched. Even though there was a cold draft coming from the air conditioner, he did not feel cold at all. He almost… almost lost his position!

After being paralyzed for a while, he walked to the hall and called all the employees who were about to get off work. He said solemnly, “I know you have doubts and confusion about this preventive medicine, but what I want to say is—don’t interfere in things that you shouldn’t! We have to let this medicine pass the review! If anyone is unconvinced and wants to investigate secretly, don’t blame me for being impolite!

You will suffer the same fate as Lin Ji! He has already been transferred to the northwestern countryside to be the station chief. I don’t think I need to tell you how desolate the conditions there are, right? I dare to guarantee that he won’t be able to return to the capital for the rest of his life! So what if he’s outstanding? I don’t lack people here!”

“… Understood.”

No wonder they saw Lin Ji leave with his luggage not long ago. So that was the reason. It seemed that this was not a small matter. Even their superior had made such a big move. What else could they say? They could only nod obediently and agree. After obtaining their agreement, the chief finally let them go.

Just as the middle-aged man who had tried to advise Lin Ji was about to leave, he was stopped by the chief. “Old Wang, you made that report, right? Don’t think about denying it. I don’t think others are as bold as you! I think you’re already an old man. Don’t be hot-blooded like young people. Otherwise, if there’s a next time, don’t report to work.”

“… I understand.”

The middle-aged man understood that this was the chief’s last warning. He sighed as he walked away. It was not easy for him to help the young man, but he almost got himself fired. It was not easy to be a good person!

…

While this side was in chaos, This Place was also in a predicament.

A few people in white coats walked around the research room. Among them were many foreign faces. They were sent by Pfizer to study preventive medicine together. Nearly half a month had passed, but there were still no signs of any experiments. Coupled with the constant purchase of new equipment, the originally rich Pfizer was showing some signs of being dragged down!

Even its stock in the US market was falling continuously! The situation was getting worse and worse, and everyone’s mood became solemn! They began to have doubts—did they really have to continue developing this preventive drug? After wasting so much manpower, financial resources, and energy, they would probably go bankrupt before the epidemic completely broke out!

Pitt, the biggest investor, rushed to Lu Ming Corporation before noon. His goal was to persuade Lu Ming to give up on this matter. After all, most people no longer held any hope now. The only one left was Boss Lu. If he could end this matter quickly, they would not be forced to sink together because of the development of preventive drugs!

There was a knock on the door. He said in broken English, “Hello, I’m Pitt, who made an appointment with you on the phone. May I know if Boss Lu is free to see me?”

“Come in.”

He turned the doorknob and saw a handsome man in casual wear. Although he had long heard that Boss Lu was an especially young person, his appearance still surprised him. He had taken this step at such a young age. It was really as the outside world said—his future was boundless!

Lu Ming raised his head. The moment he saw him, the corners of his lips curled up. He smiled and said, “Please have a seat.”

The foreign man in front of him had a round face, some freckles, a slightly protruding stomach, golden hair, and blue eyes. When they looked at each other, he felt drawn by Lu Ming’s clear eyes which came across as very amiable.

“Boss Lu, you’re really handsome!”

Pitt went forward and hugged Lu Ming for a few seconds. Then he reluctantly let go and said, “If you have any plans to act in a movie or television drama in the future, I will definitely be the first to support you. It’s the entertainment world’s greatest loss if you don’t enter the industry with your looks!”

Hearing this sincere praise, Lu Ming said in embarrassment, “You flatter me. I don’t have any plans to do that for the time being.”

If he really wanted to become famous, why would he wait until now? Don’t forget, he still had a large entertainment company under him. As long as he gave a few orders, he could get the best resources. However, he didn’t even have time to deal with work from day to day. How could he have other thoughts?

“By the way, why are you here?”

At this point, Pitt’s smile faded a little and he said seriously, “The research project isn’t going well, right? I heard from overseas that the virus of this epidemic mutates into new variants or strains easily. Although it is very active in the human body, once it leaves the host body, it will produce another chemical reaction. Now those doctors haven’t found a way to keep it unchanged.

Do you think there’s any need for us to continue?”

At the front, they were having all kinds of headaches because of the funding problem. They were pulling in new people to invest every moment, but those people were not fools. They all knew the risk of failure! This also caused them to be seriously short of funds. They thought that the doctors at the back end would at least have something to contribute, right? But in the end, just like them, there was no progress!

This disappointed many people.

The doctors who were conducting the experiments wanted to give up. If this stalemate continued, it would not benefit either party. In that case, it was better to deal with the pain quickly. Since they could not figure out a preventive drug, they would let others or the officials do it. It would save them a sum of money!

After taking a deep breath, Pitt continued, “And I’m not the only one who wants to do this. The others are not optimistic about the research. They all think that even if we continue to study it, it will probably not have any pleasing results. It will only add to our unnecessary burden, so I hope Mr. Lu can understand.

To be honest, I can absolutely say that we’re not short of money, but this research is like a bottomless pit. No matter how well-funded we are, we have to consider whether we should continue to channel funds into projects that are destined to fail. Also, I haven’t seen any results from the research after so many days. I’ve gotten over it.”