Chapter 230: Chapter 184: Liu Xuan: Come to My Office_2
Ning Hao instantly thought of Liu Xuan.
Liu Xuan, the daughter of Liu Xingyuan, the man at the helm of Liu’s Heavy Industries. ’Could this guy with his connections become Liu Xingyuan’s son-in-law?’
Ning Hao was clearly stunned for a moment.
That status was far more significant than his own as a mere member of the Ning Family.
Of course, if Ninghang Technology managed to complete its plan and become an intercontinental mega-corporation, then their respective standings would be another matter entirely.
But regardless, Ning Hao was unwilling to clash with the Lin Qi of today.
He looked at the feedback from the Intelligent Brain—Ning Xin’s learning progress and the contribution reports of all participating researchers.
Lin Qi was firmly in last place; his contribution didn’t even reach one-third of the person in second-to-last.
Ning Hao could only pretend he hadn’t seen it.
’He’s got connections, so be it.’
’As long as it doesn’t affect the project’s implementation, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see a thing!’
Lin Qi worked, studied, and, on the side, designed Prosthetic Bodies for the Mo University Camp team in the Doomsday World.
He also kept a close eye on the time, using his Decomposition Mimicry Ability to analyze Ning Xin again during the final two hours.
When he had gone to the Doomsday World yesterday, the first analysis phase had expired, so he was unable to mimic its Ability.
He timed it right today so he could perform the Mimicry again after arriving in the Doomsday World.
Performing the Mimicry in the Doomsday World would effectively avoid the sensation of being watched.
But that was assuming the source of the sensation was truly related to the Extraordinary Power of this living chip.
"Today’s chip-learning session has concluded."
The chip, on its eight-hour workday, once again clocked out before the researchers. Ning Hao left first with Ninghang Technology’s equipment.
Lin Qi had already completed the Mimicry and was about to head back to the Pharmacy Laboratory to continue reading technical literature.
But just then, Lin Qi’s Intelligent Brain suddenly received an email.
[United Pharmaceutical, Office of the Chairman: Please report to the Chairman’s Office within 15 minutes of receiving this email. The Chairman wishes to see you.]
He froze for a moment before remembering that the Chairman was Liu Xuan.
’Liu Xuan wants to see me?’
’What for?’
’Why not just call me directly?’
’Why all the formality?’
As Lin Qi got up and left his workstation at H4-401, Wei Wutao tried to strike up a conversation to get friendlier with him.
But Lin Qi was in a hurry and said, "Uncle Wei, something urgent came up. Chairman Liu is looking for me."
Hearing this, Wei Wutao’s expression turned solemn with respect. He quickly said, "The Chairman’s business is what’s important!"
In the Cyber Society, a company’s top brass—especially someone at the Chairman’s level—was law!
Wei Wutao hurriedly stepped aside, afraid he might slow Lin Qi down by even half a second.
Lin Qi, on the other hand, was unhurried.
Fifteen minutes was plenty of time, no matter how slowly he walked.
But it was still working hours, so Lin Qi wouldn’t go as far as to slack off and show up at the last possible moment to see Liu Xuan.
If Liu Xuan took offense and remotely slowed the elevator down by a minute, Lin Qi’s pay would be on the line.
Lin Qi had no doubt about Liu Xuan’s proficiency in manipulating elevators.
It took Lin Qi about six minutes to reach the entrance to the Chairman’s Office.
Here, at least six administrative staff members were at work. They showed no surprise at Lin Qi’s arrival, continuing to focus on their tasks. They were using Prosthetic Bodies, moving so fast they were practically blurs.
Glancing at the screens in front of the staff, Lin Qi saw a few familiar terms.
[Si Pharmaceutical]
[Full-Scale Dumping]
[Counter Plan]
[Partnership]
The terms, one after another, reminded Lin Qi of what had been discussed in the meeting when the company was formed a few days ago.
United Pharmaceutical was going to replace Si Pharmaceutical’s position in the Asian Administrative Region.
’It looks like United Pharmaceutical is finally making its move?’
’Could she want to see me about this?’
Lin Qi walked up to the main door and submitted to a scan from the security system.
[Identity Confirmed. Lin Qi, Senior Company Researcher. Temporary Clearance. Access Granted.]
The door to the Chairman’s Office opened slowly, and Lin Qi saw the inside of the room for the first time.
Unlike the luxurious space he had imagined, the office seemed rather understated.
Liu Xuan, for her part, was also busy.
When she saw Lin Qi enter, her hands slowed for a beat, and the blue light flickering in her left eye grew a few shades brighter.
Looking up at Lin Qi, Liu Xuan said, "I’ve sent you a file. Take a look. I’ll explain as you read."
As she spoke, a file was sent to Lin Qi’s email.
The sender was Liu Xuan, so Lin Qi wasn’t worried about viruses or anything of the sort.
Besides, even if there were a virus, Lin Qi had no built-in OS-class Prosthetic Body, so he wasn’t afraid of getting infected.
’Even if I did get infected, I could just swap it out for a new one.’
He checked the file’s contents. It was about the recent situation regarding Greenfield City and Si Pharmaceutical.
It mentioned Si Pharmaceutical joining forces with several large corporations to protest a bill before the Asian Political Zone Big Business Alliance, as well as Si Pharmaceutical’s recent strategy of dumping low-end Potions by slashing prices.
Liu Xuan spoke as Lin Qi read.
"What you’re reading about are the Si Clan’s recent decisions. As we said in the founding meeting, United Pharmaceutical’s purpose is to replace Si Pharmaceutical’s position in the Asian Administrative Region. This is retaliation for what the Si Clan did back in Greenfield City."
"Right now, the company’s Pharmaceutical Department is lacking talent. Including Liu Weicai himself, we only have three A-Class Researchers."
"But according to the data Liu Weicai submitted, when it comes to efficiency in Pharmacy, your research speed can only be described as a miracle."
Hearing Liu Xuan’s explanation, Lin Qi had a pretty good idea of her intentions.
’Does she want me to rapidly develop a series of low-end Potions to counter the Si Clan’s dumping strategy?’
’That doesn’t seem like a very wise choice.’
But Lin Qi didn’t speak up, trusting that a woman of Liu Xuan’s caliber wouldn’t make such a thankless and difficult move.
Liu Xuan continued, "Only a fool would attempt the Si Clan’s dumping strategy. Right now, not a single major corporation in the entire Asian Administrative Region has followed suit. They’ve nearly all adopted a conservative approach, preferring to temporarily cede market share."
"One thing is certain: the Si Clan’s inventory of low-end Potions will last for two months, at most."
"Without the Liu Clan’s supply chain, their inventory will soon be depleted."
Lin Qi agreed with her. No one knew better than the Liu Clan just how much inventory the Si Clan had.
But the question was, didn’t Si Li, the man at the helm of the Si Clan, know this himself?
’He has to know.’
’So, his only reason for dumping his stock must be...’
Liu Xuan cut in, "The Si Clan is trying to recoup Credit Points in a short amount of time."
’That’s something anyone could see. It probably has nothing to do with why she called me here.’
"Take a look at the next file."
With that, Liu Xuan sent another file to Lin Qi.
’An invitation from the Big Business Alliance?’
"The Asia Political Zone Advanced Pharmaceutical Enterprise Summit?"
Lin Qi was surprised. He had never even heard of this summit.
It was an invitation sent from the Big Business Alliance to United Pharmaceutical.
Liu Xuan nodded. "The Liu Clan has been in communication with the Big Business Alliance. We believe the Si Clan is uniting with other large corporations to threaten a corporate war, pressuring the Alliance to step in. Their goal is to have the Alliance mediate the conflict with the Liu Clan and force us to resume supplying them with raw materials."
"Right now, tensions are high throughout the Asian Administrative Region. Neither the Big Business Alliance nor the Eastern Alliance wants to see a full-blown corporate war erupt."
"And that’s why this summit is happening."
Lin Qi’s mind raced.
But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t quite see how all the pieces fit together.
The Si Clan and the Liu Clan had a complete falling out, and the Liu Clan cut off their raw material supply. The Si Clan was targeted by a pack of wolves, ready to carve up its assets. Then, the Si Clan inexplicably banded together with a group of other large corporations, posturing as if it was going to liquidate its assets to fund a corporate war and turn the situation around. And in the end, the Big Business Alliance was actually pressured by the Si Clan into creating the "Asia Political Zone Advanced Pharmaceutical Enterprise Summit."
Lin Qi couldn’t see a clear causal link between these events, but he figured it must have involved a great deal of maneuvering and negotiation from all sides to finally end in the decision to hold a summit.
Lin Qi asked, "Chairman Liu, you want me to attend the summit? But I’m just an A-Class Pharmaceutical Researcher. Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?"
