Chapter 115: 115. Be too smart by half and end up with egg on your face.

“Come on, everyone! There are still three precious trial spots left!”

Mr. Wang Sr. whispered something to the host, then turned to signal the Wang family members in the audience. Understanding his cue, one of them quickly left the venue and went backstage to retrieve the medicine.

Today, the top nine pharmaceutical companies were jointly hosting a new drug launch event and had originally planned to give the first batch of premium finished medicines as gifts to the VIPs. Who could have imagined they would come in so handy now?

While the smiling host desperately whipped up the atmosphere to buy time, the Family Heads of the Fang and Meng families also secretly sent their own people backstage.

“I am Yuan Ruoshan, the Vice President of Yuandao Pharmaceuticals, and I am willing to test the medicine for the Wang family!”

Just then, Yuan Ruoshan adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, rose from the VIP seats, and strode onto the stage.

“My goodness, it’s the Vice President of Yuandao Pharmaceuticals!”

“For such an important figure to be willing to test the Wang family’s Divine Dragon Detox Powder, that shows just how highly he regards this new drug!”

A considerable buzz immediately arose from the audience. Hearing this, Yuan Ruoshan’s face flushed with pride, and he subconsciously straightened his back.

“Ah, Ruoshan, thank you for your trouble,” Mr. Wang Sr. said, his face breaking into a wide smile as he nodded in agreement.

“Young Master Wen, why don’t you come try our family’s Moonlight Lung Soothing Cream?” the Meng Family Head quickly chimed in, putting on a broad smile as he invited Wen Zheyang, who was seated nearby.

“Miss Iguchi, our Heavenly Glow Moisturizer is incredibly effective! With your natural beauty, you would be the absolute best person to endorse it!” the Fang Family Head added, growing excited. He then scampered down from the stage and approached Iguchi Tama, bowing and scraping.

“Alright,” Iguchi Tama agreed, nodding before joining the Fang Family Head on stage.

Instantly, the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause, accompanied by waves of frenzied shouts and cheers.

The leaders of three major pharmaceutical companies, three other influential figures, and three lucky audience members chosen from the crowd—a total of nine people were testing the drugs together, a powerful display of their utter confidence and sincerity!

“Alright, let us now officially enter the trial phase!”

Seeing someone approaching the stage with the new medicine, the host understood his cue and waved his hand with a theatrical flourish.

WHOOSH!

The black veil covering the Wang family’s small iron cage was abruptly ripped away, revealing its true form.

GASP!

A collective gasp swept through the crowd, both on and off the stage.

Inside the iron cage, coiled menacingly, was a brown-and-white venomous snake with a head like a branding iron.

“This is the Five-Pace Snake, known scientifically as Deinagkistrodon acutus. Among the venomous snakes in our Xia Country, its toxicity ranks in the top ten,” Mr. Wang Sr. announced, taking the microphone with a rather smug smile.

As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you aren’t harsh on yourself, how can you perfectly demonstrate the power of the Divine Dragon Detox Powder? If all three million units of the new drug become an instant hit today and sell out, the Wang family will swiftly dominate the pharmaceutical market across the entire country!

“As everyone knows, while the Silver Ring Snake ranks first in venom potency, a single bite only injects about 4.6 milligrams of venom. The Five-Pace Snake, however, can release 214 milligrams in an extremely short time—that’s over forty times more! From a lethality standpoint, the Five-Pace Snake is the true king of snakes in our Xia Country!”

Seeing the audience members go pale with shock and terror, Mr. Wang Sr. felt an even greater sense of satisfaction, a gleeful smile spreading across his face. This was exactly the effect he wanted. Only a test against the king of snakes could convince the public of the Divine Dragon Detox Powder’s incredible power!

“Mr. Wang Sr., you mustn’t! A person of your esteemed status can’t possibly risk using such a venomous creature for a test!” the host exclaimed with theatrical exaggeration, jogging over to play his part by trying to dissuade him.

“It’s fine. I have immense confidence in our family’s ancestral formula. A mere ’king of snakes’ is no match for the Divine Dragon Detox Powder!” Mr. Wang Sr. declared passionately. With the grand air of a martyr about to meet a heroic death, he waved his hand majestically. “Open the cage! Let it bite me first!”

Gasp! Holy crap, is he actually serious? Who in their right mind would dare to try that? It’s like an old lady hanging herself because she’s tired of living!

At this, both Yuan Ruoshan, who stood behind Mr. Wang Sr., and the “lucky audience member” chosen by the Wang family turned green. The latter, his eyes filled with panic, clenched his jaw, stepped forward, and announced he was forfeiting. Amid a chorus of jeers, he slunk off the stage in disgrace.

Only Yuan Ruoshan remained, frozen in place, his face a mask of shock and overwhelming regret.

“Ah, Ruoshan, if you’re scared, don’t force yourself,” Mr. Wang Sr. said in a pleasant tone without turning his head. He rolled up his sleeve, showing his bare wrist to the audience to prove he had no protection.

Anyone could tell the old man was deliberately provoking him.

Sure enough, the corner of Yuan Ruoshan’s eye twitched, and he managed to squeeze out a stiff smile. “If you dare to test it yourself, sir, then what do I have to be afraid of? I have complete faith in the Wang family’s Divine Dragon Detox Powder!” Yuan Ruoshan declared loudly, steeling himself.

Then, out of the blue, he pointed toward the restrooms at the edge of the venue.

“I will serve as living proof! I will use my actions to show certain people that you can’t cut corners in the pharmaceutical industry! For someone to rise to the top of a major pharmaceutical company through nepotism is not only childish but a desecration of the patients’ lives!

“What’s more, they are so shameless that they try to grandstand with nine shoddy medicine boxes, plastering exaggerated, multi-billion-dollar price tags on them just to grab attention!”

What? They dared to show up at such a grand event with just nine shoddy medicine boxes? That’s utterly shameless, a self-inflicted humiliation! They don’t learn anything useful; instead, they choose to imitate those online clickbait bloggers and resort to such crooked schemes!

An uproar swept through the crowd, followed by bursts of roaring laughter.

“People like that are a malignant tumor on the pharmaceutical industry!”

“Who the hell would be crazy enough to spend billions on medicine boxes?”

“This is hilarious! After the product launch is over, I have to go over there and see what kind of masterminds came up with this brilliant idea, hahaha!”

Some shouted in anger, while others scoffed and shook their heads. Many more, their curiosity piqued, wore mocking expressions as they planned to go watch the joke unfold.

“Miss, we have to go now! They’ve surely switched out the trial products by now… If we don’t leave, we’ll become the laughingstock of all Haicheng!”

In a desolate corner of the venue, Mrs. Xue looked up from her phone, her expression turning ugly. Noticing that many people from the main event were turning to look in their direction, her eyes filled with urgency. She wished she could drag Yuan Youwei out of there immediately.

“This, this…” Yuan Youwei hesitated, unable to stop herself from looking expectantly at Lin Fan.

If they withdrew from the procurement conference now, they would lose the forty-billion-dollar bet, but at least they could save face. If they stayed, they would just become a spectacle for Yuan Ruoshan to gloat over.

“Hahaha, Lin Fan, are you regretting it now?”

Before Lin Fan could reply, Su Mengqing, who was standing by the restroom door, burst into a venomous laugh.

It’s just as I thought. After I sent the text, the people on stage deliberately delayed the drug trial. It’s clear Mr. Wang Sr. became suspicious and, growing cautious, had someone bring a new batch of medicine! Excellent. Truly excellent. Finally, that bastard Lin Fan will get a taste of the pain that comes with angering me, Su Mengqing!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep