Chapter 737: Extremely Expensive Life Essence Pills
Tang Xiu refused Lulu's money not because of his pride as a man, but because he really did not need it. Unless she could give him tens of billions of yuan, he probably wouldn't be able to solve his money shortage problem for a long time.
After chatting with her for a while, Tang Xiu then received a call from Chen Xiaowan.
Ten in the night.
Tang Xiu escorted Chen Xiaowan back to her flat in the Bishan Lake Sub-District. After her figure disappeared at the entrance of the residential building, only then did Tang Xi drove away.
Following that, he headed to Tomson Villa Complex. He called Xue Yu before and learned that she had not gone to rest yet, so he went over.
Tang Xiu then changed his shoes to slippers and took off his coat. After taking a seat on the sofa in the living room, he looked at Xue Yu, who was wearing a nightgown and had her long hair loose, and asked, "Do you still have enough money?"
"Yeah. Should be enough for some time." Xue Yu nodded.
Tang Xiu took his mobile out and transferred 10 million yuan into the bank card he gave Xue Yu before, and then said, "I'm short on money recently, so I sent just 10 million yuan to your bank card. I only have 2 million left on me."
"Did something happen?" Asked Xue Yu curiously.
"Nothing happened." Tang Xiu shook his head. "It's just that the structure of my business is getting bigger, so the amount of money invested in the early stages is a bit more. But then again, it will not be a problem anymore after a year or so has passed, though."
Xue Yu nodded in response without saying anything and accompanied Tang Xiu chatting. She then hurried to the kitchen, put on a new apron, and swiftly took the medicated diet hot pot before returning to the living room.
"Do you have some free time tomorrow?"
"Is there something?"
Xue Yu nodded and said, "Actually, I was going to contact you tomorrow if you didn't come tonight. There was a Singular Recherché Fruit in the Medicinal Herbs Market yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, the price was a bit too high. I didn't have enough money to buy it."
"Singular Recherché Fruit?"
Though Tang Xiu had read a lot of books and memorized thousands of types of Chinese herbal medicines, but he had never heard of it.
"Singular Recherché Fruit is a type of spiritual fruit that grows in a special area of the Miao Region. It's very precious as well as scarce. I heard from the Old Ancestress when I was a child that she obtained two of them, which she used for medicine to treat some viruses in the human's blood. Also, it is said to have very magical effects according to some cultivators from the Strange Doors. But I don't know what these magical effects are."
"How much was it selling for?" Asked Tang Xiu.
"The store owner mistakenly identified the Singular Recherché Fruit as a Hoarfrost Fruit. The value of the latter is also quite high, priced at 4-5 million each. The store owner was unaware that if someone who has keen eyes and knowledge were to recognize this Singular Recherché Fruit, that person would definitely rush to buy it even for over a billion," said Xue Yu with a smile.
Tang Xiu dazed for a moment, and then asked, "You also know about Chinese medicine?"
"Anyone who comes out of our Miao Region will have some bits of knowledge on it." Xue Yu smiled and explained, "I myself have been learning from my paternal grandfather and the Ancestress ever since I was a child. Though my medical skills are not that good, I can still treat some ordinary diseases. I also wrote some part of The Hundred School of Thoughts Compendium on Diseases four years ago, a medical book published by the circles of Chinese Medical practitioners."
Tang Xiu's eyes lit up. His interest suddenly piqued and he asked, "I suddenly thought of a certain business that would be suitable for you to engage in. You should be able to make a fortune if you do well."
"What business?" Asked Xue Yu with a smile.
"Premium-quality medicinal herbs business," said
"What is that?" Xue Yu was confused.
"From what I have seen, major cities in China have medicinal herbs market, and so do second and third-tier cities. They indeed have some precious medicinal herbs in those medicinal herbs markets, but hidden and mixed in a large number of common medicinal ingredients. I found some very precious herbs from the stalls that sell ordinary medicinal herbs on some occasions."
"So you mean… filling the hole in the market?" Interjected Xue Yu.
"You can say that." Tang Xiu nodded and smilingly said. "However, you have limited strength by yourself, but you can recruit some people to help you find them. It would be best if you can do a short-term training to make them memorize the herbs, names, efficacy, and shapes. When they are purchasing it, you can tell them to send pictures or videos for you to appraise and identify the items. You can also remotely control the purchase, whether you'll buy it or not…"
Xue Yu's eyes lit up. From Tang Xiu's explanation, she found that this was indeed a good way to make money. The most important thing was that she could also keep the medicinal herbs for personal use while making a bit of money and purchasing them.
"I'm going to try it."
"You can think for yourself as for how to do it concretely," said Tang Xiu with a smile. "I'll provide you a sum of money half a month later. Don't take it as pressure, though. Consider this as something to kill time."
"No. You don't have to give me more money." Xue Yu gently shook her head. "I already have the 10 million you just transferred to me. It should be enough."
Tang Xiu did not speak again and took out his mobile, searching for Li Juren's cell number. After looking at it for several minutes, he eventually did call him.
He was indeed able to concoct medicinal pills that could increase lifespan, but finding the specific medicinal ingredients was not an easy task. Though he could refine a few Life Essence Pills from the batches of medicinal herbs Li Juren sent him before, he was still unsure as for how much to sell them.
"What are you thinking about?" Xue Yu untied the apron and then sat next to Tang Xiu.
Tang Xiu looked at her and asked, "If there is a medicinal pill that can increase the lifespan of the elderly for 3 to 5 years, what price do you think this medicinal pill could be sold at?"
"How many of these medicinal pills can you produce, exactly?" Asked Xue Yu.
"Only a few. I can refine ten in a short time, that's my limit," answered Tang Xiu.
Xue Yu was lost in thought for a long time before she slowly said, "An object is valued in proportion to its rarity, and life is something a human attaches great importance to. Nowadays, either in the mainland or overseas, the matter of most importance for many rich and powerful people is being close to death's door. They will probably spend a lot of their fortune just to be able to live three years more."
"What about the specific pricing?" Asked Tang Xiu with raised brows.
"Tentatively setting the price at 500 million should not be a problem," said Xue Yu seriously.
500 million yuan?
Tang Xiu took a deep breath before he took out his mobile and dialed Li Juren's cell number. Quickly, Li Juren's hearty laughter came from the phone, as he then said, "Tang Xiu, I'm so glad you called!"
"I want to discuss something with you," said Tang Xiu. "You already learned about the Life Essence Pill. If I were to sell you 10 Life Essence Pills for 500 million each, would you buy them?"
"I would!" Replied Li Juren with a decisive tone.
"I will bring 10 Life Essence Pills to Jingmen Island in half a month," said Tang Xiu. "If you are determined to buy them, then come to the Jingmen Island's Everlasting Feast Hall! As for whether you buy it for yourself or to resell, it's your business."
"Pricing a pill at 500 million yuan is very affordable and profitable," said Li Juren with a happy tone. "I'll personally rush to Jingmen Island and wait for your call."
"Alright." Tang Xiu replied and directly hung up the phone.
Xue Yu could clearly hear the conversation between Tang Xiu and Li Juren just now. Though she regarded wealth as something trivial, she still felt genuine admiration inside toward Tang Xiu, as he could sell ten medicinal pills for a total of 5 billion yuan just via a phone call.
Force, talent and knowledge, moral character, and the ability to make money.
Xue Yu analyzed these four characteristics inwardly and thought it over and over again. She could see that Tang Xiu possessed all these four, and very splendidly at that.
"Then, are you going to refine this medicinal pill?"
"Yeah, I'll go with you to the medicine herbs market tomorrow and buy some medicinal herbs in passing." Tang Xiu nodded. "Anyways, when will the medicated diet be ready? I'm going back home earlier after drinking it up."
Xue Yu stared blankly, and then immediately said, "Can you… stay tonight?"
Tang Xiu shot her a deep look before shaking his head and saying, "I can't. There are things I need to deal with. Just wait, I'll have to take care of something shortly."
Sure enough. After the medicated diet was boiled and Tang Xiu had yet to finish drinking it, Mo Awu called him to report that a fierce battle just occurred between the SOE's Austin Cole's group and the military in the vicinity of Kangsha Pharmaceuticals in Jingning District. The military lost some people, but Austin Cole was injured and had seven or eight of his men killed in the fierce battle.
"Two people suddenly appeared at the end of the battle, Boss. They are very strong, nearly reaching the level of martial arts grandmaster. They left, taking Austin Cole away after inflicting heavy damage on several experts from the military. They retreated toward Kangsha Pharmaceuticals' direction."
"What has Mouse found on them?" Asked Tang Xiu with a deep frown.
"Mouse already sent his men to investigate, but the other party retreated so fast that he has yet to obtain any result," said Mo Awu. "However, those two men in full body armor left some traces outside the wall of Kangsha Pharmaceuticals."
Tang Xiu took a deep breath and said, "I'll be there immediately. Do not act rashly until I arrive."
After hanging up, Tang Xiu got up and picked up his coat. He then looked at Xue Yu, who looked to be wanting to speak but hesitated, and spoke to her, "There really is something I need to deal with tonight. I'll come here to get you tomorrow after I'm done dealing with the matter over there."
"Please be careful, and do pay attention to your safety," said Xue Yu quickly.
"OK." Tang Xiu replied and left as fast as possible. It was already late at night when he arrived at Kangsha Pharmaceuticals. Though he had already predicted that the place would not be quiet, he still frowned upon seeing a lot of policemen and a SWAT squad had blocked all the surrounding areas.
"Boss!"
In a dark street corner, Mouse furtively appeared and shouted with a controlled voice when he saw Tang Xiu, and then brought him to Mo Awu's team.
"You're finally here, Boss."
"How is the situation currently?" Asked Tang Xiu. "Have you found out the background of the two men who appeared in the end?"
"I'm not 100% sure." Mouse hesitant before answering, "But according to the traces left by them when leaving and what I've seen and heard all these years, they should be Xie Zhiqiang's men. They should have retreated to Kangsha Pharmaceuticals after rescuing Austin Cole."
Tang Xiu pondered for a while before he looked at Mouse and asked, "So, based on your experience, when will the cops cease blockading the scene of the fight?"
"Most of them should be leaving in two hours," said Mouse." However, some people will still remain there to monitor the scene."
A cold light flashed in Tang Xiu's eyes as he said in a deep tone, "Mouse, tell your men to fully retreat. Awu, we'll wait here until 3 AM. You and I will rush through and enter Kangsha Pharmaceuticals."
Chapter 738: Dog Eat Dog
The first time they sneaked into Kangsha Pharmaceuticals, Tang Xiu and Mo Awu had not yet entered the innermost gate sentry. But this time, Tang Xiu had temporality refined ten Invisible Talismans and the group did not encounter any obstacles and arrived at the innermost gate sentry.
Bam, bam, bam…
Jin Shi and the others instantly stunned the six security guards who were vigilantly standing guard outside the gate.
Tang Xiu unleashed the Bloodguzzler Dagger and imbued his Primal Chaos Force to slash the iron gate. The entire thick iron gate was cut as easily as cutting a tofu, as eleven men then dashed through the interior of the building, greeted by flashing red lights and sirens.
"Awu, take some men to clean up the mixed fishes. Remember, try not to kill if you can. Just stun them," ordered Tang Xiu.
"Roger!" Mo Awu complied and led four experts upstairs to the following floors.
Tang Xiu stood before the elevator and coldly stared at its entrance. He predicted that some people would rush out given the situation outside and the buzzing alarm. As expected, the elevator's entrance suddenly opened half a minute later, as six men in black full body armor wielding nearly two-meter long blades rushed out from the inside.
"ON GUARD."
A fierce and swift aura exuded from all the pores of the first man's body to rush out of the elevator door, as he dazed for a moment after dashing out. The sensor inside showed that there were many intruders outside the elevator door, how could there be nobody now? As the prized hatchet man under Xie Zhiqiang, however, he still maintained his vigilance at its highest.
Tang Xiu was standing in front of him while folding his arms and watching the man's vigilant look. His fist then heavily hammered the man's forehead. Even though he wore a hard helmet, the huge force smashed the helmet and slammed onto his temple.
Bang…
The man in armor crashed to the floor, and yet the gigantic force was unable to kill him. At the moment when Jin Shi and the rest instantly stormed over the other five armored men, the man who was knocked down by Tang Xiu shook his head and propped himself up with difficulty, trying to get up.
"Oh? This is a bit interesting."
Tang Xiu stepped on the back of the man in armor and forced him back to lie on the floor, and sneered, "Quite a powerful strength and unexpectedly able to withstand my heavy punch. This full body armor does have good protection, the only pity is that it's kind of out of place to be worn by you."
In just a few seconds, the other five armored men were also knocked down by Jin Shi and the rest. Taking advantage of the situation, Jin Shi approached and kicked the armored man under Tang Xiu's foot, asking, "This elevator should lead to the underground. Shall we get down, Boss?"
"We'll go down." Tang Xiu strode into the elevator quickly followed by the others. The elevator descended, and the door directly opened ten seconds after. As more than a dozen men in full body armor outside the elevator saw Tang Xiu and his men, some of them at the front directly stormed over.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Several flying swords were unleashed. Along with the flashing sword lights, the hard armor was easily cut as four or five armored men were killed in an instant.
The underground space was very large. Other than two large halls, there were still more than a dozen spacious rooms. In the innermost monitoring room, Xie Zhiqiang and Austin Cole had reached an agreement. The latter had even contacted the HQ in Europe and ordered the Financial Director of the SOE company to transfer 1 billion USD to Xie Zhiqiang's Swiss Bank account.
At present, however, Austin Cole had a very nasty expression. He was known for his fierceness and cruelty. Fury and anger surged inside his whole being as his fierce and ruthless eyes stared at the surveillance monitor that displayed the scene where the men in armor were constantly being killed.
"Xie Zhiqiang, those armored warriors of yours have yet to go through genetic modification, yet they are already very formidable, right? Why can the enemy still easily kill them? You can see for yourself that they are not using any guns at all. They are only using… swords?! That's right, those are ancient swords used by those barbarians!" Austin Cole turned around and roared furiously.
Xie Zhiqiang's complexion was ghastly pale as a light flashed in his eyes as he got lost in thought. He did not know the origins of these people, but there was something he was very clear about that: his impregnable underground base could not stop their advance whatsoever with their power.
There was only one way out for him at present. Running away!
He must escape with the gene particles and his four best Genetic Warriors!
"A Ming, A Liang. Send someone to secure the core research data and the other data at once and rush to the third exit as fast as possible. Start the self-destruct system and set the countdown to three minutes. The enemies are very strong. We don't need to be entangled in combat with them here, thus we'll just evacuate first. I'll find ways to figure out their identities later." Xie Zhiqiang suddenly got up and walked outside while sending his orders with a solemn expression.
Anger all over his face, Austin Cole dashed to block the door, took out his gun, aimed it at Xie Zhiqiang's head and shouted, "I'm seriously suspecting you now, Xie Zhiqiang. Black eats black and dog eats dog, eh? We have already bought the gene particles and its research data. But you obviously have backups!!"
"Watch your words and actions, Mr. Cole." Xie Zhiqiang frowned and coldly said, "If I really wanted to do so, I'd have already ordered my men to kill you right after the SOE company paid me instead of waiting until now. Those who got butchered outside are my men! The masters I have groomed using the gene particles! Other than the gene particles used on them, there are still those armors tailored especially for them. Do you know how much I had to spend on one set of full body armor? FOUR MILLION USD! That's how much each its worth. Now tell me, how much I lost just to meet you, huh?"
Austin Cole wavered, as he also could tell that there was no need for Xie Zhiqiang to create such a plot. After all, these Genetic Warriors were very formidable and they were Xie Zhiqiang's men whose loyalty was unquestionable. It was better to order them to kill themselves rather than using their lives to play an act.
After thinking it through, he put his gun away. Just as he turned to look at the monitor screen, Xie Zhiqiang instantly moved and directly stabbed his neck from the side with a dagger. With a face full of killing intent, he then shouted, "Kill all those from the SOE company!!!"
Bang, bang, bang…
Gunshots were sounded, but the bullets hit no one. The ones who opened fire were Austin Cole's men, but two seconds after they opened fire, all of them had already been hit by sharp daggers and blades. A Ming and A Qing swiftly killed eight or nine of Austin's men and picked up the two suitcases in their hands.
Xie Zhiqiang squatted and patted Austin Cole, whose neck was twitching, and sneered at him, "I would not have the need to kill you had no enemies intruded into my base. But you already suspected me for scheming, thus it would be a shame and unfair to you if I were not to realize that idea of yours. Don't worry, though. I can shift the blame of your death on the intruders so they can bear the unlucky black pot for me."
"WARNING TO BOSS! WARNING TO BOSS! The self-destruct system has been turned on. The site will explode within three minutes." A low voice suddenly broadcasted from the walkie-talkie on A Ming's shoulder.
Xie Zhiqiang immediately got up and kicked Austin Cole, sending him to his death directly. Then, he ordered in a deep voice, "Notify the rest to immediately retreat to the third exit. Tell the others at the outside to prepare the cars, we'll leave as fast as possible."
Outside the underground elevator.
Tang Xiu, Jin Shi, and the others did not show mercy this time and completely steamrolled more than a dozen armored men in just 20 seconds. As dozens of men in black suits and heavy firearms came out from the inside corridor, Jin Shi and the rest quickly dispersed to find a cover while delivering lethal strikes.
"Frost Needles!"
Tang Xiu did not run as he condensed ice needles out of thin air. Each black suited man who appeared was then hit by an ice needle on their vital points. While rapidly advancing forward, dozens of men in black suits were killed.
Suddenly, two bald and burly men appeared in the corridor ahead as the two sides then clashed fiercely. The two bald men sprinted toward Jin Shi's group at the front while holding a sharp dagger.
"HACK 'EM!"
Jin Shi and the others scornfully sneered as they controlled their flying swords to sweep the two, but the two burly men avoided the strikes that were originally a sure hit and kill strike with an instant movement.
"INTRUDERS… YOU'RE DEAD!!!"
One of the bald men with a scar on his face hideously grinned as he swept his dagger toward Jin Shi's face. Just at this moment, it was a few centimeters away from Jin Shi's face, however, two ice needles instantly pierced his eyes.
AAARGH…
A shrill scream came out from the bald man's mouth as he retracted back his swift and fierce strike instantly. A flying sword flying behind him then hacked his waist the moment he subconsciously tried to evade.
Tang Xiu's expression was cold as he shouted in a deep voice, "Focus and unleash everything you have in combat!!!"
Jin Shi and the others looked ashamed and immediately threw away the thought of underestimating the enemy from their mind, manipulating the flying swords to form a sword array to launch a strike to kill the other bald man.
Two minutes later, Tang Xiu, Jin Shi, and the others had already rushed to the third exit. Tang Xiu had already guessed that Xie Zhiqiang was responsible for the death of Austin Cole and his men, but he did not pity them at all. After seeing the tightly shut third exit door, Tang Xiu only sneered and released his Bloodguzzler Dagger again to slash the entire dor.
In a factory inside Kangsha Pharmaceuticals, Xie Zhiqiang had already come out with more than a dozen of his men. A scornful sneer painted his face as he walked outside the factory, and then asked in a deep voice, "Have A Feng and Qiangzi come out yet?"
"Perhaps they won't come out." A Ming shook his head.
A thick killing intent suffused Xie Zhiqiang's eyes, as he imposingly said, "The underground base will explode in less than a minute. Since they won't come out, then the enemies shall be buried along with them! Have you brought along all the data and gene particles?"
"I've brought everything." A Ming nodded.
Screech, screech, screech, screech…
Six SUVs quickly stopped outside the factory with only the driver in each car. They were the people Xie Zhiqiang had long arranged to aid and fetch them up at the third exit once the underground base was compromised, so they could evacuate him as fast as possible.