491: Chapter 491: At This Mont, Is Hope (Copy World Ends/Large Chapter for Monthly Tickets) 491: Chapter 491: At This Mont, Is Hope (Copy World Ends/Large Chapter for Monthly Tickets) Christos personally delivered a speech at the press conference, stating that the dical consortium’s disgusting human experintation and monopolization of the healthcare market to inflate prices have exceeded what the citizens of Dawn City can accept, as well as the bottom line that the Dawn City governnt can tolerate.
The Dawn City governnt does not rule out the possibility of taking necessary asures against the major dical consortia.
In the extrely short ti after the press conference concluded, the Dawn City police urgently sealed off Stars Pharma’s Research Institute and the company’s headquarters in Dawn City.
The Dawn City governnt announced it would launch an investigation into Stars Pharma’s illegal use of banned drugs, illegal restraint of personal freedom, illegal use of Cult items, and fraudulently inflated pricing to deceive consurs.
During the investigation, all of Stars Pharma’s operations in Dawn City will be restricted.
Social comntators have pointed out that if these allegations are proven true, Stars Pharma will not only face hefty fines but could also be subject to Dawn City’s governnt’s maximum punishnt of restricting its business activities within the city.
As the largest city and the biggest consur market in the Federation, if Stars Pharma can no longer operate in Dawn City and loses this largest market, it would deal a major blow to its leading position in the dical industry, possibly even resulting in its fall from the top echelon of consortia.
Furthermore, several directors and executives of Stars Pharma could face prison.
On that day, Stars Pharma’s stock price plunged, closing with a drop of over 5.5%.
——
October 10th
The federal Bureau of Investigation headquarter held a press conference giving a periodic investigation report on the unusual events in Lin City.
During the conference, Director Thorin of the Lin City FBI presented a report to the dia.
This report showed the preliminary investigation results of the FBI.
It included the fact that the late Senator Janos had violated federal law by accepting employnt from Stars Pharma, holding a senior managent position within the company, and engaging in abuses of power and insider trading.
In addition, the report also displayed photos found by the FBI in the Stars Pharma building in Lin City of large experintal Blood Pools made from humans and exotic beasts, and a large experintal machine constructed from human bodies.
The graphic nature of these photos caused so reporters to retch on the spot.
Director Thorin of the Lin City FBI stated there was sufficient evidence to prove that Stars Pharma was using certain objects related to the Evil God from the wilderness to execute extrely cruel biological projects, and that these projects were being applied in practice; Janos was very likely one of the main drivers of these projects.
The abnormal phenonon overshadowing Lin City was the result of these objects getting out of control.
About the cause of the event, the FBI has not yet reached a definitive conclusion; however, it is currently speculated that so higher-ups in Stars Pharma intentionally caused this loss of control.
Thorin’s unveiling of this report made the complexions of officials present from the FBI headquarters look rather grave.
The attending reporters shrewdly noticed that this report seed not to have been planned for the press conference.
“Hello, Director Thorin, can the FBI clarify how this event was resolved?”
During the question period, a reporter, looking sowhat pale, stood up and asked, “To my knowledge, the incident ended before federal investigative support arrived; in such a great disaster, it seems the FBI did not play any role.”
Her words turned the already sour faces of the officials from the FBI headquarters completely grim.
“In fact, the FBI has been involved in the investigation of this case,”
Thorin answered slowly, “We assigned an elite agent with a spirit of exploration to delve into this incident.
Of course, we must not forget to ntion that we received significant aid from a forr FBI employee who had resigned,”
At this point, his expression turned somber, “He provided us with a lot of information driven by his strong sense of justice, and during the event, he was the first to identify the issues with the Stars Pharma building.
He courageously infiltrated the building, directly confronting the forces and objects of the Evil God, saving our city.”
“May we know the na of this ‘hero’?
Is he still in Lin City?”
That reporter continued to inquire.
“I am sorry, but we cannot disclose his na due to confidentiality principles during the investigation.
As for whether he is still alive,”
Thorin sighed lightly, “the truth is, since the event ended, we have not been able to contact him.”
The atmosphere suddenly turned somber; everyone present knew what this implied.
The chances of surviving an entanglent with an Evil God event were next to none.
Afterward, a few other reporters asked questions, and Thorin gave a detailed introduction to the investigation results regarding Stars Pharma.
Thorin, previously sitting at the edge, had clearly beco the protagonist of this conference, while the other FBI headquarters officials were left hanging.
After the eting, Nock watched as Thorin and a few of the headquarters officials stepped into the backstage.
After a while, several officials from the headquarters left the backstage in a fury, while Thorin erged with a smile.
Nock hurriedly approached, “Director, didn’t the headquarters tell you not to talk about those things…
it could affect the credibility of the Federal Assembly.”
“Have there been few scandals involving senators and congressn in the past few centuries?” Thorin smiled, then said to Nock, “Don’t call Director anymore.
I’ve already submitted my letter of resignation to the headquarters.”
“Who are those people?
They ostracize you just because you told the truth?”
Nock was stunned and said angrily, “Is the headquarters filled with such useless people?
If you quit, I’m quitting too.”
“No, they didn’t ostracize ,” Thorin said with a smile as he continued to walk outside with Nock, “In fact, we had a pleasant conversation.”
“Then why?”
Nock’s face showed so confusion.
“The Senator of Lin City has died,”
By now, they had stepped outside and, through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see the sowhat silent city.
Thorin took out a cigarette and passed one to Nock as well, “The Senate can’t have an empty seat.”
Nock, not fully understanding, accepted the cigarette, “Are you going to run for Senator?
But the expressions on those officials’ faces from the headquarters just now…”
“Don’t put too much faith in the expressions on people’s faces,” Thorin said as he put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it, “People can deceive.”
The flickering cigarette end emitted little wisps of mist, “In this world, sotis you need to learn to compromise, and other tis you need to find uncompromising ways within compromise.
Young man, your life is long, and so is your road ahead.”
Thorin turned around, smiling at Nock, “I’ve written you a recomndation letter, referred you to the headquarters.
Work hard there.
The ones who ca today, build a good relationship with them; they have been my colleagues for many years.
If you perform well, they too will give you a helping hand.”
Nock looked at the director before him.
Suddenly, he felt that this director, who routinely made milk tea every day and regularly went ho to spend ti with his family, seed a little unfamiliar.
He hesitated, then asked tentatively, “Director, how co you…”
“I used to think,” Thorin glanced at the city outside the window, “that being a director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a safe little city was enough to protect my family.”
He turned back towards Nock with a smile, “Now I realize I was wrong.”
He took a step, and as he brushed past Nock, he patted Nock’s shoulder, “Work hard, kid.”
His figure gradually faded at the end of the corridor.
Watching the director’s receding back, Nock suddenly rembered sothing and shouted, “Director, I know of a hospital with excellent hair transplant services!”
Into the deserted corridor, Thorin’s figure disappeared into the shadows.
Buzz—
Just then, Nock’s wrist communicator vibrated.
It was a ssage from the director,
[Send the address].
——
Kaye City
“We never got in touch with him again…”
Ennie watched the news conference on television, sowhat out of it.
“Co,” Lina, with her hair in a high ponytail, brought over a black and white dress that sowhat resembled a formal gown, “Ennie, take a look at this dress I bought for you.
Try it on and see how it looks.”
After spending several days together, their relationship had gradually ward up.
Lina took good care of this young girl who had co to the city alone.
Ennie looked up, staring blankly at this ‘older sister’ who had been frequently visiting since she moved into the rental apartnt.
“This looks expensive.”
Ennie turned off the television and looked at the dress in Lina’s hand.
“You’re now a little rich lady worth millions,” Lina said with a smile as she approached with the dress, “You need to wear sothing that fits your status.”
“Millions?”
Ennie was puzzled.
“You didn’t know?”
Lina looked at Ennie with a bit of surprise, “Your father entrusted about three hundred thousand federal coins in cash to Mr.
Vian to manage it for him.
Mr.
Vian leveraged this amount multiple tis and perford hedge operations with the group’s funds.
Now this money is almost worth thirteen million, and it might even be more by the ti it’s finished.”
“What?”
Ennie was utterly flabbergasted by Lina’s words.
“According to your father’s wishes, this money will be put into the family trust fund company under the group to be managed for you.
You’ll only be able to take a fixed sum of living expenses from it each month.”
Lina continued to elaborate.
Ennie was still a bit confused, “So much money, where did it co from?”
“By conducting long and short trades on the securities market against a certain super conglorate and its related enterprises, um, mainly short selling, you can think of it as betting that a certain conglorate’s stock price will fall, and then we can make money when it does,”
Lina pondered for a mont and said with so emotion, “Mr.
Vian really has guts, pledging many of the consortium’s fixed assets to leverage up into the market, but old Mr.
Danny Lowe said that after this ti, we could probably obtain more than tens of billions in cash flow from the market, which would greatly alleviate our current financial crisis.”
The things Lina was talking about had already exceeded the range of Ennie’s understanding, and she could only stand beside her and nod obediently.
At this mont, Lina also realized she had spoken sowhat intricately and lifted the clothes in her hand, “In any case, you’re now a little rich lady, try this on.”
“So, sister,” Ennie touched the skirt she had never even dared to dream of before, its high-quality and comfortable texture, “am I a rich second generation now?”
“Sort of?”
Lina tilted her head and whispered softly.
“Hmm.”
Ennie gently nodded, her fingers touching the hem of the dress, her vision blurred by the glistening liquid.
——
October 11
The Federal President announced the formation of an investigation team to start an investigation into Stars Pharma.
Shares of Stars Pharma plumted once again.
Mayor Christos of Dawn City was subjected to an assassination attempt while delivering a speech on dical price regulation.
The assassination was unsuccessful, and the assassin committed suicide before being arrested.
——
November 20
After two months of volatility, the stock price of Stars Pharma ultimately fell by 19.2%, with more than five hundred billion federal coins evaporating in this decline.
As a result, Stars Pharma dropped from the ranking of the top ten market capitalization consortiums in the Federation.
Due to sanctions from both the Federation and the Lin City governnt, Stars Pharma announced a contraction of its operations in Lin City.
The forr Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Lin City, Thorin, was elected as a Senator in the reopened elections.
On the sa day, the Dawn City council passed the “dical Price Regulation Act.”
The act enforced a mandatory limit on the increase in dical prices in Dawn City, requiring that the annual increase in dical services cannot exceed twice the increase in the Dawn City consur price index, and the increase in drug prices cannot exceed one and a half tis the increase in the Dawn City consur price index.
Each ti there was a price increase, dical conglorates were required to disclose to the public detailed reasons for the increase, including the manufacturing and research and developnt costs, net profits, and marketing advertising expenses of drugs and dical services.
In addition, the act also mandated that dical corporations could not engage in consur price discrimination; the low-cost dical services they provided in other cities must also be offered in Dawn City, and it was forbidden to change the nas of the sa low-cost dical services in other cities in order to raise prices in Dawn City through a differentiated catalog.
——
November 21
Nolanka Group announced an investnt of one billion federal coins to establish a private dical college in Lin City, nad “Pet-Qiming dical College.”
The project had already received approval from the Lin City governnt and certification from the Federal Departnt of Education.
The college was expected to recruit a batch of pre-dical students in the spring sester of the following January and begin official enrollnt for the four-year program in the fall sester of the sa year.
At the sa ti, the school offered a one-year short-term advanced class for students who had dical experience but did not have formal dical credentials to undertake short-term advanced studies.
Late that sa day, the Nolanka Group announced again that the group had established “Pet-Qiming Hospitals” in Dawn City, Kaye City, Rock City, and Lin City, providing ‘high-quality,’ ‘affordable’ dical services to these cities.
The hospital had obtained operating licenses in the above-ntioned four cities.
——
January 10
Lin City
Nolanka Group purchased a building and its attached campus, which was being converted into the main campus of Qiming dical College.
The school was still under noisy construction in many areas.
But the spring sester of the preparatory school had already begun.
The Nolanka Group had planted a large number of trees and plants in the park’s pathways to beautify the campus environnt.
Ennie’s gaze withdrew from the huge ‘Pet-Qiming dical College’ school emblem.
“Once you’re in school, you must study hard,”
Roger, standing behind Ennie, whispered gently.
“Mm,”
Ennie nodded lightly.
“Don’t worry too much,” Lina wrapped an arm around her shoulder, smiling, “Your Uncle Roger is a guest professor at this school, and all the teachers here are his fellow disciples.
If you encounter any problems at school, just tell us directly.”
“Eh?”
Ennie was taken aback.
“Mmhmm,” Roger nodded, casually pulling out a bulging backpack from behind, “Rember to do these practice problems.
Next ti I co to give a lecture, I will explain them to you.”
Ennie: “Ah¿”
Lina, bent over with laughter beside her, covered her mouth and whispered to Ennie, “Alright, go in, don’t worry, we’re right behind you.”
Ennie turned to look back at the two of them, paused silently, and then nodded gently, carrying her backpack across the brand new gate.
“Will she beco an outstanding doctor in the future?”
Lina watched the girl’s receding figure from afar, speaking softly.
“I don’t know,” Roger shook his head, “Her life is in her own hands.”
“Yeah,” Lina nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Roger, “Your disciples won’t proselytize in the school, will they?”
“No,” Roger shook his head, “They follow the Oracle to co here, they won’t ss around.”
“Thank you for the trouble,” Lina sighed, “There were a few professors and lecturers who could’ve helped alleviate your pressure, but Stars Pharma and Wel lured them away with high salaries and even restricted other doctors from coming here.”
“It will be better once these kids grow up.”
Roger, looking at the small groups of students in the campus, said softly.
“Indeed.”
Lina nodded lightly.
······
Ennie walked into the school, observing the people around her.
Most of them carried one or two items bearing the Nolanka Group’s Stars City emblem.
She had just co all the way from the airport and had seen the sa scene everywhere.
Sohow, products of the Nolanka Group had spread throughout the city.
In front of the school’s main teaching building was a full bloom of cherry trees.
These cherry blossoms were early spring varieties cultivated by the Federation, flowering typically from February to March.
This year’s temperatures were higher, and the blossoms seed poised to bloom early.
At this mont, pink buds were thrusting out from the delicate branches, as vibrant young boys and girls ran beneath the cherry trees.
A breeze picked up strands of a girl’s hair as she lifted her head, looking forward.
In front of the grand teaching building, amidst the pink cherry trees, stood a brand new bronze statue.
Ennie stared at the familiar face atop the statue.
It depicted a man of middle age, with a thin face wearing an ample coat, holding a book, looking towards the direction of the rising sun.
The morning sun shone on his cheeks, and also on the feet of the passersby.
Ding ding ding—
From the depths of the teaching building, the bell for class rang out.
At this very mont, it was hope.
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