A Person in Terra, With No Books Left to Read

He simply introduced himself casually, but he didn't expect Ferdinand to look astonished, and even Saria showed a hint of surprise. Both of them kept sizing up Warfarin.

"Are... are you Mr. Blood?" Ferdinand asked cautiously.

"Mr. Blood? Oh, that was my pen name when I was publishing papers in Columbia. I didn't expect anyone to still remember."

Warfarin waved her hand dismissively. Seeing Theresica's confused gaze beside her, she straightened her chest with a hint of pride in her expression.

Kid, you thought I only played games!

Saria, unlike Ferdinand, didn't keep her attention on the famous Warfarin. Instead, she asked Theresica, "Theresica, is there a special reason you came this time?"

"Yes, but let's talk somewhere else."

"Alright, follow me."

After more than a year, returning to Rhine Lab Headquarters felt completely different. Many new buildings had appeared around the headquarters, all adorned with the Rhine Lab logo. The interior of the headquarters building had also been redecorated, losing its previous rough feel.

Saria led the way, taking Theresica into the Rhine Metal area. The first thing he saw was the remote education workspace.

Several soundproof recording studios were set up here. The people responsible for recording courses were speaking animatedly to the cameras. The recorded courses would be sealed and sent to Kazdel under the guise of fertilizer.

Beside them, people were flipping through various papers, writing furiously. These were the assignments and questions from students receiving medical education in Kazdel. After being collected, they were sent here, where Rhine Lab professionals would answer them before sending them back.

Although this educational method was slow and inefficient, the first batch of general practitioners in Kazdel developed secretly and ruggedly under these circumstances.

"Over there is a laboratory prepared according to standard Columbia regulations for the Rhine Metal Engineering Department. It hasn't been opened yet but can be put into use at any time. Further ahead is the administrative office area..."

Ferdinand explained as he saw Theresica looking around. Looking at everything, Theresica couldn't help but admire how a small company had grown to this scale in just one year.

"Ferdinand, I didn't realize you were quite capable."

"It wouldn't have been possible without your financial support," Ferdinand said humbly, which was the truth in his heart. Except for this war period, Theresica had always kept in touch with him, sending regular well-wishes followed by direct inquiries about funding gaps.

Whatever amount he mentioned, the other party would directly transfer it without interfering with the experiments or making unreasonable demands to halt projects when unexpected issues arose. He was truly a model client, one in a million!

Arriving at the spacious office reserved for Theresica himself, everyone sat down. Saria spoke directly.

"You're here about Oripathy, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's right." Theresica nodded. "Saria, you guessed correctly. This is indeed one of the reasons I'm here."

"That's normal. When the war starts, Originium Arts will be used frequently, and being hit by spells will increase the number of infected individuals and worsen the severity of infection."

Saria's expression turned a little grim, as if she greatly disliked the word "war." She asked Theresica, "Do you have any approximate data?"

"Yes."

Theresica signaled for Salus to hand the compiled documents to Saria. They detailed the Originium situation in all individuals in Kazdel, although their professions were all registered as ordinary people.

"Ah, it's that serious?"

Ferdinand's eyes widened after reading it, and Saria's brows furrowed. Theresica could only sigh helplessly.

"Sarkaz are inherently susceptible to infection. They recently had a bloody battle with Kazimierz, and to survive, they had to desperately use Originium Arts. Kazdel currently has no agents to curb Oripathy, and the situation is likely to worsen in the near future. I need to find an agent that can be mass-produced as soon as possible."

Ferdinand pondered for a moment. "I'm in charge of the Energy Department, and Saria is in charge of the Defense Department. For Oripathy agents, we'll probably need to find Parvis. I'll go get him."

Chapter 72: Throwing Money, Snatching Manufacturers

Under Ferdinand's urging, Parvis walked into the office at a leisurely pace. He had already heard the situation from Ferdinand on the way.

"Your Excellency Vice President, your kind heart is precious, but unfortunately, Rhine Lab's current research direction for Oripathy is not medicine, but rather personalized medical plans for precise treatment."

As Parvis spoke, he produced a report. "This is Rhine Lab's current method for controlling the spread of crystallized lesions in Oripathy—Chimeric Therapy. Please review it."

Theresica took Parvis's report and skimmed through it, gaining a general understanding. It involved the reverse utilization of Originium's characteristic of attracting and forming crystal blocks when in an active state. When a person first developed obvious Oripathy lesions, artificial, high-purity stable Originium particles would be implanted to attract and absorb the Originium generated by the lesions, thereby controlling the progression of Oripathy.

The surgical procedure required a sterile operating room, professional surgeons, and the injection of an agent to keep the Originium particles active. The entire process was quite costly.

After finishing the report, Theresica handed it to Warfarin and then looked at Parvis. "Does Rhine Lab have any agents that can curb Oripathy? Even a small effect would be fine."

"...I'm very sorry, but Rhine Lab hasn't focused its research in this direction yet. However, if you wish, I can establish a new research team tonight."

Parvis seemed a little nervous. The young Sarkaz before him was, by far, the most comfortable client he had encountered in his many years of research. All his funding came from this person, and it was only right that he should do something for him.

"I was too impatient. You did nothing wrong."

Theresica took a few deep breaths to calm himself. There were many medical companies in Columbia, and Parvis's concept of personalized medical treatment could indeed quickly generate funds.

These people were not like him; they had an entire Sarkaz population behind them. He couldn't project his own anxiety onto others.

"Thank you for your understanding," Parvis said, truly relieved.

"Since Rhine Lab doesn't have it, we'll have to import the medicine. But honestly, the prices in Columbia are a bit hard for me to accept."

Theresica thought for a moment and asked, "Are there any Oripathy-curbing agents on the Columbia market that have passed patent protection? I'd like to import them for Kazdel to replicate."

"I'll handle that. The Pharmaceutical Administration should have the data. I'll have someone get it for you," Saria said with a confident tone.

"Thank you, Ms. Saria. I owe you one."

"It's fine. You also provide funding for the Defense Department, so there's no such thing as eating for free."

Saria's words made the other two smile faintly, but Parvis asked at this moment.

"Copying patented drugs after their protection expires is indeed a good way to reduce costs, but does Kazdel have the capability for generic production?"

At this question, Theresica's expression turned uncomfortable again.

Don't be fooled by Kazdel's current state of development in all aspects, with the entire nation flourishing. Once it comes to technical matters, Kazdel is completely incapable. Their industrial machinery was all imported through various means, common medicines are imported from Siracusa, civilian equipment is modeled after Siracusa's, and their semi-automatic crossbows, airships, and Siphon Drones are all innovative ideas, unrelated to technical capability.

Kazdel only mastered the application of these things; they were completely ignorant of the underlying principles.

In the evening, Ferdinand treated everyone to dinner, and Kristen, who had been holed up in the research lab, finally came out. She was very excited about Kazdel's mass production of airships, mentioning that her parents had similar ideas during their lives, but they were only experiments. She never expected Kazdel to directly mass-produce them! If they knew this news, they would be very happy!

Upon learning that it was a company founded by Theresica that was producing them, she offered many suggestions for improvement, all of which Theresica meticulously noted down.

Returning to their hotel that night, Theresica paced back and forth, thinking about how to get medicine for Kazdel.

"Theresica, Kazdel truly has no domestic drug production capability at the moment."

Warfarin looked at him and advised, "Drug production first requires sterile workshops, then mature manufacturers of chemical raw materials, processing plants, and supporting inspection procedures for each stage. Where will Kazdel find such people now?"

"What about Chimeric Therapy?"

"I can handle it personally, but I can only care for a very small group of people."

Hearing Warfarin's answer, Theresica sighed helplessly and then looked at Jian and Salus.

"It seems you two will need to be prepared."

"As you command." "Please, just give the order."

That night, the Shapeshifter troops transformed into the Feline race of Victoria, and under the leadership of Salus and a disguised Jian, they approached the owners of various pharmaceutical factories.

The thugs and security guards they hired were no match for the professional soldiers like the Shapeshifters, being cut down like vegetables. A group of dozens of thugs was wiped out in less than two minutes.

Standing in a villa where blood stained the ground, Jian punched the anti-theft door, creating a gap, and then forcefully tore the entire metal door apart from the middle.

"Wow, how barbaric."

Salus said with a smile, completely ignoring her still-dripping sword. Jian didn't pay her any mind and instead approached a trembling wealthy merchant, who was clutching his wife and daughter, and presented a contract.

"Company, acquisition. You wouldn't want your children to starve to death, would you?"

Jian slowly raised the weapon in her hand, a weapon from Yan, which, like her name, she was very fond of.

A slender shadow cast by the light swept across the merchant's face. She finally said, "The price is market value. You won't lose, nor will you profit."

"I'll sign! I'll sign!"

The merchant's spirit broke at that moment. He grabbed the contract and quickly signed his name, afraid that if he was a second late, the thing above his head would fall.

"I've signed, can you let us go now?"

The merchant offered the contract with trembling hands, pleading nervously. Jian didn't really understand contracts and handed them to Salus behind her. Seeing her nod, "Master said these matters must be kept secret."

Squelch—

The wall, adorned with exquisite wallpaper, was instantly stained with a splash of crimson.

A team of Shapeshifters waiting outside entered, their appearances slowly changing as they cleaned up, eventually taking on the forms of the merchant.

In the pharmaceutical industry for Oripathy treatment, as long as they are not targeted by competitors, it is extremely difficult to incur losses in Terra. Theresica initially tried to get them to lower prices through extremely large orders, but they were unwilling.

Then he wanted to acquire them, but no one was willing to sell their businesses. With no other options, Theresica became desperate. He remembered that he had a blade and had Jian and Salus take action.

In one night, he gained control of several pharmaceutical manufacturers, from the chemical raw materials for Oripathy inhibitory agents to crude processing, and then to drug processing. The entire production chain was now complete, and all that was left was for Saria to provide suitable medicinal agents.

For some time in the future, these manufacturers will gradually be acquired by Rhine Metal openly, then produced directly in Columbia, and then supplied to Kazdel with Oripathy inhibitory agents, incurring only labor costs, material costs, warehousing costs, and transportation costs.

Perhaps in the future, the last cost will disappear.

"Sarkaz, thank you for your contributions."

Theresica murmured softly, then instructed Salus, "Donate the savings of these wealthy merchants in batches to the Columbia welfare homes, using my identity here."

"Why would you do this, my lord?"

"I don't know. Perhaps in a few hundred years, my soul will be burdened with less condemnation after I die."

Theresica said casually, but beneath Salus's smiling face, there was a strange displeasure.

"What are you talking about? You won't die."

"Really? Even immortal beings will face the end of time."

"No, you won't."

Salus's words carried a hint of stubbornness, and Theresica didn't argue further.

"Is that so? That would be nice too. The sky is almost light, let's go back and rest."

Chapter 73: Poaching

Without any outsiders knowing, Theresica had already found pharmaceutical manufacturers and began the overt merger process the very next day.

In the office, Ferdinand looked at the acquisition contract in front of him with surprise and then teased Saria, who was arriving late today, "You're a bit slow."

"Document organization took a little time."

Saria took a large stack of documents from her backpack and handed one to everyone. "Based on the patients' physical condition and the degree of infection, I've organized six types of medications. They've all passed their patent protection periods."

Ferdinand looked at them, a hint of curiosity on his face. "Why haven't I seen any of these on the market?"

"That's only natural. Technology is constantly updating. Pharmaceutical companies will launch new products and focus all their efforts on producing them. Purchasers of medications also pursue better efficacy, so these older drugs are quickly phased out by the market."

Parvis, who was researching Oripathy, understood this very well. He explained to Theresica, "I have some impression of these medications. Their effect in curbing Oripathy is quite average, but their advantage is that they are harmless to the patient's body. However, this goes against market demands, and they were taken off the shelves within a year or two."

"As long as they're effective, that's all that matters right now. And the fact that they're harmless to the human body aligns perfectly with my intentions."

Noticing Warfarin nod slightly, Theresica confirmed the production of these Oripathy-inhibiting agents. What Saria had chosen was very much to his liking.

I haven't known her for long, but this Wyvern lady sees right through me.

At that moment, Ferdinand took out a check from the Columbia Bank and placed it on the desk.

"The production costs for these medications aren't low, and you spent quite a bit forcibly acquiring those manufacturers. Since we couldn't contact you about Rhine Lab's profit dividends from last year, we've been holding onto it. I'll hand it over to you today."

Theresica took the check. The amount on it wasn't actually that much to him, but he was a little surprised. Rhine Lab had actually turned a profit in just one year?

He smiled and accepted the check.

"Don't worry, I've recently made some money from Ursus and Yan. I have no problem with investing these funds. Since I'm here these few days, let me take a good look at Rhine Lab's achievements this year. If there are any good projects, I won't be stingy."

"No problem!"

Ferdinand and Parvis, who were researchers, couldn't help but smile.

Under Ferdinand's leadership, Rhine Lab advocated for encouraging researchers to initiate their own projects and pursue free research. As a result, the company had countless projects underway.

Many researchers at Rhine Lab knew that behind the company was a well-funded client who didn't interfere with research projects. However, he had always only invested in the research projects of a few directors and projects they approved. But today, he had actually come to the company headquarters to review all the projects?!

Wouldn't that mean everyone had a chance to meet the benefactor?!