Chapter 186

The servant responsible for carrying the treasure chest bent down slightly and handed it to Xu Jintang, saying, "Please keep it safe."

"Don't be so polite, everyone. You all deserve these rewards," Alice said again.

"Thank you, boss. We are very grateful for your kindness. We will keep this matter strictly confidential, so please rest assured," Xue Zhongqi said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Alice smiled and nodded at him.

The pharmaceutical company incident has come to a temporary end.

After receiving their payment, Xu Jintang and his group of five said goodbye to Alice and left the manor together.

"Squad leader, you just said that the person who switched the medicine might be... someone from there. Are you joking or serious?" Yan Yuting hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking.

"Seriously," Xu Jintang replied.

Xue Zhongqi and Song Tianqi exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat subtle, probably a little apprehensive, and neither dared to continue the topic.

Everyone has a general idea that there might be some corruption in departments like the Quality Inspection Bureau.

But directly encountering something like this is definitely unsettling.

"This matter ends here. No matter what happens afterward, our deal with Alice is complete. Everyone can just pretend they know nothing," Xu Jintang emphasized.

She had a feeling that this matter would continue to escalate, but it wasn't appropriate for the five of them to get involved anymore.

Song Tianqi and the others nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, let's leave it at that."

News of the Reform Society members appearing at Alice Pharmaceutical Factory quickly leaked out, followed by the discovery of substandard drugs within the factory.

Overnight, all of the Alice Family businesses were thrown into turmoil.

Chapter 186

This turmoil lasted for a week before finally coming to an end.

Ultimately, Alice Pharmaceutical Factory was shut down pending financial penalties after being found to be producing substandard or defective drugs.

According to sources, half of the revenue from all of the Alice Family's businesses this year has been confiscated, resulting in significant losses.

"Do you think Alice might go bankrupt because of this?" Song Tianqi guessed.

Xue Zhongqi immediately denied it. "How could that be? The richest man's assets are unimaginable; he wouldn't go bankrupt because of such a small penalty."

Yan Yuting joined the discussion. "If the Quality Inspection Bureau really did pull this stunt of switching substandard medicines, Alice probably won't be able to confront them directly and will just have to accept the punishment as a sucker."

"That's why it's dark-skinned," Xue Zhongqi and sighed softly.

Xu Jintang did not participate in the discussion; he remained deep in thought with his head down.

A week ago, they had already informed Alice of the conclusion that was likely made by the Quality Inspection Bureau.

Alice certainly has many ways to avoid public punishment.

At worst, I'll just slip a couple of gold cards to the Quality Inspection Bureau.

But the fact that this is still the result only shows that Alice voluntarily accepted the punishment.

Jiang Shiyi walked over, picked up the kettle, poured a glass of water, and quietly said, "The Alice Family has dominated the position of the richest family in the K006 Star Sector for so many years, which is bound to arouse a lot of envy and jealousy. Their public punishment this time is actually a good thing."

"Could it be that Alice willingly accepted this punishment? It's like paying money to avoid further trouble?" Yan Yuting continued to speculate.

"Possibly," Xue Zhongqi nodded. "So the biggest winner in this round is still the Quality Inspection Bureau, which easily reaped a considerable amount of fines."

Xu Jintang picked up her water glass, took a sip, and said, "Just talk about it amongst yourselves; don't mention it in public."

"Understood," everyone replied in unison.

As time passed, the news of Alice Pharmaceutical Factory being shut down quickly lost its momentum, and everyone's attention returned to the issue of Leikedasi's challenge.

Yu Wanyao and her group of five had been extremely busy during this period, successively completing challenges against five military academies, their momentum growing stronger with each battle.

The five players' popularity soared with each victory.

[How many military academies does Leikedasi still need to challenge? It feels like he's about to surpass Clifford's record from last year.]

[We're only three military academies away from surpassing Clifford. That's incredibly efficient; no wonder it's the First Military Academy.]

Their captain Yu Wanyao, is indeed very strong. The other four members also have the ability to challenge opponents of higher levels. Overall, this team is much stronger than Clifford's team last year.

Inside the hotel conference room.

Standing at the conference table, Zhuang Silin said, "With only three military academies remaining, our mission will be successfully completed. I was quite worried before coming here, but I didn't expect you all to perform so well. Congratulations on successfully completing the previous challenge."

"Keep things stable, and you'll all get plenty of rewards when you return to school."

Wei Zixuan and the others excitedly answered in unison, "Yes!"

Xu Jintang four friends returned to their aimless state, spending their days eating, drinking, and going out to have fun.

Alice paid the five of them too much.

Xue Zhongqi stayed in the hotel, bought a bunch of expensive materials, and began to study new Inscription Talisman.

Several times, Song Tianqi urged Xu Jintang to try Heaven Ascension Platform again, but because the commotion caused last time was too great, Xu Jintang was afraid of getting into trouble and never went again.

A week later, Yu Wanyao group of five faced their final challenge match against the military academy.

At the challenge event, a huge crowd of spectators sat around the ring.

Yu Wanyao and the other four stepped onto the arena one after another and stopped in the center.

He shook hands with each of the five military academy students opposite him and introduced himself.

Xu Jintang sat in the rest room, holding a bag of snacks in his hand, occasionally popping a piece into his mouth.

"This squad seems to be the strongest among all the military academies we've challenged this time," Xue Zhongqi said proactively.

Yan Yuting nodded, "Yeah, but it's not a big problem. Sister Wanyao and the others are working together more and more smoothly; taking care of the other side is a piece of cake."

Xu Jintang didn't say much.

She watched Yu Wanyao and her group of five train yesterday, and their overall combat strength had increased by more than one or two times compared to when they first started. They would have no problem dealing with the opposing team today.

Zhuang Silin had already predicted the outcome.

He appeared very relaxed while watching the game today, showing no signs of tension whatsoever.

"Buzzing..."

The communicator started vibrating.

Xu Jintang stopped chewing and glanced down at the communicator.

This is a news notification: [The Reform Society Party has been frequently appearing in various star systems recently. All star residents are advised to be vigilant for safety.]

She clicked on a news topic and immediately saw a list of various incidents recently caused by the Reform Society group.

The comment section below was filled with all sorts of onlookers enjoying the spectacle.

What's going on with the Reform Society lately? Why are they suddenly making such a big move? Are they planning something big?

[I'm speechless. The Reform Society should be completely eradicated! Fighting monsters already consumes a lot of manpower and resources; we're all human, why are we fighting amongst ourselves?]

[That's right, we hope the Federation will increase pressure quickly and wipe out the Reform Society members in one fell swoop.]

Online opinion towards the Reform Society is overwhelmingly negative, with everyone condemning it.

Xu Jintang stared at the news content, lost in thought.

The incident involving the Quality Inspection Bureau and Alice Pharmaceutical Factory shows that the people in the Federation are not entirely innocent and virtuous.

The Reform Society members suddenly appeared at the pharmaceutical factory, and it was unclear what they were investigating.

She stroked her chin, deep in thought.

Not long after, enthusiastic cheers suddenly erupted from the arena below. "Go! Go!"

Xu Jintang's thoughts were pulled back to the present moment.

She lowered her eyes and looked over.

For some unknown reason, Yu Wanyao was the first to be knocked off the stage.

At this point, only Wei Zixuan and three others remained on Leikedasi's side.

The cheers from the surrounding audience were for the military academy squad opposite them.

"What happened? Why was Sister Wanyao knocked down?" Song Tianqi quickly looked up and asked.

He just spaced out for a moment, and this is what happened.

"Huh? I didn't notice either." Yan Yuting looked up, her face blank.

They all thought Yu Wanyao and the others were fine, and hadn't paid much attention to the battle situation at all.

Zhuang Silin spoke with a serious expression, "The opposing team has temporarily replaced a member, the one who just knocked Yu Wanyao off the stage."

Xu Jintang looked in the direction she was looking.

There was a blue-haired girl in the opposing team.

Her hair was just shoulder-length, and her face was as cold as ice, giving her an aloof and unapproachable air.

Her special ability is rather peculiar; it's a silver liquid that can change shape at any time, turning into a solid.

Moreover, when it transforms into a solid, it becomes extremely hard, making it impossible for ordinary human forces to penetrate. Furthermore, the solid can revert to a liquid state, so even if it is penetrated, it will not be significantly affected.

"Teacher, what kind of superpower is this?" Yan Yuting asked curiously.

Zhuang Silin: "It's a toxic liquid called West Silver. This liquid can transform into a solid at any time. When it's solid, its hardness is comparable to diamond, the hardest substance in interstellar space, and ordinary swords cannot pierce it."

"When it transforms into a liquid, it becomes extremely agile, capable of instantly enveloping the enemy. Once an enemy comes into contact with the West Silver liquid, they will fall into a brief state of paralysis and poisoning. Yu Wanyao was just knocked off the stage because she was poisoned."

A hint of interest flickered in Xu Jintang's eyes.

"This ability sounds interesting."

"My God, will Sister Wanyao and the others lose?" Song Tianqi asked with some concern.

Zhuang Silin pursed her lips, her expression remaining relatively calm. "No, it was just our carelessness; we didn't expect the other side to make a last-minute substitution."

Before today's challenge match began, they specifically studied the opposing team of five.