MMORPG: The Almighty Ring

Chapter 226: Absurd Potion Prices

After training for an entire day, Jiang Fei returned home feeling refreshed. That night, he suddenly received a phone call from Han Tianyu.

“Ah Fei. We’ve almost resolved the issue with the Zhangs. Oh, what the hell. It’s basically already talked over,” said Han Tianyu, without getting too much into detail. Having dealt with Jiang Fei for so long, Han Tianyu understood him fairly well. He knew that Jiang Fei was no longer the cheerful little boy that he once knew.

Jiang Fei understood just as much. He could pretty much guess the outcome; to free Jiang Fei from the death grip of the Zhang family, Han Tianyu must have made a deal with them, something that gave the Zhangs much benefit.

“Thanks a bunch!”

Han Tianyu may have screwed up, but Jiang Fei was nevertheless grateful that he had gone to such lengths resolving it. Clearly, there was a spy amongst Han Tianyu’s ranks, but Han Tianyu’s swift actions had kept Jiang Fei and his family safe and sound.

“Don’t mention it. You wouldn’t be in this situation had I been more vigilant with my staff. I’m happy enough to know that you did not lay it down on me. Sorry but, there’s something I need you to do.”

“Don’t hold back, brother. Ask away!” Jiang Fei replied.

“Alright. I have confirmed that the first batch of potions that you gave have been put to good use. However, the battles overseas do not seem to leting up, not even in the slightest. Those potions will be consumed in no time. The guys in the military are requesting for a second batch. They need another thousand bottles.”

“That’s not a problem at all, but are you sure a thousand is enough?”

It was a matter of life and death for the soldiers in the front line. Jiang Fei would not hesitate to help out.

“It’s plenty. Uncle Chen knows that these potions all came from your own pockets. They had been used sparingly. We would only use them as a last resort. We would not use them on any non-fatal cases.”

“That’s good. Ah… By the way, can I leave Manda Square now? I need to meet up with my sifu for something…”

“Yeah, you’re free to go. But before you hang up, I still have something to add on about the potions.”

Han Tianyu’s voice grew anxious.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jiang Fei worriedly. He knew that Han Tianyu is a man with nerves of steel. If he was feeling uneasy, it had to be serious.

“It’s the Manda Group. They wish to purchase your potions. The thing is… We have signed a contract to sell these potions to the Zhangs! ”

“Huh…”

Jiang Fei was startled. However, he understood what was going on in the next second. This was the very deal that kept them off Jiang Fei’s back.

“Judging from your silence, I think you’ve figured it out.”

Han Tianyu laughed bitterly.

“Yeah… I know.”

Jiang Fei nodded.

Previously, when Jiang Fei had given the military the recovery potion through Han Tianyu, they had been handled with extreme care and security.

Chen Kaiyin had maintained a very tight grip over the distributions of potions. Even though each soldier practically had a bottle at hand, Chen would check up with them every single day. Any use case would be reviewed, and any misplacement was treated as a breach national security. If the soldier who ‘misplaced’ it had sold it for personal use, he or she would be sent to military court.

Han Tianyu had handled things similarly, albeit skipping over several procedures and human rights along the way. Unlike the military trials, his traitors would be executed on the spot. Simple as that.

Under such tight security, the chances of those potions appearing on the streets was equivalent to dinosaurs walking around in public parks. However, a couple of Jiang Fei’s potion had indeed surfaced in the black market, fetching a price several times higher than any western rapid-cell-regeneration medicine.

“Alright, since you are up to speed, I hereby, would like to represent Manda Group and the Zhang family in requesting for a purchase of your magical potion. The first batch would amount up to 30 potions. Name your price.” Almost instantly, Han Tianyu’s tone had changed into a strict, businesslike manner.

“I…”

Just when Jiang Fei was about to say something, Han Tianyu interrupted.

“Before you name a price, I’m going to tell you something, not from the position of a businessman, but as your brother. In the west, they have produced a similar counterpart to your potion. It’s called the Hyperactive Cell Regeneration Potion. Each bottle costs at least one billion USD! They are extremely expensive and highly regulated. If China were to buy it, we could only procure one bottle for ourselves at most. Do what you want with that information. Now, name your price,” Han Tianyu said nonchalantly.

“Ha. Haha. Very good. Thank you, brother Yu.”

Jiang Fei laughed weakly. He understood why Han Tianyu had dropped him that note about western medicine. He was only trying to be fair. This was strictly business. Friendship and brotherhood had no right to stand in the way of transactions between professionals. Han Tianyu was worried that Jiang Fei might be too young to understand economics.

Truth be told, Jiang Fei had the shock of his life when he heard of the Regeneration Potion. He had always known that his potion was valuable enough to make some profit, but he had never expected anything similar to even exist in this world, and at such an exorbitant price too.

When Jiang Fei first met Han Tianyu, he had thought that one thousand bottles was not a small amount, considering the fact that he had received a lump sum of 50,000 dollars. That amount was so relatively massive to him that he had accepted it after much hesitation. Now, Jiang Fei felt as if he had truly seen the world for the first time. If Han Tianyu had not told him about western medicine, he would have remained blind and naive. It was finally made clear to Jiang Fei that pharmaceutical companies were easily monopolizing the medicinal market!

One billion USD? What absurdity was that? That was an amount that Jiang Fei could not even fathom!

“Brother, let’s just work with china dollars, yeah? RMB NOT USD!” Jiang Fei sternly said.

“Haha! I guess that its still too early for some serious business!”

Han Tianyu bit his lip. Han Tianyu had just given Jiang Fei good reason to overcharge the medicine. It was not about Jiang Fei’s profits. It was all about shutting up the Zhangs. If they were underpaid, they might expose Jiang Fei as the source of the potions. If that happened, the Zhang family would not be the only people after Jiang Fei.

“Screw this. One billion RMB per bottle. That’s thirty bottles, so that’s thirty billion RMB!” Han Tianyu quickly wrapped up the deal.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Fei was suddenly plagued by a persistent itch beneath his skin. Giving the military a thousand bottles of potion was nothing but a small feat. He had no qualms about protecting the lives of those who put everything on the line for the sake of the country. However, thirty bottles of potions being distributed into the market was a different thing. It all seemed… Surreal. Who would be willing to fork out one billion RMB for a bottle? 30 billion RMB… If he were to stack the bills together, he could even build a tower of money and still have some to spare!

Still, having money was better than having nothing. With such a large amount of cash bound to enter his account, Jiang Fei felt like he could even buy the heavens. He looked down at the ring in his fingers and said, “Little one, tell me your desires. Diamonds? Crystals? Just tell me what you want. I’ll even feed you jade!”

Jiang Fei finally understood how Han Tianyu felt. When one is loaded chock full of money, one would not even know how to spend it! On the other hand, Jiang Fei knew exactly where to spend them!

When Jiang Fei returned home, his mother had received the news about the curfew. The Manda Group had already sent someone over to have a word with his family. They may choose to leave, but the house was already as good as the family’s freehold property!

What Jiang Fei’s mother was told that Jiang Fei’s father was no longer at risk and the family was no longer in danger, she had thought that they would have to leave Manda Square and return the mansion to Manda Group. When she was told that the mansion had, in fact, been given to them, Jiang Fei’s mother soared above cloud nine. The house was so grand that Jiang Fei’s mother had gotten used to living in a higher society!

Little did she know that Jiang Fei had caused all of this. She had absolutely no clue on what Jiang Fei had turned out to be. Of course, Jiang Fei’s mother was not the only one lost in her ignorance. Everyone else would assume that Jiang Fei was a regular, run-of-the-mill citizen. Even the higher-ups merely thought that Jiang Fei was only connected to the actual source of the potions. That was all about to change when Jiang Fei straightens up to proclaim his power. They would soon regret judging Jiang Fei so prematurely.