Chapter 3

Hengyang Laboratory is located in the Mangshan Economic Development Zone in the Xifubu District of Jinzhou City.

It is a two-story building made of reinforced concrete, covering an area of about 936 square meters.

A pair of nearly two-meter-tall stone lions stand at the entrance, with no sign or obvious markings.

However, this is one of the few P3-level biological laboratories in Jinzhou City.

Zhou Xuzheng is a middle-aged man of medium height and slightly plump build, with a square face and a refined demeanor.

In his usual manner, Zhou Xuzheng always does things in a calm and unhurried way.

But today, Zhou Xuzheng, who usually dislikes the smell of cigarettes, sat alone on a cold stainless steel bench, smoking one after another, his face full of anxiety.

Hengyang Laboratory has been the focus of Zhou Xuzheng's entire six years of dedication, but now it is on the brink of collapse...

The project funds had been exhausted six days ago, and the high-standard cleaning system, which had been running continuously for six years, was officially shut down a week ago.

His fingers, holding the cigarette, trembled slightly as Zhou Xuzheng struggled to calm his bewildered and helpless heart...

Hengyang Group has gone bankrupt, and the chairman, Yang Xiuyuan, has been imprisoned... From the moment he learned this news, he knew that the project he had been working on for six years might also be on the verge of bankruptcy...

Thinking about everything he had done over the past six years, Zhou Xuzheng could not calm the melancholy and frustration in his heart.

The Xibenzanil project was fully supported by Yang Xiuyuan, with a total investment of 30 million US dollars over six years. Such a large investment was extremely rare in the domestic pharmaceutical industry, which still relied on expired foreign patents to produce generic drugs to survive.

Six years of hard work, six years of breakthroughs, over 2,000 days and nights... Zhou Xuzheng had already seen the hope of success, but fate played a cruel trick, and at this critical moment, Hengyang Group went bankrupt...

"Ah!"

Another cigarette butt was tossed to the ground, the rising smoke would have triggered a loud alarm in the past... But now, the laboratory was eerily quiet, like a ghost house.

Zhou Xuzheng had reason to believe that if he could present the data accumulated over the past six years, finding a new investor would not be impossible.

But Yang Xiuyuan was his classmate and a very close friend.

This put Zhou Xuzheng in a state of endless melancholy and distress. By Chinese logic, this was indeed a difficult decision.

Either find a new investor to continue the research, or abandon the Xibenzanil project altogether...

Zhou Xuzheng, with bloodshot eyes, slowly pulled out another cigarette, intending to light it.

But at that moment, the glass sliding door was pushed open from the outside, and a middle-aged man in a white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses appeared in Zhou Xuzheng's line of sight.

"Old Zhou, people from Sujiang Group are here again..."

This middle-aged man was named Luo Zhong, Zhou Xuzheng's most capable assistant and a postdoctoral fellow in biology from Peking University, only two years his junior.

Luo Zhong glanced at the cigarette butts on the ground, sighed, and said, "Actually, Sujiang Group is being quite sincere... This is their seventh visit in three days. Old Zhou, even if you don't consider the laboratory, you should think about your wife and family. Not even meeting them... it's really not right."

Mentioning Zhou Xuzheng's wife, his body stiffened noticeably...

According to international standards, for a project like Xibenzanil, at least 30% of the project funds should be used for daily expenses, such as salaries and travel costs.

30% of 30 million US dollars is 9 million US dollars... But in reality, over the past six years, the number of times Zhou Xuzheng sent money home was pitifully few!

Even Luo Zhong, his assistant, had lived a tight life for six years.

Zhou Xuzheng knew that Yang Xiuyuan had supported his research under great pressure, so he was extremely meticulous with the funds and never misused them.

To put it bluntly, out of the 30 million US dollars over six years, at least 29.8 million US dollars were used for research! The remaining 200,000 US dollars, after covering other miscellaneous expenses, left almost nothing.

"Click..."

After a pause, the lighter was finally lit.

Taking three deep puffs of the cigarette, Zhou Xuzheng slowly stood up and asked, "Where are they?"

Luo Zhong's serious expression finally showed a hint of a smile. He quickly said, "I asked them to wait in the office..."

"Ah, let's go." Zhou Xuzheng sighed, shook his head, and took a step forward... Yes, even if he didn't consider himself, he had to think about his wife and children. They had suffered a lot these past few years...

...

"This should be the place." Getting out of a taxi and standing at the entrance of Hengyang Laboratory, Yang Chen thought for a moment and finally confirmed that this was the place he was looking for.

It was quite ironic that as the only heir of Hengyang Group, Yang Chen knew very little about many of the group's affairs.

Looking at the Mercedes S600 with a Jinzhou license plate parked at the entrance, Yang Chen frowned slightly.

Jinzhou City's overall conditions were not great, and while there were luxury cars worth around a million, cars worth several million were quite rare.

Especially at this time and place...

Realizing that someone had already come to poach, Yang Chen did not hesitate and quickly ran inside.

There were no security guards or doormen, and the gate was slightly ajar.

As soon as he stepped in, he heard a hearty laugh from the left front...

"Ha ha ha... Mr. Zhou, you can rest assured. Our Sujiang Group's investment in research is not much less than Hengyang's..."

Another man added, "Yes, in recent years, we have launched several projects worth tens of millions. Our headquarters is increasingly emphasizing innovation and research and development... If Mr. Zhou and your team can cooperate with our group, I believe it will be a very pleasant thing for both Mr. Zhou and our Sujiang Group..."

The previous man continued, "Moreover, Hengyang Group has unilaterally terminated its cooperation with Mr. Zhou. Although Hengyang Laboratory is nominally Mr. Zhou's private laboratory, the instruments and equipment, as well as this building, are only borrowed from Hengyang Group. The ownership is not Mr. Zhou's and is within the scope of the court's seizure..."

This seemed to be a heavy blow.

Zhou Xuzheng hesitated, "This..."

Seeing that Zhou Xuzheng was wavering, the man laughed again, "But Mr. Zhou can rest assured. I represent Sujiang Group and guarantee that if Mr. Zhou agrees to cooperate with us, this building and all the instruments and equipment inside will be returned to Mr. Zhou for continued use..."

"Does your group have a project budget?" Luo Zhong couldn't help but ask, "How much funding can you provide to support our research?"

"This..." The man pondered for a moment before saying, "To be honest, we have only heard some rumors about your project... To discuss the scale of funding support, I think we need to be professional. You need to organize the research results and data from the past few years, and I will take them back for evaluation. Only then can we..."

"Take them back for evaluation?" Yang Chen pushed the door open and entered, mocking them without hesitation, "After getting those data, will you come back? I'm afraid by then, the project won't belong to Zhou anymore!"

On the way here, Yang Chen suddenly remembered something.

In his previous life, the person who completed the Xibenzanil project was not Zhou Xuzheng, but a man named Luo Zhong!

Without waiting for the five people in the office to react, Yang Chen asked, "Who among you is Luo Zhong?"

"...I am Luo Zhong." Luo Zhong frowned, "Who are you? I've never seen you before! Is this a place where just anyone can enter? Get out!"

"Ha ha..." At this moment, the middle-aged man in a suit and tie standing in front of Zhou Xuzheng recognized Yang Chen and laughed lightly, "I wondered who it was... It's the young master of Hengyang Group... What? Does your Hengyang Group still have the ability to continue supporting the subsequent research of this project? Ha ha..."

Both laughs were filled with ridicule.

Hengyang Group was finished, and everyone knew it.

Yang Chen coming here to make such a bold statement now, was he not getting enough punishment and seeking more?

His eyes filled with disdain, Wu Shichun shook his head, "What a pity..."

His words sounded like a lament, but they were extremely harsh!