Chapter 409 Let's talk about money, not feelings!

Lin Zhihong looked at her.

In the eyes of this young woman, there was no greed, no fear, only a clear and discerning understanding.

She had seen through everything long ago.

At that moment, Lin Zhihong suddenly had a strange feeling.

Standing opposite him was not a small factory manager on a remote island, but a young lion that had not yet grown up but had already shown its fangs.

"Director Su is joking." Lin Zhihong took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart, and raised his glass. "Even if the deal doesn't go through, we can still be on good terms. Our negotiations have only just begun, haven't they?"

"Of course." Su Yue clinked glasses with him.

The crisp sound of glass colliding seemed like some kind of signal.

“However, next time, Mr. Lin would be better off using a different tactic.” Su Yue brought the wine glass to her lips, using the act of drinking to conceal the coldness in her eyes. “After all, playing the emotional card too much can easily backfire. Let’s talk about money; it might hurt feelings, but it’s more practical.”

She tilted her head back and drank it all.

She turned around and waved to Professor Liang, who was still staring at her expectantly: "Professor Liang, it's too noisy here. Why don't we go to the terrace over there? I'll explain the screening process for that mutant strain to you."

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Professor Liang followed along eagerly, without even glancing at his boss.

The guests were left in awe, and Lin Zhihong's face was so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

Lin Zhihong watched Su Yue's retreating figure, the walnuts in his hand cracking as he squeezed them.

"That's interesting."

He murmured to himself, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

Since the soft approach doesn't work, then don't blame him for resorting to the hard one.

Su Yue put the peeled shrimp into her mouth and chewed slowly, as if she didn't take Lin Zhihong's threat to heart.

Huo Wenxuan couldn't sit still any longer. He felt like he had a nail in his seat. Just as he was about to speak, a secretary rushed in from outside the door, her face ashen, without even knocking.

"Mr. Lin! Something's happened!" The secretary's voice trembled as he clutched a brick-like mobile phone.

Lin Zhihong had just reached the door when he paused, his brows furrowing instantly.

He took the phone, listened for only two seconds, and then his walking stick, which he always held steadily, fell to the ground with a "thud".

The old man's back suddenly hunched over, as if his spine had been removed.

Su Yue paused, her hand still holding the food. She didn't turn around, but her ears perked up.

"Get the car ready! To the airport! Back to Hong Kong right now!" Lin Zhihong roared, his voice hoarse, completely losing the commanding presence he had at the dinner table.

Huo Wenxuan was dumbfounded and turned to look at Su Yue: "What's this old fox up to? He just said there's plenty of time, and now he's running away?"

Su Yue put down her chopsticks, took out a tissue to wipe her hands, and said, "It doesn't seem like acting. Let's go and see."

Just as the two reached the entrance of the guesthouse, Lin Zhihong's convoy had already sped away in a cloud of dust.

Just as Su Yue was figuring out how to get information, the phone at the guesthouse reception rang.

The person who answered the phone was the director of the provincial office. After listening for a couple of sentences, his expression turned even more unpleasant than the secretary's. He covered the receiver, looked at Su Yue, and said with a complex expression: "Director Su, it's Lin Zhihong on the phone. He's looking for you."

Su Yue walked over and took the receiver.

“Miss Su.” Lin Zhihong’s voice came through the phone, and even through the static, you could hear the despair and trembling in it. “My grandson is dying. He has methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection, which has caused sepsis. The experts at Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital say he can only hold on for another 24 hours at most.”

Su Yue's heart skipped a beat. This kind of superbug is a death sentence in this day and age; antibiotics are completely ineffective against it.

"I heard... you have a way." Lin Zhihong's voice lowered, tinged with pleading. "Could that bacteriophage save Jiahao? If you can save him, I'll agree to all of Blue Ocean Chemical Factory's conditions! Even if you want Lin's shares, I'll give them to you!"

Huo Wenxuan stood to the side, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg.

This isn't negotiation; it's a life-or-death situation.

“Mr. Lin.” Su Yue held the receiver, her voice calm to the point of being cold. “This is a new drug, and it hasn’t undergone large-scale clinical trials on humans. If it fails, I’ll not only be ruined, but I might also go to jail. You’re willing to gamble, but I might not be willing to take the risk.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Only heavy breathing could be heard.

“I have no choice.” Lin Zhihong gritted his teeth. “Rather than watch Jiahao die, I’d rather take a gamble. Su Yue, I’m begging you. If you’re willing to come, the Lin family will owe you a life.”

Su Yue looked up and glanced at the pitch-black night outside the window.

To save or not to save?

From a business perspective, it's most profitable to raise prices at this point. But from a doctor's perspective, it's a life, and a child's life at that.

"Prepare the plane," Su Yue said into the phone, then hung up. "Also, have your doctors stop all antibiotics so they don't interfere with my bacteriophages working."

After saying that, she turned to the stunned provincial office director and said, "Contact Commander Zheng. I need a special plane to the port city. Special approval required."

Huo Wenxuan grabbed her arm, stamping his feet in frustration: "Are you crazy? That's Hong Kong! That's the heart of capitalism! And if that child can't be cured, Lin Zhihong will tear you apart! The risk is too great!"

“High risk, high reward.” Su Yue pushed his hand away and strode out. “If it succeeds, Blue Ocean Chemical Factory will be unstoppable in Southeast Asia, even the world. If it fails…”

She paused, turned back and smiled: "If I lose, I'll come back and sell pickled vegetables with you."

Two o'clock in the morning.

A military transport plane painted in camouflage roared into the night and took off, piercing the sky. Su Yue sat in the cabin, holding a metal box full of dry ice in her arms. It was the "Hunter-9" stock solution that Chen Xinyue had retrieved from the laboratory overnight.

Chen Xinyue huddled to the side, her face pale, it was hard to tell whether it was from airsickness or fright.

"Sister Su, can we really do this?"

"We have to make it work, even if it's not feasible." Su Yue closed her eyes to rest. "Memorize the data again. When we get there, those foreign doctors will definitely make things difficult for us. We can't convince them with words; we have to overwhelm them with data."

Three hours later, the plane landed at Kai Tak Airport.

As soon as I stepped off the gangway, a humid, hot sea breeze hit me.

Several black Mercedes-Benz cars with Hong Kong license plates drove directly to the helipad. The car doors opened, and Lin Zhihong stood personally beside the cars.

The old man looked ten years older overnight, with sunken eyes and a full beard.

"Miss Su, please."

There were no small talk, no formalities.

The convoy sped along, running three red lights, and drove straight to the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital.