The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 51: Taehong Saengibulkkun

Everyone was dead.

The only person left alive here was Kim Tae-ju alone.

He didn’t feel any particular guilt.

He had simply killed those who deserved to die.

If Lee Dong-woo hadn’t brought up Baek Seo-yeon, Baek Hong-pyo, and the orphanage, he wouldn’t have killed him.

Like when he subdued the two standing committee members in Gurye, he would have stopped at just poisoning them. That was the original plan anyway.

Poison them but keep them alive, take what he needed to take.

If they showed signs of repentance later, he would completely detoxify them.

But his instincts told him they couldn’t be left alive.

At this rate, attacks would eventually reach the people around him.

It was best to cut off the problem at its root beforehand.

The same went for Lee Du-chang and Jeon Gyeong-cheol.

Those with power becoming lackeys of conglomerates and committing vile acts instead of hunting monsters?

They deserved to die a hundred times over.

‘Now, what to do?’

The cleanup had to be thorough.

First, he collected their smartphones and wallets that could identify them, crushed them to powder or tore them to shreds, and put them in his infinite space.

‘Let’s clean up the bodies too.’

There wasn’t a single drop of blood on the floor.

If he just got rid of the bodies, no one would know what happened here.

Originally, the size limit for his infinite space was 1 meter in length, width, and thickness.

The other conditions were fine, but length was a problem.

But there was a solution.

He could fold them up like storing a folding bicycle.

Quickly bending their waists before rigor mortis set in.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

Kim Tae-ju reached out his hand over the bodies and put them in the miscellaneous section of his infinite space.

Later, he would go to Gurye and dump them deep in the Jirisan Wilderness.

Kim Tae-ju went outside and slowly walked through downtown New Seoul.

After wandering around for a while, he caught a taxi, got off at the hotel where he was staying, and boldly walked through the front entrance.

Later, as time passed and they realized Lee Dong-woo had disappeared, an investigation would begin.

In the process, he might also become a suspect.

After all, there would be records of his phone call with Jeon Gyeong-cheol.

‘So what?’

No bodies, no bloodstains, no evidence…

In short, it was a perfect crime.

‘Let’s go get some good sleep and prepare for tomorrow’s branch visit.’

* * *

Taehong Bio Newseoul Branch Office in Newseoul’s Jongno district.

Though it was a 20-story building, Taehong Bio only used the top 3 floors.

However, they were actually only using one floor.

Currently, about 20 employees worked there, leaving plenty of space.

From morning, the employees were busy cleaning.

The chairman was scheduled to visit from Gurye Headquarters.

Among them were people directly recruited by Baek Seo-yeon.

Manager Choi Dong-il, former executive director of Mirinae Electronics and current manager of Taehong Bio’s New Seoul branch, along with Deputy Manager Gu Sang-cheon, Sales Director Ma Seok-woo, and Marketing Team Leader Song Su-hui.

Manager Choi Dong-il of Taehong Bio’s New Seoul branch, who had been exhausted lately, told the employees:

“The chairman will arrive soon. Finish what you’re doing and everyone take a seat.”

“Shouldn’t we go out to greet him?”

To Gu Sang-cheon’s question, Choi Dong-il replied:

“No, he said to just stay comfortable.”

“Ah, yes, understood.”

Finally, their actual employer was coming.

The person who paid their salaries.

Director Ma Seok-woo quietly said to Team Leader Song Su-hui:

“Do you think our company will do well?”

“Trust Mr. Baek. You came here believing in him too, Director Ma.”

“Our Mr. Baek is certainly capable. But I’m a bit concerned about the chairman.”

“Why?”

“He said he won’t produce and sell spore poison antidotes and recovery medicines here.”

“Ah…”

“I don’t know what medicines we’ll sell, but can we even get started properly this way…”

Honestly, Song Su-hui was also bothered by that.

Those two medicines were already proven drugs.

Patents would be easy to obtain, and Food and Drug Administration approval would proceed quickly.

Leaving aside medicines with guaranteed success to make and sell new drugs?

Would it really succeed?

The New Seoul pharmaceutical market was extremely competitive.

Dozens of medicines appeared and disappeared from the market daily.

Meanwhile, several major corporations dominated the Empire’s market in a cartel-like fashion.

For example, Mirinae Pharmaceutical handled elixirs and mana recovery potions, Balhae Bio handled various treatments, Fuji Pharmaceuticals handled health supplements…

Taehong Bio’s main products were mosquito poison and spore poison antidotes, and Taehong recovery medicines. If they sold these in New Seoul, they were guaranteed to be huge hits.

But these medicines were only sold in Gurye.

They said it was the chairman’s directive, and they planned to launch different medicines in New Seoul.

The employees didn’t even know what medicines they would be producing.

Only that they planned to start production immediately once patents were approved.

There were many mountains to climb ahead.

What good would getting patents do?

They still needed Food and Drug Administration approval.

That’s when it happened.

Step by step, people entered the company office.

A very young-looking man led the way, with Baek Seo-yeon beside him, followed by men and women in black suits.

The employees began murmuring.

The appearance of the men and women was extraordinary.

‘What? Who are those sculptures?’

‘Wow! Their faces are incredible.’

‘They’re all Awakeners.’

‘Oh? Really. Those tattoos are cool. They suit their faces perfectly.’

These days, major corporations were all hiring Awakeners without exception.

Because they were necessary.

This wasn’t a world where money could solve everything.

The law is distant, but fists are close.

‘Then is the person in front Kim Tae-ju, the chairman?’

‘He’s young.’

‘Right? He’s handsome too.’

‘Hmm, if he looked a bit older…’

‘Shh! Quiet. He’ll hear us.’

Manager Choi Dong-il rushed over to greet Kim Tae-ju’s group.

“Welcome, Chairman. It’s my first time meeting you.”

Baek Seo-yeon introduced them to each other.

“Chairman, this is Manager Choi Dong-il.”

“Ah! I’ve heard a lot about you. You must be very tired, right?”

“Hahaha, not at all. I’m enjoying my work.”

“Please take it easy.”

Tae-ju felt sorry for Manager Choi Dong-il the moment he saw him.

At this rate, his dark circles might reach down to his chin.

He also exchanged greetings with Deputy Manager Gu Sang-cheon.

“I’d like to greet the employees as well…”

“I’ll escort you to the conference room. Let’s do it all at once.”

When Tae-ju entered the meeting room, the employees from the office followed him in.

Once everyone was seated in their chairs.

“Hello, I’m Kim Tae-ju… Meeting all of you like this makes me feel reassured.”

The words weren’t coming out well.

This was too difficult for Tae-ju.

What would be easier?

Gathering people and talking to them?

Or dealing with monsters and demons?

Though there were only about 20 employees, he felt a bit burdened when their gazes focused on him.

Still, he endured it.

“Let’s all have a refreshing drink together before we start.”

Tae-ju gave Baek Seo-yeon a meaningful look.

When she nodded, Do Min-su entered from outside the meeting room carrying a large ice box.

The awakened officers took out bottles of drinks from the box and distributed them to all the employees sitting at the table.

“Please have one each and let’s talk.”

“Ah! Yes, yes, thank you.”

“I, I could distribute them myself…”

“It’s fine. Please sit comfortably.”

The company employees didn’t know what to do.

Awakeners were actually serving drinks!

And they were men and women with extraordinary appearances at that.

They felt so sorry that even after receiving the drinks, they couldn’t think of drinking them.

“Oh! Before you drink, please know what this is. This is a prototype of the nutritional tonic that Taehong Bio will be launching. If you’re uncomfortable with it, you don’t have to drink it.”

At Tae-ju’s words, all the employees simultaneously twisted open the bottle caps and drank.

If it’s a drink our company will launch, we absolutely must drink it.

A nutritional tonic isn’t even medicine.

It’s like vitamin drinks sold at convenience stores or supermarkets.

The chairman’s attendants, who had been standing behind, collected the empty bottles one by one after the employees finished drinking.

And then the meeting began.

Various topics were discussed.

There was nothing particularly special.

How was the branch location, were the working conditions okay, did they like the company benefits.

Then suddenly, one employee raised his hand high and requested to speak.

“I’m Ma Seok-woo, Sales Manager. May I make a request to the Chairman?”

“Yes. Manager Ma, please speak comfortably.”

“It’s about reconsidering the decision to sell the spore poison antidote and Taehong Recovery Medicine only in Gurye.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but I find it hard to understand why you wouldn’t sell pharmaceuticals that are guaranteed to succeed.”

He had expected this.

Why wouldn’t they sell guaranteed successful medicine in New Seoul? Even if he were an employee, he would have complaints.

Let’s tell them the truth.

They need to know too.

“Yes, let me explain the reason.”

The employees focused on Tae-ju’s words.

“Existing Taehong Bio products require special processing during manufacturing. There aren’t many technicians who can do that. So production is extremely insufficient.”

“Then couldn’t we train more technicians?”

“It’s very difficult to learn. It’s quite a sophisticated technique, which is exactly why we haven’t filed for patents. If you don’t know the processing method, it’s absolutely impossible to copy.”

“Ah!”

The employees nodded as if they understood.

Of course.

Would they sell only in Gurye for no reason?

Training technicians is like that too.

What if we train them hard but other pharmaceutical companies poach our technicians?

It would be no different from the company going bankrupt.

Manager Ma Seok-woo raised his hand again, apparently having more questions.

“Thank you. I understand after hearing your explanation, Chairman, but is the new drug planned for patent application something that doesn’t require special processing?”

“That’s right. Exactly. The nutritional tonic you just drank will be our main product. That’s why we’re trying to get patents and Food and Drug Administration approval.”

“If there’s no special processing, then the drug’s efficacy…”

Ma Seok-woo trailed off.

What he originally wanted to say was.

‘…the drug’s efficacy might be reduced, right? A drug without competitiveness would also be problematic.’

Being the Sales Manager, Ma Seok-woo was very sensitive about pharmaceutical competitiveness.

But since Chairman Kim Tae-ju was also the developer of this new drug, he had to be careful.

“What I’m concerned about is that the health drink market is already saturated. The medicinal effects won’t be much different either, so competitiveness is the issue. In terms of price and marketing, we’re no match. There’s no room to break through.”

Tae-ju liked this kind of person.

The courage to boldly state the problems he saw in front of his employer who pays his salary.

“Hahaha, don’t worry about the medicinal effects. We have sufficient competitiveness. Hmm, come to think of it, it seems like it’s about time for reactions to start…”

“Pardon?”

Ma Seok-woo just blinked his eyes.

What reactions?

The reaction Tae-ju had been waiting for first came from Manager Choi Dong-il, who had been sitting quietly.

The oldest person here.

Manager Choi Dong-il, who had been under the most stress lately organizing the branch.

“…Ch, Chairman?”

“Yes, please speak, Manager.”

“This nutritional tonic… are you certain it doesn’t contain any special ingredients?”

“It’s made by processing medicinal herbs we’re all familiar with. The combination ratio is unique, but it’s absolutely not harmful. Trust me.”

He had even fed it to the Long-tailed Saekkitokki.

Of course, nothing happened.

There was a side effect though – the Saekkitokki’s reproductive activity doubled.

After eating, it would do that thing. It seemed to respond well to medicine.

They had also completed their own clinical trials.

Baek Seo-yeon, Baek Hong-pyo, and some employees working at headquarters had been drinking the tonic for quite a while, but no problems occurred.

“Oh my goodness, this is incredible.”

Manager Choi Dong-il stood up abruptly.

His eyes were bright and clear.

Wait, weren’t his eyes dim and hazy from fatigue just moments ago?

The dark circles that had extended down to both cheeks from overwork had also disappeared as if washed away.

Strange.

Complete fatigue recovery.

A mere nutritional tonic drink showing such dramatic effects?

“…Don’t you have one more bottle?”

“I’m sorry. I brought just enough for the number of people here. Once production starts, you can drink as much as you want.”

The younger people’s reactions were a bit slower.

No matter how young you are, the fatigue that accumulates from work is fair to everyone.

It’s just that they don’t notice it as much because they have good stamina.

However, the difference between before and after drinking was clear.

“Now that I think about it, my body feels light too?”

“Huh? Could this be a placebo effect? I still don’t… Wait? Hold on! Why can I see the text so clearly?”

“Whoa! My fatigue is really going away. My eyes feel refreshed. I might not even need my glasses?”

“My stiff body feels so refreshed.”

“I, I feel the same way. My goodness! All the fatigue recovery drinks I’ve had until now were fake.”

“…So this is what fatigue recovery is supposed to feel like.”

Department Head Ma Seok-woo also stood up and walked around the conference room.

He had been feeling uncomfortable from drinking too much yesterday, but his hangover had somehow disappeared.

‘This was real.’

Drug competitiveness?

With just this one product, whether it’s caffeinated drinks or fatigue recovery supplements, they could devour the entire Empire’s health beverage market.

Ma Seok-woo asked Kim Tae-ju in an excited voice.

“Chairman, may I ask what this medicine is called?”

What he expected had come.

It was a bit difficult to say it himself.

So Kim Tae-ju glanced at Baek Seo-yeon.

“Sigh,”

She let out a sigh.

“The nutritional tonic is called Taehong Saengibulkkun. And there’s also an external wound treatment, which is called Taehong Saesalssugsseuk.”

“…Ah!”

What does it matter if the medicine names are old-fashioned?

As long as they’re effective.

One terrifying aspect of this nutritional tonic.

It’s a health food that ordinary people can buy and consume anytime, anywhere.

The scope of the sales market is much broader compared to other medicines.

Hope was visible.

They didn’t need those antidotes and recovery medicines.

Taehong Bio’s New Seoul branch would definitely succeed.

* * *

Heavenly Realm.

Danggumak was looking into his infinite space every single day.

When exactly would it sparkle?

The shared space between Kim Tae-ju and himself, created by coincidence upon coincidence.

It would surely connect again.

Though he didn’t know when that would be.

Right then!

The moment he had been desperately waiting for finally came.

“It’s lit up!”

It was sparkling.

But it was completely empty.

So what? He could fill it himself.

Danggumak quickly put one immortal peach and a scroll letter he had prepared in advance into the sparkling space.

Now all that was left was to wait.

But would it work out well?

Kim Tae-ju had to notice that the infinite space was sparkling. And he also had to check if there were items inside.

Everything depended on luck.

Please read the letter.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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