The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 9

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

Chapter 9: Sales Launch (2)

I was confident it would sell well.

But it would take time.

For word of mouth to spread, at least a month would need to pass.

That’s why on the first day, not even 100 antidotes were sold.

And even then, one person bought over 50 of them.

Someone who had experienced the effects once.

Awakener Park Jin-su, who had been eagerly waiting for the official release.

The next day, customers suddenly began flooding in.

Sales count: 300 bottles.

Third day.

Similar to the previous day.

Fourth day.

That’s when the war began.

“I came first! Why are you serving that guy before me?”

“You’re second! A bastard buying 20 bottles at once has a lot to say. Learn to yield for other people.”

“Want to have a fight here?”

“Be quiet! Don’t interfere and get out right now! Kill each other or save each other outside!”

“Really, whoever made this should get the Empire’s Silver Star Medal.”

“Silver Star won’t cut it? Give them the Gold Star Medal.”

Customers filling the drug shop.

Staff were busy responding and selling.

“Don’t fight! We have enough stock.”

On this day alone, a whopping 3,000 bottles of antidote were sold.

Having fought one big war, I thought the next day would enter a lull.

But that was a mistaken thought.

“Give me 20 bottles, no, 30 bottles. Can’t let the goods run out. Need to stock up in advance.”

“No, the stock is sufficient…”

“I want 50 bottles!”

“Hey, everyone calm down.”

This is worrying.

It didn’t seem like the stock would be sufficient.

On the fifth day alone, 8,000 bottles were sold.

From this point, rumors spread throughout Gurye Free City.

There’s an effective antidote for mutant three-striped mosquito poison at Baek’s Drug Shop.

The amount is smaller than a sip of water, but the duration is a full 10 hours.

If you drink it before hunting, you’ll be fine even if mosquitoes bite you 100 times.

The price is only 50,000 won.

If that investment increases hunting efficiency, they’d spend any amount.

Big spenders are buying them in bulk.

They’ll probably be sold out soon.

The city of 2 million people was stirring.

Seventh day.

Baek Hong-pyo, sensing the unusual atmosphere.

Hurriedly called Kim Tae-ju.

“30,000 bottles have already been sold?”

– We might face a sold-out situation by tomorrow or the day after.

“Ah, I understand for now.”

– Sorry, but would additional stock be possible?

“…I’ll try my best.”

I’ll have to make the concentrate even if it takes all night.

There are more than enough ingredients.

99% of the 10ml antidote’s components are purified water.

Actually, preparing the medicine takes a long time, but manufacturing the concentrate is quick.

The current drug manufacturing workshop is inside Baek’s Orphanage.

The underground shelter prepared for monster waves is right there.

A facility Baek Hong-pyo built when he constructed the orphanage.

There are quite a few such underground hideouts in Gurye City.

It cost an enormous amount of money, requiring loans to build.

A glimpse into Baek Hong-pyo’s heart, who cherishes the children terribly.

Access by anyone other than Kim Tae-ju was strictly forbidden.

Since it involves handling poison, no one else could come.

So even their conversations were through smartphones.

– Stock aside, because of hoarding…

“You said there would be continuous supply, right?”

– Yes! We announced that. But places that need mosquito antidote aren’t just our Gurye.

Various cities surrounding Jirisan.

Hadong, Sancheong, Namwon, Hamyang…

They also need antidotes there.

Demand that far exceeded expectations.

“Put a purchase limit. Two bottles per person.”

– Yes, I was considering that too.

Explosive popularity.

– At this rate, copycat drugs might appear faster than expected.

“Ah! You don’t need to worry about that.”

Even knowing all the ingredients in the antidote, they won’t be able to make it.

I extracted the medicinal components using Honweonmusangdokryeongong processing.

They’ll never be able to extract the same components.

Of course, Earth’s science and technology isn’t to be underestimated, so someday they might manufacture similar medicine.

If they successfully copy it?

I’ll just make and sell different medicine.

The pharmacy was packed with people.

Do people only buy antidotes?

While at the pharmacy, external wound treatments, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, mana recovery potions, combat stimulants… such medicines were also nearly sold out.

Even the drug shop staff had never experienced this before.

Their bodies were tired, but their mood was good.

All the staff were from Baek’s Orphanage.

How could they not be happy when their boss, who was like a father, was hitting it big?

I never expected it.

Was mosquito antidote this desperately needed?

How much had they suffered until now?

In the end, they had to put up a sold-out sign before additional stock could be supplied.

“What, it’s already all sold out?”

“That’s why we should have caught those reseller bastards.”

“What’s this? Only regular customers suffer.”

“Now, now, don’t raise your voices. Anyway, Boss Baek, when will you restock?”

Baek Hong-pyo calming the customers while speaking.

“It’ll come in tomorrow. And from now on, we’ll limit it to 2 bottles per person.”

“2 bottles is a bit stingy? Up to 3 bottles…”

“Shut up, the quantity limit was imposed because of people like you.”

They had set limits, but news of new stock arriving even caused opening runs the next morning.

Truly an explosive reaction.

Because of this, merchants selling insect-proof clothing suffered losses.

It couldn’t be helped.

They had to keep pace with the changing world.

Now they could hunt without wearing insect-proof clothing.

It was just removing one piece of clothing, but the impact was indescribably huge.

Hunting efficiency increased by 2 times, no, 3 times.

Civilian Aptitude Users and Awakened who had left Gurye City because of the mutant three-striped mosquitoes returned.

Without the mosquitoes, wasn’t Gurye the place where you could gain huge profits from tax reduction benefits!

The craze for mosquito antidote showed no signs of subsiding.

Collecting materials, making the original solution.

Finally!

– We received a supply request from the military.

“From the Imperial Forces?”

– Yes, an initial order for 500,000 bottles.

“…Hah.”

– It must be difficult, right?

“Yes, decline it for now. Say we don’t have sufficient stock. Let’s discuss it when we have spare capacity.”

– Understood.

It was actually an excuse.

Couldn’t he make just 500,000 bottles?

For now, he didn’t want to get entangled with the Imperial Forces.

* * *

About two months after selling the antidote, the fever for the antidote was cooling down slightly.

Because sufficient stock had been released to the market.

The money currently in Tae-ju’s account was about 15 billion.

But money kept coming in.

To an uncontrollable degree.

President Baek Hong-pyo was also excited.

When the money came in, the first thing he did was gift each orphanage child a smartphone.

Just because they’re orphans, can’t they have smartphones?

Sending them to academies, taking them on trips, buying them good shoes and clothes.

Tae-ju’s current residence was the most expensive and well-equipped 5-star Hotel Suite Room in Gurye City. It cost about 5 million won per night.

That would be 150 million for a month, but he was staying for a discounted monthly rate of 100 million.

You might ask if there was a need to stay in such an expensive room, but he needed a safe place without disturbance for his poison cultivation.

He could have meals in his room through room service, and had a dedicated butler for simple errands.

When spending, spend refreshingly.

When would he get to enjoy such luxury again?

Thus, he was smoothly learning Honweonmusangdokryeongong.

The poison essence in his dantian had also stabilized now.

And the curse of being a Mana Rejecter seemed to have completely disappeared.

Reaching 3-star, the poison energy seemed to have overcome mana.

However, he still couldn’t bring himself to train in hidden weapon techniques.

Does throwing whatever you can grab make it all hidden weapon techniques?

He needed weapons suitable for hidden weapon techniques.

Only then could he attempt hunting magical beasts.

Also, going out with just his bare body without defensive gear was too much.

A single greatsword was enough for weak ones, but what if he encountered elite or boss-level monsters?

Let’s seriously flex now.

To a degree incomparable with something like a hotel suite room.

Tae-ju made separate time to go to Gurye Market Craft District.

The 3 billion won Arctic Phantom Fox leather coat still hadn’t sold apparently.

‘That’s fortunate.’

What would he have done if it had sold?

“This coat, it hasn’t sold yet, right?”

“Of course, it’s so expensive.”

“I’ll buy it.”

“…What? This way.”

The leather coat wasn’t a finished product.

Because it needed to be altered to fit his body type.

“You need to make many pockets.”

“Then additional costs will occur…”

“It’s fine. Just make them the same. And I’ll also order wrist and ankle guards, a belt, vest and pants. Of course, made from Arctic Phantom Fox leather.”

“My goodness! A VIP has come. Wait just a moment. Let me take your measurements first.”

Then the craftsman glanced at Tae-ju and spoke.

“Since it’s custom-made, you’ll need to pay a deposit in advance.”

“How much?”

“At least 20% of the item price…”

“I’ll pay it. Bank transfer is fine, right?”

“Hahaha! Understood. Let’s write up the contract first.”

The combined amount for the fox leather coat and various equipment was about 4.3 billion.

After writing the contract and depositing the 860 million deposit.

It would take a week, he said.

He’d wait that long happily.

Next was the Metal Craft District.

Custom-made weapons too.

Items similar to hidden weapons were available as ready-made products.

The most representative weapon was throwing knives.

They looked similar to the willow leaf flying daggers that Danggumak most commonly used.

Throwing knives with quite a price tag, mixed with bone powder from Steel Beak Black-bone Fighting Cock, one of the magical beasts.

However, these were too big.

They needed to be smaller.

“I’d like to order 100 pieces in this shape and size.”

“…100 pieces?”

“Yes.”

“W-wait a moment. The materials… Ah! I’m sorry. We’re short on magic steel ingots, so we need to order materials…”

“I have many other things to order as well.”

“Huk! Do you need them right away?”

“Well, I can wait about a week.”

“I’ll definitely have them ready by then.”

At the metal workshop too, he signed a contract and paid the deposit.

“From what I can see, you seem to be a Mana Aptitude User, but don’t you need a sword? It would be difficult to face magical beasts with such small weapons.”

“Just make what I ordered properly. Besides this, there’s more…”

Really, hidden weapon techniques and poison arts were truly expensive martial arts.

Why insist only on expensive hidden weapons?

His other soul.

Danggumak, the Jeoldaedokma of Gangho Murim, hated swords.

To be precise, he hated bastards who used swords.

Tae-ju also had no intention whatsoever of wielding a sword.

What? Sword Immortal ?

Achieving enlightenment through the sword and ascending to immortality?

Yet they call hidden weapons techniques vulgar.

Killing with a sword is fine, but killing with hidden weapons or poison isn’t?

Hypocrites pretending to be noble.

They say that all martial artists should comprehend the ultimate sword techniques and advance to the realm of controlling swords with qi .

What is controlling swords with qi?

Isn’t it just flying swords?

Hidden weapons also fly.

If they fly, they’re all the same.

Moving according to one’s will is also the same.

Whether you kill with a sword, hidden weapons, or poison.

What exactly is the difference?

Among sword users, one group that Jeoldaedokma Danggumak particularly disliked was the Namgung Family bastards from Anhui .

Though they were fellow members of the Five Great Families, their relationship wasn’t good.

They constantly looked down on the Tang Family, disparaging hidden weapons and poison techniques as vulgar tricks.

In the end, they fell to the rise of the Demonic Cult.

The Hebei Peng Family bastards who used sabers as their main weapons were also insufferably ignorant, with heads made of stone and nothing but petty pride.

Still, they were better than the Namgung Family.

The absolute worst was the Shaanxi Jegal Family .

Bastards who used shallow cunning to switch sides whenever convenient.

Danggumak personally exterminated them.

When the Heavenly Demon swept through the martial world, the Jegal Family were the first to surrender to the Demonic Cult.

Jegal Cheon, who was the Jegal Family head, assisted the Heavenly Demon and betrayed the martial world.

Jegal Cheon’s alias at the time was Brain Demon .

What? Brain Demon ?

Where does some bastard who only uses petty tricks get off adding the character for Demon to his name?

I sent him to the underworld together with the Heavenly Demon.

Among the Five Great Families, the people closest to Jeoldaedokma Danggumak were members of the Jin-ju Eon-ga .

Because they had shared the pain of mutual suffering.

The Eon Family used fist techniques as their main martial arts.

But their specialty, like poison techniques, was the Jiangshi Arts that were despised by noble martial artists.

Jiangshi are part of the martial world’s long-standing funeral culture.

To send those who died in foreign lands back to their hometowns, they’re made into jiangshi that move on their own.

Jiangshi that hop around with both feet together.

It takes quite a long time to hop all the way to their hometown.

To preserve the corpse intact, the jiangshi’s body had to be hardened with medicines and techniques.

Thus was born the Jin-ju Eon Family’s external arts , the Jiangshi Arts.

Along with fist techniques based on powerful external arts.

The Sichuan Tang Family and Jin-ju Eon Family developed together through close exchanges.

Supplying the medicines needed for Jiangshi Arts and learning the mysteries of external arts.

Among Jeoldaedokma Danggumak’s poison martial arts, there are techniques that don’t use hidden weapons.

One of them is the Blood Mark Poison Palm .

Created based on the Jin-ju Eon Family’s fist arts.

Tae-ju’s current Honweonmusangdokryeongong is at 3-star level.

There are tremendously many martial arts known through Danggumak.

However, there’s an enormous difference between knowing and actually executing them.

It’s about time.

I need to improve my martial arts proficiency through real combat.

Then what should be the target?

Naturally, the demonic beasts of Jirisan.

Before that, I hope I can quickly receive the equipment I ordered.

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