Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Sakura Group's Violations

"Old Liu, I'm not trying to discourage you, but this is a tough job to pull off!" Tang Xiaokun said, looking at Liu Binghe with a helpless sigh.

Liu Binghe let out a frustrated sigh of his own. "Of course I know it's not easy. The reason domestic companies dare not take it on is because they are terrified of the potential safety hazards. I'll handle this personally. I'll make a trip to Liuyang myself. If that doesn't work, I'll visit a few other companies. I'm going all out!"

Hearing Liu Binghe speak with such determination, what else could Tang Xiaokun say?

Zhu Lan also shook his head helplessly as he watched Liu Binghe. He knew very well how much hosting this grand celebration would benefit the province.

"Governor Liu, if you need anything, you can come to me. I can still be of some help—for instance, with the manufacturing of the super fireworks."

"Wait, that's not right," Tang Xiaokun said. "Zhu Lan, as far as I recall, you don't have the facilities for that, do you?"

Zhu Lan shook his head. "No, but I can help with the intelligent simulations. It's much better than relying solely on trial and error!"

They understood instantly.

"Alright. If the need arises, I will definitely reach out to you!" Liu Binghe said.

Zhu Lan nodded. "Since that's settled, the super fireworks and the performance venue are decided. Next, let's discuss increasing the budget!"

"Increase it again?" Tang Shenghong stared at Zhu Lan in shock. Although the final figures weren't in yet, the budget had already surpassed five hundred million. With the venue setup and the ship modifications, it was rapidly approaching eight hundred million. Even the national Spring Festival Gala wasn't this extravagant.

Zhu Lan nodded. "Of course. Didn't I say so before? I want to invite top-tier celebrities from across the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Combined with the allure of the super fireworks show, I am confident this celebration will shock the world!"

No one refuted him. If they could actually pull it off to that scale, it truly would stun the world.

"Zhu Lan, have you thought this through?" Tang Shenghong asked. "Not only will the budget skyrocket, but whether those big stars are even willing to come is another matter entirely."

Zhu Lan waved his hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. As long as the pay is high enough, we won't have to worry about a lack of interest. I'll use my own channels to invite some international celebrities. As for the domestic ones, I don't have many connections in that circle, so I'll have to trouble you, Elder Tang, to pull some strings."

"That big of a scale?" This time, not only Tang Shenghong, but even Tang Xiaokun was taken aback by the sheer scale of Zhu Lan's ambition.

"Zhu Lan, did you hit the jackpot? Where did you get so much money?" Tang Shenghong asked, genuinely curious as to why Zhu Lan was willing to throw around such astronomical sums.

Zhu Lan nodded. "Yesterday, I had my people contact the bank and secured a loan."

"How much?" Tang Shenghong asked reflexively. He immediately regretted it, however, as Tang Xiaokun shot him a stern glare.

"Not much. Just fifty billion."

"What?" Liu Binghe stood up abruptly in shock. "Fifty billion? That's impossible! A loan of that size would require approval from the bank's headquarters!" No one knew the difficulty of securing a fifty-billion-yuan loan better than Liu Binghe. Even if he were to personally lobby for it on behalf of the government, it would be an uphill battle, let alone for a private enterprise like Zhu Lan's.

Zhu Lan simply nodded.

"It's impossible, Zhu Lan, and you know it," Tang Xiaokun said, his brow furrowed. "No one in this country can just secure fifty billion on a whim, let alone have it approved in a single day."

Zhu Lan merely smiled. "Actually, I did it on purpose."

"On purpose?"

"After the recent events surrounding the gene optimization fluid, some people have been quite unhappy with me. I purposely had my people apply for this massive bank loan just to see if they would take the bait."

At his words, both Liu Binghe and Tang Xiaokun frowned deeply.

"Zhu Lan, you are being too reckless!" Tang Xiaokun said. He understood immediately what Zhu Lan was trying to do from that brief explanation.

Zhu Lan shook his head. "It's fine. I have my ways of handling those issues. All you need to know is that I have plenty of funds right now. In fact, I've already instructed my company to launch two employee housing projects. They might have already reached out to Sheng Tang Real Estate."

"Employee housing? Zhu Lan, you really do things on a grand scale!"

Zhu Lan smiled and shook his head. "So, there's no need to worry anymore, right?"

What else could Tang Shenghong say? He nodded. "Understood. I'll have my people reach out to the domestic celebrities and see what we can do."

Zhu Lan nodded. "Once Governor Liu confirms the details on his end, we can announce the super fireworks gala to the public. We only have two months left, so it's time to start building up the hype."

Liu Binghe nodded. "I understand."

***

After leaving the Shengtang Group, Zhu Lan had no further business at the provincial government offices. He had Snort drive him back to the company.

As the car drove along, Zhu Lan pondered for a moment before telling Kong Yan, "Get me a line to Miss Sakurako."

Kong Yan nodded. She opened a compartment in the seat in front of Zhu Lan to reveal a computer screen, then pulled out a cable to connect it.

A moment later, the call went through.

After ringing several times, Sakurako Chimoto, the representative of the Sakura Group, appeared on the video call.

"Mr. Zhu, what a pleasant surprise to receive your call!"

"Miss Sakurako, long time no see. You look as radiant as ever."

"You flatter me, Mr. Zhu."

"Miss Sakurako, I'm afraid I have some rather unfortunate news to share with you."

"Please, go ahead." Sakurako Chimoto was dressed in a sharp business suit, sitting in a high-rise office. Through the video feed, towering skyscrapers were visible outside her window, suggesting she was at least a hundred stories up.

"When we signed the distribution agreement, I made it clear that the gene optimization fluid must not leave its designated territory. However, my data shows that a significant amount of the Sakura Group's inventory has found its way into South Korea. This is a serious violation."

Zhu Lan spoke calmly, but on the other end of the line, Sakurako's smile vanished, replaced by a frown.

"Mr. Zhu, I was unaware of this. Please allow me to investigate the matter and get back to you with an explanation."

Zhu Lan chuckled. "Miss Sakurako, let's not play games. The fact that I am bringing this to your attention means I already have irrefutable proof. I am well within my rights to terminate the Sakura Group's distribution license immediately."

"Please, Mr. Zhu, do not do that! I truly had no knowledge of this!" Sakurako panicked. If their distribution rights were revoked, it would be a devastating blow to the Sakura Group.

Of the seven global distributors for the gene optimization fluid, sales were booming everywhere except in the domestic Chinese market. The European market was particularly lucrative; with an ex-factory price of ten thousand dollars, the retail price in Europe soared to fifty thousand euros. The Aegis, Tulip, and Mafia syndicates were making fortunes, earning seven to eight times their initial investment. Only the German market sold it at a slightly lower price of thirty thousand euros.

In the Americas, the retail price reached as high as one hundred thousand dollars. The distributors there were raking in cash, and new orders flooded in every single day.

The Japanese market was equally hot. Although it wasn't as expensive as Europe or America, it still commanded a price of fifty thousand dollars. Since Japan was a smaller market, it received the smallest allocation of inventory. Even so, demand far outstripped supply. Seeing the untapped South Korean market next door, some executives within the Sakura Group smuggled a portion of their stock over. There, they sold it for an astronomical five hundred thousand dollars per unit. Despite the exorbitant price, it sold out instantly because South Korea had no official distributor.

Among the seven distributors, only Japan and China were geographically close to South Korea. China had a massive domestic market that was still largely untapped, and the Shengtang Group couldn't even satisfy demand in southern China, let alone worry about exporting. That left the Japanese distributor as the only one with the opportunity. Seizing on this, the Sakura Group smuggled a portion of their supply into South Korea.

They believed their smuggling operation was foolproof, utilizing African cargo vessels instead of Japanese or Korean ones. Unfortunately for them, the bottles containing the gene optimization fluid were embedded with nanotechnology developed by the Red Queen, allowing them to be tracked directly via satellite.

While she could not claim control over all satellites orbiting Earth, at least seventy percent of them were child's play for the Red Queen to access. She had hijacked various national satellites countless times without triggering a single alarm. Bypassing and spoofing location tracking was trivial for her; while the smugglers thought a satellite was tracking them from the east, the Red Queen had already redirected it to the west without their knowledge.

"Miss Sakurako, I warned you before," Zhu Lan said. "And this is not the first time the Sakura Group has done this. I noticed it last month, but out of respect for your cooperation during the distribution conference, I let it slide. However, your company is growing increasingly brazen, and I must issue a formal, serious warning."

Sakurako breathed a sigh of relief, but her brow furrowed. The Sakura Group had thoroughly analyzed the gene optimization fluid, and the people handling the South Korean distribution were all trusted loyalists; a leak from the inside was impossible. Yet, Fantasy Technology had known all along. It was clear they had implemented tracking methods on the product that the Sakura Group had failed to detect.

"Thank you for your leniency, Mr. Zhu. I will personally ensure that my subordinates do not make this mistake again."

"I don't usually give second chances. I'm only overlooking this because of the goodwill the Sakura Group showed during the conference. If this happens again, I'm afraid I will have no choice but to revoke your distribution rights, Miss Sakurako."

"Yes, I understand. I will always remember your kindness, Mr. Zhu."

"Very well. There is one other matter I would like your help with, Miss Sakurako."

"Please, go ahead."

"It's about the New Year's Eve gala I'm organizing. As you know, the New Year is a very important holiday for us in China."

Sakurako nodded. "I am also a big fan of Chinese festivals. Your Lunar New Year is a wonderful time."

Zhu Lan nodded with satisfaction. "Exactly. I want to make this event incredibly grand, so I'm planning to invite a large number of celebrities to perform."

"And you would like...?"

"Quite a few Japanese celebrities enjoy massive popularity here in China. Since I don't have many connections in the entertainment industry, and the Sakura Group is one of the leading conglomerates in Japan, I figured this would be a simple task for you."

Sakurako Chimoto smiled and nodded. "That is indeed a minor request, Mr. Zhu. Just send me a list of the celebrities you want, and I will have them contact Fantasy Technology directly. Rest assured, there isn't a single celebrity in Japan who would turn down an invitation from the Sakura Group."

Zhu Lan nodded. "Excellent. I trust the Sakura Group's influence. Consider this warning the end of the smuggling matter."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhu. You can count on me. I will make sure to prepare a surprise for your gala—a truly heavyweight, mystery guest."

"Is that so? Then I'll look forward to it," Zhu Lan said, nodding before ending the conversation.

Hanging up the call, Zhu Lan leaned back in his seat, lost in thought.

Japanese pop culture had a massive fanbase in China, giving their stars an appeal that many domestic celebrities simply couldn't match. Their entertainment industry held a special place in the hearts of youth worldwide, and Zhu Lan himself was a fan of Japanese media.

Inviting Japanese stars to the New Year's Eve concert was an idea that had only just occurred to him. He believed that even a minor leak of this news would drive the public wild. Many Japanese starlets were considered absolute goddesses by Chinese fans, including certain household names.

Years ago, when one such star visited China, she had received the treatment of a true international superstar. When Zhu Lan saw the news back then, he had even wanted to ask his boss for time off to travel to Beijing just to see her. Unfortunately, his request was denied, and he had missed out on the event, a disappointment he had brooded over for months. He understood that in terms of raw appeal, Japanese stars possessed an edge that domestic celebrities simply couldn't replicate. With time running short and worried that Tang Shenghong might struggle to secure enough domestic heavyweights, inviting Japanese stars seemed like the perfect solution. As for artists from other countries? He decided to pass on that for now.