Chapter 239: Chapter 239 Evaporating 18 Billion_1
"Don’t call me ’beautiful.’ My name is Long Xiwen."
The young woman introduced herself and then said bluntly, "Zhai Defeng has woken up, but you gave him a severe concussion. He doesn’t even know who he is anymore."
"Ah, poor Old Zhai!" Su Xuan sighed. "He should have listened to me last night. Then he wouldn’t have ended up so miserable."
"Su Xuan, I need to come into your home to investigate. It’s for work, so please understand." Long Xiwen shifted to the side, about to step past Su Xuan into his house.
COUGH! COUGH!
Su Xuan stretched out his arm and stopped Long Xiwen. "You can just ask me what you need to know right here. After we’re done, I have to go drive for Didi."
"You!" Long Xiwen’s cheeks flushed red as she glanced down at Su Xuan’s arm. When he’d extended it to stop her, he had placed it right across her chest.
Long Xiwen immediately stepped back a few paces.
"Oh, my apologies." Su Xuan quickly lowered his arm.
There was still a touch of softness lingering on his arm. A man’s arm is a strange thing; once it touches a woman’s body, that wonderful sensation lingers for a long time, even more satisfying than a touch from his own hand!
"Then just tell me what happened last night!" Long Xiwen said, pouting as she stood three steps away from Su Xuan.
"Last night was pretty straightforward..." Su Xuan recounted the previous night’s events for Long Xiwen, including how he came to suspect Zhai Defeng, how they fought, and the fact that Zhai Defeng was a black-robed Sorcerer. However, he didn’t mention the hallucinations he experienced, nor that Zhai Defeng had been knocked out by Dabai.
"A black-robed Sorcerer?" Long Xiwen asked, slightly surprised.
"What? Are you familiar with them?" Su Xuan asked, glancing at Long Xiwen, who had a beauty score of over 95.
Long Xiwen didn’t like wearing makeup and always met him bare-faced, yet she was still stunning. However, she always maintained an icy demeanor, making it hard for anyone to think of her in any other way.
"I suppose I know a little," Long Xiwen said, pursing her delicate lips. "We’ve had several cases involving Sorcerers here. Their methods are often quite brutal. To be honest, what they practice is a kind of primitive sorcery. It includes things like curses, the Poison Technique, and Shamanistic Rites. They use certain toxins or insects as mediums to harm people. It’s not profound at all. If the victim gets to a hospital in time, they’re usually easy to cure."
After a pause, Long Xiwen studied Su Xuan and asked, "You weren’t affected, were you?"
Su Xuan spread his hands. "Here I am, perfectly fine! Let me tell you, I’m actually a martial arts expert. Ordinary people can’t even get close to me. With one slap, I can send someone flying and even shatter their heart. I’m not afraid of any Sorcerer..."
"Just go drive your Didi," Long Xiwen said, having no patience for his boasting. She turned and walked toward the police car parked nearby.
"Su Xuan, there’s something I want to remind you." Before getting into the car, Long Xiwen cautioned him, "When Sorcerers operate, they usually aren’t alone. They’re part of an organization, and they’re very vengeful. You beat Zhai Defeng senseless, so you must be careful of his accomplices seeking revenge. If anything happens, you can talk to Chief Zhong or me. Just don’t do anything reckless on your own."
She then gave Su Xuan her cell phone number.
"Got it!" Su Xuan waved as he saw her off.
He couldn’t be bothered to go home and put away the 500,000 yuan, so he just tossed it in his car and went out to drive for Didi.
In the past, 500,000 in cash would have been a huge sum to him, and he would have treated it with great care. But now, it was just a burden. It was heavy, and he’d have to count it all out when buying things. What a hassle.
He couldn’t be bothered to worry about retaliation from some Sorcerer organization. With his powerful will and formidable skills, he could take them on one by one as they came. There was nothing to fear. Back to driving for Didi! That was his main job, after all. Just six more rides and he would complete the second stage of the system’s mission!
A few minutes later, he accepted a Didi order.
"Sir, do you play the stock market?" a male passenger asked as soon as he got in the car.
"Not really interested," Su Xuan replied nonchalantly. After all, he was a stakeholder in multiple companies.
"Ah, that’s good!" the male passenger sighed. "The stock market is just a trap. It’s too unpredictable. Retail investors get easily trapped as soon as they get in!"
"Lost money?" Su Xuan asked.
"You bet," the man said. "I thought Lafu Pharmaceuticals was a sure thing, but I bought their stock yesterday, and it plunged the moment the market opened today. It dropped a full 15%, and it’s still falling!"
"What?" Su Xuan was stunned. Lafu Pharmaceuticals was his company! It had a market value of 120 billion, and he owned a massive 56% stake! A 15% drop for Lafu meant the company’s market cap had evaporated by about 18 billion. For him, that was a personal loss of 10 billion! What in the world is going on?
Su Xuan had just been feeling pleased about the 500,000 yuan reward. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so great anymore.
After dropping off the passenger, he immediately pulled out his phone. He was about to call Dou Jianhua from Lafu and demand to know how he’d managed to lose him over ten billion yuan in the blink of an eye.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Before he could dial, he received a call from Ning Yunshi.
"Su Xuan, Lafu Pharmaceuticals’ stock has crashed! You’ve lost 10 billion!" Ning Yunshi’s anxious voice came through the moment the call connected.
Although 10 billion was a drop in the bucket for Su Xuan, who was worth 400 billion, she still felt a pang of distress for him.
"Do you know what the problem is?" Su Xuan asked.
"There’s a company called Bai Wei Pharmaceuticals," Ning Yunshi explained. "They just launched a new health product, the Jinyang Strong Kidney Pills. Its effectiveness vastly surpasses Lafu’s comparable products, so customers are flocking to it. As a result, Lafu’s stock price has taken a massive hit."
"So you’re saying Lafu’s stock crashed because of one new product from a competitor?" Su Xuan clarified.
"Yes. Stock prices are very sensitive; a single development can create a ripple effect."
"Can we salvage the situation right away?" Su Xuan asked.
"Only if Lafu can quickly develop and release a more effective product."
"Yunshi, let me go for now. I’m going to call Lafu and see if they have a countermeasure."
"I’ll be waiting for good news!"
With that, Su Xuan immediately called Dou Jianhua.
"Boss, I’m so sorry!" Dou Jianhua’s voice was filled with anguish. "It’s my poor management that caused you to suffer these losses. Our stock price dropped because..."
"I already know," Su Xuan interrupted, frowning. "Do you have any countermeasures?"
"Bai Wei Pharmaceuticals moved too fast this time," Dou Jianhua lamented. "They hit us before we could react. They’re probably going to take over our share of the health supplements market..."