Boss Zhang's words hadn't even sunk in yet when he dropped a sudden "but," making everyone instinctively perk up their ears.
But what? What kind of "but" could there be now? They'd followed the rules fair and square, so what's there to argue about? Seriously.
No one dared say it out loud. The people from Yunzhou's Medicinal Herb Association just forced polite smiles and nodded. "Please, go ahead. Whatever it is, as long as it's still within the rules, we've got no objections." After all, the chief judge himself was giving them an out, and they couldn't exactly turn their noses up at it.
Victory was already in their grasp. As long as the result stood, whatever came next didn't really matter.
The other associations, though, didn't look so pleased. They'd all heard the result loud and clear. If the winner was decided purely by inhibition rate, then that 99.9% meant it was all over. Even if the chief judge came up with more conditions, no one else could turn things around.
Could it be that even the chief judge was going to play favorites? Everyone knew that drug was built out of money. It wasn't practical at all. Forget the side effects that were practically a death sentence—just the crimson energy it required was rarer than Bodhi itself.
Everyone turned to look at the chief judge.
Boss Zhang continued, "However, since the result's already out, we'll acknowledge it and record your data on the competition results. As for the rest, let's end it here. Like Lao Zhao said, this drug isn't fit for mass production, and the formula isn't worth continuing trials. There's no point wasting manpower and resources any further."
The faces of the Yunzhou association people changed several times over. Sure, their data was recognized, and sure, that made them the champions, but what kind of champion couldn't even mass-produce their own formula? They'd be laughed at the moment they got home.
Boss Zhang coughed a few times, waved his hand, and started walking away. "Don't worry," he said as he went. "The results stand. If your inhibition rate's still the highest, the championship's yours." His tone left no room for argument, showing everyone just how absolute his authority was.
"Alright then! We'll take our leave first."
"Wait." Boss Zhang stopped them. "That child's your responsibility now. If you can't cure her, you'll be responsible for her entire future. I'll send people to check in regularly."
The Yunzhou representative lowered his head, then looked up again with a wide, almost gleeful smile. "Of course, we'll take full responsibility."
They quickly cleared out, packing up everything and leaving only one person behind to report updates. The competition went on. This was just a minor incident, and even though that 99.9% number loomed over everyone, the other associations didn't give up. Getting second or third place was still worth something. Those rankings meant better resources next year.
But before one wave settled, another came crashing in.
They'd just started the testing phase, and the needles hadn't even gone in yet when the crowd suddenly grew noisy again. The sight of unconscious, anesthetized children neatly laid out on the floor was more than a little unsettling.
"100%!"
"It's 100%!"
The shouting grew louder and more frantic by the second.
"What's 100%? What the hell's going on?"
"Who knows? Let's go check it out! Don't tell me it's a 100% inhibition rate?"
"Are you nuts? The R&D Department's been studying for months and barely broke past 90%. That 99.9% one earlier was already crazy, and it had side effects so bad it fried the patient's brain. How the hell could there be a perfect 100%? That'd be a slap in the face to the entire department!"
That's what people said, but as the noise grew, more and more of them crowded over anyway. Of course, a few still stayed behind to focus on their trials.
Everyone knew it—people who chased gossip never achieved anything big.
"Cough, cough, everyone hold up a second, let's pause the competition," Minister Zhao shouted through a loudspeaker. He didn't expect Boss Zhang to snatch it right out of his hand.
"What are we even competing for now? The competition's over! I repeat, it's over!" Boss Zhang's voice boomed. "Everyone, whether you haven't started, are midway through testing, or are just about to begin, stop everything immediately. I'm announcing that the competition is officially over."
The crowd blinked in disbelief. "What the hell? It's over? Already? We barely even started!"
Some people had gone off to watch the 99.9% drama earlier, and by the time they came back, the chief judge was declaring the whole thing finished before they'd even warmed up.
"We haven't even started yet! What's going on?"
"Why'd you call it off?"
Boss Zhang raised the loudspeaker again, clearly excited. "What's the purpose of this whole event? It's to find a formula that can fully cure the parasite infection! And now we've found it! Just now, we discovered a drug with zero side effects, 100% suppression and kill rate, and it's fit for mass production! This parasitic plague is finally coming to an end!"
"You serious?"
"Look, it's Wu City! The big data chart just updated!"
"Wu City? The one with all the Bodhi reserves? How'd they pull that off?"
"It's true! Damn, it's really true. Who'd have thought…"
The lab results were clear. The two kids who'd been tested were weak and still needed further treatment, their organs a bit damaged, but the parasites inside them? Completely gone. Not a single one left.
"Hurry, this drug needs at least five hundred clinical trials, but for now, treat those children first. Everyone else, stop what you're doing and leave the field," Minister Zhao said urgently, like a proctor rushing students to drop their pens after the bell rang.
There was no denying it now. Wu City had actually created a 100% effective, side-effect-free drug—and it didn't even cost a fortune to make.
What kind of competition was this? From start to finish, hadn't everyone else just been the background cast?
"Fine, so the champion's settled, and the runner-up too. But what about third and fourth? We still deserve rankings, don't we?"
"Yeah, we worked halfway through the trials only for it to be canceled. How're we supposed to explain that when we get back? What about our resource quotas?"
Boss Zhang waved his hand, his tone firm. "All data except the recorded one is null. Scores will be based on your first and second-round results." It was already a generous compromise.
So in the end, this round was a big fat zero for everyone else. Frustrating, sure, but at least there'd still be a third-place slot.
People left one after another, muttering under their breaths, while the Wu City Medicinal Herb Association got busy. Truthfully, even they looked a little dazed, like they couldn't quite believe what they'd just done.