"Lord Zerg, you mentioned last time that you needed me to find all sorts of newly born or soon-to-be-born creatures. If I can command them, I hope you can help me modify these creatures."

"That's no problem. As long as the creatures you provide aren't utterly devoid of potential, we can make them incredibly powerful. It just takes less time to modify high-potential creatures and a bit longer for those with lower potential," Zerg replied.

"This medication just needs to be injected into the body, right? Will it have any side effects on me?" Liu Hui asked, holding up the syringe.

"Just inject the medication. In exactly six hours, you will possess absolute control over our Zerg brood. However, if you can't find any creatures to control, this ability will be meaningless to you. You must trust our technology; we never produce anything with adverse side effects," Zerg assured him.

"I understand. Thank you, Lord Zerg. I'm going to inject this right away," Liu Hui stated.

"Very well, farewell," Zerg chuckled.

Closing the communication device, Liu Hui stared at the medication in his hand, a flicker of hesitation crossing his mind. But then he reconsidered: Zerg had supplied all his other medications, none of which had ever caused adverse reactions. Furthermore, he had already injected the body evolution fluid; adding this one shouldn't be an issue.

Liu Hui gritted his teeth and plunged the needle into his own flesh. Just like with Zerg's other concoctions, Liu Hui immediately passed out as the magical substances began restructuring his physical capabilities, working their wondrous effects within him.

When Liu Hui finally awoke, it was the next morning. He carefully scanned his sensations but found himself no different from usual. There were no strange new abilities, not even a boost in mental clarity. Had the medication failed to work? Yet, Zerg's drugs were always astonishingly effective; it was impossible for them to simply not work.

Liu Hui felt a touch of disappointment at the lack of obvious change in his body, a nagging suspicion taking root. He went to his office and called for Qian Meiyuan, the director of administration, to come up.

"Boss, you called for me?" Qian Meiyuan asked cautiously.

"I need you to find some small animals—the kind that are either brand new or about to be born."

"Boss, is there a time limit for the 'newly born' ones? And what species of animals are we looking for?" Qian Meiyuan, ever meticulous, inquired.

"Just those born within the last day. Find whatever animals you can source; the species don't matter."

"But with so many animals, where will we keep them?"

"Put them in the warehouse behind the pharmaceutical plant first. Find a few dedicated staff members to look after them. This is extremely urgent; I need you to start immediately." Liu Hui emphasized.

"Yes, I'll start right away." Qian Meiyuan promptly left to carry out the task.

Liu Hui desperately craved powerful strength, but enhancing his personal ability took far too much time. If he could control animals, and Zerg could use Zerg gene technology to modify them, granting them immense power, then he would possess the means for self-preservation. However, the success of his entire plan hinged on whether he could find controllable creatures.

He paused for a moment and made a call from his office.

"Manager Hou? This is Liu Hui from Xingkong Pharmaceuticals. Have you found the people I requested?"

"Ah, Boss Liu. Because your requirements were quite stringent, it’s difficult to locate everyone all at once. However, we have persuaded five elite candidates who can come in for interviews at your company three days from now," Manager Hou reported.

"Heh, that's good enough for now. But you must find a way to secure the remaining personnel," Liu Hui said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Boss Liu. Our company thrives on headhunting; we will certainly ensure you find the perfect executive managers," Manager Hou assured him cheerfully.

Liu Hui hung up. He himself lacked management experience, which was why he hired a headhunting firm for suitable professional managers. His Xingkong Group was destined for greatness, so he preferred to delegate professional matters to professionals, establishing a sound and efficient management structure right from the company's inception. This would not only elevate the overall management level but also accelerate the company's growth rate.

Liu Hui opened the QQ client on his computer. He rarely used QQ for chats, but his few prior conversations had led him to Liang Jingyue, who later became his girlfriend in reality—a truly rare stroke of fate. Regrettably, Liang Jingyue’s icon in Liu Hui’s contact list was gray, indicating she was offline or invisible. Full of anticipation, Liu Hui typed a single line: "Are you there? I need to talk to you."

Sadly, he waited a long time with no response, growing intensely disappointed. Just as he was about to close QQ, a news alert popped up: 'Hantang Hospital Faces Raw Material Shortage, Will Raise Treatment Threshold for Patients.' Curious, he clicked on it and skimmed the contents:

"...Hantang Hospital utilizes an exceedingly rare Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredient to produce a drug capable of treating AIDS. Regrettably, the current natural environment cannot support large-scale cultivation of this herb. To prevent its extinction due to over-harvesting, Hantang Hospital has decided to reduce the slots available for AIDS patients and raise the treatment threshold. Every patient seeking AIDS treatment at Hantang Hospital will now be charged five million US dollars, with no distinction made between domestic and international patients, and no charity cases will be accepted—this upholds the basic principle of equality for all...

...We are raising the treatment threshold primarily in hopes that the price factor will divert some patients to other AIDS treatment facilities, easing the pressure on Hantang Hospital and protecting the precious herb from extinction. We ask for the understanding of all patients..."

Reading the news, a sneer crossed Liu Hui's face. Diversion? Wasn't this just the hospital version of what the Ministry of Railways tried a few years ago with ticket price hikes to divert passengers? Did any other AIDS treatment facilities actually possess the capability to cure AIDS? People shouldn't be so greedy. One million dollars was already exorbitant; now they jumped straight to five million. Did they truly believe they held a monopoly and everyone would eventually beg them? What about those domestic patients clamoring to confront Hantang Hospital, those who vehemently demanded the hospital be nationalized? Were they enjoying the benefits now?

However, Hantang Hospital had new owners; whatever they did now had nothing to do with Liu Hui. Once they incited widespread public resentment, and when they discovered the secret formula was compromised, finding themselves unable to mobilize public opinion or attack him again—at that point, they wouldn't be able to touch him! This should turn out to be a good thing for him.

Liu Hui dismissed thoughts of Hantang Hospital, not even bothering to look at the netizens' comments. He closed the news page and headed to the assembly line installation workshop, where he found Mei Peng deep in thought.

"Second Brother, aiming to become a Thinker?" Liu Hui suddenly appeared before Mei Peng.

"Ah... Boss, it's you. You know, startling people can actually kill them," Mei Peng grumbled.

"What are you thinking about so intently?" Liu Hui asked.

"It's about that task you gave me. I came to the site to understand the situation firsthand. But it seems a bit difficult!" Mei Peng looked distressed.

"What difficulty?"

"Boss, look at the crew next to us; they are the personnel sent by the assembly line equipment supplier to calibrate and install everything. They demand adherence strictly to their installation procedures. I offered a few modification suggestions, but they rejected every single one. I can’t even start work," Mei Peng said quietly.

Liu Hui glanced at the production line. The workers there were installing the equipment under the direction of the supplier's personnel. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he pulled Mei Peng away.

"Boss, why are we leaving? I still haven't figured out a solution!" Mei Peng called out anxiously.

"Heh heh, I've already thought of a way," Liu Hui declared triumphantly.

"I haven't figured anything out all day, and you come up with a solution just by looking for a moment?" Mei Peng sounded skeptical.

"Heh heh, otherwise, why am I the Boss and you are the Second Brother!" Liu Hui said with a sly smile.

"Then tell me what to do," Mei Peng challenged, unconvinced.

"Look at those assembly lines—they are sealed near the exit point," Liu Hui prompted Mei Peng.

"That's the final bottling facility. It has to be sealed to prevent bacterial contamination, naturally."

"If we tamper with that spot, look—we redesign a component to divert everything coming off the production line to another location, and then we secretly inject our raw drug concentrate into the vials. How untraceable would that process be!" Liu Hui chuckled.

"But wouldn't that render the entire production line useless? It would look like it's producing, but it would just be idling." Mei Peng questioned, perplexed.

"Second Brother, the production line is meant to mislead others anyway. Idling is fine. As long as we tightly control maintenance and prevent anyone from inspecting the assembly line equipment, no one will ever discover the trickery inside," Liu Hui explained.

"That plan is feasible. We insist on handling all maintenance for this line ourselves and forbid anyone else from touching it. Then, we can produce the real medication under the guise of an operating production line. Boss, how can you be so devious!" Mei Peng suddenly understood.

"Heh heh, how can one be the boss without being a little devious?" Liu Hui countered with a smile.

"Fine, I won't argue with you. Whatever you say is right. I'll quietly find another manufacturer to custom-build a device that executes the process you described," Mei Peng agreed.

"Why don't I see Zhao Yuanhua?" Liu Hui asked.

"General Manager Zhao went to contact the Hong Kong Department of Health about clinical trials this morning. He should be back this afternoon."

"I hope he can get the drug into clinical trials soon. Time is money! You need to speed up your progress here as well. I don't want the drug ready for market only to have problems with your section."

"Mission guaranteed completion," Mei Peng replied with a comical salute.

Liu Hui parted ways with Mei Peng and proceeded to the training grounds of the security company. The security guards and bodyguards who had followed Liu Hui to Hong Kong were engaged in rigorous training, with Huang Huali supervising nearby. Seeing Liu Hui approach, she immediately clapped her hands, halting the training session. Upon seeing Liu Hui come to check on them, the trainees snapped to attention and shouted in unison, "Greetings, Boss!"

Liu Hui smiled. "Thank you all for your hard work."

Everyone: "Serving the Boss!"

Liu Hui was startled by their shout and choked on his saliva, erupting into a violent coughing fit.

"Boss." Huang Huali swiftly handed him a bottle of water. Liu Hui drank several large gulps before his coughing subsided. He looked at the men and chuckled, "Your morale boost is certainly potent; one sentence nearly took me out. But I hope you can eliminate enemies on the actual battlefield. You aren't capable of that yet, but I will provide you with the best possible support. Soon, your opponents will tremble; they will wake up screaming from nightmares, regretting ever provoking us."

Everyone: "Long live the Boss! Long live the Boss!"

Liu Hui laughed wryly. "Who invented these slogans? They sound terribly unreliable."

"Boss, everyone deeply appreciates your kindness to them. These phrases formed spontaneously; no one instructed them!" Huang Huali explained.

"What about Wu Yuanjia and Zhou Tengyun?"

"General Manager Wu is registering the security company with the personnel you assigned. Director Zhou requested leave; I heard he has matters to attend to."

Qian Yu Chu Hai sincerely thanks all good friends for their support, especially during the time I considered abandoning the novel, when you friends continued to cast recommendation votes—I actually received more votes during that period than usual—and many more friends left messages of encouragement in the discussion area. This has deeply moved me. I will strive to write a work that satisfies you all and repays the trust and support you have shown me!

Today will feature two updates, totaling about 7,000 characters; the second update should arrive around seven in the evening. However, I must sincerely apologize to the reader ζζ: due to their casting a 12,000-character 'urge to update' vote, Qian Yu Chu Hai does not possess the capability to fulfill that request. My apologies!

Thanks for the rewards from readers: Sui Feng Feiyue and Bing Yu Lingyu!

The foundational exposition of this novel is now largely complete. Liu Hui is about to embark on the grand stage of establishing a super-corporation. Please remain patient, dear readers!