C38

Yang Li's relationship with Jin had undergone a tremendous change. They had become close. They had mutual respect for each other and they got along very well.

Zhou Jin was skillful, honest, hardworking, and capable. Li trusted only a few people, and Jin had become one of them.

Jin was impressed by the fact that Yang Li had set up such an impressive business in a short period of time.

He had never seen a person with such an exquisite mind. Yang Li was sharp and ruthless. His thought process was different from normal people's. Problems which were complex and difficult for others were easy for him to solve.

However, Jin's admiration turned into respect when he went on a Bureau mission with Li to train the company's mercenaries. Jin had seen Li train and fight in the training and he knew that Yang Li was an expert fighter. However, he witnessed his real skills only when they went on a mission with him. The mission was a success.

Jin was an accomplished fighter. He had the confidence to handle three special ops soldiers simultaneously. However, after watching Li's combat skills he was not sure if two people with skill levels similar to him would be able to contain Li, let alone beat him.

Yang Li had appointed Zhou Jin as the CEO of YLM Enterprise. Jin would also hold the position of acting-CEO of Zenith Biotech until his mother found a suitable candidate. The real owners of both YLM and Zenith were hidden from the general public.

Yang Li had discussed it with his mother. They decided to reveal his mother's identity only after they had firmly established themselves.

Yang Li hired Han Kai as their lawyer. In the past 6 months, he had handled a couple of sale contracts for YLM. Han Kai had already started making a name for himself in the corporate circle. He was considered one of the most promising young corporate lawyers.

Yang Li had also decided to set up the headquarters of YLM in Cinea. He wanted to do this for two reasons. Firstly, to ensure that the workshop was only focussed on research and product development. Secondly, they needed a presence in the capital.

Yu Rumeng decided to do the same with Zenith Biotech. She decided to set up HQ in Cinea for the same reasons. She called Jin and told him to find an office location for her as well.

Zhou Jin's relationship with Mother Rumeng had also undergone a transformation. They got along well and Rumeng treated him just like a son. Jin was very respectful towards her and sometimes listened to her more than Yang Li.

Mei had completed her PG and gave her super specialization exam. She would soon start her classes. She would complete her studies in another 2 years. Thereafter, she wanted to set up her own hospital.

For her hospital, she needed two things. The first was capital and the second was an appropriate location. If she sold her shares in the various companies, she would have enough capital to start a large hospital. She told her brother about the plan.

Yang Li immediately rejected the idea. He said that he would provide the capital and there was no need to sell her shares. However, she rejected his offer immediately. Both of them continued to haggle and finally, it was decided that Li would provide half of the total capital in exchange for 10% equity in her hospital. For the rest, she would sell some of her shares. Yang Li had bought a location that was suitable for the hospital. He transferred it to his sister.

Zhou Shishi had applied to a famous university in Westphalia for her super specialization. Therefore, she had gone to Westphalia after her PG was completed. Although Mei was a bit reluctant and sad, she wished her luck.

Yu Rumeng was also doing well. Zenith Biotech had more than 20 researchers now. She had initiated many new projects. Six months earlier she had a breakthrough in her private project. If the project was successful, it would have huge implications. Its largest consumer would be the armed forces.

Since the beginning, she had been working with human DNA. She had been specifically working on the development of two new drugs.

One was a strength enhancer and the other accelerated the healing process. The increase in strength and the accelerated healing would depend on the person's foundation. So, it was not fixed but varied from person to person. In two months, the human trials would take place. The final result would give a clearer picture of the potential of these drugs.

The advantage of these drugs over others was that she had developed the drugs in such a manner that there would be no side effects. Currently, there were other drugs that performed the same functions but the side effects nullified any advantages they offered.

When Yang Li heard about her research, he called her mother. He was interested in these drugs. It would be a great aid to his mercenary group.

He discussed it with his mother. They needed volunteers for human testing and Li decided that his mercenary group could volunteer. Of course, he would be the first one to undergo the clinical trial. However, it would not be mandatory for the mercenaries but on a voluntary basis.

Although her mother was confident in her research and knew the drugs would not harm him, she still dissuaded him from participating. However, Yang Li was adamant.

Firstly, he trusted his mother's capabilities. Secondly, he could not let his men volunteer if he didn't participate. It was a huge opportunity that he didn't want to miss. Finally, after a few discussions and arguments, he was able to convince his mother to let him participate in the trial.

Therefore, for the next 2 months, Yang Li and others who volunteered for the trials were put on a strict diet and a daily routine. This was to ensure perfect body conditions for the clinical trial.

2 months later-

It was the day of testing and all the volunteers were present in Zenith Biotech. There were about 26 volunteers. Out of these 26, 12 were Yang Li and his mercenaries. A few of them were from Bureau 107. The rest were either special forces or private security.

There were some observers as well. They were from the government, military, special forces, and some large corporations like NI, Wang Industries.

Even Yang Tian was present. He was sent as one of the military observers. His father had given him an additional mission which was to find out more about Zenith Biotech.

This was because a year back, Yang Mu came to know from his sources that his sister-in-law was working in Zenith Biotech. However, he was not able to dig any further. The security of Zenith Biotech was set up by Yang Li. It was impossible to hack it. The only way Yang Mu's sources had found out about Yu Rumeng was by following her to work.

The Yang family then tried to contact the CEO Zhou Jin, but he didn't respond. Their main objective was to pressurize him to fire Yu Rumeng.

When there was no response from the CEO's office, they tried to use their influence in the government to suppress Zenith Biotech. However, they didn't succeed. Soon, the elders of the Yang family understood that Zhou Jin had a very strong backing.

After multiple failures, Yang Mu was reprimanded by Patriarch Yang. Therefore, he decided to send his son Yang Tian to find out more. Yang Tian was 27 now and already a Colonel.

His influence in the army had already surpassed his father when he was his age. He was respected not only in the military but also amongst the entire upper echelon of the corporate world. He was considered the most eligible bachelor in Colchis.

He was three years older than Zhou Jin. Yang Mu had told him to get close to Zhou Jin and find out as much as he could.

However, his plans went down the drain as Zhou Jin was not even present at the trials.

The trial was carried out and the test subjects were put under observation. After 24 hours, no side effects were observed. The drug would start to display its effects in about a week. However, the 1st phase was considered a success.

In the next couple of months, the subjects were kept under surveillance and had to undergo various tests and activities.

After two months the second drug was administered and the same process was repeated for the next two months.

The results came within a week after the trial for 2nd drug ended.

Firstly, there were no side effects in any of the 26 test subjects. Secondly apart from Li, the strength of all the subjects increased by 1.3 to 2 times their initial strength. Similarly, the healing capacity of their bodies increased by 1.4 to 1.9 times.

However, only Yang Li was an exception. Both his strength and healing capabilities had increased by more than 3 times.

If initially, he was terrifying, he had become an absolute beast now. However, Yu Rumeng was not surprised and seemed to have expected this. Her drugs worked according to the base foundation of an individual. Yang Li's foundation had been strengthened since he was 5 years old, so according to her, the results were not surprising.

After the trial was declared a complete success, the military approached Yu Rumeng and Zhou Jin to discuss a collaboration. The discussions began and it took about a week to finalize the deal with the military.

Yu Rumeng and Zhou Jin decided to set up a subsidiary that will handle the mass manufacturing of these drugs.

It was named Zenith C&D. It was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zenith Biotech.

They needed a CEO for this subsidiary. Jin recommended a person called Qing Han. Zhou Jin and Qing Han were childhood friends.

According to Zhou Jin, he was hardworking, honest, and business savvy. He was 24 the same age as Zhou Jin. Although he belonged to a commoner family his skills were top notch. He completed his MBA from GVSU. He was actually in the same class as Song Liu. He was in fact the batch topper but due to the presence of people like Song Liu and Xi Fan, he never came into the limelight.

Both mother Yu and Yang Li trusted Jin's judgment. So, Qing Han was called for an interview. After the mother and son were satisfied, he was appointed as the CEO of Zenith C&D. Many people were surprised at the appointment of another young CEO. The people in the corporate world became more intrigued by the true owners of these companies.