The Ascend factory in the Philippines.
Today, unlike other days, the factory was extremely busy.
Heavy equipment was going in and out of the factory, hauling out the machines inside.
The machines that had been making candy all this time were being disassembled, dismantled, and taken outside the factory.
From now on, we would no longer be making candy.
We would only be making the concentrate that went into Ascend.
In the spaces left behind by the candy machines, machines for making the raw ingredients would be installed.
That was the agreement I had reached with Chairman Li Guoqing.
Candy would be made in China, and we would make only the concentrate.
In exchange, we would supply it exclusively to China.
It was a contract that benefited us in many ways.
Edward, who had been watching the machines being hauled away, grumbled beside me.
“It hasn’t even been that long since we built this factory, and we’re already changing it again. Those machines barely got used. What a waste.”
“We’re not throwing them away. We’ll put them in the fruit candy factory over in Unity Town.”
Edward looked at me in surprise.
“You’re frugal even in the middle of all this? You spend money so freely that I thought you wouldn’t care about stuff like this.”
“Heh. When did I ever spend money freely? I just spent money where it was needed. There just happened to be a lot of places that needed it.”
“Well, you did spend it where it was needed. Even if you tore it down or fixed it right afterward.”
Edward spoke while watching the machines being loaded onto the trucks.
“The situation keeps changing. How is it that not a single thing goes according to plan? I look at the situation, make predictions and prepare, and then the situation changes again, and again. Even I’m losing my mind. Try to understand.”
“Then from now on, all I have to do is make the Ascend concentrate, right?”
Edward was pretending to grumble, but inside, he was actually pleased.
In truth, Edward was the final person in charge of this factory, and he held absolute authority.
Because Edward was the one responsible for producing Ascend.
No one in this factory could defy Edward’s words.
For that reason, Edward’s sense of responsibility was immense.
He wanted to produce Ascend without any problems.
He wanted to live up to Alex’s expectations.
But during the production process, trouble, both large and small, occurred constantly.
And most of those incidents occurred not in the drug manufacturing process, but in the candy manufacturing process.
The drug had already been made and even mixed into the raw ingredients, but problems arose while stamping out the candy.
Edward was a person who made medicine, not candy.
It was difficult for Edward to deal with problems that occurred in the process of making candy, not medicine.
Of course, there was a manager on the candy side as well, but Edward felt that all responsibility lay with him.
The stress he received from that was considerable, so from Edward’s perspective, not making candy anymore would significantly reduce his stress.
He would be able to focus on what he was good at.
“Yeah. That’s all you need to make.”
“I’m going to crank out an absurd amount now, so don’t even bring up supply from here on out.”
“I’m begging you.”
I was truly desperate.
That old man Zhou Qiming called at all hours to ask when the goods were coming in.
Li Guoqing called too.
I was now on phone-call terms with Li Guoqing.
I was sick of answering the phone.
Now we just needed to clear out those candy machines, make the medicine there, and send it to China.
Combined with China’s enormous production capacity, a terrifying quantity would pour out.
I hoped that day would come quickly.
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Zhou Qiming was also personally inspecting and selecting candy factories in China that would produce Ascend.
Every employee of the MSS was mobilized to compile the list.
Because of concerns about leaks, all foreign-affiliated companies were excluded.
On top of that, only factories capable of producing hundreds of millions of units or more per day were put on the list.
The current production volume of the Ascend factory in the Philippines was said to be just over ten million units a day.
That was far too little.
It was nowhere near enough to awaken the people of the People’s Republic of China.
That was why he was looking only at a few factories that could produce hundreds of millions of units or more per day.
Unexpectedly, however, the factories were already operating at full capacity.
“Were they always this busy?”
“They weren’t usually this busy, but demand has surged since a few months ago.”
“Is that so?”
Come to think of it, Zhou Qiming also remembered that he had been eating things like jelly and chocolate often lately.
They were things he would never have touched before.
Putting those thoughts aside, Zhou Qiming got to the point.
“Do you happen to know something called Ascend?”
“Ascend, you say? Of course I know it. I eat it too.”
The factory representative took Ascend out of his pocket and showed it to him.
“You’re doing very well. But you see, there’s a shortage of Ascend, so we’re looking for factories to produce more.”
The factory representative asked back with a startled expression.
“Are you saying you want our factory to produce Ascend?”
“Can’t you?”
“Of course we can. It would be an honor for our factory.”
“We’ll be bringing in the concentrate. You’ll have to make Ascend with that concentrate. Can you do it?”
“We’ll have to discuss the details with that side to know for sure, but I think it should be entirely possible. We’ll immediately manufacture molds so that we can make candy identical to Ascend.”
“No. There’s no need to go that far. You’ll probably just need to add the raw ingredient to your existing candy.”
“Then? You mean we only need to add the Ascend concentrate to our candy? Does that mean our product will turn into Ascend?”
“That’s right.”
“In that case, production can begin immediately.”
“Hahaha. Good. In return, we’ll designate this place as a National Key Enterprise.”
“R-really?”
It was an absolutely unbelievable benefit.
If one became a National Key Enterprise, not only were there tax reductions, but ultra-low-interest loans became available as well.
Administratively, one could receive tremendous preferential treatment in permits, approvals, and customs clearance.
In particular, local governments, tax authorities, and the public security bureau would find it difficult to interfere or meddle.
Above all, the greatest benefit was the title of National Key Enterprise itself.
It meant the company was one that the state managed as a core priority.
With that title, no one could easily touch it.
The benefits listed earlier were nothing in comparison.
It was truly an enormous privilege.
“I will devote my loyalty.”
The factory representative continued making loyal vows.
But Zhou Qiming’s face as he looked at the factory representative was filled with greed.
******
China was enjoying the greatest boom in its history.
There had never been a day like this in China before.
Stock prices continued to soar,
and exports recorded an all-time high.
People’s faces were filled with happiness.
After hearing rumors of Ascend, people from abroad were flooding in.
When taking Ascend out of the country was banned, people curious about Ascend came into China.
Artists, as well as entrepreneurs and scholars, rushed to enter China.
They wanted to know the reason behind the astonishing achievements China was displaying.
They wanted to experience the supposedly incredible Ascend.
So many people were pouring in that there weren’t enough hotel rooms.
Not only hotel rooms, but even ordinary people’s rooms listed as guest lodgings were reserved as soon as they were posted.
Planes and passenger ships bound for China were packed with people.
It was the moment China approached becoming the greatest nation in the world.
.
.
.
But not everyone was happy.
Where there is sunlight, there is bound to be shade.
China’s sports world was going through its worst time.
Wu Delin, a member of China’s national team in the 100-meter sprint.
At the last world championships, he won the gold medal in the 100 meters.
With an astonishing record of 9.77 seconds.
He set both the Asian record and the Chinese record at the same time.
Even now, whenever Wu Delin closed his eyes, that scene remained vivid.
With a record like that, he could aim for the Olympics or the Asian Games without question.
Wu Delin continued training as he prepared for the Olympics.
He was full of confidence.
He planned to keep participating in international competitions, check his condition, and improve his skills.
Unfortunately, however, the next competition was not held.
“The competition has been canceled due to the U.S. side boycotting the games.”
“This competition has also been canceled due to a lack of participating countries. What a shame.”
“Many countries had stated that they would not participate unless measures were put in place regarding China’s drugs, and that has now become reality.”
“Only China, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Myanmar participated in this competition.”
Other countries, having noticed China’s drug use, sent strong letters stating that if China participated, they would not. Even so, China showed its will to participate.
As a result, the other countries did not participate in the competition, and in the end, the competition was canceled.
China had no choice but to create its own competition and invite other countries, but the response was cold.
Only a few Asian countries that had no choice but to comply when China said to do something would reluctantly participate.
The ones hit hardest by this situation were the athletes.
They needed to continuously participate in competitions and check their performance, but they could not.
Wu Delin won the world championships, and after that, he could not participate in any other competition.
It was not easy to maintain his condition.
With no other choice, he participated in domestic competitions.
Wu Delin, who had won the world championships, was eliminated in the preliminaries of a Chinese domestic competition.
It was true that Wu Delin’s condition was not good because he had been unable to participate in games, but more than that, the other athletes’ abilities were far superior.
The winning record in the 100-meter final at China’s domestic track and field competition was 9.70 seconds.
Through this competition, suspicion that Chinese athletes’ records were due to drugs turned into certainty.
World records poured out.
World records, which were hard to break even once a year, were set seven times in this competition alone.
And in a Chinese domestic competition, no less.
The people measuring the records, the people running the competition, and the coaches all knew this was not normal.
But instead of reflecting, they were busy savoring the joy of setting new records.
Of course, because it was not a competition organized by the World Athletics Federation, the records could not be recognized as official, but that was not important.
What mattered was that the records had been set.
Meanwhile, countries other than China created a separate association.
They established competitions without China so that athletes could compete against one another.
China protested strongly, but they were dismissed with a single statement: since China was not a member nation, it had no right to protest.
China said it would join the association as well, but the only answer it received was that it would be difficult unless it brought measures regarding the drug in question.
China was furious.
Ascend had done nothing wrong.
They thought that because China’s results were good, the others were envious and jealous.
They believed it was the jealousy of countries that did not want to lose the number one spot.
So China also decided not to participate anymore.
Even with domestic competitions alone, Chinese athletes could prove that they were among the very best in the world.
But Wu Delin, who had been eliminated in the preliminaries, was contemplating retirement.
After participating in a domestic competition, he felt he understood.
His own limits had arrived.
When he participated in international competitions, he had been the only one eating Ascend, so he could win easily. But in a domestic competition where everyone ate Ascend, Wu Delin lacked competitiveness.
And his body had changed too much.
The food he had eaten because of the hunger that came every time he took Ascend had accumulated in his body.
He had gained weight.
His body had become too heavy to run the 100 meters.
It was only two or three kilograms, but for a sprinter, it was fatal.
He could quit Ascend, but if he ran without eating Ascend, he recorded not in the nine-second range, but in the eleven-second range.
He could not even reach the records of the reserve team.
Ascend was necessary.
But when he ate Ascend, he became hungry.
So he had to eat something.
In the end, without being able to make any decision, Wu Delin merely put one Ascend into his mouth.
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It was not only Wu Delin.
Countless athletes were contemplating retirement due to Ascend’s aftereffects.
The problem was the food they ate because they could not endure the hunger.
No matter how restrained and careful they were when eating, they could not stop it from accumulating.
But they could not quit Ascend either.
If they quit Ascend, their records immediately plummeted.
They were caught in a dilemma.
******
Tang Xiaoyu worked at a hotel.
His job was to carry the luggage of guests staying at the hotel or guide them to their rooms.
It was the occupation we commonly call a bellboy.
The hotel where Tang Xiaoyu worked was not a particularly good hotel.
Even so, it was full.
There had always been plenty of empty rooms, but now there were no vacant rooms left.
Every room was filled with foreigners.
Thanks to that, Tang Xiaoyu was incredibly busy as well.
As the number of hotel guests increased, there were more places calling for him, and the amount of work he had to do also increased.
In proportion to that, the tips he received also increased.
This life was not bad.
It was enjoyable.
He was busy, but being busy and receiving more tips was several times better than having to watch people’s reactions because business was bad.
“Then have a good night.”
After carrying the luggage of a guest who had checked in late up to the room and saying goodbye, he left.
He gratefully accepted the two-dollar tip the guest handed him and got off work.
On the way home after work.
His phone rang.
“Huh? You want to drink? No, I’m just going home.”
“There are pretty girls too? It’s okay. I’m tired today, so I want to go home.”
“Yeah, see you next time.”
Tang Xiaoyu refused his friend’s invitation to meet.
There was only one reason he refused.
It was Ascend.
He wanted to save money to buy Ascend.
More than meeting friends,
more than meeting women,
more than going out to have fun, eating Ascend made him happier and gave him more pleasure.
He cut down on eating and on living expenses.
He did not need those things either.
As long as he had Ascend, that was enough.
Most of the money Tang Xiaoyu earned went toward buying Ascend.
It was not only Tang Xiaoyu.
Many people had no choice but to spend a great deal of money buying Ascend.