The whole tin hut burst into a spontaneous roar of cheers. Minister Zhao reached out and grabbed Jing Shu's hand, his large, calloused palm shaking hers so hard that her shoulder jarred with every movement. He repeated the same word over and over, his voice thick with relief. "Good, good, good!"
Team Leader Liu was just as visibly excited. He paced the small area of the lab, his boots clattering on the metal floor. "We have been losing our minds over this specific issue for days on end! Minister Zhao even made a solemn military pledge to the higher-ups. Ha, talk about the old saying; when you think there's no way out, a new path suddenly appears!"
Minister Zhao nodded, his expression still emotional. He wiped a hand across his eyes before turning to his team. "We can't waste any more time. We will head to Lao Zhang's place first to confirm the results, then we will go straight to the competition venue. Otherwise, that old guy is really going to lose his mind."
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Who is that?"
Minister Zhao gave a small, awkward cough and adjusted his glasses. "An old brother of mine. I just call him that out of habit."
Team Leader Liu laughed, the sound bright in the cramped space, and pointed his finger upward toward the ceiling in a mysterious gesture. "You could say he is the chief judge of this entire competition. It isn't exactly his primary field of expertise, but he holds the highest title in the city. His only grandson got infected after accidentally eating red nematodes several years ago, so he took this whole project over himself to oversee it. Otherwise, who would bother with this massive, dangerous mess?"
Jing Shu suddenly understood the high stakes. So he was the man whose grandson was currently surviving on a steady treatment of Bodhi vines. It made perfect sense now. She felt a flicker of interest; she was curious to see how her own concentrated Bodhi would perform against a true, long-term parasitic infection.
"Miss Jing, Miss Jing! Your phone is ringing! Yeah, she is fine, nothing happened to her!"
In the middle of the excitement, Song Bin—who was looking much better as the color returned to his face—shouted with a strange, pinched expression. He hurried over and handed her the phone. "It's Jun Bao. He couldn't find you anywhere at the association, so he called me instead."
Jing Shu nodded and took the device. She had deliberately cut off communications with the Medicinal Herb Association while she was setting up her team over the past few days. "Hello? It's Jing Shu. What is going on?"
Jun Bao's voice came through the speaker, sounding strained. "My uncle asked me to check if something had happened to you guys or if anyone gave your team trouble after you landed. If that's the case, he said you don't need to join the capital competition this time. Don't worry about the future resources; I will personally figure out a way to get Wu City's share back through other channels. If something really happened, tell Song Bin to contact the Biological Research Center immediately. They will handle the situation."
Jing Shu blinked in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about? Nothing is wrong here; we are perfectly fine."
Jun Bao sounded genuinely shocked. "You didn't know? Two hours ago, the Capital Medicinal Herb Association officially announced the disqualification of the entire Wu City team. It's already posted on the big data bulletin for everyone to see. Lao Zhou and Jin Tianci tried to reach your group repeatedly but couldn't get through, so we all thought something had gone horribly wrong."
A sudden wave of warmth flooded Jing Shu's chest. Her emotions were a complex swirl of deep gratitude for her home city and sharp frustration at the situation. The disqualification was unexpected, but Wu City's immediate defensive response warmed her heart. Next year's resources were her personal responsibility now, and she couldn't let her people down.
"I see. Don't worry about us. I will handle it," she said, her voice dropping an octave.
"Alright," Jun Bao said before hanging up. "Just call me if you need any help at all."
As soon as she put her phone away, Minister Zhao came over with a broad smile, only to be met by Jing Shu's suddenly icy expression. He frowned, the joy fading from his face. "What is wrong?"
She reached out and retrieved her custom spray bottle from Team Leader Liu's hands. She spoke calmly, but her words were sharp as glass. "Minister Zhao, I'm sorry. However this batch of Bodhi arrived here tonight, that's exactly how it will be going back to the warehouse. I won't be supplying it to the association anymore."
Minister Zhao's face changed instantly, his eyes wide. "Xiao Jing, what is this about? Didn't we just agree that your Bodhi batch would be used in the national competition? Everything is already logged in the system; you can't just change that! Don't forget, this concerns the survival of people across the whole of China. Everyone is waiting for this medicine to save lives! If you are facing some kind of internal problem, we can talk it out together!"
Jing Shu let out a short, cold laugh. "Talk what out? We from Wu City didn't fear the harsh conditions of the road and came all the way to the capital to help, only to get sidelined the very moment we arrived. Other provincial associations were picked up from the airport in heated buses, while we stood in the freezing mud for half a day and no one came for us. Later, when we finally found our own place to wait, the assigned coordinator, Team Leader Zhang, told us the venue was full. He told us to just stay put until the competition started."
She paused, her voice cutting even sharper through the room. "We didn't complain once. We just wanted to contribute Wu City's best medicine to help solve this crisis. A minute ago, I was still determined to give you every last leaf of Bodhi we had in our crates. But I didn't expect that while we were waiting patiently for the start, Wu City would be disqualified!"
Gasps filled the crowded hut, followed by the frantic tapping of screens as people began checking the official announcement.
"It's true! The notice is real!" one researcher cried out. "Wu City Medicinal Herb Association's name is highlighted in red! The reason states: "Failed to show up at the designated competition venue on time"!"
Minister Zhao's face darkened until it was almost purple. "What kind of absolute nonsense is this? How can you cancel a provincial qualification just because they weren't in their seats a few hours early? She was here doing vital, life-saving research with us! Which idiot approved that decree?!"
"This is too much!" Team Leader Liu slammed his open hand onto the table, his face red with fury. "She is the only person here with a working cure!"
Jing Shu let out a sigh that sounded full of regret. "Wu City just called me. Since we are officially disqualified, it's fine. They will find a way to secure next year's resources on their own terms. Taking the Bodhi back home might be better for us anyway. At least it will save our own city's people first."
With that, she gestured for Song Bin to pack up the remaining gear and follow her out.
Team Leader Liu's knees nearly gave out under him. Hope for a cure had just appeared after countless of failure, only to vanish again like a cruel, fleeting joke.
Minister Zhao slammed his fist against the metal wall, the bang echoing through the hut. "Xiao Jing, wait! I will call Lao Zhang right now and make him fix this mess personally. Don't worry; I will make sure you and Wu City get the justice you deserve!"
He didn't wait for her to reply before frantically dialing a number. The moment the call connected, he started yelling into the receiver. It didn't matter if the person on the other end was an old superior or an old friend; he gave them both barrels of his rage. He cursed the man for messing up the registration and dared him to fix it right away if he wanted to see his family healthy. "Your grandson is still waiting to be saved, and you go and cancel the only person in this city who can help him? What the hell are you people doing over there?!"
Then he immediately called the main office of the Capital Medicinal Herb Association. "Has the competition even officially started? What? You canceled someone's qualification during the opening coverage and the rehearsals? You idiots! You are in deep trouble now! Stop everything and fix this error immediately! Tell that old hag if she doesn't handle this right now, we are all going down together!"
Jing Shu's lips twitched slightly at the performance before she smoothed her expression back into a mask of indifference. Once Minister Zhao hung up the phone, she spoke politely. "Minister Zhao, this whole situation has left a bad taste in my mouth, but I trust you will give Wu City a fair and public explanation. I will wait for your response at our temporary lodgings. Here is the address."
Sensing a desperate chance to mend things before she left, Team Leader Liu quickly spoke up. "Alright, alright, that's good. We will be in touch very soon."
Jing Shu left the facility with Song Bin, who looked at her with open, wide-eyed admiration as they stepped into the cold night. When they arrived back at their temporary warehouse residence, she found the frustrated pharmacists from her team and called out to them. "Danai, have everyone pack up the cooking gear and the personal bags. We are heading to the official competition venue this afternoon."
Wang Danai responded excitedly, her voice full of newfound energy. "Got it! You have no idea how suffocated we have been feeling in here! We are dying to show the capital what we have got! Don't worry, President. I already warned everyone that things run deep in the capital. We have kept quiet the whole time and never once picked a fight. Even when others tried to provoke us, we held it in!"