Fatal Strike: Mercenary Road of Gunfire Ranger-Chapter 663 - 615: Finding the Right Position

Mountain Eagle is most annoyed by situations he has no control over...

Faced with Mori's somewhat nervous tone, he said helplessly, "No matter how complicated it is, tell me what's going on first."

Mori thought for a moment and said, "Even I don't know the details. People in the Losers' Alliance have access to some confidential information, and they found in a report that in June this year, a laboratory in Sierra Leone had a virus leak due to an accident.

Then in July, the Ebola virus began spreading in the three West African countries.

The real situation is much more serious than reported by the media, because many people living in remote rural and jungle areas got sick and were not counted in the statistics.

In late September, a Liberian named Duncan came to Texas to visit his relatives, and then quickly fell ill.

In less than ten days, the guy died in the hospital.

The media reported only his death, but in reality, the community he was staying in was locked down, and 15 people died in isolation at the hospital.

This is a very significant security incident, so the Department of Homeland Security and CDC intervened to investigate, traced the virus, and quickly found the problematic laboratory.

What happened there was not an accident, but a deliberate attack. Someone hired local anti-government forces to attack the laboratory, leading to the Ebola virus spreading.

And that attacked laboratory was sponsored by the England's Glanstrock company. After the CDC intervened in the investigation, the fact that the laboratory stored and researched the virus was exposed...

Moreover, it was found that Duncan, who went to Texas for a visit, was a member of a terrorist organization. Someone suspects that this terrorist organization tried to release potent viruses in the United States through human transmission routes."

Mountain Eagle heard this, frowned, and said, "Why does this all sound like a pharmaceutical company orchestrating a show for profit...

If the Ebola virus spreads in the United States, won't they make big money?"

"Quite the opposite..."

Mori decisively denied, "After investigation, the Department of Homeland Security has ruled out the suspicion on the two companies."

Mountain heard this, shook his head, and said, "Why do I feel, after hearing you say this, that their suspicion should be even bigger?

This sounds like the two companies are condoning the so-called terrorists to steal the virus and vaccine, and then using them to clear their suspicions.

If the virus spreads through the thieves, their vaccine will become extremely valuable."

Mori was taken aback for a moment and then helplessly said, "Although I also find it suspicious, the information I have is just that.

Because Merck Company acquired Wenbo Ni Laboratory's vaccine project afterward, they spent heavily to buy the subsequent development rights of the vaccine.

Glanstrock is in a similar situation; they were implicated due to the exposure of the Sierra Leone virus laboratory, and similarly, after the incident, they spent money to buy shares of the vaccine's subsequent development rights from Merck Company.

Based on my intelligence, neither of these companies volunteered to participate.

The Department of Homeland Security believes that a terrorist organization wants to gain control over Ebola virus and vaccine technology, then allowed them to escape a certain distance after the thieves got their hands on it.

Mountain, no one could foresee the thieves' actions, but the Department of Homeland Security's response was very timely...

The escape routes and identities of those thieves were quickly uncovered, and their plane crashing in Alaska wasn't accidental but due to some technical means.

Merck Company's consultant told the Department of Homeland Security that the Ebola virus has extremely low activity at sub-zero temperatures, so they chose to make that place a trap.

Now those thieves are trapped, surrounded by several elite teams monitoring them from afar.

If anyone goes to help them, they will be..."

Mountain Eagle, after listening, said incredulously, "So the Department of Homeland Security knew those people were carrying a dangerous virus, but didn't choose to intercept them right away despite knowing their identities and escape routes, and set up a so-called trap instead?

What's this operation?"

After listening, Mori paused for a while, then lowered his voice and said, "Mountain, the Department of Homeland Security has a budget of 103 billion US dollars a year, but they're human; they're not omnipotent...

When things happen, they always have to come up with some ways to mend the situation!"

Mountain Eagle heard it, suddenly realized, and said, "Oh, I get it, those so-called known identities and routes were just boasting; only the eventual plane crash was their true handiwork.

This group wrapped their mistakes into a trap, because it makes them look less stupid!"

Mountain Eagle suddenly laughed and said, "Then can I say that the so-called terrorist organization was also made up by them?"

Mori chuckled lightly and said, "That I don't know. I only know such things have very high value on the black market.

And there are certainly many terrorist organizations interested in it!

I'm not particularly familiar with the Underworld; you might inquire and perhaps gain some unexpected benefits."

Mountain Eagle decisively rejected Mori's suggestion and then hung up the phone...

He believed Mori wouldn't lie to him; the course of events should not have major issues, but based on the actions of the two big companies, Mountain Eagle came up with his own assumption...

The worst possibility is that the three West African countries are testing grounds, the best place for virus outbreaks and vaccine verification.

The pharmaceutical companies arranged for people to attack the laboratory, causing a virus leak, and then found someone with a terrorist organization background to go to the United States to attract attention. Next came the disappearance of the virus and vaccine from the Winnipeg Laboratory.

What would be the result if the virus and vaccine were truly lost?

Even if the lost virus and vaccine were recovered or destroyed, other countries, informed by the Texas precedent, might react.

Amid widespread panic, a global vaccine arms race would ensue, making the vaccine information held by these two companies extremely valuable.

Not to mention the vaccine reserves needed by major powers; just the technology transfer could earn them a fortune!

The best-case scenario is that there truly exists such a terrorist organization, or rather some underground organization seeking huge profits through viruses and vaccines on the black market.

Everything that happened before was orchestrated by this terrorist organization, but after Merck Company and Glanstrock acquired the vaccine development rights, they decided to fan the flames.

Anyway, Mountain Eagle didn't see any sign of their determination to recover or destroy the virus at all costs.

In Mountain Eagle's view, regardless of the truth, these two companies are certainly not innocent.

Because the thieves only stole the virus and vaccine, they have no capacity to destroy the research results at Winnipeg Laboratory.

Thus, this so-called terrorist organization cannot profit from the virus and can only create a humanitarian crisis by releasing it.

If they have any profit motive, they'll be immediately identified.

Ultimately, no matter what choice they make, after the small-scale virus spread incident in Texas, the only ones who truly profit are these two pharmaceutical giants.

From a purely business perspective, investing even just one dollar in Alaska is a loss for these two companies; bringing in a few executives for appearance's sake is probably just to have an excuse afterward.

Whether it's the worst or best-case scenario, Mountain Eagle couldn't determine, but he did precisely identify the stance of the two pharmaceutical companies.

Ultimately, the goal of capital in pharmaceutical companies is always to make money!

If there's a chance to turn a losing deal profitable, capital will not refuse.

Even if researching the Ebola virus leads to technological accumulation or other outcomes in the vaccine development process, offsetting some of the research costs...

But that's not how capital calculates!

Mountain Eagle guessed part of it correctly...

The virus leak in the West African region was actually an accident, but the guy who traveled to Texas for a visit was not accidental...

It was the Canadian Winnipeg Laboratory's behind-the-scenes sponsor who sponsored that guy a ticket to Texas.

Winnipeg Laboratory is not a subsidiary of Merck Company but an independent Canadian laboratory.

They developed a vaccine capable of generating Ebola antibodies and completed the first phase of technical validation during the West Africa virus outbreak, then proposed donating 1000 doses through the Canadian government.

At that time, Merck Company and Glanstrock intervened...

Being a giant, Merck Company sometimes has to bear some social responsibility. After the Texas incident, under certain pressures, they heavily purchased the subsequent vaccine development rights.

Due to the virus laboratory problem, Glanstrock, which got involved, was passively drawn into the situation.

Now these two companies jointly hold the subsequent vaccine development rights. Before the thieves appeared, it might have been a losing business, but after the thieves appeared, it's not necessarily so.

Most importantly, after Merck Company and Glanstrock showed up, Winnipeg Laboratory and its stakeholders perfectly disappeared.

And people haven't realized that compared to the two major companies, Winnipeg Laboratory still retains the most complete vaccine technology data and its own subsequent development rights.

......

Mountain Eagle didn't know the intricate details inside, but after pinpointing the stance of two companies, he suddenly realized their stance might differ from that of the Department of Homeland Security.

It might not simply be a lack of effort; perhaps they more desire the virus and vaccine to be taken away by thieves.

If the matter gets massively exposed, or even the virus gets released, causing a major incident, it might align more with their interests.

The virus itself is very dangerous, as the laboratory virus is not the same thing as those walking virus sources in West Africa, at least the concentration is different.

Once this thing flows into the underground black market, it will cause a huge commotion, and surely some Madman will take an interest in it.

The subsequent development and production of the vaccine are definitely not things that can be settled quickly, even with existing research data, manufacturing encounters countless technical bottlenecks.

But that's not a problem for these two big companies...

If the vaccine development rights were merely an ordinary stock initially, then Merck Company and Glanstrock found the key to make the stock surge.

Mountain Eagle figured it out, so he no longer worries about his safety here!

However, what he never expected was that the development quickly veered off his anticipated course...