Chapter 169: Press Conference

1 April 2023. Sunny day.

Harbor of Walvis Bay, Namibia.

At the break of dawn, before the locals had even risen for the morning, they began hearing the loud noises of a gathering crowd outside their windows.

A lively atmosphere quickly took over the coastal town. The gathering of thousands of visitors from afar at the harbor of Walvis Bay had penetrated the tranquility of the bay. They were facing the sea, waiting for the arrival of a grand cruise ship.

This group was comprised of media outlets from all across the world.

Even though Qian Wenhuan had only sent out invitations to approximately 500 media agencies, more than 3000 agencies were present at the scene. These media representatives behaved like they were fueled by pure adrenaline, paying out of their pocket to get all the way out here. When Qian Wenhuan was notified of this, he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

This was the resulting scenery: It was as if all of the media outlets across the world were gathered in the city of Namibia. Among the sea of crowd, one could easily spot internationally-renowned media bodies such as Chinese Press, Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.

Despite being more than two hours until the conference, there were already several thousands of news reporters gathered at the Walvis Bay harbor. The number only continued to increase as time went on.

“Choo–!”

At that moment, the sound of a bellowing whistle came from a distance. Many people turned toward the direction where it came from. They were greeted by the sight of a silhouette of a figure the size of a mountain approaching from the horizon.

“That’s the Blackwatch Cruise? It’s enormous!”

“Oh my God...”

“How is this possible, this cruise is nearly larger than an aircraft carrier...”

Many people present at the scene held their breaths subconsciously upon noting the massive scale of the gigantic cruise ship. Some media had already booted up their cameras and aimed their lenses at the towering figure.

Under the morning sunbeam, a cruise ship resembling a gigantic sea monster surrounded by darkness began approaching.

A media outlet labeled with the AP trademark occupied the very front row of the harbor. Following the signal of a director, a coolly dressed Caucasian lady put on her signature smile and appeared in front of the camera.

“Dear viewers, you’re now watching a broadcast from the Associated Press, my name is Allie, and I will be your host today. It’s the first of April, usually a light-hearted day of celebration, but a particular corporation has set their conference on this date. This company is none other than Blackwatch, the corporation behind the construction of the Eco Science City in Africa.

“Does everybody see the black ship in the distance? It’s the newly launched Blackwatch Cruise, it’s also the largest recorded cruise ship in the Earth Federation. Its body spans more than four hundred meters with a displacement reaching up to 350,000 tons. What’s even more surprising is that the cruise ship will not be opened to the public as it’s a completely private cruise ship. Today, we’ll be attending the conference held by Blackwatch Corporation on the cruise ship...”

Allie, the host of Associated Press recited her script confidently. Somewhere close by the Associated Press was the Agence France-Presse.

“Dear honored viewers, this is the Agence France-Presse report. I’m now standing at Walvis Bay, the coastal city in Namibia. As you can all see, there are flamingos everywhere around here. Matter of fact, this area is a nature reserve owned by the Namibian government, it’s illegal to hunt or kill flamingos here.

“Today, we’ll be attending the conference hosted by Blackwatch. As many of you may have heard, a company has managed to reverse the aging process of mankind and allow the elderly to restore their youth. They managed to accomplish something that has never been done before. Stay tuned with Agence France-Presse to find out if this is all hyped up or even a scam...”

Similar broadcasts were reenacted again and again at the harbor of Walvis Bay. Even nearby residents were drawn in to observe the rare spectacle. The Namibian officials even specifically dispatched a battalion of troops to serve as security forces for this event.

Very soon, the black ship began inching closer. The crowd was able to see the logo on the ship as well as a significant amount of floating ribbons tied by the side of the vessel. It was the decoration for the press conference.

At last, the black cruise ship docked itself by the harbor at the amusement of the crowd numbering in the ten thousand. A group of employees dressed in matching uniforms came down from the cruise ship and began checking entry tickets. The first ones to enter were the media personnel invited by Blacklight Biotechnology. The media bodies who invited themselves were last in line.

Qian Wenhuan set the opera house on the cruise ship as the venue for the conference.

This was an opera house that could accommodate more than two thousand people. The stands were divided into an upper and lower section, allowing it to fit nearly three thousand attendees.

Even with these seating arrangements, it was not able to fully accommodate all attendees. Apart from the invited media members, the rest of them had to stand and watch from the far back without an assigned seat.

The venue was not much different from regular conferences. There was a large platform erected in front of the audience and on the platform, there was a podium. Right behind the podium, there was a 200-inch screen with a size of 3650*2750mm set up. There was nothing else notable apart from that.

Before long, the conference officially commenced.

Qian Wenhuan stepped on the stage with several high-level executives. Since it was just a simple press conference, there was not much by way of introduction or opening remarks, it was largely left for the audience to interpret on their own.

The group gradually took their seats on the stage. Qian Wenhuan took charge of the microphone first and greeted the audience with a smile, “Ladies and gentlemen, please pardon our shortcomings as the conference was set up in a hurry. I’d also like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the journalists who have traveled from afar to attend our company’s press conference. Thank you, everybody!”

They bowed modestly on stage, their gestures were met with ceremonious applause from the audience below.

“Alright, the conference shall officially begin now.”

Qian Wenhuan switched to a solemn expression. “I believe that many of you are aware that we here at Blacklight Biotechnology Ltd are a medical enterprise dedicating our efforts to extending human lifespan and looking out for the best interest of human civilization as we know it. This is the vision of our company, as well as our ultimate end goal!

“And so, we’ve launched a treatment procedure for Alzheimer’s disease, the chronic disease of the century, successfully limiting its effects to its initial stages. The thesis was published in the world’s top scientific journal, Nature.

“In addition, we developed an aging reversal treatment program that can restore people from old age to middle age, effectively extending the human lifespan by thirty years. Similarly, we have published the thesis on this methodology in the world’s pioneering magazine, Cell.”

Qian Wenhuan proclaimed confidently, “With these two accomplishments alone, we at Blacklight Biotechnology proudly claim our place at the very forefront of the biological world. One day, we suddenly had an idea – could we build an effective system chain that effectively progresses from research and development to experimentation, to incorporating the results in the application and service field in the shortest span possible?

“With that, Eco Science City was born!”

This sparked discussions among the audience below as countless reporters began raising their hands fervently.

“There’s no need to rush. Everyone will get a chance at asking questions.”

Qian Wenhuan made a waving gesture and pointed at a reporter from Chinese Press sitting in the front row. “Mrs. Ye Zhiqiu from Chinese Press.”

“Pleasure, President Qian.”

A woman whose poise expressed gracefulness and intelligence got up and spoke politely in Chinese, “Question, what kind of service business is conducted in Eco Science City and is it any different from regular medical facilities?”

“Strictly speaking, there’s no difference.”

Qian Wenhuan considered the question and shook his head before smiling again. “But more strictly speaking, there’s a drastic difference!”

The remark sparked curious looks among the crowd.

“The reason I claimed that there was not much difference is that our Eco Science City also operates on a people-oriented principle. This is our everlasting motto.

“As for the reason I say there’s a drastic difference is because we’re simply faster. Our medical facilities are better equipped, also... Our technology is more advanced!”

At the end of Qian Wenhuan’s sentence, thunderous flashes erupted from below the stage.

Ye Zhiqiu coughed dryly and presented another question in a slightly unnatural manner. “President Qian, I can understand your latter remarks. However, could you elaborate on what you mean by being ‘simply faster’?”

“There’s a very simple explanation for what I mean by being simply faster.”

Qian Wenhuan expressed formally. “As you all know, here at Blacklight Biotechnology, we have our own research center. Plenty of groundbreaking medical advancements have been pioneered by this research center and we subsequently incorporate these technologies into clinical trials in the shortest period. After acquiring international certification, we incorporate it into the application and service field in the shortest time possible, so that our clients may access the latest medical technology available.

“This is what I mean by being ‘faster’!”

Qian Wenhuan’s formally addressed speech was met with thunderous applause from the audience. Ye Zhiqiu from the Chinese Press also nodded contently before sitting down.

“Alright, next up is Miss Allie from Associated Press...”

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