The Cannon Fodder Alpha Who Made the Heroine Pregnant - Chapter 14

14:

Zhou Lan’s words plunged Chu Zhao into deep contemplation.

Everything she said was correct—they knew exactly how to bring down the Zhou family, but lacked concrete evidence.

There were two ways to destroy the Zhou’s:

1. Public Exposure – Reveal crimes so severe that even their political backers couldn’t shield them, using public outrage as the killing blow.

Problem: Zhou Xianling had erased all traces. Even if fragments remained, they wouldn’t be enough.

2. Corporate Retribution – Leverage the pharmaceutical giants’ wrath. While the Zhou’s could weather other storms, their counterfeit suppressant operation directly threatened the two dominant drug conglomerates’ profits.

The pharmaceutical companies maintained strict control over suppressant distribution. Small-scale local counterfeiting was ignored, too trivial to bother with. But the Zhou family’s industrial-scale operation? That was a declaration of war.

Currently, only the Zhou and Chu families hold Jiangning City’s suppressant distribution licenses. The Chu’s, drowning in other failing ventures, had sought salvation through the Zhou alliance—not just with a marriage, but by selling their distribution rights to the Zhou’s at a “fair” price.

Now, the Zhou monopoly was absolute.

In just one year, their suppressant dominance had made them Jiangning’s undisputed rulers.

Officially, the Zhous earned a 10% commission per unit—substantial at scale, but the real money lay elsewhere.

The pharmaceutical giants positioned suppressants as luxury products:

– Public Hospitals: Three standardized tiers.
– Private Sector: The same three tiers, plus “special editions” with premium packaging and accessories, creating endless price points.

But the Zhou’s, hungry for more, had started mass-producing counterfeits.

These bootleg suppressants—cheaper, lower-quality—flooded private clinics and pharmacies, targeting ordinary citizens who couldn’t afford the real thing.

Profits soared.

But the risks were catastrophic:

1. Corporate Wrath: The pharmaceutical giants wouldn’t tolerate such blatant infringement.
2. Quality Control: The Zhous’ lax standards had already caused incidents—still isolated, but a ticking time bomb.

In the novel, Chu Zhao’s key evidence came from victims of these faulty suppressants.

—

Zhou Lan leaned forward. “Here’s my proposal:
Track the counterfeit suppressants’ distribution channels and quantities. The discrepancy between official allocations and actual sales will be undeniable proof.”

“Once the manufacturers see those numbers, they’ll act. Especially now—with import/export liberalization, cheaper foreign suppressants are flooding in. The giants can’t afford to play elitist anymore.”

A diversified market benefited everyone, except monopolists.

If the pharmaceutical companies lowered prices, ordinary people—especially vulnerable omegas—would finally get affordable access.

Chu Zhao set down her chopsticks. “Logical. Well-reasoned.”

Then, the dagger:

“But why are you doing this?”

A spoiled heir, suddenly inheriting hundreds of billions—who wouldn’t fight for that fortune?

Unless the Zhou empire was already crumbling.

Zhou Lan could feel Chu Zhao’s suspicion: No explanation, no alliance.

“Call it… a coward’s escape.”

She spun her narrative carefully:

“I know too much about the Zhou family’s secrets. Enough to see it’s a sinking ship.”

“And let’s be honest, Zhou Xianling and his wife spent my whole life treating me like a threat. Now they want me to ‘save’ the family? My life isn’t theirs to command.”

“Maybe this is my rebellion. My life, my choices.”

It sounded like teenage defiance, but wasn’t “rebellion” just what controlling parents called independence?

The original Zhou Lan had been crushed under that control. Now, Zhou Lan wielded it as her exit strategy.

“My life, my choices.”

The words struck Chu Zhao unexpectedly.

Her own life had been hijacked, her mother held hostage to force compliance.

For a fleeting moment, she understood Zhou Lan.

Then reality reasserted itself.

“I refuse.”

Even if cooperation meant an easier victory, partnering with this person was unthinkable.

Still, Zhou Lan’s strategic advice was sound. She’d adjust her approach accordingly.

—

Zhou Lan merely shrugged and stood. “Where to? I’ll drive you.”

She hadn’t expected immediate trust.

“No need.” Chu Zhao’s revulsion was palpable. “I’ll take a taxi.”

Some wounds never healed.

Zhou Lan exhaled. Without resolving that night, no partnership was possible.

“Alright.”

She paused at the door. “If you change your mind, I’m available. Though you’d need to unblock me first.”

How could she explain the inexplicable? “I’m not the real Zhou Lan”?

Absurd.

As she drove away, she didn’t see Chu Zhao watching her leave—nor the conflicted hesitation in those usually icy eyes.

For the first time, Zhou Lan had sounded… sincere.

Almost enough to make her reconsider.

Almost.