The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943
Chapter 44 - 45 – A Doomsday-Class Superweapon

Chapter 44: Chapter 45 – A Doomsday-Class Superweapon

All it did was what it always had—make pesticides.

Though the war hadn’t brought in large military contracts, it hadn’t negatively affected production either.

Because of this, the company’s board had no plans to sell.

But that didn’t matter. Sometimes, all it takes is a check.

Half a month earlier, Zhang Weilun arrived here representing Zhenhua Company’s legal office. During a board meeting, he pulled out a check for one million dollars.

The board of directors approved the full acquisition immediately—after all, that kind of money was more than enough to build a bigger and better factory from scratch.

Who would turn down a deal like that?

"Time—we need time!"

That was how Pierre explained it to Zhang Weilun and the others.

"We don’t have two or three years to build a new factory..."

By the time the factory was finished, the war would be over—and who would they sell to then?

The simplest solution was acquisition. Thus, Claire Chemical Pesticides Company was renamed KTJ Chemical Company, becoming Zhenhua’s third subsidiary. The KTJ Laboratory was established within its grounds.

The assembled chemists came from all across the United States. Among them were young scientists like Arthur Galston and Sun Tianlei, as well as well-known scholars in the field of organic chemistry. All were surprised by the man behind it all—

The owner of KTJ Company was Chinese!

For Chinese students like Sun Tianlei and Zhao Zheng, the revelation was especially stirring. They believed this news would make waves across the academic community in the U.S.

After all—this was America!

Weren’t all Chinese supposed to run laundromats and restaurants?

And now, here was someone opening a modern chemical factory.

Faced with their astonishment, Pierre was already used to it. Back at Carl Metals Company, he’d gotten used to such looks. But those looks were never a source of pride. The surprise always stemmed from stereotypes about Chinese people—and that itself was a form of discrimination.

Why couldn’t Chinese people run factories or build enterprises?

Why couldn’t Chinese people conduct scientific research?

Standing there, composed and poised, Pierre’s eyes were bright and resolute.

"Gentlemen, this lab may not be large, but I believe it will shock the world. That’s why we must carefully reexamine our research direction."

Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, his voice was not loud, yet every person could feel the confidence behind his words.

"The reason I’ve gathered you here from across the country is simple: to continue research into Mr. Arthur Galston’s invention—the plant growth regulator."

His eyes fell on Galston. Who would have thought that the infamous "Agent Orange" had been invented by this 23-year-old?

If not for the chemical’s notorious history—and the exhaustive investigations it later triggered—Pierre might never have realized, even coming from the future, that it had already been invented during World War II, and was already capable of industrial production.

Unfortunately, by the time the U.S. military recognized its potential as a weapon, the war was nearly over. It wasn’t until June 1945 that trials began, and the results were promising. The military immediately placed an order for 50 million liters, planning to spray it over Japanese territory to devastate the agricultural ecosystem and render the land barren within half a year.

U.S. bomber divisions drafted detailed plans: 9,000 sorties of heavy bombers, each carrying defoliant. If 50 million liters weren’t enough, more would be added. Estimates suggested that, as winter arrived and Japan’s autumn harvest failed, the ensuing famine would cause up to 20 million deaths—nearly a third of the population.

This way, there would be no need for an invasion. Japan would surrender from within. In that sense, Japan’s surrender in August 1945 was a stroke of luck for them.

This stuff was a treasure!

And since it was a treasure, it had to be shared—especially with the Japanese.

So, in the spirit of "sharing with the world," Pierre didn’t hesitate to spend a fortune to buy a pesticide factory with an annual output of 5,000 tons. He also recruited dozens of chemists, including the inventor, Arthur Galston.

His goal? To let the Japanese get a head start enjoying the benefits.

Pierre might not be able to build an atomic bomb.

But he could certainly make pesticides—and disinfect Japan while he was at it.

Something this good couldn’t be allowed to slip past them again!

Pierre continued:

"This compound causes soybean plants to shed leaves and increase yield. What we need now is further research—not only into the compound itself, but also into its applications in other fields."

As the inventor, Galston quickly asked:

"Mr. Pierre, may I ask—what field, exactly?"

"Military."

The word that came from Pierre’s mouth stunned the room. One American man in his fifties directly challenged him:

"Using a plant growth regulator in warfare? That’s ridiculous!"

"Why is it ridiculous?"

Pierre replied calmly.

"If it can cause soybean leaves to fall off and increase yields, then why can’t it make trees shed their leaves?"

The room erupted in surprise. People exchanged confused glances.

"What? Defoliate trees? What military value could that possibly have?"

Looking at the bewildered crowd, Pierre smiled and said:

"Gentlemen, use your imagination. Now, let’s get to work—soldiers in the Pacific are counting on your results!"

In truth, the work Arthur Galston and the others were doing wasn’t complicated. It was simply a matter of increasing the concentration of the "plant growth regulator." After all, Galston had already developed a usable formula—the next step was to boost its potency and specifically enhance its defoliation effect.

Thanks to the efforts of dozens of chemists, it took just half a month to produce the first batch of high-concentration samples, and the test results were excellent.

"..."

Was this still a forest?

Looking at the withered stand of trees before him—trunks rotting, foliage completely gone—Pierre finally understood why the U.S. military had chosen to use this in Vietnam: with this compound, rainforests that had served as perfect cover for guerrilla fighters would be utterly destroyed.

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