Conrad stood not far away, watching David''s expression shift, and felt his heart


    skip a beat. He knew that the medicine David held was his, even though he wasn''t the one who concocted it. Conrad''s fingers tightened as he kept his eyes glued to David.


    "President?" the Vice President called out, puzzled.


    Davidposed himself, cing the pill back in the box where three othersy, and nodded. "This medicine is top-notch, definitely worthy of first ce."


    Conrad felt his tension melt away, breathing a sigh of relief. He realized he''d been too anxious. This was Grade-A stuff-how could David possibly see through it? Even if David had encountered something simr, it wouldn''t have been unusual. Conrad had triple-checked the pills when he got them from Sophia, ensuring he could present them with confidence.


    "I knew this would take first ce!" the Vice President chuckled.


    "So, is this Devon''s work?" another Vice President chimed in, immediately thinking of Devon.


    The other three Vice Presidents nced over at Devon and nodded. Everyone knew Devon''s skills-mention his name, and no one doubted it or thought of anyone else.


    Their chatter was loud enough to grate on Conrad''s nerves. Devon, always Devon! Despite both being top-tier pharmacists, everyone only remembered Devon. No matter what high-level concoction came about, Devon was the first on everyone''s mind. Just like now... Conrad took a deep breath, smirking inwardly.


    Let them fawn over Devon; they''d soon see how blind they were.


    Conrad''s mentor, Mr. Qin, noticed the marking on the box and pondered for a moment. "It might not be as clear-cut as that. There are seven participants in this year''s advanced assessment-any one of them could''ve done it."


    The Vice Presidents quickly caught on. "True, it could be anyone."


    The Vice President nodded and turned to the person handling the tally. "Let''s get everyone''s names out there."


    "Sure thing."


    The tally clerk quickly matched names to the marks on the boxes, sticking each pharmacist''s name on their respective box. As the names were announced, David, who hadmented only once, signaled for his assistant.


    The assistant leaned in, listening to David whisper a few words. His eyes widened briefly in surprise before he nodded and quietly slipped away without drawing attention.


    The names were now all out, clearly showing who made which medicine. When Conrad''s name appeared on the box deemed worthy of first ce, the room buzzed with surprise.


    "This wasn''t Devon''s?"


    "I thought it was Devon''s for sure. Who knew it''d be Conrad? He''se a long way sincest year!"


    "We always thought Devon was the gifted one, but we''ve been sleeping on Conrad. The medicine he made today is a cut above the Grade-A stuff from previous years."