ebookland Chapter 251 A Highly Challenging Chess Game
Chapter 251 A Highly Challenging Chess Game
Night falls, and the city lights begin to twinkle.
Bai Li, wearing a silk bathrobe, sat at her desk, the ends of her hair still carrying the warm scent of the hairdryer.
Jingye stood behind her, his long, slender fingers holding a jade comb, gently combing her hair.
On the desk, a porcelain plate held several neatly cut, easy-to-eat apples, their aroma filling the air.
Bai Li used a silver fork to pick up a piece, put it in his mouth and chewed slowly while reading the documents spread out on the table.
I didn't go to the office tonight; I was busy organizing this document.
"Dongying Pharmaceutical, Hengchang Biotechnology Group, Jinling Pharmaceutical..." Bai Li read out more than a dozen names in succession. As the list grew longer, her brows furrowed, and she finally clicked her tongue lightly: "Quite a few."
Jingye paused for a moment: "Luo's entered the market with new medical consumables technology and captured 30% of the market share in just two years, which is equivalent to overturning the table in the bowl of these established pharmaceutical companies."
"Luoshi Pharmaceuticals," the company of Luo Nan's father, rose to prominence with its new medical consumables technology, seizing 30% of the market share in just two years, which has taken a bite out of the pie for too many people.
This case involving Luo Nan's father is so sophisticated and backed by a huge amount of money that it cannot be handled by just one company in the same industry. There must be a huge alliance of interests behind the case.
Although Shirai was mentally prepared for this, seeing the shocking number of names on the list still made her feel quite troubled.
Bai Li has no doubt about the authenticity of the list.
Ah Hu and his team not only ensured her safety, but were also highly professional in intelligence gathering.
While they may not be able to compare to the almost omnipotent hackers in science fiction movies, they are more than capable of collecting mere business intelligence.
After the intelligence was gathered, Jingye organized and filtered out suspicious companies. Now, Bai Li has the final list.
The pharmaceutical companies on the list are all closely related to Luo Nan's father's case, and may even be members of that huge alliance of interests.
Jingye briefly explained the clues she had gathered to Baili:
"Jinling Pharmaceutical is a long-established pharmaceutical company in N City. It has received massive government subsidies by leveraging the concept of 'modernization of traditional Chinese medicine,' but the actual production of traditional Chinese medicine products accounts for less than 6%. The company mainly makes huge profits by selling medical devices related to the medical aesthetics industry. After 'Luxe Pharmaceuticals' went public, it seized nearly half of their market share."
Jingye gently combed Baili's hair as she spoke in a deep, pleasant voice.
It's a double treat for both the ears and the touch.
Bai Li squinted comfortably and concluded, "Therefore, there is a very high probability that they are targeting the Luo family."
“Yes,” Jingye replied, “The key point is that medical malpractice incident.”
To facilitate Jingye's investigation, Bai Li had previously informed him of all the case information and details she knew, so Jingye was also aware of the medical malpractice incident involving "Luoshi Pharmaceuticals".
At the time, the hospital operating room used so-called "substandard" medical equipment supplied by "Loch's Medicine," which caused the patient to suddenly go into shock.
This medical malpractice incident was the trigger for the entire case, causing "Loch's Pharmaceuticals" reputation to plummet and even negatively impacting the Loch family, a family with a long history in medicine.
Jingye continued, "That surgery was a plastic surgery. Half a month ago, the medical equipment used by that hospital was provided by Jinling Pharmaceutical."
oh ho...
Bai Li paused in her bite of the apple, and the silver fork tapped against the edge of the porcelain plate with a clear sound.
That's too much of a coincidence.
Bai Li doesn't believe there's nothing fishy about it.
After a moment's thought, she twirled the silver fork in a graceful arc between her fingers: "Then we should start the investigation with Jinling Pharmaceuticals. We should be able to follow the clues and find out quite a bit."
Jingye chuckled softly: "Miss, you and I are thinking the same thing. I've already investigated, and the clue is on the next page of the document."
"Oh?" Bai Li tilted her head back with interest and looked behind her, just in time to meet a pair of deep blue eyes. Under the light, they looked like frost-covered glass, concealing an unfathomable expression.
Jingye was usually too gentle with her, almost completely hiding his sharpness, like a well-behaved "model student". Bai Li almost forgot about his "sharpness".
Having come from a place like the Qing Teng family and undergone rigorous training, Jing Ye is no ordinary butler.
However, Bai Li likes Jing Ye's way of showing off her sharpness.
A smile played on her lips as she sat up straight and turned the page to the next page, where the name of a new company appeared—"Crescent Co."
Below is a densely packed English equity structure.
Bai Li glanced at it twice, then became less interested and asked directly, "What did you find out?"
Jingye put down the comb in her hand, leaned against the desk, and ran her fingertips across the pages, helping Baili sort through the clues:
"Crescent Co., an offshore company established last March."
"On the surface, they are engaged in biological research, but in reality, they are shell companies that specialize in transferring funds for domestic companies. They use patent licensing models to transfer domestic profits to the Cayman Islands in order to evade investigation."
Jingye slid her finger down and highlighted a few names: "The equity structure also includes the shadows of seven other companies on the list."
Finally, he tapped his finger on "Incorporation Date": "The company was registered exactly one year ago."
Without Jingye needing to say anything more, Baili already understood the significance of this point in time.
The timing of Crescent Pharma's establishment is too similar to the time when Rock's Pharmaceuticals faced a crisis.
Therefore, while the Luo family was still expanding a year ago, the web of that conspiracy may have already been quietly laid out.
Such a meticulously planned and interconnected case must have required extensive preparation and substantial financial support, and Crescent Company was likely their tool for transferring funds.
Despite the significant breakthrough in the investigation, Bai Li frowned slightly.
The contents of the documents are just the tip of the iceberg; these are only indirect clues and not substantial evidence.
Although Bai Li could roughly deduce the truth from these clues, it was still a long way from bringing down these rampant "giants".
To obtain more evidence, it is almost impossible without using systematic methods, given current investigative techniques.
After all, every company's cash flow information and accounting materials are closely guarded secrets and cannot be easily obtained.
Unless crucial evidence is obtained, the prosecution may obtain it in accordance with the law.
In the past, when Bai Li encountered trouble, she would always seek help from Wanxiang Lun. This time, she wanted to try to solve the problem on her own first.
Bai Li rubbed her chin. From the surface clues, this seemed to be just an ordinary business war, but her intuition told her that things were far from that simple.
There are still many inexplicable aspects to the case, such as the unusually rapid investigation by the disciplinary team, the almost one-sided trial results, and why Jinling Group was able to obtain a large amount of government subsidies with only 6% of the production of traditional Chinese medicine.
Bai Li simply wouldn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on.
She strongly suspected that this was a large network combining politics and business, and collusion among the powerful and wealthy.
Just then, Jingye spoke up: "Also, Miss, I've found out about the people you asked me to investigate."
Bai Li's eyes lit up: "Go ahead and say it."
Previously, she had asked Jingye to investigate the people who caused trouble in the booth that day. Luo Nan didn't want to trouble her and didn't reveal the identities of those people, so Bai Li had to take matters into her own hands.
She was always vengeful and had no intention of letting these people off easily. If these people were unrelated to Luo Nan's father's case, that would be fine, but if they were, she would show no mercy.
"One of them is named Chen Chen. His father is Chen Liyuan, who is the director of the xx Bureau and is currently the top official in public security."
So it was about that aspect...
It's ironic that the father is in charge of public safety, yet his son is causing trouble outside. How was he raised?
Judging from Chen Chen's arrogant demeanor, he's probably been spoiled and pampered.
Unsurprisingly, the other families were also either wealthy or influential.
As expected, the others also came from wealthy and influential families, but none of them were involved in the pharmaceutical industry and should have no connection to Luo Nan's father's case.
However, there was one exception—the boy with glasses that day, the one who had been hiding behind the crowd.
Jingye revealed: "That man's name is Zhou Zhiming. His uncle is a major shareholder of Hengchang Biotechnology Group."
Hengchang Biotechnology Group?
Bai Li looked at the list in her hand.
Hengchang Biotechnology Group is prominently featured on the list.
Bai Li was startled. What a coincidence!
Jingye added, "What's even more noteworthy is that his father is the director of the State Drug Administration."
Bai Li almost burst out laughing.
It wasn't a happy laugh, but rather a laugh born from a sense of absurdity.
Jingye was only tasked with investigating the identities of these boys, but unexpectedly, she discovered an important clue.
Is there a problem with the batch of equipment that Roche Pharmaceuticals sent to the drug administration? Could it be that the people at the drug administration falsified the data?
If Hengchang Biotechnology Group is indeed part of this alliance of interests, it further confirms the speculation of collusion between government and business.
Did the boy named Zhou Zhiming know about this?
What role did he play in it?
Bai Li carefully recalled the boy with glasses that day and could indeed sense that he was different from others.
Unlike the others who flaunted their talents, he remained hidden in the background, observing the situation with a deep and thoughtful demeanor.
It seems I need to send someone to test the waters.
If it's true, then...
Bai Li murmured, "This is troublesome..."
She never expected to rise to such a height.
In my mouth, the sweetness of the apple turned slightly bitter on the tip of my tongue.
Jingye didn't reply, but simply poured a cup of warm water from the silver pot and pushed it to her side.
It's evening, so it's not advisable to drink strong tea.
As expected, the young lady realized it too.
This case may seem ordinary, but it is far more dangerous than what an average person could handle.
But since the young lady has decided to find out the truth, he won't stop her. In his eyes, the young lady who could destroy the Green Vine family was never a hothouse flower.
He will do everything in his power to protect the young lady's safety.
Bai Li stared at the steam rising from the rim of the cup, then suddenly chuckled softly:
"Don't make any moves on Zhou Zhiming's side yet, lest we alert him."
"Next, let's start by investigating Crescent Moon Company's cash flow. Ah Hu and his team can't hack into the Cayman Islands' banking system, but..."
“But with some effort, someone will eventually be willing to speak up, such as some minor figures hiding overseas who manage offshore accounts.”
Bai Li yawned and continued, "Have Ah Hu send people to investigate the people on this shareholder list, especially those who have lived abroad for a long time. Try to pry information out of them."
I also have many NPCs overseas, so it's not difficult to investigate them.
Hearing Bai Li yawn, Jing Ye quickly replied, "Yes, I'll take over. Miss, it's getting late, you should go to sleep."
Bai Li shared the same idea. Investigating Luo Nan's father required a gradual and careful approach; rushing things could easily lead to mistakes.
The investigation has yielded some results; now we just need to wait for news from Ah Hu.
Just as she was about to get up, her phone suddenly rang, and the caller ID showed "Ah Hu".
Ah Hu usually doesn't call her unless it's something particularly important, so Bai Li immediately pressed the answer button.
Ah Hu's deep voice came through the receiver: "Miss, we've caught him."
Previously, Bai Li had Ah Hu send people to take turns guarding the vicinity of Luo Nan, partly to protect Luo Nan and prevent her precious mission target from being in danger.
Another possibility is whether we can happen to catch any suspicious individuals.
After all, Luo Nan is now the last member of the Luo family who hasn't run into trouble.
His actions naturally could not be concealed from the forces behind him, including his recent joining the Emerald Kingdom.
Bai Li guessed that the forces behind the scenes, in order to ensure that they could crush the Luo family and not give them any chance to turn the tables, would most likely send people to monitor Luo Nan.
Sure enough, she guessed right!
Bai Li was overjoyed and excitedly said, "Explain clearly."
Ah Hu explained in detail: "As you instructed, we have been secretly following Luo Nan. Tonight, a suspicious person ambushed him in the back alley of Emerald City, and we detained him."
Bai Li narrowed her eyes slightly: "What is that person's identity?"
She believed that Ah Hu must have already questioned her before calling her.
Ah Hu replied, "It comes from an organization called 'Underwater'."
"Go into the water?" Bai Li frowned.
I've never heard of this name before.
Judging from the name, you can tell it's not a respectable organization.
Ah Hu explained, “It’s a gang that does dirty work for the powerful and wealthy. They take on jobs that can’t be done in the light of day—kidnapping, threatening, silencing, and even fabricating evidence.”
Bai Li's fingertips paused, and her eyes suddenly sharpened.
—Falsified evidence?
Isn't this the key to Luo Nan's father's case?
She immediately asked, "What else did you find out?"
Ah Hu's voice deepened: "This guy is stubborn, but after using some tricks, he only admitted that his task was to keep an eye on Luo Nan and prevent him from contacting key witnesses."
Key witness...
They're probably referring to Luo Nan's uncle who betrayed the company.
Luo Nan's purpose in entering the Emerald Kingdom was to find his uncle's spending records.
As expected, Luo Nan's actions were almost transparent to the forces behind him.
Bai Li's eyes turned cold.
The extent of the forces and interests involved behind the scenes is beyond my imagination, and this organization called "underwater" is probably not simple either.
Bai Li then asked, "Did you find out anything else?"
After a moment of silence, Ah Hu said, "It's difficult. The organization has a strict hierarchy, and the lower-level members have no access to core information. The people we caught today were only members at the bottom of the organization, and they don't know anything else."
Come to think of it.
The investigation could not be so simple or easy.
She took a deep breath: "Are our people alright?"
"It's nothing," Ah Hu replied. "All the members are disguised and won't be exposed."
Bai Li was quite at ease with Ah Hu's work.
Her final instruction was: "Keep a close eye on them."
After hanging up the phone, Bai Li looked at Jing Ye. Their eyes met, and without saying a word, they both understood.
This is an extremely challenging game.