Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"According to the law, they will destroy these smuggled goods, and then what? Nothing more. Mrs. John has absolute power in this area, but what if we expand the scope to the whole of Colombia?"

Kannot clapped his hands excitedly as he said this, "Ha, the Columbia Tobacco and Alcohol Spellcasting Unit and the Originium Products Administration, what a mouthful of names, but they're quite capable."

“I understand... but wouldn’t that make Rhodes Island a company with a criminal record?”

Amiya asked in confusion.

"Haha, this is Colombia, no company here can be so clean."

Cannot laughed. "Pay the fine, sign the rectification documents and guarantees, and soon nobody will care about this...maybe nobody cares now."

"Of course, your doctor still spent three days in the Bureau's detention room, which can be considered a price to pay."

"Doctor Kal'tsit will be angry..." Amiya said weakly.

Upon hearing this, the doctor shrugged and said, "Actually, to be honest, I learned these methods from her."

Hearing this, Huang shrank back and muttered, "I wouldn't dare say something like that in front of Dr. Kal'tsit..."

The doctor laughed and said, "Actually, I don't dare either."

“But are you ready?” Kannot suddenly said, “In the Columbia Tobacco and Alcohol Spellcasting Unit and the Originium Products Administration’s detention cells, no one will dare to lay a hand on you; that would be like handing a knife to a pack of mad dogs.”

“But the others in your company…” He looked at Amiya and Huang.

The meaning is already obvious.

“I’m never worried about that,” the Doctor said, shrugging. “Trust me, Rhodes Island has plenty of experience dealing with these kinds of things.”

“And soon, they’ll be leaving,” the doctor said, looking at Amiya. “I’ve found that in Colombia, it seems like doing business the proper way just doesn’t work.”

"The yoke around Mrs. John's neck is also around our necks."

"Therefore, it's time to resort to some unconventional methods."

344 Open the door! Free trade!

"So you're going to get involved in smuggling?"

Xia Yu sat in her hotel room with a strange expression, waiting for Rhodes Island's near-ground aircraft to arrive, while talking to the Doctor on the phone.

"That's what they say, Rhodes Island is a legitimate company! A legal one..."

"Come on, we're all old foxes, what are you talking about?" The doctor rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone. "Even though I can use the laws enforced by those Columbia monopolies to give John's mother a good beating, it also means that Rhodes Island's inhibitors will face just as many difficulties entering Columbia."

“These vested interests alone will not allow it.”

"Rhode Island was originally willing to cooperate with companies like John's Mother because it intended to fight fire with fire, disguising itself as a Colombian company to infiltrate the industry."

"But what can you do when John's mother just doesn't get it..."

"So you thought of my connections?" Xia Yu chuckled. "You said yourself that those big companies wouldn't allow it, and Big Bob and his team might not be willing to take the risk either."

"After all, they're living a pretty good life right now. Why would they risk losing their newly improved life by cooperating with us?"

Yes, after seeing the monopoly of Colombian pharmaceutical companies, the doctor immediately abandoned the idea of ​​entering the market through legitimate channels.

As I said before, when you're on someone else's turf, they follow their laws. What can you do to fight them?

However, the plight of those infected in Colombia cannot be ignored.

So the doctor simply stopped doing legitimate business and switched to smuggling!

But smuggling always requires a distributor who is bold enough and has a good reputation. So the doctor thought about it for a long time, and then he saw the beer in the Big Bob's Brewery and had a flash of inspiration.

The infected man had some connections with Rhodes Island and was also somewhat well-known among the Columbia settlers...

Today, the pioneers are willing to buy Big Bob's beer because of his reputation, but tomorrow they might not be unwilling to buy the inhibitors in his hands!

It's important to know that Rhode Island's inhibitors are far more effective than those from reputable large companies like Columbia, not to mention that some of them, like John's mother, use substandard painkillers...

Obviously, this path is theoretically feasible.

But the problem is that those big pharmaceutical companies can't possibly turn a blind eye to this!

“If you ask me,” Xia Yu sneered, “it would be better to paint Rhodes Island black and have me build a black ship to show them what ‘free trade’ really means!”

“That’s a good idea,” the doctor said, nodding seriously. “But everything should be done step by step. You haven’t even settled things in the snowfields yet, so don’t worry about Columbia.”

"Let's start by setting up channels here. I've met an interesting person on the smuggling side. Although the Rust Hammer organization doesn't have a good reputation, there are quite a few infected people in it."

"Rusty Hammer is a violent organization that has broken away from civilization and roams the wasteland. In the wilderness far from the mobile city-state, life itself is an endless war."

"And we can help them live a better life!"

"These kinds of organizations happen to be outside Colombian control, making them perfect for smuggling!"

The doctor chuckled, "With the reputation of Grand Bob Winery, I believe our inhibitors will soon be available in Colombia."

"Of course, you don't need to worry about their safety. Initially, only a few batches will be shipped, and those big pharmaceutical companies won't be able to react in time."

"After all, there are all sorts of monsters and demons on this land. As long as you don't have a certain market share, people won't bother with you. It's a losing proposition."

"There are too many people making money under the guise of curing Oripathy. In just the last few days, I've seen three or four cult members and five or six so-called experts who seem to have appeared out of nowhere..."

"This is just a small part of Ticalendo. Colombia is so big, how can those pharmaceutical companies investigate every single one of them? If that were the case, they wouldn't need to do anything else."

"It will take at least three or four years for our inhibitors to show their effects. After all, our inhibitors are slow to take effect. By the time infected people find that not only does their Oripathy stop recurring after taking our medicine, their health is also getting better and better!"

"By then, the infected people knew that our products were genuine and had gained a reputation. They realized what was happening and wanted to take action..."

"Then it will be your favorite opening! The free trade phase!"

The doctor then urged, "How about it? Isn't my plan perfect?"

Perfect, absolutely perfect!

On the one hand, it avoids Colombia's exorbitant tariffs, and on the other hand, it ensures that those infected can buy good medicine.

Xia Yu even appreciated the cleanup efforts, so only one problem remained.

"That sounds pretty good, but have you asked Kal'tsit?" Xia Yu asked with a smile. "What did she say?"

Hehe, it would be a lie to ask that...

The reason she sought my advice, and what was this about contacting Big Bob? It was all a lie. I knew exactly what she was up to.

If I had given her Big Bob's contact information, she would probably be in the snowfield by the time she came out of the Columbia Tobacco and Alcohol Spell Unit and the Originium Products Administration's detention cell...

Then she can openly take this and confidently say at Rhodes Island's internal meetings, "Xia Yu agreed to this plan!" See? She's even found a partner!

Xia Yu is well aware of her importance to Rhodes Island, and many people will vote in favor of her, even if it's just to consider her opinion.

And so the matter was settled naturally.

He had been tricked without even realizing it... The doctor could laugh at himself for the rest of his life!

The plan was good, and Xia Yu liked it very much.

The professor still wanted to subtly sabotage himself.

Ah, this damn competitive spirit... Oh, I have it too, never mind.

To be honest, it's not a big deal. It's no different from before. Even if she hadn't done this, and had just brought it up in an internal meeting, I probably would have agreed.

After all, this really suits my taste.

As for Kal'tsit... she probably won't agree.

She's a good person in every way, except she's too fond of playing it safe. She'll never resort to illegal means if she can resolve a problem through legal channels, unless she's really out of options.

If it were her, she would probably leverage Seraya's reputation in Colombia to set up a shell company, masquerade as a Colombian enterprise, and infiltrate from within.

As for whether Saria would agree... what a joke! The special medicine Ifrit is currently using is something she can't refuse.

Moreover, Saria can understand Rhodes Island's approach, so there's no question of disagreement.

Everyone gathered at Rhodes Island with some ideals in their hearts, and Saria was no exception.

The problem is that once Rhode Island's drugs show results in two or three years, they will immediately become a thorn in the side of all pharmaceutical companies in Colombia.

What's coming will come; they won't just sit idly by and wait to die.

At that time, Rhode Island only had two options: either argue with them in Columbia, their private territory, or...

Free trade should still be free trade.

Well, while the Doctor's two options are a bit risky, they have the advantage of not having to bear Columbia's high tariffs, which saves costs, and is very important for Rhodes Island, which is currently facing a very tight cash flow.

The other option is much safer, but the cost is also obvious.

If that's the case, it will be questionable whether even a few low-income infected individuals in Columbia can afford the drugs from Rhode Island once they reach there.

Xia Yu's bias is obvious; it's obviously the doctor's plan.

"Tch..." Upon realizing that Xia Yu had seen through his thoughts immediately, the Doctor curled his lip. "Just tell me, aren't you tempted?"

"What kind of attitude is that?" Xia Yu rolled her eyes upon hearing this. "Is this how you ask for a favor?"

"The way you beg?" Hearing this, the doctor had a sudden inspiration and said in a high-pitched voice, "Brother, I'm begging you..."

"Ugh..." Hearing that sickeningly sweet sound, Xia Yu felt a chill run down her spine. "Don't disgust me!"

"Brother, do you agree with what they're thinking? Please, brother."

"Or...or I can wear a little dress when I get back and show it to my brother..."