On the Ark.

Chapter 560 Warfarin's Teachings

"I didn't expect such a big deal to be closed in such a short time." After leaving the Dongri Pharmaceutical building, Grani couldn't help but exclaim. "I thought it would take a very long time to negotiate, like in a novel, where they would have to eat several meals together before it was settled."

"It's not that exaggerated, is it?"

Even though he said that, Lin Ye wasn't entirely sure. After all, this was his first business negotiation, and the process had gone almost unrealistically smoothly. He'd secured such a large order with the Crown Prince of the Eastern Kingdom in less than an hour. Could it be that his forte wasn't sterilization… no, not psychological therapy, but business negotiation?

Is he better suited to be a businessman than a doctor?

Tsk, just thinking about it makes me realize it's impossible.

Lin Ye stopped and said, "Let's go find Warfarin."

"Oh? You're going to the library again?"

“Hmm, let’s ask Warfarin,” Lin Ye said. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I’m a little uneasy that such a big deal was settled so easily.”

Although he knew that Warfarin wasn't in charge of trading at Rhodes Island, she was, after all, a vampire who had lived for hundreds of years, and her experience was definitely much richer than his.

"I feel like you're worrying unnecessarily," the Iron-Eating Beast tilted its head and said. "That's the Crown Prince of the Eastern Kingdom, there's no need for him to frame you, is there?"

Lin Ye glanced at the Iron-Eating Beast, then patted Nian's head: "You used the same tone to say that the rumors about Fubo Mountain were just for kids, have you forgotten?"

The iron-eating beast was speechless.

As the group headed towards the library, the Ironhide Beast immediately caught up and tentatively asked, "Hey, can your company's medicine cure Oripathy?"

Lin Ye glanced at the Iron-Eating Beast: "What are you talking about? There are no drugs on the market that can cure Originium Disease right now. At most, they can only slow down the progression of the disease."

"Is this...is that so?" A hint of disappointment flashed in the Iron-Eating Beast's eyes.

Lin Ye keenly observed her emotional shifts and, recalling the Iron Eater's previous behavior, roughly guessed what was going on. However, he said nothing, as it was the Iron Eater's privacy; the fact that she hadn't told everyone already spoke volumes about her thoughts. After all, given the Iron Eater's wealth, it was impossible for her to be unaware of Oripathy.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the library. After luring Iron Eater, Nian, and Grani to the café, Lin Ye went inside to find Warfarin. Soon, Lin Ye found Warfarin in the spot where they had sat last time. Warfarin was very conspicuous; although she wasn't tall, there was a stack of books next to her that was taller than her, making her look very diligent.

Lin Ye called out to Warfarin, who looked up at him and said lazily, "What brings you here?"

"I have something to ask you," Lin Ye said. "Have you heard of 'Dongri Pharmaceuticals'?"

"A company owned by the Eastern Kingdom's royal family?"

You know that?

"It's not that hard to guess," Warfarin yawned. "What's wrong?"

Lin Ye then told Warfarin what had just happened, including his own doubts.

"Do you think there's a problem with this collaboration?" Lin Ye asked. "I think it's gone too smoothly; they didn't try to pressure us about the price."

"Isn't it good that they didn't try to lower the price for us?" Warfarin replied while reading her book. "They are the royal family of the Eastern Kingdom, why would they bother with such a small amount of money?"

"This little bit of money?"

“This order is certainly not a small amount of money for Rhodes Island, but it’s a small amount of money for the Eastern Kingdom.” Warfarin looked up at Lin Ye. “You actually asked me these questions. It seems that Kal’tsit didn’t tell you everything before you left.”

Lin Ye frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"

"Do you know why Kal'tsit would send someone with absolutely no experience like you to negotiate this deal?" Warfarin asked.

"Isn't this just a cover for our real purpose?"

“That’s only one point.” Warfarin put down her book, seemingly intending to explain to Lin Ye properly. “Secondly, this deal is really simple and doesn’t require much negotiation skill. And since you’re negotiating with the Crown Prince of the Eastern Kingdom, that’s even more true. As I just said, this small amount of money is nothing to the Eastern Kingdom’s royal family, and they will soon be able to earn it back many times over.”

Lin Ye asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

“Currently, there are only one and a half companies capable of producing effective drugs to combat Oripathy. Rhine Lab is one, and we are half,” Warfarin said. “And after Rhine Lab’s research department suffered a major blow, it hasn’t produced any new products for many years. So, the products on the market are all older generation ones, which gives us an advantage. Therefore, it’s perfectly normal for the Eastern Kingdom to choose to cooperate with us. Moreover, the Eastern Kingdom is different from Western countries like Ursus and Victoria. Neither we nor Rhine Lab have their headquarters here. In other words, ordinary citizens of the Eastern Kingdom cannot directly purchase drugs from us or Rhine Lab; they can only do so through the royal family. Do you understand what I mean?”

Lin Ye gradually understood: "You mean, the royal family of the Eastern Kingdom will sell the medicine to their people at two or three times the purchase price?"

"You underestimate the profits of a monopoly," Warfarin said calmly. "Ten times."

Lin Ye's eyes widened.

“Don’t look at me like that. This data is available online,” Warfarin said. “Rhine Lab’s ‘life-type’ potions are already overpriced in the West, and the price here in the East is even higher, basically ten times the purchase price.”

"But how can ordinary people afford such high prices?"

“If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it,” Warfarin shrugged. “It wasn’t originally intended for people who couldn’t afford it. After all, this is the Far East, and the quantity of medicine is limited. Moreover, it’s monopolized by the royal family, so they can’t just set the price however they want. Those who can’t afford it will just have to endure it, and those who can’t endure it will…”

Warfarin didn't finish her sentence, but simply said...

"Anyway, they can't possibly rebel against the royal family. Because the proportion of infected people in the Eastern Kingdom is far lower than in Ursus, they can't even start a rebellion, so the Eastern Kingdom's royal family is naturally fearless." Warfarin glanced at Lin Ye and said, "Otherwise, why do you think there are so many Eastern people on the island? That Nightblade who you're on good terms with is from the Eastern Kingdom. Besides him, there are many others who couldn't stay in their own countries after contracting Oripathy and had to come to Ursus to make a living. Although Ursus is in chaos, at least the medicine is cheap there."

Lin Ye felt that Warfarin's last words were not praise, but sarcasm.

"This is too exaggerated," Lin Ye murmured.

“The most outrageous part is yet to come,” Warfarin said. “Back to our previous topic, why did I say this order was a small sum for them? Because our potions are inherently cheaper and more effective than Rhine Lab’s ‘Life-Type’ potions. So why would the Eastern Royal Family need to lower the price? They could easily sell them to their own people at a higher price than ‘Life-Type’ potions, making our potions a much more profitable proposition for them. Compared to their gains, this small investment is nothing.”

Lin Ye fell silent. He recalled the helpless smile on Ye Dao's face when he mentioned his country, and suddenly felt that the seemingly extraordinary Crown Prince Hao Guangzhuqing of the Eastern Kingdom had a much worse impression on him.

"Isn't that an unnecessary expression?" Warfarin shrugged and said, "That's just how royalty is."

Lin Ye felt a bit stifled, and then asked Warfarin, "Is it like this in Yan Kingdom too?"

"Who do you think the Eastern Kingdom copied from?" Warfarin said calmly. "You should know that the imperial power in both Yan Kingdom and the Eastern Kingdom is more centralized than in Ursus. However, Yan Kingdom has improved a lot in recent years, and I heard a very interesting rumor."

"What rumor?"

Do you know why the current emperor of Yan Kingdom doesn't like the eldest prince?

Lin Ye had heard similar rumors before, so he asked, "Why?"

"Because the eldest prince wants to implement reforms."

……

……

Author's note: The commercial content in this chapter is all made up by me, so please don't take it too seriously. I was just setting up a character a little.

By the way, the illustration from the previous chapter wasn't finished yet; the artist still needs to refine the details, including Mostima's tail. As for when the final version will be released, let me think about it. This might be the last illustration for this book; I hope you all like it.

Chapter 561 Pure Idealists

Los Angeles, train station.

A woman dressed in a red robe and wearing a hood sat in the waiting room, exuding an aura of "keep away." As a result, in the bustling train station, no one dared to sit next to her.

"Ding, passengers. The long-distance train from Los Angeles to Lungmen has arrived at the station. Passengers of this train, please prepare to have your tickets checked and board the train."

The automated female voice announced the arrival of passengers echoed in the waiting room. A hooded woman picked up her suitcase and was about to go to the ticket check when a voice sounded behind her: "Wait, Jingzhe."

Jingzhe stopped and turned around, looking at the man walking towards her with some confusion.

"Chief Inspector?" Jingzhe frowned slightly. "What brings you here?"

The inspector general walked up to Jingzhe and said in a low voice, "The plan has changed. Come with me first."

Jingzhe nodded and didn't ask any more questions. She simply followed the inspector out of the train station and stopped in an empty corridor.

"Your trip to Lungmen will have to be postponed." The Inspector General turned to look at Jingzhe and said slowly, "I have already spoken with Lungmen Governor Wei Yanwu."

"Why was it suddenly canceled?" Jingzhe asked.

“There are other arrangements.” The inspector general walked up to Jingzhe and handed her a leather bag. “I hope you will deal with someone.”

Jingzhe took the leather bag, puzzled: "Who insists I go? There are other people in the Censorate, and the Imperial Guards are also there."

"The situation is a bit complicated. It was directly instructed by the person above." The Inspector General pointed to the ceiling. "It's someone who could potentially harm Her Highness the Fourth Princess. I can't reveal his specific identity. All you need to know is that he's someone who must be dealt with secretly. The reason we can't use the Imperial Guard and the entire Inspectorate is because Her Highness the Fourth Princess and Prince Haoguang Zhuqing of the Eastern Kingdom are having their engagement ceremony in five days. At this time, a high-profile search would be detrimental to the country's image. You should understand that."

Jingzhe was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is it detrimental to the image of the Second Prince?"

"Jingzhe!" The inspector frowned and said sternly, "Watch your tone of voice."

"I understand," Jingzhe said, "but I only have five days. Are you asking me to search for people in Luocheng all by myself?"

“Of course I’ll give you a clue,” the inspector general said. “The clue is in the bag; it’s the Fourth Princess’s whereabouts over the past few days.”

"You mean, the person who wants to harm the Fourth Princess is very likely near her? At a time like this, instead of thinking about how to protect the Fourth Princess, you're asking me to go find someone? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

The inspector general said, "We will protect Her Highness the Fourth Princess's safety; you don't need to worry about that."

Jingzhe nodded slightly, then pulled down her hat brim: "Alright. But what kind of person is the target? What should I do after I find him? Arrest him or..."

"Eliminate him on the spot," the Inspector General said calmly. "This person's identity is very special. He is male, in his early twenties, and is from Yan Country, but he has been staying in Ursus and does not have any obvious racial characteristics."

"No obvious racial characteristics?"

“Well, there are no obvious racial characteristics,” the Inspector General said. “That’s all I can say. Jingzhe, you are the youngest but most capable executor in the Dali Temple. So far, all the cases or operations you’ve been in charge of have maintained a 100% success rate…”

“It’s not 100%,” Jingzhe said calmly. “My first case after becoming an executor was unsuccessful.”

“That’s an exception. You and I both know that’s not something you can investigate,” the inspector general said. “Don’t worry, I’ve already removed that case from your resume.”

“No need,” Jingzhe said. “Success is success, and failure is failure. I’m not so fragile that I need to erase my resume to comfort myself. But… calling it a failure isn’t quite accurate, after all, I haven’t given up yet.”

After saying that, Jingzhe took the documents and turned to leave.

"I will definitely investigate the incident five years ago in which the Third Prince Yingzhen was murdered in Chang'an."

Looking at Jingzhe's retreating figure, the Inspector shook his head helplessly, and then said, "This time you were personally selected by His Highness the Second Prince, so you must not disappoint His Highness the Second Prince's expectations."

Jingzhe did not respond and quickly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

……

"Reform?" Lin Ye felt like he had heard a strange word. "How did you know?"

“Why don’t you just pay attention to the reforms that Yan Kingdom has implemented in recent years?” Hua Falin said. “The current emperor of Yan Kingdom had a son late in life. Now the eldest prince is in his thirties, and the emperor is already over seventy. Although the lifespan of dragons is not short, throughout the history of Yan Kingdom, emperors have never had any ideas of reform after the age of seventy.”

"So you think it's the eldest prince?"

“There’s an even more crucial point,” Warfarin glanced at Lin Ye and said, “If it were a reform initiated by the emperor, the policy should have been implemented long ago.”

Lin Ye thought for a moment: "That seems to be true. What kind of magic is the First Prince using?"

In Lin Ye's memory, those who proposed reforms in feudal dynasties generally did not have a good ending, and he wondered what it was like here.

“There are many things, including taxes and land,” Warfarin said. “And most importantly, reducing the royal family’s spending on the local princes and taking back some of the privileges of the great families.”

Warfarin's words almost made Lin Ye bite his tongue.

Not only did they implement reforms, but they also weakened the power of the regional military governors? Not only did they weaken the power of the regional military governors, but... I don't know how to shorten the name of the Lin Ye mentioned later.