Chapter 27: The Considerate "Boss"

Milton spent a considerable amount of time poring over the ledger. By the time he looked up, Brandon and Lutz, two ravenous souls, had already scraped their dinner plates clean and wandered into the conference room.

Noticing Milton’s peculiar expression, they hurried over to peer at the ledger.

Milton was focused on two different medications for diabetes. They appeared to have similar effects, yet their prices were vastly different.

However, the two blockheads stared at the page for quite a while without seeing anything amiss. "Uh, two different drugs, different purchase prices... isn't that perfectly normal? What’s the problem?"

When purchasing other medicines, it was common to see price discrepancies between brands or drugs with different ingredients but similar efficacy. There was nothing strange about that.

Milton tapped the ledger page with his finger and remarked, "When the 'Boss' wrote these entries, he clearly pressed down very hard; the indentations even bled through to the next page. It suggests he was just as perplexed as I am."

"Huh?!" Brandon was shocked. "You can tell that? Just from that?"

Of course, he couldn't.

Milton muttered to himself, *That’s a reach, but it’s enough to fool you two geniuses.*

The real reason he caught the anomaly wasn't the "Boss’s" hesitation, but the name of the drug itself.

Troglitazone was primarily a medication for treating Type 2 diabetes. The biggest issue with this drug was that it wasn't slated for release until 1997!

In other words, it was a drug from the future. It was currently only in the testing phase. If Milton hadn't been a transmigrator from the future, he wouldn't have realized there was anything wrong with it at all.

Furthermore, to his knowledge, taking this drug was highly likely to cause liver failure. There had been a massive number of deaths worldwide linked to its use, and it was eventually pulled from the market shortly after its release.

In its early, experimental version, the risks and side effects were likely even more severe. They were using people as human test subjects!

*What a pity,* Milton thought. *If the "Boss" were still around, I’d at least have another strategist to brainstorm a plan with. Now, I have to rely on myself.*

Milton pondered for a moment before asking, "Now, here is the question: why did the 'Boss' feel suspicious? What did he think was wrong?"

Logically, the Boss had access to the same information as Brandon, so he shouldn't have been able to identify the problem with the drug either.

In other words, the Boss hadn't realized something was wrong based on the price or the drug name. So, where did he find the red flag?

He likely just sensed that something was off, without having yet pinpointed the exact nature of the problem.

Brandon and Lutz nodded blankly in agreement. "Right, what did the 'Boss' find?"

*You two really shouldn't have come over here...*

***

Milton couldn't be bothered with them. He tapped the tabletop, intending to flip further ahead to see if there were any clues in the "miscellaneous notes."

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Milton looked up at Brandon and asked, "Are all the drugs on the 'Boss's' procurement list actually stocked? Would he write down drugs that were never brought in?"

Brandon nodded firmly. "If it's on the purchase order, no matter the quantity, it’s definitely in stock."

After he said this, the two men locked eyes for a second.

They stood up in unison and bolted toward the pharmacy on the second basement level!

The drug!

Finding that bottle of medicine might reveal crucial clues. In his current situation, Milton couldn't act like the police—he couldn't investigate slowly, mobilize official resources, detain foundation personnel, secure evidence, test chemical compositions, prove illegal smuggling, and finally secure a conviction.

He had to catch them red-handed on the spot and slap the Greenvine Foundation with a penalty!

Brandon searched the pharmacy for a while, looking confused. "Let me see... I can't find it. It's all the usual stuff."

Milton didn't bother using his eyes. He opened his interface and began scanning the pile of red-highlighted contraband.

Soon, he found the target labeled "Troglitazone" among the sea of drugs.

The bottle had been carefully tucked away by the "Boss" in a separate compartment. There was only one bottle.

But...

Brandon leaned in, looking at the bottle in Milton's hand, and asked thoughtfully, "Is this the one? The pills do look different, but why does the bottle say Glibenclamide?"

Milton shook the bottle and chuckled. "Because this drug hasn't been approved for sale anywhere in the world yet. Naturally, it can't be sold in pharmacies, so they had to swap the original packaging."

"...Boss, I feel like you're always looking down on my knowledge."

Being able to fight was one thing, but how did he know so much?

Moreover, it seemed Milton didn't take pride in having killed eleven assassins, but he was quite proud of his own knowledge? Did this homicidal maniac have a scholar living inside him?

Milton didn't hide his disdain. He pointed at the bottle again and asked, "Where do you usually get your inventory for drugs like this?"

Brandon answered quickly this time. "Generally, we get our stock directly from the Vankang Gang. If there's an accident and we can't get it as planned, the 'Boss' would communicate with other channels, like legitimate pharmacies or even hospitals."

Milton sat in a chair, organizing his thoughts. "Did you get it from other black-market dealers?"

"Well... we are the biggest black-market dealers in this area..."

***

"But there's really no difference. It all comes through the checkpoint anyway. Some of it goes through legal procedures, while the rest is smuggled..."

"At least for the medicine in this town, I can be certain that the vast majority comes through the checkpoint. Anything arriving via other channels costs too much; they can't compete with us."

Milton found a thread of logic in Brandon’s answer. "Does that mean the bottle in my hand was also smuggled through the checkpoint?"

Brandon was momentarily speechless. "Uh, well..."

As a manager of the pharmacy with authority similar to the "Boss," he had never heard Prosecutor Maynard mention a drug called "Troglitazone." This suggested it might not have come through the checkpoint.

"Forget it. I can't count on you."

In truth, Milton was already fairly certain the drug hadn't come through the checkpoint, but it would be best to find more evidence to confirm it. If he couldn't, he would proceed with that assumption.

Milton shook his head and refocused on the ledger—he had wanted to check the miscellaneous notes earlier but hadn't had the chance.

He could look closer now. Maybe the "Boss" had left a note somewhere?

To be honest, while the "Boss's" procurement ledger was very brief, it hadn't missed much useful information.

Soon, Milton found his answer in a line of notes.

*"Maynard said he has never smuggled a drug by this name; he hasn't even heard of it."*

Excellent.

It all made sense... why the "Boss" had become suspicious—he had realized it based on the import channels.

Of course, even without this note, Milton would have leaned toward this conclusion. Now, this note completely confirmed his suspicions.

"Confirmed. This drug did not come through the checkpoint." Milton set down the ledger and said, "Now, let's summarize all the clues we've gathered."

"First, the price of the unreleased new drug is cheaper than the old one; second, we suspect the Greenvine Foundation is secretly testing drugs; third, the import channel for this drug is not the cheapest checkpoint; fourth, they swapped the bottles to avoid detection."

"Based on these four clues, what conclusion can we draw, or rather, what reliable theories can we form?"

Brandon looked blank. "I have no idea."