65: Li Mo's plan

Old Ghost.

Li Mo, of course, was not unfamiliar with this name.

In fact, one could say he was quite familiar.

Qingyun Pharmaceutical's success today, its ability to emerge from countless small workshops back then and become one of Linzhou's four major pharmaceutical suppliers, owes a great deal to this man called "Old Ghost."

No.

Back then, he wasn't Old Ghost.

He was Little Ghost.

A spirited, passionate tech fanatic who treated the lab like home, sported two panda eyes, yet could find gold in a pile of discarded data.

Unlike the other three companies.

Juli, Fengxing, and Panshi, these three built their empires on monopolies.

They monopolized the material drops from specific monsters.

Without those core materials, no one could produce their flagship potions.

This was their barrier, and their lifeline.

However, Qingyun Pharmaceutical's Clarity Potion had extremely difficult raw material drops, and its production was always lackluster, with the company hovering on the brink of bankruptcy.

It was Little Ghost who led the charge to improve the formula.

He pulled countless all-nighters, his hair falling out in clumps, his health deteriorating day by day, until he finally managed to create a weakened version of the Clarity Potion.

Although the effect was discounted, the most crucial point was that it completely freed them from reliance on rare materials!

Production went up.

Qingyun Pharmaceutical was saved.

At that time, Little Ghost's days at the company were relatively good; he was a respected technical backbone for everyone.

Until Li Mo took over.

As the new CEO, Li Mo's goals were clear.

To optimize company revenue, reduce costs, and increase efficiency.

He opened the personnel files, and the name "Little Ghost" jumped out.

Oh, no, it was "Old Ghost" now.

His hair was thinning, his body was failing, he relied on medication daily, and he wasn't producing any new results in the lab, becoming a pure cost center.

A half-dead old man who could collapse at any moment, why keep him?

Waiting to pay out pensions and severance?

Li Mo used some methods—compliant, but not compassionate.

Soon, Old Ghost was "optimized" out.

Later, he heard that his wife left him, his child disowned him, and he became a laughingstock, abandoned by everyone.

Li Mo felt nothing about this.

He was an employee.

He was just fulfilling his KPIs.

And facts proved his decision was absolutely correct.

In all these years since he was driven away, Old Ghost hadn't caused any significant trouble.

At most, he sold some homemade bootleg potions in the corners of the black market, barely scraping by.

That pathetic production capacity wasn't even enough to tickle Qingyun Pharmaceutical.

But now... Wang Teng said these three potions, which had caused such an uproar, all came from Old Ghost Hall?

Interesting.

Li Mo's movements stopped.

He slowly took his hand off the doorknob.

Had this Old Ghost achieved enlightenment? Or was he divinely inspired?

How could he have deciphered the potion formulas of the other three companies?

This wasn't scientific.

It wasn't even metaphysical.

He knew that the formulas of those three companies were impossible to unlock; without raw materials, production was impossible... As for how he knew, don't ask.

Li Mo's curiosity was truly piqued for the first time.

Wang Teng's news indeed made him stay.

He turned around, the mocking expression of someone watching a clown gone from his face.

In its place was a pure, bureaucratic scrutiny.

"Old Ghost Hall..."

He repeated the name, as if savoring an unfamiliar dish.

"He, alone?"

Seeing Li Mo's reaction, a morbid delight surged in Wang Teng's heart.

He knew he had made the right gamble!

There must be a story between Li Mo and this Old Ghost!

And Li Mo was also thinking.

These three idiots thought they had caught him.

They could attribute Old Ghost's motive to seeking revenge on Qingyun.

Even further, they could even claim this was Qingyun's scheme, with Old Ghost enduring humiliation to plan this attack!

They believed that since Old Ghost came from Qingyun, this matter would inevitably drag Li Mo down.

Even if it was eventually found to be unrelated to him, this dirty water would be enough to give him a headache, and the board would certainly demand accountability.

Ridiculous.

They simply didn't understand.

For him, this wasn't trouble.

It was an opportunity.

A business opportunity.

The only thing he wanted to do now was to contact that Old Ghost and figure out the reason.

And while he was at it, see if they could cooperate... as an individual, of course.

As for personal grudges, in the face of money, what grudges were there?

Feng Rui looked at Li Mo's reaction, assuming his suspicions were confirmed, and he stepped forward, his voice sharp.

"Li Mo! Old Ghost is someone who came out of your Qingyun Pharmaceutical! Now he's caused such a huge incident, specifically targeting our three companies and leaving you alone! You say this has nothing to do with you, who would believe it? Would the board believe it?"

President Shi also found his backbone and scrambled to agree.

"That's right! Director Li, you must give us an explanation for this! Otherwise, we can only report all the circumstances, exactly as they are, to the board! With cross-shareholding, if we're not doing well, you won't get off easy either!"

A threat.

A blustering threat.

Li Mo even found it a little amusing.

Because, frankly speaking, these three fools combined couldn't outplay him with a single finger.

They were out of options.

In terms of time, efficiency, vision... and that pathetic sense of superiority as those in power.

They couldn't possibly consult others, much less humble themselves to contact an "Old Ghost" from the black market.

So, they could only cling to him.

The only person who could help them, and the only one they believed they had "caught."

It seemed that even if it was just to buy time, it was indeed necessary to "analyze" the situation for them.

Otherwise, if these three idiots really went crazy, who knew what they might do.

Li Mo's expression remained unchanged; he walked back to the conference table, but didn't sit down, instead looking down at the three of them.

"No need to beat around the bush; if you want me to help you, I can."

He spoke calmly.

"But before that, I need you to answer a few questions for me."

Wang Teng and the other two were stunned.

"First, have there been any abnormalities in the production areas of the core raw materials that your three companies rely on, those specific monster drop locations? Have any new forces intervened?"

Wang Teng subconsciously replied, "No! In the Abyss, the Fire-Maned Lion's territory has always been under the control of my Wang family; outsiders can't get in at all!"

"Second, have you received any warnings or hints from higher-ups, whether official or military?"

Feng Rui also immediately shook his head: "No! Fengxing Technology's cooperation with the military has always been stable; my brother is in the procurement department, and I'd know immediately if anything happened."

"Third, have you recently offended anyone you shouldn't have?"

President Shi squeezed out a smile from his chubby face that was uglier than a cry: "Director Li, we are all businessmen; harmony brings wealth, how could we..."

"Very good."

Li Mo interrupted him.

He extended his hand.

"Which means the opponent's attack is entirely from the market level. There's no upper-level interference, and your raw material supply hasn't been cut off. This is a pure commercial war."