Chapter 73: The level of the day was fun, now search the crematorium
In a luxurious manor-style villa, a well-dressed gentleman, holding a red wine glass in his hand, looked up at the blue sky of Fairhaven.
After a long while, the gentleman asked casually, "How is the information I asked you to investigate going?"
In the shadows in the corner of the room stood a masked thief in black leather armor. Hermann, the head of the Pharmacist Guild who had had an unpleasant conflict with Mo Cheng, stood up straight but lowered his head, and with sweat all over his forehead, he dared not speak.
"President, the Guild's orders for healing potions from the Law Enforcement Corps have decreased by 50%, and the Knights' Orders to the Guild have also decreased by 20%."
The masked thief reported in a voice without any fluctuations in tone: "Also, a new pharmacy [Glimmer] has recently opened. They sell a Glimmer ointment that is different from our healing potion. It is much more effective than our potion at the same price, and the price is very cheap."
When a product is not only effective but also cheap, it is the beginning of efforts to squeeze similar products out of the market.
"After a few days of spreading the word, many people have learned that a cheap and effective ointment has appeared on the market. Mercenaries, adventurers, and even some local residents have begun to try to buy it. We are losing market share. According to calculations, we estimate that we will lose 2% of Fairhaven's market share tomorrow."
The gentleman, Hodge, the president of the Fairhaven Pharmacist Association, was lying on the recliner, tapping the handle with his fingers. "Did anyone spread rumors that the ingredients of the shimmer ointment were unknown and that it was suspected to have toxic side effects?"
The masked thief replied: "No, the Glimmer Shop is funded by the Lauren Frost family. We can't take risks before we know Lauren Frost's attitude."
The masked thief said that he could not take risks, and he explained to Hodge in a very tactful way that he could not use the usual means to deal with the Glimmer Shop. The market share lost by the Pharmacist Branch was undoubtedly taken by the Glimmer Ointment, so Lauren Frost, as a shareholder behind Glimmer, naturally took this benefit very happily.
If you want to snatch a share of the profits from an ancient family with a long history, it is better to do it in a nightmare.
Hodge said nothing more, and silence enveloped the place.
Suddenly, Hodge stood up abruptly, turned around and gave Herman a precise and heavy straight punch, which directly dented Herman's arrogant-looking hooked nose.
Under the tremendous force, Hermann was knocked away without even having time to scream, but he did not dare to wail or cry out. He quickly got up and stood back to his original position like a primary school student who had done something wrong.
But this was not the end yet. Hodge picked up the cane placed beside him and smashed it directly on Hermann's head. The ironwood cane inlaid with gold was heavy and hard. With a dull thud, Hermann almost lost consciousness.
But even so, Hermann was beaten with a bloody head. He covered the wound tightly, not daring to scream or dodge.
Because Hermann's power comes from the man in front of him, thanks to his wife.
"Mages! A bunch of mages! You, a fool, pushed a bunch of mages into the arms of others just because of your stupid, incompetent, pig-crossed so-called vanity!"
Hodge roared loudly, and the red bloodshot in the whites of his eyes showed that the branch president had not rested well during this period. The furious Hodge even picked up the cane again, completely ignoring the fact that Herman was his wife's brother-in-law, and whipped him like beating a wild dog.
After getting tired of beating him, Hodge threw the cane aside, not caring at all about the long-haired carpet that was messed up by Herman's blood, and asked in a flat tone: "Have you found out who holds the formula?"
"Based on the various clues available, it seems to be the work of a wizard team in the Winterhold College who goes by the alias [Carl]. According to the news from the Law Enforcement Corps, a wizard team encountered financial problems, and the leading wizard sold the ointment through his student [Carl]."
The masked thief turned a blind eye to what just happened, like a humanoid golem that could only answer intelligence questions. "According to analysis, they took this batch of potions to the pharmacy in the magic district, probably to test us. After all, we are the only one in Fairhaven with a large amount of liquid funds that can afford the experiment funds of the magic group."
He silently glanced at Herman, who was curled up on the ground and covered in blood, and continued, "However, after discovering that the Apothecary Guild had signs of embezzling their ointment formula, they immediately turned to the Law Enforcement Corps and commissioned Albert House, which is located on the edge of the civilian area, to produce the Glimmer Ointment. According to analysis, the new priest Mo Cheng from Albert House has a deep friendship with Mage Carl."
"After learning that Priest Mo Cheng was short of money and had difficulty maintaining the Albert House, Mage Carl used his power to entrust the production of the ointment to Priest Mo Cheng. If we want to communicate with Mage Carl and the team behind him, then Priest Mo Cheng is our primary target."
Hodge narrowed his eyes and propped his chin with both hands. This was his habit when thinking. "Find Master Carl and tell him that our Pharmacist Guild is the best partner."
The masked thief hesitated and asked, "What about Albert's House..."
"The Enforcement Corps is keeping a close eye on that place. They were very angry when we blocked their healing potions before. Captain Margaret won't give us a chance. Let him do it. It's just a factory that produces goods for others. The number of people there can't even meet the needs of an entire street."
When Margaret first took office, she enforced the law impartially and confiscated a batch of raw materials that did not comply with the rules from the Pharmacists' Guild. After that, the Pharmacists' Guild simply set up barriers in the provision of therapeutic potions in an attempt to force Margaret to surrender.
If Mo Cheng had not disguised himself as "Carl" and tried to sell the glimmer ointment on the street, Margaret might have really bowed to the Pharmacist Branch on this matter.
But now that Margaret had no worries about medicines, she simply brought the law enforcement team to keep an eye on the Pharmacists' Branch. She did not deliberately find fault, but thoroughly checked all kinds of items in the Pharmacists' Branch within the scope permitted by regulations.
However, a considerable number of channels of the Pharmacists' Association cannot withstand scrutiny and cannot be exposed to the sun.
Now, when the people from the Pharmacist Branch see the people from the Law Enforcement Corps, they feel like they are seeing a wolf king with a pack of wolves, specifically coming to catch them and bite them.
