Chapter 606: Breach

Chapter 606: Breach

Three hours later, at the Red Mansion Clubhouse in Stardust City, private room number seven.

"James wants to work with Mary to produce a healing ointment?"

Keith stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, glass in hand. After listening to Reese's recording, he spoke in a flat tone:

"Mary agreed?"

His face showed no emotion, but his grip on the glass tightened without him realizing it.

Leila, sitting on the sofa, could tell Keith was furious.

"She didn't just agree — they already signed the contract."

Reese nodded repeatedly. "I checked with the legal team. They signed this afternoon. It's going to be one of the Smith Corporation's key projects next year."

"The project team is expected to be set up within the next few days. They're also planning to rename Heavenly Winery to Mary White Ointment, so they can use the winery's office address and factory equipment."

Reese had clearly done her homework and filled Keith in on everything she knew:

"They'll start producing samples by early next month at the latest."

"Mr. Morris, that bastard James is clearly coming after you."

"Everyone in Stardust City knows that Morris's White Medicine, under your name, is the top trauma medication brand in the country — it holds more than half the market share."

"If this Mary White Ointment is as good as James claims, it'll be a fatal blow to Morris's White Medicine."

"Morris's White Medicine brings you nearly ten billion in profit every year. It'd be a real shame if that bastard James took it away."

"And on top of that, it would repair James and Mary's relationship. One thing leads to another, and they might end up back together."

Having once worked at the Stardust City Medical Bureau, Reese not only knew the profits behind Morris's White Medicine — she also knew exactly how to make Keith feel the threat.

Keith said nothing. Leila parted her red lips and spoke calmly:

"Aunt Reese, aren't you exaggerating a little?"

"Setting aside whether they can even get it off the ground — what about the product itself? Is it really that remarkable?"

"Can it really take our market share that easily?"

Morris's White Medicine was one of Keith's most important businesses, and also a five-star formula that Leila had spent a fortune to acquire.

She had worked incredibly hard to get her hands on that cash cow.

And now Keith and Reese were worried that some ointment James threw together on a whim could outperform Morris's White Medicine. Emotionally, Leila found that hard to accept.

Reese let out a long breath:

"I have no love for James — I'd happily wring his neck — but he treats Mary well. He wouldn't mess her around."

"And Mary is putting in a billion to fund production. If the product were mediocre, why would she throw away that kind of money?"

"Most importantly, they apparently ran a test in the office. Just from Mary's gasp on the recording when she saw how fast the wound healed, you can tell there's nothing fake about it."

"So my conclusion is — this Mary White Ointment actually works."

Reese gave her assessment. "I was there and smelled the medicine myself. It had a very pleasant scent."

"Mary White Ointment is genuinely something else."

Keith turned around and looked at Leila, who was about to speak:

"I saw with my own eyes how Qingwu's palm wound healed. It was far beyond anything Morris's White Medicine can do."

He had someone pull up a photo — taken by a doctor he'd bribed at Wendy's company — showing Wendy's palm on the screen.

The wound had not only scabbed over, it had already faded to a light pink. In a few more days, the scar would likely be gone entirely.

The doubt in Leila's eyes faded considerably.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot—"

Reese suddenly slapped her forehead and pulled a small medicine bottle out of her handbag:

"This is the bottle James left behind after the experiment. There's barely any powder left inside. He threw it in the trash, and I picked it up."

"Mr. Morris, Miss Ross, take a look."

She set the bottle on the coffee table.

Keith narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's it — that's James's bottle. I saw him use it on Qingwu."

Leila leaned forward and picked up the bottle. A look of mild distaste crossed her face — the bottle looked cheap, and it had come out of a trash can, after all.

Still, she opened the cap.

A fresh, pleasant scent hit her instantly.

Leila's eyes lit up, and a flicker of surprise crossed her face.

"Alright, alright—"

Keith took the bottle, grabbed a tissue, and gently tapped the opening against it.

After tapping for a while, a small amount of powder fell out.

Then he added a drop of water, shook the bottle firmly, and rinsed the inside clean.

Finally, he turned slightly toward a stone-faced man standing nearby:

"Rhett, cut a small wound on your palm. Keep it small."

Without a word, the man drew a knife and cut a small gash into his palm.

Keith first poured the water from the bottle over the wound, then pressed the small amount of powder onto it.

Leila watched with skepticism.

Rhett's eyes held doubt as well.

A medicine that could stop bleeding in one minute — after years of battle-hardened experience, he'd never heard of such a thing.

Two minutes later, Keith wiped away the bloodied powder. The wound was visibly closing before their eyes.

Reese gasped. "Oh—"

Leila's grip slipped, and wine spilled from her glass.

Rhett stared, jaw dropped.

Keith tossed the cotton swab aside and stood up. "So — what do you think of this medicine?"

"Mr. Morris, I'll get that formula no matter what it takes."

Leila shot to her feet, her face burning with intensity:

"With this formula, we won't just make an extraordinary amount of money — we'll build connections like never before."

"Every organization, every powerful figure — they'll all come to us."

"With medicine like this, they can avoid a lot of suffering. Fewer people die."

She looked at Keith and added: "I'll get things moving right away. We'll take that formula from James by any means necessary."

Keith took a sip of red wine. "James is highly skilled and always on guard. Getting the formula out of his hands would be harder than climbing to the sky."

"No matter how hard it is, we take it."

Leila was firm. "Otherwise, once he gets it into production, Morris's White Medicine won't just collapse — we'll have nowhere left to stand."

They were already enemies with James. If James rose to power, they would be the ones to suffer.

"Exactly. We have to take it. A nobody like him doesn't deserve a formula this good."

Reese chimed in in agreement. She could already see the enormous value this medicine would bring. Once James put it into production, he'd instantly become one of the most sought-after figures among Stardust City's elite.

The last thing she wanted was to see James on top.

"Going after James directly is really not easy. I've been thinking about it and can't figure out how to make a move."

Keith found James genuinely troubling — neither a direct approach nor a covert one would work:

"But Reese showing up, and the information she brought, made me suddenly see how to get the formula."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Leila was caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Mary."

Something lit up in Keith's eyes. He had spotted the opening:

"Mary is James's partner. James is completely devoted to her — he'd never be on guard against her. He'll definitely give her the formula."

"Aunt Reese is Mary's aunt, and she's still a nominal manager at the Smith Corporation. She can't be part of the project, but that doesn't mean she can't get close..."

Keith walked over to Reese, clapped a hand on her shoulder, and smiled:

"Aunt Reese, I'll give you a hundred million as a budget. Find a way to get a copy of that formula."

"Once it's done, I'll cut you ten percent of the profits."