Chapter 520 - A Few Formulae
In the past, Lin Li would’ve really continued beating around the bush with him, but he did not have the time to do so now. He knocked his fingers against the table gently, and half-jokingly said, “Mr. William, do you have the same agenda as those people out there?”
Upon hearing Lin Li’s words, William smiled. Good eyesight was the means of living for an appraiser. Although he didn’t know how the pharmacists were related to the young President, he could tell from various signs that it was not easy to poach them. Those who tried would probably not have their wishes granted even after going bankrupt.
William stared at Lin Li smilingly, and asked, “What’s the matter? Is Young Master Felic that confident? I’m sure you know better than me how important senior pharmacists are to a force. Aren’t you worried about those people out there at all?”
“Hah, this is not a prison. Everyone here is free to go where they want to. If they can get what they want, it just means that they’re capable enough. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any successful cases yet. Perhaps you might be the first to succeed, Mr. William,” Lin Li said with a calm smile, seemingly not bothered by the fact that someone else was trying to poach his pharmacists.
William began to feel more and more confused as he wondered to himself just why Lin Li was so confident about it. Human character was the hardest thing to grasp in this world; what made him think that those pharmacists were fools? Or was he really not restricting the freedom of those pharmacists, and was simply letting them do as they pleased?
It would be impossible not to be tempted by the 20-odd pharmacists who had just appeared in the Tower of Dusk. Although William’s most famous business was the Time Consignment Store, he was actually involved in other industries, especially the pharmaceutical one. It was a lucrative industry, and some people who had the ability and connections could not resist the temptation of making profits. William was not blinded by temptation, however. Although the news of these senior pharmacists was spreading like wildfire in the Breezy Plains and causing a major uproar, the forces participating in the pursuit were working extremely hard as if they would be able to solicit success at any time as long as they worked hard.
If it were really that easy to recruit the pharmacists, it wouldn’t be up to them to do it. The Malfa Family would have long brought them to Aminya! No one in the Breezy Plains would have the audacity to say that they were much stronger than the Malfa Family, and no one could compare to the Glittergold Trade Union in terms of wealth. They were all just dreaming. Besides, there were many powerful forces in this world, and the Malfa Family was only dominating Aminya. Since when was it their turn to poach the pharmacists, especially when the Glittergold Trade Union didn’t even dare to claim to be the richest in the world?
His subordinates had repeatedly suggested and proposed that they recruit a few senior pharmacists before the rest did, but they were all turned down by the decisive William, who had seen through everything clearly right from the start.
Most of the gifts given by the forces to the pharmacists were acquired from the Time Consignment Store. However, William’s sharp senses told him to forgo the benefits despite them being placed right in front of him. Although William refused to participate in recruiting pharmacists, it did not mean that he had given up the pursuit of benefits. There were many ways to obtain benefits, and it was not necessary for him to make the pharmacists his own.
Many people looked down on Ona’s mercenary corps because they were too insignificant in the Breezy Plains. Such a small mercenary group that could not even be considered a faction actually had the cheek to go to the pharmacists and present them with gifts, hoping to get into their good books? They were just overestimating their own abilities. Even if Ona had obtained a potion that allowed his and his son’s strength to advance to level-15, they were still considered embarrassing and unworthy to the other forces.
However, if everyone’s efforts and gains were compared to each other, Ona would be the one who really stood to gain. Although Ona used the potion to break through to level-15, it was far more valuable than the gifts that Ona had given away.
Besides, had Ona only gained some benefits in terms of personal strength? Although the Warriors who had broken through to level-15 would still be very different from the Archmages in terms of strength, the extension of their lifespan was almost the same. For a small group of mercenary corps, having two level-15 Warriors was almost equivalent to doubling their strength, which meant that there would be more opportunities for them to obtain more benefits.
However, it was just a potion that was casually concocted during an experiment, though it was life-changing for some. That was also the reason for the pharmacists’ superior status.
William’s agenda this time was not to hire the pharmacists or discuss partnership with Lin Li. Instead, it was for something else. However, before he broached the topic, he would still have to find out what was the relationship between the Tower of Dusk and the senior pharmacists.
Ripples formed in William’s heart, and he tried to think of an appropriate way to pose his question. If he were too careless with his words, he might end up offending Lin Li.
At this very moment, the door of the hall was suddenly opened, and a youth who was dressed in a pharmacist’s coat poked his head through the crack. He seemed to have something to say to Lin Li.
“Oh, Wilkinson, is there a problem? Come on in,” Lin Li said smilingly while waving at Wilkinson.
Lin Li was being a little disrespectful by allowing his subordinate to interrupt the meeting with a guest. However, William did not feel in the least bit displeased, because he had heard of Wilkinson before. Hence, he knew that he was the most important among the batch of senior pharmacists. William was tempted because he felt that he might be able to find out about the pharmacists’ relationship with the Tower of Dusk from Wilkinson.
“Mr. Pharmacist, it’s my honor to be able to see you here,” William said as he stood up while Wilkinson walked towards them.
However, Wilkinson ignored William, and instead glanced at Lin Li inquisitively.
“This is the owner of the Time Consignment Store, Mr. William. We’ve met once before,” Lin Li introduced.
“Oh,” Wilkinson said while scanning William from head to toe condescendingly without saying anything else. Since Lin Li said that they had only met once, Wilkinson’s glance was enough.
“Wilkinson, if there’s nothing too important or urgent, take a seat and wait for me there. Mr. William hasn’t told me about the purpose of his visit yet.” Lin Li pointed at the chair beside him and poked fun at William.
Wilkinson did not say much, and instead took a seat while staring at the old man William with displeasure.
Feeling extremely awkward, William began sweating, and droplets of sweat trickled down from his forehead. However, there was nothing he could do, since he was the one asking for a favor. Besides, he was at fault for beating around the bush. He smiled awkwardly while seated on the chair, knowing that there was no point in saying anything more. The young President would probably flare up and lose his patience if he were to continue saying some nonsense.
“Please forgive me, President Felic. I do need your help this time,” William said earnestly. Actually, there was no need for him to try and find out anything more at this point. Wilkinson’s attitude towards Lin Li had already spoken for itself.
“Mr. William, you don’t have to do this. I can’t guarantee that I can help you for sure. What exactly is the matter? Feel free to tell me about it.” Actually, Lin Li could already tell that William was there for the pharmacists.
“Well, because I run the Time Consignment Store, I often get the chance to get in touch with peculiar and strange things. It was also through a very accidental opportunity where I acquired several potion formulae from the Dark Age from an adventurer,” William said as he stared at Wilkinson who was sitting opposite him.
Wilkinson’s eyes lit up as he heard William talk about the formulae of the potions from the Dark Age. For a pharmacist, nothing was more attractive than a pharmaceutical formula, especially one from the Dark Age when the war that swept the entire Anril occurred, bringing huge damage to pharmaceutics-related legacies. Many formulae and pharmaceutical techniques were lost then.
Sensing the change in Wilkinson’s attitude, William silently heaved a sigh of relief. As long as he could pique Wilkinson’s interest, he would have a shot at it. In fact, the real reason for his visit at the Tower of Dusk was not to meet Lin Li or Wilkinson.
Just as William had said earlier, he happened to get some formulae from an adventurer by chance. Although he could tell from the formulae that they were really from the Dark Age, he could not understand them.
William also ran a pharmaceutical business. Although he was not involved in pharmacy, he knew that if those formulae were genuine, they would be priceless.