Lin Mo stepped through the sliding glass doors of Jiangcheng First Hospital at six-thirty in the morning, CEO Su Wan walking briskly beside him as the scent of medicinal alcohol hit their faces.
Ahead of them, the inpatient pharmacy corridor was already packed. A long, shivering queue of forty working-class families stretched down the hallway. Many held insulated thermos jars and worn cloth bags filled with coins and crumpled twenty-yuan notes.
Behind the reinforced glass of the pharmacy intake counter, Deputy Director Sun sat in a padded leather swivel chair. His round belly strained against the buttons of his white coat. A gold ring gleamed on his fleshy thumb as he casually reviewed an invoice from Zhao Pharmaceutical Group.
“Pay eighteen thousand yuan per box for Zhao Pharma’s Imported Recovery Capsules or check your father out of the ward!” Deputy Director Sun yelled, slapping the intake desk with a fat palm. “This is an inpatient hospital, not a soup kitchen for migrant workers!”
Standing directly in front of the counter, an elderly mason in a faded blue work jacket trembled. His calloused, dust-stained hands clutched a crumpled paper prescription slip.
“Director Sun, please have mercy,” the old mason pleaded, his voice breaking. “Last week, the original German formula was only six hundred yuan a bottle. My son has late-stage lymphoma.”
“He cannot walk,” the old man choked out. “Where can I find eighteen thousand yuan every five days? That is more than my whole village earns in half a year!”
“Take a high-interest loan or carry him home to die,” Deputy Director Sun sneered, tossing the paper slip into the wastebasket. “The hospital switched suppliers. Only Zhao Pharmaceutical’s patented brand is approved by the provincial board. If you have no cash, clear the hallway. Next!”
Standing beside the counter, intern nurse Xiao Mei could not stay quiet any longer. Her eyes were bloodshot from a grueling twelve-hour night shift, but her voice was clear and sharp as a silver chime.
“Director Sun, that is a blatant lie,” Xiao Mei said, stepping firmly in front of the window. “The lab test came back from the university lab yesterday afternoon.”
“Zhao Pharma’s capsules are ninety-two percent corn starch and talcum powder!” she declared clearly. “The active ingredient is less than five percent of the standard therapeutic dose! If Uncle Liu’s son takes this fake junk, he won’t survive the week!”
Deputy Director Sun’s face turned purple with sudden rage. He lunged forward through the intake window, knocking a metal tray of glass syringes to the floor with a loud crash.
“You insolent little intern!” Sun roared, his spit flying across the glass partition. “How dare you fabricate slander against our chief pharmaceutical partner! You are fired on the spot! I am fining you three months of back wages and withholding your clinical certification! You will never practice medicine in this province again!”
Sun raised his heavy plastic clipboard and swung it violently toward Xiao Mei’s face.
Xiao Mei braced for the blow, stumbling backward on the slippery linoleum floor.
The clipboard never touched her cheek.
A pale, steady hand caught the heavy plastic edge in midair with effortless ease. The impact sounded like a dead wooden block hitting an iron anvil.
Lin Mo stepped smoothly between Xiao Mei and the counter. His dark trench coat carried the crisp morning chill. Behind him, Tie Niu and four veteran guards in black tactical suits blocked the entire corridor, their cold gazes locking onto the hospital security staff.
“A hospital administrator assaulting an honest nurse before breakfast,” Lin Mo remarked, his voice quiet and dry. “They don’t teach that in medical school, do they?”
With a slight flick of his fingers, Lin Mo snapped the reinforced clipboard in half. The broken plastic dropped cleanly into the trash can beside Sun’s desk.
Deputy Director Sun stumbled back against his rolling chair, gasping for breath. “Who... who are you? Security! Call campus security right now!”
Four hospital security guards ran forward with rubber batons raised.
Tie Niu stepped into their path without raising his fists. He simply folded his thick arms across his chest and leaned his weight forward. The four guards hit his chest like stray leaves hitting a brick wall. They bounced off and sprawled across the floor, groaning in pain.
Lin Mo turned his attention to the young nurse. His Pure-Heart Eye scanned her instantly.
[TARGET: NURSE XIAO MEI]
[MORAL INTEGRITY: 88/100 (BRAVE, COMPASSIONATE, HONEST)]
[CURRENT STATUS: UNJUSTLY TERMINATED, WAGES WITHHELD]
“Are you hurt?” Lin Mo asked gently.
Xiao Mei shook her head, though her hands were still shaking from the shock. “I’m fine, sir. But those patients... they’ve been waiting since four in the morning. Zhao Pharma took away all the regular chemotherapy vials last night.”
Lin Mo turned back to the counter. His gaze swept over Deputy Director Sun.
[TARGET: DEPUTY DIRECTOR SUN]
[MORAL INTEGRITY: 10/100 (CORRUPT, EXTORTIONIST, PHARMA CRONY)]
[SECRET STATUS: RECEIVES ¥1,200,000 MONTHLY CASH KICKBACK FROM ZHAO DEHAI]
“Eighteen thousand yuan for starch capsules,” Lin Mo said, leaning against the counter ledge. “Strictly speaking, your pricing model is an insult to real thieves. Even pickpockets give people a run for their money.”
“You arrogant punk!” Sun sputtered, pointing a shaking finger at Lin Mo. “You think you can cause trouble here? Zhao Pharmaceutical Group controls eighty percent of Jiangcheng’s hospital supplies! If you don’t buy from us, you won’t find a single dose of cancer medicine in this entire province!”
Lin Mo did not bother arguing with him. He picked up one of the plastic boxes of Zhao Pharma capsules from the intake counter, unscrewed the cap, and dumped the contents into his palm. A chalky, powdery smell filled the air.
“Smells like sweet bakery flour,” Lin Mo remarked dryly. “If Chairman Zhao wanted to sell dumplings, he should have bought a food truck instead of a pharmaceutical license.”
Sun snatched the bottle away with trembling hands. “Give that back! That is proprietary medicine!”
Lin Mo ignored him and activated his Pure-Heart Eye, sweeping his gaze across the long queue of waiting families.
[QUEUE SCAN: 40 WORKING-CLASS PATIENTS & RELATIVES]
[AVERAGE MORAL INTEGRITY: 80–92/100 (HONEST LABORERS, MIGRANT WORKERS, RETIRED TEACHERS)]
[TOTAL URGENT MEDICAL EXPENSE: ¥3,000,000.00 RMB]
Lin Mo pulled out his phone and dialed CEO Su Wan.
“Su Wan,” Lin Mo said into the receiver. “Contact our commercial partners at the Sino-Swiss International Medical Import Center. Purchase forty full six-month treatment courses of genuine Swiss-formula oncology vials immediately. Have our logistics vans deliver them to the hospital courtyard in fifteen minutes.”
“Understood, Chairman Lin,” Su Wan answered crisply on the other end. “Executing the purchase order right now.”
Lin Mo turned back to Xiao Mei. “Nurse Xiao Mei, what was your monthly salary here?”
Xiao Mei blinked, stunned by the question. “Three thousand two hundred yuan during my internship, sir.”
“Starting right now, you are hired as Chief Patient Advocate for Taichu Benevolence Group,” Lin Mo said. “Your starting salary is sixteen thousand yuan per month, with full medical coverage and an annual housing stipend. Your first assignment is to lead these forty families out to our transport vans.”
Xiao Mei’s eyes widened in utter shock. “Sixteen thousand? But... I haven’t even finished my residency!”
“Integrity is rarer than a diploma,” Lin Mo replied with a faint smile. “A nurse who refuses to poison her patients is worth ten times that.”
Lin Mo walked over to the portable payment terminal on the intake desk. He drew his matte emerald-green Benevolence Charity Card and tapped it firmly against the sensor.
The transaction cleared with a sharp mechanical beep.
[DING! DEDICATED HEALTHCARE & EMERGENCY RELIEF EXPENDITURE DETECTED!]
[TARGET: 40 GENUINE WORKING-CLASS PATIENTS (GOODNESS: 80–92/100) & NURSE XIAO MEI (GOODNESS: 88/100)!]
[SPENT: ¥3,000,000.00 RMB!]
[100x PURE-HEART REBATE TRIGGERED: +¥300,000,000.00 RMB!]
[PERSONAL VAULT BALANCE: ¥19,359,680,000.50 RMB!]
[BENEVOLENCE MERIT POINTS: +300,000 BMP (TOTAL: 21,350,528 BMP)!]
[GOOD PEOPLE NETWORK EXPANDED: 525 -> 566 MEMBERS!]
The golden qi inside Lin Mo’s meridians surged with a pleasant, smooth warmth.
Across the hallway, the elderly mason dropped to his knees. Tears streamed into the deep wrinkles of his face. His voice choked with emotion. “Young master... who are you? You just saved my son’s life! I have nothing to give you except this old life!”
“Get up, Uncle Liu,” Lin Mo said, lifting the old man by his arms with gentle strength. “Nobody kneels in hospital hallways. Take your family down to the courtyard. The genuine medication will arrive shortly, and every dose is completely paid for.”
The forty families broke into tearful whispers of gratitude. They gathered their bags and followed Xiao Mei toward the elevators, leaving Deputy Director Sun completely alone behind the glass counter.
Sun stared at the digital receipt flashing on his computer monitor. Three million yuan had just been wired directly to the hospital’s central pharmacy trust account, completely bypassing his Zhao Pharma kickback channel.
Sun frantically dialed a number on his desk phone. “Young Master Zhao! Someone just bypassed our pharmacy! He paid three million cash for imported Swiss vials!”
On the other end of the line, Zhao Kai’s voice crackled with rage. “What? Who dared to do that in my family’s hospital?”
Lin Mo reached through the broken window, took the desk phone from Sun’s trembling hand, and held it to his ear.
“Zhao Kai,” Lin Mo said in a flat tone. “Tell your father to start counting his starch inventory. Taichu Benevolence Group is auditing this hospital today.”
“Lin Mo? It’s you again, you country bumpkin!” Zhao Kai screamed through the speaker. “You think having some lottery cash lets you mess with my family’s business? My uncle will have your little group shut down by noon!”
“I look forward to seeing him try,” Lin Mo said. He crushed the plastic telephone handset in his palm, severing the connection, and dropped the broken pieces onto Sun’s lap.
Deputy Director Sun shrank into his chair, sweating profusely.
Down in the hospital’s west courtyard, the autumn air was crisp and clean. Two emerald-and-gold delivery vans from Taichu Express had already pulled into the parking bays. Honest medical couriers unloaded heavy temperature-controlled cold boxes, handing the sealed Swiss medication directly to the grateful families.
Xiao Mei stood beside Lin Mo, checking off names on her clipboard. Her expression was bright with relief, but a shadow of worry lingered in her eyes.
“Chairman Lin,” Xiao Mei said quietly, glancing around to make sure no hospital administrators were nearby.
“What is on your mind, Xiao Mei?” Lin Mo asked.
“What you did today is wonderful, but the hospital board is completely rotten,” Xiao Mei said, lowering her voice. “Deputy Director Sun is only a puppet. The real power behind the Zhao monopoly in this city is their control over the medical licensing board. There was only one doctor who had the courage to fight them.”
Lin Mo looked at her with interest. “Who was he?”
“His name is Dr. Gu Qinghe,” Xiao Mei said. Her fingers tightened around the edge of her clipboard. “He was the chief of cardiothoracic surgery and a master of traditional meridian medicine.”
“Two years ago, Zhao Pharma tried to introduce their fake cardiac stents into our operating rooms,” Xiao Mei continued. “Dr. Gu refused to sign the approval forms. He threw their sales managers out of the building.”
“And then?” Lin Mo prompted.
“Zhao Dehai used his connections to fabricate medical malpractice charges against him,” Xiao Mei whispered, her voice trembling with anger. “They revoked his surgical license. They banned him from every public and private hospital in the province. His wife fell sick from grief and passed away, and Dr. Gu was left with nothing.”
Tie Niu stepped closer, his jaw tight. “I have heard that name. Dr. Gu operated on several of our wounded border veterans eight years ago. He pulled three pieces of shrapnel from my old squad leader’s chest and refused to take a single fen of payment. Where is he now?”
“He runs a tiny bare-bones clinic in the slums of South Alley,” Xiao Mei said, looking down at the pavement. “He treats the poorest street sweepers and elderly beggars for free. But I heard from an intern friend yesterday that his clinic has run out of money. The loan sharks backed by Zhao Pharma are closing in on him.”
Lin Mo’s eyes narrowed. “A master surgeon treating the poor for free while corrupt quacks get rich off starch. The world seems to have its priorities upside down.”
Xiao Mei wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “My friend said Dr. Gu went to Gold-Tooth Liu’s pawnshop in South Alley this morning. He is trying to pawn his grandfather’s Nine-Turn Gold Needles just to buy insulin and heart medicine for his elderly patients.”
Tie Niu’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles popped like firecrackers. “Chairman Lin, those needles are a physician’s family soul! Selling them to a back-alley crook is worse than taking a soldier’s rifle!”
Lin Mo pulled his trench coat tighter against the wind and turned toward the waiting convoy.
“Then let’s make sure the crook doesn’t get his hands on them,” Lin Mo said. “Tie Niu, bring the cars around. We are going to South Alley.”