Chapter 553: The Call

Ye Lin looked Xu Yiheng over carefully. Rather than pressing the point further or making more demands, she changed the subject.

"My guess is that these two Doctors have some more important reason behind their decision. If they were purely trying to earn more visa time, they wouldn't be doing this.

"So...

"I won't accept those terms. If you all continue to insist, then I'll have no choice but to stop selling you any medication at all.

"Unless you give me a reasonable explanation.

"Either 'doing the right thing' or 'making a profit,' at least one of those has to be in play."

Xu Yiheng's expression was conflicted. He thought for a long time and finally made up his mind.

"Alright. Let me give you a clearer picture.

"The Doctor actually told me I shouldn't share any of this with you. But you've been genuinely cooperative, laying out the medication prices clearly right from the start, which shows you're someone who leans toward candour and working together.

"Keeping this from you any longer doesn't really seem fair.

"These five medications each correspond to a different real-world counterpart, which can be identified using the initial letter of the name on the bottle and the molecular formula on the tablet.

"They are ibuprofen, codeine, morphine, OxyContin, and fentanyl.

"OxyContin and fentanyl have serious side effects and carry a risk of drug addiction.

"So the aim is to keep these two from reaching ordinary patients as much as possible."

Xu Yiheng spoke as he took out a sample bottle and showed the tablets to Ye Lin.

Ye Lin examined the tablets carefully and, at the right angle in the light, could indeed make out the abbreviated molecular formula engraved on their surface.

She did not have the relevant professional knowledge, so she could not independently confirm whether the formulas matched the drugs correctly. But at the very least, the initial letters of the names on the bottles corresponded to the names of the real-world drugs.

Just as M corresponded to morphine, and F corresponded to fentanyl.

If Xu Yiheng had tried to claim that F stood for morphine and M for fentanyl, Ye Lin would have doubted him immediately.

But right now, the initial letters and the drug names aligned perfectly, so she judged it was unlikely he was misleading her.

Ye Lin thought briefly and asked, "But OxyContin and fentanyl can still be used as prescription drugs, can they not?

"As long as the Doctor doesn't give patients too many, just three tablets per treatment, enough to cure the fatal pain, it shouldn't lead to any particularly serious consequences.

"And the benefit is that medication can be obtained at a much lower cost. Everyone's profit margin increases."

Xu Yiheng immediately understood what Ye Lin was suggesting.

The purchase price for Type M was 1,000, while Type O cost only 100.

If the entire chain from Sales to Reviewer to Doctor to patient was viewed as a single system, then for every tablet dispensed from a vending machine until it was swallowed by a patient, the former consumed ten times as many Medical Points as the latter.

If Type O could be used for treatment instead, it would still achieve the goal of 'patients spending less, Sales earning more.'

After all, those Medical Points would ultimately be absorbed by the vending machines regardless.

Xu Yiheng let out a sigh and said, "I raised that question too, of course.

"But both Doctors felt it would be better not to go that route.

"The very reason Type O and Type F are so cheap is why they must not be stocked in large quantities.

"Because once a large amount of medication is sitting in someone's hands, it becomes very hard to resist the temptation. You find yourself instinctively wanting to sell it all off and earn the maximum profit.

"Human nature doesn't hold up under that kind of pressure.

"So the best approach is to cut the supply off at the Sales-to-Reviewer stage."

Ye Lin's brow furrowed slightly, "The Doctors don't want to take responsibility themselves, but they're passing the responsibility on to you?

"What about you? What do you think personally?"

Xu Yiheng paused and said, "Me? I... honestly don't have a very clear view.

"I've already received the names of six patients from the two Doctors. There's no one from my community in this zone, so I don't have any personal stake in any of these patients.

"If the medications are already flooding in and everyone is earning Medical Points, there's no point in me trying to stay clean on my own. That would just be meaningless.

"But if things haven't gone that far yet, and it ends up being my choice that tips it over, then I'll feel guilty about it."

Ye Lin considered for a moment and asked, "The VIP Patient on the Zone A side, what's their name?"

Xu Yiheng paused, but asked nothing further and simply answered honestly, "I think they're from Community 14. The name is Tan Minglei."

Ye Lin nodded and said, "Understood. Thank you for being straight with me.

"I'll think seriously about what you've said, and try to bring more medication next time.

"Either way, I hope the two of us can keep working together to the end."

Xu Yiheng nodded and said, "Of course. Thank you!"

...

Back in her room, Ye Lin did as she had done before, swallowing a Type C tablet when the pain arrived.

Then she went to the floor-to-ceiling window and stood looking silently at the scene outside.

The Sales room had a corner floor-to-ceiling window that extended out into the courtyard, giving it the best view of all, from which both Zone A and Zone B were visible, including the Reviewers, Doctors, and VIP Patients in both zones.

Zone A's Reviewer, Shen Qingyun, was still sitting in the cramped space of her Review Room, apparently having taken medication and spared the pain, her expression unreadable.

The Zone A Doctor and VIP Patient also appeared to be in reasonable shape, having at least taken the basic Type I medication.

Zone B's Reviewer, Xu Yiheng, was staring out through the window with a slightly distant expression, looking a little uncertain.

The Zone B Doctor also appeared free of Special Pain. He was pacing back and forth in his room, seemingly lost in thought.

Among all of them, the only one in a noticeably poor state was the Zone B VIP Patient.

Ye Lin had specifically asked earlier. He was a player from Community 14, by the name of Tan Minglei.

She recalled that he had been among the earliest players to be selected as 'Infected.' The last time she had seen him, he had taken ordinary Type I medication but with little effect, and had still been curled up in agony on the sofa.

This time was no different.

Ye Lin fell into brief thought, then walked to the vending machine in her room, opened the special function screen, and prepared to initiate a call.

"Zone B, Tan Minglei."

She was not entirely sure of the exact characters in his name, but fortunately the game mechanics did not require manual input. A voice command was sufficient.

According to the rules, the special screen offered two different functions: 'Call' and 'Monitor.'

'Call' required specifying the zone and name of the target player. It cost 1,000 Medical Points and was limited to once per round, but had no time restriction. A player could complete the call within one minute and then open a door to meet with another player in the following round as normal.

'Monitor,' on the other hand, required no name or zone. A player simply selected a room from the map. It cost 2,000 Medical Points, and once used, the player could not open any doors or meet with anyone else for the rest of that round.

Ye Lin was using the 'Call' function.

She paid the Medical Points, then turned to look through the floor-to-ceiling window toward the VIP Patient room where Tan Minglei was, and waited patiently.