It started to rain at night.
This might alleviate the drought situation in San Diego.
Under the bridge, Cohen's mood was disturbed by the sound of the rain.
He paced back and forth irritably.
Until a big car approached.
"Get in the car!"
Actually, Cohen didn't want to deal with such people at all, but he had no choice.
After getting in the car, he found several people inside.
Cohen sat in the passenger seat and had to speak.
"I hope you can help me get rid of someone."
"Who?"
Cohen took out a photo.
"His name is Howard, an older doctor."
In the photo, Dr. Howard looked in decent shape.
Someone in the back reached out, and the photo was passed to them.
Soon, someone in the back asked.
"How much are you planning to pay?"
"How do you plan to get rid of him?"
"Simple, find his residence, break in, then kill him and stage it as a burglary. Or shoot him on the street..."
"That's not good."
"Why isn't it good?"
"Still, still, let's stage a traffic accident instead."
"Why are you so timid?"
"A traffic accident would be safer for you too, wouldn't it?"
"Heh... alright, we'll go with your plan."
Cohen was essentially hiring hitmen now; he found a nearby gang.
Bloodline.
Relatively speaking, this gang was closer.
And being closer meant they could better orchestrate a traffic accident.
The reason Cohen was so keen on a traffic accident.
Of course, it's because even if these guys were caught.
It's unlikely they would implicate him.
In fact, Cohen didn't trust these gang members at all.
In Dr. Cohen's eyes, they were a bunch of idiots.
If he had any other means, he wouldn't have contacted these people.
The people from Bloodline might be just as Cohen thought.
They didn't perceive Cohen's contempt.
The person in the backseat took off their hood, revealing a young black face.
"So, let's talk about the price."
"How much do you want?"
"You know, if it were just to find someone and shoot them, that would be much simpler. But now you want to stage a traffic accident; that's a big project."
"Is a traffic accident that difficult?"
"We need to know his schedule, plus, we'll have to sacrifice a car, right?"
"Well... tell me, how much do you want."
"At least twenty thousand US Dollars."
"Twenty thousand?"
"Too much?"
"Fine, twenty thousand it is."
Cohen cursed inwardly.
The idiots indeed!
He had thought they would quote fifty thousand or more.
And just like that, a 'traffic accident.'
Was agreed upon.
...
The next day, early morning.
The rain from last night was quickly disappearing.
The traces left behind were not many.
Sunshine is the norm in Southern California.
A 911 pulled up and stopped.
The engine turned off, but Old Howard still hesitated a bit.
But in the end, he chose to get out of the car.
Only mottled water stains were on the ground.
This certainly couldn't stop Old Howard's steps.
And his direction was...
Monroe Clinic.
...
These past two days have been incredibly busy.
A lot of patients came to the clinic for consultations.
And there were numerous previously scheduled surgeries.
Zhou Mo Sen basically treated the clinic as his home.
Thankfully, all of this meant more green tickets.
Who would mind having too much money?
But some things needed to be done.
"Hello, Dr. Zhou."
"Hello."
After a simple wash-up, Zhou Mo Sen was in the office receiving an Asian woman.
She had a pleasant appearance and exuded competence.
Looking at her resume.
Uchida Yuiko.
Graduated from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
Considered his junior at school.
And crucially, she was an anesthesiologist.
Yes, Zhou Mo Sen was hiring.
"Dr. Uchida, I hope you understand, this job is very challenging."
"Kung Fu"?
Actually, this excuse appears quite often in the American workplace.
Just like Cai Wenji in the lower ranks of King of Glory.
Uchida Yuiko raised an eyebrow and confidently said, "As far as I know, the proportion of general anesthesia surgeries in cosmetic surgery isn't high."
So straightforward?
Well, she's not wrong.
Cosmetic surgery is indeed primarily minor surgeries, sometimes it's just removing a small tumor.
Zhou Mo Sen somewhat admired her.
Looking more closely at this Uchida Yuiko, there's a heroic air between her brows.
"Probation period, two surgeries."
Is that it?
Uchida Yuiko's brows relaxed, "Thank you, Dr. Zhou."
The key point is this probation period Zhou Mo Sen proposed.
Two surgeries, that's quite unconventional.
But honestly, from Zhou Mo Sen's perspective, even one surgery would suffice.
"When do you plan to start working?"
"Do you mean, I can start now?"
"There's a surgery requiring general anesthesia today."
"Then I'm fine with it."
Great, Uchida accepted the challenge.
The two shook hands, and Uchida said she needed to go back to get some personal items.
Of course, Zhou Mo Sen didn't mind.
The clinic hasn't opened yet, so he's fully utilizing the time.
Special forces style recruitment.
Previously, a psychologist came to our clinic.
A chubby white guy named Joel.
This guy is somewhat amusing.
He joked, "Boss, cosmetic surgery, you say you can do it, then you can do it."
Zhou Mo Sen decided to keep him.
Looking at it now, our clinic's situation is getting better and better.
Four doctors, the entire medical team is already established.
No need to hire externally, saving costs further.
A broad avenue paved with green tickets lies in front of Zhou Mo Sen!
He escorted Dr. Uchida out, all the way until she got in the car.
Zhou Mo Sen waved goodbye.
As the car drove away, he turned to head back.
He found an old man standing at the entrance of his clinic.
"Good morning, Dr. Zhou."
It's Howard!
Zhou Mo Sen was indeed quite surprised at his appearance.
"Good morning, Dr. Howard."
Courtesy is due, but he couldn't resist joking.
"Up so early, having trouble sleeping?"
Old people sleep less, after all, Zhou Mo Sen is well aware of respecting the elderly.
Howard looked slightly awkward but smiled, "When you reach my age, you'll know there's no need to sleep so long."
His words were rather skillful.
Zhou Mo Sen continued, "So, are you waving the white flag coming to me?"
This was already mocking.
Howard, however, wasn't upset, he even nodded, "Yes, I'm waving the white flag."
Hmm?
Zhou Mo Sen then realized the old man in front of him seemed different from before.
"Let's talk inside."
"Sure."
The two went into Zhou Mo Sen's office.
"Want some coffee?"
"No need."
Howard seemed to have something important to say.
"Then, let's get straight to the point." Zhou Mo Sen indicated that his time was also precious.
Howard straightforwardly said, "I lost."
He had mentioned the 'white flag' before, but now the old man admits defeat so frankly.
It really caught Zhou Mo Sen by surprise.
"So..." For a moment he didn't know how to respond.
"I lost, and besides, I'm old now." Dr. Howard seemed resigned to fate, "So, I must make the right choice."
"..." Zhou Mo Sen couldn't figure out what he meant by the right choice.
Yet, Howard solemnly stated, "Dr. Zhou, I've acknowledged your medical skills before, and now it's reached this point, I have no other choice.
I choose to retire.
And my clinic... I hope you'll be a partner."
Retirement?
Partner?
Zhou Mo Sen was truly shocked!
This Old Howard has some guts, losing and then deciding to hand over the clinic to me?
But, it's indeed a very wise choice.
Howard retires and goes home to receive dividends from the clinic.
He won't have to worry for the rest of his life.
And Zhou Mo Sen's position as a partner essentially means the clinic is his.
The key is, the Howard Clinic has many medical records.
That's a very valuable asset!
No reason to say no!
Let Howard take a share of the money, why not.
This result is already a big win.
What's more, isn't this the outcome Alice most hoped for?
The business war between the two clinics ends here.
Baffled but harmless, just right.
The most disappointed should be Dr. Cohen.
He probably never dreamt of this ending.