I am a necromancer, and I absolutely love America.

Chapter 232 Asset Splitting Plan

Stella looked up at Li Yuan with some disgust.

She disliked this Chinese woman; she was a bitch who liked to curse her own motherland.

However, Stella didn't show it on her face, maintaining her facade of friendship. She composed herself, stood up, and said, "Okay, I'll take a look."

She put on her glasses and walked to the computer.

After watching for a few minutes, Stella shrugged: "Not bad."

Li Yuan smiled ingratiatingly, "Stella, I feel like there's something I haven't written well enough. Could you give me some pointers?"

Stella saw through her deliberate act of groveling to gain favor, and felt even more disgusted.

However, she didn't say anything. She just watched for a while, then offered a few perfunctory suggestions, followed by a barrage of praise that made Li Yuan very happy.

Stella returned to her seat and continued to ponder her fiancé, Joel.

She turned on her computer and began searching for information about the Rosenberg Virus Center.

According to the website, the Rosenberg Virus Center is a legitimate national virus research center that specializes in the prevention and control of various viruses and bacteria.

Stella then opened an academic paper website and began searching for academic papers funded by Rosenberg.

She soon noticed something amiss: the papers published by this virus research center almost entirely focused on various viral mutations and gene editing, with almost no content on epidemic prevention, which was abnormal.

She couldn't help but have even greater doubts.

The fact that her fiancé, who had lived with her for many years, was working for such an organization felt incredibly foreign to her.

Rosenberg must be researching something that can't be seen by others, but which country's research institutions aren't doing the same thing?

There's nothing worth exposing here.

What's strange is how Richard knew Rosenberg was doing something that could win him a Pulitzer Prize?

Is he just talking nonsense?

Or are they harboring some ulterior motive?

Why did he ask me to investigate?

Is it just to appease my request?

Or perhaps he also harbored some ulterior motive?

Stella's mind was in turmoil, a jumble of questions swirling in her head.

In any case, investigating national-level research institutions is extremely dangerous.

She warned herself that she had to be very careful with her actions.

Even though Joel was her fiancé, she couldn't believe that he had any good intentions towards her.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept it a secret from me for so long.

If their actions are discovered, they will inevitably face enormous danger.

Should we do it?

If she doesn't investigate, she has to break up with Joel; Joel is too dangerous.

If she were to conduct an investigation, she would need to maintain a good relationship with Joel, as this would be a crucial point of entry for her investigation.

The lights in the conference room at the headquarters of the Decano Medical Aesthetics Group stayed on for an entire afternoon.

Greg sat at one end of the long table, staring intently at the projection screen.

The above lists the core assets of the Bellow Group in detail.

The marketing director spoke first, his words rapid and visibly excited: "We've been tracking Bello's asset structure for many years and have a very clear understanding of it. Their truly profitable products are their large stores with annual revenue exceeding $5 million, especially those 6-8 flagship stores with annual revenue exceeding $2000 million. These flagship stores are located in core cities on the East and West Coasts, contributing nearly $500 million in profits, a very high percentage. Moreover, these flagship stores are owned properties, making them extremely valuable. We should acquire these stores."

"However, the Bellow Group's brand is not worth acquiring. Bellow's stock price has fallen even more recently, there has been a lot of negative news, and the state attorney general's case could drag Bellow into the abyss at any time. The Bellow brand could very well become a hated name. Acquiring it now would be a losing proposition."

"Bello Group's procurement network remains very well-established. If we can acquire Bello Group's procurement network and merge it with our own, we can significantly reduce our operating costs. At the same time, we will hold more than 60% market share in the US medical aesthetics industry, giving us a huge influence over upstream raw material suppliers, thereby further reducing operating costs."

Everyone's breathing quickened.

Everyone understands what a market share of over 60% means: it means achieving a monopoly!

Monopoly means high profits and extremely high stock prices!

The CFO spoke up, his tone cautious: "The issue now is price. We don't know Bellow Group's expected selling price, nor do we know how many potential buyers are watching. If other companies offer too high a price, or Bellow Group's expectations are particularly high, should we acquire them? It could take us many years to absorb the cost of this acquisition. We must set a ceiling on the acquisition cost!"

He raised his voice, his expression very serious: "Furthermore, I don't think now is the right time for a large-scale expansion. As everyone knows, ACER technology has turned the entire industry upside down. Nobody knows when ACER technology will truly be implemented. If we heavily invest in offline assets at this point in time, we will face enormous pressure to generate profits once the cheaper version of ACER technology is rapidly rolled out, and we may even incur losses."

The CFO is right; this is something everyone is worried about.

ACER is like a barbarian who has broken into a pottery shop, and it may overturn and smash the delicate and fragile pottery shop of the entire medical aesthetics industry at any time.

Another executive countered, "Scientific research isn't that simple; Christina might not be able to make a breakthrough within five years."

'

Another person objected: "But we can't gamble! If we want to acquire the decisive assets, that is, to achieve a market share of over 60%, we need to come up with at least 100 billion in cash, which will put enormous pressure on our cash flow!"

The medical aesthetics industry is one with very fast cash flow. You have to keep buying consumables, constantly updating equipment, and renovating the store to keep those wealthy women satisfied so they will come in and spend money.

Like the Bellow Group, the Decano Group uses a directly operated chain store model to ensure service quality.

A large amount of capital is spent on opening directly operated chain stores.

In their battle for the US market, Decano and Bellow Group have been locked in a five-year contest, with both sides facing immense financial pressure.

"If we want to acquire Bellow Group's core assets, we will inevitably have to take out bank loans and pledge some of our stock, which could bring enormous pressure and risks..."

The executives were still arguing, and Greg did not respond immediately.

He looked down at the documents on the table, carefully considering them.

A few minutes later, he looked up: "I understand everyone's concerns, but have you considered another possibility? What would happen if the Bellow Group fell into the hands of other buyers, such as Derson Precision? Or even worse, what would happen if it fell into the hands of a top-tier pharmaceutical company? Actually, that's not the worst-case scenario. What's the worst-case scenario? It would fall into the hands of Catherine's newly formed company!"

"Will they still license ACER products to us by then?"

Everyone immediately tensed up.

If the new company acquires Bellow Group's stores and assets, it will immediately become a new giant in the medical aesthetics chain industry.

Even more terrifying is that Catherine also controls the source of ACER technology. She can manipulate the Dicano Group at will from the source. When that happens, it will be a situation worse than death.

Seeing that everyone understood the greatest danger, Greg continued, "So, the current situation is that the Bellow Group is at its weakest point. It can no longer hold on and has decided to sell assets. This certainly means that our biggest enemy, the Bellow Group, is exiting the medical aesthetics chain industry, but it could also create a new giant, a new enemy!"

"If we don't act now, and other buyers take over the Bellow Group's core assets and allow it to regain its footing, De Cano will not be facing a declining Bellow, but a new capital! Nobody wants to face an enemy of unknown strength!"

"Dicano has been fighting Bello for so many years, and now that it's dying, we must finish it off ourselves and take the fattest pieces, instead of standing by and watching others devour its corpse and then turn against us!"

The meeting room fell silent for a moment as everyone fully realized the risks posed by Catherine and the New Life Group.

Xinsheng Group had already announced its intention to enter the medical aesthetics chain industry.

Originally, no one thought that the new group would become an important player in a short period of time.

However, if the core assets of the Bellow Group are bought by the New Life Group, the situation will be completely different.

Greg declared loudly, "So, we're not only going to buy up a large number of Bellow Group's stores, but also take control of the 'Bello' trademark and scrap it. We'll permanently seal Bellow away, never use it again, and make the name disappear completely from the market. All the stores we buy will have their signs renovated and rebranded as Decano. From then on, there will only be Decano in the world, no Bellow. In three years at most, consumers will forget about the Bellow Group."

The CFO was very worried about this, and no one else said a word.

The pressure is immense right now; no one dares to speak recklessly, lest they become ammunition for others to attack them in the future.

Greg continued, "I've decided. We'll only buy profitable stores, Bellow's purchasing network, and the Bellow Group's trademarks. That's it. You guys proceed with the acquisition plan."

The CFO asked worriedly, "What about the remaining assets? Who gets those unwanted leased stores, outdated equipment, and loss-making small shops?"

"That's Bellow Group's problem, what does it have to do with us?! We'll only take the most valuable and essential parts of Bellow Group, completely bury its brand, and then use its remains to drag down whoever takes over." Greg had made up his mind, and his thinking was becoming clearer: "As for the price, 25 billion for core stores, 25 billion for important profit-making stores, 20 billion for the procurement network, 10 billion for the brand, plus some miscellaneous items and premiums, keeping the total under 90 billion. What I want is the skeleton of Bellow Group, not its rotting flesh!"

The CFO hesitated for a moment: "OK, you're the boss, you make the decision. But I still think this offer is a bit low, and I don't think the Bellow Group will agree to it."

Everyone else was well aware of this as well.

Nobody's a fool; Greg just wants to take the most profitable parts and throw away the rest.

However, the Bellow Group is unlikely to agree easily. In order to recover their funds, they would certainly like to sell off all assets as much as possible, rather than leaving a pile of junk in their hands.

"They might use a bundled bidding approach, mixing good and bad assets together to sell," the investment director analyzed.

Greg nodded. "Yes, very likely. But there's not much we can do about it. If necessary, we can forgo the purchasing network, but we must acquire the trademarks and stores. If the situation worsens, such as with numerous competitors and immense pressure, we'll forgo the main stores and only take the eight flagship stores and the Bellow Group brand!"

"Alright, it's decided then. You guys do the calculations, formulate a plan, and submit a quote to the Bellow Group as soon as possible!"

"yes!"

Greg was both excited and anxious.

His rival, whom he had fought for so many years, was about to fall again, and he seemed to see the arrival of a new era.

At the headquarters of Ruitu Biotechnology Group, Benjamin sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the chairman's office, wearing reading glasses, holding a list of assets of the Bello Group in his hand, looking at it carefully.

Sometimes when I see an asset that I don't quite understand, I turn around and chat with the finance and investment directors to determine the value of that asset.

He studied the list for a good half hour before taking it off, placing it on the table, and saying to the investment director, "We need to participate in the bidding for these assets being sold by the Bellow Group. This is part of Ruitu's brand building efforts. Do you have any suggestions?"

The top management of Ruitu Group had long ago agreed to establish a high-end medical aesthetics brand. It doesn't need too many stores, but it must be high-end enough to elevate the prestige of Ruitu's medical aesthetics products.

In the future, when they receive ACER technology-related products, they can also showcase them in these stores.

Now is the perfect opportunity for Bello to sell its assets.

The investment director immediately offered his initial opinion: "I suggest acquiring 12 to 20 stores in prime locations, as long as they come with property ownership, and they must be located in every major city across the United States, ideally with only one store in each city. After renovation, we can quickly establish Ruitu's high-end medical aesthetics brand."

"The biggest problem is the competition that follows. Even if we take over all the stores, Catherine still has ACER's original technology."

How can we differentiate ourselves from her and build a premium image in the minds of consumers? If our store's products are perceived by consumers as a copy or a low-end version of a new company, it will significantly damage our brand image.

Benjamin nodded: "We can discuss the details of brand building later. Let's focus on securing these stores first; we won't lose money no matter what, they're all in prime locations. Do you have any suggestions on specific pricing strategies?"

投资总监分析道：「以每家30%的溢价空间计算，12家大约需要30亿，20家需要45亿。」

Benjamin frowned. "Such a high price?"

The CFO shrugged: "According to our calculations, 50% of Bellow Group's stores are at the break-even point, 20% are losing money, and only 30% of the larger stores are truly profitable. The 12-20 stores we selected are the most profitable ones, so naturally, these stores are priced the highest."

Benjamin pondered for a moment.

His goal is to establish a nationwide high-end display channel. Twelve companies are the minimum; if the number is lower than that, the plan is meaningless.

"Okay, that's settled then. We'll provide quotes for 12 stores, and you'll select 12 cities. If we can't secure stores in some of those cities, we need backup options, so we'll add 5 more backup options. We'll submit our bids to the Bellow Group as soon as possible."

"Yes."

The subordinates quickly got to work.

At the same time, some smaller investment institutions have also set their sights on some of Bellow Group’s assets, especially its high-end flagship stores in major U.S. cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

Even if they don't work in property management or medical aesthetics, those real estate properties are still very attractive.

Some independent investors are attempting to purchase the Bellow Group's brand, intending to build their own medical aesthetics chain based on the Bellow brand.

Some medical aesthetic companies, such as Derson Precision, pay more attention to the Bellow Group's brand and procurement network.

Securing a low-priced, long-term purchase contract would be highly advantageous for them.

Some large investment funds with Wall Street backgrounds have begun raising special acquisition funds in an attempt to acquire Bellow Group's core assets in their entirety.

ACER technology is coming soon, and while there are indeed risks, risks also mean opportunities.

Bellow Group's core assets are bound to depreciate significantly compared to normal times. If we acquire them now and then join the ACER technology wave later, we might be able to make even more money.

No matter how much technology innovates, women's demand for cosmetic procedures will not decrease.

Each company repeatedly calculated and revised its price quotes, which were then submitted to the Bellow Group one after another.

In the conference room of the acquisition department of the newly established company, a table was covered with various documents.

The situation here is different.

Catherine had long been prepared to acquire the assets of the Bellow Group, and had the acquisition department study the matter for a considerable period of time.

Everyone is more relaxed now; the only issues are pricing and which assets to acquire.

Mercer, formerly the investment director of Bellow Group, has moved to a new company.

He handed Catherine a printed price quote.

Catherine glanced at the numbers: $145 billion.

This is the total price.

Mercer explained, "We have completely broken down all of Bellow Group's assets, verifying them against public data, industry reports, and annual financial statements. We believe that PwC's valuation of Bellow Group is between $15 billion and $16 billion, so $145 billion is a reasonable price. If we issue an offer now, we will be the first buyer to submit a formal overall bid. I don't think that in the current market conditions, other companies would be willing to invest more than $10 billion to acquire it."

Catherine, on the other hand, remained quite calm.

She knew that the Bellow Group was still hesitating about whether to auction off the pieces or the whole thing, and now was not the time to make a move; they should wait for other people to make offers.

Catherine said, "We don't need to make the first offer; let's wait a bit longer."

Mercer was getting a little anxious.

For him, this was a rare opportunity to prove his worth: "If other companies bid first, and their bids are higher, the expectations of the Bellow Group's board of directors will be raised. We will either be forced to follow suit or lose the initiative. With such a large amount of assets, the Bellow Group is likely to adopt a method of bidding in segments, which will be very disadvantageous for us."

Catherine smiled and said, "Their expectations won't change depending on when we submit our offer. The Bellow Group's board of directors has already reviewed the valuation report that PwC provided, and that serves as their benchmark and anchor. Other buyers and potential buyers don't have access to that data, and they haven't prepared as much as we have. Their short-term estimates will inevitably be conservative and low, making it easier to bid and negotiate later. Therefore, the Bellow Group's initial offer won't be particularly high, and our offer remains highly attractive."

Mercer did not refute, as he knew that Catherine made a very good point.

Catherine then asked, "Give me a list of potential buyers."

"No problem." Mercer said confidently, "The Dicano Group will definitely get involved. With Bello down, it's an opportunity for them to completely eliminate their competitors. They will definitely not miss the chance to finish them off; they are also our biggest competitors."

"In addition, I think pharmaceutical companies will also participate. Bellow Group's procurement network and supply chain, as well as its nationwide stores, are quite attractive to any pharmaceutical company that wants to establish offline channels."

"Wall Street investment firms may be eyeing real estate assets in prime locations. They may not be involved in the medical aesthetics business itself, but the value of the property is still very considerable. The real estate that Bellow Group bought with loans more than a decade ago has appreciated by nearly 80% since then. This is Bellow Group's strongest core asset."

"There are also three or four high-end cosmetic clinics. They may not be large enough to acquire all the assets, but they might make offers for stores in specific areas. For example, Derson Precision Clinic would likely be very interested in the New York stores. They would also be interested in some of the purchase contracts and customer resources of the Bellow Group. These are roughly the buyers."

Mercer's analysis was similar to her own. Catherine calmly said, "OK, let's leave it at that then."

"Let's wait until all the enemies come out before we react. With billions of dollars in assets involved, the Bellow Group can't afford to be too reckless. We don't need to rush; we can just submit our offer at the last minute."

In fact, she was also waiting for information from Bauer before making final adjustments.

If someone offers an overall price, then Catherine needs to raise her own offer in order to acquire the assets.

If others are unwilling to provide an overall quote, then she has a lot of room to maneuver.

Everyone responded and continued working.

Mercer was unwilling to accept it, but he also felt that Catherine's words made sense.

The greater the temptation, the more calm you must remain.

He also had to admit that Catherine was indeed a very talented woman.

Having just transformed from a small businessman into a tycoon controlling assets worth tens of billions, his ability to remain calm in the face of an acquisition deal worth tens of billions right away was truly beyond his expectations.

Many businessmen who are dealing with this level of capital for the first time will panic for days just by looking at the quoted prices, but Catherine was not.

She was like a calm hunter, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Catherine had no idea what the other person was thinking.

If she knew, she might tell Mercer, "You have no idea. My body has been modified by my master. My master has improved me so that I can..."

Maintaining composure, clear thinking, and emotional stability even under maximum pressure greatly minimizes the effects of panic and tension. This is the master's strength.

On a highway in central Ohio.

Blake Stevenson glanced anxiously at the fuel gauge; the gas was gone.

He could only stop near a remote gas station.

He didn't dare get out of the car. He sat in the driver's seat for a while, looking around from inside the car.

After confirming that no one was following him and that the gas station was in good condition, he put on his hood and sunglasses and drove up to the gas station.

He inserted the fuel nozzle into the fuel tank, gripping it tightly, glancing left and right every now and then, much like a frightened bird.

There was nothing unusual in the surroundings.

Stevenson quickly filled up the tank without any problems, and he finally relaxed.

The aroma of sandwiches wafted from the gas station.

He had been driving for a day and a night and was extremely tired and hungry.

In the past day, when he was tired, he would pull over to the side of the road, sleep in the back seat, and then continue driving when he woke up.

Stevenson was quite clever; instead of going to Canada, he drove towards the sparsely populated inland areas.

Canada's border is not so easy to cross.

Stevenson bought a few bottles of water and a bag of sandwiches, and ate them as he returned to his car.

He finished the sandwich in a few bites, and with some warm food in his stomach, he felt like he had finally come back to life.

"Drive another 500 kilometers before taking a break!"

He wiped his hands on his clothes, fastened his seatbelt, and prepared to go.

Just then, something hard pressed against his lower back!

A voice came from the back row: "Why did you run away?"

Stevenson froze.

He slowly turned his head in disbelief and found that there was an extra person in the back row.

Wearing a gray coat, with no particular expression.

Stevenson recognized the face; it was Joel, Rosenberg's intelligence chief!

Stevenson's Adam's apple bobbed, his whole body trembling, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Joel, please let me go. I won't tell anyone about the lab. I don't want to do this anymore, please let me go, I'm just a nobody."

Joel's gun remained motionless as he calmly said, "Blake Stevenson, you've worked in the lab for over a decade. You know the real details of those projects, the data, and the virus. You've known all along, so why are you running away? Did someone make you a promise?"

Blake's breathing grew heavier as he pleaded, "No! I really... I just want to live somewhere else. I can't take it anymore. I don't want to do any more live experiments!"

Those test subjects are still alive, you know that! They're lying in bed, breathing, their hearts are beating, their brainwaves are normal. I injected those viruses into them, and they screamed like wild animals! You know that? I can't sleep well every night, I dream about their screams every night! I don't want to be a murderer anymore.

Stevenson covered his head, tears streaming down his face.

Joel said expressionlessly, "Researcher Stevenson, you've been working for over a decade, with a high salary and stable job. You don't need to worry about anything; just do your job. Why do you want to leave? Go back and get back to work, okay?"

Stevenson was trembling violently, but he still said firmly, "No, I really can't do those experiments anymore, I can't take it!"

Joel sighed. "Fine, if you insist on leaving, that's fine too. We'll go back, you'll formally submit your resignation, sign the confidentiality agreement and non-compete agreement, and then you can leave. But be careful, you must keep it confidential, otherwise the compensation under the confidentiality agreement could be something you can never pay off in your lifetime."

Stevenson looked at Joel incredulously: "Are you serious? I can just leave by signing a non-disclosure agreement and a non-compete clause?"

"Of course," Joel said matter-of-factly. "We're a legitimate military research institution, not a gang. You just need to resign according to procedure and sign the documents, then you can leave."

I heard you had run away, and I thought you had been turned by an enemy country, which is why I came to arrest you. Since you haven't, then of course you are free to leave on your own.

Stevenson was incredibly surprised.

He couldn't tell if this was a trap or not, but considering the current situation, it seemed the other party had no reason to lie to him.

"Okay, I'll go back! I'll sign it as soon as I get back!"

"Let's go then." Joel put away his gun, looking very relaxed. "Follow the direction I told you to go. Some of my colleagues came with me to catch you. I didn't expect you to run so far."

Stevenson dared not resist and, under Joel's direction, drove the car onto a remote, deserted road.

There was a small wooden house by the roadside without any signs.

Stevenson asked, somewhat puzzled, "Where is this place?"

Before he could finish speaking, a steel wire suddenly wrapped around the back of his neck and pulled him backward with force.

"Uh! Uh! Uh!"

Stevenson's breath was abruptly cut off, and his eyes bulged out.

He tried desperately to pry the wire out with his hands, but it was already deeply embedded in his skin and he couldn't get it out at all.

He struggled and reached back to grab Joel, but couldn't reach him.

Joel braced one knee against the back of the car seat and pulled back forcefully with both hands.

Stevenson was firmly strapped to the car seat, twisting and turning wildly. Even when he drew deep bloodstains on his neck with his fingers, he couldn't break free of the wire. Finally, after struggling painfully for more than ten seconds, he became unresponsive.

Joel, still uneasy, tightened the wire for another ten seconds or so, his expression unchanged, until he was certain Stevenson was dead, before finally lowering it.

He frowned at his sleeve, which had a few drops of blood on it—not much, but it needed to be cleaned.

"What a hassle," Joel grumbled, dragging Blake Stevenson's body out of the car and dealing with it in the cabin.

A dozen minutes later, he finished disposing of the body and returned to Stevenson's car to drive to his own vehicle.

Joel returned to his apartment at 4 a.m.

He turned the door lock gently, afraid of waking his sleeping fiancée.

Click.

He gently opened the door and entered the room.

Joel didn't turn on the light. He put down his briefcase in the dark, changed his coat, and quietly walked to the bedroom.

Stella was fast asleep in the bedroom, her profile so beautiful.

Joel reached out and lovingly stroked Stella's long hair before going into the bathroom to wash up.

Inside the briefcase, an ant puppet cautiously peeked out from a crevice.

Once it was clear that Joel couldn't see it, it quickly climbed down, reached the roof, and hovered in a position that overlooked the entire living room.

After Joel finished washing, he put his blood-stained clothes in the bathroom and took them off.

There were some bloodstains on it, which were splattered during the capture of Blake.

He scrubbed the bloodstains repeatedly with strong detergent until they were gone.

Just then, a soft voice called out from outside, "Is that you? Joel, you're back?" Stella walked in, still half asleep.

Joel calmly tossed the clothes into the washing machine, poured in the detergent, started the machine, and then smiled and said, "It's me. Sorry, honey, I woke you up."

"No." Stella hugged Joel from behind, cuddling him for a few seconds.

Joel didn't see it; Stella, standing behind him, was giving the washing machine a suspicious look.

Then, she looked at the strong detergent on the sink, but didn't say anything. She just narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

"Go to sleep."

"OK."

The two walked into the bedroom together.

Joel rested at home until noon before getting up.

Stella made lunch, and Joel ate it and then hurriedly left to go to work in Rosenberg.

He has been very busy with work lately.

Blake Stevenson has just been purged, and there are still many follow-up procedures to be completed.

Cassandra's replacement also needs to be replaced, and the situation needs to be cleaned up as well.

Joel had only been gone a few minutes when there was a knock on the door.

Boom boom boom!

Stella thought Joel had forgotten something, so she quickly opened the door and found Richard standing there.

She was startled and said in a panic, "Why are you at my house again? Could you please come to a hotel next time?"

Richard ignored him and casually sat down on the sofa: "So? Any findings?"

Stella didn't notice that an ant had loosened its grip on the ceiling and fallen down, landing right on the armrest of the sofa next to Richard, before crawling onto Richard.

Stella bit her lip and whispered, "Joel got home at 4 a.m. last night and did laundry. He almost never washes clothes by hand, but he did yesterday, and he even used strong detergent! I've covered some murder cases, and those strong detergents can remove bloodstains." As she said the last few words, her voice involuntarily lowered, sounding somewhat fearful: "What on earth is Joel doing? I'm really scared."

Richard shrugged. "If you're scared, you don't have to investigate. Joel hasn't made things difficult for you all this time, so he obviously loves you and wants to marry you. Of course, he could also be using you as a cover for gathering intelligence."

Stella felt even more depressed when she heard the word "cover up".

She had no idea what Joel's true feelings were towards her; he was such a good actor.

I want the Pulitzer Prize, but I also need to protect myself! Stella gritted her teeth: "Can you help me?"

Richard shook his head: "No, that's your business. I'm just telling you that there's an opportunity here. You can choose to do it or not. I'm not involved. If you feel it's dangerous, you can stop at any time."

Richard would not directly participate in Rosenberg's investigation; it would be troublesome if it aroused suspicion.

Stella still had a few questions she wanted to ask, but before she could voice them, Richard turned and left.

This left Stella completely bewildered, having no idea why Richard had come.

Richard returned to his car and reviewed Joel's itinerary for the day.

A researcher named Blake Stevenson escaped, and Joel was tasked with the pursuit.

Joel stopped at a gas station for a while during that time.

An hour later, he returned to the car, his sleeves stained with blood.

He likely dealt with Blake Stevenson within that hour.

If Richard can find the location of that gas station, he might be able to find Stevenson's body.

By examining the body, we might be able to obtain more information about Rosenberg!

Unfortunately, the ant was stuck in the crevice of the briefcase, so its view of the sky outside the car was very limited; it could only smell the air.

There was a smell of gasoline, but I couldn't tell which gas station it was from.

Joel happened to leave his briefcase in the car during the time he left, so the ants couldn't follow him and didn't know where he went.

Richard realized his mistake; he had only focused on concealment and forgotten the problem that ants cannot fly.

Or, next time, find a male ant that is both small and can fly?

Two more days have passed, and today is the deadline for Bellow Group to submit its bids.

The final deadline is 6 p.m.

At noon, staff from the Investor Relations Department of the Bellow Group compiled the first batch of quotation documents.

A total of 35 documents were scanned and archived one by one, and then the summary table was sent to the board of directors and several senior officials, including Bauer.

After receiving the email, Bauer quickly glanced at it, then stood up and told his secretary, "I'm going to have lunch. I'll look into it when I get back. Call me if you need anything."

After speaking, he left.

When Bauer arrived at the corner café, Catherine was already sitting in a booth waiting for him.

Bauer sat down opposite Catherine. Without exchanging pleasantries, Bauer turned on his phone, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Catherine.

"These files cannot be downloaded or forwarded; they can only be viewed by authorized internal staff via VPN."

"OK." Catherine turned on her phone's camera and started screen recording while flipping through the pages of documents on Bauer's phone.

Bauer looked around and said in a deep voice, "Decano wants more than 30 stores, a purchasing network, and a supply chain. Their offer is 92 billion, and they are the largest buyer."

"Another unexpected buyer was Hax, who wanted the real estate for eight flagship stores, offering $3 billion. The other buyers were looking to purchase smaller, scattered assets."

"The board members are now inclined to sell the assets in parts, but they are still worried that no one will buy the remaining assets."

"Very good!" Catherine said and left in a hurry.

She has made all the preparations and can now make an offer.

At 3 p.m., New Life Company’s quotation was delivered to the Investor Relations Department of Bellow Group.

By 6 p.m., the Bellow Group had received a total of 39 quotation documents in the conference room on the 6th floor of the Bellow Group building.

All the core directors were present, and the staff compiled the 39 quotation documents into a table.

Unsurprisingly, no one wanted the loss-making stores, the outdated equipment, and especially the stores with long-term leases and high rents.

Bauer began with an overview: "Catherine New Life is the only complete acquirer. Catherine is offering $120 billion and will only accept a complete acquisition, not a split. All other offers are for splits."

The group exchanged glances.

Bauer continued his report: "Hacks wants the real estate for eight flagship stores, Decano wants most of the profitable stores and brands, and the purchasing network. There are also some smaller buyers, including Ruitu Bio, Wall Street investment firms, and eight small private investment companies..."

"All the forms are now compiled here. It's confirmed that all buyers only want the most valuable ones."

"Only Catherine wants all of it. If we sell it piecemeal, some assets will inevitably remain unsold. Therefore, we need to make a decision."

The investment advisor quickly calculated and said, "I've compiled all the offers. If we split it up, we can only sell for about 60 to 65 billion. How do we sell the remaining assets?"

"Especially those stores that are operating at a loss, if they lose the support of the chain stores, they will lose their purchasing network, the support of big brands, and the support of the supply chain. These stores simply cannot operate independently. So we want anyone to take over these stores, either sell them to Decano, Hax, or others, who have built their own purchasing networks and supply chain support and will not be affected, or sell them as a whole to Catherine. Otherwise, absolutely no one will take over junk assets."

After heated discussion, most of the individual buyers were ruled out because they were simply unable to handle the auction of such a large amount of assets.

Finally, a splitting scheme was formed:

L0T A: Includes 12 large stores and flagship stores.

LOT B: Brands and sourcing network.

LOTC: All remaining assets.

In this way, the potential buyer has been identified.

De Cano's goal is LOT A plus LOT B.

Harker only wants a portion of LOTA, but if he wants it, he has to accept the other four garbage companies in LOTA.

What Ruitu wants is LOT A.

And Catherine, she wants it all.

Anton declared righteously, "Now, the best approach is to sell the entire company to Catherine. Ritu and Hax are tools we'll use to drive up the price. A successful auction will immediately recoup at least $120 billion!"

"The next best option is to let Hax, Ruitu, and Dicano fight over it, ideally letting Dicano take LOT A plus LOT."

B, this way we can recover about $100 billion in funds.

After the most important packaging rules were determined, the meeting quickly ended.

Staff drafted a structure for the second round of bids, including asset lists and bidding rules for LOTA, LOT B, and LOT C, and planned to send a formal report to all potential buyers who had submitted their first-round bids the following day.

In reality, at this stage, small and medium-sized enterprises and investors have already been effectively eliminated.

Only four companies made it to the second round: Catherine, Ruitu, Hax, and Decano.

But after these bidding details are released, at what price will these companies participate in the bidding?

Nobody knows for sure, so everyone is very anxious.

The transaction, involving assets worth tens of billions, weighed heavily on everyone's mind!

Cell laboratory.

Richard sat leisurely on the sofa, Catherine leaned against him with a report in hand, and Christina leaned against the window. On the coffee table in the living room was a briefing on the second round of offers for the Bello Group's assets, which had been split into three packages.

Catherine gave a brief explanation, then summarized: "In other words, almost all the small and medium-sized enterprises and those Wall Street guys are out of the game now, leaving only four buyers:"

We, Ruitu, Dicano, and Hax.

"Yes," Richard said calmly, "Next, we need to get as many buyers out of the market as possible to maximize our profits!"