A Wall Street Genius’s Final Investment Playbook

Chapter 347 : The Goose That Lays Golden Eggs (5)

“Revenge…?”

Dowden’s brows tightened.

She took a deep breath, then added in a calm voice.

“I think you misunderstand me. I have no intention whatsoever of dragging CRISPR into personal emotions. This technology is not a tool to settle private grudges.”

Her reaction was firm.

“If you intend to involve me in such a petty revenge play, I must politely decline.”

This… wasn’t quite the response I had anticipated.

‘Well, I did consider that this could happen.’

In my previous life, Dowden was particularly vocal about the ethical use of CRISPR.

'She constantly emphasized responsible use of technology. I thought she was just paying lip service back then.'

But it seems she truly meant it.

She’s actually an idealist who genuinely believes in those values.

It appears I hit the low-probability outcome.

However,

'That doesn’t mean she has no interest in revenge at all.'

When I mentioned revenge, her upper body slightly leaned forward.

Her mouth refused, but her body was honest.

Reason was barely suppressing instinct.

I smiled gently.

“My apologies. My wording was a bit provocative. What I mean is—restoring the rightful recognition that the true inventor deserves. You could call it a form of justice.”

I paused for a moment, then continued.

“And I also mean allowing those who wronged you to experience that injustice in return. The word ‘revenge’ can sound harsh, but sometimes the lessons earned that way are the most convincing.”

After a brief silence, Dowden asked:

“So what you’re saying is… you want to help with the lawsuit?”

There was subtle anticipation in her voice.

Lawsuits are ultimately battles funded by money.

With my capital, she must believe success is finally within reach.

Unfortunately, she’s wrong.

“No. You should drop the lawsuit.”

“What?”

“You can’t win. No matter how many times you appeal, the result won’t change.”

I stated it flatly.

Because I already know that in my past life, they fought for nearly ten years and still couldn’t overturn the ruling.

'I could explain every single reason why…'

Like how the U.S. patent court rarely overturns previous decisions.

Or how they lack the decisive evidence needed to do so.

Or how they even wrote wording in past papers that now hurts their case.

Trivial, yet fatal reasons.

But there was no need to say any of that out loud.

'It would be a waste of time.'

People with strong convictions can’t be persuaded by logic or facts.

No matter what evidence you show them, if they believe there’s hope, they’ll twist everything to favor their side.

From experience, shock therapy works best in such cases.

So, I dropped a bomb.

“Accept the loss in court. Acknowledge the patent. Pay the licensing fees and use it.”

Dowden’s expression instantly hardened.

Barely holding back her emotion, she spoke.

“You want me to… pay money to the person who stole my technology?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s your idea of ‘justice’?”

I gave her a light smile.

It was time to bring up ancient Eastern wisdom.

“There’s an old saying in Eastern military strategy: ‘Give up the flesh to take the bone.’ Meaning—accept a small loss to gain something far greater.”

Conveniently, there was a large whiteboard on one side of the room.

I stood up, walked to it, and drew a small circle with a marker.

“Let’s say you were the first to imagine ‘a rounded form of a foot.’ But Min Zhao moved faster and claimed the patent for ‘the wheel.’ In that case, you have two options. First, continue the grueling fight in court over who originated the idea. Second…”

I then drew three more circles.

And added a chassis and a roof on top of them.

“Don’t cling to the wheel. Look beyond it. Build the entire car.”

“…That still doesn’t sound like justice.”

“Of course, it will feel unfair at first. But the size of the automobile market is incomparable to a mere wheel. When Min Zhao makes 100 million… you could be making 10 billion—if not more.”

I put the marker down and turned to face her, smiling.

“And naturally, Min Zhao will want in on the automobile market too. That’s when the real revenge begins.”

I picked up the marker again and began writing and drawing rapidly.

“Does a car only consist of wheels? Of course not. Engines, brakes, sensors, software… countless core technologies are required. But if you already hold patents over all of those components…”

Her eyes widened slightly.

“…then for Min Zhao to build a car, he’ll have to pay you licensing fees for every single part. Fees that will utterly dwarf the value of the wheels.”

I slowly set the marker aside once more and reinforced the point.

“That is what it means to give up the flesh to take the bone.”

This is the Wall Street method.

We don’t waste time fighting over a single slice of pie.

We offer the pie freely—

—and while everyone fights over it, we seize every cookie, every plate, every napkin, every fork, every table in the vicinity.

The real profit doesn’t come from the pie.

It comes from controlling all the paths connected to it.

That is how Wall Street wins.

Let’s give a real-world example.

“Do you remember Yahoo and Gooble?”

They looked unsure.

“Yahoo held the original patent on keyword ad auctions. They even sued Gooble for infringement, and Gooble actually paid licensing fees. But who dominates online advertising today?”

The answer didn’t need saying.

Yahoo is now little more than a fading name in history.

This time, the CTO opened his mouth.

“The paradox of foundational technology… It’s too basic, so…”

“…its direct usefulness is extremely limited. But the applied technologies built on top of it are infinite. And the one who dominates those applications becomes the final winner. And to do that, what you absolutely need is…”

I drew a huge dollar sign on the board.

“Capital.”

Then I faced each person in the room.

“As I said, I’m prepared to invest up to one billion dollars. With that level of funding, you’ll be able to build your car faster than anyone else. And when that moment comes… justice against Min Zhao will naturally be served.”

Silence once again filled the room.

It was almost like we could hear calculators clicking inside everyone’s heads.

Then, the one to break the silence first—was Dowden.

“Honestly… it’s a very tempting offer.”

She let out a bitter smile.

“What you’re really emphasizing is speed. Fast capital, fast execution…”

“That’s right. This is a race of speed. Whoever reaches the finish line first—takes everything.”

She shook her head slightly.

“But if we obsess over speed, we risk losing sight of what matters most. Ethics.”

As expected—this is the biggest barrier.

“We will not compromise ethics for the sake of speed. Even if it’s slower, we will walk our own path.”

Intelligencia is a turtle.

But these people believe they don’t need to run to beat the rabbit.

They believe—no, they are convicted—that they must stay on their chosen path.

“Therefore, if your capital comes with the condition of ‘speed,’ then our answer is already decided.”

Her eyes shifted gently.

Toward the current CEO.

“We refuse.”

The CEO interlocked his fingers and declared firmly.

“At this point, you must realize your remaining options. You’re probably considering a hostile takeover, aren’t you?”

“That’s certainly something to consider.”

When I admitted it without resistance, the CEO let out a light laugh.

“In that case, to be honest, your chances of winning are high. We don’t have any founder-friendly share structure, and most of our board members are scientists. We’ve never had to fend off a hostile takeover, and the truth is we don’t even have a system in place to withstand that kind of pressure.”

He calmly acknowledged his own weaknesses, yet he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

If anything, his eyes had only hardened.

“We only have one means of defense: people. Patents and lab equipment are just shells in the end. The ones who truly move this company are the core researchers… and they’ve already made up their minds. If this company is taken over by force, they’re ready to jump off this ship with no hesitation.”

“Jump off, huh…”

“We’ll all resign together.”

…

This is… a pretty novel form of defense.

“In other words, even if you push the takeover through, all you’ll get is an empty shell.”

“Then you’ll suffer enormous losses too.”

“That’s right. We’d have to walk away from years of accumulated data and our entire clinical pipeline, and start again from scratch.”

I shook my head and went on.

“No, you’re not starting from zero, you’re starting from a negative. When your key people walk out in a group, it’s not just the organization that collapses. Trust disappears. Investors, partners, regulators… all of them will start looking at you with suspicion. That distrust will follow you even if you build a brand-new company.”

“I know. I came from this side of the table too.”

Come to think of it, he did say he used to be in VC.

“I’m not speaking out of ignorance. I know exactly what it means, and I’ve accepted it.”

Everyone in the conference room nodded with the same determined look on their faces.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, mass suicide. Like lemmings charging toward a cliff.”

“It may look foolish, but sometimes the lemmings’ mass suicide is a necessary sacrifice for the balance of the ecosystem.”

There wasn’t a hint of wavering in his gaze as he said it.

“CRISPR is no different. If everyone chases only profit, the whole thing will collapse. Someone has to draw a line.”

Now I finally understood Pierce’s warning.

These people were a tribe you couldn’t bargain with.

Pure idealists who wouldn’t budge even for a billion dollars.

With people like this, persuasion is meaningless.

What’s the point of whipping a lemming that’s already running toward the cliff?

In times like this, you need a carrot, not a stick.

I did have something prepared.

I’d just hoped to keep it as a last resort.

'Guess there’s no helping it.'

“We don’t want CRISPR to become a tool for greed. We believe at least one player has to stay unshaken to the very end.”

“Unshaken by greed, huh…”

They’re mistaken.

In truth, scholars are some of the greediest people there are.

It’s just that their greed isn’t aimed at money.

“What if I could give you the thing you want most?”

“As I said, we’re not—”

“I’m talking about data.”

That’s right—their desire is different.

A thirst for knowledge.

I cast the bait slowly.

“You’re pursuing in vivo CRISPR, right? Then no matter how much you refine your tech in the lab, what you ultimately need most is data that proves how it actually behaves inside a living body, isn’t it?”

That was it.

Unlike CRISPR Medical, which had chosen ex vivo editing, in vivo data was essential to these people.

However—

“Securing that data is anything but easy. Human application is blocked from the outset. To get FDA approval, you have to prove safety, but to prove safety, you need enough human data. You’re stuck in a chicken-or-egg dilemma, aren’t you?”

“Are you saying… you can solve that problem for us?”

At those words, Dowden’s eyes widened, as if she’d heard something unbelievable.

But I slowly shook my head.

“Not completely. But I can offer the most realistic alternative you’re likely to see in your current situation.”

“What do you mean…?”

“There’s a place I co-invested in. The largest veterinary hospital network in the United States. Over two thousand hospitals across the country, all linked into a single system. What do you think would happen if you partnered with them?”

After a brief silence—

“We’re already doing animal experiments.”

“Sure. But what you’re doing now is giving diseases to healthy lab mice on purpose, isn’t it?”

In other words, it’s the classic ‘give them the disease, then give them the cure’ model.

But that method has a fatal flaw.

“When you induce a disease directly, all you’re really doing is artificially tweaking a specific gene or metabolic pathway to create a simplified condition. The complex, messy diseases found in real patients simply can’t be replicated that way.”

“......”

“In veterinary hospitals, you can obtain clinical data from living creatures with naturally occurring diseases. You of all people know just how incomparable that data is to results you forced into existence in a lab.”

The breadth of application and the depth of the data are on a completely different level.

“Regulations on that side can’t be easy either. Pet owners aren’t just going to agree to it.”

“It’s far more flexible than human trials. As for owner consent… in desperate situations, there will always be people who’d rather cling to an experimental chance than accept certain death.”

The CTO fell silent.

Silence lingered for a while.

In their eyes, I could see thirst, desire, and hesitation crisscrossing.

'They’re tempted.'

Data is a lethal lure—it lights up the instincts of knowledge-starved scientists.

And yet—

'They’re not going to say yes on the spot.'

The stronger a person’s convictions, the harder it is for them to make a decision that overturns their own beliefs.

No matter how shaken they are inside, they’ll interrogate themselves and hesitate for days.

In the end, I wasn’t going to hear the answer I wanted today.

I rose from my seat with a gentle smile.

“I’m sure this wasn’t what you were expecting. Take your time, discuss it thoroughly, then let me know your decision. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

With that, I left the conference room.

After getting into the limo, I let out a small sigh and took out my phone.

'So I really did have to play this card.'

I’d prepared this contingency because I had a feeling I’d need it someday, but honestly, I wanted to save it for the very end.

From the moment I threw out this bait, everything was bound to get messier.

It was true that I’d invested in the veterinary chain.

But that venture wasn’t something I ran alone.

It was a joint project, which meant I absolutely had to coordinate with my partner.

And that partner was—

[Gerard Mosley]

I hit the call button.