Redistribution of Wealth

Get some rest for the night.

As dawn broke, Kang De woke up, ate breakfast, and prepared to set off.

Nowadays, when traveling in the wilderness, far from human habitation, there is no need to travel at night. Especially now that we often have to cross mountains and rivers, and there are no roads to travel on, the risk of traveling at night is greatly increased.

The Humvee galloped across the plains.

The good boy had very conscientiously reinforced the vehicle's shock absorption system, so the ride inside was not very bumpy. Although it was in the countryside, it was comfortable. As a reward, Kang De sat in the passenger seat, using CAD to draw up a new homework assignment for the good boy... He would definitely like it.

Just then, a voice came through the loudspeaker asking, "Father, weren't we supposed to be going back to Earth?"

Kang De released the mouse and stretched. "No rush."

He took out a map and glanced at it. "According to the map, we should be able to cross the border and enter Goth territory this afternoon. I'd like to get a feel for the situation and contact Goth officials to ask if they have any channels to send messages to Tina..."

Tina clearly believed he was dead.

And I'm very sad.

Even from the prisoners' confessions, we can infer that Tina's current state is a bit off—it's as if she's turned to the dark side, and she seems to be up to something big.

At this point, of course, you should find a way to tell Tina the good news, for example—"You wouldn't believe it, would you? Your husband is still alive! Surprised? Unexpected?"

And so on.

"But then again..."

From the Holy Seal Archipelago to the mainland, from their first meeting to becoming friends, he and Tina got along very well. The girl was understanding, gentle, and considerate, and very beautiful. Most importantly, she had a large bust. Kang De was very fond of her, and Tina probably felt the same way. The two could be considered good friends.

In fact, Tina is now Kang De's only friend in this other world.

--Of course, animals are an exception; besides, they're not human.

Therefore, after experiencing such a great change, being able to reunite with Tina is a very happy thing. The knight is a mutual friend of both of them, and he and Tina can share the grief of losing their dear friend, confide their sorrow of separation, and share their realizations of growing up... This is how it should be.

But Kang De heard the following news: Tina claimed that she had entered into a marriage with him, and although he was "dead," the marriage was still valid. In other words, he, who had inexplicably become a cheap husband, suddenly became a dead husband, and Tina was now a widow.

Well...

That sounds like a good thing.

Because he didn't die, it's like he gained a gentle and lovely wife.

But that's not actually the case.

Because Kang De was a good man living in the 21st century.

A person like him, who is knowledgeable, sensible, and has a wealth of life experience, would never have the illusion that "she likes me."

Kang De made his judgment based on his life experience over the past twenty years.

--Just kidding, there's no such thing as love at first sight in this world. I didn't pursue her, I didn't confess my feelings, and she didn't show any interest in me. How could she possibly like me?

Damn, she's a princess from another world, of noble birth, impeccably groomed, and so beautiful. What kind of men hasn't she seen? How could she possibly fall for me in a matter of days? If I were truly that breathtakingly handsome, why hasn't a single girl confessed her feelings to me in the past twenty years?

Based on this, Kang De began to feel anxious and uncertain.

Even when he had nothing to do, he would speculate about Tina's intentions.

In her eyes, I am already dead. So, when she claims to be engaged to me, does she mean she's using me as a shield and has decided to remain unmarried for life?

If that's the case, and I'm still alive, won't she be very embarrassed when she finds out?

What will she do then?

To stabilize the situation for now, please cooperate and allow us to be husband and wife in name only?

Or was it a case of half-hearted resistance, a forced descent into fait accompli?

Or rather... annulment of the engagement?

Upon thinking of this, Kang De's body trembled.

And their train of thought quickly went astray.

If Tina wants to deny the engagement, should I make her write a letter of annulment? I have a feeling that I could Extraction Element quite terrifying from that letter...

If I were to imbue myself with this Element, I feel like something extraordinary would happen.

"Ah..."

Kang De sighed, "What a hassle..."

Upon hearing this, the Autobots asked with concern, "What's troubling Father?"

Kang De gazed into the distance and said, "I'm troubled about whether to pursue the path of a live-in son-in-law or a broken engagement."

As for the harem-style relationship where the deed is done, he didn't count on it—he was joking, how could Tina possibly genuinely consider him her husband, especially since he hadn't done anything.

The child said, "I don't understand."

Kang De scoffed, "Hmph, what would a little brat like you know about matters of the heart?"

"I'm a mechanical life form, so of course I don't understand human emotions," the Autobots said bluntly. "But I think Father doesn't seem to understand them either."

Kang De retorted angrily, "Bullshit! Bullshit! I don't understand? What a joke! Do you know how many love letters I've received since I was a child? You'd be shocked if I told you!"

The Autobots was taken aback—or perhaps it sensed the exasperation in its father's tone, and knowing its creator, it wisely decided to remain silent. "I'm sorry, Father, I was wrong."

Kang De hummed twice, but still smiled sinisterly to himself—this is because there's been less housework.

He said calmly, "Enough with the nonsense. Anyway, let's get going. We'll reach the border this afternoon, and then we'll go to this imperial city called Nu... Nu something..."

Kang De rolled his eyes as he looked at the place names on the map, which resembled alien script.

"Damn it, I can't read..."

He waved his hand menacingly. "Anyway, it's this damn city. After we get to the border, we won't go to Goth first. We'll go to this city and find out who the Crown Prince's henchmen are, what kind of nobles are rich but heartless, and so on—we're going to pull off a heist!"

Because Kang De needed money.

Buying a house requires a lot of money.

Although he possesses all the power in the three realms and could easily become a speculator, what Kang De lacks most right now is time, and the surrounding environment is not suitable for doing business... Under these circumstances, the fastest way to make money without attracting too much attention is to sell precious metals.

That is, gold.

He could scrape off the portraits and patterns from the otherworldly coins, melt them down into pure gold, and then take them to Earth to find a way to sell them—although Kang De didn't have any gold, he could borrow some.

The Autobot said doubtfully, "To do a vote means..."

Kang De, without blinking, calmly replied, "It refers to a redistribution of wealth. These bloated nobles and merchants collect taxes, hire laborers, and make farmers and workers toil all day, yet they plunder most of their harvest through various means, accumulating enormous wealth. Such behavior is, of course, very unfair, so we, as righteous individuals, can take away their ill-gotten gains..."

The Autobots listened for a while, then said quietly, "Then, Father, you're making me spend all my time enchanting and crafting..."

Upon hearing this, Kang De leaned back in his chair and said weakly, "It's outrageous! My child actually says I'm exploiting it! It's truly outrageous! I feed it, clothe it, teach it knowledge and learning, and all I ask is for some household chores, and it complains about this and that..."

"Father, I was wrong."

"That's right!" Kang De, fully revitalized, straightened up and slapped the steering wheel. "You, always arguing with your own family about this and that, that's wrong! Do you understand? How can you call it exploitation when it's your own family? It's called mutual help."

"Let me tell you, our Kang Family is law-abiding, every member is a good citizen, and everyone is a kind person. Whether internally or externally, we never engage in exploitation!"

"Internally, we help each other; externally, we provide job opportunities so people have the chance to pursue happiness. We never do bad things; we never rob. We simply redistribute wealth in this unfair world and, incidentally, punish the rich and heartless—understand?"

The Autobots was silent for a moment, then said, "... Understood."

But deep down, it was somewhat confused.

I have a feeling that my father's words and actions at this moment are more like those of the kind of person he used to mock and disdain... a hypocrite.

You don't understand...

Kang De said quietly, "My child, let me tell you some life lessons... A year ago, I was a law-abiding citizen, very upright, kind, and simple. I considered myself a good person, adhering to morality, not doing bad things, and I was proud of it. If you had told me back then that I would one day rob, kill, and commit arson, I would have scoffed and thought you were joking."

"About ten or twenty days ago, in a place called Glittering Sand, I did many bad things that I never dared to imagine before, and carried out a robbery. Do you know how I felt afterward?"

--They said it outright, they used the word "robbery" directly!

The Autobots were inwardly cursing.

The speaker, however, asked, "... What are your thoughts? Do you regret it?"

"No, I will never regret what I did in Glittering Sand."

What is that?

Kang De said seriously, "It smells really good."

"..."

The young, innocent boy couldn't understand.

"It smells so good!"

Kang De, recalling this not-so-distant past, still slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Damn, really! Especially since that guy was so wicked, your enemy, and so rich, the thrill of the robbery was doubled! Just think about it, that bastard worked so hard to accumulate his wealth, exploited farmers, did so many shameful things, and then you swept all his riches away overnight. That thrill of getting something for nothing, plus the satisfaction of revenge—the two pleasures combined were simply a dream come true!"

The Autobots murmured, "Is... is that so..."

Kang De nodded repeatedly. "That's right, that's why I said you don't understand. Once you experience it for yourself, you'll also say, 'It's really good... really...'"

The kid doesn't understand but feels impressed.

It felt that in the few days since its birth, it had indeed learned so much from its father...

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PS1: First update, 3000 words... Ah, I'm having some writer's block, it's tough. The second update will be late, so maybe everyone should go to sleep first and read it tomorrow.