The Kang Scheme

Well, how should I put it?

After returning home, Leona pondered Tina's actions for a long time, gathering intelligence from various sources before finally deducing this astonishing conjecture.

And they were deeply frightened.

If her guess is true, then Tina has truly gone mad. Putting everything else aside, if she really defeats the elves and protects Goth, how will she fulfill her initial promise?

To defeat the elves, or rather, to force them to retreat, one must gather considerable power, involve numerous stakeholders, and form a deeply entrenched network of interests to make the elves wary.

Since this force was able to deter and even repel the elves, if they discovered that it was all Tina's doing—then the entire Goth would have to face the overwhelming rage of these people who had been tricked.

It might be even worse than the outcome of an elven invasion.

After coming to this conclusion, Leona couldn't sleep for days and nights, breaking out in a cold sweat whenever she thought about it.

But this colossal lie has already been told, so even if she wanted to help, what could she possibly do? Let alone her, a mere heir, even if the powerful and prestigious Vidal Family in the western part of the empire were to bet all their strength, it would probably be insignificant in the face of Tina's ever-growing snowball.

She didn't know what she could do.

All she could do was try her best—for example, Kang De, the man Tina couldn't forget, she hoped he could get to the princess's side as soon as possible, even if it was just to keep her company.

Therefore, she tried her best to explain the seriousness of the problem to Kang De.

She explained to Kang De the methods Tina used, the core nature of that terrible deception, and the dangers of doing so—in fact, she was worried that Kang De wouldn't understand.

After all, even a business genius like her spent a long time figuring out Tina's insane plan—it has to be said, if the consequences hadn't been so severe, Leona would have applauded it. This was simply an unprecedented and insane scam; that little slut Tina was truly wicked.

Unfortunately, this gamble was far too big, even reckless.

"In short, you may not understand, but it's essentially a deception, the so-called interest and returns..."

Leona explained patiently, but she didn't notice Kang De's strange expression.

"The so-called interest and returns actually come from the membership fees paid by later members, right?"

Kang De's tone was somewhat subtle. "Is Tina encouraging nobles and merchants to persuade their relatives and friends to invest, offering a certain amount of return to the Amway agent for each person they recruit?"

Leona's expression became incredibly interesting.

--That's impossible!

She felt like her worldview was about to explode—impossible! I'm a business genius, everyone's praised me! It took me a long time to figure it out, how could this person understand it so easily!

Moreover, they drew inferences from one instance to another, saying things I hadn't even mentioned!

Leona stared blankly at Kang De.

It's as if a college student who went to teach in a remote mountain village stepped into the village and saw an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in tattered clothes, squatting on the ground, using a wooden stick to complete the final proof of Goldbach's Conjecture.

She stammered, "You... how did you know?"

Kang De sighed, "These methods were all told to her by me. It was just a casual conversation, something to start a conversation..."

"..."

"..."

The girl's expression became even more erratic, and she even began to question the meaning of life.

She, Leona, is a wealthy, beautiful, and successful businesswoman. She is intelligent, stunningly beautiful, and renowned.

He, Kang De, a barbarian from Cathay, was fierce and rude, spoke harshly, lacked any sense of romance, and only knew how to kill.

However...

Why, why!

Leona suffered a series of devastating blows today. After meeting Kang De, she discovered that this seemingly Cathay Danish guy was actually a rude and unromantic fellow, instantly plummeting her impression of him. But what followed was an unprecedented and enormous blow.

Being completely outclassed in one's professional field...

Tina's astonishing move, which she had pondered for a long time, was actually something this Cathayan had casually told Tina —such a cruel truth made Leona want to spit blood and curse the heavens.

But the next moment, Leona calmed down.

Now is not the time to talk about this.

Or rather, this news is actually good news.

If Tina's schemes and plans all stemmed from a casual remark by Kang De...

She abruptly stood up, strode up to Kang De, and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You must have a way, right! Tina is playing with fire! Whether we win or lose this war, Teldrassil and even Goth will not have a good ending. We must find a way to stop this. Do you have any ideas?"

After learning of Tina's plans and intentions, Leona wanted to help her friend, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn't think of anything she could do... It was all beyond her capabilities.

She was at a loss, feeling helpless and even in pain, to the point of being bewildered.

Now we finally see hope.

She said, "So, we need to get to Tina's place immediately... no, not us, it's you. If you have a way out of the city, go quickly..."

The girl stopped talking after that.

She looked at Kang De's face and said in a trembling voice, "You must have a way, right?"

Kang De was also completely bewildered and shocked.

Although he had guessed that Tina wanted to make a big splash, he never expected it to be a Ponzi scheme, which even incorporated some other scams... Moreover, the scale of the operation, the determination of the scheme, and the ruthlessness of the methods left him terrified and extremely worried.

Tina's condition was worse than he had imagined.

He glanced at Leona.

The girl's concern and worry seemed genuine, making her 80% credible.

Her voice was urgent. "Tell me quickly..."

Kang De sighed, "A deception is a deception; there's always the risk of it being exposed. To ensure your own safety, there are only three paths you can take."

"The first rule is to keep this deception going forever... Actually, it's difficult because Tina set an end point for this deception: Goth's victory and the elves' retreat. Then, we need to excavate that non-existent ruin."

"Article Two..."

Kang De slowly said, "Before the deception reaches its end, or is about to reach its end, devise a grand scheme to make the fake seem real, so that everyone is happy..."

Leona retorted, "What you've said is as good as saying nothing at all. Who can fake an ancient ruin and even make it profitable for everyone?"

I might be able to... but only maybe.

The girl then asked, "And the third one?"

"The third one..."

Kang De said slowly, "If you want to avoid being discovered and exposed, you could also eliminate all the victims of the scam beforehand..."

Leona retorted angrily, "This is even more unreliable than the previous method! If you have this ability, why are you afraid of them investigating later? You might as well just drive the elves away yourself. Who can do that?"

I might be able to... and it seems a bit simpler than the second one.

But that's just a possibility.

Kang De pursed his lips and remained silent.

Leona sat back down in her seat, looking dejected.

In short...

She said to Kang De, "Since you suggested the method, you must have a good understanding of these scams. You need to go see Tina immediately. The reason she went crazy is probably because she lost you. Once she sees you are safe and sound, she won't be so extreme anymore. The two of you need to come up with a solution..."

"Tell me, are you going to find a way out of the city yourself, or are you going to ask Nick to let you through?"

After a moment 'Kang De slowly said, "Such a major matter cannot be known to others, not even if Nick is a Goth official... It's too unsettling, and there's a risk of leaks. If it's just about revealing my identity, Nick probably won't let me go. Since I'm Goth's son-in-law, I should fight for my country. He's currently consolidating all his forces to deal with the elves, and with my record, I'm sure I'll catch his eye."

Leona said softly, "So, you're going to leave the city on your own? That's fine..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kang De said, "No, what will you do if I leave?"

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PS1: Second update...

PS2: Ah, it's really strange without side posts and comments. Also, if I write well, I'm afraid you won't have anything to say, so I post a side post and want to let it accumulate. If I write poorly, I'm afraid you'll find it bland, so I want to let it accumulate again. It's a real dilemma. I can't find the right balance...

PS3: So I've been thinking, how about I offer another bounty in June? Anyway, I've already paid off the bounties from April, and I've written almost 180,000 words this month alone... I'll think about it tomorrow.

PS4: Happy Children's Day everyone!