As Though Blessed by the Gods / Help Again

While this bounty hunter is overjoyed, other bounty hunters are surely weeping because of it; this is the bounty hunter's smile conservation law.

Skadi, expressionless, swatted away another group of hunters.

Ding ding ding.

A handful of crisp, tempting gold coins dripped from their waists.

Chapter 306 As if Favored by God

Dangerous Shoal Village, the Knights' headquarters.

"I just received a wanted poster from Tsvonnek, and it features a very conspicuous hornless Sarkaz Toland! Do you have any leads?!" Qiesibo struggled to suppress his anger.

Toland intended to brush it off with a few words, as he usually did.

But Oute put away his work tablet, glanced at it, and said, "It is said that Sarkaz erase their horns and destroy their recognizable facial features are assassins determined to die within their tribe."

Qiesibo assumed Oute was making excuses for Toland, but the Hornless Sarkaz himself froze. He even wanted to immediately shake off Qiesibo and ask Oute what was going on.

But he put aside his personal affairs for the time being.

Toland said with unusual seriousness, "I have only brought belated justice to a widow."

He confessed to the crime, even though it was imposed on him by Oute.

"Justice!?" Qiesibo slammed his fist on the table. "You assassinated the district supervisor while Gail Industries was surrounded by protesters! What will everyone else think!? The whole city will be in an uproar!"

"No, you shouldn't be that slow-witted, right?" Toland asked in surprise.

"Even if this was all staged by Gail Industries, it's the truth to the public!" Qiesibo rubbed his temples. "If the public is afraid and angry about it, no matter how many people there are taking money from Zhizhuotu, things will escalate!"

"This isn't just about the infected— Doctor Oute, no offense—it's going to escalate into a city-to-city battle against a city!"

And this... is exactly what Qiesibo wanted.

Everything is going incredibly smoothly!

Qiesibo, driven by his remaining sense of justice and responsibility, was forced to vent his intense resentment towards Toland, Oute, and others who had "unintentionally" helped him gather all the necessary elements and destroy most of the evidence.

If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "smooth sailing"!

If I had to sum it up in a short sentence, it would be that all of this was simply "divinely blessed"!

This chaotic situation within the city was perfect for Qiesibo's plan to ignite the Laika War! The only problem was...

"Furthermore, with the death of the head of the Gail Industries District, the entire Leithanien- style land construction project will be delayed due to a series of handover procedures!" Qiesibo slumped back into his chair.

Toland crossed his arms. "You can simply call him 'Zhizhuotu'."

"That would dirty my mouth!"

Oute asked, "I thought you hated that project."

The main event is about to begin.

Qiesibo sighed deeply, "As Campaign Knight, I certainly despise those tedious diplomatic projects. Not to mention how much profit a company like Gail Industries squeezed out of this project!"

But Qiesibo quickly added, "But as an individual, I must admit that this project brought a significant amount of trade revenue to Tsvonnek. Its success, in a short period of time, benefited almost everyone."

But the nobles, already corrupt and decadent, deceiving their superiors and colluding with giant corporations to extract profits, and even the Knights themselves...

They will only degenerate further.

Only war can awaken the knight's responsibility, and only war can bring me... justice back!

Is that really the case?

Deep down, Qiesibo's last remaining conscience asked: What about the people?

The Campaign Knight shook his head.

"Mr. Qiesibo, "Oute said, "Your prediction is too pessimistic. The death of a mere insignificant leader won't delay the project's progress."

"The only things that will truly delay the project are the shortage of building materials, the postponement of salary payments, and conflicts between the construction team and the locals."

This is a lie.

Having seen the Zhizhuotu workstations in person, Oute knew he was a "plywood general." He was not the kind of "insignificant leader."

"Yes..." Qiesibo sighed, "Gail Industries hired a large number of infected people to reduce costs, and also withheld a significant portion of their wages under the guise of insurance. Plus, most of them don't have the habit of saving..."

"The level of infection among these young and middle-aged laborers hasn't significantly affected their physical abilities. This gives them reliable work capacity, but..." Qiesibo glanced at Oute, "Excuse my bluntness, it also brings them terrible destructive power."

"If the project cannot proceed as scheduled, then the Knights must move into Tsvonnek as a precaution," he announced.

"In fact," Oute handed the tablet to Qiesibo.

"I will be the one to take over the work at Zhizhuotu."

"...What?" Qiesibo was stunned.

Toland's eyes widened. "Are Gail Industries stupid?! You old bastards! Are you kidding us?!"

Qiesibo's eyes widened as he passed the tablet to Toland.

Toland looked up, somewhat confused. "It clearly says 'Northern Industries' here, but that has nothing to do with the construction on this plot of land!"

"Procedurally, this soon-to-be-established subsidiary, 'Northern Industries,' will be jointly controlled by Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals and Gail Industries!" Dyster stepped forward, beaming with pride. "However, after a meaningless share swap and the introduction of Ursus Corporation's 'Rostov Industries' as a check and balance, Rhodes Island has gained full operational control over the subsidiary!"

"Rostov Industries ...sounds like an industrial company..." Toland murmured. "Could it be one of those companies capable of building mobile sites?"

"Whether they have the ability or not is irrelevant, because Tsvonnek currently has a construction team fully capable of completing the project," Qiesibo said coldly. "As long as they have the qualifications, the reputation, the willingness to spend money, and sufficient leadership, that's enough."

"You're really being very 'only' when it comes to 'only'," Toland rolled his eyes, then suddenly looked up, glancing left and right.

"Grandpa, you're not playing a trick on us!?"

Qiesibo finally noticed Toland's address. "Who's the old man?"

Oute spoke frankly, "This body has indeed existed for a considerable time, but it has spent most of its life in a death-like dormancy. From a personal perspective, I wouldn't call myself 'old'."

Toland pursed his lips.

"This body," "its most of the time," "a deathly hibernation"—you certainly weren't lying!

But it can't exactly be considered the truth, can it?

"Doctor. Oute, how exactly did you convince Gail Industries?" Qiesibo asked.

"During the tournament," Dyster said awkwardly, "Northern Industries' entire gross profit... also came from a large loan from Gail Industries, and a comprehensive betting agreement was signed..."

Although Northern Industries could indeed fill the gap by monopolizing the infection protection supplies in Kawalerielki, after witnessing and experiencing firsthand Oute's true ways of doing things... she increasingly felt Oute's intention to breach the contract.

Chapter 307 Further Assistance

When a person is fully aware that they are doing something wrong, yet still feels as if they are blessed by the gods, they are either overly self-satisfied or expect divine punishment.

Which one is Qiesibo?

It's probably the latter.

Therefore, he decided to "help" Rhodes Island win the project—by sending the Campaign Knight into the city.

Just as the Tsvonnek bureaucrats feared, this border town did not have the long tradition of "anti- Campaign Knight" like the capital Kawalerielki, which was deeply controlled by the Commercial Union.

On the contrary, when tensions rise, the residents of this border town would even spontaneously invite the Knights to stay.

Tokushima quickly resolved the "riot" that was difficult to even give a proper name, and Qiesibo's excuse for entering the city was extremely far-fetched. But after witnessing the Campaign Knight' close surveillance of the infected workers and sensing the sharp decrease in infected crime, the citizens immediately convinced themselves:

The Knights are doing a good job, why not let them continue?

March 23, 1097, 14:04:54, Tsvonnek, new plot of land.

On the skeletal metal frame, orange ants moved in an orderly fashion across the doorway. Only upon closer inspection could one realize that they were people entering the construction site.

As is customary, the soldiers and operatives watched as the infected workers put on their safety helmets, took their suppressants, and entered the construction site.

"Your operators seem to know this very well." Qiesibo placed his hand on his waist, ready to draw his sword at any moment.

He was also the kind of person who was extremely wary of those infected.

"The second fastest way to secure uncontrolled violent individuals is to organize them."

Oute's ambiguous statement pointed to both the soldiers and the infected workers in front of him.

"The fastest?"

Oute said coldly, "That's what you do best."

In other words, eradicate completely.

"... Sometimes I feel like Doctor. Oute, you're the one wearing the armor."

Beep beep.

The terminal will remind you.

Oute waved his hand, and a soldier immediately understood. He first bowed slightly to Oute, and then pulled an infected person back from behind the door.

The Ursus man brutally punched and kicked the infected man for a while, then pried the unswallowed medication out of his mouth.

They are indeed quite skilled...

Oute turned around and uttered a line perfectly in keeping with his knightly nature. "Justice is my armor."

To be fair, this scoundrel's motives are impure, but he's never actually done anything purely evil under the current Terra moral code.

But it's likely to happen in the future.

The nun offered the two helmets and followed far behind.

Watching the site gradually fill with its framework, Qiesibo said, "These infected workers have reduced their theft and robbery frequency to an acceptable level—given the level of our surveillance, the crime rate among residents in some areas should actually be higher..."

"How did Rhodes Island do that? They were in a state of extreme poverty, their lives were hanging by a thread, and they were mentally unstable. Not only did you take over the project quickly, but you also reduced their crime rate!" Qiesibo asked. "I mean, how did you do it in such a short time? It's almost impossible!"

"Remember the health insurance you mentioned earlier?"

"I remember," Qiesibo replied. "It was a trick Gail Industries learned from Columbia, with some modifications."

The Campaign Knight looked up at the massive engineering machine, resembling the beak of Fowlbeast, as it slowly turned, and said, "Whatever it looks like, Gail Industries has turned it into another cage for exploiting workers."