Ririko raised the binoculars and swept her gaze around the hollow through the lenses. The plants here were growing completely wild.
On the walls of the old factory buildings nearby, vines stretched out of cracks and drain openings like a green skin slowly spreading over them.
The greenery here was flourishing far too well-so well that it was strange.
No matter what was built on top of it, the plants would infiltrate the structure through gaps in the foundations, cracks in the walls, and drain openings.
Before long, the building would become an unsafe wreck, split apart by plants.
Whatever reason Poison Ivy had for occupying this place, Oswald would be wasting his effort building a club here.
She handed the binoculars back to Butch and told Oswald, "You can't build a club here."
Oswald was studying the cost estimates on the survey plans. He looked up at her words.
"Why not? I've already bought this land. I can build whatever I want."
Ririko looked at him. "Did you ever find out why Maroni left this land unused?"
Oswald hesitated.
She told him, "If you turn this place into a club, everyone will know what you're after. Turn it into a botanical park instead, and you'll be able to do other things here more safely."
Oswald fell silent.
He gripped his cane and only spoke after a while. "You... have a point."
He turned his head to glance at her, reluctant to admit that Ririko seemed to have a pretty good head for "business" too...
Ririko asked slowly, "Who else was bidding against you when you bought this land?"
Oswald recalled the auction that day. "The Elliott family offered a hefty sum. I had to use quite a few tricks to get it."
Ririko's heart skipped a beat when she