Chapter 203

The process of collection was amusing.

There’s a novelty in plundering without killing that feels different from simply slaughtering and taking.

“Is this working?”

“Irene, that was a great idea!”

The suggestion from my friend was brilliant.

Although there were some minor issues.

“Sis! Can I see you again tomorrow? I want to play some more!”

“What is it? This kid won’t leave me alone. So annoying!”

Unit 1570 grumbled.

It was because the boy we took to the amusement park kept clinging to him.

The sparkle in his eyes was unusual.

“Fine, let’s hang out later!”

“Really…? I want to see you!”

I dropped the kid with a lie and returned to work.

“This little brat is such a nuisance!”

1570 complained as he removed his wig and lenses.

“Don’t worry. This will be the last time! Everyone will have a different method!”

Unit 1 encouraged the other Violets.

There were still many more to handle.

We moved tirelessly to acquire the shares from rival factions.

The methods were diverse.

“Alright, just sign this document. It’s the share transfer agreement. You understand, right?”

To some, a threat.

“What? Why should I give that to you?”

“Mr. Martin. I see you’ve set up a second household. Your wife and children would be quite sad, wouldn’t they?”

“Damn it!”

To others, an attempt at persuasion.

“I never thought you’d actually go through with selling.”

“As you know, clans acquired by the Rumyx Foundation are famous for undergoing large-scale restructuring. The positions left vacant by former personnel are always filled by members of the Foundation. I doubt your teacher’s position will remain intact.”

“Umm… but…”

“You don’t have to support me. Just staying put is enough. I’ll make it worth your while after everything wraps up.”

Irene flexibly persuaded them in various ways according to their tendencies and positions.

Those with shares surrendered them, while others either joined in or chose to remain silent.

Depending on their disposition, some simply surrendered when threatened.

“What? What nonsense are you spewing right now…”

“Take him away.”

“Wait! Miss! I was just following Rigel out of necessity. Here you go! Make sure to teach that bastard a lesson!”

“Thank you. I will certainly do that. I’ll ensure your severance package is generous.”

Of course, there were those who held on until the end.

“Who do you think you are, telling a student what to do with clan matters? Get lost!”

In such cases, Violet-style measures had to be taken.

“How dare you go against us!”

Deep in the night, the Violet elite squad appeared in the bedroom of the man who rejected our proposal.

“Ah! W-What are you?!”

Awakened from his slumber, he asked in terror.

Violets wearing black masks whispered softly.

“We are nightmares!”

“Let’s play together!”

We employed various methods of persuasion.

The next day, he submitted his letter of resignation to the clan and transferred all his shares to Irene.

“This was effective after all.”

What we did was simple. A photoshoot!

The Violets stripped the man of his clothes, gagged him, and dressed him in thin leather for the photos.

If he didn’t want to see his leather photos catering to certain tastes published, he wouldn’t be returning to the clan.

As a result, the collection operation was successful. Irene and the Violets returned with their spoils, full of confidence.

“We did it!”

“Not quite. The Violets did it.”

Irene smiled with an awkward expression. Her purple hair shimmered.

“But we did what you asked, right? Now, give me a high five!”

Clap!

We high-fived each other.

Irene now had a say in the clan’s operations.

She could even call an emergency meeting if needed.

“Doesn’t this mean Irene could just become the clan leader? She could just say, ‘I’m the president here!'”

“Not quite. It’s still less than combining all of Rigel’s shares. If she transfers her father’s shares intact, she’d exceed the majority, and that would be the end of it. But that’s just greed, and it can’t be helped.”

Hmm, somehow that feels somewhat disappointing. It would have been convenient to just eliminate everything neatly afterward.

“In a little while, there’s a year-end party mixed with the end-of-year settlement. Though it’s called a settlement announcement, it usually just involves a brief explanation to executives and guests. Let’s take care of things before that.”

“Got it. What should we do… oh?”

As we discussed the next steps, I felt a shudder run through me.

Irene looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh, we just got some news. I’m connecting to the bugging device.”

I focused my senses.

The bugging devices embedded in the walls and pillars of Rigel’s house, far from the Violet Barracks, stirred to life.

Damn it, Chairman Laihan wants me to transfer the shares before he collects. If this continues, our plans will be derailed. Where the hell did my brother go?

I heard Irene snatched it away. Honey, I told you! You should have removed her without hesitating!

Irene’s face turned expressionless as she listened to the fuzzy voices transmitted from the scene.

There’s another problem. The attitudes of those who were leaning towards us suddenly changed. They’re acting passive. Some executives even submitted their resignations all of a sudden. What could have caused that? Could our plans have been leaked…

That’s impossible. I’ve made sure everyone keeps their mouths shut. It’s definitely because of Irene. The atmosphere in the search and excavation divisions has been peculiar since recently. She’s definitely up to something.

I recalled the two hunters I encountered in the dungeon. Although they had been uncooperative on-site, had they changed their stance?

Silence stretched across the wall for a moment. It seemed everyone was deep in thought. After a while, Rigel’s voice broke the quiet.

Alright. Let’s contact that policy cooperation manager or whatever again. We should ask for more supplies while giving them everything they want. The internal situation is unstable. We need more weapons for the great undertaking.

The mention of a “great undertaking” made our eyes widen.

“A great undertaking?”

“What is that idiot planning again? No way…”

Irene muttered with a hint of confusion. I too had something come to mind.

“The 13th Street shooting incident?”

Upon hearing my murmuring, Irene responded with a look of disbelief.

“That could be the case. But still, no… Surely a normal human wouldn’t resort to such a primitive method…”

In the next moment, the words transmitted via the microphone made us glance at one another. My and my friend’s faces were twisted in a similar reflection, as if looking in a mirror.

We’ll use Laplacian’s biological weapons. That Morgan guy or Viktor’s kid will be easy to subdue!

Hearing my uncle’s confident tone made Irene sigh in self-deprecation.

“I really overestimated that guy. I forgot he’s just a fool who thinks the world revolves around him.”

What the hell? Was he so desperate to not only eliminate the clan internally but also target those responsible for its critical forces?

How foolish!

By the way, what should we do? It seems Rigel and his gang are not just selling shares to Rumyx, but also considering buying troops from Laplacian.

Should we burn something else as well?

It seems burning just one thing won’t cut it.

While I was mulling over how to handle the involvement of the big clan, a sudden knock echoed.

“How’s the situation going?”

Turning to see a man with black hair standing at the door.

“Scholarship Officer.”

“There seems to be a bottleneck.”

We explained the issue regarding the involvement of a large clan that we had just heard. Seijis’s expression turned serious.

“Laihan is involved with Rumyx… This is quite troublesome. Especially now…”

I spoke to the Scholarship Officer.

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out! I just got a fun idea.”

“You’re thinking about instigating a second West District series of terror attacks, aren’t you?”

Gasp, how did he know? The Scholarship Officer read my mind like a ghost.

“I was planning something smaller than that though…”

As I hesitated to speak, the Scholarship Officer suddenly threw a question.

“Do we have enough explosives and ammunition?”

“Oh.”

Right. I had completely forgotten that crucial detail.

I checked, and we’re almost out of explosives and ammunition!

We’ve got rifle ammo, but the rest is a problem!

Most of the explosives and rockets we had stockpiled, along with the supplies purchased from Armas, were exhausted when taking down Magnavis.

At this rate, we’d have to resort to direct attacks.

Seijis, who was scanning our faces, nodded as if he had expected this.

“Of course, after deploying that many resources, it wouldn’t make sense to still have any left. In such a situation, it would be better to do nothing. The clan is not foolish. They may have fallen easily to Magnavis, but hoping for such luck again is unrealistic.”

The Scholarship Officer continued, as if he understood what I intended to propose.

“Other clans would surely have taken that as a learning experience to strengthen their internal security. Plus, the Federal Army is stationed in the West District. If it gets too big, the army will move.”

I had no choice but to revise the terror plan. The Scholar’s explanation had some validity.

“So, what should we do?”

“That arson incident at the Rumyx building from last time, you remember? That was your doing, right? Keep that going. However, shift the target to a location I designate. I’ll take care of the problem of drawing their attention.”

“How?”

Seijis pointed at himself.

“Did you forget who I am?”

As I looked on in confusion, Seijis continued his train of thought.

“And Violet, you have another task to do. Set up a meeting between someone you know and Lady Irene. What you do will surely be a significant help.”

“Someone I know?”

“If the other side brought a huge clan, we certainly need someone of equal influence. A clan that can provide much more rational and better options.”

Irene, who had been looking at me, gasped lightly.

Oh, no way?

It was at that moment that I realized what the Scholarship Officer was planning.

The TV screen buzzed to life.

[A fire breaks out at the Laplacian headquarters, central research facility. Suspected to be caused by armed terrorist organization Obsidian Legion]

[Archemiria Academy, faced with illegal drug doping allegations among students—under investigation by the Inspection Bureau]

[Lumeria Awakener Academy, accused of tampering with the list of enrolled students]

As the Violets drew attention through arson, the Scholarship Officer executed his part.

As a result, until late at night, Rigel had to shove down his boiling anger while chugging down drinks.

“Damn it, why now…”

He stared at the news broadcast blaring on the screen. The results produced by the Scholarship Officer and the Violets were being sensationally broadcasted by the media.

The various academies supported by Rumyx and Laplacian found themselves suddenly engulfed in waves of audits and revelations.

Rigel, whose minor experiments targeting the academies were interrupted, momentarily lost focus on external affairs due to the pressures from the Inspection Bureau and the terrorists.

Moreover, the policy cooperation manager connecting Helios and Rumyx wound up dead.

The cause was a traffic accident.

“Hello? I’m a dump truck. Let’s go to another world!”

“What, what’s that! Aaaah!”

The result of the Violets rolling two dump trucks back came as a crushed sedan.

“Damn! How is this possible?”

Rigel exploded in anger.

One ridiculous thing piled upon another left him unable to receive all the troops and supplies required for their grand undertaking.

‘Damn it, I can’t even find Irene yet…’

He knew that Chairman Laihan was a man who lived according to his mood.

Having been troubled by the Inspection Bureau and terrorists, he might make unreasonable demands.

They risked having to surrender all their shares.

Rigel was consumed with worries about the future.

While drinking, pondering his next steps, a small figure approached him.

“Dad. Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“No, Bethel. Dad’s going to sleep now. You should go in too, okay?”

The little boy scrunched up his face at the scent of alcohol wafting from his father’s mouth.

“They say drinking a lot is bad for your health!”

“Yeah, I get it.”

The boy went back to his room.

Watching his young son’s back as he left, Rigel seemed to resolve something, putting down his drink.

‘Right, what is there to worry about? I can do this. We can do this!’

Suddenly, the image of his now half-corpse brother floated in front of him.

A tall man with soft golden hair and dazzling golden eyes.

Feeling discomfort, Rigel poured the liquor straight from the bottle.

‘Damn it, yes. I can do it!’

Orion Solstice, that damn brother.

Pride of Polaris Academy.

‘Is being the eldest son enough? Is he that great? What’s so special about being a clan leader? I can manage it too!’

To those gazing from behind, the halo of his brother was far too bright.

So bright it hurt his eyes and brought tears.

And he always monopolized everything.

‘Hmph, he was just lucky. I could’ve done that easily too…’

Cheers, admiration, accolades.

The popular guy. The excellent model student.

Years spent lagging behind and feeling alienated.

The shimmering purple hair, the smiling female student.

‘Damn it, why… suddenly…’

In that instant, the bitterness felt in childhood revived. Emotions that had been pushed down surged forth.

Rigel gritted his teeth unknowingly.

‘It’s just old news!’

After swallowing his anger with the remaining liquor, Rigel tapped on his smartphone screen.

“Uh, yeah. It’s me. I’ve made a decision.”

Was it because of the strange situation inside and outside the clan, or was it the heat ignited by memories from the past?

Rigel made a resolution as if entranced.

“Let’s move up the grand undertaking. On the day of the year-end settlement announcement.”

Upon issuing the order, he felt a refreshing sense of relief wash over him, as if his previously clogged heart had been unblocked.

‘Alright. If we win, that’s all that matters!’

He stood up. As he returned to his bedroom, he heard rustling from somewhere.

‘What’s that?’

It seemed some noise was coming from inside the walls. He tilted his head in confusion and lay down.

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