Chapter 273

The Violets whispered as they saw the ship arrive at the shore.

“What do we do? Seems like there was an owner!”

“It’s not an uninhabited island…”

Violet felt a bit uneasy. If her assumptions were correct, the Violets would be invading innocent people’s territory without permission.

“No! The purity of establishing the Violet Nation has been tarnished!”

“Doing this is imperialistic!”

Some Violets fussed and the Network buzzed with agitation from the restless Violets.

“It was premature to establish a nation after all!”

“Shouldn’t we first dismantle the Federal Parliament and the Clan?”

Skepticism about the founding of the Violet Nation erupted like mushrooms after rain.

There were even suggestions to attempt conquering the continent instead.

“Let’s seize the Red Zone!”

Violet racked her memory. While not entirely clear, the law of the Federation stated that whoever occupied and purified the Erosion Zone would be acknowledged as the owner of that land.

Of course, this was dismissed due to its impracticality.

“No! The Federation or Clan folks wouldn’t keep their promises.”

“And what about the monsters?”

Amidst the confusion, Unit 1 stepped forward to calm the other Violets one by one.

“Hey, calm down! This is an area that isn’t even marked on the map. They could just be fishermen taking a break, right?”

“That’s true. What about the search party? What’s the situation on the ground?”

Nearby the beach, the Violets in the woods reported back.

“Multiple people sighted. They are moving with a ship on the beach!”

“What do they look like?”

A Violet draped in camouflage peered through her scope at the people one by one.

“They don’t seem like fishermen. Look at the weapons they’re carrying.”

“Ugh.”

It was certainly not the look of fishermen or tourists. Where in the world were there fishermen decked out in armor and toting guns?

“All of them are Awakened Ones!”

Everyone had a sword or axe strapped to their waists. The guns slung on their backs were not ordinary rifles either—elaborate inscriptions marked crossbows or large caliber firearms.

“Are they hunters?”

“They could be Resolves.”

The armed individuals crossed the beach and disappeared into the woods. Then came the ships landing on the shore.

Numerous vehicles rolled out onto the coastline.

“It’s a front-loader!”

“And there’s a bulldozer too.”

Various large and small vessels arrived, unloading workers and construction equipment.

“Ugh! No way!”

A sigh escaped the lips of the Violets with disappointment.

“This is our territory…”

“But look at them. They seem like they’ve been frequenting this island for a while now?”

Violet felt regret. She didn’t know when, but this island already had an owner.

“It looks like they’re building a vacation home or something.”

The materials appeared to be excellent at first glance. Beautifully patterned marble and luxurious-looking woods were neatly piled.

They couldn’t claim someone else’s territory as their own.

Thus, the founding of the Violet Nation was washed away.

“We already have citizens and sovereignty; it’s a pity.”

“Yeah. It seems the land owner is rich…”

“I’m so jealous!”

One Violet chimed in.

“Wait a sec, how about we just buy the land ourselves?”

“Buy the land?”

Now that she thought about it, that seemed better. It would be troublesome if the actual owner of the island came by after they occupied some uninhabited land.

“That sounds plausible!”

“Then what about island development?”

The Violets continued their discussion, now considering the possibility of purchasing the island.

“Let’s keep that option open! If we look around, we might find land that nobody cares about!”

When 871 proposed the idea, 1884 countered.

“Land without owners usually has a reason for that. Think about it!”

The Violets nodded. That made sense.

The uninhabited islands the girls had discovered so far had a common feature.

Rocky, stony, or sheer cliffs. Or they were just too small.

“Mmm… We should keep exploring…”

“Let’s think this through. Retreat for now!”

The ship they had come on was located on the opposite side of the island.

The Violet Squad quietly exited the island.

We pondered how to make big money.

“Real estate is too expensive!”

Buildings were something the Violets could be self-sufficient with.

“Construction technology!”

They had learned various skills from the now-dormant Brotherhood, so they could quickly build simple houses.

“If it comes to it, we could set up a container!”

“That’s a good idea.”

I could picture a Violet base built from containers. It seemed quite nice.

“Let’s call it the Violet Fort.”

“The Violet Fort!”

Inside the fortress of kind and pretty Violets, delightful laughter and the screams of wicked prisoners would echo.

It would definitely be fun.

“Then the issue is funding.”

“Let’s just hunt and earn money! Just like now!”

Most opinions echoed similar sentiments. There were already many ways to earn money.

“Maybe we could even start a business.”

“Business?”

“It’s selling stuff branded with the Violet name!”

That was also a pretty good idea. Thanks to collective intelligence, ideas were flowing in abundance.

A heated discussion was ongoing.

Then one Violet doused cold water on the excitement.

“Wait, does that mean we have to run the factory ourselves?”

Well, making and selling things directly was great, but there was a problem.

“That means we have to work for it.”

“Ugh, that’s annoying…”

“Guarantee a 12-hour rest each day!”

Under the great Violet welfare policy, all Violets must be guaranteed 10 hours of rest time excluding sleep.

“Rest is freedom!”

Unless it was absolutely necessary, they didn’t want to expend effort.

“Isn’t there a good method?”

“A way to earn money while sitting still…”

“How about writing comments?”

They said they could get paid for writing favorable articles for clans or companies.

“That sounds like a slave to money…”

“Can’t I just copy cash and deposit it in the ATM?”

“If you move 5 meters away, it disappears. It might work the first few times, but you’ll get caught soon.”

“Wait a second! I thought of a good way.”

“What is it?”

2310 began collecting thoughts and started to speak.

“I found out that income from finance earns better than labor income!”

“Really?”

“Yep! They say it’s the magic of compound interest.”

Just in case, I looked up a bunch of information and it was impressive.

If you work hard for a year, you earn what you could make in a month through stock investments.

Let’s see. If I put in about a million credits…

Even with short-term investments earning 2% a day, it would double in a month.

“Massive profit!”

Opposition opinions came in.

“Financial income? Stocks or funds, right? That’s hard. Savings are okay but…”

“Hey, think about it. If dozens of people buy and sell over a set period, how would it look to others?”

“It would look like the stock price is rising. So then…”

“Right, at some point, people will want to buy the stocks we’ve inflated! That way, we can charge others for selling. How’s that?”

“Wow! That’s an innovative thought!”

“First, we have to gather money. We might need support for economics too.”

We had a friend who could help us with that. Partnering with a large clan would likely give us benefits in account setup or investment.

“Are we geniuses or what?”

Irene was smart. Moreover, it seemed she had been studying economics after recovering Helios. She’d likely help.

“And there’s the secretary working the accounting next to us, right?”

“Oh, the one named Mr. Kress?”

That’s a good idea. I need to find that friend quickly.

*

So Violet faced her friend and explained her business plan.

“I’ve decided to invest in stocks!”

“Stocks?”

Irene smiled brightly as if inviting Violet to share more.

Her friend had been bringing in outrageous ideas daily, but this time it felt like some reasonable and social thinking.

‘Violet is learning about social skills within Aegis Academy, huh?’

Her anticipation shattered a minute later.

Violet eagerly laid out her plans with a bright smile. As Irene listened, a growing sense of bewilderment filled her mind.

“Um, Violet. You haven’t opened any accounts yet, have you?”

Violet nodded her head. Feeling relieved, Irene shot another question.

“Violet, do you know what you’re trying to do?”

“I’ve decided to call it Group Clone Linked Investment!”

Thank goodness. This innocent friend before me still had no idea what she was doing. If she found out during the execution phase, it would have been hard to manage.

Calmly, I explained what she was planning.

“No, that’s called collusion trading.”

“Collusion trading?”

“Otherwise known as stock manipulation. It’s a crime.”

“Ah… Oh wow!”

771 was taken aback. Seeing that, Irene was convinced that Violet hadn’t intentionally thought to commit a crime.

“Don’t do that. What’s gonna happen to the other investors who buy stocks you artificially inflated?”

“I hadn’t thought of that. I’m sorry…”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. Instead, next time you plan to do something, check if it’s legal or not first. Got it?”

“Got it!”

Feeling relieved, Irene continued to gently guide her unpredictable friend.

“But thank goodness. I don’t think you were planning to attack some company. Please think of other innocent people too.”

“I understand! I’ll be careful next time!”

“And also, companies aren’t fools. If you do that, your personal account will get frozen immediately, and the Resolves will visit you in the night. It won’t be a problem for you in your case but… Anyway, it’s blatant crime. Understood?”

“I’ll remember! Crime is bad.”

From that point on, Violet promised to engage in normal investments.

‘Still, even this is an improvement over the past.’

Irene thought to herself. Violet had really grown.

Comparing to when she’d imprison friends in vacation homes and laid waste to large clans back in the day.

These days, there was more communication and conversation.

A moment of relief was short-lived as Violet, who was heading outside, muttered intriguingly.

“Terror? Hmm… Terror…”

Irene’s face hardened slightly as she sent her friend off.

“Wait a minute, this doesn’t change anything, does it?”

Whether she was clueless or aware, nothing had changed.

‘This is still a big problem…’

Her appetite soured.

*

Regardless of her friend’s concerns, Violet headed towards broader horizons.

“We’ll earn money somehow!”

“To a new world!”

Leaving the Rust Room archipelago, a group of girls began to depart.

“Real estate development!”

“Let’s go check for listings!”

Countless vessels set sail, carrying dreams and hopes beyond the island.

There was no specific destination. They just flowed along like the wind and water.

The Violet Exodus had begun.