Chapter 71

“Chapter 71: I Have a Special Money-Grabbing Skill.”

Thank you.

Now, that should be an extremely ordinary word.

But among some ungrateful folks, you would never hear it.

Ivyst is one such example.

She has a nasty personality, a short temper, and usually carries an air of cold arrogance that makes anyone want to turn and run.

In Lynn’s original imagination, there’s no way that word could ever come out of Ivyst’s mouth.

Unless she’s gone completely bonkers.

However, tonight, it seemed Lynn was witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime scene.

She actually said thank you to him?

This self-important, arrogant, and vicious woman actually uttered such words?

Lynn was dumbfounded.

Not only that, he felt somewhat flattered.

Because it was just so rare.

So rare that he couldn’t quite believe it.

Under the influence of the Liars’ Devourer, he maintained a serious expression, unsure of what to say.

Am I dreaming?

Just when Lynn was lost in thought, he heard Ivyst speak again: “Also, there’s something I lied to you about.”

It was as if she was talking to this hypnotized guy in front of her, or perhaps to herself.

?

A hint of curiosity crept back into Lynn’s heart.

“You were actually my first pet dog,” she said, gently cradling her chin and gazing out the window, “The one I mentioned before was Cyrilina’s.”

“To get back at her, I personally choked her beloved puppy to death on her birthday.”

Despite talking about something so chilling, a smirk appeared on Ivyst’s lips, as if recalling some fond memory.

Lynn had no idea that this was actually the biggest secret she had buried deep inside since she was twelve.

At this moment, he couldn’t tell what it was all for.

It was quite the subtle thing.

Hearing Ivyst’s words, Lynn’s expression darkened.

What the hell, do you really think I’d be happy hearing that?

Your first dog—such nonsense.

Thinking back, it seemed like he had taken many of her “firsts.” First hypnosis, first time she proactively saved him, first gift of stockings, first “thank you”—what a wicked man he is.

He couldn’t help but wonder what direction her storyline would take once he eventually bolted from her side.

“Forget it, what’s the point of saying this to your ‘current’ self?” Ivyst shook her head and then waved her hand to lift the hypnosis, “Forget everything I just said.”

In the next moment, Lynn’s consciousness returned to his body.

“.Why did my mask fall off?”

Lynn stared blankly at the raven mask nearby, his acting skills suddenly through the roof.

He had almost forgotten about that. Noticing his confusion, Ivyst frowned slightly but didn’t panic.

“Don’t worry.” She seemed to revert to her usual self, a wicked smile playing on her lips, “I just hypnotized you for a moment to make you do a striptease, but forgot to put the mask back on.”

“I have to say, your dancing skills weren’t half bad.”

What the hell, this woman is adding drama to my life again.

Lynn silently complained in his heart.

But on the surface, he couldn’t show a crack and had to act serious as he sat there.

Seeing this, Ivyst found it somewhat boring and casually steered the topic back.

“Do you have confidence in the agreement with Duke Tilius?”

“Of course.”

“Ten days?”

“Just ten days.”

“Then go all out and show them what my Ivyst Roland Alexini’s subordinates are capable of.”

“At your command.”

“You actually came back alive?”

As soon as they returned to the estate, Greya shockedly approached.

He had witnessed Lynn’s mind-blowing moves all night long, twists and turns that felt like a roller coaster.

Unbelievably, even that iron-blooded Duke, who was a soldier by trade, let him live.

Dodging Greya’s physical check, Lynn shook his head and said, “I only killed two dogs; what’s the big deal?”

“Those were heirs of the Mosgra Family!”

Greya corrected him loudly.

“There are plenty of heirs in the Mosgra Family, he’s not the only one.” Lynn shrugged, “And besides, he’s just an heir.”

“As long as the core pillar of that family, whatever that Valkyrie lady is, doesn’t die, they can always make a comeback.”

With less than a month until they returned to the imperial capital, Lynn had already started planning ahead.

But right now, there was something more important to do.

Help Duke Tilius recover the taxes and somewhat weaken the Church of Heavenly Justice’s faith.

As for the former, it wasn’t as rigid as it sounded.

All that was needed within ten days was to retrieve enough funds to cover military expenses.

Of course, it had to be dough snatched from the local church; only then could Duke Tilius vent his frustrations by earning the money standing up.

As for the latter, it was even simpler.

Ultimately, to weaken a church’s faith, all you need to do is create actions that will shake the public’s inner beliefs.

In simpler terms, make them question the faith they’ve held for so long.

How do you provoke doubt?

Just make these ignorant citizens feel like they’ve been duped like never before.

With that thought, Lynn said, “Get a good rest tonight, because in the coming days, we’re probably going to be really busy.”

Greya pondered, “Do you already have a plan?”

“Of course.” Lynn nodded, “Collecting taxes comes down to two methods.”

“What two methods?”

“Physical collection and paper collection.”

“Physical collection, what’s that about?”

“Just bring people and directly raid their place.”

“Damn, and paper collection?”

“Find a suitable reason, then bring people and raid their place.”

Greya was stunned: “Is it really that violent???”

“Just kidding.” Lynn patted his shoulder, “But pretty much the general idea is like that.”

“You really think you can just make those greedy pests spit out everything they’ve gobbled down with some soft methods?”

“Oh right, remember to arrange for more manpower to work overnight to whip up this stuff.”

As whispers filled the air, Greya’s brow furrowed even more.

“Is this really effective?”

He felt utterly baffled.

“Whether it works or not, you’ll find out soon enough.”

The next morning.

Amidst the noise and commotion, crowds of citizens and passersby packed Orlen City’s biggest City Square to the brim.

Located close to King’s Avenue, this was already the busiest and most congested part of the city, and today the foot traffic had multiplied several times over.

The people murmured quietly among themselves while gazing toward the center of the square.

What on earth are those things for?

As they stared at the sudden row of glass boxes that had appeared in the square, they all instinctively shared the same question.