Chapter 296: Chapter 294 – Chaos and Havoc
When Jima arrived, she quickly left the Dream Palace and entered the black-and-white dream realm. Utilizing Dream Seeds, she swiftly leaped to Marlin City, returning to reality and finding Caslan, who was having dinner. She informed him of the news regarding nearly three thousand Noscar shipping fleet members who had perished at sea.
Upon hearing this news, the tall and thin middle-aged man immediately jumped up from the dining table and dashed out to the stock exchange to buy up all the low-priced stocks.
He then hurried back and implored Jima to use her extraordinary abilities to help him disguise his actions so that others wouldn’t notice his extravagant spending to acquire low-priced stocks, fearing they would jack up the prices.
After negotiating a revenue share, that evening, a gloomy stock exchange was visited by a swarm of “good Samaritans” who began purchasing stocks in overseas trade that were nearly worthless.
Seeing that there were buyers, everyone suddenly brightened.
Caslan spent two whole days acquiring almost all the low-priced stocks and bought many overseas trade goods, including elven crafts, silk, spices, wine, elven-made armor, and even exotic beasts from tropical rainforests.
Theoretically, these items were worth a fortune—as long as the merchant ships transporting them could safely arrive at the port. In other words, as long as everyone believed they would safely reach the Marlin City port.
But that was nearly impossible.
Everyone knew that the northern seas were filled with the troublesome Northerners, who were pillaging everywhere, and the imperial navy was preparing to go to war with them.
From past experiences, it would take at least several months of fighting; even the most optimistic persons believed that it would take at least a month before favorable news would appear.
Aren’t they good Samaritans?
“What wonderful people,” said a stockholder with bandages on his head. “I almost lost hope.”
The injury on his head was from an incident involving jumping from the second floor of the stock exchange.
“You remain optimistic, even though stock prices have dropped to a tenth.”
“Better than being a pile of worthless paper,” the stockholder replied. “The Goddess of Wealth must not want to see Her faithful die, ordering the Church to intervene in the market. I now have confidence and have risked everything to buy military stocks. It’s bound to be a fierce battle that will take a long time.”
“Tsk, everyone knows Olit’s territory is suffering from a plague; it’s about to spread to the northern region, and the emperor cannot support the north. With everyone buying military stocks, you won’t be able to profit.”
“Not profiting is still better than nothing,” the stockholder said. “As long as I can recover some of my losses.”
“Aren’t you afraid of losing again?”
“How could I lose? Which child cries every day? Who loses every day? Winning once will cover my losses; this time, I see it as a sure win.”
Not only did military stocks soar, but all military-related materials skyrocketed as well. The military procurement officers, who came to purchase supplies to support the front lines, were infuriated by the skyrocketing prices of materials, cursing that they would eventually send troops to throw these merchants into the sea.
The stockholders’ optimistic spirit faced its first test on the afternoon of the third day. There were rumors that an entire Noscar fleet had been annihilated, with treasures piled high on one ship.
This rumor did not shake the stockholders’ optimism. They began to argue that the Noscar people were not ordinary; one was more muscular than the other and did not fear death. How could they easily fall?
That had to be a rumor.
However, the next day, some fishermen witnessed a whaling ship filled with spoils sailing towards Marlin City port.
Caslan timely announced that the majority of overseas stocks were in his hands, and the stocks he held immediately soared.
Many people connected the dots, remembering that he had a platinum powerhouse daughter and was the father-in-law of a hero, fearing he might have some connections. They rushed to visit him, hoping to purchase stocks.
The gates of Caslan’s mansion were tightly closed, and he refused to sell any stocks.
At this time, the stockholders remained optimistic, especially those holding military stocks. They started to educate everyone about the Northerners, mentioning that there were eight tribes in the North and that one of the tribe leaders was a giant troll.
The loss of a single tribe’s fleet was, to put it bluntly, not worth mentioning.
Moreover, those Noscar people were particularly shrewd; when they sensed danger, they fled. It wouldn’t be so easy to eradicate them.
After sharing knowledge, they began to promote their military stocks, claiming that due to cash flow issues or needing to return home to see their infected mothers, they had no choice but to sell their opportunity to get rich.
The prices of military stocks gradually declined as both sides continued to bargain.
But by noon.
Under the guard of a naval frigate, the whaling ship loaded with spoils arrived at the port, with the head of a tribe chieftain tied at the bow. Exhausted yet exhilarated sailors rushed to the shore, showing off their wounds and boasting about the battle.
In just half an hour, the whole of Marlin City buzzed with news.
A mysterious figure known as the Headless Black Empress encountered a Noscar fleet while digging for treasures, leading to a fierce confrontation. The situation was extremely intense. The Headless Black Empress killed so viciously that the sky turned blood red, and a storm of blood fell; the heads of the Noscar people rolled, and those who remained tried to escape but were swallowed by the sea of blood.
In an instant, Jima acquired a dozen new nicknames; as the rumors merged, her nicknames combined as well, with popular ones including the Headless Black Empress, the Blood Sorceress, the Sea of Blood Slayer, and so forth.
Panicking people scrambled to sell their military stocks, and the prices of military stocks fell further.
Caslan timely announced that most of the overseas trade stocks were in his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
People speculated that he was the public agent of the Headless Black Empress, her puppet.
Caslan even acknowledged the rumors, hinting that Jima might continue to unleash a “fully justified motive” and “no personal gain” retaliatory action against the Northerners.
In an instant, the prices of overseas trade stocks skyrocketed like a rocket.
Caslan gradually sold off stocks, grinning uncontrollably.
Some people laughed, while others cried. A long line formed again on the second floor of the stock exchange for those contemplating jumping.
Having made a significant profit, Caslan calculated and realized that this time he had earned more than all his casino earnings to date. He couldn’t help but exclaim that the stock market was even more powerful than a casino.
Naturally, Caslan also received a court summons, as a group of people sued him for manipulating the stock market.
Caslan handled it cautiously, alleviating the crisis with some maneuvering. After all, no one dared to pressure him too closely. In the distance, the Marlin City riots raged, and in the near vicinity, the entire Noscar fleet had been wiped out. As long as he coughed up some money, it would suffice.
What troubled Caslan the most were the protesting stockholders outside his mansion, as he had extinguished their hopes of recouping their investments. Caslan gave some stocks to the adventurers’ guild, and a group of burly adventurers brandished wooden sticks to drive the protesters away.
He also tossed some money to the major merchants to comfort those who had suffered defeats in the stock market, resulting in the protesters outside Caslan’s mansion disappearing without a trace the next day.
Afterwards, Caslan carefully calculated the accounts, preparing to divide the spoils with Jima on a 70-30 basis—Jima receiving 70 and Caslan 30.
However, Jima was completely unaware of the joys and sorrows of Marlin City.
She was quite busy.
First, she attended to George’s “assessment” results. George informed her that everything was not too serious, but he needed to undergo immediate intensive treatment, during which Jima would not be able to visit him in his dreams. After they had some intimacy,
Jima then set off to gather all the forces she could mobilize.
This included Arkanis.
She met with Arkanis in her Dream Palace.
When Arkanis appeared in her dream realm, Jima was slightly taken aback and asked,
“Whose life are you playing again? The late-night record holder?”
One could see the half-elf Arkanis looking exhausted, sporting a pair of zombie-like eyes and showing no vitality. It was noteworthy that he used to be full of the antisocial energy of “igniting the world for fun.”
Arkanis did not respond; upon seeing Jima, he grinned widely: “Great! My good friend, when you didn’t summon me that day, I thought you were dead. I even shed tears for you and cried for a long time in my room.”
Saying that, he reached out to embrace Jima.
“Get lost,” Jima replied. “Shadow King, what scheme are you up to again?”
“I almost forgot that you are a married woman.”
“Not yet married.”
Arkanis sighed, “Why don’t you ask how your good friend ended up in this predicament?”
“For you, isn’t this all too normal?” Jima asked. “With your troublemaking character, wouldn’t it be normal if you got killed one day?”
“Worse than death,” Arkanis said, the smile fading from his face as he slumped into the chair. “I’ve angered someone I can’t afford to offend.”
“Can’t afford to offend?” Jima exclaimed. “The concept of ‘can’t afford to offend’ exists in your mind?”
“I can’t escape and I can’t die,” Arkanis said. “I’m currently in the basement of the Adolphus Sigma Cathedral, and the thought of spending my next life in a rat hole makes me truly want to die.”
“You’ve been judged as a heretic?”
“No, I’m under the Emperor’s protection.”
“Then why are you staying there?”
“Because there’s someone blocking the door.”
“Who?”
“Remember the coffin we discovered together? There’s a dead woman inside with silver hair.”
“Oh, you mean that beautiful vampire?” Jima recalled Velin’s beauty and sighed, “Burned by you, what a waste of beauty in the world.”
“You like beautiful women, right?”
“What do you mean by like?” Jima replied. “I have admiration for women who are as beautiful as I am; I just want to make some friends. The way you say it, it sounds like I’m a lesbian.”
Arkanis yawned tiredly. “I have a request.”
Jima pulled out a prepared contract and glanced at the numbers: “You still haven’t repaid the resurrection fee you owe from last time.”
“Please, you’re a succubus, right? You must be very charming, regardless of gender,” Arkanis said. “That female vampire is after me, saying, ‘My love for you is engraved deeper than the stake you drove into my heart,’ and she’s even forcing me to marry her. Please, charm her for me, I’ll bow to you.”
“Wait, you said she wants to marry you?”
“Yes,” Arkanis gestured excitedly, “She’s just a complete weirdo! At that time, she grabbed my wrist, pinned me to the ground, and threatened to force me. I had no choice but to agree to marry her. She even forcibly kissed me and killed all the women related to me.”
“She seems to be some ancient progenitor vampire; it’s truly frightening. No matter how much I tried to kill her, I couldn’t. I didn’t expect that she could turn into a little girl after I reduced her to ashes and hide beside me… she’s too powerful. I can’t defeat her, and I can only barely escape.”
“She’s been guarding outside, saying she will wait until the Sigma Cathedral collapses. She’s older than the Empire, extremely powerful; even those big bald heads can’t do anything to her.”
As they continued to talk, Arkanis couldn’t help but cover his face and cry: “She even French-kissed me! What a huge psychological trauma for a living person!”
Jima, furious, couldn’t help but slam her hand on the table and curse:
“Damn it, why does it seem like they all deliver themselves to your doorstep? Get lost! Or I’ll chop you up.”
Arkanis plopped down on the round table, hands clasped together in a pleading gesture: “Please, help me. I’m really afraid of being violated by a corpse.”
“Wait, you said the vampire claims she’s the progenitor?”
“Yes, yes.”
Suddenly, Jima had an idea; perhaps this ancient vampire had knowledge of the promotion potion formula for succubi or some clues.
Her golden eyes flicked as she said, “Fine, I will graciously agree to help you. Who told you that you are my friend?”
“You wouldn’t sell me out, would you?”
“How could I?”
“You just rolled your eyes, clearly with some scheme in mind.”
“Who said that?” Jima replied. “Otherwise, you can go find another succubus and see if any would dare take such life-threatening risks for you, right?”
“Alright, I can only trust you.”
“Then tell me her information and the story between you two.”
Arkanis warned: “Be careful, I previously asked a love expert for help, and he died.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Arkanis recounted the course of events in detail.
After Jima took notes, she nodded: “Alright, once I finish my duties, I’ll get started on helping you. During this time, I might need you to maintain good sleep.”
“Does this count as repayment for the emergency fee?”
“How could it?” Jima smiled, revealing her small tiger teeth: “We’re just helping each other.”
Arkanis felt increasingly that Jima resembled a vampire.
