Chapter 256. Fox, O Fox (2) (1/2)
Recently, the Carpe Diem building had been seeing a constant stream of visitors. The reason was simple. With free money and food being handed out, how could Paradisians not make their daily trips here?
“Line up! Line up! We have enough food for everyone, so don’t worry!”
A young lady wearing a spotless Priest’s robe shouted at the crowd gathered in front of the building.
Kim Hannah requested Seo Yuhui to take on this job, and she was displaying skills that went above and beyond Kim Hannah’s expectations.
As expected of someone who was experienced in volunteer work, she acquired food supply in bulk at a cheap price and visited Eva’s temple to supplement their lack of personnel.
Thanks to her, the area in front of the building was only loud, but well-organized.
“As expected of Haramark’s war hero! He’s really different than the rest!”
One man smiled as he held up a box of food supplies.
“They say he killed that frightening First Army Commander! You can’t compare him to those ordinary Earthlings!”
A woman who brought her kids along jumped into the conversation with a smile.
Seol Jihu and Carpe Diem’s value was exponentially increasing with this act of charity. Not only did they give out food and living expenses, but they also paid for people’s debts as well.
Although the debt wasn’t completely gone, Carpe Diem’s generous 10-year loan replacement with an interest rate of 9.63% was definitely worth the praise.
“Well, Viva La Carpe Diem! I wish their leader would become the king.”
“Hey, what if people hear you?”
“So what!? He’s a million times better than the queen who doesn’t show up even at times like this!”
“I guess even if he’s an Earthling…”
The woman and man each with a box in their arms walked away as they continued their conversation.
Seol Jihu was watching all of this from a distance with a satisfied face. He just felt good. His bothered state after seeing Eva’s nightlife and the VIP auction house had relaxed a bit now.
Although the expenses of having hundreds of visitors every day were not insignificant, it was not a big concern as they had far more money than what was being spent.
Kim Hannah said that the deposit paid last time was more than enough, but even if they ran out, they could just use the money in the storage.
Weirdly enough, none of this felt like a waste.
Whether it was because they were now rich or because of the remaining Rothschear inheritances, Seol Jihu felt like he had plenty. Back when he was addicted to gambling, even losing a penny felt like a waste.
He thought to himself and grinned. Then, he saw a familiar face and moved towards the person.
“You were watching too?”
He stood next to her and asked, but no reply came back. Kim Hannah simply stood there, speechlessly watching the scene of charity. Seol Jihu shrugged his shoulders and asked.
“By the way, we still haven’t registered as an organization, have we?”
“…I was going to mention that soon.”
Kim Hannah finally started conversing.
“I think it would be better if we didn’t register for a while, what do you think?”
Seol Jihu blinked his eyes in surprise.
“Why?”
“We can get on their nerves even more, that way.”
Kim Hannah continued without shifting her line of sight.
“As long as an organization isn’t officially listed, it won’t be recognized as one. Meaning, Carpe Diem is still a team.”
“Okay.”
“Think about it, an official organization, not just one or two, but a grand alliance of seven is helplessly wrecked by a small team of ten. How ridiculous would it look? They must be fuming.”
While seeming convinced, Seol Jihu carefully mulled over Kim Hannah’s words.
If it was in the past, he would have simply agreed, saying, ‘I see.’ But having observed the situation for the past few days, he had something on his mind, though it was merely a conjecture…
“I was reading the Eva code of law for the past few days.”
Kim Hannah gave a sideways look, hearing the law being mentioned again.
“There were quite a few laws regarding Earthlings. One of them bans violence or use of force in the city.”
“It’s a law in name only.”
Kim Hannah scoffed.
“Fights break out several times a day, from both Paradisians and Earthlings side.”
“Right, but I’m not talking about simple fistfights that result from insignificant conflicts.”
“What is it then?”
“The important thing is that this law has an exception clause, the same one that restricts the use of excessive force in the Federation border region.”
Kim Hannah lifted her chin slightly before slowly turning her face to look at him with a renewed expression.
“…I get what you’re trying to say.”
Then, she let out a laugh of ridicule.
“But even if we do this, they still won’t do anything for a while.”
“They’re not going to do anything again?”
“Probably.”
Seol Jihu’s eyes narrowed.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because of you.”
Kim Hannah pointed at Seol Jihu with her finger.
“And me.”
Then, she pointed at herself.
“Why me? I’m only a High Ranker.”
“Not just a High Ranker.”
Kim Hannah crossed her arms as she spoke.
“There aren’t even ten Unique Rankers in Paradise. If you exclude the Executors or the so-called apostles of gods, the number is even less. But even these Executors only have a chance to win when they fight against the Parasites’ Army Commanders. Their victory isn’t even guaranteed.”
“….”
“But wait, there’s a High Ranker in front of me who’s killed a Parasite Army Commander, something that not even Executors could do before!”
Having experienced the war before, Seol Jihu had to accept that Kim Hannah’s words were true.
“They must be thinking, ‘Huh? What’s up with these guys? Why are they acting up so much? Are they insane? No, wait, they’re asking for a fight, plain and simple. But that’s impossible unless that Fox has actually gone crazy. Wait—’”
Stopping there, Kim Hannah gestured at Seol Jihu with her chin.
“…They’re laying low because they’re afraid of me?”
“You said you relied on several Awakening Skills to kill Undying Diligence, but you never made an official clarification. Most people don’t know the truth. That’s why the organizations are gritting their teeth and still biding their time. Because with one wrong move, they would have to face the spear of the mysterious Earthling who killed the Parasite’s First Army Commander.”
This all made sense, but Seol Jihu was left with more questions. It was then.
“Jihu.”
Kim Hannah’s voice suddenly got lower. She turned and stared outside the window again.
“Do you know what the most important thing is when a scammer is preparing to strike?”
Seol Jihu raised one of his eyebrows. Kim Hannah continued without batting an eye.
“It’s simple — to make sure the person getting scammed doesn’t know he’s getting scammed.”
“….”
“Only when the scam is successful would they realize, ‘Ah, that was a scam.’ By then, it would be too late to do anything about it.
Seol Jihu understood what she was trying to say.
“I get it. The scammers at gambling houses don’t win a large amount of money immediately. They wait, losing a good chunk of their own money, before reversing everything.”
“What?”
“I heard they slowly bide their time, waiting for the opportunity to strike back big. Apparently, it’s important to make the victim follow on his own initiative.”
Kim Hannah’s eyes widened, seemingly in great surprise. But soon, she regained her composure and smiled faintly. The way she tilted her head down with her mouth closed tight, she looked like she was trying hard to hold back her laughter.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“No—”
When Seol Jihu asked nonchalantly, Kim Hannah giggled and covered her mouth.
“I was just surprised. That was the perfect comparison.”
“I don’t think that’s why you laughed though.”
“You’re right. I just found it funny hearing a former gambling addict say it.”
Kim Hannah smirked before turning back.
“Where are you going?”
Seol Jihu asked sullenly.
“I have someone to meet~”
Kim Hannah waved her hand as she happily walked away. Seeing her slowly grow farther away, Seol Jihu mumbled inwardly, ‘I wish she’d just tell me outright.’
She wasn’t hiding everything, but the way she skillfully dodged the main point, Seol Jihu really felt like he was bewitched by a fox.
‘Just what is she thinking?’
Seol Jihu sighed, shaking his head side to side.
*
Ochoa Cartel’s leader, Omar Garcia, was in a foul mood. Not only did he lose one of his main businesses, but when he tried to make up for his losses by taking over Royal Pattaya’s adult entertainment business, Carpe Diem had flipped the table on him as if they had been waiting.
His savings were disappearing by the second.
‘These fuckers…’
Although he was acting calm on the outside, he was on the verge of exploding on the inside.
‘Damn it, and I was trying to be nice too… You really want to do this?’
It was obvious that Kim Hannah was behind all this. That was the problem.
Omar Garcia was a true Paradise veteran. Naturally, he had heard of Miss Foxy’s notoriety.
He couldn’t call himself a righteous person by any means, but Omar Garcia truly thought his evildoings were a drop in the bucket compared to Kim Hannah.
According to the rumors, even Haramark’s famous internal strife was her handy work.