Chapter 172: Betting
A flash of swordlight, and Isaac Dunkinson, that so-called "uncle," split cleanly in two before Carlotta’s eyes.
Amelia descended from downstairs, her expression unchanged at the sight.
She walked over and said, "Most of the servants were hired workers, not members of the Dunkinson Merchant Guild. They’re all unconscious and don’t know who came. As for a few individuals, they were indeed his close confidants, I’ve already dealt with them."
She hadn’t laid a hand on the innocent, but no one connected to the guild would escape.
Carlotta nodded, putting away Rose Cross.
They exited the courtyard and set off towards the next location.
Amelia hadn’t listened in on Carlotta’s interrogation of Isaac earlier, so Carlotta felt at ease telling her that through questioning, she’d obtained the whereabouts of the remaining members of the Dunkinson Merchant Guild and intended to deal with them one by one.
"So, what will you do about the Dunkinson Merchant Guild itself?"
Amelia asked, "The business assets that rightfully belong to you, aren’t you to plan them? Everything the Dunkinson Merchant Guild possesses should rightfully be yours."
Carlotta paused, sighing, "If I directly reclaim them, people in the Bass Archipelago will start spreading rumors about a robber running loose. Yet those assets truly should belong to me."
There was no way to explain it. She couldn’t reveal her true identity and declare ownership over those assets.
To outsiders, it would merely look like the Dunkinson Merchant Guild was wiped out overnight and its property seized by some thief.
"Are you going to abandon those assets then?"
Amelia asked.
"No. I’ll just become a robber. Let others misunderstand, I know for myself that they rightfully belong to me."
Carlotta wasn’t stubborn.
Although being seen as a criminal didn’t sit well with her, she still intended to reclaim what was hers.
On Island Six, the Dunkinson Merchant Guild operates several businesses.
She arrived at the first one, observing the shop that remained open even at night. She slipped into the back and found the manager, threatening him to shut down immediately.
With a blade at his neck, the manager complied without hesitation.
This manager wasn’t unfamiliar with Carlotta. Although he hadn’t been a manager of the White Merchant Guild, he’d once been a member. Now, he was serving the Dunkinson Merchant Guild.
After closing the shop, Carlotta quickly executed him. As for the regular employees, they were hired locals from the Bass Archipelago, so she didn’t kill them, merely knocked them unconscious. None even caught a glimpse of her.
Then, Carlotta took everything of value from the shop.
"Not long ago I thought I was a bit poor..."
After gathering numerous goods, Carlotta wore a slightly odd expression.
The total value of goods from just one shop was already substantial, and this was only the beginning.
Next, she would seize more shops, and the wealth she acquired wouldn’t be disappointed.
...
Two hours later, Carlotta and Amelia left Island Six.
They returned to Island Nine, where Carlotta went straight for one of the five managers, Winnie Vera.
She found him sound sleeping, his wife lying beside him. His wife, naturally, had also once belonged to the White Merchant Guild.
Just as she had with Isaac, Carlotta revealed her true face before Winnie Vera, causing his entire body to tremble in shock.
Then came a brief interrogation. His answers differed completely from Isaac Dunkinson’s, whether they were truthful or just another fabricated lie, she couldn’t say.
But Carlotta didn’t care about truth or falsehood. After questioning, she executed everyone who needed killing, without mercy.
Then, Carlotta and Amelia moved across Island Nine, shutting down every Dunkinson Merchant Guild shop one by one and seizing all goods within.
Notably, on Island Nine was also the Dunkinson Merchant Guild’s main warehouse, from which many shops drew their supplies. Carlotta naturally didn’t overlook it, everything worth taking was stored inside Amelia’s Ten Heart Pearl.
Her own storage cards simply couldn’t hold so much.
Finally, they arrived at Island Twelve.
The Dunkinson Merchant Guild’s reach extended only to these three islands, and Island Twelve was overseen by one of the five managers, Kelly Newman.
Carlotta repeated her method, entering Kelly Newman’s home, interrogating her briefly, then executing her within his residence. Afterward, she claimed all the wealth belonging to the Dunkinson Merchant Guild on Island Twelve.
By the time these tasks were nearly completed, dawn had fully broken.
The Bass Archipelago began brightening as early as four in the morning, and now it was past six, the sky already clear and bright.
Carlotta returned to the inn on Island Nine, taking out Amelia’s Ten-Hearted Pearl to review her haul.
"Got quite a lot of stuff."
Carlotta asserted, "And this is only part of it."
"Are there still shops from the Dunkinson Merchant Guild we haven’t visited?"
Amelia asked.
"No, we’ve visited every single one. But beyond them, there are a few small surprises. I’ll go pick those up tomorrow night."
Carlotta said with a smile.
Although she hadn’t received intelligence yet, from deduction she suspected Isaac’s son and the other two managers were likely also in the Bass Archipelago, perhaps holding onto something worth her attention.
Next, Carlotta took out the Stellar Workshop, gradually extracting the numerous alchemical materials from the Ten-Heart Pearl and feeding them into the workshop’s furnaces, which devoured them all.
The Stellar Workshop was currently no bigger than a fist, yet it was like an endless abyss, capable of swallowing vast quantities of alchemical materials without any sign of being full.
Carlotta suddenly realized this device could practically serve as a spatial item. However, it probably wouldn’t care about anything except alchemical materials.
It took her some effort to get the Stellar Workshop to consume all the intended alchemical materials and even finished alchemical creations, because these weren’t being destroyed outright. Until she fully constructed the first-stage ship, she could retrieve them anytime, so Carlotta stored everything she possibly could.
Then she checked the progress of the first-stage ship, it had reached 52 percent. Compared to before, it had increased by a full 9 percent.
"Just all the alchemical materials and finished products from one merchant guild only boosted it this much?"
Carlotta was momentarily stunned, but then she reconsidered, this might actually be acceptable, even substantial.
After all, the Dunkinson Merchant Guild wasn’t exclusively focused on alchemy.
Their trade included everyday goods and other commodities, which made up the bulk of their inventory.
"Regardless, the construction progress of the first-stage ship has finally passed the halfway mark... and this was with a Moonlight-class ship already inside. The road ahead remains long and arduous."
Carlotta sighed.
After feeding the alchemical materials, Carlotta flipped through the rest of today’s intelligence. There were still some things she needed to do.
Such as acquiring alchemical materials from the Swan Trading Company, and acquiring the Sky Cornerstone from Zorn Wilson.
But these required money.
"It’s still early. No need to rush to sleep. Amelia, come with me to Island No. 4."
Carlotta said, putting away the Stellar Workshop.
Island No. 4?
Amelia thought for a moment. She remembered it was a rather bloody island, with thousands of arenas built upon it where people fought to the death. It was also a paradise for gamblers. People dreaming of getting rich overnight were everywhere, betting on arena fights and earning money soaked in blood.
"Why do you want to go there?"
Amelia asked curiously.
"I learned during last night’s interrogation that a werewolf with forty-four consecutive wins is about to be taken down by capital manipulation. So I’m going to place a bet and make a little profit."
Carlotta attributed her source of information to people from the Dunkinson Trading Company.
Amelia immediately understood. Cases of capital manipulation weren’t unfamiliar to her. Even in some arenas in the Wendell Empire, such arrangements were common, letting a winning "gladiator" attract massive bets, then rigging the fight to make him lose, thereby reaping the gamblers’ money.
"Let’s go."
Carlotta took Amelia’s hand and left again.
She didn’t feel anything toward the beastmen in the arenas, nor would she stand up for them upon hearing about this so-called capital manipulation.
Although the methods used in the arenas were disgraceful, the beastmen weren’t particularly sympathetic either.
Beastmen from the Southern Continent, though capable of communicating with humans, mostly had underdeveloped intelligence and couldn’t properly manage their race, similar to Berserkers. Yet their reproductive ability was extremely strong, causing food supplies to dwindle.
Thus, invasion became inevitable.
It was said that wars with beastmen were constant in the Southern Continent.
And in the beastmen’s diet, humans were included.
But in humans’ diet, beastmen were not. Normal humans couldn’t bring themselves to eat such human-like creatures, yet beastmen could devour humans without hesitation. Therefore, nearly all humans harbored no good feelings toward beastmen.
Carlotta only wanted to place a bet, earn some money, and leave.
During the day, passenger ferries traveled between the Bass Archipelago. Carlotta and Amelia didn’t fly, but instead found a ferry bound for Island No. 4.
Mainly because Island No. 4 was quite far, located further south in the Bass Archipelago.
About an hour later, Carlotta and Amelia arrived at Island No. 4.
At a glance, the people walking around on this island, their spirit, demeanor, and expressions, were somewhat different from those on other islands, giving off an unpleasant feeling.
"So these are gamblers."
Amelia didn’t like such people. She whispered, "Carlotta, once you make your money, remember to leave. Don’t get addicted to gambling. It’s something that can ruin a person’s life."
"I know. For your sake, I won’t fall into it."
Carlotta nodded firmly.
Amelia glanced at Carlotta. She really could tie everything back to her.
The Crimson Arena was one of the more well-known arenas on Island No. 4. Carlotta didn’t have much trouble finding it.
She entered the Crimson Arena and directly stated she wanted to place a bet on the upcoming match. Naturally, someone politely explained the situation to her.
In the Crimson Arena, duels happened every day. Today’s lineup of matches quickly appeared before Carlotta.
Her target wasn’t on it. Her target was tomorrow.
So she asked the staff to bring up tomorrow’s lineup. This time, she finally found her target. Without hesitation, she took out almost all the money she had and placed her bet on the tiger-demi human’s victory.
When placing the bet, Carlotta had altered her appearance. After all, as someone who had never come to bet before, suddenly appearing today and placing a large sum on the tiger-man’s victory would look suspicious.
But Carlotta thought it wasn’t a big deal. The arena’s betting rules were very complete. Even if she placed a large bet on the tiger-man, it wouldn’t cause the arena much loss. As the organizer, they will only earn more.
More importantly, places like arenas inevitably had insiders leaking confidential information to relatives and friends, allowing them to bet against the odds and make a huge profit.
Perhaps, she would be seen as such a relative or friend?
Anyway, since the arena on Island No. 4 belongs to the Bass Archipelago, it had to abide by the Bass Archipelago’s rules and couldn’t refuse to pay out.
After placing the bet, Carlotta left behind a newly opened bank card in the Bass Archipelago and withdrew. Once the result was out, she wouldn’t need to return to Island No. 4 to collect her winnings. Most islands in the Bass Archipelago had banks exclusive to the Bass Archipelago. She could simply go to one of those banks and withdraw her money directly.
After placing the bet, Carlotta left under the staff’s bewildered gaze. An ordinary staff member really wouldn’t know this match was part of a capital setup.
Carlotta didn’t intend to stay long on Island No. 4. After placing the bet, she left with Amelia and returned to Island No. 9.
It was already eight in the morning.
Carlotta still didn’t rush to sleep. Instead, she once again changed her identity, went to the Swan Trading Company’s shop on Island No. 9, and approached someone from the company to inquire about the piled-up alchemical materials, wanting to see the psychological price of the Swan Trading Company.
Perhaps, the person she dealt with was Jessica Gray, whom she had met several times before.
Because she had altered her appearance using the Illusion Mask, Jessica didn’t recognize Carlotta. She spoke freely, not showing any eagerness to offload the batch of alchemical materials, to avoid being priced too low.
But Carlotta already knew from intelligence that the Swan Trading Company was somewhat troubled by this batch of stagnant alchemical materials.
So she remained calm and finally said, "The price is still too high. I won’t buy it. After all, the versatility of these alchemical materials is really poor. I’m also worried about being stuck with them. I’ll come by next time. I’ll take my leave for today."
Thus, Carlotta left.
Although her relationship with the Swan Trading Company wasn’t bad, when it came to large sums of money, she still needed to be clear.
Although she had gained many things from the Dunkinson Trading Company, most were items. The amount of directly usable funds wasn’t much, and her financial situation was still somewhat tight.
Next, she inquired about Zorn Wilson’s whereabouts, but heard nothing about the whereabouts of this famous vampire.
Instead, she heard about the Dunkinson Trading Company, the matter of the company being wiped out had already been discovered.