Meanwhile, Special Supervisor Denton was now furious. He was pale, his expression was cold, his lips were blue, and his whole body was trembling almost imperceptibly, as if he were having a stroke.
Unlike Karen, Mr. Denton's anger stemmed from the fact that the law and the system had been insulted and trampled upon before his eyes. His superior had actually taken the initiative to help this pointy-eared young lady forge documents, even working overtime to hastily procure a complete set of certificates, thus blatantly misrepresenting the truth. Now, even the fake had become real—it was utterly outrageous!
It's important to understand that Mr. Denton is a person who highly values his duties, as well as laws and social norms. It's his sense of social obligation and responsibility that drives him to go to work early and return home late every day, even though the job doesn't earn him much money. That's called loyalty. Neither his duties nor his uniform allow for any flaws or mistakes.
However, the current situation made even his stone-like head spin. Had order, law, morality, and society as a whole gone mad?
So for a long time, Mr. Denton stood there motionless, his eyes fixed on the pointy-eared fairy.
It wasn't until later, when his superior had finished speaking with Karen and Karen was about to leave, that Mr. Denton seemed to be awakened and came back to his senses.
Karen was preparing to leave.
In Denton's view, this meant that the criminals who had trampled on law and order, the pointy-eared witches who had done such a despicable thing as "Want an imperial edict? Someone, write one for him!" were about to be released!
So Denton had to make one last effort: "Director Schoffer, we still need her assistance in the investigation of the Janelli Mafia's smuggling case..."
But his supervisor waved his hand without even turning his head: "We don't have an arrest warrant. If this lady wants to go back quickly, of course she can go back, right?"
Yes, that's exactly what the law says. It's written in black and white.
Denton had no way to defy the law and the rules. His character, his beliefs, dictated respect for institutions and authority. This was not open to any dissent. At this point, it can only be said that Denton was simply too enraged to do so, knowing he lacked due process, in front of his superiors, with a sorrowful and resentful tone, say these words to Karen:
"No matter how you trample on the law, I will one day catch you red-handed—you rich kid who bullies others!"
This is not something a police officer should say to a law-abiding citizen; his superiors were even terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.
But at the same time, Mr. Denton, like a soldier shot in the back by an officer, bowed tragically to his superior, then turned and walked back into the office building, indifferent, calm, and solemn.
His appearance was exactly like that of someone who had vowed to capture the devil and throw him into hell.
————————————————————————
After that, how eager Denton's superiors were to apologize to Karen, and how the Cyclops lawyer argued with him about it, became less important.
This incident, along with the "words of advice" given by the special director of Denton before his departure, did indeed make Karen somewhat depressed—but only somewhat depressed.
She couldn't stay depressed forever, because the trouble wasn't over yet. In fact, the trouble was only going to increase.
Peacock King may not have directly intervened in his daughter's affairs, but given this turn of events, at least until the local government of New Yatu decides to take sides, Huanxitian can no longer use administrative means to crack down on Karen's business.
But does this elephant really lack the means to wage legitimate business warfare?
That's definitely not the case, right?
Karen is not the type of person who can be killed by having her company seal stolen, her safe broken into, someone climbing over a wall to take photos, or a dump truck used to kill her.
Soon enough, a slightly more "serious" business battle began.
No matter how advanced Karen's business acumen and technical skills are, she can't possibly supply all the upstream goods with just one store. Therefore, Huanxitian started by suppressing the flower shop and other related small companies.
Why do giant corporations eventually develop into all-rounders? Because if they still need to rely on external upstream raw material suppliers, they are easily strangled by enemies!
If Karen could brandish the name of the Peacock King to intimidate the small and medium-sized enterprises that supplied her with raw materials, those companies might not be frightened by Huanxitian. However, she couldn't do that. Fortunately, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. At least in New Yatu City, not every small and medium-sized enterprise would be intimidated by the name of Huanxitian, an executive of the Mitra Group from out of town.
...That being said, half the number of small companies willing to supply Kallen with raw materials has decreased. Of the remaining suppliers, apart from those like the old orc Sok who had a close enough partnership with Kallen, the others have taken the opportunity to raise their demands.
At the same time, her market has shrunk. On the one hand, as mentioned before, the middle class and petit bourgeoisie of New Yatu are already being suppressed and are decreasing, and fewer and fewer people can afford to buy her products; on the other hand, since the source of raw materials has become less, and the remaining ones have taken the opportunity to raise prices, Karen's production costs have naturally increased.
Besides, Karen could also be targeted by her employees. Even if I, Huanxitian, can't scare your daughter of the peacock, can't I at least scare your employees?
In reality, it's not that easy.
Most of Karen's earliest core employees, like Juliet, were "rescued" by Karen when they were about to be married off as "material goods" by their families. Furthermore, Karen was indeed a member of the upper echelons of the divine race; even if people didn't know whose child she was, they could at least see her pointed ears—as a result, the core employees practically treated Karen like a living saint. Although Joyful Heaven could manipulate some of the new employees, the core employees remained unmoved.
In this way, Karen could be considered to have won a small victory over the Joyful Heaven—although part of the reason was obviously due to her divine identity, which left her with mixed feelings.
Moreover, even if the employees have a solid foundation and firmly believe that she is a good boss, the problems of rising costs and shrinking market are still looming.
Therefore, Karen had to explore new markets and new sources of raw materials. Fortunately, she had already considered both aspects—for example, she had prepared her own small transport fleet, and as Hayden had seen before, she was developing the swampy wasteland outside New Yatu through cooperation with the goblins.
This is where Hayden can be most useful. Occasionally, some low- to mid-level demons would attack and intercept Karen's transport convoys on the road. Therefore, she signed a long-term security contract with the "Retribution Military Employment Agency." Angela immediately arranged for members of the commune to act as bodyguards—ah? You ask why not Hayden? After all, he doesn't really manage the "Retribution" business; it's only nominally under his name. In reality, not only the business and the system, but even the people are all under Angela's control!
So, it was around this time that Hayden learned something truly absurd:
"Why have all these Russian gangsters become my employees?!"
Angela immediately shook her head: "Not all of them? Only a group of young people, led by Miss Valeria Volkova, joined the commune. It just so happens that the Volkov family wanted to withdraw from the gangster business anyway, so I negotiated some conditions with them, and they agreed to help!"
This AI, now quite idiotic, was still very proud of what it had done: "By the way, Miss Valeria is the girl you knocked unconscious and dragged into the screen with your sympathetic magic while she was wearing a black leather bodysuit! She's still afraid of monitor screens to this day!"
What kind of aftereffect is this from watching too many horror movies?!
That being said, these newly recruited former Russian gangster youths were actually quite useful. Although the Volkov family had withdrawn from gangster work, their connections and influence were still there. These recruited gangsters were useful in many ways besides fighting. With their help in protection and networking, for a whole month, the drivers transporting Karen's goods were not attacked by the devil again.
After a month, the situation had gradually reached a stalemate. Although various troubles came one after another, they were all, like the previous ones, troublesome but not fatal. Karen had basically resolved them all openly and legitimately, at least not to the point of needing to resort to shady or criminal means.
But she knew that this was only the beginning of the battle.
"It's blocked."
One afternoon in late April, Karen, perched on her desk in her flower shop office, peeked out from under her pointed ears and complained to Hayden.
"The current income is only enough to keep the business afloat, and there's no way to expand the market—all avenues for expansion outside of New Yatu have been blocked, both overtly and covertly. It must be Huanxitian's doing."
“I think it’s already ridiculous that you can hold out against a big company executive with a store like this,” Hayden immediately complained. “Although Huanxitian certainly didn’t go all out to stop you, the other party is still a god.”
Huanxitian certainly wouldn't go all out to intercept Kallen. Even if it considered Kallen a covert representative of the Peacock King, it wouldn't waste all its resources on tormenting her—unless it had a death wish. This aligns with the principle mentioned earlier. As previously discussed, every capitalist must consider where and how much to invest. Wasting money in inappropriate places risks giving other enemies an opportunity to take advantage.
In Hayden's words, "doing business" is a fucking lousy game.
Therefore, the God of Joy was actually only using a small amount of resources to subtly pressure Kallen. However, even a small amount from a single God of Capital was enough to exhaust Kallen.
Fortunately, elves don't grow white hair (except for a small number of elves who are born with white hair), otherwise Kallen would probably be exhausted and turn into a white-haired woman.
Even the current stalemate is merely a precarious one.
Karen sighed.
"The reason we've been able to maintain this barely balanced budget is almost entirely due to the loyalty of Mr. Sock and his continued supply, plus the availability of cheap and rare raw materials."
In other words, a small part of the reason is that Karen bought a large dose of rejuvenating potion for the old orc Sok last time, while the majority is because of the small camp that Karen previously set up in the wasteland swamp, which was maintained by the flower fairies. Now, they are helping her manage and collect the various valuable materials she needs, which is why Karen's [Flower Magic Workshop] can barely keep going.
If something goes wrong at this small swamp camp, or if the materials can't be delivered back in time, Karen's flower shop won't last more than a few days before it explodes and goes out of business.
This situation is practically like a siege. Regardless of whether the enemy can break in, once the food runs out, they'll definitely have to self-destruct.
"Boss! Boss!"
Just then, the young manager, Juliet, knocked on the office door and said in a flustered voice,
"That gruff special supervisor from last time is here again! This time he's carrying a search warrant! He says he wants to check if we have any smuggled goods here!"
These words immediately caused Hayden and Karen to exchange a glance.
"Do you have anything here that would cause trouble if it were found?"
Hayden immediately asked.
"No." Karen shook her head. "After what happened last time, I guessed this day would come sooner or later. I've already made all the preparations, so why would I leave any loose ends?"
Yes. Everyone can understand this logic, right?
If that's the case, why is Mr. Denton coming here to cause trouble?
They found out very quickly.
"The agents are going to search the store, so I have to be there. I'll go and greet them."
Just as Karen stood up from behind her desk, ready to deal with the matter, her phone rang. It wasn't a call, just a text message.
But when she picked up her phone and saw the contents, her expression changed drastically.
"...At the swamp camp, we detected the energy waveform of the devil."
As soon as the words were spoken, Karen and Hayden both realized what a clever scheme was going on!
If the federal enforcement agency comes to raid the store with a search warrant, do you think Karen can just walk away? Absolutely not!
But if the devil were to attack her swamp camp now, how could she not rush to its rescue?! By the time Karen had dealt with the federal agents who came knocking, the swamp would probably have been burned to the ground!
If camp supplies are lost, they can be replanted and purified, or even forcibly resolved by Angela blowing on them. But what if the little fairies are all wiped out by the demons?
Karen and Hayden weren't fools; the same thought flashed through their minds: Could this be such a coincidence? Clearly not. Joyful Heaven must have already discovered that a significant portion of Karen's supplies came from that desolate swamp. Yet, it didn't rush to attack; instead, it waited until this moment—and of all times! It's holding on so tightly!
"You should have an emergency teleportation beacon connecting the two locations, right?"
So Hayden immediately said,
"I'll take men to rescue the swamp immediately."
They weren't unaware that the swamp might be attacked one day, so Karen had prepared this incredibly expensive device that was used every time.
"Are you sure it's okay?" Karen hesitated. "This is definitely a crucial blow that Joyful Heaven is determined to strike. What if there are high-level demons..."
"fine."
Hayden was very confident about this.
"So what if they're high-level demons? It's not like I haven't killed them before!"
Angela said last time that she could handle ten high-level demons at the same time by herself, and she had also been enhanced with new parts recently.
With the sea providing security and strength, what is there to fear?
What could a mere high-ranking demon possibly do to him?
091: That's how you should play!
Teleportation magic shouldn't be used casually, but the situation is much better between two points where a fixed teleportation beacon has been established.
Karen, in particular, has spent a lot of effort purifying the swampy area on the wasteland.
Thanks to the large number of Dream Flowers planted and the hundreds of little flower fairies who have gathered here for months, the swamp itself has undergone a significant transformation. It has transformed from a decaying, filthy, and foul-smelling swamp into a surreal and beautiful garden. The blooming flowers display vibrant colors, the clear water exudes a sweet fragrance, and lush green meadows surround the area.
The so-called fairies were originally an ancient divine race closely connected and intertwined with nature. In the era of the old gods' rule, the fairies served them, but the relationship wasn't particularly close; one could only say that the fairies were considered upper-class members within the feudal society of the old gods. However, after the rise and rule of the new gods, the fairies naturally submitted to their command.
Therefore, their status hasn't changed much: they can barely be considered upper class, merely the lowest rank of gods. However, besides the commonly referred to "little fairies," there are still some powerful fairies in the world today. They are not flower fairies, tree spirits, water spirits, or brown fairies, but rather beings similar to gods. They have also joined modern capitalist society.
In fact, Karen was also related to them in some distant, almost distant way. But that seems a bit off-topic, so let's not talk about that today.
In short, no matter how times change, fairies are a reflection and manifestation of nature. Their lives are constantly intertwined with the natural environment, therefore they must live in places with good water and soil, and in turn, they improve the natural environment. This is one of the reasons why Kallen used the [Dream Flower] to purify the swamp and then invited these little fairies to live there: this is what is meant by win-win cooperation!
Clearly, if everyone cooperates, everyone can benefit more in the long run. Why do some people always prefer short-sighted gains and selfishness at the expense of others? — Karen detests the latter the most. And what she most wants to prove is precisely the first part.
However, Hayden had only just led Angela, his apprentice Eric, and twenty mercenaries from the commune through the one-time portal when he realized he had made a huge mistake:
Not to mention these good-for-nothing mercenaries (aside from Eric, the mercenaries on duty today were all young Russians from the Volkov family who used to be involved in the mafia, a total of twenty), even Hayden didn't know how to talk to the little fairies!
What mortal would bother learning an ancient goblin language like Tirnano?!
Looking at the group of little flower fairies flying around in a panic, Hayden went up to them and shouted loudly to calm them down, but which of the panicked little fairies listened to him?
Finally, Eric pulled a short, cold iron staff from his belt and brandished it in the wind. A thunderous roar, like the forging of iron, followed. These little goblins were terrified of cold iron and lightning; they had been merely panicked before, but now they were completely stunned.
However, this makes it easier to speak.
The most common language in the world is a simplified version of an Indo-European language, and it's also the official language of the Federation of America. Of course, these little devils couldn't possibly be completely ignorant of it. Fortunately, Eric, due to his family background—his ancestors were priests of the Germanic gods—had some knowledge of Celtic dialects.
In the end, everyone is now in this state, managing to have a conversation using a mix of languages that both sides can understand.
So Hayden soon learned:
"The demons haven't entered yet, but the protective barrier has already detected them?"
Karen built a camp in this purified place. The flower fairies only needed to live in the flowers, but the camp still required some other equipment. Therefore, in the center of the camp was a small house built of wood and tempered ceramics, and the purified area around it covered about two hectares. The flower fairies would be responsible for harvesting the necessary materials, and the human staff would simply come over to pack them and transport them back to the city.
However, this was, after all, a wasteland. To prevent any troublesome creatures from sneaking in unnoticed, Karen spent a fortune to install a protective barrier. For anyone wanting to live in the wasteland, this was an indispensable piece of equipment. Thanks to it, the camp had almost never been attacked by wasteland monsters. Even demons couldn't teleport in without beacon authentication.
On the other hand, what if a whole bunch of demons came at the barrier from the outside and smashed it apart from the outside...?
"...Does this mean we have to go out and fight?"
Ordinary people rely on fortifications for defense. However, Hayden and his men's most important task this time is to prevent the devil from breaking in and killing the goblins, and secondly, to prevent the barrier from being destroyed. It's probably better to go out and fight.
But this would inevitably lead to greater losses for the mercenaries. Fortunately, when Hayden spoke to the twenty young Russians, they were all hot-blooded men who wanted to protect the little fairies, so there was no reason for them not to agree. Eric, having just suffered at the hands of the devils, was eager to rush out and smash their heads in, and completely agreed.
However, if they went all out and the devil raided their home, it wouldn't be a laughing matter. Just to be on the safe side, Hayden had half of the Russians guard the hut with a wolf pelt. He himself, along with Angela, discussed the situation with the rest of the men and quickly came up with a plan.
--------------------------
It is now dusk, and the sky is gradually darkening.
On the dimly lit wasteland, the warmth of early spring during the day had vanished without a trace, and a chilly night wind blew across the land.
Suddenly, at the very instant the sun's rays disappeared completely below the horizon, twenty tall, alien creatures appeared silently from the darkness, their origins unknown.