“Mr. Sly, Mr. Sly, are you alright…?” someone tried to help Sly up, but was held back by another person nearby.
Sly struggled to steady himself. As a fourth-tier Beast Master, his hands and legs trembled uncontrollably, and he muttered unconsciously, “It’s all over, everything is over.”
Axel and Kevin both turned pale, as if someone had walked over their spines. They slumped in their chairs, devastated. Now that the Beast Master Guild had prohibited Lsengard’s Beast Masters from purchasing drugs from the Miller family, all their investments in production equipment were undoubtedly going to waste.
Especially for Axel, the entire Miller family relied on pharmaceuticals for their livelihood. With no one buying their drugs, bankruptcy loomed large for the Miller family.
Worse still, not only were the drugs unsellable, but they also couldn’t buy raw materials. This situation would severely weaken the Miller family, the Draven family, and the Taylor family.
The Taylor family was hit hardest, having suffered several blows and continually weakening. Now, they not only failed to monopolize Lsengard’s pharmaceutical industry but also had nearly fifty gold coins in debt.
“Sly! You have to think of something,” Axel urged desperately, his family’s survival at stake, no longer caring about formalities, he started shouting Sly’s full name.
“Shut up!” Sly took several deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.
There were no other options now; the only way to minimize losses was to sell off the drugs and equipment to other cities. Even so, the original loan of fifty gold coins might only fetch back ten now.
“Damn it! Who did this? Find out who put pepper spray, and where did Raj and the others get the Coca-Cola recipe!” Sly’s veins bulged on his forehead, his demeanor as terrifying as a vengeful ghost. Seeing his subordinate still frozen in place, he kicked him forcefully, sending him crashing against the wall, and then falling heavily, spitting blood continuously.
Some screamed in fright, while others quietly moved towards the door, hoping to leave.
“Stop! No one leaves; there’s still hope!”
Kevin stared at Sly, who had just spoken, his brow furrowed deeply. What could possibly be done in such a dire situation?
He felt a desire to retreat, to stop now while there was still something left to salvage, maybe even a chance to start over later.
“Mr. Sly, let’s pull back. Everyone’s selling Coca-Cola out there; we can’t win this.”
“Kevin, you want to leave too?”
“If we pull back now, we can preserve some strength and maybe seek revenge later. If we keep this up, my family, the Draven family, might well be expelled from Lsengard.”
“You, the Draven family, may have an escape route, but I have none left! No matter what, I need to find out who the saboteur is. I, Sly, will not let them go, even in death!”
Driven to desperation, Sly had lost all reason. Faced with his son’s death and the impending bankruptcy of his family, he had only one thought: to risk everything on one last gamble!
How to gamble?
Their situation couldn’t get any worse, so the only option was to drag down David, Raj, and Henry with them. As long as their situation was worse than his, there was still hope.
“First, burn down their factory equipment. Then, pin the deaths of a few Beast Masters on Coca-Cola. With the help of the media, we might have a chance.”
“Axel, you take care of the fire; Kevin, you handle the aftermath. Make sure to bring along several TV reporters.”
Axel and Kevin brightened up at the idea. If they could make all of Lsengard believe that Coca-Cola was lethal, under such public pressure, what could David, Raj, and Henry possibly do to fight back?
Sly, with a dark look on his face, added to Kevin, “If you can’t find any dead Beast Masters, just make some.”
Kevin nodded, unfazed by the directive. Though it was against the law, with so many Beast Masters in Lsengard, a few unaccounted deaths wouldn’t matter if no one found out.
Unnoticed by everyone in the office, the silhouette of Mousie flashed past the window.
Inside the Blackwood family’s pharmaceutical factory,
Raj, sitting on the sofa, looked at Charles and confirmed once more:
“Charles, are you sure about this? That Sly is planning to set the factory on fire soon?”
Charles nodded. After learning about the notice issued by the Beast Master Guild, he had been covertly monitoring the movements of Sly, Kevin, and Axel.
As expected, these three were not idle. Upon hearing their plan, Charles rushed to the Blackwood family’s pharmaceutical factory to find Raj and urge him to move the manufacturing equipment elsewhere.
Raj was skeptical at first, but Charles insisted, “Don’t worry about anything else right now. They’re going to set fire to this place soon. If you don’t want to suffer heavy losses, better move the equipment and raw materials somewhere else.”
Despite his doubts, Raj acted on Charles’ advice.
After they had moved everything, under the cover of night, a group quietly approached the factory.
“How’s everything going? Are all the nearby surveillance cameras taken care of?” Axel whispered to someone in the dark.
“Mr. Axel, everything’s set. All the cameras around here have been destroyed by my mystical beast,” the person replied.
“That’s good. The next steps must leave no trace. Everyone, stay sharp. We need to be quick when we set the fire.”
As someone peered at the brightly lit factory, they voiced their concern: “Mr. Axel, it looks like they’re still working. There are workers inside the factory. What should we do about them?”
“What else can we do? It’s their fault for working for the Blackwood family. Blame Raj and his people! You just focus on setting the fire.”
Axel had no concern for the workers still inside. Was he supposed to warn them about the fire he was about to set?
As long as he could sabotage the business plans of Raj, Henry, and David, he didn’t care how many civilians were harmed.
“Let’s do it!”
At Axel’s command, a group of masked individuals summoned their mystical beasts and began hurling gasoline cans into the factory.
Once enough liquid had spilled, several fire-type mystical beasts started unleashing their abilities.
In just an instant, flames erupted within the Blackwood family pharmaceutical factory, shooting skyward and illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Axel watched the blaze unfold before him, a satisfied expression on his face. From the burning factory, occasional screams could be heard. Listening to the agonized cries, Axel said calmly, “This is what happens when you cross me.”
What he didn’t know was that the sounds of anguish were all coming from speakers inside the factory.
Meanwhile, hidden in a shadowy corner, Charles was recording everything on his phone, including a close-up of Axel’s face.
Mousie was not beside him; Charles had sent Mousie to follow Kevin. “It’s almost over here. Soon I’ll meet up with Mousie to capture how Kevin is framing everything.”
“I’m really looking forward to seeing their faces when they watch these videos,” Charles mused, before disappearing into the darkness.
The next morning,
Outside the Smith family group headquarters, a large crowd gathered along with dozens of Lsengard’s TV stations and news media reporters. Behind them, camera operators focused their lenses.
The reporters announced, “According to reliable sources, the Coca-Cola produced by the Blackwood family pharmaceutical contains lethal toxins that have already caused several innocent Beast Masters to die.”
“Let’s now speak to some of the victims’ relatives.”
The camera slowly zoomed in on a crowd where several stretchers covered with white sheets were surrounded by grieving family members, loudly lamenting and cursing.
Inside the corporate building, in a conference room,
Raj, Henry, David, and others looked down through the glass windows, their expressions tense and troubled.
Raj glanced at Charles and said with relief, “Gentlemen, no need to worry. Sly is despicable and shameless, but he doesn’t know that Charles had everything figured out well in advance.”
“Indeed, thanks to Charles’ warning, we avoided a massive loss!” Henry and David nodded in agreement, appalled that Sly would stoop to such monstrous levels to frame them using human lives.
Henry sighed, looked at Charles, and asked, “What should we do next? Perhaps we should just release the video evidence.”
In just a brief moment, the Blackwood family pharmaceutical factory was engulfed in flames, a fierce inferno shooting up into the sky, suddenly illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Axel watched the fire unfold before him, a satisfied look on his face. Periodic screams echoed from the burning factory, and listening to those painful cries, Axel calmly stated, “This is what happens to those who oppose me.”
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Unbeknownst to him, those cries of agony were all coming from speakers inside the factory.
Meanwhile, lurking in a dark corner behind him, Charles was capturing everything on his phone, including a close-up of Axel’s face.
Mousie wasn’t by his side; Charles had already sent Mousie to follow Kevin. “It’s about wrapped up here, I’ll go find Mousie soon to record how Kevin is setting everything up.”
“I can’t wait to see their faces when they watch these videos,” Charles mused, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.
The next morning,
A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the Smith family group headquarters, accompanied by dozens of Lsengard’s television and news media reporters, microphones in hand, followed by camera operators.
The reporters incessantly broadcasted, “According to reliable sources, the Coca-Cola produced by the Blackwood family pharmaceuticals contains lethal toxins that have led to the deaths of several innocent Beast Masters.”
“Let’s now hear from some of the victims’ relatives.”
The camera slowly focused on a group where several stretchers covered with white cloths were surrounded by about a dozen grieving relatives loudly crying and cursing.
Inside the building, in a conference room,
Raj, Henry, David, and others were continuously looking down through the glass windows, their expressions tense and grim.
Raj’s gaze swept over Charles and he said with relief, “Gentlemen, no need to worry. Sly’s methods are despicable and shameless, but unfortunately for him, he doesn’t know that Charles was already well aware of his plans.”
“Indeed, thanks to Charles’ timely alert, we avoided a massive loss!” Henry and David nodded in agreement, shocked by Sly’s ruthless tactics of using human lives to frame them.
Henry sighed and looked at Charles, asking, “What should we do next? Maybe we should just release the video evidence.”
Charles replied, “Just wait a bit longer, let’s see Sly’s performance first. He’s put so much effort into it; how could we not watch?”
David couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of Sly’s upcoming act. Sly thought he could turn the tables with his performance, but he was just a clown, unaware that they had already gathered all the evidence and were just waiting for him.
At that moment, Sly, Kevin, and Axel appeared on the main street.