Wasteland Lord: Starting from Thirty Days to Live

After dealing with many small monsters along the way, they arrived at the foot of a magnificent building.

Chamber of Commerce lobby.

This building is much more imposing than others. The four pillars and the gate seem to want to tell outsiders only one thing: this place is expensive, and those without money should not step into it.

With the combined effort of four soldiers, the long-sealed door was opened.

Just as the four soldiers were about to enter and clear a path, they heard voices coming from inside.

"Wait, this is a paradise for merchants and nobles; the poor are forbidden to enter."

"You, you, and you... your shabby clothes are unacceptable. Please get out."

A finger emerged from the darkness, critically pointing at the armor of the four soldiers.

As the owner of the finger judged the soldiers as "unqualified," he simply flicked the armor lightly, and the four soldiers flew out of the door like cannonballs.

The four people flew a long way until their bodies crashed into the wall of the opposite building and became deeply embedded in it, at which point they came to a stop.

Having suffered such immense force, the four soldiers' heads lolled to the side, they coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and their chests caved in, clearly dying instantly.

With just a light flick, four soldiers died instantly, and Vittorio immediately tensed up, realizing that the monster inside was no ordinary creature.

He looked up and saw a pale man dressed in a woolen robe and hat, looking very well-dressed. When he saw the group, he took off his hat to greet them.

"Ah, I am Grandet, the president of the Chamber of Commerce. It is a pleasure to see new faces here, but I do not welcome those without capital or status."

Chamber of Commerce President?

Grandet?

Could it be a human?

However, Vittorio quickly dismissed this idea.

How could there possibly be any humans in a place like this?

Therefore, there is only one possibility—a person who has lost their soul.

However, this monster is quite special. Although it is a soulless being, it is not "soulless," meaning that it seems to have a rational mind.

Just as Vittorio was wondering why this was happening, Edmund suddenly stepped forward and shielded Vittorio behind him.

"Be careful, this thing is not simple. I feel a pressure from it that is no weaker than mine. It... should be a near-level three monster."

Quasi-Level 3?

Vittorio had once said that Edmund was a near-third-rank knight, and he knew Edmund's strength. It could be said that Edmund was the anchor of the camp.

This seemingly harmless, gaunt man actually possesses strength comparable to Edmund's?

Vittorio felt a surge of vigilance.

"Then, who can enter your hall?" Vittorio asked.

"Nobles, great merchants, and people of high status."

"Am I, Vittorio, heir to the Reach, the eldest son of the Earl of Cornelion, worthy to enter your hall?"

"Oh my, it's Lord Vittorio, please come in."

To be precise, any nobleman can be called a lord, but since Vittorio did not formally inherit the title of count, he can be generally referred to as a lord.

Vittorio took a step forward, preparing to go in and test its depth, when Eileen's voice rang out behind him.

"You don't want to go in, do you? Your actions are making me wonder if someone has possessed your soul. I remember our lord is extremely cunning and unwilling to suffer any loss."

It has to be said that Vittorio only realized today that Irene actually has the personality of a sarcastic character.

"While I approve of courage, I do not approve of reckless courage," Edmund said.

"You'd better think this through," Isolde said.

Edmund and Isolde also seemed to disapprove.

In short, the three of them were all talking at once, and not one of them agreed with Vittorio.

Vittorio could only offer them words of comfort.

"Don't worry, everything is going according to plan. At worst, I'll scream for help and you guys can rush in and save me."

The three nodded reluctantly.

Vittorio wasn't entirely confident, mainly because he was in a simulation and knew that even if he died, it wouldn't matter, which is why he was so bold.

Vittorio was genuinely curious about this strange, almost level-three soulless individual who seemed to be able to communicate, so he decided to risk the simulation failing and see what he was up to.

As I stepped into the Chamber of Commerce hall, the doors slammed shut behind me.

As expected, Vittorio remained calm.

Vittorio looked up and surveyed the entire hall. Unlike the dilapidated, rotten, and even disgusting exterior, the hall was surprisingly normal, even somewhat resplendent.

Upon entering, the once amiable merchant guild master, Grandet, revealed his true colors.

"My lord, everyone who enters my territory must answer a small question for me. I wonder if you could grant me this request?"

"What if I don't answer?" Vittorio teased him.

Upon hearing the words "no answer," Grandet's face changed drastically, turning from green to blue to red, as if something strange was about to burst out of his body.

So Vittorio immediately stopped teasing him.

"Okay, okay, don't transform yet, I'll answer your question."

Grandet gave Vittorio a resentful look and asked the following question.

"My wise lord, in one world, there is a merchant and countless laborers. The laborers produce goods every day, and the merchant pays them wages every day."

"If this merchant never spends a single penny on consumption, but only uses all his profits to buy raw materials and expand his production, then in an infinite amount of time, can this merchant accumulate all his wealth in his own hands?"

Vittorio laughed when he heard the question.

If he were asking a time traveler from another country, they might not be able to answer this question.

However, he specifically asked a question about a time traveler from China, a question that every Chinese high school student could answer.

"impossible."

"Why?" Grandet roared.

"Let me explain it to you in the simplest way possible. When a businessman directs production, does he need raw materials? Does he need to pay wages to workers? But the wages he pays to a single worker can never exceed the sum of the market price of that worker's labor and the market price of the goods produced by that worker."

"In other words, a portion of the excess value always flows to merchants, and although laborers produce goods, they cannot obtain 100% of the fruits of their labor."

"This led to more and more money flowing to that businessman."

Grandet tilted his head.

"Isn't this a good thing? If this process continues, won't the merchants control all the wealth?"

"You're oversimplifying things. If all the wealth belongs to merchants, then who will buy the goods? And if no one buys the goods, how can this dynamic process continue?"

Upon hearing this, Grandet's face showed a pained expression.

"That's right, that's the problem. I had a monopoly on all the mineral trading in the River Bend, but then suddenly there was a sales slump, and I couldn't sell any of my minerals."

Vittorio looked on with interest.

"You're a businessman in the ore business, so you wouldn't happen to know anything about gold mines, would you?"

Grandet looked up at Vittorio.

"Answer me one more question, and I'll tell you."