Arknights, but the family has fallen again

"...Impressive! I saw that a long time ago..."

In the distance, Yan was showing off her "Roma Billiton carrots" whose prices had increased.

Suddenly, a red shadow on the ceiling appeared in front of the three people.

"Doc Otter, the document was just stolen." Red wagged his tail and looked at Otto expectantly.

Chapter 297 Taking Root in the Countryside

1097年03月19日，上午10:21:01。

Casimir in March and April seemed far from winter, but if one ventured out onto the roads, the chill would penetrate one's bones. Huge steel behemoths lay quietly dormant on the side of the road, offering some protection from the harsh wind.

A car pulled up to the curb, and the first thing to emerge from the door was a pair of beautiful legs wrapped in gray stockings. Then, a work badge danced with the movement of a woman's chest.

Daisy (but) stretched her muscles first, and her whole body made a very unhealthy "frying bean" sound.

"I've been working too much overtime lately..."

She sighed, took the briefcase and staff from the co-pilot seat, and looked at the Rhodes Island main ship not far away.

"You said it was like a relaxing vacation... who are you kidding? If it was a vacation, why would you name a top lawyer like me?!"

On the side, the young man Kuranta was sweating profusely and was about to rush to the field with a new hoe on his shoulder, but suddenly stopped in front of Dester.

"Are you from Rhodes Island?" He seemed to remember something.

Desiree was a little surprised: "That's right..."

"Come back with me to get your stuff, huh? Dr. Ott and the others aren't on the ship. If you want to see him, follow me!"

Having said that, he continued to rush forward without looking back.

"Wait a minute..." Desiree's words got stuck in her throat. "I'm wearing high heels..."

Wait, you just drove here, right?

Fortunately, since it was a long business trip, Desiree had packed some casual clothes in addition to her work clothes. However, after a while in the car... the Kuranta brat had disappeared.

"Xiantan Village is so big... Now I only know that we are in the fields. Why not just drive?" Daisy said to herself.

But she looked at the country roads that had never been considered for the chassis of the vehicle, and then looked at her own car.

"Ah...as relaxing as a vacation...you mean hiking, right?"

After all, she is Kuranta. Even though Desiree's physical fitness has declined a lot due to long-term desk work, she is still a natural athlete in track and field.

After walking for a while in the endless fields with a hopeless mentality, Dester first heard the voice coming from the loudspeaker.

"…if we just spread this fertilizer on the soil, it will evaporate directly into the air…"

Desiree was stunned.

She might not know the man, but she knew the electronic voice.

Desiree followed the sound and saw a line of black dots of heads stretching out. She realized that it was almost half of Xiantan Village.

The villagers gathered around a group of uniformed company employees. In the center stood a silver-haired Liberi, a petite Carter, and a sullen-faced Filin. In the distance, several off-road vehicles were parked in corners between the fields.

Under Li Boli's command, the company's employees repeatedly demonstrated in front of the villagers how to use fertilizers in different packages.

Some villagers were already drowsy, others were half-hearted, but some were actually listening intently!?

Not to mention that someone actually listened, just half the village gathered here... Even the Knight Lord of Xiantan Village probably couldn't do this without violence and coercion! ?

Shocked, Dester repeatedly confirmed the icons on them: a white castle on a triangular emblem.

“…Do they have a license to produce and sell fertilizers?” This was her first reaction.

Three days had passed since Rhodes Island officially crossed the border. During these three days, Rhodes Island's medical and logistics operators had gradually spread to the countryside of Zwonek.

Through this standardized process, regardless of whether the villagers are grateful or regard Rhodes Island as a "good guy who can be bullied", they have established a weak trust relationship with Rhodes Island.

Some villagers are even willing to put aside their prejudices and pride and see "how city people teach me how to farm."

Desiree stood on tiptoe, trying to see more clearly, but the Liberi had given the main seat to Cartes and disappeared somewhere unknown.

As she continued to tiptoe, a cold breath suddenly hit Dester from the back of her neck: "Come, my lord wants to see you."

"Aaaaaaah!" Desiree almost dropped her briefcase. "How scary!"

She looked closely and saw a nun.

The nun remained silent after that sentence, quietly guiding Desiree to an SUV. There, Liberi, whom she had just met, sat in the back seat, fiddling with a tablet.

"Miss Desiree." Without even looking up, he directed Yan, who was still waiting for Desiree, to another place, and then said, "I originally thought you would stay on this ship. Please take a seat; it's warmer in the car."

At this time, the nun opened the other back door, and Desiree understood and sat in.

"A child told me you were here."

"Hmm... I hadn't considered this unexpected factor." Ott looked into the lawyer's eyes. "Since the welcome prepared in advance is useless, let's get straight to the point."

"Long Rein Law Firm, our top lawyer, Desiree, is dedicated to serving you!"

"Let's cut to the chase." Ott locked the tablet and tossed it into Desire's hands. "We at Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals are seeking a seat in the Chamber of Commerce... let's call it a seat."

"...We don't need to join the Business Federation just to provide medical services for the tournament, right?"

"Watch my words. We're not trying to join it, we just want to be able to talk."

"Are you going to take control of some local companies? Or a new holding company? Or perhaps cross-holdings with Casimir Enterprises?"

"That's your concern," Ott said. "Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals won't be listed, and won't have any shares. What I need is a result, a simple and clear result: the Business Association can't collectively promote anything we don't agree on."

"...That's a really bold statement." Desiree was eager to try. "Dr. Ott, you should know what you're asking for, right?"

She unconsciously leaned forward, her already loose clothing swaying with the fruit. "You need to hold at least 33% of the weight in the Chamber of Commerce to oppose any proposal. If you rely solely on bribery and bargaining, I'm afraid Rhodes Island can only achieve this on specific proposals."

"You're exaggerating a bit." Ott glanced at her. "The Supervisory Council may be a plate of sand, but under Russell's personal leadership, it's a plate of wet sand that can be used to build a sandcastle."

But the Chamber of Commerce?

To be honest, the followers are better than their master at holding each other back.

Chapter 298 "As Long as"

Desiree sat back down, browsing the documents Ott showed her with great interest, completely oblivious to the problems he pointed out. "He's been busted! Hearing such a 'bold' statement, I thought I could earn some extra legal fees!"

If the employer didn't have much knowledge in this area, he would be led by Desiree...

"Before the Supervisory Commission's actions trigger a stress response from the Chamber of Commerce, they will not pull out the daggers pointing at each other's kidneys and unite to face the 'outside'," said Ott.

In fact, there are loose business groups called "Commercial Federations" everywhere.

However, due to the particularity of Casimir, when the term "Trade Association" is mentioned internationally without a prefix, it specifically refers to Casimir.

Approximately one hundred and twenty years ago, a certain Knight Casimir died childless. Upon his death, his property was foreclosed by the Allergy Hospital. The one who paid the staggering price for his castle on a small mobile platform... was the Knight's squire.

With this as a starting point, the retainers who managed the knights' property grew increasingly wealthy and powerful in the years that followed. They also gained control of an increasing number of social resources, even beginning to participate in and lead the construction of mobile city-states. Casimir's cramped territory, the loose structure of the state, and the bloody and frank intrigues among the nobles all made it impossible to stop the retainers' rise.

Eventually, the retainers defeated their former masters economically, seized considerable dominance, and became the oligarchs of Casimir. They gathered together, bloated, and sat at the luxurious dining table of Cavalleria under the name of the "Commercial Union," dominating the entirety of Casimir.

But this is precisely the problem: the group itself is a collection of contradictions, separations and mutual attacks.

Except when facing the knight, there are few things that can put them on the same side.

"Your information might be able to deal a heavy blow to Gale Industries, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to replace it... Oops!"

The vehicle suddenly started.

The nun had quietly sat in the driver's seat.

After moving forward a little further, Kal'tsit and Amiya opened the front and rear doors respectively and got in.

Desiree fastened her seatbelt: "That nun lady is really scary."

"Miss Desiree, I have a small question: When you think you're sure to win a bet, do you bet your entire fortune?"

Dester replied, "The odds on a sure-win bet are very low. Even if you bet everything, you won't make much. But if the odds are extremely high and the bet is sure to win...it's likely someone is rigging the game."

"It's more than just your entire fortune. You have to mortgage it at big and small banks, use 30 to 50 times leverage, and bet 70 to 80 times your 'entire fortune'!" Dester looked at the lush alfalfa outside the window and said sarcastically.

Suddenly, she became serious again. "However, 'guaranteed victory' itself is a false proposition. When gambling is established, there are winners and losers, and there are bankers and players."

“That’s exactly what happened with Gale Industries,” Ott said.

It was involved in an international gambling game, which tied up a large amount of liquidity. Although it could not be said to have a "win-or-lose" mentality and did not use too much leverage, Gale Industries has now become a giant with feet of clay.

"As long as" the main business of Gale Industry can be destroyed; the military forces cultivated and influenced by it can be defeated; and the political problems of Cavalleriachi can be handled properly, "then" this can be used as an excuse to replace Gale Industry.

Obviously, the "only ifs" at the beginning are the basis for confidence, while the excuses at the end are replaceable...

Desiree returned the tablet to Ott: "Wait, am I not a legal advisor?"

"We're discussing how to legitimately replace Gale Industries," said the silver-haired Liberi, as if discussing what to eat for breakfast. "To that end, the question of 'how Gale Industries will die' itself requires prior discussion."

Dester said bluntly, "If you can do that, then Casimir Business is just a footcloth in this process. If you can't do that, then playing with the letter of the law is meaningless—those big companies wield lethal force."

The Golden Lawyer hinted, "In ancient times, facing the knights' extortion, farmers and merchants were not completely helpless... Now the Supervisory Council controls the army, but the Commercial Union nominally has no direct armed forces."

She was hinting to outsiders like Rhodes Island that the Chamber of Commerce might have control over the "Knight Killer" League of the Unheeled. Although she had never seen it herself, as a top lawyer, she did notice this fact from clues.

"That's not your problem."

"Don't think I didn't remind you, Dr. Ott." Desiree shrugged. "You're so opinionated. So where do we start?"

"Class action lawsuit," Kal'tsit said.

Desiree looked out the window in surprise: "Wait? Aren't we going back to the ship?"

Green fields stretched along both sides of the road, leaving the tiny village far behind the car.

"Ms. Desiree, we are going to Liquan Village!" Amiya turned around and handed over some snacks.

"Thank you...but what is this?"

"Lunch." Ott's expression was normal.

Did you just waste my lunch break working overtime without even saying anything?!

What kind of shady company are you from Rhodes Island?!

"Ahahaha..." Carters seemed to be able to read people's minds. She explained awkwardly, "The operator currently in charge of Stone Village...is a little unaccustomed to life on land. Aside from Doc Otter, the only people she can trust to follow orders are now in the car."

Dester was a little confused: What does it mean to be unadapted to life on land?

Although it is the same road, the part closer to the village is often more dilapidated until it is suddenly repaired one day.

As the vehicle jolted more and more violently, everyone in the car heard a vague sound.

“I will be back!!!”

Along with a vague sound, a black shadow in the sky quickly grew larger and crashed to the side of the road.

Another heavy sound of breaking wind was heard, and the bounty hunters were slammed into the sky by a small figure at the end of their sight with a wild sword.

"get off."

Desiree almost thought she had misheard: "Um, Sister! In this situation, shouldn't we step on the accelerator or just turn around?!"

All four doors were opened at once, and the Rhodes Island group, as if by agreement, left Dester alone in the car.

"Hey..." She gritted her teeth and followed cautiously through the door that Otto had left open.

Only then did Dester notice that the person carrying the giant sword... was actually a young girl with an indifferent expression.

Chapter 299 Blood Revenge

The long white hair looked as white as rolling waves under the reflection of the sunlight, and the astonishing amount of hair was enough to wrap around the giant swordsman's whole body while fluttering in the wind.

The indifference and alienation in her eyes and eyebrows are exactly the same as that of Dr. Otto.

Several bounty hunters struggled and fell in front of her, and many more had already boarded the Greatsword flight, shouting "I will be back".