Chapter 380
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 380
Chapter Title: Aren't You Looking Forward to It?
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"It seems there's some misunderstanding, sir."
"Misunderstanding?"
"Our LE & IN free food service was just part of a promotional event from the start. We didn't do it out of any special obligation."
"Well..."
Baek Woo was at a loss for words for a moment.
If it had been the government, that would be one thing.
But it was common knowledge that you couldn't complain about a private company or guild discontinuing their voluntary free handouts.
"Ah, whatever! That's not my problem!"
But common sense didn't always prevail.
His feelings hurt from not getting the free food, Baek Woo brazenly shouted.
"If you're stopping the free service, at least give some prior notice! What about all these people who were protesting for the country and now suddenly starving?"
"Right!"
"You should at least keep it going through today!"
The others around the food truck chimed in with him.
But even amid the shouts of thousands of angry protesters, the staff member didn't bat an eye.
She simply asked with a perfect 100-point smile.
"May I have your name, sir?"
"What? Why do you need my name?"
"We've been instructed that if anyone complains, we can keep the free service going for today, but we need to record their name accurately."
"Ha! You think I won't tell you? I don't know who gave that order, but..."
"It's from Chairman Leviathan and the Infinity Guild Master."
"...What?"
"The Black Dragon Princess and the Infinite Monarch."
LE & IN was a new subsidiary of Leviathan, partnered with Infinity Guild.
So naturally, those two were the ones giving the final orders.
The staff member calmly repeated the question with an even more radiant 200-point smile.
"So, could you give me your name now?"
"..."
"We don't need everyone's names—just one person's will do."
It didn't matter who.
They just needed one representative, even if only formally.
But even after hearing the impeccably polite staff member's words, Baek Woo and the others averted their eyes. No one spoke up.
They had different people to complain to.
The princess who controlled the world's economy and the absolute ruler of the modern age.
The power of those two learning their names could turn even the most rage-fueled person into a model of self-control.
Looking around at them slowly, the staff member said regretfully.
"It looks like we won't be able to do the free event after all."
"..."
"But don't be too disappointed. You can buy as much as you want if you pay."
"Tch, like I'd buy food this expensive...!"
"If the price is a concern, please don't worry."
Maybe he couldn't protest with his real name, but he could vent anonymously.
The staff member smiled back at Baek Woo's snide remark, pulled out a menu ad board from inside, and said.
"If you sign up for LE & IN membership now, you can buy all menus from our company and other Leviathan subsidiaries at 80% off."
"What?"
"And if you use the LE & IN bank, it's up to 90% off."
"90% off...?"
Baek Woo's pupils shook.
With prices these days matching the insane inflation, even the cheapest items easily topped tens of thousands of won.
But the discounted prices below were so low that even grumbling Baek Woo swallowed dryly without thinking.
The problem was that now, after all this, buying it outright would bruise his pride...
[You've acquired information on an item where the market price differs from the listed price.]
[Rare Skill 『Market Appraisal』 activated.]
[Measuring the target's exact market value.]
[‘Chicken roasted with the five spices offered to the Roman Emperor from ancient Pompeii’ 7,900 won (discounted) >>> 753,000 won (market value)]
"...!"
"Sir? If you're not buying, could you step aside for the other customers...?"
"How do I sign up for this membership?"
Baek Woo.
He was a pragmatic man who valued a single won in his bank account over face that cost nothing.
Such scenes weren't limited to the protest sites.
Hotels and restaurants, even convenience store instant and frozen foods bearing the LE & IN mark were flying off the shelves.
And if they hadn't bought any, that would be one thing.
But anyone who tried even one bite of LE & IN's food instantly became a fervent fan.
In these days when a single pack of ramen cost over ten thousand won, selling lifetime-best delicacies at giveaway prices was enough to turn anyone's head.
Some even hoarded LE & IN food indiscriminately, fearing the discounts might end.
LE & IN didn't stop them.
No, they sold unlimited amounts to anyone who wanted to buy.
Each food truck sold at least tens of thousands of portions.
Whether looking at the amount of ingredients loaded or the output from a few staff, it defied all logic.
But few cared about that.
Ordinary citizens were thrilled to enjoy a feast without wallet worries for once.
The military and government breathed relief at averting riots or coups in the relaxed atmosphere.
And struggling food businesses rejoiced at receiving cheap supplies of rice, flour, meat, spices, and more from LE & IN.
In the end, it was a perfect outcome where no one was unhappy—everyone won.
At the top floor of Leviathan.
Li Chingwei smiled faintly as she set down the empty herbal medicine bowl on the penthouse bed.
"The test seems like a success, right?"
"Yes. A resounding success."
"Honestly, I was worried if it would work as well as you two said, but I'm glad it was just my unfounded fear."
"It wasn't unfounded. It was a perfectly reasonable concern."
Aynsha, who had come to visit while she was ill, shook her head with an expressionless face.
She glanced at the palm-sized cauldron cradled in both hands and continued.
"One Dagda cauldron isn't enough production. So we mass-produced them. Utterly absurd."
"To be precise, you made them capable of self-replication."
"That's even more ridiculous."
Indeed.
The mini cauldron Aynsha held was the mass-produced version of Dagda's cauldron—more accurately, a clone split from the original.
But it was a clone in name only.
Its performance matched the genuine article.
Countless replicas nationwide were churning out food and grains nonstop.
"Even gods couldn't do this. The Divine Alliance would flip."
That's why Aynsha admired it curtly.
Items like the golden bracelet Draupnir, which birthed eight clones every nine days, or the River Basin that perfectly duplicated anything placed inside.
Tools with infinite replication were treasures revered as divine artifacts in themselves.
Yet they'd taken an already divine magical tool like Dagda's cauldron and added self-cloning.
Rimon's constellation power.
The legendary great witch Syr.
Even the Seven Arks' abilities.
It was a feat that harmonized them all perfectly—one that would astonish even the gods.
And Aynsha wasn't the only one impressed.
"Li Chingwei is amazing too, applying the cauldrons nationwide overnight."
"I'd been preparing step by step for a while."
"Not just anyone could prepare to this extent. Only you could pull it off."
Even opening a single neighborhood eatery usually took weeks.
Yet in just over a month, she'd founded a nationwide food company with Infinity Guild and seized the financial markets with this opportunity.
As a fellow princess of the Seven Dragon Society, it was awe-inspiring.
But there was one issue.
"That's why I'm even more curious."
"Curious about what?"
"Why Li Chingwei stopped short of sparking a real riot here."
"...What do you mean?"
"Don't play innocent."
Gazing at Li Chingwei, who tilted her head innocently, with her clear eyes, Aynsha continued softly.
"You targeted protest sites for the free food. It made the protests bigger. It was obviously intentional."
"..."
"But after stirring up the chaos, you quelled it before anything exploded. I don't get it."
If she'd calmed it from the start or let it blow up, it would make sense.
Black Dragon Clan being Black Dragon Clan.
But this half-hearted poison-and-antidote approach didn't fit her thorough preparation.
Aynsha asked the reason.
After staring at her intently.
Li Chingwei finally smiled faintly and spoke.
"It's not some grand reason. I just made them pay a bit earlier what they were due anyway."
She didn't need to ask what that price was.
Not just because foresight had shown her the answer first.
Even without seeing the future, she knew there was only one reason Li Chingwei would do this.
"...I wanted to know if Ri knows too."
"He probably doesn't. And even if he did, he wouldn't care."
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
If some villain killed a few people here, Rimon would gladly step up and cut them down.
But if war broke out, he'd watch with folded arms as thousands or tens of thousands of soldiers died.
This place was no longer his country.
"When this country abandoned the Sword Duke, the Sword Duke abandoned it too."
"..."
"And without the Sword Duke's protection, this country must face the responsibilities it's been putting off."
What the president had sensed but denied.
The natural price for building their current glory under Rimon's shield, then forgetting and betraying him.
"The most terrifying responsibility of all—having to protect their own country."
"I don't see what that has to do with propping up the protesters halfway."
"Nothing immediate."
She nodded readily.
Li Chingwei continued calmly.
"But now they know this country can collapse anytime, and they've lost trust in the government."
Over the past centuries, through upheavals, they'd never truly faced collapse...
No—generation after generation, believing 'someone' would always resolve it, it had become habit.
Now crisis loomed in their minds.
"The government also learned that citizens—and sometimes even they themselves—can bare teeth and rampage depending on circumstances."
As if realizing something.
Li Chingwei spoke calmly to Aynsha, whose expressionless face showed pupil quake.
"If this repeats, citizens will start eyeing the government they blindly trusted with suspicion and distrust."
"...Then the government sits idle, but politicians won't. They'll tighten suppression policies and prepare armed crackdowns."
"Exactly. And suspicion breeds more suspicion in a vicious cycle."
"..."
"Whether the people overthrow the government first, or the government builds a system to control the people like livestock first..."
Her lips curved softly.
Her voice flowed gently.
"—Aren't you looking forward to it?"