Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Path You Chose (3)
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Black money.
Also known as hidden criminal assets—enormous funds raked in from the shadows of the law, bypassing any legal procedures.
Such money doesn't multiply like some printing press churning out counterfeit bills.
— Anonymous "If you took out a private loan, pay it back!" — Borrower "I-I'll pay! Just give me the account..." — Loan Shark "You kidding? Who wires this kinda cash? Pay in bills!!" Most cases involve folks earning honest wages through labor, coerced into cash payouts under threat—or straight-up scammed out of their savings.
No need to spell out how black money gets made.
What's more crucial in this Hunter Capitalism era is how it mainly crops up.
Why?
Because that's where modern capital is flooding in.
Tower Coins.
The mysterious rewards doled out to each Hunter for conquering the Tower.
Elaine got some too, back when she first cleared it.
Visible only to Hunters through system or status windows, they can't pass as physical goods or cash in the real world.
💬 Tower Forums — NewbieClimber Anyone know what Tower Coins are even for? — VetHunter No clue lol — ShoppingNoob NoClue Mall? You mean stuff in the [Tower of No Clue] or something? — Everyone ...... A virtual currency with no real-world footprint.
It synced perfectly with the crypto boom, morphing into a legit asset class.
— CoinWhale Buying Tower Coins. 1:1 trades. — Skeptic 1 mil cash for 1 mil Tower Coins? — CoinWhale Yep. — RageQuitter You're nuts? Why shell out cash for unverified crap? So how did Tower Coins suck in capital from regular folks—and Hunters alike?
— CasualGamer Best case, pop status window in Tower, snag some weird outfit? Super pricey too. Just like buying FPS skins? Can't buy jack with Tower Coins outside lame skins that swap your look—no climb boost, just vanity flex while conquering in style?
— Student Teacher. I'm not buying Tower Coins. I'm investing. No.
⭐ Top Comment — MoonBoy Till the day Tower Coins buy real gear, we grind climbs, DCA real cash buys, stack and stack more! Tower Coins forged a massive crypto market on the blind faith of Hunters—and normies betting big.
— HODLer Anyway, Tower Coins gonna moon! — Prophet Far future, system god drops an exchange! — MagicFan Buy all magic items someday! — Choir Tower Coin moon incoming! — Debunker No damage buffs on cosmetics tho. — Visionary Just cosmetics now, but items possible is the point. — Confused Huh? — FutureGazer Not just cosmetics—it's "not buyable yet" phase? What if Tower Coins unlock stat-boosting gear someday?
— Updater Patch drops shop with elixirs, buffs, even "Awakener Serum"? — Everyone ...... — Investor We're value investing the future. — Doomer What if zilch happens? ⭐ Top Comment — All-In Won't. 'Cause I YOLO'd my life savings into it! — Pedant That's speculation, not value investing. — All-In Pretty please call it value investing? Folks scrambled to hoard Tower Coins.
Even non-Hunters hustled for them.
Tradeable, giftable inside the Tower.
Climbers stack 'em, meet IRL, swap for cold hard cash.
— WhyTho Why dump Tower Coins for cash? — EarlyBird Sell for house, car money? Duh. So-called "rice-eating"—cashing out early.
With profits hitting hundreds of millions routinely, sharks smelled blood and started pooling black money.
Funneling dirty cash into Tower Coins, digital or otherwise.
— CartelBoss Kids. Time to sling magic potions, not drugs. — Underling Boss, no Hunters on payroll? — CartelBoss Any kin awaken Hunter? Even non-climber. Bring 'em—Tower Coin ATM. This era.
Mobs, mafias—pulling every trick for Tower Coins.
Hunter Capitalism forced their glow-up.
But hard limit: Only Hunters score Tower Coins.
Non-Awakeners? Still clutching cash or digital scraps.
Korea too.
"Commander~ Dug into local pols' funds first. Wanna peek?"
And I've snagged the power to track that black money flow.
"City councilor? Hiring son's buddy Hunter to farm Tower Coins."
"...Didn't wanna know that deep."
The abyss brimmed with crime hives.
Grimmer than any flick I'd seen.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ True to her electronic warfare chops, Drai hauled way more dirt than I'd figured.
Private SNS chats.
Cloud-stashed videos.
Plenty to peg the perps.
"Commander. Mind if I multitask while you browse?"
"Multitask?"
"Just some web surfing~"
Drai wagged the LAN cable plugged in the wall, grinning.
"Your US pal's secure rig handles sketchy data fine, but basic browsing? This'll do."
"No laptop or phone needed?"
"Nah, overkill. Just a quick plug here."
Drai pinched the LAN jack and her skirt hem.
"Wanna see?"
"Not there, right?"
"Heh, kidding. ...Not the head either. Holding the wire's enough—no weird ideas."
Drai dropped her skirt, yanked the LAN, pinched the line between thumb and forefinger.
"IP-safe searches only. Cool?"
"No shady posts?"
"Me? Nah. Deleting shady's more my vibe. Hehe."
"......."
Some off thought flickered, but I shoved it down.
"Drai. I can trust you, yeah?"
"Duh. Nothing that'll bite you... Wait. What're you picturing?"
Drai sidled up, smirking sly.
"Spill? What'm I 'deleting'?"
"Eh...."
Not dating, yet girlfriend-style grilling?
Normie girl, I'd placate. This one's different.
Elaine's out—time for straight talk.
"My nudes?"
"......."
The deep web's underbelly.
A sore spot we'd both dodged mentioning.
"Figured you wiped that stuff. Wrong?"
"...Was gonna scrub your related hits. Guess add that too."
Drai dropped a deadpan reply, true to name.
Not that Dry, but whatever.
"Pfft. But... you thought my nudes? Seen some?"
"Not nudes. Your EW memes popped up."
"EW?"
"Kinda what sparked it."
Chest mod hacks.
Kiddie stuff—barely abyss-level.
True depths lurk in eyes and such.
"Commander. Wanna nuke it all?"
"Straight up? Yeah."
"Hmm... Fine. While digging, I'll prep a 'kill switch.' One tap, poof."
She mimed button-mashing playfully, but Drai could erase worlds if she willed.
Any LAN-linked spot.
Hack to steal data? Means hack to delete.
Not just nudes.
Wipe other crap—what happens?
Movies had legendary hackers gut central banks, zeroing debts.
Banks rebuilt analog from ledgers—man-hours nightmare.
Forget that; nudes alone would spark riots.
Drai's haul overflowed with vile beyond "leaks."
"All this leaks? Societal meltdown."
"Yup. Humans uniform trash across worlds."
Kiharu, eyeing Drai's crime piles, grimaced openly.
"Humans. Tch."
"Goddess, no dark side. Recall the prof's wisdom."
"Wisdom?"
"Five peeps gather—one's trash guaranteed."
"Me? Reverse: Four trash, or all five."
"Fair, but ease up on the doomgaze."
I patted cat-form Kiharu's back, scanning Drai's neatly foldered filth.
"Peeked the dumpster? Puke prep mandatory. Silver lining though..."
"Lining?"
"Our US buddy's tame by comparison."
"Pre-marriage flings his only stain. ...President? Unreal, nyang."
"Told ya. Hope lives."
I bundled Drai's abyss folders: 'Aizen A. Luigi' headliner, pols, cults, mafia, US Hunters' dirt—all in one.
"Kickoff: Track their stashed diverted dollars, gold bars, hot goods."
"Prez stonewalls?"
"Blast the next tranche."
No tax surrender? Unleash the skeletons.
"Nothing pols dread leaking like sex scandals."
Especially.
"When packed with crimes normies can't fathom."
Unspeakable abyss catalog, stored on my rig.
Drai's security locks it tight now—but my whim dumps it straight to Luigi's SNS.
Ripped from their pampered servers to the Oval Office.
"Prez handles ops, IRS scoops cash, holds then funnels to my account as 'thanks.' Precisely, to black-haired West Virginian 'Mr. Summoner.'"
"Justification thin, nyang?"
"Not the black money tip fee. Real reward's separate."
Prime excuse locked.
"Pay for S-Rank Tower clear in US. Cash dollars post-conquer."
"Ah."
Kiharu sighed.
"Forgot—this dump offers zilch, nyang."
"......."
"What does this hole give, nyang?"
"Not zilch."
Exists.
"Medals and certificates."
"......."