Mystery: But the Witch's Path

Chapter 50 Survival is the First Priority

As the last rays of the setting sun completely disappear below the city's horizon, the corresponding red moon just rises, signifying that another day is about to become a thing of the past.

Altair finished dinner early and leisurely soaked in a hot bath. When the bathroom door opened, Vivian, who had been busy all day, calmly entered Altair's bathtub, just as they had agreed beforehand.

Seeing that Vivian was clearly in a bad mood, Altair asked with concern, "You seem to be in a bad mood today. Is something bothering you?"

Vivian, frowning, nodded slightly and gave a soft "hmm," then sighed helplessly, "The Witch Cult has issued another mission, and at the same time, they're urging us to train new recruits."

"Hey, I'm just making trouble for myself."

Altair asked with considerable curiosity, "Didn't they consider transferring people from Intis to do the mission? And the fact that you're feeling so tired means they're training a large number of new recruits, aren't they afraid of those betraying you?"

Vivian rolled her eyes at Altair's sarcastic remarks and slowly said, "Of course I know that, and they know it too. But the Witch Cult isn't united; there are different factions. My faction, including those who don't want to come and those who can't come, makes up a large part of the entire faction. If it weren't for the extraordinary traits I need for future advancement, I wouldn't want to get involved in this."

"And you don't actually think all those newcomers are like you, without any control measures left on them, do you? You're just lucky you ran into me, and I didn't use any tricks on you. If you had met someone else, you would have been in big trouble."

"Don't forget what Sequence Seven's name is."

Altair climbed up to Vivian's side and said obsequiously, "It's just my good fortune to have met our kind Lady Vivian. Otherwise, I might have been eaten alive, leaving not even bones behind."

"Hmm," Vivian patted Altair and said, "It's good that you know." "Hmm." "Do you know what's been happening in the industrial zone lately?"

For Altair, who rarely left his home, this was clearly a bit excessive, so he asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Vivian turned slightly to the side and leaned back, whispering in Altair's ear, "You've been killing like crazy lately. It seems your Instigator Potion will be finished soon."

"Why did you stop? Keep massaging me, I was just starting to feel it."

"Um"

"It feels very comfortable."

"Does this concern me?" Altair asked, puzzled.

Still enjoying the comfort brought on by the massage, Vivian didn't reply to Altair immediately. Instead, she said cheerfully while still savoring the moment, "Yes, of course."

"Although you have united many people to carry out industrial reforms this time, some people have not participated. For their own benefit, they have started spreading rumors that 'reforms will lead to factory closures and worker unemployment.' The incited workers have already started smashing factory machinery and are also planning to storm the municipal government in a couple of days."

Altair stopped what he was doing and asked in shock, "Our factory?"

An angry Vivian forcefully said, "No, because of compensation, most of the workers in 'your' factory did not participate. Only a very small number were lured into participating for profit."

"The vast majority of these factories were run by nobles, well-known entrepreneurs, or members of organized crime who had no real power, and the workers were involved."

After hearing the explanation, Altair was even more puzzled and asked, "What does this have to do with them? Our factory is undergoing renovations and expansions, why are they making a fuss?"

Vivian found Altair's expression amusing and chuckled, "You don't actually believe most people are sober, do you? Don't be too surprised; this kind of thing is quite normal. The lower classes lack the channels and ability to discern information, making them easily swayed and manipulated."

"Survival is their top priority. Those who are misled will stop you for the sake of survival, while those who are clear-headed will stand against you because of the temptation of small benefits."

"They are not supporting the factory owners, but they are just afraid to gamble with their own and their families' survival."

Vivian glanced at Altair, whose expression was uncertain, and continued, "Don't worry, your plan is still proceeding as scheduled. 'They' are not capable of stopping 'you'."

Vivian paused, looked up, touched her lips with her finger, thought for a moment, and then smiled and said:

"I think in the next couple of days... oh... no... no... no... in a couple of days, yes, in a couple of days. In the next couple of days, only the lower classes will die; in a couple of days, a large number of organizers will die."

"What's wrong? Are you sad?"

"The steam age I ignited with my own hands has become a breeding ground for evil gods? This is not the civilization I wanted." At this moment, Altair's mind began to replay Roselle's words, and he couldn't shake them off for a long time.

..........

Vivian shook Altair and asked, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Alter, who had been shaken awake, chuckled self-deprecatingly and asked, "I remember that the factories 'we' were involved with were only in the steel and weapons industries, so why is there such a big reaction?"

Vivian patted Altair, signaling him to continue what he was doing. Once he was inside, she slowly said, "Hmm. The main reason is that they're envious of your completely self-sufficient production. And don't think that weapons manufacturing isn't profitable; with constant wars, military spending remains consistently high."

"Besides, other people aren't stupid. Even though you've only shown weapons technology so far, registering so many companies at once doesn't stop them from being wary of you expanding into other fields."

"I think these people originally just wanted to cause trouble and test whether you would compromise. But they lost control of the situation, and some people went along with it, so they became the prey."

"After all, your agreement with all parties at the time only required the protection of 'our own workers,' and the workers of other companies are not the same as 'our own.'"

"Right now, they're just replenishing their resources in advance. After all, it doesn't prevent them from enjoying the 'dessert' before the main meal."

Altair lamented, "Human life is sometimes really cheap."

"Haha," Vivian laughed, "Sometimes I really feel like you're so childish, like a kid who never grows up."

"Yeah, he's angry." Vivian asked helplessly, sensing that Altair's strength was noticeably different from before.

Altair retorted, "No."

"Really?" Vivian asked in return, "Then can you explain why the water ripples so much and why you're using so much force?"

Altair said directly, "Isn't this good? You look like you're enjoying it."

Vivian gave a light "humph" and didn't reply, instead asking, "Simon advanced?"

"How did you know?" Altair countered, then explained, "He advanced around noon today. Last night I sent him to a party where he happened to have the 'Dawn Knight' extraordinary trait, so I bought it. I also happened to have the recipe at home, so I gave it to him."

"Our... Count Altair... is truly... gifted... multitasking... and can speak so fluently," Vivian said with difficulty.

"What, you don't like it?" Altair retorted. "I thought you liked it. If you don't, I won't give you a massage."

"No!" Vivian said anxiously, "I like it, okay? Hurry up, hurry up. I've had a bad day already, and now that you've finally made me feel comfortable with your massage, I don't want to lose it."

Vivian sighed softly, "The main thing is that I saw him when I came back. I really don't know if the warrior path cheated on me, or the solar path. What kind of light attribute ability does a warrior need?"

This certainly makes it easy to criticize the fact that the "Dawn Knight" belongs to the "Eternal Dark River," one of the three dark factions. Their paths are either dark or dead, making him an oddity with a glimmer of light.

Do these three represent different times of the night: dusk, evening, night, and dawn?

Even if you bring the "Red Priest and the Witch" along to become "Time-Space Unifiers," it doesn't seem very relevant, since one path is war and the other is calamity.