Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Look at these big shots who are so generous with their money. If the public outside saw this, they would probably be shocked. When did these people become so generous?

Is it really that hard for them to raise 20 million?

Putting aside everything else, it's not even worth mentioning that the few large chambers of commerce could raise this amount of money. Smaller chambers of commerce could also manage to raise it if they gritted their teeth and got together.

For ordinary people, 20 million is a huge sum of money that they would never dare to dream of, but for them, it is really not much.

Cheprini is a mining city. No country in the world would complain about having too much Originium. This stuff is a hard currency everywhere.

The development of industry inevitably leads to the prosperity of commerce, and Ciprini is a hot commodity.

Twenty million? That's nothing.

Why is Alexei so good at enduring pain?

Because a huge sum of five million was placed in front of him in a single day.

How could a fundraising campaign targeting an entire city raise 20 million?

How could that be? There are people everywhere taking advantage of the system, from civil servants to thugs in the gray market used to 'persuade' the public. Who doesn't want money? So, after the profits are split layer by layer, he still manages to get five million.

It's only been one day! Just one day!

He barely lifted a finger, just signed a few words, and five million appeared in his account. The secretary he was assigned even thoughtfully took care of the accounts for him.

Finally, the report stated that 20 million had been raised.

Exactly twenty million. Anyone with eyes can see there's something wrong with it, but no one will investigate. Wherever you go in Ursus, this is all legitimate income.

For example, right now, everyone is very enthusiastic about donating money, right?

If you donate a million and I donate hundreds of thousands, a discerning person would calculate that the actual amount would definitely exceed 20 million, but Alexei believes that the final amount raised here will only be 20 million.

The reason is simple: the money of the chamber of commerce is not the same as your money. If you come here to raise five million, go back and report the expenses, and a few days later you will find that you have more than a million in your account.

It's so blatant, but no one will ever investigate, you know?

Embezzlement? Corruption? Misappropriation of funds?

If no one wants to get you, these words will never be associated with you in your life. But if someone does want to get you, there's no way you can avoid them. That's just how the environment is, and that's how everyone is. How could you possibly climb to this position without getting involved at all?

A saint cannot become a high-ranking official in Ursus.

So, why not?

These methods are not sophisticated, and are even somewhat clumsy. As long as someone comes to investigate, it's as if the evidence is laid bare in the open.

The problem is, someone has to investigate.

In reality, no one will investigate. Even if someone wanted to investigate, they would be suppressed by even more people.

This is a slide that absolutely must not be touched. If you investigate them, won't that implicate me? The whole of Ursus will be worried about that.

The emperor won't investigate, he can't afford to offend more people; the parliament won't investigate, they are members themselves; and the nobles certainly won't, isn't this just their right?

That's how it is in Ursus, everywhere is like that. They don't think there's anything wrong with it, and their superiors don't think there's anything wrong with it either, because that's what they do too.

Only those who truly control the chamber of commerce and consider it their own asset would feel the pain. But firstly, there is no such person in the great chamber of commerce of Cheprini, and the Lermontov family would not allow such a chamber of commerce to be born in this city.

The small business association can be considered a loss to avoid further trouble. After all, they are the local tyrants of this city, and no one will offend the mayor.

At the banquet, everyone toasted and ate, and the mayor praised the gentlemen's righteous deeds. In return, everyone praised the mayor's effective governance.

Everyone was chatting and laughing, clearly displaying the extravagance and luxury of high society.

Alexei sat alone to the side, observing coldly.

All of this continued until the manor's butler stumbled open the door.

"Master! It's bad, Master!"

The butler hurriedly pushed open the door and stumbled in, his face pale.

The entire joyous banquet was like a symphony suddenly interrupted by a discordant note, disrupting the rhythm.

The gentlemen and ladies in the banquet hall all turned to look at the oblivious butler.

Including the owner of this place, Lermontov.

In the past, if this butler had made such a grave mistake, he probably would have already planned out how he would die.

But he couldn't care less about that now. He stumbled in, came to Lermontov's side, and whispered something in a panic.

Snapped.

That was the sound of shattering glass coming from the wine glass in Lermontov's hand.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Our esteemed mayor's first reaction was to deny it, "How could such a thing be? The news of the natural disaster is clearly fake..."

He realized what he was saying before he finished speaking and immediately stopped talking.

But those around them had already heard some key points.

"News of a natural disaster?" Lord Edmund frowned upon hearing this. "If I heard correctly, that's it."

He looked up at Lermontov. "Mr. Mayor, what do you mean by 'fake'?"

Everyone knows what the so-called natural disaster is, so nobody really cares. Just going through the motions is enough to show respect to the Duke, since making money can't be delayed, right?

The Chamber of Commerce's several transport ships are ready to go, just waiting for the matter with the Sixth Army to be resolved.

What he was concerned about was that everyone knew the natural disaster was fake, so why did Lermontov lose his composure like that?

What exactly did the butler say?

All eyes turned to Lermontov, whose face was filled with disbelief.

He looked at the butler, grabbed him by the collar, and roared, "Are you lying to me?"

“Master, how could I dare to deceive you?” the butler said aggrievedly, “Those people are right outside…”

“…How could this be?” Hearing this, his face turned ashen, and he stumbled to the sofa next to Alexei and sat down. “How could this be?”

He could no longer care about the people around him. The natural disaster... it really happened, and the Sixth Army was almost completely wiped out.

Then... how should I explain this to the Duke?

It was his own plan, which he had confidently proposed, to attack the ship under the guise of a natural disaster. Now, the disaster has happened, and the Sixth Army is gone. That was the Duke's hard-earned wealth accumulated over the years!

He dared not even imagine what would happen next.

"Mayor, what exactly happened?" The wealthy businessmen and political figures around him were also unsettled. What could have happened to deal with Lermontov so badly?

Will it affect me?

The harmonious banquet, where everyone was chatting and laughing, immediately changed. Everyone surrounded Lermontov, eager to know what had happened.

Some people tried to ask the butler, but he just stayed next to his master without saying a word.

When Alexei saw this, he found it quite surreal and, for some reason, burst out laughing.

Upon hearing this voice, Lermontov stared blankly at him.

“Mayor, I…I didn’t mean to,” Alexei said hastily, recalling the events of the past few days.

But Lermontov's eyes gradually lit up.

“Ah, yes, you’re still here,” he murmured to himself, “Alexei, you’re still here!”

406 You have betrayed the Grand Duke!

"Major," the soldiers outside the manor looked at Jonathan anxiously, "why won't they let us in?"

No wonder they were so uneasy; the surrounding crowd had almost completely surrounded them.

This is the entrance to Lermontov's estate, located in the most bustling upper town of Chepulini, surrounded by the wealthy and powerful. Now, people are watching them from all sorts of places—on the walls, in the gardens, and on the rooftops.

Looking at this group of defeated soldiers, I wondered where they came from.

"Have we gone too far?" A lieutenant, one of Franz's trusted confidants, asked uneasily at the scene. "Should we sneak into town to contact the mayor... or go back to the base first? There are still some brothers left behind there..."

"Do you want to live?" Jonathan asked him.

"Of course!"

"Then making a big scene is the right thing to do!"

Jonathan felt somewhat incredulous, but after the prayers that could have enraged even the most devout priests, his emotions gradually calmed down.

This made him realize that religion is still useful, and he thought that after he retires, he might donate a small church to his hometown.

But that's all in the future. Right now, the most important thing is to survive this ordeal.

“We must make a big scene, the bigger the better,” he said quietly. “The mayor of this city, ha, a two-faced bastard. Who can we blame for our near-total annihilation? He’s the prime suspect!”

"The false information he provided has ruined us all! Do you think the Grand Duke will let him off the hook once he finds out? Right now, the mayor is the one who most wants us dead and is trying to cover it up!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers tensed up and gripped their weapons tightly. "Then what should we do..."

“So we must make a big fuss! Let everyone know this news,” Jonathan said to them. “Even he can’t control everything in this city. There are other forces here, the assets of the old nobles, and the merchant guilds of the new nobles. We are now standing openly at the mayor’s manor gate, and many people have seen it!”

"He hasn't silenced them yet? He hasn't had the chance, you know that! He can't shut so many people up!"

"So the bigger the commotion, the safer we are!"