Chapter 209: Brewing Storm.
After Patrick left, Sam sat down there in silence thinking about something. Philip and Jack looked at him seeing his expression.
"I have something to tell you guys." Sam finally said after an hour.
The three others looked at him, waiting for him to complete.
"I am going to be a bigger target than you guys could imagine."
"What do you mean?" Philip asked.
"It has something do with that guy's visit."
"About the Park?"
"Yes."
"But how is that a problem? I think you are overthinking it Sam. Even if they cannot get your designs, they can still use the formation and inscription towers' help. They can still figure this out. I think that is why they just placed a price that low for the designs." Philip said.
"It is not that simple. Do you think that I would just leave the core of a project which could make me hundreds of billions in long run in open?
Do you really think, if they can figure out things that easily, they would come and ask me? Do you think if they are capable of creating that, they would really wait this long, a whole six months after I started the Park to build that?"
"What do you mean?"
"From what I can understand, they already tried to build a Park, but they failed to achieve same level of awe from that."
"Why would that happen? Isn't it just adding some tests and challenges? No offence, your idea is good, but if there is an adequate man power and brains, I think they could replicate it."
"That's where you are wrong, Philip. They can make a Park, I don't deny that, but they are not capable of replicating that, because there is a lot more than people can see in that park. I am a creator Philip; I won't let others replicate my creation that easily.
My design is what gives the Park the appeal and attraction it has. If they cannot replicate it the standards wouldn't meet and the people who already saw the magnificence of the Park, wouldn't be able to satisfy with a sub-par thing.
Simply, put if they cannot replicate my Park, it will not be good enough, but if they do, they will be destroying it themselves. The Park I created in a whole is a destabilized formation under which, a formation which stabilizes it is laid.
This is something that the three tower heads didn't know, so the information these people in the capital got is incomplete. They want my design and help if they want a successful park, if they don't it will be collapsed."
Jack and Philip were stunned. They didn't think that Sam would make such a serious preparation, just so he could stop others from using it. Only Watt was not surprised, he was already brainwashed that Sam could do anything.
Sam looked at the surprised expressions and waited for the news to sink in.
Jack asked after that brief silence.
"Wouldn't it be simple, if they just make a deal with you? Just like the tower heads previously."
"If only it was that simple.
Jack, I will tell you a story.
There was a king, who loved his wife so dearly, that he would do anything for her. He loved her more than his kingdom, his children and all the other consorts.
Due to health issues, his wife died before him and he wanted the whole world to remember her even in the death, so he hired the greatest artisans the kingdom could offer and made them build a monument as her grave with whitest of the stones.
He was mesmerized by the outcome; the monument was the best of its kind. Not many things can rival its beauty.
He gave lands, riches, titles, accolades to the artisans and thousands of workers who worked for it, but later he had a thought, 'what if the greatest monument, he gifted for his dead wife, gets surpassed?' 'What if his wife's memento will not stay as the best forever?'"
Sam paused and looked at the three who are curious and said slowly.
"He doesn't want that outcome, so he massacred the artisan and the workers, killing the people who can possibly make a much better monument than that."
The three were shocked.
Sam continued.
"Such was the human mind, there is a storm brewing out there. The people who want to get their hands of this project doesn't want another thing similar to that emerging. That Patrick, didn't come here to buy, he was here to see the reaction.
Do you think, the big shots in the capital who are considered on the top of the food chain, will make a partnership with a teenager?
If my guess is right, the four tower heads and there might even be someone from the imperial family, already laid their eyes on this and they want this to be only in their hands. It is impossible for them to let a person who knows all the loopholes, in their system free."
"Are you sure? Imperial family? Then they can just kill you and that would be over, even if you are capable, if you are done in by the whole empire, you wouldn't be able to resist."
Philip said in confusion.
Sam just smiled and shook his head.
"I can't explain this, but they cannot kill me. Anyway, do you think that the imperial family will let hundreds of billions slip away? If I am left alone and start a Park in each Dukedom and also in the vicinities of the imperial capital, in two decades, I would be wealthier than the imperial family.
Do you think, they would just leave it at that? If my guess isn't wrong, that Patrick must have been reporting his father by now.
Anyway, all you have to know is that you have to be careful for the next three weeks, there would be all kinds of methods they would use in guise of the competition. This is one of the reasons I asked you guys to buy extra cards. Don't take your original card with you when you go out.
From tomorrow, we won't be taking any missions, we are going to focus on the hidden cards. I will give you the locations and you will be retrieving the cards, if they are not in someone's hands, we don't even have to do that, I have a way to get them easily.
But remember, you will be targeted by the whole candidates, their subordinates, hired thugs, assassins, the four towers' people, honey-traps, even the city guards will be giving you a hard time.
It is going to be a real nightmare; you would experience an oppression that is hundreds of times higher than the previous time in the southern star.
You cannot be killed, but you would be tortured mentally.
If you take a mission, someone would steal it, you would be targeted by groups of candidates, you would see the real influence of the four professions and the imperial family to the full extent.
Simply put, we are against the whole city."
As soon as he said that he saw Philip dropping his head low.
"Why am I even a friend with a guy like you?" Philip yelled as he pointed at Sam.
Sam raised an eyebrow and said.
"I am not the one who shamelessly latched on to you and stayed in your house shamelessly for days."
"Okay, okay, don't bring out the dirty laundry. What is your plan now?"
"Nothing much, first thing is noticing the targets, I need to get to know who are the key roles that are targeting us, then we can take some precautions, leave your cards with me, and go to the places I give you every morning, stay together if possible, even though they will target us, the pressure will grow on us gradually, so we can just get used to the situation gradually too.
Always take all your five cards to the field. If you are in a pinch, just throw out your card with the lowest points at them and leave. We should thank the system that there is no possible way of getting info on how many cards a person has.
So, use them as the life lines, if you are in a fight, take the opponent out as fast as you can or outrun the opponent as fast as you can. Try to escape, just don't get into a fight with multiple opponents, even if you are sure to win."
"Why don't we just take them right now? Why don't we make the first move?" Jack asked.
"Then we would be surrounded by all the enemies at the same time. If they get a slightest inkling of threat the, whole gang would mess us up.
It is good thing that we are in this competition, otherwise the day we entered the capital, I would have been captured. Now, this competition rules are the only things holding us and them up at the same time.
Be mentally prepared as it would be quite tiring."
"Wait, what would you be doing if we are going to collect the cards? Are you going to stay here just like that?" Philip asked from behind.
"Nope, I am going to guard the house, there would some people coming here to sneak in or set some traps, if I leave this would become the most dangerous place for us. We cannot move out of this place now, if we do so, we wouldn't be able to get another residence except for that estate for the candidates which is nothing less than hell.
And, I have to go into hardware mode a little, since we are battling in a city, I will show you my version of urban warfare. From tomorrow, you guys will be training with me in a special place. The last week before the competition ends, we would devour the whole storm that is about to hit us. Till then, just endure."
At the same moment, in the top most floor of the artisan tower.
Patrick just recounted everything to the tower head and the latter went into a deep thought.
"Are you sure, he just directly threatened with their lives without any visible expression?"
"Yes, father. That kid is so arrogant."
For this, the man didn't reply and only muttered.
"That guy is interesting, how can he be so calm when his work and expert idea and design was valued so little, a normal young man would have flipped the table and kicked Patrick's ass."
His voice is so low that Patrick didn't hear it clearly.
"Father, that guy is so arrogant. How dare he reject the proposal? Why don't we just attack him directly?"
*Pak*
A crisp slap landed on Patrick's face and the tower head said to his agonised son.
"You are twenty-two and a Pseudo Rank 4, weapon artisan. He is at most eighteen, he is a rank 6 scholar artisan, which equals my rank, a rank 3 formation and inscription master, which was only limited by his cultivation and a Rank 3 in two other artisan crafts.
Yet you have gall to say he is arrogant? If anybody has right to be arrogant, it was him. Remember, Patrick, you can hate a person, but you have to respect the abilities of a man if you see one. All you have is given to you because of me, your father who is a rank 6 artisan, but he earned it from the scratch.
He alone, gained all these with his abilities.
You ask me, why we don't attack him, because he is not as dumb as you, he is a real genius. Once we are forceful, he would be alerted and he would leave this empire, with his abilities, he would come back and take our lives like taking weeds in a field. Remember, we not only need his designs, we should make sure that after we get them, he wouldn't be able to retaliate against us. He has to at least become helpless and hopeless, even if it was impossible to kill him, he should die emotionally and mentally.
Don't act impulsively and ruin this plan, otherwise even I cannot save you from Nathan."
As the father lectured his son, he didn't notice a small mouse was in the extreme corner of the room hiding in a shadow listening to everything.