"Then what?"
After sending those messages, Phaga put his phone aside. Ellen, craning her neck to peek, couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Then what? That's it?
"Then sleep. We'll talk tomorrow morning."
Ellen was still bothered, but Phaga simply kicked off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and muttered, "Move over, your tail's digging into my leg."
"Tsk!"
Ellen clicked her tongue in annoyance. Staring at Phaga's back, the two mole at the corner of his eye seemed to sulk in silence.
But curiosity got the better of her. After tossing and turning for ten minutes, Ellen finally gave in, nudged Phaga's shoulder, and whispered, "Hey, vampire, what are you really up to?"
She had pieced part of it together in her head.
Phaga's Inter-Knot account still carried some recognition, and with all the attention on Vision Industry lately, Dead End Hollow's popularity was unusually high.
Recently, someone who had bought a [Carrot] struck it big inside Dead End Hollow, stirring excitement and wild speculation everywhere.
But no fool would buy the old full-detail [Carrot] Phaga had originally owned. Anyone sane knew that Hollow had already collapsed by a third—making the original [Carrot] useless. That was why Phaga had commissioned Phaethon to make a new one.
So the full-detail [Carrot] he posted on Inter-Knot was just a smokescreen?
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. An obvious scam to distract people, making them forget what they should be paying attention to.
So his real goal was to sell the [Carrot] the Proxy had just given him?
Ellen let out a quiet sigh. "Could you really wholesale it for a million?"
Probably not. Especially once middlemen started flooding in, it wouldn't be surprising if [Carrot] copies ended up selling for a hundred Dennies each.
How could Phaga compete with them for business? Impossible.
Damn it, what is this vampire really planning?!
"Vampires suck blood. That's all. Quit asking and go to sleep."
Phaga suddenly reached back, tugged at the blanket, and draped it over her.
From start to finish, he never turned around. Only his gentle words lingered.
"Good night."
...
Early the next morning.
Beep beep, beep beep!
"Ugh..."
The alarm rang. Ellen, still half-asleep, fumbled to silence the phone in her pocket. She sighed, sat up drowsily, and scanned the room.
In the center stood a woman in a black-and-white maid outfit. Her silver hair cascaded loosely down to her waist. Resting her chin lightly on one hand, she smiled softly.
"Hmm, your breathing's steady. Looks like you'll be waking soon."
"Rina?"
Ellen rubbed her eyes as the blanket slid off her chest.
Rina glanced over, squinting with a small wave. "Morning, Ellen. Want a bowl of congee?"
Ellen followed her gaze to the table, where a steaming bowl of plain congee waited.
As if remembering, Rina added, "I didn't make it. Phaga just bought it back."
Phaga?
Ellen turned to the companion bed beside her. It was already cold—he must've been up for a while.
"Phaga's out on the chair by the door," Rina reminded her.
"Got it."
Ellen slipped on her shoes, picked up the congee, and headed out.
The door was soundproof enough that she only caught Phaga's voice once it was fully open. He was on the phone.
"Wise, don't tell me you Phaethon guys can't even spin up a few hundred accounts."
"Phaga, we can, but the cost is too high!"
"Don't joke around. We agreed all profits from [Carrot] go to Victoria Housekeeping."
"But Victoria Housekeeping never said they'd use Phaethon's computing power to push the narrative."
"Isn't that part of the fee?"
"No. And Victoria Housekeeping has earned plenty already."
"Fine then. I'll cut thirty percent of the profits—only thirty percent from [Carrot] sales!"
"Understood. The Inter-Knot buzz you want will be ready soon."
"Good. A pleasure doing business, Master's big brother. Or should I call you... [Master Criminal]?"
"Better not. Makes me sound like the mastermind."
Beep—beep—
The call ended.
Phaga let out a breath, rubbed his temples, then leaned back in his chair.
"What were you talking about just now?"
Ellen's voice came from the side.
Phaga turned his head slightly, saw it was her, then relaxed again.
"Just a friendly negotiation with our 'Master Criminal.' Nothing much."
Stretching with a yawn, he tilted his head with a faint smile. "Oh, and finish your congee. We're heading out to pick up our Master."
...
"Fairy, start creating Inter-Knot sub-accounts."
Wise planted both hands on the desk, his voice firm.
[Fairy: Assistant No. 2, please say: 'I'm useless, can't even create a few hundred Inter-Knot accounts.']
Wise ignored the jab. "I'm here to help you earn your electricity bill."
[Fairy: Received. Estimated completion in three minutes.]
"Good."
Wise plugged in a USB drive, his tone calm. "Then follow this script."
[Fairy: Acknowledged.]
...
"The buzz has started."
Riding in the pickup on the way to Sixth Street, Phaga scrolled through Inter-Knot.
"Started what?"
Ellen kept her eyes on the road, but stole a glance at Phaga's unchanged expression.
What the heck is this about?
Her tail flicked, thwacking against his shoulder. "Hey, tell me. The ride's boring."
"Alright."
Phaga tossed his phone aside, laced his hands behind his head, and said, "This morning I sent a plan to Belle. Didn't expect her brother to be the one who got it."
"But it doesn't matter. Same difference."
"I had them spin a story. The outline goes like this: Last night, some bored Proxy was browsing Inter-Knot when luck struck—he stumbled across a post by [Inter-Knot User]. He was so restless he couldn't sleep, so he set out in the middle of the night for Dead End Hollow."
"After a string of adventures, the heroic Proxy came out battered but alive, having found a treasure and even recorded [Carrot]."
"Realizing he'd only gotten out by pure luck, he knew he'd need capable allies to go back. So he posted on Inter-Knot, calling for volunteers."
"But the Proxy was too young, too naïve. He trusted the wrong people—and ended up with his [Carrot] leaked and resold by scammers!"
Leaning slightly closer to Ellen, Phaga grinned. "Good story, right?"
"You... your scams really come in full sets."
Ellen gave him a sideways glance and sighed.
"I'm not the mastermind. How can you call it my scam?"
Phaga reclined with his hands behind his head, adding, "Besides, Dead End Hollow really does have plenty of good stuff. It is the Old Capital, after all."
"And it's not even dangerous anymore. The Dead End Butcher is gone. Plus, I've set up a rest stop for them."
"A rest stop?"
Ellen's curiosity rose instantly.
"Yeah. A rest stop."
Just then, the phone rang again. Phaga answered casually, "Hello, this is Victoria Housekeeping. At your service."
The other side stayed silent for a moment before a flat voice replied:
"Phaga, there really are a lot of strangers showing up in Canvas Street. Likely raiders. What should we do?"
"What do you think? What else can we do?"
Phaga answered without hesitation. "Dead End Hollow's out in the middle of nowhere. Canvas Street's the only supply point. It's like fate itself is shoving food straight into Canvas Street's mouth."
"...Alright, I understand. I'll—"
"Wait. Don't hang up yet."
"What now?"
"Victoria Housekeeping takes three percent of Canvas Street's profits."
"...Fine."
"Pleasure doing business, Cunning Hares."
Beep—beep—
Phaga hung up, dropped back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.
"Ah... just another day keeping Canvas Street's economy alive."
Ellen, gripping the wheel: "..."