At this moment, Gamma looked at the Great United Company banknotes, staring for a long time but unable to discern any clues.
"What exactly does Phantom-sama want to express? It must be that I'm not smart enough!"
Frankly, Sino thought Gamma was very smart.
But she lacked some imagination.
Before counterfeit money appeared, most people didn't think anyone would use it.
After all, doing such things is illegal.
But for some special people, they don't care about the law.
Gamma's plans were all about using legitimate means that didn't violate the law.
At the same time, she was also prepared for the opponent to flip the table and resort to force.
It was like two people wanting to decide a winner.
They would argue, and if one couldn't win with words, they'd resort to a fight, and if they couldn't win that, they'd resort to poison, which was a bit unexpected.
Although poisoning is a despicable method, it is indeed effective.
If things escalated to the worst-case scenario and Mitsugoshi Company couldn't produce the funds,
Sino wasn't very afraid.
Because he still had a trump card.
Princess Alexia and Princess Alice.
Although Alexia currently only held a small amount of power,
Princess Alice held real power.
Power is much more useful than money.
Moreover, Alice could also take money from the national treasury.
The Midgar Kingdom is a large country, and the taxes alone were enough to make the royal family very wealthy.
At that time, he could just ask Alice to handle the mess.
In any case, he was sure to be in an invincible position.
As time passed, Mitsugoshi Company investigated and discovered the existence of counterfeit currency.
Upon hearing the news, Gamma suddenly understood.
"This is what Phantom-sama wanted me to see! The Great United Company banknotes were made entirely for counterfeiting!"
Gamma immediately went to the Seven Shadows meeting room.
Alpha was also listening to intelligence and contemplating the problem.
"Girl! Have you found out the source of the counterfeit money?"
"Alpha-sama, the source of the counterfeit money is the Lawless City!"
"Once the Great United Company banknotes lose credibility, citizens may very well turn their anger towards us."
"Does Great United Company know about the circulation of counterfeit money?"
"They don't know yet!"
"Then leak the information to let them know! Send members to investigate the train transporting the counterfeit money!"
"Yes, Alpha-sama!"
After Alpha finished giving her orders, Gamma pushed the door open and entered.
"Alpha-sama, I've figured out the banknote problem Phantom-sama mentioned earlier!"
"The Great United Company banknotes are too crude; they look like they were made to be easily counterfeited!"
"That possibility is indeed very high! But what is their purpose?" Alpha fell into a brief contemplation.
Zeta knocked on the door and entered.
"Alpha-sama, Viscount Olba just sent intelligence that Mitsugoshi Company has been targeted by The Order, and Viscount Olba can no longer protect Mitsugoshi Company.
They plan to implement a counterfeit money storm to collapse Mitsugoshi Company's credibility!"
"Even without revealing any flaws, they've already been targeted by The Order!"
"Could the counterfeit money in Lawless City be from The Order?" Alpha asked.
"This requires investigation to confirm!"
"Gamma, if citizens are rushing to exchange money now, is there enough money in the treasury?"
"Currently, the money in the treasury is only enough to exchange one-third of the banknotes on the market. Any more might be unsustainable! A large amount of gold coins has been taken for construction in other places. If we recall the funds now, it will take some time!"
"Then now is the time to have those merchant associations assist us. Recall all the liquid funds of all merchant associations under Mitsugoshi Company! I hope we can overcome this difficulty!"
The next day, intelligence investigators returned to report that there was a guy named John Smith on the train in Lawless City, and he was very strong.
The investigation team was repelled without finding out anything.
"This matter is of great importance. I will personally go and meet John Smith!" Alpha said.
Snowflakes fell one by one.
Sino was eating hotpot in his house outside.
Milia, Alexia, and Beatrix, the War God, sat around the table, happily eating hotpot.
"Woof woof!"
Delta found her way there by scent.
"Boss, it smells so good! What is this!"
"This is hotpot!"
"Delta seems to have eaten it before!"
Sino reached out and stroked Delta's head.
"Of course, you've eaten it! We often ate it together in winter when you were little!"
"Delta forgot!"
An extra set of bowls and chopsticks didn't affect the warmth at the dinner table at all.
Meanwhile, Sid was sitting on the cold train, making revisions in his notebook.
He would occasionally sneeze.
Although Sid exercised regularly, he was still prone to catching colds.
"I don't understand! I really don't understand!"
Sid's notebook was filled with various writings from different countries. He intended to combine these writings into something similar to Morse code.
But clearly, he had overestimated his own intelligence. Now he was completely confused and didn't know how to revise this Shadow Cipher.
Finally, he closed the notebook.
"I'll ask Sino later! Maybe he can come up with a good solution!"
"Now is the time to take care of the guest!"
Sid came to the top of the train, where Alpha, dressed in black, stood before him.
"Good evening, John Smith! And now, good night!"
After Alpha finished speaking, she attacked John Smith.
But John Smith raised his hand and waved, and countless threads of magic easily blocked the attack.
"Impressive strength! But can you block this move?"
Alpha's magic surged, and her close-fitting clothes changed, glowing as if enchanted.
Alpha drew a sword, an ancient relic sword, a magic sword once wielded by Hero Olivia.
Sino had given this sword to Alpha in the sanctuary.
Alpha suddenly burst forth with astonishing speed, surprising even John Smith.
"Is Alpha's strength this great now!" Sid thought to himself.
All the threads that tried to block Alpha were cut down by the magic sword in Alpha's hand.
"That sword is amazing, but I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?" Sid thought to himself.
While thinking, he dodged Alpha's fatal attack.
And with extreme speed, he struck Alpha, knocking her down onto the train car.
Alpha stood up and looked at the person in front of her.
"Similar magic fluctuations to him, along with such exquisite skill and terrifying magic power, but you are not him, so you are..."
"Shadow!"
PS: I just started to feel a little better, and then God gave me a scare. Two moderate earthquakes in one day.
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake. I almost cried from fright.