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Chapter 31: Chapter 31 : The Butcher’s Blade of Capital
What is the cruelest force in the world?
A war-torn battlefield?
No.
It’s capital.
Capital is an invisible butcher’s blade. When it’s raised, the wealth accumulated over generations in a country can be destroyed in an instant. And when it strikes, the sweat and toil of generations can vanish like foam.
Banks don’t just lend umbrellas when the sun is out and snatch them back when it rains.
They are the very ones wielding the blade.
On a rainy day, they won’t just take the umbrella—they’ll strip the clothes off your back and squeeze the very blood from your flesh.
No one understood this better than Karl.
That’s why he wanted to sell the company.
"M-Mr. Li... I..."
As Karl trembled, sweat forming on his brow and his lips quivering, Pierre cut through his pretense without mercy.
"As it stands, Karl Metals under your leadership is a money pit. Sure, there’s no revenue and thus no taxes. But as long as the company stays in your name, you still have to pay property tax. What was last year’s property tax? Can you afford it? Once you start falling behind, a judge will order the company seized. Then what? An auction will be held in a backroom court chamber. The bidders? Just a handful of jackals. They’ll bribe the judge, and for a few hundred dollars, they’ll buy up everything. And even after that, the bank will still come after you for repayment—because tax debts are prioritized over creditor claims. What will you have left then?"
As he finished, Pierre pulled a gold cigarette case from his pocket, took out a cigarette, handed one to Karl, then another to Gambino. He clicked open a lighter and lit them both.
"Smoke it. It might be your last."
Karl’s fingers twitched.
His blue eyes widened in shock as he stared at the Frenchman in front of him.
He didn’t even notice when the lit cigarette fell from his mouth.
Just as it dropped, Pierre caught it mid-air and placed it back between Karl’s lips.
"Go on, Mr. Karl. Smoke it. After today, you’ll be picking cigarette butts off the ground."
With that, Pierre lit his own and started to smoke.
As for Karl?
He just stood there like a fool, staring blankly at the man before him.
Everything Pierre had said hit his deepest fears.
Over the past year, he had quietly tried to find someone—anyone—to take over the company.
But no one would.
Everyone was waiting for him to collapse.
Just like Pierre said: he’d lose everything and be left with nothing but debt.
And at that point?
He’d have no choice but to jump off a building.
With the last of his inner defenses stripped away, Karl finally realized:
this man had come prepared.
After thinking it over, he said weakly,
"$100,000. The company is yours, including all debts. I swear, the total debts don’t come anywhere near the value of this company—"
"That doesn’t matter."
Pierre cut him off.
"Because I won’t pay a single penny."
After what he’d done in London, taking by strategy was child’s play.
"What?!"
Karl’s body trembled. For a moment, he nearly collapsed.
The last straw—his final hope—was gone.
As Karl teetered on his feet, Pierre spoke again:
"But I’ll give you one option.
You transfer the company to me, entirely.
In return, I’ll let you stay on as general manager. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
I’ll pay you $1,200 per month.
And when you retire, you’ll receive a generous pension."
Thank the system—his "cost accounting" module had peeled Karl Metals to its bare bones.
Only with that data was he able to make this bold move.
Swallow a company for free?
Why not.
Unlike the barren North Borneo land the Japanese handed over, this place had real, tangible assets.
It was textbook plunder—without lifting a finger.
Did Karl really have a choice?
"Th-this..."
He opened his mouth, trying to resist. But in the end, he said nothing.
He knew this wasn’t the best option—
but it was the only one.
"Alright. If there are no objections, please sign the contract."
In the meeting room, Zhang Weilen addressed the group. Then, once again, his gaze drifted to Pierre, and inside his chest, his heart was pounding like a war drum.
This had only taken a few days.
And yet, Pierre had managed to acquire a massive factory—without spending a cent.
It was unbelievable.
No one would believe it unless they saw it with their own eyes.
Still shaken, Zhang turned his eyes to Karl and his lawyer.
They were carefully reviewing the contract.
"We have no objections."
Once the lawyer confirmed, Karl signed the contract without hesitation.
God knew, as he put pen to paper, what he felt wasn’t bitterness—
but relief.
The debt was gone.
No bankruptcy.
No more nightmares about his wife running off after he jumped from a building.
"Congratulations, Mr. Li. The company is yours."
Pierre shook his head.
"No, Mr. Karl. Congratulations to you. How does it feel to be debt-free?"
Karl, who had looked so tense moments ago, suddenly burst out laughing.
"Haha! Boss, you’ve seen right through me. But please—take care of the company. After all, it’s my retirement fund!"
Was this real?
Zhang Weilen stood there in a daze.
Was this really how someone responded after being plundered?
Shouldn’t he be furious? Outraged?
And yet... he was laughing?
Pierre smiled.
"You cut your losses just in time. You won’t miss the money."
He picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract.
The moment he finished the final stroke, the system’s light screen popped up:
Congratulations, user. Through intelligence and psychological pressure, you have acquired a $2.7835 million company at zero cost. You are awarded 600,000 experience points.
Then came a flash of fireworks across the interface:
Congratulations, user! You have successfully leveled up to Level 3!
Level up.
It really worked.
Pierre’s heart leapt with joy.
He’d done it.
And he hadn’t spent a single dollar.
Just a clean, elegant zero-dollar acquisition.
