Chapter 460: Chapter 243: Making Profits! (Two in One)_2 After all, if the Grand Marshal were to unleash her full power, no one in the entire Imperial City could stop her. Her own strength and prestige within the army were sufficient for her to usurp power with a single thought. Under such a delicate balance, the Emperor only needed to prevent the Grand Marshal from intervening and allow the Rebel Army to deal with the Demonic Queen and the treacherous minister. This would give him a chance to reclaim his own authority. Of course, this was predicated on the assumption that the Rebel Army would not continue to infringe upon imperial power after eliminating the Demonic Queen and the treacherous minister. Under normal circumstances, everyone knew of the Grand Marshal’s existence within the empire. Her reputation was quite good, and unless absolutely necessary, no one dared to provoke her. However, the Rebel Army was now allied with professionals. If these professionals defeated the Demonic Queen and the treacherous minister and then decided to overthrow the imperial power, they were free to make things more difficult for themselves. Yet, the choice to increase this difficulty rested solely in the hands of the professionals aligned with the Rebel Army. Generally, professionals from the Imperial Army had no means of forcing this additional difficulty upon the professionals of the Rebel Army. Currently, the people of the Yongming Star System were researching how to draw the Grand Marshal into the conflict, to make her an enemy of Chen Mo and his group. "Captain, that fellow from the Solar System is so formidable. Perhaps we don’t need to worry about this at all. Knowing his style, he might just choose to challenge the highest difficulty for the best rewards. It’s not impossible that he’d provoke the Grand Marshal himself." "Although that possibility is significant, we must try to be proactive rather than reactive. Pinning all our hopes on our enemies making foolish mistakes is unacceptable. Your primary task now is to think carefully if there’s any way to lure the Grand Marshal into attacking the people from the Solar System." "It’s very difficult. The Heavenly Dao emphasizes balance. For such an overwhelmingly powerful individual, it’s hard to find a way to make her strike before she herself is provoked." As they were speaking, someone suddenly interjected, "Normal methods won’t work, but we could try some unconventional tactics." "Oh? What kind of tactics? Do tell." Everyone immediately looked at the speaker with curiosity, eager to hear what ingenious plan he had to incite the Grand Marshal against the group from the Solar System... * * * On Chen Mo’s side, after checking the task prompt, he surmised that all his subordinates would need to enter the city to complete the mission. He decided not to dwell on it further and planned to wait until the next day when his people entered the city before reassessing. If The Heavenly Path’s Hint still hadn’t indicated task completion by then, he would devise another plan. For tonight, he would stay in Storm City. However, having finally obtained such a high-ranking identity, Chen Mo intended to exploit it to the fullest. Logically speaking, the City Lord’s Mansion should have a treasure vault or something similar, or at least a storeroom for disbursing salaries and such. If I could loot a bit, wouldn’t I make a fortune? It would be delightful if I could score some good stuff for free. Thinking this, Chen Mo immediately focused his senses. While he didn’t detect a treasure vault, he did locate the storeroom. He promptly strode towards it. People he encountered along the way either showed profound respect or hastily stepped aside. Thus, Chen Mo arrived unimpeded before the storeroom. "Lord of the City!" Seeing Chen Mo arrive, the storeroom Steward immediately stood up and saluted him respectfully. Chen Mo looked at the Steward impassively and said, "I’ve come to see how much money is left in our storeroom. I need to check the accounts." The sight of the Devil Marshal himself coming to inspect the accounts scared the wits out of everyone working in the storeroom. The Steward also feared he had made some mistake in the accounts to warrant the City Lord’s personal visit. He was terrified, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He immediately grabbed the ledgers, ran over, and knelt before Chen Mo, saying with genuine fear and trepidation, "Sir, all of last month’s accounts are here. Every line, every item, I’ve listed clearly. I’ve checked it multiple times; there shouldn’t be any omissions..." He knew he shouldn’t say too much at this moment; otherwise, if he angered the other party, his life would be forfeit. But if he remained silent and was misunderstood, his life would be forfeit all the same. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the Steward decided it was better to clarify. Chen Mo took the ledger and flipped through it perfunctorily. In reality, he had no interest in the City Lord’s Mansion’s accounting. He only wanted to see its surplus. As he scanned the ledger, Chen Mo saw that last month’s surplus was as high as 2,000 eternal gold coins. Although this Instance World wasn’t Chen Mo’s real world, 2,000 gold coins weren’t 20 billion, but it was close. After all, eternal currency was divided into eternal coins, eternal copper coins, eternal silver coins, and eternal gold coins. Under normal circumstances, people in the Instance World used eternal coins as their basic currency. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎 One eternal gold coin was equivalent to one million eternal coins. In other words, in the typical consumer economy of this Instance World, possessing a single eternal gold coin was like being a millionaire. The fact that the Green Bamboo Village Chief could produce 10 such coins was already extraordinary. And 2,000 eternal gold coins were equivalent to 2 billion eternal coins! This just showed how incredibly rich the Storm City Lord’s Mansion truly was. "Where is the surplus money?" Chen Mo’s expression sharpened as he looked at the storeroom Steward. The trembling Steward immediately ordered his men to retrieve a large box from a heavily guarded section of the storeroom and swiftly presented it to Chen Mo. "Sir, all the surplus eternal gold coins are in here. You may count them." Chen Mo sensed the contents. Since the 2,000 coin surplus was from last month, with this month’s revenue added and wages not yet paid, the amount had accumulated to over 3,000 coins. Chen Mo, holding the ledger in one hand, took the box with the other, pocketed all the money, and said, "I will check this thoroughly when I get back." "Yes, sir. Take your time, check it carefully." The storeroom Steward was certain he hadn’t made any mistakes; he was now terrified that Chen Mo might miscount or misunderstand. Seeing this, Chen Mo said no more, took the money, and swaggered out of the City Lord’s Mansion. Just by putting on an act, he had directly pocketed over three thousand eternal gold coins. Chen Mo couldn’t help but feel ecstatic. After squeezing every last bit of profit from the City Lord’s Mansion, perhaps I could siphon off a little more from other places? With this thought, Chen Mo began to sense the conditions within the city. If one were to ask where the most profit could be reaped, it would naturally be the commercial district. Chen Mo immediately focused his senses on Storm City’s commercial district. The commercial district in Storm City was the heart of the city, bustling, noisy, and teeming with people. In the city center, there was a wide and busy commercial avenue, lined with a dazzling array of shops and markets. This place was a trading hub, with all sorts of goods continuously transported in from trade routes outside the city. The merchants here were diverse, including traveling traders from various places, resident city merchants, and even some from distant lands, all thriving on the exchange of goods. On both sides of the commercial avenue were rows upon rows of shops. The first things that caught the eye were towering storefronts; some were grand furniture stores with spectacular architecture, others were jewelry shops with golden carpets, and some were luxurious boutiques selling various high-end goods. Interspersed between the shops were street vendors and performers, creating a lively, flowing scene. At the end of the commercial avenue was a grand market square. In the center of the square stood a solemn statue of Kahn. It was evident Kahn was quite narcissistic, as his statue symbolized the city’s power and spirit. Surrounding the square were numerous markets selling an encyclopedic range of goods—from various foods, fruits, and vegetables to all sorts of crafts, magic tools, and more; they had everything imaginable. The market was a sea of people, with vendors hawking their wares and pedestrians weaving through the throngs of goods. The sheer bustle was overwhelming. Besides the commercial avenue and the market square, Storm City had many smaller alleys and streets, which were even more animated. In these alleys and streets were numerous small shops and stalls, offering a dazzling array of miscellaneous goods. People here often purchased more practical items, such as various potions, magic scrolls, and sundries. The atmosphere in the entire commercial district was prosperous and vibrant. Merchants and buyers constantly came and went, infusing the city with a potent vitality. It was clearly evident that there was plenty to gain!