Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 309 - 107: Complications Arise

Strauss was a black market merchant in Innsbruck City, enjoying a powerful network of relationships within both the Earl’s inner circle and the City Guard.

In his early years, he made his fortune selling prohibited drugs, and as the epidemic began to spread within the Duchy, quarantine zones were established in the city. Common folk would usually avoid the quarantine zone like the plague, but Strauss sensed a business opportunity.

The medications intended for patients in the quarantine zone were not delivered because most of the City Guard were scientifically illiterate and feared that entering the zone would result in infection. Thus, no one dared to transport and distribute the drugs.

Strauss voluntarily took on the task, allowing the City Guard to give their superiors a satisfactory report. The drugs transported into the quarantine zone became highly sought after, and naturally, the prices surged.

In other words, acquiring the stock at zero cost and selling it at high prices in the quarantine zone was not just profitable—it was like taking money by force, directly from the pockets of families afflicted by the disease.

This easy money didn’t last long before others noticed this profitable chain. Consequently, the Garrison’s medicine now had a minimum price set, and competition also emerged within the quarantine zone, with supposedly major players that Strauss dared not offend.

After some negotiation, the drug prices stabilized. Whether exported by him or by someone else, the prices became uniform—everyone could make money. If they were to lower prices and wage a commercial war, wouldn’t the sick be the only ones to benefit?

That morning, Strauss crawled out of his mistress’s embrace, dressed, and swallowed an antibiotic as a preventive measure before setting off to inspect the drug sales.

"Sold only thirty-six boxes by early morning?" He couldn’t believe the figures in his own shop and looked quite displeased.

Although sales had been falling recently, they would typically exceed a hundred boxes by morning... Now sales had plunged by two-thirds!

After verifying the inventory and sales figures to ensure no clerk had cooked the books or lied, Strauss was furious.

There must be competitors sabotaging me!

Following that, he visited each of his rivals’ stores, only to find that their shops were equally deserted. While still confused, Strauss received an invitation.

"It’s right there." When he arrived at the specified location indicated in the invitation, he saw his familiar rivals, all with grim expressions, looking at a long queue ahead.

"Stealing business?" Since they were all present, he didn’t bother with small talk and pointed to the long line of stalls ahead, cutting to the chase.

"Doing charity," someone answered with a chill tone.

"Charity?" In his life, Strauss never thought he’d be associated with the word "charity," "They’re giving away the drugs for free? Impossible! Drugs cost money, where would they get the funds to cover the costs? This must be predatory competition! First, they corner the market by offering free drugs, then they’ll hike the prices!" freēwēbnovel.com

"They aren’t selling drugs at all!" an irate boss interjected, "They are using their Extraordinary Abilities to heal the sick!"

"Transcendents?" Strauss’s jaw dropped. If there was a term even more distant from his life than "charity," it had to be "Transcendents."

Aren’t these beings always exalted and unreachable? And yet they’d come to do charity in a place like the quarantine zone?

"Not these Transcendents, they... how..." Strauss blurted out, bewildered, "What’s in it for them?"

"Maybe they just do it for kicks," someone suggested.

"So you’re not going to do anything?" Strauss asked.

"We did," another big shot replied, "Look over there on the ground."

Strauss looked and saw several thugs lying on the ground, their arms and legs chopped off, crawling helplessly on the earth.

Every time they managed to crawl a distance, one of the sick waiting in line for healing would come out and kick them back. It seemed as though the crowd enjoyed listening to their pitiful cries as a way of venting their anger.

"I heard it’s someone from the Hospital Knight Order," a gang boss said, "Think about it, knights. How could we ever take them down? Just with the riffraff under our command? Maybe they can bully ordinary folks, but knights? Forget it."

"You don’t necessarily have to fight," another boss replied, "If we can’t do it openly, can’t we resort to underhanded tactics? Hey, just wait and I’ll show you a good show."

At this, the other bosses all wore expressions of interest.

The line grew longer and longer, and Eleanor, tasked with maintaining order, became busier and busier. Thankfully, those infected were very compliant, since the treatment was free. Causing trouble and getting blacklisted would leave them nowhere to cry.

Under Eleanor’s direction, the crowd quickly formed into an S-shaped, folded line, waiting for their treatment in an orderly fashion.

Occasionally, those who were healed and restored to health, taking her for the leader of the Knight Order (since she seemed most knight-like on the scene), brought their families to offer profuse thanks, leaving coins and eggs as tokens of gratitude, forming a small pile under the flag.

Eleanor, watching these cured people smile with happiness, couldn’t help but feel a genuine sense of fulfillment.

Suddenly, the orderly crowd scattered in panic as two thugs carrying a dead old woman barged in, shouting venomously:

"What kind of Hospital Knights are you? Quacks! My mother took your medicine, and she dropped dead the moment she got home!"

The crowd erupted into a tumult. When it came to things like food and medicine, which are ingested, most people would rather be safe than sorry.

Now that there was an incident of "death by medication," everyone hesitated, wondering if there was truly a problem with the medicines.

"What’s going on?" Medea stepped forward, thinking that Aske was right again, someone had indeed stirred trouble, and sneered, "You’re saying your mother died after taking our medicine?"

Idiot, our medicines are just sugar pills! What an over-the-top performance.

The thugs, of course, knew they were sugar pills, as the bosses had sent men to pretend to be patients and investigate. Under these circumstances, since the other side couldn’t reveal the truth, they were only too happy to feign ignorance and continue to shout indignantly:

"My mother hadn’t eaten anything this morning, and her body had always been sturdy. She just took your medicine, and afterward her heartbeat sped up, her face turned blue, and she died not long after! If it wasn’t your medicine, then whose fault could it be?"

"Do you dare to swear by God that what you’re saying is the truth?" Medea glared at one of the thugs, suddenly unleashing her mind control ability.

"Of course!" The thug, well-practiced in swearing oaths, immediately raised a finger and declared, "I swear by God that everything I’ve said is true! You’d better give us an explanation today, or I’ll smash your harmful shop!"

"Big brother," said the other thug, now under mind control, "you’ve gone too far."

The thug who had just been swearing oaths was taken aback, his face instantly showing a baffled expression.

Hey, bro, that’s not your line, is it? This isn’t the script our employer gave us!

Before he could recover, he took a heavy punch to the face and was knocked down to the ground.

"I can’t stand it any longer," said the mind-controlled thug with a vacant look in his eyes but with righteous words, "These people are responding to God’s call, offering free treatment to the sick, and you, big brother, for some dirty money, bring a corpse to tarnish their reputation! Aren’t you afraid of going to Fire Hell for this?"

The controlled thug delivered this noble monologue with such eloquence that it immediately persuaded much of the surrounding crowd.

And the thug on the ground who had been hit, never dreaming he’d be betrayed by his brother, now showed a vicious expression that screamed, "You’re dead meat."

But of course, he was not foolish enough to start a brawl right there. Knowing that the infected crowd around him was on the verge of exploding with rage, he didn’t dare stay any longer and would surely face a worse beating. He quickly slipped away and ran off into the distance.

The bosses from afar: ...........

"Is this the show you wanted us to see?"

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