[Arknights] A Guide to Make Money In Terra

Part 6: Smoke And Mirrors

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Despite having played Arknights for 3 years, my account is only level 72 (This is because I took a sleep for 2.5 years) and I have been speed running story chapters with (I'm not gonna sugarcoat it) broken E2 operators.

Oh yeah, peep this chapter's banner.

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Alright, gather close.

Here's a curious little morality test.

Imagine a system, perfectly designed to maintain order-or at least, that's the story they'd have you believe. Now, tell me, if the enforcers of this system call themselves righteous, then what does that make the people who wrote the rules?

And if those rules bend to the highest bidder, what do you suppose they're really worth?

Ah, but we can't ignore the shadow behind all of this, politics. The bane of every rational mind on this godforsaken world. The so-called righteous judges, the enforcers of law, clutch their moral codes with white-knuckled zeal, as if such things were sacred scripture. They truly believe themselves the guardians of decency.

Yet the lawmakers? Now, they are but human, susceptible to every vice, every indulgence as any other man. They twist morality to fit agendas, fashion "justice" as a costume draped over whatever suits them best.

And who's left to exploit the frayed edges, to find the cracks in the façade? Well, isn't that where someone of my particular... expertise comes in?

Let me tell you something about laws, they're only as sturdy as the trust behind them. Remove that, and what you have left is an empty promise.

Ah, now this is precisely the sort of dance I enjoy.

The Lupo before me was the image of Columbian political finesse-graying, yes, but sharp enough to cut glass with a look. I watched him as he set his glass down, straightening himself, every gesture calculated, a ripple of authority from years in the arena of deals and power plays. Even now, seated across from him in the plush restaurant, the city twinkling far below us, I knew that I'd chosen my adversary well.

"So let me get this straight, Romanov," he said, fixing me with that cautious gaze. "You're making an Originium monopoly, and you want it splintered?"

I smiled, letting the silence stretch out just enough to feel comfortable in my hands. "When the time comes. Yes."

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued and-if I wasn't mistaken-just the slightest bit rattled. Good. Let him think he has the upper hand for now. It only makes the inevitable all the more satisfying.

"You'll find it's much harder to maintain control over this... network, if I might call it that. A monopoly like this goes against everything our 'fair' systems stand for," he chided, leaning in, eyes narrowed.

"Ahh, I can always count on men like you to believe in 'fairness,'" I replied, a bit of mockery in my tone. "But fairness is a luxury few can afford. I'm not interested in creating a monopoly, Senator-I'm interested in creating a mirage of one."

He leaned back, arms crossing, his expression one of calculated skepticism. "A mirage?"

"Yes," I said, folding my hands on the table as if discussing the weather. "Imagine the power of a monopoly without the risk of holding it yourself. Let everyone see what I want them to see. A grand network with me at the helm, but when the time is right, it's all in fragments. A series of independent entities, or so it appears on paper. The real control? It'll be kept in shadows, tucked away from prying eyes, and no one will see the hand pulling the strings. Not even you."