Chapter 372: We Won

After the press conference ended and their reputations were salvaged, the two factions faced each other in this special space.

After trading barbs and threats, they left the space and began analyzing the capabilities their opponents had shown, plotting their next moves.

They had each seen how low the other was willing to go and understood the full extent of their opponent’s shamelessness.

To win, they had to be more despicable, more shameless, and more unscrupulous than their opponent.

Before leaving, they all looked at each other, seeing in their opponents’ eyes the determination to shatter their own moral boundaries.

Over the next seven days, both sides demonstrated new and extraordinary lows.

You courted politicians, so I initiated impeachments.

You opened branch offices, so I hired thugs.

Gangsters were just our tools, high officials our weapons. Technology was a cudgel to exploit the people, and welfare policies were merely bait to lure in new suckers from elsewhere.

All sorts of dark methods emerged one after another, causing Wang Er to lament that in just seven days, he had witnessed the unfathomable depths of human depravity from start to finish.

On day twenty-two of the game, Duan Fei stared at the Action Cards in his hand, pondering his next move.

His side had Jinghong giving them an edge, while the opposition had support from the Nameless Mini Factory’s recipes. Both factions had their own strengths and weaknesses, and they were currently locked in a stalemate.

The city map was now fully explored, and all the functional buildings had been carved up between them. In just a few days, Merlin Company and Knight Order Company had grown into two massive oligarchs.

Their products had evolved from the initial Magic Sources and Magic Stickers into something entirely new.

A sky-piercing Tesla Tower now stood in the city center. This massive structure could connect to the celestial bridges and ley lines, absorbing the world’s latent Magic Power.

Furthermore, thanks to constant improvements using Technology Cards, the city no longer needed Magic Sources.

With a simple request, the Tesla Tower could transmit Energy to any designated object regardless of distance. The process was incredibly simple and convenient—just send a text, and it’s done in three seconds.

Now, the entire city ran on the Tesla Tower. The resulting profits allowed Merlin Company to monopolize the city’s energy industry, meaning every single car on the street was generating income for them.

The Knight Order, meanwhile, wasn’t doing poorly either.

The Madhouse’s style was all about sharing. They had their own guild vault filled with numerous items that members were allowed to borrow.

The number of items a member could borrow at once depended on their rank, and the Magician was permitted to check out three.

Using these legendary items, the Magician closed the gap in despicableness between their two factions and made her products more competitive.

The old Magic Stickers were now obsolete. They had developed their own app, one that could store a person’s daily emotions and sensations to be shifted elsewhere.

Feeling drowsy when you wake up in the morning?

Fret not, the app is here to help!

With a single tap, your morning grogginess is automatically stored in the app and released at night, saving you from ever needing to buy coffee or sleeping pills again.

On top of that, the app inherited the “Instant High” and “Anytime High” functions, while also integrating stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and a casino to fleece suckers from every possible angle.

One controlled the industrial sector, the other the service sector. Their profits were in a constant neck-and-neck race, and the competition was finally reaching a fever pitch.

Overall, Duan Fei’s side had a slight edge, but it wasn’t over until the final moment.

And today was the day they would finally settle the score.

After all, today was the citywide referendum to elect the next mayor.

A new mayor would be chosen today. Each faction backed its own candidate, and if their person took office, they could deal a fatal blow to the opposition.

At this point, both factions were raking in millions in profit every minute. They were long past caring about taking out one or two people.

Thus, once their profits reached a certain threshold, both sides tacitly abandoned inefficient methods like violent harassment. They turned instead to political attacks, with the mayorship as their ultimate point of contention.

The final debate was about to begin. The two candidates’ approval ratings were displayed in real-time on the large screen in the square. Before the day’s Action Card phase ended, every resident of the city could cast or change their vote to decide the ultimate winner.

In the square, a stage had already been set up for the speeches. The candidates from both sides walked up and began to deliver their final campaign Declarations.

Of course, both sides knew the figures on stage were merely puppets. The real battle was happening behind the scenes.

Looking at his hand full of Action Cards, Duan Fei grew sentimental.

“What are you getting all sentimental about?” the Lone Ranger asked. “Lamenting that you’ve discovered a new personal low?”

“I’m just remarking that in the end, everything comes down to a government job,” Duan Fei said, looking at the stage. “Even for people as powerful as us, we still need to rely on a mayor to secure victory.”

“…I was expecting some great insight from you, but I get that instead! Anything else?”

“And that I’d have to become a master card player to seal the deal.”

“…You’re hopeless. I’m going to go protect our puppet. You’re on your own now. Don’t lose.”

“Relax. This is my specialty. I won’t lose.”

Fanning out his hand, Duan Fei saw the Magician appear across from him.

After days of clashing, he and the Magician had played all sorts of trump cards and pulled countless dirty tricks. Each now had a thorough understanding of what kind of person the other was.

Because of this, Duan Fei’s opinion of the Magician had shifted from ‘somewhat repulsive’ to ‘extremely repulsive.’

To Duan Fei, competing against her felt like dealing with a slimy slug that was, for some reason, trying to express its affection for him in all sorts of bizarre ways.

Duan Fei didn’t know what the Magician was like in real life, but he was certain that if he ever met her, he probably wouldn’t be able to stop himself from punching her.

With a sigh, Duan Fei looked at the cards in his hand. He knew it was time for a final, do-or-die gambit.

Controlling her puppet politician, the Magician launched the first attack.

Pointing at Duan Fei’s side, she led by slapping him with a Little Essay Card: “My opponent has a history of harassment on the subway.”

Duan Fei immediately activated an Action Card in response. “That was a perfectly normal duel between knights! My client successfully put his opponent in the hospital, demonstrating his martial prowess. Furthermore, how dare you assume my client’s gender! He is clearly a transgender homosexual with a penchant for cross-dressing. Your words have deeply wounded his sensitive psyche. I demand an apology!”

“…Doesn’t that just make him a normal person?! The mountain roads here have eighteen bends, but none of them are as twisted as your logic!”

“You flatter me. Is that all a Little Essay Card can do? I can play that game, too! My opponent actually has five children!”

“What’s wrong with that? The more children, the more blessings! Bring it on!”

While it may have looked like childish bickering, those in the know understood the incredible power these attacks contained.

Under the effects of the Ignorance Card and the Blind Obedience Card, even the most mundane accusation could yield inconceivable results.

A Transmission Card would twist a minor incident into something sinister, while an Inciting Emotions card would directly summon a dozen social media influencers to amplify the effect.

Every spark would eventually become a wildfire, while the mastermind hid in the shadows, shouting, “Let the violence be even more glorious!”

Mark Twain wrote about this kind of chaos in “Running for Governor.” A century has passed, but human nature remains the same.

The crowd’s emotions had been whipped into a frenzy, and the two candidates’ approval ratings fluctuated wildly with every move Duan Fei and the Magician made.

When the five o’clock bell chimed, the Magician looked at the approval ratings, her face perfectly calm.

51.4% to 48.6%.

Turning, the Magician waved to her equally calm companions behind her and said with a hint of regret, “We won.”

In that moment, any affection the Magician had felt for Duan Fei vanished without a trace.