A few seconds later, Xu Feng finally snapped out of his daze and shock.

Ding!

[A rapport status with Kong Ming has been added!]

—

Rapport Status with NPC: Kong Ming

Current Rapport Level: Amicable

Recent Interactions:

-Discussed the strategy regarding the defense border

Notes:

-Hidden NPC Quest

—

’Hah, did Carmen’s luck boost mine?’ He was stunned by the system prompt.

The one time he didn’t really care much for his gain, except for the overall well-being of Bardmon City, he stumbled across a hidden NPC quest.

And speaking of quests, he really hadn’t done much because the incentives were so low that he found it to be a waste of time.

There were also some quests that ended up being altered or outright canceled due to external factors.

Despite feeling lucky, he didn’t let it cloud over his objective. The Kong Ming was indeed a hidden surprise, but his main objective remained unchanged.

He needed to halt the Colossuses’ army at the defense border and ensure Bardmon City wouldn’t fall to ruin.

That way, the suspicions of him being the cause of the other cities’ downfall wouldn’t be pointed at him.

How could he be the culprit when he was fiercely defending human territories?

People might be ignorant and easily convinced sometimes, but when hardcore facts were presented, they would have to accept the truth.

As Xu Feng waited patiently for the soldiers to return to the field for assembling, over at Razor Nightmare Guild Residence, they were being placed in the spotlight.

"The City Magistrate of Bardmon City has decreed. Razor Nightmare, for your crime of avoiding taxes. You are hereby fined for 500 gold coins, and your noble status will be demoted to that of a Baron only." An NPC dressed in an official uniform declared aloud.

Edgar’s face turned ashen white when the NPC suddenly made such a decree.

"Could there be a mistake?" Before Egdar could respond, one of his subordinates raised their head and asked in disbelief.

"We have always obeyed the laws and paid our taxes on time."

Had the subordinate stayed as a mute, the official probably wouldn’t have cared much.

However, the moment they spoke up and had the nerve to even boldly lie in front of him, the official was infuriated.

Would they make such a scene if they didn’t have concrete proof?

"Is this person the representative for you?" The official shifted his sight to Edgar and asked solemnly.

"No, official!" Edgar hurriedly denied it when he heard the tone.

’Fuck fuck fuck, how did they know?’ He pursed his lips discreetly.

The tax evasion was done by a competent NPC accountant who promised a high success rate. A contract was even signed to ensure the accountant wasn’t boasting either.

Such a secure plan actually ended up being caught?

’Wait a second... These NPCs were clueless the entire time until someone entered the city.’ Edgar soon realized the person who exposed them was none other than the Vanguard Guild Leader.

"Since he doesn’t represent you, then I’ll ask again. Do you accept the decree?" The official’s expression was cold. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Edgar bit his lips heavily as he nodded.

"I accept."

"Very well!"

Sometime later, the official snorted coldly and glanced at the crowd. "Pay your taxes, people. Otherwise, don’t blame us for being ruthless!"

Only when the officials left completely did the players realize that Razor Nightmare had messed up!

Of course, the teasing and laughter began to spread among their circle of friends.

[Lolol, imagine evading taxes!!!]

[What year is it, and some bozos still want to evade taxes! Pay your taxes, buffoon!]

[Super Guild and evading taxes? Who do they think they are? The government never tolerated any tax evaders, especially the big companies.]

In the blink of an eye, the scandal event regarding Razor Nightmare being a tax evader spread like wildfire.

It didn’t even take long before the Divine News and every media in the real world began to broadcast this scandal.

After all, the government had long cracked down on big companies using loopholes and other methods to avoid paying the rightful tax amounts.

Once caught in tax evasion, the fines themselves were trivial.

What was really devastating was that you would instantly be looked down on or distanced from your peers.

And it wasn’t because people were heartless, but because the government would ban the said company from having any activities for the next 10 years.

That kind of duration was enough to push a big company into a regular company. If it were even smaller companies, they would directly go into bankruptcy due to no business.

No banks would offer loans either because banks had to obey the government laws unless they also wanted to be shut down and have their licenses taken away.

Yes, everyone hated taxes!

But one must admit that the taxes were ultimately used to provide for the public. Anyone else caught using those taxes for their selfish gains would immediately be punished without a chance of redemption.

While the world was openly condemning Razor Nightmare, the company, Razor Technology, was going bonkers.

"What the hell is Edgar doing in the Divine World? Our stocks dropped by a whopping 5%! One of the shareholders screamed at the top of his lungs.

5% might not seem to be a lot at first glance.

But when you realized each percentage represented at least tens or hundreds of millions, then you wouldn’t think his reaction was exaggerated anymore.

"Chairman, you have to think of a way to stop the stocks from dropping." Another shareholder spoke up and turned to the person seated at the center.

The chairman remained silent, but his demeanor and aura showed that he wasn’t affected by the incident.

After all, he couldn’t possibly lose his composure when he held such a position.

’This son of mine really cannot accomplish anything.’ The chairman was silently disappointed in his son. He was Edward Sandoval, the chairman of Razor Technology.

"I’ve already contacted the government to let them know that reality shouldn’t be connected with a video game. We have always duly paid our taxes without any sneaky actions."