After shifting his gaze away from the man named Hank, Silas thought for a moment about the recent date. Then he turned toward the man beside him and asked,
"Uncle Gerwin, I heard you recently bought a medium-sized lumber mill on the outskirts of Colons?"
The moment he heard the question, Gerwin raised his eyebrows slightly. A look of pride crossed his face as he leaned in closer and lowered his voice to speak in Silas's ear:
"That's right. That region is rich in Mistwood. While that type of timber isn't worth much right now, from what I've learned, it's a key ingredient in a special kind of aromatic extract.
The extract is a brand-new product, recently invented, and it has a wide range of applications. Since it's still a novelty, it's only circulated in its place of origin—on another continent. It hasn't yet made its way to the lands around the other nations."
"So I took advantage of the information gap and bought that lumber mill at a very low price. I also had the workers start planting large quantities of Mistwood. By the time a few years pass and the extraction techniques become widespread here, those trees will be just reaching maturity. At that point, Mistwood will be a goldmine!"
After saying all that, Gerwin suddenly grew a little worried that a young man like Silas might act impulsively and attract unnecessary trouble. So he quickly added a word of advice:
"I've already discussed this with your father. In fact, both of us have each bought two or three lumber mills and are stockpiling timber. That's why you shouldn't get involved in this industry anymore. Our two families still have plenty of spare capital and could afford to acquire even more Mistwood production sites. But our foundations aren't deep enough to hold onto more profit than this. If you buy more lumber mills, that sudden surge of wealth could draw envy and resentment from others."
"A blessing could quickly turn into a curse. In waves like these, we can eat our fill, but we have to leave room for other powers to take a bite. That's an unspoken rule—an unspoken understanding—among us elites."
In this world, society had already gone through several rounds of reform.
But history tends to be driven by the few and built by the many.
And due to differences in education and perspective, that "few" was often made up of the privileged class.
So even though commoners now lived far better—both materially and spiritually—than they had in ancient times, those who truly steered the wheel of history remained firmly seated at the top.
The privileges of the elite might be less overt than in the past, but their core power remained largely untouched.
The only difference was that they no longer acted as brazenly as before. As for slogans like "equality for all" and "representative governance," most people just nodded along without taking them too seriously.
Yes, it was possible for people at the bottom to climb upward—but achieving true success was extremely difficult.
Only a very small number of lucky individuals could rise overnight.
Most up-and-coming families needed to go through several generations of hard work before they were accepted by the upper class and allowed to join the ranks of the elite.
Take Mistwood, for example. It was the kind of opportunity that could make a commoner rich overnight. But because of the difficulty in obtaining information, by the time ordinary people realized its value, the resources had already been divided up by those at the top.
At most, they were left with some scraps.
So for the vast majority of the working class, their fate was to remain wage earners their whole lives. Striking it rich was about as likely as winning the lottery.
In such circumstances, class solidification became more and more serious. Over time, a variety of rules and unspoken understandings naturally evolved—driven by the idea that "we all still have to live in the same world tomorrow."
Hearing Gerwin's sincere warning, Silas was deeply moved.
Advice like this, honest and to the point, would never be shared with outsiders unless someone genuinely cared about you.
After all, most people would rather see others fail than live better than themselves.
Silas remembered how, in the previous timeline, Gerwin often ended up anxious and overwhelmed despite outward appearances. So he spoke up with a more serious expression:
"I wasn't trying to pry into your business. I just heard that the machinery at that lumber mill isn't in great condition, and there have already been a few safety incidents. I wanted to give you a heads-up."
"In normal times, that kind of thing wouldn't be too big of a deal—you'd just have to pay the families some compensation. But with all the strange incidents happening lately… I'm sure you've heard some of the rumors. To avoid unnecessary disasters, it's best to have the equipment checked and upgraded. If something does go wrong, the consequences could be much worse than you'd expect."
Upon hearing this, Gerwin's brow furrowed slightly.
Unlike the commoners who lived in ignorance, he had a clear idea of what Silas was talking about—those "things."
They were disasters that ordinary people had no way to resist.
And the conditions that bred such entities often arose from unexpected deaths or accidents.
If the lumber mill had another few incidents, it really could become a breeding ground for one of those troublesome monsters—a cursed zone.
"I understand. To be safe, I'll have the machinery repaired or replaced."
With that assurance, Silas nodded in satisfaction and said nothing more.
In the previous timeline, that lumber mill had indeed suffered another fatal accident two months later due to outdated equipment.
The worker had fallen directly into the machinery.
The death was so gruesome that the body was reduced to a disgusting mass of pulp mixed with wood shavings.
Two days later, a terrifying Anomaly manifested at the site.
It slaughtered most of the workers in the mill.
In response, the authorities dispatched two waves of special forces to eliminate it, but they failed.
Instead, the Spirit grew even more vicious, and the entire area was ultimately abandoned as a death zone.
Silas was confident that he could take out that Spirit before it matured—and even earn some system points in the process. But because of his relationship with Gerwin, he didn't want to involve him in something that dangerous.
After all, he knew where and when many of these Anomaly would appear. There was no shortage of targets.
As for the idea of eliminating all potential ghost-breeding incidents in the region to create a "safe zone" for himself—
He had thought about it.
But in the end, it just wasn't realistic.
As long as people died with resentment in their hearts, evil spirits could be born.
And that was something no one could prevent.
It was more practical to use his knowledge to complete missions and earn system points.
That way, he could at least gain more power to protect himself.
Of course, for those with great potential or particularly troublesome abilities, he would still do his best to prevent their creation—cutting them off before they could ever emerge.
Because when choosing your prey, it's best to pick the softest targets.
Those that had already proven themselves formidable in his previous life were not ideal candidates for farming system points.
If he could prevent them from ever existing, then he would.
____
T/N:
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