novelraw Chapter 1163 - 349: The Dust Has Settled
Chapter 1163 - 349: The Dust Has Settled
It's not just Baron Devor's family that feels like the sky is falling, but also the Holy City citizens fifty kilometers away with small assets.
Compared to the strong rural Nobles, their pain of losing money is undoubtedly more direct.
After all, it's their own money.
Many people have staked their entire savings on land in the White Dew District, hoping to seize a big wave during the surge and turn their fortunes around, becoming eminent figures.
However, the development took everyone by surprise. When the tide really came, they suddenly realized that the wave was actually heading straight for them.
In the "Golden Griffin" cafe on Wise Street, the atmosphere of fear spread like invisible smoke over everyone's brows.
Though Holy City citizens don't have the various salons that the Nobles do, groups of "like-minded people" can always find circles to belong to—Golden Griffin cafe is such a place for the "land speculators".
It is said that the first person to excitedly shout "Buy land in the White Dew District" was a customer reading the newspaper in this cafe.
But unlike yesterday's greedy excitement, today's cafe air seemed to have frozen over.
The guests no longer brag loudly about acquiring another "premium investment target", but instead gathered in small groups to complain, or conversed intensely in hushed tones, all visibly anxious.
Think about it—
Considering suburban land as a premium investment target was silly from the start.
Before Prince Colin came to this city, they wouldn't even glance at those wastelands.
So how did this out-of-town Noble, who merely took a closer look without saying a word himself, lead them to invest all their savings?
It must be the Devil's whisper!
They resent their mesmerized selves and the Devil muttering in their dreams, seducing them.
"Damn it! I knew this wouldn't be simple!" An ashen-faced man crumpled the newspaper irritably, exclaiming angrily, "Even Prince Colin couldn't secure a Royal Bank loan. All the Gold Coins we've put into White Dew District might turn to water!"
"Calm down, Martin!"
Beside him, a slightly older citizen held his shoulder and tried to reassure him with forced composure, "Why panic! The 'White Dew District Morning News' analyzed that it's just Imperial Bank's usual cautious style. Prince Colin will not abandon White Dew Town!"
Before Martin could respond, someone quickly chimed in.
"Haven't you seen that Tower Bank has already extended an olive branch to Sir Dantes? I think they're just bargaining! This matter hasn't reached a dead end!"
Seeking safety in numbers is an instinct among animals.
Especially when a flock of sheep faces a ravenous wolf they can't escape, clustering together provides more security than being isolated.
Even if this security is an illusion, easily shattered, leading to an opposite extreme—
"But what if...what if Sir Dantes, truly hurt like the 'Holy City Daily' reports, takes his investment plans to another province? I feel there's more complexity behind this, involving Colin's dissatisfaction with influential figures in Holy City."
A trembling voice interjected.
Everyone looked towards the speaker, who shivered like a mouse frightened by a cat.
He swallowed hard, finally voicing his most terrifying suspicion.
"...If that's true, those expensive Land Deeds we bought wouldn't even be worth using as toilet paper!"
In this moment, how he longed for someone brave and wise to stand and refute him, to wake him from this endless nightmare of terror...
But his hope was doomed to fail.
For what he feared was shared by everyone present.
His voice, akin to the last raindrop extinguishing a blazing wildfire, completely doused the last shred of hope among them.
The cafe sank into suffocating silence, broken only by heavy breathing.
Amidst this oppressive calm, a merchant who had invested everything could bear the pressure no longer.
He abruptly stood, causing his chair to scrape loudly against the floor.
"I don't care! I must sell my land before the news spreads and prices collapse, even at a loss! It's better than losing everything!" He shouted at his companions, his eyes bloodshot, then quickly rushed outside.
News in the suburbs often lags behind the city, so theoretically if they act fast enough, they might offload the hot Flame Crystal to some clueless fool.
His words struck like a match, instantly igniting the accumulated panic in the cafe, as chairs fell over.
"Yes! We must sell immediately!"
"If we don't act now, it'll be too late!"
"Saint Sis above, that's my entire fortune... I...might as well be dead!"