Chapter 846: "Foolish People, Wealthy Pursuits!" (Part 2) (Patreon)

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Savage was far from foolish; he understood that the cost of living in Living Hell couldn't possibly be as high as it seemed for ordinary people. However, he didn't come here to live like an ordinary person; he had a mission to accomplish.

Savage began to compare figures in his mind. In the past, he had provided some operational funds to Mirror Master and Piper, but back then, the funding started at five figures.

Not to mention the likes of Leon and Mrs. Goth, regular folks under his employ. Every time they came to him for funds and rewards, he spent extravagantly, not just money but also indulging in various luxuries.

Upon estimation, Savage realized that if he converted all those expenditures into cash, he had spent at least several hundred thousand dollars on ordinary people.

But what had these ordinary people and the superpowered individuals he previously hired brought him?

Almost nothing. Leon and Mrs. Goth disappeared, and Mirror Master and Piper vanished without a trace. His several hundred thousand US dollars had gone down the drain, yielding no valuable intelligence.

On the other hand, for just a fraction of the cost, Savage had managed to uncover the tricks of the Gang's leader in Living Hell, learning some of their habits and weaknesses.

Moreover, he had become acquainted with the local newsboys, who provided him with valuable information through casual conversations. He had even met with the former leader of a medium-sized Gang, outlining an initial plan to deal with Living Hell.

With just a fraction of the original cost, he could achieve several times more. So, the money spent didn't seem like a waste.

Furthermore, when he spent money hiring others, they enjoyed it, but the money spent on his own consumption eventually came back to him.

The food he ate, the services he enjoyed, the drinks he savored, and the time he passed – even if the products themselves weren't worth the price, the additional interest he gained meant he was profiting.

With this in mind, Savage moved on to the next step of his plan. He invested money in the medium-sized Gang's leader, instructing him to purchase weapons and overthrow his own boss.

Unexpectedly, the operation went smoothly. The medium-sized Gang's leader took out the leader with two shots, putting himself in charge of the larger Gang.

Recognizing the importance of his benefactor, the new leader became increasingly reliant on Savage, obediently following his instructions. Savage not only gained the most luxurious room in the entire area but also had several Gang members at his disposal.

This was the most significant progress he had made in Gotham.

Savage had contemplated taking over the Gang himself, but after some time in contact with them, he realized that the Gang had its own rules. If he were to eliminate the Gang leader and take over, he'd still have to bow down to the Twelve Families, and he might even be rejected.

Savage refused to be subordinate to others, so he had to stay behind the scenes and remotely manipulate things, making the Gang leader do his bidding.

Although the outcome wasn't entirely satisfactory, after numerous setbacks, Savage was pleasantly surprised by this progress. After all, this was a city of madmen, and taking control of a Gang in such a short time was quite an achievement.

Now that he had taken over a major Gang, the next step was to unify Living Hell. However, Living Hell alone housed five or six major Gangs, all of which needed to be dealt with to achieve unity.

To compete with other major Gangs for territory, two things were essential: people and weapons.

Recruiting people required money, paying their wages required money, buying weapons required money, maintaining weapons required money, bullets cost money, and stopping the enemy's bullets also required money.

The new Gang leader was sensible; he had initially taken control of the commercial district, acquiring several shops that provided a continuous stream of funds. However, preparing for a shootout required a significant amount of funds, and the money from the shops was simply insufficient. Savage's spending had to escalate once more.

When recruiting for the Gang, they usually hired from smaller Gangs below them, but if you wanted people to risk their lives for you, you had to pay them upfront. Ordinary adult males typically received $400 per person, and for those with special abilities, it was about a 30% increase on top of that.

If they survived a shootout, they had to be paid a stable wage, and the weapons they held also became their own, with the Gang needing to cover maintenance and ammunition costs.

Buying weapons wasn't just about acquiring the guns from the henchmen. Shootouts in Gotham Gangs were far from two shots fired from behind a car.

First, a defensive line had to be established, with the best choice being armored vehicles. If that wasn't an option, ordinary modified vehicles would suffice.

Crossfire and lateral firepower were essential, along with extensive fire coverage. To deal with police helicopters, you might even need anti-aircraft firepower. If you were facing members of the Twelve Families, you might also need anti-missile capabilities.

Everyone knew that arms procurement was a bottomless pit, and firepower had no limit – it was always about becoming more powerful.

Initially, Savage was reluctant to spend so much money on weaponry, but he had suffered repeated defeats as a result.

Then he realized that losing a shootout had even more terrifying consequences: the people he recruited were gone, the salaries were in vain, and all the weapons were lost. It was as if all his previous investments had gone down the drain.

In that case, why not invest more heavily upfront to strengthen firepower? At the very least, winning would allow him to confiscate the opponent's equipment.

Leveraging the advantage of intelligence and the firepower funded by substantial amounts of money, Savage pushed several Gangs in Living Hell into a series of defeats, and before long, several major Gangs relocated.

Because he was constantly immersed in competition, Savage never had the time to stop and calculate the cost. However, once he achieved a phase of victory and finally sat down to do the math, he realized that he had invested at least 3 million dollars in making that particular Gang the largest in Living Hell.

These expenses included, but were not limited to, various arms readily available on the market, Soviet-style tanks of unknown origin, armed helicopters that looked like they were still in service but could be purchased for a price, and even two missiles with part of their production numbers and markings worn off.

Savage didn't even know how the Gang leader managed to acquire all these.

At the time, all he could think about was firepower, firepower, firepower. Whenever a weapons dealer approached him, he would directly invest money to acquire them. Now, he had a pile of strange weapons that he couldn't even sell.

The nervous atmosphere created by the Gang shootouts forced Savage to spend money because if he didn't, the opposing Gang would inexplicably come into money, buy these weapons, and then he would suffer heavy losses.

After a few rounds of this, Savage decided to buy and accept everything that came his way, regardless of the source. Whether he could use them later didn't matter; buying was the right move.

When he calculated the total cost, Savage felt a bit uneasy. In fact, when he had told Captain Cold and Mirror Master about the ten million dollars, it was based on the value of his collectibles, and he didn't have that much cash on hand.

Although he felt a pinch, he had made significant progress. The entire Living Hell region was now under the control of the Gang he had backed, an unprecedented victory.

However, new troubles emerged shortly thereafter.

Many people knew that conquering and ruling had their own difficulties, but when it came to spending money, ruling was the true bottomless pit.

To wage warfare in other regions, he needed to recruit more people. Not only that, but he also had to ensure that these people could operate the new weapons he had acquired. If there were tanks, they had to know how to drive them, and if there were armed helicopters, they had to be able to get them in the air. Missile... well, without launchers, they couldn't be fired, but even if it was for intimidation, some knowledge was needed.

Moreover, Savage knew that for sustainable development, he couldn't be the only one pouring money in. He had to make sure that the area under his control could generate revenue. To do that, he needed to upgrade the industry. To attract more people to spend money, the businesses needed to profit. However, for businesses to profit, they needed investment, and that required more money.

This time, it wasn't small fights anymore. Living Hell had developed, its population had increased rather than decreased, and it held enormous business potential. The upfront investment was enormous.

Savage soon found himself in a situation similar to Bruce's: he had assets, but not enough cash. Everywhere he looked, he needed money. If he didn't quickly find a way to raise funds, his financial chain would break, and he would be in deep trouble.

However, Savage had another source of income. He had lived for so long that any random bowl he had picked up during his youth was now considered an artifact. If he could sell some of his less important collectibles, he could quickly generate a significant amount of liquid capital.

In this world, many people were still willing to collect such items. However, as soon as the words "urgent sale" were added, there wasn't much room for negotiation in terms of price.

Especially for collectibles, which couldn't be measured by hard rules to determine their value. When selling in a hurry, the pressure to lower the price was particularly strong.

At this stage, Savage felt victory was within reach. He thought that once he took over the heavily populated East District, the other areas wouldn't pose much of a threat. Even if he used these people as hostages, they would have to negotiate with him. At that time, he could recover all his expenses, no matter how much it took.

But what he didn't know was that in a meeting room at Wayne Enterprises, Bruce sat at the head of the table, surrounded by the leaders of the Twelve Families.

At the end of the table, there were also several leaders of major Gangs, two of whom had just sacrificed themselves in a shootout with Savage, and one had sacrificed twice.

"Alright, my friends, I didn't deceive you, did I? As long as you cooperate with me in this act, Savage will be forced to sell his collectibles at a low price," Bruce said in a relaxed tone.

The leaders of the Twelve Families were eager to get started, but Bruce continued, "However, it's clear that we haven't backed him into a corner yet. At this stage, the prices may not be as low as you imagine."

The mob bosses quickly caught on. They exchanged glances, and one of them spoke, "So, as long as we corner him, we'll get the price we want?"

Bruce nodded and said, "The more desperate he becomes, the lower the price he'll accept. After disposing of the more common collectibles, it'll be time for the true treasures..."

"The tighter you squeeze him, the more he'll yield."

All the heads of the Gangs exchanged knowing glances, their eyes filled with a certain kind of excitement.

In this world, the thing that could most unlock a person's potential and enhance their intelligence was called interest.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 847: Savage's Misfortune (Part 1)