"Why wouldn't he? Crafting Artifact publicly could help boost her reputation," the staff member inquired, perplexed.
"If she truly wanted to build her reputation, she wouldn't have started anonymously selling Artifact on the Red Espiritual Net. Now, go quickly; I'll be monitoring this situation closely," the supervisor instructed.
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Returning to his post, the staff member messaged Amalia, "Miss, may I ask how you knew that the Artifact he submitted were not crafted by you?"
"I mark each Artifact I craft with a symbol," Amalia explained. In her previous life, she had learned from a similar experience and had formed a habit of marking her crafted Artifact with a symbol as a form of identification. The images of the Artifact submitted by Peerless_CucumberX clearly lacked this mark.
The staff member went through the Artifact Amalia had previously uploaded and found that each one indeed bore the same hidden mark. To the untrained eye, it might go unnoticed, but it was there. However, this evidence alone might not be sufficient, so the staff member requested that Amalia take pictures of the Artifact she had previously sold, serving as additional proof.
Obtaining the images wasn't difficult. Amalia went to Carlos, who readily took the pictures for her. To ensure persuasiveness, he even included himself in some of the images.
Amalia applied a mosaic to his face.
Samuel's situation was similar. He wasn't aware of the issue until Carlos approached him. He retrieved the three Artifact he had purchased and found the same mark on all of them. If not for this incident, he might not have noticed for a long time.
After cross-referencing these images with the previous ones, the Red Espiritual Net staff was satisfied that Amalia hadn't engaged in any fraudulent activities. Her pricing was also reasonable. They promptly unfroze her account, and the money was transferred directly to her.
"Miss, Peerless_CucumberX is a small-time scalper. He doesn't have the means to do this on his own. Our supervisor believes that someone is likely manipulating him from behind the scenes," the staff member informed Amalia as per their supervisor's instructions.
"Please convey my thanks to your supervisor," Amalia replied.
The staff member beamed and said, "Of course, I will."
...
In Yannis's villa,
"Young Master Yannis, the job is done. You can absolutely relax now. Ashe's No. 1 Artificer shop is finished. The backend is frozen, and there's a global announcement. It won't be long before her shop closed permanently," Francisco assured, and immediately seeking recognition along with Luka.
"Yes, yes, and we've also spread the word through Hector about our enmity with Ashe. He'll certainly go all out to publicize it. By now, the entire Red Espiritual Net should be aware," Luka added, eager to please.
"Oh, are you sure she won't have a chance to turn things around?" Yannis's expression remained aloof and indifferent, mixed with a tinge of disdain.
Francisco nodded vigorously. "In this situation, what chance does she have to turn things around? Even if she can produce evidence, we can always claim that she tampered with genuine Artifact."
"Getting two intermediate level Artifact for free while making sure she's left penniless is a high-yield plan," Luka remarked.
"I'm not interested in high-yield. I want that supply line she has in her hands!" Yannis gazed coldly at them.
The two of them felt a sudden tension in the air and quickly put on their best smiles. "Young Master Yannis, rest assured, our first step is to destroy her shop. She's just a second-rate dealer, unable to come up with 12 million. When she feeling quite anxious, she'll definitely reach out to us voluntarily, and then we can demand a face-to-face meet up. By then She won't escape, for sure."
"Exactly, once we know who she is, she won't be able to run. Big Apple City is Young Master Yannis's territory, and finding someone here is a piece of cake," Luka chimed in, oozing flattery.
"Good. If this goes through, there will be rewards for you both," Yannis finally revealed a smile.
The two of them released their pent-up tension, exchanged triumphant glances, and couldn't contain their excitement. They were about to rise to new heights.
Suddenly, Francisco's communicator rang.
Francisco, upon seeing the name on the communicator, was briefly taken aback. He quickly bowed and said, "I apologize, Young Master Yannis, I need to take this call."
Yannis nonchalantly acknowledged with a hum.
"Samuel, is there something you need from me?" Francisco stepped outside the villa.
"You've been missing in action lately, nowhere to be seen," Samuel's face appeared on the screen.
"Nothing much. Do you have any business with me?" Francisco inquired.
Samuel's expression darkened. "Is the Ashe's incident your doing?"
Francisco was bewildered, not understanding why his friend was asking, and even wondering if Samuel had somehow found out. "What Ashe's incident? I don't even know who Ashe is," he denied flatly. Initially, he hadn't contacted Samuel because he didn't want to let him in on it.
"I remember you had dealings with Peerless_CucumberX. Funny enough, shortly after you told me those things, Peerless_CucumberX approached Ashe. Given his abilities, where did he get the money to buy two intermediate level Artifact?" Samuel pressed.
Francisco's smile faded by half, and irritation flickered in his eyes. "Just because of that, you suspect it's my doing? We've been good friends for many years, and you're suspecting me for the sake of a stranger?"
Samuel knew he wouldn't admit it without evidence. He took a deep breath. "You don't have to pretend anymore. If I didn't have evidence, I wouldn't be confronting you. I asked Uncle Frank, and a few days ago, you suddenly asked him for a large sum of money. It happened to be 12 million. Are you still going to deny it?"
Francisco stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed. "Well, even if I admit it, so what? Do you expect me to apologize to Ashe? Samuel, you can't be that naive, can you?"