[CEO's Cheat Sheet]
Supply Chain Efficiency: Maximizing the use of every part of a product without any waste.
Operational Tax: Unavoidable routine costs that must be paid to keep a company or an asset running.
The pale morning sun illuminated Revista's face as he slept soundly on the warm stone floor. The man's breathing was steady, and for the very first time in three agonizing years, his face wasn't contorted in absolute pain.
Stephanie, however, was already awake, staring at the red System screen warning her of their depleted territory food supply. Her brilliant brain was working at full speed.
Farming in this frozen wasteland takes months of preparation. I need an instant, high-yield solution to keep my workforce alive today.
"Revista, wake up," Stephanie gently patted the man's scarred cheek. "Rest time is over. We have a lot to do today."
Revista slowly opened his eyes. His glowing red pupils stared at Stephanie with a half-sleepy, surprisingly docile gaze before a low, rumbling growl escaped his throat. He was incredibly reluctant to let go of her heat, pulling Stephanie's waist even closer against his broad chest.
"Five more minutes," Revista grumbled, his hoarse voice sounding ridiculously clingy for a monstrous beast who had just slaughtered a pack of wolves barehanded.
"Five seconds. Let go, or you're sleeping on the freezing floor tonight without dinner," Stephanie threatened casually.
No work, no salary, she added inwardly.
The threat worked instantly. Revista let go of his possessive embrace with a deep frown, then stood up to his full, towering height. The biting cold from outside the window was immediately noticeable, but the room's temperature remained perfectly warm and toasty thanks to the continuously burning Ondol.
Stephanie walked downstairs, followed closely by Revista who lazily trailed behind her like a massive, silver-haired guard dog.
In the ruined main hall, Titus, Rufus, and Vespera were sitting huddled near the remains of a stone pillar. Upon seeing Stephanie and the terrifying monster behind her, the two thugs immediately jumped to their feet, bowing respectfully at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
"G-Good morning, Boss Lady!" Titus and Rufus greeted in panicked unison.
Stephanie gave a faint, satisfied smile. Good. Basic corporate loyalty established through intimidation. "Rufus, Titus. Since you are working to pay off your debt to me now, take care of those Frost Wolves," Stephanie ordered bluntly, pointing a slender finger at the three frozen carcasses in the corner of the room. "Skin them carefully. Do not damage the fur. After that, butcher the meat. We are having monster steak this morning."
Rufus gulped hard, his face turning pale. "B-But Boss Lady, monster meat is tough as leather and tastes like frozen mud..."
"Beggars don't get to be food critics, Rufus," Stephanie interrupted sharply, her eyes flashing cold. "Eat or starve to death. Pick one."
Titus immediately nudged Rufus's ribs hard. "We'll butcher them right away, Boss!"
While waiting for her new employees to process the raw materials, Stephanie walked toward another corner of the hall. There, the only Frost Wolf that survived last night's massacre was securely bound by heavy iron chains. The massive beast, standing as tall as an adult's chest, growled ferociously, baring its dripping ice fangs at her.
Stephanie didn't even flinch. She simply touched the glowing System screen floating beside it.
[Ding! Analyzing Asset Conversion Options...]
[Would you like to exchange 3 Frozen Magic Cores into the System?]
[System Offer: 300 WP.]
Three hundred? Stephanie clicked her tongue in severe annoyance. One magic core is worth at least two gold coins in the capital's black market. This system is trying to monopolize the price through predatory lowballing. "Reject the offer," Stephanie commanded internally. "I will sell it in the real market for its full valuation."
Although her liquid balance was still minimal, at least the immediate food crisis for the next 24 hours was resolved with the wolf meat. She stared at the giant wolf that was still growling at her.
You are going to be my main logistics engine, Stephanie thought.
"You work for me now," Stephanie stated flatly to the beast.
The wolf howled in defiance and tried to pounce on her, but the heavy iron chains jerked it back violently.
Suddenly, a large, calloused hand rested possessively on Stephanie's shoulder. Revista took a half-step forward. With just one darkening, utterly murderous glare from his red eyes, a Tier 1 Abyssal aura erupted from the man's body. The crushing pressure slammed the giant wolf down until its stomach hit the marble floor, whimpering in absolute, paralyzing terror.
"Stop scaring my draft animal, Revista," Stephanie scolded softly, though she couldn't completely suppress an amused smirk.
She took a small piece of raw meat that Rufus had just butchered, then tossed it right in front of the whimpering wolf's nose.
The wolf looked at Revista in sheer terror, then looked up at Stephanie, before finally devouring the meat ravenously.
"From now on, your name is Vortigern," Stephanie said, fearlessly patting the giant, deadly wolf's head as if she were petting a harmless domestic puppy.
[Ding! Logistics Asset (Vortigern) Successfully Tamed!]
[Territory Food Index rises to 10%. Daily starvation crisis temporarily postponed.]
Stephanie was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Revista suddenly stumbled heavily forward.
The massive man fell hard to his knees, clutching his broad chest tightly. His breathing turned harsh, erratic, and heavy, interspersed with violent coughs that spat out terrifying specks of blackened blood onto the marble floor. His body temperature suddenly spiked out of control, the sheer heat instantly burning the remaining fabric on his shoulder to ash.
"Revista!" Stephanie immediately dropped to her knees beside him.
The man's red eyes no longer looked at Stephanie clearly; they were clouded with pure agony. Pitch-black veins crawled rapidly from his neck up to his face. The curse was going entirely berserk, far more volatile than the night before.
The red System screen exploded in front of Stephanie's face, accompanied by a deafening, blaring emergency siren in her mind.
[CRITICAL WARNING: THE ABYSSAL TAX!]
[Excessive use of the SSS-Class Asset's power and heat has triggered the severe acceleration of the Abyssal Curse!]
[Time until the SSS-Class Asset permanently loses sanity and destroys the territory: 6 Hours.]
[Solution: Purchase the first dose of the Abyssal Suppressant at the System Pharmacy.]
[Price: 1,500 WP!]
Stephanie's eyes widened in shock. Her current WP balance—after the Ondol purchase and last night's rewards—was only around 524 WP. The System refused to buy the Magic Cores at a fair price, and she had absolutely no time to travel to the nearest trading city to sell them.
If she didn't secure roughly 1,000 WP in six hours, her greatest asset—and the man who had selflessly guarded her all night—would turn into a mindless, destructive monster and die.
Revista's large, trembling hand reached out, weakly grabbing Stephanie's wrist. His reddened, agonizing eyes looked at the woman with heartbreaking, feral despair.
"Run..." Revista growled with immense difficulty, his voice cracking. "Leave me... run..."
Stephanie gritted her teeth. She gripped Revista's massive hand back tightly, her eyes flashing with pure determination.
A CEO doesn't throw away her highest-yielding asset just because of a sudden, drastic spike in maintenance costs, Stephanie thought fiercely.
"Shut up and keep breathing," Stephanie whispered sharply, her voice completely devoid of fear. "I own you now, Revista. And I absolutely do not let my property die."
Her brilliant brain spun wildly. One thousand points in six hours in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Where am I supposed to squeeze that much liquidity from?!
[Nymphaearoot the Author]: Crisis after crisis! They just managed to breathe and have wolf steak for breakfast, and now Revista's "Curse Tax" is due! Where can Stephanie get 1,000 Points in such a short time? Let's discuss in the comments!