Limitless The Strongest Revenant -
Chapter 212: They already know [1/2]
The next moment there was a soft ding. It was a text message from my local bank.
[Dear Mr. Smith. $3,000,000 has been credited to your account ending in 457...]
Luckily, the money laundering service included the hassle of dealing with a bank. The US, in particular, had strict rules about large wire transfers.
Since most criminal organizations use mules, an average Joe suddenly amassing millions would be flagged as suspicious. The same could be said if large organizations suddenly emptied their reserves by giving their money to people.
In the capitalist world, the truth lay not in words, but in where money was being spent. From the government's point of view, if one of your people suddenly became filthy rich, there were only two ways to react.
One would be fear, man feared what he didn't understand. Money, the lifeblood of the present world, would not suddenly move without a good reason.
The other would be greed, if such a common man could amass a lot of money in a short period of time. The government would want its share, so an appropriate tax would be created on the spot.
That was why even the bastards who won the lottery were robbed by the authorities. No one could deny that it felt that way, because the winner had no choice but to pay, otherwise you could not claim your prize.
The reapers who understood this probably already have people in key positions. Otherwise the laundering wouldn't be so fast. But how high does one have to be to know such information?
During the Enlistment, Tesla, Google, and Facebook all created Reaper teams. They were even heavily armed. Results aside, how many people actually know about the existence of the Reapers?
"That seems like a can of worms I don't want to deal with right now."
I would probably need to know at some point in the future, but it was unnecessary now. My mind was currently filled with two things: finishing my laundry list of chores and meeting the Sirens.
Even though I wasn't dirty, I felt extremely tired for some reason. I took a moment to enjoy a quick shower in the hotel room. Then I had a big breakfast in the dining hall. As I was about to leave, I noticed one of the employees grinning exaggeratedly.
'Ah, that must be the bastard who got bullied by Noelle. I promised him a tip, didn't I? What was his name again?'
{Gather} only worked for something I saw or touched. It didn't work for something I heard in passing. To avoid the awkward situation of not knowing his name, I zoomed in on his name tag. It really was a good thing that people in the service industry had such badges.
"Good morning, Mr. Limitless! I hope you had a wonderful night!"
Now that I think about it. From their point of view, I never went back to the hotel. I was with Aki when I was summoned last night. It was also a good thing those guys didn't notice that I wasn't on any surveillance cameras.
'Even a five-star hotel would be concerned about security, so why didn't anyone bother to question me?'
This was something that seemed mundane, but was actually a big deal. Everyone from the security guards to the hotel staff should have noticed by now that I do not appear on the cameras.
If up until now they hadn't been on the lookout for a reason. That would have been them being stupid, or maybe...
"They already know," I said aloud.
"I beg your pardon? Could you repeat that, Mr. Limitless?"
I invoked the death resonance and confronted Nathan with my concern.
"Tell me the truth, why doesn't anyone ask why I don't show up on the security cameras?"
Unlike the trembling response I usually get, Nathan seemed to be in a daze. He kind of reminded me of those people who get neuralyzed in the Men in Black movies. The hotel clerk then responded to me as if he were high on drugs.
"All the employees in this hotel are trained how to react to a "ghost". Once we identify a ghost, we follow protocol and training. This includes never questioning what a ghost is doing, saying or going. "
A ghost must be their code word for reapers. Not only was it subtle, but it allowed for deniability if a human overheard them by mistake.
"You are trained? Then tell me, how do you identify a ghost?"
"We are told that ghosts are extremely beautiful people who do not appear in photos or surveillance cameras. They use fake names or names of people who have already died. They also appear and disappear at a moment's notice. However, they are extremely generous tippers, so we are always on the lookout for them."
"..."
Well, I can't argue with that. If even the people at my hotel are trained to replace and serve Reapers, then do all high class hotels know? What about other industries? Are only the one percent aware?
"No, wait, let me think for a moment."
Reapers generally make a lot of money. Aside from the souls needed for the tax, a Reaper would generally spend his money the only way he knows how. Most would splurge on earthly luxuries or start businesses.
It follows that the business Reapers would know how to recognize their own kind. If souls could be bought in the GRI, then even weak-assed reapers would be able to evolve by using the power of money.
"Hmm. If you think about it that way, of course the 1% would know about the reapers. More likely, the reapers would be the 1%. Nathan, when did you know I was a ghost?"
"The moment you walked in the front door. The owner has cameras in every room and hallway. When we see a person, security tells us if they can see the person. If not, then we have interacted with ghosts."
'Well, shit. Turns out I wasn't as inconspicuous as I thought. It makes a lot of sense, though. Why bother reapers who were just looking for a place to crash.'
I'm glad Nathan volunteered this information on his own. I still didn't know why he did it.
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