Cards in Hand
"So, you've come again to seek my wisdom?" Mephilia said while playing her cards.
"Is that not allowed?" Aiden questioned.
"Of course, to win this kind of card game, you must use every card at your disposal. I appreciate your audacity in boldly exploiting even the divine," Mephilia smiled, narrowing her eyes.
Though Aiden hadn't responded to Carmila's proposed deal earlier, he had long harbored thoughts of dealing with the underworld figure.
He cared little for gang conflicts, and Carmila spending eight years in prison due to a rival's cunning moves was her own affair. However, the situation changed when Silaine turned into a revenant and infiltrated the Rose Prison.
Silaine's son was murdered, and she chose to transform into a revenant intentionally to seek revenge within the confines of the Rose Prison. This caused him and other prison guards considerable distress.
If Silaine's revenge was merely orchestrated by Carlo Polpo to deceive her into relinquishing her compensation money, then he was the mastermind behind their current hardships.
In other words, this underworld figure was causing trouble for them.
Carmila had a vengeful nature; if she claimed she would kill Carlo after her release, she would undoubtedly follow through.
Although Aiden hadn't explicitly said it, he wasn't one to swallow his pride.
As he had once told to Jialong Rowton, who falsely accused Veronica and sent her to prison, he is a person who hold grudges. If a prisoner caused trouble for him, he would surely give them a taste of their own medicine.
Now that someone else was causing trouble in his prison, he would undoubtedly reciprocate with interest.
Moreover, this Carlo Polpo, judging by his extensive experience with countless criminals, he appears to be a thoroughly despicable scoundrel. Dealing with such a character requires no restraint.
However, Aiden maintains a realistic perspective on himself.
In this world, he is neither a noble emperor nor a legendary powerhouse capable of world-shaking feats; he is simply a prison warden.
Even though he holds several Crimson Alert-level criminals under his command, eliminating a underworld figure or even crushing an entire gang would likely be well within his capabilities.
But, he cannot afford to take such actions, as doing so would make him the one ending up behind bars.
Regardless of whether it's a struggle between underworld forces or lawful entities, certain rules must be followed. If a gang were so easily defeated, the police force would have eradicated all the gangs from the old city district long ago.
"I do have my limits in the cards I hold," Aiden continued to play his cards. "Beyond the prison walls is not my home turf. Running recklessly into someone else's territory means facing uncertain consequences."
He understands his dominance within the prison he manages, thanks to the resources at his disposal. Merely underestimating his influence in this prison led Melusine to fall into his hands.
However, outside the prison, the dynamics change.
Initiating an attack against an underworld figure might require shifting the battleground to their territory.
After all, the gangs excel at home-field advantage, with their influence scattered throughout their turf.
To overturn this disadvantage, the only solution he could think of was to leverage the strategic prowess of the goddess of conspiracy, Mephilia.
"I advise you not to underestimate the resources you have on hand," Mephilia reminded Aiden as she used her telekinesis to draw cards from the deck. "Look, you currently possess a significant figure who can easily shake the external underworld forces, don't you?"
"A significant figure?" Aiden played a card and subconsciously trying to recall.
For a moment, he couldn't think of anyone fitting that description. In his prison, there were indeed some inmates with underworld connections, but they were either insignificant minor players or had fallen from grace.
In the men's prison, you may still be able to find a few big bosses who are still very influential even though they are in prison. But here?, the sample of prisoners in the women's prison he manages is still too small.
"Do you need to think so much? It's the female inmate who recently caused trouble in your prison, the one you recently tamed. I believe her name is...", seeing Aiden struggling to remember, Mephilia bluntly revealed, "Melusine, yes, that seems to be her name."
Aiden became alert upon hearing this. "How do you know about Melusine?"
He hadn't shared information about Melusine orchestrating a riot in the prison with Mephilia—after all, Mephilia was also a prisoner he had to remain vigilant about. He only provided necessary information when he needed to use her.
Unless necessary, he wouldn't disclose prison intelligence.
The name Melusine had never been mentioned in front of Mephilia.
"Don't underestimate the insight of a deity," Mephilia smiled as she played her cards, avoiding a direct answer to Aiden's question.
Aiden stared at Mephilia, realizing that she seemed to possess the ability to gather information from the outside world.
Firstly, the possibility of others communicating with Mephilia could be ruled out. This impenetrable fortress of a prison was nearly impossible to breach, especially without him noticing.
So, either Mephilia retained the ability to sense the outside world, or...
Mephilia could directly extract information from him.
Either way, it was something he couldn't guard against, but he needed to be more cautious.
For now, he had to follow Mephilia lead and continue asking, "Melusine is not part of the underworld; she just has close ties. She's involved in the business of contract killing. What can she do?"
To deal with Carlo, Aiden initially considered gathering evidence of his crimes and handing it over to the mounted police. He couldn't see how Melusine would play a role in this process.
"That's more than enough. A killer who can easily take down high-profile figures is sufficient to sow discord within an organization," Mephilia calmly stated. "To destroy someone, you don't necessarily need to rely on their enemies; it can also be... their accomplices!"
Aiden immediately grasped the concept. His mind worked quickly, understanding Mephilia suggestion.
However, he realized a problem: "In that case, I'll have to rely on Evangeline power again. But asking her to do something like this isn't quite appropriate. Besides, her current abilities..."
"No, you don't need that young girl. You just need her reputation. Conveniently, you've acquired her abilities, haven't you?"
"How do you even know about that?" Aiden's card-playing hand hesitated.
"Because I've been keeping an eye on you," Mephilia said with a smile, then played the second-to-last card. "Alright, UNO!"