How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 23 - She had to establish a correct reward mechanism (1)
Bo Li finally had a full meal.
This body hadn't eaten chili peppers before. Towards the end of her meal, she was crying with a runny nose. She kept blowing her nose while eating.
In contrast, Erik didn't show any reaction as if he had eaten spicier food.
Bo Li didn't think too much of it. After all, chili peppers originated in the Americas.
In the original work, he traveled all over Europe before going to India and learning a terrible rope skill. With such a travel history, it wouldn't be surprising if he had gone to the Americas too. Perhaps, they were in the Americas now.
Bo Li didn't get good grades in geography, but she vaguely remembered that France didn't have crocodiles or coyotes. Coyotes were only found in North America.
She had heard the manager and the others speaking in a French accent, so she thought she was in France. She completely forgot that there were many cities in the United States in the 19th century where French was the predominant language. For example, New Orleans was a former colony of France and Spain.
That also explained why Richard didn't take the backpack for himself. New Orleans was too far from Paris. It was better to work together with the manager than to travel so far away to seek out Louis Vuitton.
Bo Li forced herself to remember this lesson. She had to carefully consider again and again before taking any action.
She thought the people here were ignorant and simple-minded. With just a nudge, she thought could make the other party act according to her will.
However, they were living people. How could it be that easy to make them into her pawns?
If it wasn't for Erik's inhuman strength, she would have already died at the manager's hands.
Erik wouldn't keep helping her. She couldn't take his help for granted.
If she wanted to survive, she had to be cautious, always cautious.
The portion size of the canned hot pot was too much. Bo Li ate a third and couldn't any more.
Erik had a good appetite, and he hardly stopped moving his chopsticks. His fingers were extremely long. They were nimble and powerful. It felt almost mesmerizing watching his hand move. Most westerners would fumble a bit when using chopsticks for the first time. He was calm and his movements in using the chopsticks were the same as her.
It was only then that Bo Li remembered that not only was he a first-class magician, he was also a rarely seen musical genius. Both of these things required extremely high finger dexterity.
It would be weird if he couldn't learn how to use chopsticks.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he ate in front of her, not counting the time they shared an energy bar.
Just like that time, his mask was only slightly lifted, revealing a small portion of his sharply defined jaw. His chewing was slow and graceful. It looked like he had received professional training.
Considering that he had once worked for the Shah and even planned several political murders, it wouldn't be surprising if he had received such training.
Bo Li didn't dare to keep looking at his face. She looked away and tried to make small talk. "You're too skinny. Eat more."
No response.
He didn't stop eating either, so she guessed that he was okay if she continued talking.
Bo Li thought this was a good opportunity to get closer to him.
Since they weren't in Paris, he hadn't met Christine and gone crazy, which meant that it wouldn't hurt her to worm her way into his good graces.
She thought it over and came up with a topic that was easy for her to hold a one-sided conversation. "Do you know how to put together a circus?"
No response.
She didn't expect him to answer and continued speaking. "I think no matter how we set up a circus, we can't treat the performers the way the manager did. He treats them like they're disposable exhibits. The audience will only want to see them once. That's not only detrimental to the development of performers, but also a burden to the circus."
Erik didn't even look up. He continued eating.
"People can get tired of looking at deformed appearances. If Emily worked for me, I wouldn't sell her or make her into a specimen. That's illegal and also killing the goose that lays the golden egg. I would give her a pious background and have the audience realize that she's not just a deformed four-legged woman, but also a living person."
Erik finally raised his head and looked at her.
Bo Li smiled. "You might think that's futile. That letting the audience know about her background won't change her appearance. People will still fear her, shun her, and treat her like a circus clown."
"However, what if people discover," she tilted her head, "that underneath her unique appearance, she's a devout Christian that needs love and can also love others?"
"I'll tailor a script for her to make her as tragic and pitiful as possible and worthy of sympathy. People will sympathize with her. Everyone has a longing to feel sympathy. The rich will pity the poor, the poor will pity the beggars, and the healthy beggars will pity the disabled beggars."
"Sympathy isn't just a virtue, it's a privilege. Lucky people will feel more fortunate when they see unfortunate people. Healthy people will feel more healthy when they see disabled people. They'll be willing to spend a lot of money and time on this experience."
"Most importantly, Emily was pregnant." Bo Li furrowed her brow. "The manager is so stupid and vicious. He could have used this to make up a better and more sympathetic story for Emily. And yet, he chose to have Emily abort the baby and make the fetus into a specimen…"
Translator Ramblings: I like how the author slips in the information that why yes, Erik has been spying on Bo Li ("She wanted to get close to Cesar, but she stepped back in fear just from Cesar snorting and baring its teeth. He had to achieve her goal for her.") in the previous chapter part. More importantly, this shows that he's good enough to not get caught, which leads me to infer that if Bo Li ever notices that Erik is secretly watching her, it's because he wants her to.