Chapter 847 Savage's Bad Luck (Part 1) _1

Savage's plan to expand from the Living Hell across the East District, all the way to conquering Gotham, can be described as a roller coaster ride.

After nearly ruling the Living Hell, he began to expand his territory, wanting his influence to cover the entire Greater Living Hell area, but at this step, he encountered unprecedented difficulties.

The surrounding Big Mafia, seemed to have eyes on the backs of their heads. Any move Savage made, they could detect immediately.

Moreover, they were extremely ruthless, always deceiving and ambushing. The trucks that Savage used for transportation of goods were all intercepted by them; spies he sent out were all lured away; and even the arms dealers were robbed.

Having reached this far, Savage had already invested several million dollars, and he now had a very solid base. It was impossible for him to give up.

If there are no trucks for transport, then he would hire more at a high price, recruit more people at a high price, buy weapons at a high price, and spend a high price to create a secure transport logistics system.

If the dispatched informants couldn't come back, he would recruit at a high price within the Living Hell, or spend more money to buy out the outside newspaper boys.

If the arms dealers could not get in, he would find a middleman at a high price. As long as the problem could be solved with money, it was not a problem for Savage.

After spending a lot more money, Savage found that there was actual progress. He expanded his sphere of activity again, nearly encompassing the entire area surrounding the Living Hell.

In this way, as long as he spent money, there would be progress. But once there was a lack of capital investment, he would stagnate. After several repeated instances, Savage was becoming numb to the figures of money he spent.

In simple terms, he had been tamed.

At first, he stepped back in face of Batman's military threat, feeling that he should avoid the oncoming storm for the greater good, and thus planned to change hotels.

But when faced with the hotel, he retreated a step further, coming to the East District planning to rent a house. During the process of renting, in the face of the mobs guarding the Living Hell, he stepped back again, and then continued to retreat.

During this process, he was aware of what he had lost. For example, when the first newspaper boy approached him, demanding him to pay a high price for newspapers and milk, he knew that he had been fleeced.

However, he incorporated his concerns about the business interests into his reality. Although he hadn't actually gained anything, his brain was telling him that his plan had moved forward.

This progression was imaginary, an illusion. Before he made any actual progress, he had already actually spent money, which was actually the first step in being tamed.

This taming process continued to repeat itself. Every time, before Savage made an actual progress, he had already spent real money. Afterwards, he would achieve some actual progress, but it often ended up being less than what he had anticipated.

First envision, then spend money on what you have imagined. Afterwards, accept the reality that things are not as imagined. Repeat this process many times and a thought process is perfectly tamed.

In other words, I spend money on ideas that can't be realised in reality, but since it's money spent on myself, it will always be worth it, even at a loss.

Once the gap between imagination and reality becomes too large, the discrepancy can cause a restless feeling.

For example, after Savage took control of all the mobs in the Living Hell, he found that the situation was not ideal and could not provide as much help for his grand cause as he had imagined.

But upon discovering this, he didn't choose to give up. Instead, he dive right into this pit, refusing to leave regardless of anyone's persuasion.

On one hand, it was due to the sunk cost. On the other hand, the thought process had already been tamed and become more linear.

Constantly revisiting plans in the mind, spending money on the plan, and achieving results not as expected... he had already come to accept all these events.

Originally, the money spent and the actual results obtained should be equal, but as long as the imagination is included, even if they are not equal, people can find an excuse to convince themselves.

Savage paid a huge amount of money. If these funds were invested in East Coast Cities, which were slightly inferior to Gotham, he may have already ruled the entire city. But as long as he adds his imagination of ruling all of Gotham, he will feel that the expenditure is worthwhile.

Investment, return, and imagination are like three young individuals in a complex love triangle, seeing each other as the third wheel.

Whether the investment receives a return, whether the investment follows the imagination, and whether the return satisfies the imagination, each represents a different value judgement. If someone guides it at any point, it can distort values, blur gains and losses, and thus achieve the purpose of deception.

By the end of the taming process, Savage doesn't feel any loss. He only knew how much the input and return differed from the imagination, so he naturally wanted to invest.

Put bluntly, this is a scam set up by the entire Gotham City for Savage.