Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

In the Maracaibo oil field in Venezuela, Pampas Energy's oil production platforms are operating efficiently, with black gold flowing out continuously. This has thoroughly enraged Rockefeller's Creole Oil Company, which was originally determined to win. Unwilling to accept defeat, they began to resort to underhanded tactics.

First, a group of local union leaders suddenly launched an attack, organizing workers to strike and protest against Pampas Energy's "poor working conditions" and "discriminatory pay"—which was naturally instigated and funded by Creole.

The company's general manager, Carlos Mendoza (puppet A-105), personally went to appease the crowd. Faced with the enraged workers, he didn't raise wages, but instead walked directly to the platform, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. An invisible yet powerful divine force emanated from him, accurately capturing the greed and fear in the hearts of those few instigators mixed in with the crowd.

"Mr. José Ramírez," Mendoza addressed the union leader directly, his voice booming through the loudspeaker, "the $50,000 you received three days ago from a bank in the Cayman Islands is enough for you and your family to live a comfortable life. Why are you leading your brothers into the predicament of losing their jobs?"

José's face turned deathly pale. He wanted to retort, but found himself unable to utter a sound, only able to stare at Mendoza with terrified eyes. Mendoza continued calmly reciting the names of several other agitators and details of the amounts they had received, as if he held everyone's bank statements in his hands.

Divine Sense Probing & Memory Reading. Combined with precise verbal attacks, the effects are immediate.

The workers erupted in uproar, their anger instantly turning against the bribed union leader. The unrest subsided. The next day, the named instigators were found unconscious on their front door, surrounded by large sums of cash, with signs around their necks reading "I am a thief." Creole's first wave of attack was easily thwarted, resulting in a double loss.

Next, Creole attempted to exert political pressure, lobbying the Venezuelan Congress to pass a tax bill detrimental to "Pampas Energy." On the eve of the crucial vote, several wavering lawmakers had the same nightmare: in their dream, all their corrupt practices and secrets were exposed, leading to their disgrace. Upon waking, they were horrified to find a bullet and a note beside their pillows that read, "Make the right choice."

On the day of the vote, the bill was rejected by a landslide. Political maneuvering failed.

Finally, Creole resorted to underhanded tactics: hiring a group of notorious Colombian guerrillas to stage an accidental attack on Pampas Energy's oil pipeline.

The guerrillas infiltrated the jungle at night, preparing to plant explosives, only to find their leader had suddenly vanished. Seconds later, his body fell from the sky, crashing heavily in front of them, a very fine, almost invisible ligature mark on his neck. Immediately afterward, eerie winds and whispers, as if from hell, echoed through the surrounding jungle, and the shadows of the trees twisted and distorted like ghosts.

Illusion - Bewitching.

These ruthless killers were terrified and suffered a mental breakdown, fleeing back to their camp in disarray, incoherently recounting their encounter with the "forest demon." From then on, no armed force dared to covet "Pampas Energy." Rockefeller's influence in Venezuela was repeatedly and invisibly weakened; they didn't even know who their opponent was, attributing it only to inexplicable bad luck and the unfathomable background of their adversary.

In Saudi Arabia, the oil cooperation project between Sheikh Amir (puppet ME-01) and Prince Abdullah is progressing rapidly, and the enormous profits are encroaching on the interests of many. The prince's political rival, another powerful prince, Sultan, in alliance with conservative religious forces, is secretly spreading rumors accusing Prince Abdullah of collaborating too closely with "infidels," selling out national treasures, and defiling the purity of the holy sites.

They even planned to launch an attack after a royal congregational prayer, with an influential imam publicly questioning the project's legitimacy.

On the day of prayer, as everyone knelt in worship, Sheikh Amir lowered his gaze, but his divine sense had already locked onto the Imam and Prince Sultan. He secretly made a hand gesture.

Minor Supernatural Power: Demon Summoning.

Suddenly, the imam who was about to speak trembled violently, as if he had seen an extremely terrifying scene. He cried out, "Allah is the greatest! I have sinned!" and then foamed at the mouth and fainted to the ground. Almost at the same time, Prince Sultan also felt a pang of heart palpitation and shortness of breath, as if an invisible hand was choking him. Cold sweat poured down his back, and he completely forgot the rebuttal he had prepared, leaving only inexplicable fear.

"Sheikh Amir" then stepped forward, respectfully helped the Imam to his feet, and told the old king that this might be some kind of "divine revelation," indicating that the cooperative project would bring unparalleled glory and wealth to the holy land. He also "inadvertently" revealed that a huge "charitable donation" had been prepared for the renovation of mosques in Mecca and Medina.

The old king wholeheartedly agreed, and his favor towards "Sheikh Amir" greatly increased. Prince Sultan's plan to launch an attack completely failed, and he actually lost points. Prince Abdullah's position became even more secure. The methods of the tantric monks to manipulate people's hearts and create "miracles" were surprisingly effective in regions with a strong religious atmosphere.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the giant copper-cobalt mine controlled by the "Treasure" team faced its biggest challenge yet: not from a Western company, but from two local tribes with a long-standing feud. The chief of the other tribe, envious of the huge compensation and job opportunities received by the cooperating tribe, incited his people, claiming the mine had damaged their ancestral lands, and rallied armed men to storm the mine.

The puppet mine manager, Hendrik van der Warden (codename C-88), attempted negotiations, but to no avail. Conflict was imminent.

That night, in his hut, the chief who had instigated the war witnessed the manifestation (advanced illusion) of the "Rainforest God" whom his ancestors had worshipped. The deity solemnly rebuked his greed and his act of provoking war, and declared that another tribe was the true protector of the land. The chief was terrified and knelt down, begging for mercy.

The next day, he not only withdrew all his personnel but also personally brought gifts to apologize to the chief of the cooperating tribe and swore never to invade again. The crisis at the mine vanished, and the two tribes even improved their relationship because of the "oracle." The puppets cleverly used local beliefs to resolve the problem without bloodshed.

In France, Count de la Tour, who attempted to block the acquisition of the winery by "Golden Wheat," encountered a series of inexplicable "misfortunes" after refusing: his treasured paintings faded and cracked overnight, his beloved racehorse was inexplicably startled and broke its leg during training, and he himself began to inexplicably lose his hair, turning into a bald patch in just a few days.

Just when he was at his wit's end, Mr. Cavendish visited again, and "coincidentally" brought an "Oriental miracle doctor." After a few needles from the doctor, the Count's hair loss miraculously stopped, and even some downy hair began to grow back. The Count was both surprised and delighted, and when Cavendish once again presented that "generous" acquisition agreement, he almost signed it with tears streaming down his face. His ancient pride, faced with the troubles of reality and an incomprehensible, mysterious force, utterly crumbled.

In Germany, a top-notch corporate intelligence team dispatched by Siemens successfully infiltrated the core database of a precision instrument factory under the "Golden Wheat" group. They copied all the data, but upon leaving, they wandered aimlessly around the factory grounds all night, only to be discovered by security guards at dawn. Even more bizarrely, they discovered that the tapes they had copied had all turned into blank music tapes—containing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." Siemens' top management was utterly baffled, attributing it to an inexplicable supernatural phenomenon, further fueling their suspicions about the "Golden Wheat" group's background.

From the rainforests of South America to the deserts of the Middle East, from African mines to ancient castles in Europe, Lin Yan's Golden Core puppets effortlessly and skillfully defuse the backlash from the forces of the old era in a variety of unimaginable ways. They either use their divine sense to see into people's hearts and strike with precision, or use magic to create "accidents" and "miracles," or directly use extraordinary power to physically eliminate them.

There are no fierce gunfights, no lengthy commercial lawsuits; often, the crisis vanishes before the opponent even realizes what has happened. What they leave behind is only a series of perplexing "coincidences," inexplicable "accidents," and unfathomable backstories.

An invisible yet incredibly powerful web, woven from resources and commerce, is firmly shrouding the globe. Any attempt to touch or tear this web will invite a precise strike from that cold and ruthless "invisible hand."