True Villains and Hypocrites

The moment Chen Qingbin swung his club, Long Aotian announced loudly, "Xu Xuejiao of the Xu Family has declared on the spot that she will inject twelve billion into the Shantytown Renovation Project."

"What!?"

Crack!

Chen Qingbin had it even worse than the other two. He did not fall, but upon hearing the news, he failed to brace himself and twisted his waist hard. Everyone heard the crisp crack of bone.

Chen Qingbin hurriedly said with difficulty, "Quick, my... my waist..."

Lu Guanghong quickly asked, "Old Chen, what happened? You're a noble and rich too, yet your waist is giving out?"

Chen Qingbin's face was covered in sweat. "Quick! Help me up!"

Leng Tianhao hurriedly said, "I can't. I'm a fallen noble, and my own waist isn't doing too well either. Hahaha, twelve billion! Your daughter really is impressive. I give you rich nobles a thumbs-up!"

Xu Zhiyun could only support Chen Qingbin. "Damn, Old Chen, you twisted it badly this time! Was ten billion really worth it? In my view, anything under twenty billion isn't even worth mentioning. Look at you, look at you. Slowly, slowly..."

The three old men with injured waists sat in a row. Now, none of them had the nerve to mock the others.

Only Xu Zhiyun remained standing, leaning on his golf club and laughing at the three of them.

"Hahaha! Look at the three of you, each one bragging to the heavens. One has a son of grand ambition, one has a daughter who's a peerless prodigy. Old Chen, you're the most ridiculous. Your daughter was usually so well-behaved—why did she start fooling around too? Hahaha! This is great. With your three wealthy families backing the shantytown project, I can finally sleep soundly tonight."

The three old men shot him a glare.

Xu Zhiyun became even more pleased with himself.

"Oh? You're all angry? Come on, we've been friends for decades! I'm telling you, Old Chen, there's no need to get worked up. Ten billion may not be a small sum, but it's not enough to cripple you. Look at Old Lu. His son cost him fifty billion in one go, and he's still keeping his composure, isn't he? The most pitiful one is Old Leng. From what I know, your family has to invest nearly five billion. Can your family even recover from that? Hahaha!"

Leng Tianhao was furious, but the instant he tried to sit upright and retort, his waist flared with pain.

Xu Zhiyun swung his golf club around a few times. "Look at that. Four people came out to play, three got hurt, and I alone stand smiling at the changing tides."

He turned around and began posing.

He recited grandly, "The Qin Emperor and Han Wu, lacking in literary grace; the Tang Sovereign and Song Founder, somewhat short on charm. Genghis Khan, a prodigy of his age, knew only how to bend his bow and shoot eagles."

Then he turned back, smiling at the three old men choking on their anger. With a wicked grin, he looked at them smugly and said, "All have passed away."

Then he turned toward the distance and declared loudly, "To count the men of true greatness, look to the present age!"

Having said that, filled with boiling passion, soaring ambition, and boundless self-satisfaction, carrying the bearing of one who could swallow the world whole, he swung with all his might!

At the same time, Long Aotian calmly said, "Xu Xuejiao has invested twenty billion on behalf of the Xu Family."

"What!?"

Crack!

"Ahhh! My waist!"

The four old men sat in a row.

Leng Tianhao nodded. "What did Old Xu just say? He said ten billion wasn't enough to damage one's foundations. So how much would be?"

Chen Qingbin said, "He said it had to be twenty billion!"

"Oh my!" Leng Tianhao said. "Old Xu, your family has reached the standard! Your daughter really does have courage. I'm just a fallen noble, so I can only put up less than five billion."

Chen Qingbin said, "At least my daughter still cares about me enough not to throw in twenty billion. Looking at it that way, Old Xu's daughter has the real nerve! I'd say Xu Xuejiao is the one with grand ambition, the peerless prodigy of her generation!"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Lu Guanghong drew a deep breath. "This is strange! What's going on with those four? Did they arrange this beforehand?"

Xu Zhiyun could not take it anymore. He said furiously, "Bring me my phone! I'm going to ask that dead girl what the hell is going on!"

The other three old men said in unison, "Then you lost! Take the call first!"

"I lost twenty billion! Do you think I care about losing now? What are you idiots thinking? Whose family isn't losing money here!? You're still worrying about winning and losing!?"

The other three old men froze. Thinking it over, they realized he was right and promptly had their secretaries bring their phones over.

The four old men each clutched their waists while calling their children.

In the restroom, Lu Chengwen sat arrogantly in an artistic armchair.

The system's female voice said, "Congratulations, Host. You have invested in a grand project capable of bankrupting the entire Lu Family."

"You flatter me." Lu Chengwen crossed one leg over the other. "I've lasted three days already. It's time to give me my reward, right?"

"Please wait a moment, dear. We need to verify things on our end."

"Verify away. I'm not in a hurry."

Lu Chengwen felt that he was truly invincible.

How was I such a genius!? How did I even think of bankrupting my own family?

And the risk was completely manageable!

Once the losses reached a certain point, he could immediately cut his losses, take all their remaining assets, and move the entire family somewhere else.

With his own business talent, he could start over and keep making money.

Even if he could no longer be a tycoon worth hundreds of billions like he was now, what was the difference between that and being a tycoon worth a few hundred million?

There was none!

It made absolutely no difference to him!

Most importantly, once he accomplished this feat, he would disappear completely from that animal Long Aotian's sight.

Would he still need to rack his brains trying to avoid him then? Long Aotian would not even bother looking at him again!

The system said, "Hello, Host. We have verified that the rewards you can obtain this time are limited."

"Huh? Why? I've done so much. Can't I get more? You have to be reasonable, right?"

"It works like this: if you can make the Lu Family completely bankrupt, then for every ten billion lost, one hundred million in prize money will be deposited into the real world. You can collect the prize money after returning to the real world."

"What about now?"

"Your pharmaceutical factory shares have evaporated by several tens of billions, but the factory is still operating. Its stock price could fluctuate at any time, so they cannot be redeemed."

"Then the Shantytown Renovation Project should count, right?"

"Sorry, dear. The shantytown project has not officially begun yet. You need to genuinely lose your family's assets before you can receive the corresponding prize money."

Lu Chengwen said angrily, "Then I survived three days without getting beaten to death. Shouldn't I get a reward for that!?"

"Yes, dear!"

"We are offering the Host three choices. First, one copy of the Sunflower Manual. With this manual, the Host can designate it as your foundational manual and continuously upgrade it using points. As its level increases, your strength will gradually..."

"Next one."

"Dear, this is our recommended package! If you choose the Sunflower Manual, we will also provide ten Beauties as part of the package..."

"Next, next, next!" Lu Chengwen muttered, "If I upgrade the Sunflower Manual, what the hell would I need Beauties for!?"

"Oh. The second option is one Immoveable Wisdom King Divine Art trial card. With this card, you will have one period of invincibility, able to defend against all physical attacks with no upper limit to your defense."

"That sounds pretty good."

Lu Chengwen rubbed his chin. Too bad it was only one chance. If it were unlimited, that would be amazing. I'd never have to fear Long Aotian again.

"What's the third one?"

"The third is a top-tier Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms trial card, limited to one use. With this card, you can instantly kill any opponent. Anyone you dislike can be eliminated in an instant, with the sole exception of Long Aotian himself."

Lu Chengwen considered it. What would I need the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms for?

Except for Long Aotian? Other than him, I don't have anyone else I want to slap to death. This is useless to me.

"I choose the Immovable Wisdom King Skill."

"Alright, please keep it safe. One more thing: whenever your lost assets or profitable assets reach an increment of ten billion, you can redeem one hundred million in prize money in the real world. However, we will only calculate the total amount. You cannot withdraw rewards in both directions."

"So you mean I either need to make money like crazy or lose money like crazy. Is that it?"

"Yes, dear!"

"Understood."

"But dear, you must pay attention to your methods. You cannot do anything that goes beyond common sense."

"For example?"

"For instance, you cannot directly transfer your assets to strangers—that does not count. You also cannot deliberately buy goods at outrageous prices—that does not count either. Nor can you intentionally destroy valuable assets, such as smashing antiques, burning buildings, or making exorbitant insurance payouts..."

"Don't worry. I don't need such crude methods. I can still lose my way into a future!"

Lu Chengwen smiled.

So far, things were progressing fairly smoothly.

His family had hundreds of billions in assets. If he kept losing money at this rate, he only needed to leave a few hundred million as capital. The rest, several hundred billion, could earn him several hundred million in prize money in the real world!

Several hundred million!

That was an enormous fortune beyond the imagination of ordinary people for an entire lifetime.

But he had to accumulate prize money by losing money. Making money was out of the question.

He was now the fattest sheep in Xue City. If he kept making money... Long Aotian wanted to swallow up the Four Great Families, so sooner or later, he would use Lu Chengwen as his first target.

And Lu Chengwen's father and mother only had a son, not a daughter to join Long Aotian's harem.

For Lu Chengwen, this was a dead end.

His only way out was to make the Lu Family collapse completely as soon as possible, so Long Aotian would lose interest in him.

The entire family could move south, content to be moderately wealthy people who did not draw too much attention. Then both he and his family could survive.

Leng Tianhao looked at Leng Qingqiu. "Qingqiu, tell me, what were you thinking?"

Leng Qingqiu said, "Lu Chengwen would never make a losing deal. And Xu Xuejiao and Chen Mengyun have both followed him by throwing in massive sums. I think this is very likely to be a major opportunity. Our Leng Family absolutely cannot fall behind."

Leng Tianhao's face darkened. "Four point nine billion. Did you calculate that this would stake all our cash and the future of the family on it?"

"Yes." Leng Qingqiu answered decisively, "The more desperate the situation, the more willing we must be to risk everything. I believe my judgment is correct."

Leng Tianhao slammed his hand on the table. "Then what about that plot of land? What are we supposed to use to develop it?"

"It was a choice between two options. I made my choice."

"You have no right to make that choice. You are only the president. You do not have that authority!"

"You sent me to the meeting. I represented you. The words have already been spoken, and the contract has been signed with the government. We have to put up this money."

"You..."

Long Aotian set down his wineglass and stood. "Qingqiu, you made a huge mistake this time."

"What does this have to do with you?"

"Do not be rude! Young friend Aotian is now my strategist."

Long Aotian smiled faintly. "We can breach the contract. I can use my connections to minimize the losses, then swiftly secure that plot of land."

"I will not agree to breach the contract."

Long Aotian said seriously, "Qingqiu, why don't you understand yet? You know what kind of person Lu Chengwen is. He is nothing but a scheming, profiteering villain. How could you trust him?"

Leng Qingqiu looked at Long Aotian coldly. "I can see his heart. His heart is pure and clean. You, on the other hand, are the true villain—sanctimonious and putting on airs."

Leng Tianhao said, "Enough! I have already announced that the board will convene next week. I will reappoint Long Aotian as president of Qianfeng Group. As for you, you will be his deputy."

"What did you say!?"

Leng Tianhao snorted. "And your engagement to Lu Chengwen is canceled!"