Chapter 343
Maria saw the familiar figure in the distance and rushed towards it with open arms.
Seeing that her younger sister was still so childlike, Margaret did not resist the hug and grinned with an aunt-like smile.
Maria hugged her sister and asked the question that had been lingering in her heart for several days.
"Sister, why did you withdraw from the competition? To be honest, I don't understand. If you hadn't announced your withdrawal, you only needed to defeat Lucky Knight to meet me in the finals. Didn't you say before that you wanted to compete with me on the finals stage? Now that I did, you gave up halfway. What's the point of me continuing the competition? I might as well withdraw too."
Defeating Doctor Zhong is easier said than done.
Upon hearing this, Margaret grinned and gave a wry smile.
After learning that Doctor Zhongli was the Lucky Knight, she knew she couldn't win the quarterfinals.
This has nothing to do with whether or not one has courage or determination; it's simply a matter of vastly different strengths.
Therefore, when the Doctor proposed to withdraw from the competition, Margaret did not feel too much reluctance and readily agreed.
Although the finals aren't until the day after tomorrow, there will be an official press conference tomorrow. Large-scale events like the Knight Competition always involve some trash talk and such.
She chose to return to the old house at this time to reassure her sister and prevent the plan from going astray.
"Da da".
Perhaps Maria's voice was a bit too loud and disturbed Maena in the bedroom.
He came into the hall wearing long striped pajamas and holding a newspaper.
Margaret knew that Maena had not yet left the company, so there were many things she couldn't say in front of her uncle.
But he couldn't just keep staring like that, so he gently patted his sister's shoulder and comforted her:
"You don't need to withdraw from the competition, you can continue. My withdrawal is a well-considered decision. I can't go into the specific reasons, I hope you can understand. Also, I have a surprise for you in the finals."
Upon hearing this, Maria immediately retorted with a question:
"A surprise? What surprise?"
Margaret grinned but did not answer.
"If I tell you now, there will be no surprise. You'll find out after the finals."
"All right..."
Maena knew the general outline of Shi Lei's plan, but was unsure whether Margaret was aware of it.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke:
"Although I've always disliked your participation in the Knight Competition, thinking it's pointless to fight tooth and nail for false glory, Margaret did win that match, and I will keep my promise not to interfere. The finals are just around the corner, there's no need to withdraw. You have to finish what you start, you can't give up halfway."
Maria was surprised to see her uncle, who usually always disagreed with her, surprisingly supporting her today. She looked at him strangely, as if the sun had risen in the west.
She felt something was off, but after carefully considering her uncle's words, it seemed like there was nothing wrong with them.
"Okay, sis, are you leaving late? The competition is the day after tomorrow, and I want to practice with you."
Margaret knew that her time in Cavaleria was short and she would have to return to the This Ship sooner or later.
The opportunity to practice with my sister is becoming increasingly rare, so there's really no reason to refuse.
"Let's go then, but don't cry if you lose."
Time flies by like fast-forwarding through a movie.
Before we knew it, it was July 17th.
At 10 a. m., Shi Lei and Maria were invited to attend a press conference held by the Commercial Union.
This was a pre-final operational project where the two contestants would exchange harsh words. This facilitated editing and promotion by the publicity department, enhancing the program's appeal.
Since Lucky Knight had previously 'destroyed' many camera lenses, the official team was well-prepared this time.
They will film Maria first, completing the necessary tasks. After everything is filmed and saved, they will then use a remote camera position to film the Lucky Knight.
If the camera still explodes even from 40 or 50 meters away, then there's really nothing that can be done. Editing and playing one person's footage is better than nothing at all.
Maria, arm in arm with Sophia, stepped onto the stage for the press conference.
Because of her withdrawal from the competition, her sister Margaret was unable to attend such an event, so her aunt accompanied her.
The staff members in the audience, familiar with the process, began asking relevant questions with their prepared notes:
"Miss Maria, is there anything you'd like to say to Lucky Knight about tomorrow's finals?"
Maria glanced instinctively at her aunt, who gave her an encouraging look, and then looked directly at the camera and said:
"Actually, I've watched all of Lucky Knight's battle videos, more than once. But his Originium Arts are really hard to figure out. I'm not confident of winning tomorrow's match. If I had to say something, I could only say that I will give it my all."
After a moment's thought, the staff member felt that the statement was too gentle, so they made the following request:
"Could you be even harsher?"
Maria looked puzzled and asked:
"Sir, I don't understand what you mean."
"It's just making threats, like saying you'll beat him in the competition, or that you'll really crush him."
"I'm sorry, I can't say that."
Shi Lei waited backstage, not in a hurry to enter.
He held his phone, scrolling through recent news reports. Because intelligence dissemination channels varied across different regions, the information was often delayed.
For example, Londinium formed Self-Rescue Army, and the Victoria Peninsula County was attacked by Deep Pool. These news items are not new at all; they all happened several months ago.
"What are you busy with?"
Hearing someone call out to him, Shi Lei looked up. Upon seeing the spokesperson, Mackey, he approached him.
"Nothing, just playing on my phone."
Mackey looked around and, seeing the staff coming and going, lowered his voice and said:
"It's not convenient to talk here, let's find another place."
Having said that, he walked straight ahead, without waiting for the other person's agreement, and headed towards another passage.
Shi Lei paused for a moment, then followed. Two or three minutes later, they arrived at the rooftop of the building.
After confirming that there were no outsiders present, the spokesperson Mackey, turned to the Lucky Knight and asked seriously:
"Friend, be honest with me. Are you really confident you can win tomorrow's final?"
In an effort to reverse public opinion, the Commercial Union had already begun its preparatory work. They were using money to pave the way, preparing articles for major newspapers and television stations, and hiring online trolls. They were just waiting for Maria to fall so they could launch a counterattack.
The remaining company directors gave Mackey a firm order: he must ensure the Lucky Knight win the championship.
Shi Lei noticed the worry in his eyes and smiled:
What do you think?
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"What do you mean..."
Realizing his voice was too loud, Mackey immediately toned it down, clearing his throat and lowering his volume.
"Isn't this a competition you're participating in? What am I supposed to say? What can I say?"
Seeing the other person's annoyed look, Shi Lei accurately grasped his sore spot and grinned:
"Actually, I don't really care about winning or losing the Finals. Anyway, I'll get the Knight title after the game. I'm already very satisfied with this result in my first competition. As your spokesperson, shouldn't you say something to give me some confidence in winning the championship?"
The Commercial Union hasn't made any big moves recently, clearly indicating that it's betting everything on this one move.
With the Supervision Committee's covert instigation, public discussion about match-fixing has reached fever pitch.
If Maria wins, the Commercial Union will suffer a huge backlash and impact. Only if she doesn't win will all the rumors circulating online be dispelled.
Therefore, the key to victory lies with Shi Lei. Whether he becomes complacent or not will determine the future direction of the company.
Spokesperson Mackey is one of the mouthpieces for many behind-the-scenes directors of the Commercial Union.
He definitely didn't come here today just for casual conversation; he wanted Shi Lei's opinion.
The attitude towards winning the championship.
If the Lucky Knight, like the Left-Handed Knight, loses the game due to overconfidence, all the recent efforts and preparations made by the Commercial Union will be in vain.
Before Mackey explained his purpose, Shi Lei had already guessed why he had approached him. After weighing the options, he felt that cooperating was better than going against him.
If he immediately rejects everything and seems completely unyielding, who knows what kind of underhanded tactics the Commercial Union might pull behind the scenes.
If Shi Lei were an ordinary person and demanded wealth such as gold and silver, things would be less likely to go wrong.
Because every human being has desires. With desires come weaknesses. And with weaknesses come control.
Those old guys hiding behind the scenes have been cultivating Kazimierz for years. He wouldn't be surprised if they pulled out some unexpected trump card.
It wasn't that Shi Lei was afraid, but rather that he wanted to reduce the number of variables. He would leisurely reveal his trump card once everything settled down.
Shi Lei, quick-witted, decided after a moment's deliberation to deliberately create an opening. This would make the Commercial Union feel that they were in control and could stabilize the situation.
A fleeting hint of joy flashed in the eyes of spokesperson Mackey, but it was quickly concealed.
"Mr. Lucky Knight, I can't boost your confidence with just a few words. But if you have any needs, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to fulfill them if it's within my power."
Seeing that he was pretending to be ignorant, Shi Lei simply laid his cards on the table and brought the topic to the forefront:
"I've heard your company is embroiled in a match-fixing scandal and desperately needs a victory to turn things around. If you want me to get out of this mess, you'll have to bleed a little, won't you?"
Mackey squinted, roughly guessing that the Lucky Knight might be about to make an exorbitant demand, and asked:
So... what do you want?
"Shares, 5% of your company's shares."
Shi Lei's eyes peered through the holes in the mask, observing Kuranta's changing expressions:
"As for which shareholders will allocate this portion to me, that's for you to discuss. If your company doesn't care, then I don't care either."
Upon hearing such an outrageous offer, Mackey's eyelids twitched violently; he felt that Lucky Knight was too greedy.
The Commercial Union's monopoly on the Knight Competition arena isn't due to any powerful backing. Rather, it's because many business owners have invested in it and use it as a platform.
By leveraging the players' rankings in the Knight Competition, they can gain more influence over the National Assembly.
Regardless of the complexity of the company's internal personnel, just this 5% stake alone would allow them to receive nearly 1 billion yuan from the Commercial Union.
When the bigwigs in Scherzag bought the Triple Crown Black Knight, they paid a similar price.
Why should a player who hasn't even won a championship ask for so much?
Mackey had previously thought the other person wasn't greedy. Turns out, they just looked down on small sums and wanted to make a fortune.
"Such a large sum of money can't be decided by me alone. How about this, you go and record the show first. I'll go back and hold a meeting to consult the other major shareholders, and give you an answer by today, okay?"
"Okay, I'll wait for Mr. Mackey's good news."
After reaching a verbal agreement, Shi Lei turned and left.
He returned to his original waiting spot and ran into the staff member who had come looking for him.
The other party brought the Lucky Knight onto the stage and began the garbage-style recording segment.
Shi Lei thought these advertisements were stupid. And the fact that they were being broadcast on television made him even more unhappy.
What happened next was not hard to predict: even when the camera was shooting from a distance, the lens still exploded.
He shrugged, indicating that it was due to his Originium Arts. The director and cameraman were quite helpless and had no choice but to abandon this part of the recording and send the Lucky Knight home.
After parting ways with Shi Lei, Mackey went down to the VIP meeting room.
Entry requires a card swipe, and you can communicate with the board members via video conference.
More than twenty minutes later, these behind-the-scenes bosses finally came online one after another. They were usually busy with their own things and rarely had time to hold a meeting.
Once the remaining six directors had all arrived, Kuranta, a middle-aged man with white hair, spoke first: