The banquet hall fell deathly silent in an instant.
Some people below the stage had still been whispering, but when they heard the final figure Administrator Ross announced, every one of them was too stunned to speak. For a moment, the vast banquet hall was so quiet that even a falling pin would have been clearly audible.
The dead silence did not last long. A moment later, the hall erupted.
"Five million gold coins? Gods above! Is that true?"
"No way! How could the Xinfei Merchant Guild possibly borrow that much?"
"Exactly! Even selling the entire Xinfei Merchant Guild wouldn't bring in that much, would it? Even five hundred thousand gold coins would be a stretch!"
"Since when did the Chimera Chamber of Commerce become so accommodating? They rejected our last loan application for a mere eight hundred thousand gold coins. How could they approve a full five million for the Xinfei Merchant Guild?"
Disbelief filled everyone's eyes.
And the most incredulous of all was, of course, President Morgan.
He stared fixedly at Administrator Ross. If not for all the people watching, he would have rushed onto the stage and tugged hard at Ross's face to see whether someone was impersonating him.
But reason told him that this Administrator Ross was indeed the man he had met several times before in Anvilmar City. He could not possibly be an impostor.
Besides, what good would hiring someone to impersonate him do Xu Yi? Would Xu Yi dare do something like this without the Chimera Chamber of Commerce's approval?
Only after a long while did President Morgan slowly recover. He gave Xu Yi a long look, then turned to Administrator Ross. "Administrator Ross, may I ask a question?"
Administrator Ross nodded slightly. "Please do."
"I'd like to know what persuaded the