On the night the banquet concluded, Lu Chenyuan issued the next phase of attack orders.
The targets were several media outlets and online troll farms under Li Xiujian's control in North America.
These were the mouthpieces Li Xiujian had cultivated for years, the very tools he used to manipulate public opinion and incite financial panic.
The intelligence division of Yuanlong Technologies, armed with the financial flow charts provided by Mo Qingli, executed the operation with surgical precision.
…………
North American time, early morning.
A targeted cyberattack unfolded silently.
The core servers of several media companies were infected with an irremovable data virus.
All historical articles, user data, and internal communication records were encrypted and locked in an instant.
Shortly after, detailed investigative reports were anonymously sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Tax Bureau.
The reports directly accused these companies of stock price manipulation, financial fraud, and large-scale money laundering.
The evidence was airtight, leaving no room for rebuttal.
By dawn, the stock prices of these companies had collapsed in pre-market trading.
Regulatory investigation notices were delivered to their doorsteps.
Overnight, Li Xiujian's overseas propaganda machine was silenced.
He didn’t even have time to react.
……
Li Xiujian stared at the encrypted report in his inbox, his face ashen.
Severed.
His meticulously nurtured overseas media arsenal—built over a decade—had been cleanly dismantled.
He hadn’t even glimpsed his opponent’s shadow.
But he knew who was behind it.
Lu Chenyuan.
No one else had both the capability and the motive.
He had lost the battle of public opinion. The financial war, too.
His chess pieces were being plucked off the board, one by one.
His cash flow, strained by relentless assaults and desperate rescues, was tightening further.
For the first time, he felt suffocated.
A slow, inescapable tightening—like a net closing around him.
“Lu Chenyuan…”
The name hissed through Li Xiujian’s clenched teeth.
The cold calculation in his eyes twisted into something darker, more desperate.
He wasn’t finished yet.
……
Yuanlong Technologies, top-floor office.
Zhang Qi placed a fresh analysis report in front of Lu Chenyuan.
“Boss Lu, our team and Mo Qingli’s group have reviewed all of Li Xiujian’s counterattacks.”
Zhang Qi’s expression was grave.
“We’ve identified a pattern.”
“Every time his cash flow hits a critical gap, or a key asset faces regulatory scrutiny, a mysterious force intervenes.”
“This force can suddenly expedite bank approvals or suppress high-level investigations without explanation.”
Lu Chenyuan’s gaze settled on the report’s key nodes.
All of them pointed to the same place: the Xia National Financial Regulatory Bureau.
A name appeared at the document’s end: Wang Chen.
Former head of the Market Supervision Office, now deputy director.
Li Xiujian’s invisible protector had finally surfaced.
Lu Chenyuan tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.
“Wang Chen is a seasoned player in the financial system. Attacking him directly with old cases would backfire—insufficient evidence would only alert him.”
“And it would force him and Li Xiujian into an unbreakable alliance.”
To catch a hidden predator, one didn’t cast a line.
One wove a net so vast, the prey had no choice but to blunder into it.
……
Three days later.
Yuanlong Technologies held another press conference.
This one dwarfed all previous events.
Not only were tech and financial media present, but key leaders of Jingzhou’s municipal government also attended.
On stage, Lu Chenyuan unveiled a plan that stunned the audience.
“Yuanlong Technologies, in partnership with the Mo Group, will launch the ‘Jingzhou·Future City’ initiative.”
Behind him, the screen displayed breathtaking CGI animations of the envisioned city.
Autonomous shuttle buses glided through a multi-layered transportation network.
Smart robots handled logistics and urban maintenance.
Every household’s energy, health, and security would be managed by a unified “City Brain.”
“We will invest 100 billion into the smart infrastructure of this pilot zone.”
“Covering intelligent transit, energy grids, data centers, security systems, and more.”
“This is an open platform. We welcome all qualified enterprises to participate in the bidding process.”
Lu Chenyuan’s voice, broadcast live, echoed across Xia.
A 100-billion-yuan smart-city project.
This wasn’t just a commercial venture—it was a government-backed urban development flagship.
Capital surged at the news. Everyone recognized the monumental opportunity.
……
Li Xiujian watched the broadcast, his eyes dark with fury.
That young man on screen, radiating confidence—how had Lu Chenyuan amassed such power?
100 billion.
His CFO paled beside him.
“Boss, once this project begins, Yuanlong and the Mo Group will be inseparable from the Jingzhou government. Their dominance here will be unshakable for a decade.”
Li Xiujian remained silent.
His gaze locked onto the project’s fine print, his mind racing.
He needed a crack—a vulnerability to exploit.
Then his pupils constricted.
There. A tiny, almost invisible clause. But lethal.
At the heart of the “Future City” plan was the “City Brain” data center.
And buried in the bidding requirements:
“Qualified enterprises must possess the ‘highest security clearance’ for cross-border data safety, as certified by financial regulators.”
An exceptionally high bar.
Fewer than five companies in Xia held this certification—all with ties to Lu Chenyuan or the Mo family.
It effectively barred all competitors.
But Li Xiujian knew who held the final authority over this certification.
Wang Chen.
His pulse quickened.
Lu Chenyuan’s arrogance had exposed a flaw.
He assumed this clause would reserve the juiciest contract for his allies.
But it was a trapdoor.
If Li Xiujian could secure the same clearance for one of his shell companies…
He could bid for the data center.
Winning it wouldn’t just salvage his finances—it would put him in control of the entire project’s lifeline.
Lu Chenyuan had handed him the knife.
Now he could plunge it back into Lu Chenyuan’s heart.
A tantalizing bait.
A deadly gamble.
Li Xiujian understood.
Playing Wang Chen now meant staking his last card.
Win, and he’d reverse his fortunes in one move.
Lose, and it was over.
The office echoed with his ragged breathing.
Finally, he reached for a long-dormant encrypted phone.
He dialed the number he had saved twenty years ago and never used since.
The phone rang three times before it was answered.
"It's me." Li Xiujian's voice was hoarse.
On the other end of the line, Wang Chen's tone remained as steady as ever. "I thought you'd never make this call."
"I need clearance." Li Xiujian cut straight to the point.
Wang Chen fell silent.
He knew exactly what Li Xiujian was referring to.
"This project runs deep," Wang Chen said slowly. "Lu Chenyuan and Mo Qingli aren’t like the opponents from twenty years ago."
"I know," Li Xiujian replied. "But this is my only chance."
"And my chance to fall into the abyss," Wang Chen's voice turned cold.
"You don’t have a choice." Li Xiujian’s tone grew icy. "The documents you signed twenty years ago are enough to keep you behind bars for life. Did you really think I didn’t keep copies?"
Another long silence stretched between them.
It was a battle of wills, fought in stillness.
Finally, Wang Chen let out a sigh.
"Send me the company files."
"Pleasure doing business," Li Xiujian said.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
