Chapter 91
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The glass chandelier overhead swayed slightly, and Sun Ren rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. "No wonder I got 3D motion sickness after coming here. It turns out I really did enter a game world. This technology is so advanced, who developed it?"
He paused, remembering something: his game company had almost gone bankrupt because all of its technical staff had been poached by another company, which, coincidentally, was called Metaverse. Its controller was a woman named Wang Anjing.
"Could it be Wang Anjing?" Sun Ren asked incredulously.
He had always felt that game development was a competitive world dominated by men, while women had an advantage in the world of art and sensibility. In this environment, it was tantamount to courting disaster for a woman—a woman who had returned to being a housewife—to take charge of the game empire in Haishi.
Industry insiders were also pessimistic about the situation, which caused Yuan Universe shares to fluctuate and almost hit rock bottom. However, a fund appeared halfway through to help Wang Anjing stabilize the stock market.
Sun Ren then looked up at Xu Yan and asked, "Could it be that you two have already joined forces?"
Xu Yan said casually, "I'm just optimistic about the future development of Metaverse Technology, so I'm investing a little bit for mutual benefit."
Undoubtedly, the launch of the next-generation virtual reality game interaction system by Metaverse will completely overturn the current game industry landscape, solidify the company's dominant position in the game industry, and make it a unicorn company in terms of market value in the near future.
Sun Ren's heart was churning with an indescribable feeling. There was a vast chasm between him and Xu Yan; Xu Yan was far away from him. Although she was right in front of him, he knew he would never be able to stand beside her.
Zhou Luming casually put his arm around Xu Yan's shoulder and said to her, "Xu Lang has been dealt with. We should go back to reality and do what we need to do."
Xu Lang's successful capture should have been a cause for celebration, but Xu Yan couldn't feel happy. Looking at the few players still in the metaverse, she finally said, "Thank you for coming to my birthday party."
Her words were actually a bit strange. Zhou Jiasang stared at her quietly for a while, as if he had thought of something. He picked up his glass and raised it to Xu Yan and Zhou Luming from a distance, silently mouthing, "Happy Birthday."
Then he tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.
Zhou Jiasang's lips curled slightly. Actually, this child didn't resemble her father; she looked more like her mother. Outsiders wanted to use biotechnology to prove her identity, but they overlooked the most basic sign—due to genetics, children will resemble their parents in certain ways. It's just that no one had paid attention to her mother.
The people on stage noticed her and smiled as they raised their glasses in greeting.
Aunt Zhou Jiayi couldn't help but ask, "So what's going to happen to the shares now?"
This is what she cares about most.
Xu Yan said, "I will release the contents of the will and distribute the shares in accordance with the will. Ms. Zhou Luming will become the largest shareholder of Zhou's Group and join the board of directors."
Zhou Jiayi muttered, "Now that Xu Lang is gone, doesn't she become the chairman of Zhou's Group?"
Sun Ren tugged at her sleeve from the side: "Mom—"
Too much talk leads to mistakes.
Zhou Jiayi finally shut up.
"When will you let us out?" Scarlett asked.
"Right away," Xu Yan said, "after we blow out the candles."
Zhou Luming smiled, walked to the cake, and bent down to blow out the candles.
"Xu Yan, you said you saw S. Now that Xu Lang has been arrested, what's wrong with S?"
Xu Yan said, "Sister Anjing is trying to track her down, but S is neither a virtual setting nor an invited player. She opened a backdoor herself and entered the metaverse as an accidental program. She's like a virus. After we exposed Xu Lang's conspiracy, she suddenly disappeared. We don't know where she is now."
"Isn't she someone Xu Lang hired on the dark web? We've taken down Xu Lang's accounts, so her mission failed. She won't be staying, right?" Zhou Luming asked.
"I hope so."
“But it’s such a pity that we didn’t catch her, so we can’t avenge you,” Zhou Luming said. “But she won’t always get away with it. We will catch her one day.”
"Um."
Wang Anjing's voice rang in their ears, "The closed beta is over, you should come back. The outside world is in complete chaos, and we need you to come and clean up the mess as soon as possible."
“Okay,” Xu Yan said, looking at the person beside him, “Are you ready?”
Zhou Luming smiled, "Anytime." She took Xu Yan's hand and intertwined her fingers.
A flash of white light, and they were back in reality. Inside Wang Anjing's Metaverse Technology, Wang Anjing walked to the window and glanced down. "Down there are reporters and gossip-loving crowds. You're the most famous people in Hai City right now. Everyone wants to interview Ms. Zhou Luming, the heiress and largest shareholder of the Zhou Group. I've lent you all my security. Where do you want to go now?"
Zhou Luming said, "Of course I want to go back to my Zhou Group."
"Your Zhou Group?" Wang Anjing smiled and turned to extend her hand to her. "Then I'll have to trouble you to take care of things from now on, young CEO Zhou."
"I will definitely use my position for personal gain and fully support your company." Zhou Luming shook hands with her to finalize the deal, then turned and took Xu Yan's arm to say goodbye.
"Xu Yan and I are off to fight a tough battle. Goodbye."
"goodbye."
Wang Anjing stayed in the company office, poured herself a cup of hot tea, and saw an 80-inch LCD screen on the wall in front of her, which was broadcasting news in real time.
The biggest news in Shanghai right now is the arrest of Xu Lang, the acting chairman of the Zhou Group. And then there's the bombshell news that followed: Zhou Luming inherited 30% of the Zhou Group's shares, becoming the largest shareholder and soon joining the board of directors. He may even be elected chairman at the board's extraordinary meeting.
Wang Anjing didn't know how Xu Yan had orchestrated all of this, but in any case, before the night was even over, the business world of Haishi had already changed dramatically.
Under this brand-new sky, a rising star illuminates the old and rigid Zhou family.
Xu Yan managed to get information out of Xu Lang in the metaverse world. Xu Lang planned to target the shares of metaverse technology. Wang Anjing held an emergency meeting and hired financial and legal experts recommended by Xu Yan to fill the loopholes in the company's operation and formulate a plan in case of emergency.
Her new generation of game system is about to go online, and just as Sun Ren predicted, it will revolutionize the entire gaming industry.
Wang Anjing felt this deeply. Looking at the empty office, she sighed, "Li Li, if you were still here, you would definitely admire me, right? Because even you couldn't do these things, right?"
Unfortunately, no one responded.
With lightning speed, Zhou Luming completed the transfer of shares and management rights of Zhou's Group, and became the de facto leader of Zhou's Group as she wished. At Xu Yan's suggestion, she quickly replaced the personnel in the core departments of Zhou's Group, such as personnel and finance, and took control of personnel and finances of Zhou's Group.
As for business operations, she is not yet capable of getting involved, and Xu Yan does not recommend that she get involved too early, otherwise she may quickly squander the family fortune.
In the financial markets, the market reaction to the change of ownership of the Zhou Group was as pessimistic as expected, so the stock price fell continuously and even hit the bottom line and was temporarily suspended.
Zhou Luming rested his chin on his hand, staring at the group's stock chart. Sitting in the chairman's spacious office, he said speechlessly, "Do shareholders and institutions really look down on me that much? Why did they turn against me the moment I took office?"
She turned to look at Xu Yan, who was sitting calmly on the sofa, and asked, "You're not going to cheat on me too, are you?"
Xu Yan replied without looking up, "No, that wouldn't do me any good."
Zhou Luming smiled. She was joking, and Xu Yan wouldn't misunderstand her double entendre.
"Now I'm a real rich woman, I can do whatever I want. Tonight I'm going on a luxury shopping spree, buying all the clothes, jewelry, and limited-edition sets I've had my eye on before. Also, the attic house is no longer safe, we've arranged a new villa in the countryside for us to stay in tonight..."
"Mm." Xu Yan did not object.
Zhou Luming was quite surprised, "You didn't stop me from spending so much money?"
“The Zhou family business is yours, you can do whatever you want with it,” Xu Yan said.
Zhou Luming paused, "But the Zhou family is clearly yours, the name is yours, the identity is yours, and all those complicated relationships and relatives are yours. Can you really just give it all up?"
Xu Yan stared at her intently. "Don't I still have you?"
Zhou Luming was stunned; his mind went blank for a moment.
Xu Yan: "Having you is enough."
Seemingly embarrassed, Xu Yan stood up and said, "You've been busy all day, are you hungry? Let's go eat."
Zhou Luming finally came to his senses. Xu Yan's reserved yet passionate nature hadn't changed. Saying that as long as he had her was enough was actually a veiled confession. The Zhou Group, Zhou Luming's name, identity, and social connections had all been given to him, and he belonged to her. Therefore, her wanting him alone was equivalent to possessing everything under Zhou Luming's name.
Only Xu Yan could articulate such convoluted logic.
To outsiders, Zhou Luming was a high-ranking boss, but in front of Xu Yan, she was still just a little follower. As the two walked out of the chairman's office and down the elevator into the lobby, they were automatically followed by a large group of bodyguards.
Things are different now. Zhou Luming's face has probably spread to every corner of the country through the internet. Everyone knows this new tycoon, so he needs more security personnel to protect him.
Xu Yan suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at the Zhou family slogan in the lobby of the Zhou family headquarters: Inheritance, Progress, Glory.
Xu Yan's eyes narrowed slightly as she recalled the word "inheritance" that Xu Lang had mentioned to her.
"What's wrong? What did you find out?" Zhou Luming asked.
"It's nothing," Xu Yan said.
In the hospital ward, cold instruments were displaying values methodically, and the faint smell of disinfectant filled the air. Zhou Jiasang, wearing a white coat, stood in front of the bed looking at his patient, his eyes calm and undisturbed.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She opened it and saw: "Activate backup plan."
Zhou Jiasang replied, "An olive branch has already been extended."
"good."
Are you sure she'll accept?
"She will definitely accept it, because she is a child who grew up with desires."
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Author's Note:
If I haven't updated recently, it must be because I've been busy buying vegetables.
Chapter 92
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After taking office, "Young Master Zhou" Zhou Luming moved into a luxurious mansion located halfway up the mountain with lightning speed. Since she took office, President Xu Yan has not been able to see her.
Xu Yan got up during the day, while Zhou Luming was still fast asleep, sleeping until noon when he woke up to find that Xu Yan had already left. In the evenings, Xu Yan usually ate dinner at home, while Zhou Luming became very busy, needing to socialize and discuss business with people from all walks of life.
During the day, the two were busy with their own things. The will center suddenly had a lot of cases, and Xu Yan, as a consultant, was often asked to handle disputes. Zhou Luming was busy with various meetings, big and small, and there were frequent personnel changes. She needed to deal with the connections left by Xu Lang in the shortest possible time in order to completely take control of the Zhou Group.
Everyone thought that Young Master Zhou was just a good-for-nothing rich girl. Even if she acquired shares and became a major shareholder, she would only be a pretty mascot placed on the Zhou Group's premises. Their lives continued as usual, and they received their salaries as usual. However, unexpectedly, Zhou Luming quietly brought down Xu Lang, forcefully entered the Zhou Group, and ruthlessly relegated or dismissed some of the veterans...
In less than a month, the Zhou family underwent a complete transformation. The faces of the staff were completely changed, with many more young faces and fewer old-fashioned and pedantic ones.
Of course, the process encountered considerable resistance. For example, the CFO, who had long controlled the Zhou Group's finances, made a harsh statement, saying that without him, the Zhou Group's stock price would be worthless in the market, and they would see how Zhou Luming dealt with the anger of the other shareholders and how he would explain himself to them!
Some people couldn't help but kindly advise Zhou Luming. For example, his aunt Zhou Jiayi said, "One should be lenient when possible. Xu Lang is no longer here. The CFO can be kept on to keep the others in check. After all, he has been with Zhou's for a long time and knows a lot about Zhou's financial situation and capital market. Many of his connections are made through him. He shouldn't be fired now."
Zhou Luming replied decisively, "No way. The finance department is the core department of the Zhou Group. I can't tolerate any nonsense. No matter how painful it is, I have to remove this thorn completely to prevent future troubles."
So the CFO, who had dedicated twenty years to the Zhou Group, angrily packed his personal belongings and left the company. Shortly after his departure, news came that his former subordinates had all been dismissed. True to her word, Zhou Luming carried out a complete overhaul, bringing the entire finance department under her control.
After resolving the issues in the finance department, Zhou Luming then turned her attention to the human resources and business departments. Her actions indeed led to a negative market sentiment towards the Zhou family business, with investors voting with their feet and fleeing the company. The stock price plummeted to its lowest point in history.
Another night.
Xu Yan sat on the sofa, casually pressing the remote control. The legal logic of disputes at the will center was very simple, and the results were predictable. The trouble lay in the complex interpersonal relationships and favors involved, which was exactly what Xu Yan lacked.
I glanced at the time on the TV; it was 9:23 PM, and Zhou Luming still hadn't come home.