Second-tier Subsidiary

In the Ganwu Continent of the Virtual Universe, the 86th-floor conference hall of Pinghai Company. On one side were the executives of Pinghai Company, and on the other, the executives of the Virtual Universe Company's Investment Department stationed in Ganwu Continent. Xu Xin and Botelai exchanged documents and signed their names. “A pleasure doing business with you!” “The pleasure is all mine!” Xu Xin stood up with a smile, raising her glass: “Toasting and celebrating after a successful signing is a custom among us Earthlings, Mr. Botelai. Please try our Pinghai Company’s latest tea beverage.” “Oh?” Botelai took the glass with a smile. “Toasting to celebrate? How novel.” The subordinates from both sides also raised their glasses, then clinked them together. “Mmm, truly excellent. This hint of bitterness lingering in the mouth is quite wonderful.” Botelai nodded repeatedly. “I like the name ‘Cha’.” Botelai pronounced the Chinese character ‘Cha’ with some difficulty. Xu Xin smiled faintly: “I like it too, because it brings in substantial profits.” “Indeed, that’s precisely it.” Botelai’s spirits soared. With cosmic technology, it wasn't difficult to replicate some of Earth's culinary culture, but in the Virtual Universe, patents offered protection. Initially, Xu Xin had swiftly registered numerous culturally unique Earth products for large-scale patents within the Virtual Universe Network. Even if other companies managed to decipher some of their secrets, they couldn't copy them without paying hefty patent fees. “From now on, Pinghai Company will be in your capable hands, Mrs. Luo,” Botelai said repeatedly. “Otherwise, I’d be held responsible for a failed acquisition.” “Rest assured,” Xu Xin replied with a slight smile. “Haha, with such excellent management at Pinghai Company, I naturally have no worries,” Botelai chuckled. “Then I look forward to… Pinghai Company being promoted to a ‘Second-tier Subsidiary’ as soon as possible, ideally within a thousand years.” “My goal is to achieve it within a century,” Xu Xin smiled. “Oh!” Botelai’s eyes immediately lit up. “Yes, within a century, the sooner the better.” “Mr. Botelai, please go and rest. We have already prepared a celebration banquet,” Xu Xin said with a smile, then arranged for someone to escort the executives from the Virtual Universe Company’s ‘Ganwu Department’ Investment Division to rest. Inside the conference room, only Xu Xin and the short-haired woman remained. “Sister Xu, we succeeded,” the short-haired woman exclaimed excitedly. “Allowing them to acquire 51% of the shares at 10.2 times the price, it’s acceptable,” Xu Xin said with a faint smile. “Including this significant investment, Pinghai Company’s total net assets have now reached 32,882 mixed-element units.” Back then, when Luo Feng received a bonus of 1,000 mixed-element units, he gave 300 of them to his younger brother Luo Hua to manage, and another 200 mixed-element units to Xu Xin! However, later on… Xu Xin’s company found that simply depositing large profits in the bank yielded too low returns, so it was better to let Luo Hua handle financial investments as well. Thus, Luo Hua also bought shares in Pinghai Company… becoming a crucial part of Pinghai Company, the ‘Financial Investment Department’. At that time, the equity was distributed as follows. Luo Feng held 50% of the shares, Luo Hua held 25%, and Xu Xin held 25%. When Pinghai Company merged, its total assets were nearly 600 mixed-element units. Luo Feng spent ten years in Chaos City, while over thirty years passed in the original universe. During these thirty-plus years, Xu Xin managed the entire company, and Luo Hua was in charge of financial investments… In over 30 years, the assets grew from nearly 600 mixed-element units to almost 3,000 mixed-element units. This might seem like a small increase, only a few times over. On Earth, such efficiency would be considered extremely low, almost negligible. However, in the cosmos, such gains are considered exceptionally high, because the larger the investment, the harder it is to make a profit! Large investments easily attract the attention of financial giants from all sides. It’s common to suffer losses if one isn’t careful. To earn more than five times the profit in over 30 years? Difficult! Many Immortal beings, with lifespans of billions of years, find it incredibly difficult to even double their wealth through investment. This is because many ancient beings in the Virtual Universe live for billions of years, and with the Virtual Universe system’s regulation… currency experiences almost no inflation. Assuming 1 mixed-element unit from a hundred million years ago, its purchasing power would remain largely unchanged a hundred million years later! This leads to a situation where! Making a profit from extremely large financial investments is exceedingly difficult. Even ‘Pinghai Company’ could only achieve this by combining rapidly expanding chain restaurants with financial investments. The equity was re-divided, with Pinghai Company’s previous shareholders now holding only 49% of the shares, and the Virtual Universe Company holding 51%. In reality… the three previous shareholders, Luo Feng, Luo Hua, and Xu Xin, all saw a massive increase in their wealth. Because even though their share percentage decreased, Pinghai Company’s net assets surged from nearly 3,000 mixed-element units to almost 33,000 mixed-element units! Luo Feng, Luo Hua, and Xu Xin, combined, saw their equity assets instantly exceed 160 million mixed-element units! “Subsidiaries under the Virtual Universe Company are divided into Third-tier, Second-tier, First-tier, and Special-tier subsidiaries,” Xu Xin said, looking at the document in her hand. “A net asset of 1,000 mixed-element units qualifies as a Third-tier subsidiary, and 100,000 mixed-element units as a Second-tier subsidiary!” “Assets reaching 10 million mixed-element units qualify as a First-tier subsidiary.” “Assets reaching 1 billion mixed-element units qualify as a Special-tier subsidiary.” The Commerce Department and the Martial Department are the two major divisions of the Virtual Universe Company. “Managers of Third-tier subsidiaries are still considered peripheral members.” “Managers of Second-tier subsidiaries can become core members of the ‘Apocalypse Secret Realm’.” “Managers of First-tier subsidiaries are members of the ‘Heaven and Earth Secret Realm’.” “Managers of Special-tier subsidiaries are members of the ‘Taichu Secret Realm’.” Xu Xin looked at the document, her eyes gleaming. “Our company’s current net assets are nearly 33,000 mixed-element units, which isn’t a huge gap from 100,000 mixed-element units,” Xu Xin murmured. “We’ll strive to reach it within 60 years!” “60 years?” the short-haired woman beside her exclaimed. The larger the assets and scale, the harder it is to earn profits and achieve further growth. Luo Hua could easily turn 100 million cosmic coins into 1 billion cosmic coins in two or three years. But if it were 100 million mixed-element units, even if Luo Hua had millions or tens of millions of years, trying to multiply it tenfold would be a pipe dream. If he could truly multiply it to 1 billion mixed-element units, the Virtual Universe Company would immediately treat him as a super-being and provide priority protection, instantly arranging Immortal beings to guard him! Because! Such a speed of wealth accumulation would be even more terrifying than that of an Immortal King! Therefore, small-scale ventures don’t truly reflect one’s caliber. The ability to generate such immense wealth is the true competition among giants and magnates. Evidently, the Virtual Universe Company holds Pinghai Company in high regard. “Yes, 60 years,” Xu Xin nodded slightly. “Becoming a Second-tier subsidiary in just 60 years, that’s too difficult,” the short-haired woman shook her head repeatedly. “We’ll strive for it.” Xu Xin smiled, thinking to herself, “Sixty years for me here, and he should just be finishing his cultivation in Chaos City. To be able to meet him at Yuxiang Mountain before he finishes… I imagine his expression will be quite something then.” A hint of anticipation gleamed in Xu Xin’s eyes. Chaos City. “This is it!” Luo Feng arrived at the entrance of a mansion. At this moment, cultivators, in twos and threes, were entering the mansion. “Today, Zhenyan King is giving a lecture. I heard he’ll be explaining the first to third diagrams of the Nine Universe Chaos Stele.” “Hmm, even though I’m currently comprehending the fourth diagram, I always gain something from listening to the basic explanations.” “Me too.” “A grandmaster is truly a grandmaster.” Realm Lords, and even Immortal cultivators, entered the mansion. Luo Feng also entered, and the signal detector at the mansion’s entrance scanned him without obstruction, clearly indicating his right to attend the lecture. Inside the mansion. In a plaza tens of kilometers long and wide, hundreds of cultivators had already gathered. “So many people,” Luo Feng muttered, taking a seat in a corner. “Young man, first time attending a lecture?” a bald old man sitting not far from Luo Feng asked with a chuckle. He could tell at a glance that the person before him was merely at the Universe level. “Yes,” Luo Feng nodded. “To be able to attend a lecture at the Universe level, it seems you were selected from the Genius Battle, and likely one of the top contenders,” the bald old man said with a smile. By this time, the cultivators gathered in the plaza had exceeded a thousand. Boom~~~~ An invisible pressure instantly enveloped the entire plaza. The thousand-plus cultivators gathered there immediately fell silent, showing their respect for the grandmaster. A burly ape-man in golden battle armor strode towards the plaza, his figure flickering several kilometers with each step. Dozens of cultivators followed behind him. “Teleportation, that’s teleportation.” “Zhenyan King’s use of teleportation has reached an incredible level.” Whispers rose from below, but their voices were extremely soft. “Those following Zhenyan King are all his disciples. If only we could successfully become his apprentices.” “That depends on ability. Without it, why would Zhenyan King take them?” Luo Feng watched, holding his breath. In the distance, Zhenyan King sat cross-legged, flanked by dozens of his disciples. As for the thousand-plus others who hadn’t become apprentices, they were merely there to attend the lecture. “Today, I will thoroughly explain the first three diagrams of the Nine Universe Chaos Stele. These three diagrams are fundamental,” Zhenyan King said, extending a finger to point at the mid-air. Complex secret patterns, resembling those on a Golden Horned Beast’s scales, appeared in the air. “This first diagram, the operation of fundamental laws, should be thus…” In mid-air, the intricate golden secret patterns flowed, like mechanical gears, imbued with mysterious and unfathomable power of laws. “How miraculous,” Luo Feng watched, dumbfounded. During the lecture, Zhenyan King spoke clearly and described everything lucidly, yet to the group of cultivators, it still felt profound and mysterious. Each person’s understanding and perception differed based on their own insights. “Very well, today’s lecture concludes here,” Zhenyan King said calmly three days later. “Thank you, Master!” Over a thousand cultivators bowed respectfully. At this moment, a black-haired youth immediately stepped out from among the thousand-plus cultivators and walked directly towards the front of the crowd, instantly drawing the gazes of all the cultivators, who were filled with surprise: “Could this young man be planning to take him as a master?” Zhenyan King, seated at the very top, revealed a faint smile. “That Luo Feng, he actually went and apprenticed himself to Zhenyan!” In another mansion in Chaos City, Jianhuang King, who was in secluded cultivation, couldn’t help but shake his head, feeling quite helpless.