Translator: AnubisTL
"You sent me a million one-star items last time."
"Huh?"
Wu Zhending glanced at the message on his tablet, a hint of confusion crossing his face. The message had been sent by someone claiming to be from Jiang Cheng Company, just a simple, straightforward statement.
He didn't quite understand what it meant.
Following his father's instructions, he had indeed sent a million one-star items to the other party.
The rough sequence of events had been this: they had been tricked out of over four hundred thousand items.
To avoid further deception, he had sent them an additional six hundred thousand one-star items.
He had essentially transformed the act of being "tricked" into a "gift."
By doing so, he had turned a potential enemy into someone indebted to them.
He had to admit, his father's logic was always so cunning, illogical yet somehow sounding almost reasonable.
But he couldn't immediately grasp why the other party had suddenly sent this message after several days of silence. After a moment's hesitation, he decided it would be best to inform his father about it.
After all, this person was someone his father was particularly interested in.
He quickly dialed his father's communication channel. Seeing the elderly man on the screen, his brow furrowed with fatigue and helplessness, Wu Zhending felt a pang of sympathy. Yet he maintained his composure, acting as if he noticed nothing amiss.
"Father, someone from Jiang Cheng Company contacted me earlier."
Wu Zhending lived up to his name—he was remarkably composed.
As a man himself, he understood men well. They never wanted others to see their weariness or vulnerability.
It could be dismissed as foolish pride, or it could be seen as a man's sense of responsibility, his determination to shoulder burdens even when powerless.
No man willingly reveals his weaknesses to others.
Except for naive young men who deliberately feign vulnerability when courting women, hoping to evoke sympathy and gain favor.
"Hmm," the elderly man on the screen murmured, nodding absently. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days. He picked up a cigar from the table, staring at it blankly for a long moment before lighting it and holding it between his fingers.
"What did he say?"
"Just one sentence: 'You gave me a million items last time, and that's all.' I wasn't sure how to respond, so I came to consult you, Father."
"I see."
After lighting his cigar, the old man treated it like incense, never bringing it to his lips. He stared silently at the wispy, pale blue smoke for a long moment before speaking wearily.
"Just tell him we're friends. A million one-star items is nothing—they're mostly useless anyway, not worth much. It's just a gesture of friendship."
"Alright."
Soon after, Wu Zhending spoke, his face flushed with anger. "Father, they've replied again. They say since we're friends, could we send another million one-star items?"
"This is outrageous!"
He slammed his hands on the table, rising to his feet. "What is this? Do they think we're fools?"
"I knew it! We should never show kindness to outsiders!"
"No one appreciates our goodwill. They just see the Black Europe Company as weak and easily bullied!"
"Look at what the Shark Company did last time!"
"If you ask me, we should just attack!"
"If we all go down together, so be it! Better than being bled dry bit by bit!"
"We three were beggars decades ago anyway. If we lose everything, we'll just go back to begging!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
The old man on the screen frowned slightly, his voice as raspy as a crow's caw. "Decades ago, I was the only beggar. Back then, you were still hanging around in my balls. What kind of man would be so down on his luck that he'd make his own son beg alongside him?"
"I couldn't bear the shame."
"So what if I'm a little greedy? What's so strange about that? Who isn't greedy?"
"When you give someone a bowl of porridge, you'd better be prepared for them to come back for seconds. If you're not ready for that, then don't give them any in the first place!"
"These past few days, I've been intentionally acquiring some weak one-star items. I get the feeling they don't really need powerful ones—any one-star item will do."
"But time's been too short. I've only managed to collect a few thousand."
"Here's what you'll do: tell him exactly what I just said. Tell him, 'We'll definitely help a friend in need.'"
"But explain that the Black Europe Company is facing potential bankruptcy right now, so we can't offer much assistance at the moment."
"Remember this—"
The old man's face turned grave. "We absolutely must keep them on our side. We can't afford to offend them now. The Black Europe Company is at a critical juncture. If we add the Jiang Cheng Company to our list of enemies, we might as well kiss this whole thing goodbye."
"Understood!"
Wu Zhending nodded heavily, his face strained with suppressed frustration. He swallowed his resentment and began typing a reply to the Jiang Cheng Company representative on the other end.
"Hmm?"
Chen Jiang raised an eyebrow, glancing at the reply on his tablet. His eyes narrowed as he began to ponder.
He had been probing, testing the true intentions of the father and sons. It seemed his initial suspicions were correct: they hadn't realized his three-star items were untainted by the world origin, still bearing the raw essence of the World Arena.
They saw him as an ally, genuinely seeking to curry favor.
However, their approach was ambiguous. What did they mean by "specially acquiring several thousand one-star items for you these past two days"? Were they truly planning to continue supplying him with one-star items?
After a moment's thought, he immediately typed a question:
[What troubles are you facing? Perhaps I can offer assistance.]
"Tell him everything about Black Europe Company's predicament," the elder hissed, his voice hoarse, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "If he's asking, it means he's considering helping us. If the Jiang Cheng Company truly supports us through this crisis, Black Europe Company might actually rise from the ashes!"
"But Father, what if they know the Black Europe Company's true situation and deliver a fatal blow?"
"Then we'll fucking fight them!"
"Damn it! If I'm going down, I'm taking everyone with me!"
"At worst, we'll all go to hell together!"
"Right, don't send this message to them."
"Understood."
Chen Jiang stared at the message on the screen, nodded calmly, and fell silent.
In other words, the Black Europe Company, run by the father and his two sons, had been set up.
The Shark Company had bribed several Ten Thousand Races Arena operators who frequently partnered with Black Europe Company. The father and sons' company had purchased a large quantity of items wholesale from these arenas.
They paid, but the goods never arrived.
The reason given was a thirty-day delay due to "special circumstances."
Even contacting the galactic federation proved futile. Due to the unique nature of the Ten Thousand Races Arenas, they enjoyed special protection policies, including one allowing delivery delays of up to thirty days.
But that wasn't the end of it.
The Shark Company had bribed dozens of dealers who partnered with the Black Europe Company. These dealers bought out nearly all of Black Europe's items but refused to pay.
The payment terms remained the same: thirty days' credit, with settlement due after thirty days.
Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem. The company could simply manage without cash flow for thirty days, treating it as a vacation and letting everyone rest at home.
But... unfortunately, just a few days prior,
Black Europe Company had jointly bid with Shark Company on the closing project for the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
It was an open bid, with only two companies competing. The company with the highest bid would secure all the profits from the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
This was a massive project!
The entire revenue stream from the Ten Thousand Races Arena was staggering!
However, it also carried significant risks. For example, if the arena battles became too brutal and most players died, or if some overpowered items appeared, various factors could jeopardize the profits.
Given the Black Europe Company's limited resources, run by a father and his two sons, they couldn't handle the full revenue stream from the Ten Thousand Races Arena. Before this, they had always bid on the second-tier contracts.
The first bid meant that a single company would swallow all the profits from a Ten Thousand Races Arena.
The second bid meant that the company winning the first bid would inventory all the arena's earnings, then auction them off in bulk packages to a group of smaller companies below.
The financial pressure on the second bid was much lower, but naturally, the profits were also smaller than the first bid. The only advantage was that the risk was significantly reduced.
The Black Europe Company, run by the father and his two sons, had been bidding on second bids for a long time. They had gained a decent understanding of the inner workings and secrets of the first bid and had accumulated some financial reserves. They felt they were ready to try bidding on the first bid.
However...
In this particular first bid, the Black Europe Company was directly targeted.
Their cash flow was drained dry through various means.
The Black Europe Company had already committed a substantial amount of funds to the first bid. If they couldn't replenish their funds now, it would mean failure in the auction, and the Shark Company would ultimately secure the first bid.
But the problem was...
The Black Europe Company, run by a father and his two sons, had been preparing for this head bid for three years. They pulled every string they could to gather intelligence on rival companies, constantly investigating the qualifications of companies recently operating Ten Thousand Races Arenas and analyzing the past profits of such arenas to refine their strategy.
It was an exhaustive effort.
Most critically, the funds they used for the bid were borrowed from the Federation Bank under a high-stakes loan agreement.
To put it bluntly: if they secured the head bid, they would pay normal interest. But if they failed, they would have to repay the principal plus a staggering 30% usage fee within three days!
Yet the Black Europe Company's current financial records showed no way to cover such a massive sum within that timeframe.
Failure to repay would trigger a forced auction of all company assets to settle the debt.
And these forced auctions were typically rigged, with assets sold for as little as 10% of their true value—even that would be considered a generous outcome.
The bidding deadline was just twelve hours away.
This meant that if Black Europe Company failed to secure the contract within that time, all its assets would be forcibly auctioned off in three days, and the company would be declared bankrupt.
And if the company went bankrupt...
The Ten Thousand Races Arena, which had been holding back Black Europe Company's merchandise, and the dozens of dealers who had been delaying payments, would no longer be obligated to supply goods or pay their debts.
In other words, Black Europe Company, once a modestly successful enterprise, was likely to be reduced to nothing within twelve hours, leaving them no choice but to return to begging.
Chen Jiang stared at the plight of the father and his two sons with a slightly strange expression. To be honest, it was a pitiful situation.
How many people had stabbed them in the back?
Shark Company had betrayed them, as had the Ten Thousand Races Arena, their frequent collaborators, the dozens of dealers they had developed relationships with, and even the Galaxy Bank manager, who had likely joined the fray.
It was a pack of hungry wolves circling Black Europe Company, ready to devour it like a piece of fatty meat, each claiming their share in a single gulp.
Of course, the Shark Company was undoubtedly the mastermind behind this. Chen Jiang could almost picture them contacting each participant, making individual promises while outlining the benefits they would receive upon success.
It had to be said, the Shark Company had played this move brilliantly.
This strategy ensured that every participant would get a substantial piece of the pie—a sizable cut, in fact—at the mere cost of kicking the soon-to-be-bankrupt Black Europe Company while it was down.
After a moment's contemplation, Chen Jiang decided against sending another message and instead dialed the communication interface directly.
Almost immediately, the young man and the elderly figure behind him reappeared on his screen.
"I thought you might pretend nothing had happened and ignore my messages," the old man said with a weary smile. "After all..."
He chuckled bitterly. "This situation is indeed quite dire. No one expected a company as large as Black Europe to collapse so easily."
"It's certainly a grim situation," Chen Jiang agreed with a nod, clicking his tongue slightly. "However, sir, it might be time to vet the people around you."
"A company's cash flow is highly confidential. For your opponent to know your financial situation as intimately as their own backyard, even down to your payment cycles... you should really think about that."
"Of course, we can discuss that later. Your immediate problem is a lack of funds. If you had more money, you could weather this crisis, right?"
Honestly, he hoped the Black Europe Company would survive this ordeal. Aside from the million items they'd provided—a favor that had genuinely helped him—their willingness to continue supplying items made him reluctant to see them collapse.
But... truth be told, he had no solution.
Star coins were something he genuinely lacked.
The few tens of thousands he possessed had been begged from the woman's contacts, and even that meager sum would be utterly insufficient in the bidding war—barely a drop in the bucket.
"Yes," the old man sighed heavily on the screen. "With just one more infusion of capital, Black Europe Company could definitely hold out. Shark Company is already at its limit; they simply can't raise any more cash for this bid."
"They're also operating under a high-stakes loan agreement with Galaxy Bank."
(End of the Chapter)
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