After hanging up,Jiang Cheng glanced once more at his balance and the System.
Seeing the paltry 1.7 billion left in the account, he felt as though he'd been flung back to pre-liberation poverty overnight.
Recalling his recent spending spree—first 3.9 billion into the outskirts of Chengdu, then another 1.5 billion into Fierce Cat TV for a 32 % stake—
Time flew; six months had passed since he acquired that mysterious System.
During this period, most ventures under Xingchen Investment Company had turned a profit every single month.
According to the figures Chen Xueer provided, the combined earnings from the two cities should hover around 500 million.
Add the profits from Xingchen Entertainment and Xingchen Media, and the three companies together raked in roughly one billion.
Impressive by market standards, yet against the truly cheat-level rebate cards in Jiang Cheng's hand, the sum was pocket change.
Take the Descendant Card: half an hour of fun and tens of billions were wired straight in.
Short investment cycle, even shorter pay-back.
With that in mind, Jiang Cheng decided to focus on those sweet, soft Girls who could negotiate deals and still make him money.
"The Host earns 6 yuan for every second he exists in this world."
[Name: Jiang Cheng.]
[Age: 18.]
[Height: 185 cm.]
[Face score: 94.]
[Level: 16.]
[System reserve: 47,844,000 yuan.]
[System: 6 yuan/sec.]
[Exp to next level: 37.3 billion / 40 billion.]
He tapped "withdraw" while staring at the thirty-plus million in the System vault.
Seeing Jiang Cheng frown, Su Wan asked nervously, "What's wrong? Didn't it go well?"
Her voice snapped him back; he ruffled her hair. "Small hiccup—everything's fine."
…Li Songbo moved fast; within minutes the hot search linking Jiang Cheng and Su Wan was yanked.
From trending to gone—barely ten-odd minutes!
In truth, Company had bought the slot; most comments and reposts were bot-driven.
They'd assumed a few million yuan would nail public attention on Xingchen Entertainment.
After all, "capital vs. celebrity"unspoken rules always makes juicy gossip.
Yet to Wang Jun's shock, the buzz died before netizens could even finish their popcorn.
Die-hard Su Wan fans leapt to scrub the noise, declaring, "The internet isn't lawless—rumor-mongers pay!"
"Our goddess earned her fame through solid acting; this smear is rival sabotage!"
"Exactly! Sis has dramas queued—jealous hacks are shaking!"
…Outrage flooded the threads.
While Jiang Cheng stayed relaxed, Feng Gan, Company, and the named Fan Shuishui grew frantic.
They could shrug off Li Yong's accusations—until Li Yong somehow got hold of signed contracts between their actors, directors, and the studio.
These weren't petty scandals; once public, they'd draw regulatory heat.
Hours earlier, the once-untouchable Feng Gan paled at the files and realized how serious things had become.
He dialed Li Yong without hesitation.
"Director Feng, what can I do for you?" Li Yong answered calmly.
"Li Yong, don't burn every bridge. We're in the same circle—have you thought this through?" Feng Gan still tried to sound superior.
Li Yong's face darkened. "I warned you. You and those actresses—think I'm blind? I begged you to back off; you refused. Fine—now I'll shut your film down my way."
The line clicked dead; Feng Gan's veins bulged, his face purple with rage.
Within a day the snowball became an avalanche.
Even Internet Celebrities under Jiang Cheng and Fierce Cat TV began dropping hints in streams and clips.
Against the tidal wave of public opinion, Company's pricey astroturf counted for nothing.
Though Wang Jun knew Xingchen and Wang Congcong were stoking the fire, he dared not confront them.
Watching Company's stock nosedive, Wang Jun finally exploded and rang Feng Gan.
"What the hell is going on?" Last night's politeness was gone; every word dripped accusation.
Feng Gan swallowed his own fury, forced to choke it down.