Heroes' Prison

Chapter 242 - 237: Going Public

"Ah! Brother, you’re so cute! Give me a hug!" At that moment, Xiao Chunzi saw Huang Yi transformed into the Treasure-Sniffing Cat and immediately called out excitedly. She squatted down, picked Huang Yi up from the ground, and cuddled him in her arms.

The Treasure-Sniffing Cat, seeing Huang Yi’s appearance, was also very human-like in its surprise, its eyes spinning round as if it didn’t understand why it suddenly saw another of its kind. Then, it cautiously sniffed Huang Yi and licked him with its tongue, showing friendliness.

It was the first time Huang Yi had ever been held by Xiao Chunzi, and it felt warm and quite comfortable.

The next moment, Huang Yi tried to use the skill "Void," and while he remained motionless, he instantly vanished from the world, with only his field of vision remaining.

As long as he didn’t move, use skills, or Attack anyone, he would remain in that Void State. However, at the same time, he was unable to cause any damage, even sustained skills like Scorched Earth would disappear due to his Void State. This skill could only be of significant use in special situations, as it was almost ineffective when used casually.

"Hm? Brother, where did you go?" Xiao Chunzi, with wide eyes, looked at her empty hands in confusion.

"I’m right here." The next moment, Huang Yi transformed into Beast King Form and suddenly appeared in front of Xiao Chunzi, startling her tremendously.

"Ah! Stop it!"

...

Gradually, another night fell, and Huang Yi said goodbye to Xiao Chunzi and logged off to go to the cafeteria for dinner.

The cafeteria was bustling with noise as the Criminals discussed the Rare Quests in The Second World. Some furrowed their brows, some debated fervently, and some looked utterly bewildered, clearly tormented by their respective Rare Quests.

"Ah-Yi, over here!" Just as Huang Yi had picked up a meal tray, he heard Lei Shen’s call.

At that moment, Lei Shen was having a serious discussion with a scholarly man in his thirties wearing glasses, seemingly about some major event.

"What’s up?" Huang Yi walked over and sat down beside Lei Shen, asking.

"Tang Yunfei, you tell Ah-Yi," Lei Shen said to the bespectacled scholarly man.

Huang Yi turned his head, shifting his gaze onto the man named Tang Yunfei.

Before his imprisonment, Tang Yunfei had been a financial genius, becoming an executive at the World Bank at a young age.

Five years ago, the United States experienced an unprecedented financial crisis that directly led to the devaluation of the US dollar, significantly affecting the global economy. Tang Yunfei was one of the instigators of this financial crisis, and later, under the intervention of the World Federation, he was imprisoned in Rose Prison.

"That’s right, Brother Yi!" At this moment, Tang Yunfei turned to Huang Yi, "Just yesterday, Lv Bu’s Guild of Famous Generals completed a new round of financing, raising 10 billion US dollars, preparing to go public. When they do, they are very likely to quickly surpass Dao Feng’s Xuanyuan Guild to become not only China’s but also the world’s largest guild, ushering in an unprecedented phase of rapid growth and beginning to rule the entire continent. At that time, other guilds will hardly be able to catch up, including Brother Lei’s Sun Guild."

"Hmm?" Huang Yi frowned and asked, "Then what is their valuation for the IPO?"

"One trillion US dollars!" Tang Yunfei spat out a number, "Although the US dollar has depreciated several times and its status is not what it once was, one trillion US dollars is still no small amount. Once they go public, a large number of retail investors will buy shares, and the Guild of Famous Generals will have a broad base of supporters. These retail investors will become small shareholders of the Guild of Famous Generals, putting their heart into it, and will spare no effort to bring friends and family into the Second World to join the Guild of Famous Generals. At that time, the growth of the Guild of Famous Generals can only be described as skyrocketing. If things go well, in a few years, their market value might not just be one trillion US dollars but two, three, or even ten trillion!"

"Their pace is a bit too fast," Huang Yi inquired, "so what kind of person is this Lv Bu?" At the recent annual gala of the Second World, Lv Bu’s Guild of Famous Generals was one of only fifteen guilds in the entire virtual world and second only to Dao Feng’s Xuanyuan Guild in the China region.

"Lv Bu is just an ordinary person," Tang Yunfei said, his voice tinged with a hint of admiration, "From what I gathered on forums, Lv Bu was originally a small company employee in the real world, not different from the average person, living a nine-to-five work life. But two years ago, when the Second World launched, he fortuitously completed a Rare Quest and became a Rare Class Holder. He had a good mind for business, found an angel investor, and shared his development ideas for the Second World. That angel investor had quite a unique vision and gave him an early-stage fund of five million US dollars. Later, Lv Bu used that money and his status as a Rare Class Holder to start a small company, attracting a bunch of potential talents, and began to cultivate the Second World early on. His company did well, achieving A-round financing in just three months and securing one hundred million US dollars in funding. His company developed rapidly, attracting the attention of major investment firms and receiving more and more financing. Their development in the Second World also proceeded smoothly, and even though they hadn’t officially created a guild, their power was already formidable. Eventually, they established the Guild of Famous Generals, becoming the second major Chinese guild."

Speaking, Tang Yunfei had a bite of his meal and continued, "Just yesterday, Lv Bu secured the last tranche of financing worth ten billion dollars, and next, they’re going to initiate their public listing. However, their profitability hasn’t been very good these past two years, and since a company needs three consecutive years of profits to list in China, they can only go for a listing in the United States. They will be considered the first true Second World concept stock in the world, definitely attracting the attention of all investors globally."

"What are their profit models?" Lei Shen asked.

"Endless," Tang Yunfei said with a sigh. "The Second World has the strong support of the Era of Corporation, and indeed, it has become humanity’s second world in these past two years—an indispensable part for mankind. Opportunities here are limitless. Once the Guild of Famous Generals goes public, it will become a symbol, a pioneer, gaining a massive early-mover advantage. There are many profit models, as we all know. There’s establishing one’s own cities in geographically advantageous areas across the mainland, setting up taxation, opening up land leasing. Besides that, they can dip into various industries such as real-world advertising media, virtual world intelligence trading, big moves like waging wars to snatch cities, to smaller ones like seizing mining resources. They can infiltrate every industry. Of course, the more lucrative method is to strike with an Imperial Jade Seal, striving to build a nation, which is another level of profit model altogether. If the nation they create is stable enough, they can even issue virtual national bonds in the Second World. In short, the money earned by businessmen is always small change, while the money earned by nations is the real deal. If they really start to play the money-making game, it is boundless; after all, this is a brand-new world filled with countless opportunities."

"Then, what do you think we should do next?" Huang Yi inquired. Lei Shen also turned to look at Tang Yunfei. Each person has their strengths, and although they were experts in the Second World, they weren’t as knowledgeable as Tang Yunfei in this area and naturally wanted to hear his opinion.

"It’s simple, pursue!" Tang Yunfei said with a slight smile. "The Guild of Famous Generals is now an unstoppable force, and its listing is an inevitable event. We must quickly catch up and become the second, the third concept stock. The closer we follow, the bigger our advantage will be, and their value will also become correspondingly lower. If at this time, Dao Feng is willing to initiate the Xuanyuan Clan’s listing plan, the Guild of Famous Generals wouldn’t be so favored anymore. But Dao Feng’s Xuanyuan Clan has the support of Chinese officials behind it; it cannot go public, nor does it need financing. Moreover, Japan Tendo’s Dongying Guild and the pope’s Heaven’s Guild have no plans to list. After all, once listed, that power will relate to shareholder interests, rather than being solely their own anymore, and they’d have to release financial reports among other messy things, essentially leaving them with little to no secrets, which is hard for these decision-makers to accept. Many times, it’s inconvenient to implement their strategic plans."

As he spoke, Tang Yunfei looked at Dao Feng and Huang Yi and said, "In the future, the Second World will become increasingly intertwined with the real world in economic and cultural sectors. The listing of the Guild of Famous Generals is a sign that represents the organized entry of real-world capital into the Second World for the first time. Brother Lei, Brother Yi, you two are big names on the same level as Dao Feng, recognized by everyone in the world, so your guilds actually have a great advantage. As long as your guilds rapidly develop, demonstrate the guilds’ strength, and go through a few rounds of financing, indicating a consideration for listing, that will at least send a signal to potential investors. They will hesitate when investing in the Guild of Famous Generals, after all, Lv Bu’s reputation is no match for you two."

"Hmm, that’s the only course we have for now!" Lei Shen nodded. "Listing is indeed a double-edged sword, but anyhow, their listing will definitely usher in an unprecedented rapid development phase, which would only make our situation more uncomfortable. If we want to use the Second World to fight against the World Federation, we can’t let go of the economic aspect; we must compete with the Guild of Famous Generals! However, I don’t know much about these affairs. I can clear dungeons and kill bosses but when it comes to listings and financing, we’re not adept. When it comes time, both Ah-Yi’s and my guilds will be under your management. We can just be absentee landlords like before, free and easygoing."