Heroes' Prison

Chapter 406 - 396: Xiao Chunzi Returns

"But I don’t want to get to know her further, maybe what I like is just her silhouette, the image formed by that angle and the light. It’s a kind of aimless affection. I don’t know what she looks like, and I don’t want to know. Perhaps seeing her true face would destroy that feeling. I just need that one silhouette, to just take a distant look at it."

Qin Shiyu stuck out her tongue and pouted, looking somewhat unhappy, "I’m jealous."

With a slight smile, Huang Yi held her in his arms and said softly, "You don’t need to be jealous, I’ve always been yours. The organization has trained us from a young age on how to kill a person, but never how to love someone. I don’t know how to date other girls; the very thought of exposing my feelings to a completely strange girl terrifies me. Maybe I’m just too clumsy in this respect, and I don’t want the trouble. You’re already a good girl, and I’ve grown accustomed to you."

As he spoke, Huang Yi took a deep breath and said, "When the World Federation falls and our enemies are completely eradicated, we can forget these identities and become ordinary people, not having to live as tiredly or in as much dread as we do now. Many times, I envy those ordinary young people walking on the streets outside; they can freely hold hands with the girls they like and chat and laugh. I’ve always looked forward to such a day, and I truly believe that one day I’ll leave Rose Prison and hold your hand in the real world. Just the thought of that day allows me to endure each day as it is now."

"Me too, just thinking about that day, I can endure each day as it is now," Qin Shiyu said, her eyes slightly moist, "I so wish that the one I’m embracing right now is the real you, not virtual."

As she spoke, she suddenly raised her head, gazing at Huang Yi with a hint of confusion in her eyes. Her tender lips softly pressed against Huang Yi’s, as her soft body clung tightly to him. They kissed each other, forgetting everything.

The moonlight from outside the window quietly spilled in, casting long shadows on the ground where they stood.

The night deepened.

...

While Huang Yi and Qin Shiyu were enjoying their kiss in the City Hall, the atmosphere in the Hall of Famous Generals’ City Hall was somber.

The core leaders of the Hall of Famous Generals were all gathered there, the air deathly silent.

"Brother, Instakill has returned," Zhou Yu, who was in charge of intelligence, said as if he had used up all his strength.

This news, like a heavy stone, weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts, leaving them breathless. Just as Huang Yi brazenly returned to the Hero Guild to resume his position as the guild leader right before the IPO, the timing couldn’t be worse.

"We’re going public tomorrow," Guan Yu sighed, his brows tightly furrowed.

At that moment, the moonlight outside the window seemed to turn into frost, carrying a breath of death with it.

Waving his fan, Zhuge Liang turned toward Lv Bu, who was sitting in the main seat, rubbing his temples, and said, "Brother, let’s delay our listing. Going public now is the worst possible time, and we’re certain to break below our issue price."

"No!" Guan Yu shook his head firmly, "We’ve come this far, even if there’s Mountain Blade, Sea of Fire ahead, there’s no turning back."

"Going public now is tantamount to suicide! It’s a death in the light! Dead without dignity! Instakill is different from people like Dragon Spike, Pope, and Heavenly Dao. Cross with others, and there might be a sliver of a chance to live; cross with Instakill, and it means death. He’s not God of Slaughter; he’s a Death God. Whoever he goes after, they’re dead," Zhuge Liang argued vehemently.

"Do you think we have any room to negotiate with him? Do you want to make peace with him before going public? Who is going to talk to him? Will you?" Guan Yu slammed the table and said with a flaming face, unable to maintain his composure any longer!

Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu argued fiercely, while the rest sat silently in their seats, mute as sculptures.

"There’s new information." Just then, Zhou Yu suddenly interjected, his voice faint amidst Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu’s arguing, yet it seemed to have a strange power that stunned them both.

"What news?" Lv Bu, who had been silent for a long while, finally showed a moved expression and asked Zhou Yu, as everyone else turned to look at him.

Zhou Yu’s face was ashen. He took a deep breath and said, "Sunset, the leader of the Hero Guild’s Battlefield Group, publicly declared war on us in the forum. This statement caused an uproar in public opinion. Coupled with the unfavorable news of Instakill’s return to the Hero Guild tonight, some of the consortia we had been negotiating with privately have had negative reactions. The Sequoia Consortium and the British Capital Group, among several other companies, have decided to revise their original plans and no longer take stakes. In addition, Gold Mountain Capital has decided to reduce its original plan by 50%, Modeng Company by 40%, and Dragon Rise by 60%. The situation with the retail investors is likely not going to be any better... People from Goldman Sachs also passed word that after we go public, they will start downgrading our rating. The intelligence we had before is mostly outdated now. Most of the capital and institutions have changed their plans related to us. If we go public now, we are definitely going to fall below the issue price, and I estimate that our final market value will be about half of what we predicted."

At this, everyone’s faces turned pale. Lv Bu gripped the armrest tightly until his knuckles turned white, his lips pressed firmly together.

"Given this situation, should we still go public?" At this moment, Zhuge Liang turned to Guan Yu and asked, his voice resonating in the hearts of everyone as though he was asking each of them the same question.

Guan Yu was immediately silent; the anger from before seemed to be extinguished by Zhou Yu’s news.

"Go ahead!" It was at this moment that Lv Bu, sitting at the head of the table, suddenly spit out a word like a spring thunder that awakened everyone.

Lv Bu looked around the room and finally rested his gaze on Zhuge Liang, saying, "We have no way out. We can only bite the bullet and go ahead. No matter what happens, let’s just consider it a fresh start. When there’s no way to retreat, that’s the starting point."

"When there’s no way to retreat, that’s the starting point," Guan Yu murmured as if he had found new strength. He nodded and said, "Yes, we don’t have to be so pessimistic. No matter how bad our situation is now, it’s still thousands of times better than other Guilds. How many Guilds in the world can go public? Even at our worst, we’re streets ahead of them. The current situation is just below our expectations. We just need to lower our goals a bit."

Zhuge Liang heard Lv Bu speak and slightly shook his head, then sat down in his own seat, closed his eyes to rest, and said no more.

"Alright, everyone, the midnight chime is about to ring. Prepare to welcome our most unforgettable day!" Lv Bu waved his hand and then took a deep breath, his eyes showing a resolute determination.

Outside the window, a dark cloud drifted by, obscuring the bright moonlight and casting a huge shadow that enveloped every corner of the Hall of Famous Generals.

The next day, like usual, Huang Yi finished breakfast and went to the forum to check the latest news.

Today, the biggest event that the whole world was paying attention to was undoubtedly the Hall of Famous Generals’ listing on the New York Stock Exchange, marking the first time that the real world’s capital entered The Second World on such a large scale. Actually, many players had already made some transactions related to The Second World before, such as using real money to buy Gold Coins in The Second World, but these trades were very scattered and far less influential than the Hall of Famous Generals’ listing.

If Huang Yi wanted to shake the World Federation, he had to shake the cornerstone of the real economy. As long as he could influence the world economy to a certain extent, toppling the World Federation had a great chance.

And listing was the most important economic interaction between the real world and the virtual world; he had to pay attention.

Huang Yi opened the 24-hour hot posts to have a look.

"Hall of Famous Generals is listed on NYSE today, becoming the first Second World Guild to go public!"

"Affected by Hero Guild’s hostility, Hall of Famous Generals’ shares fall below the issue price on the first day of listing, with the market value shrinking to 500 billion US Dollars!"

"Hall of Famous Generals’ disappointing listing, Sun Guild’s upcoming IPO is highly anticipated!"

As expected, Hall of Famous Generals’ listing news effortlessly topped the forum headlines; Huang Yi clicked to read more.

"At 0:00 Beijing Time today; 11:00 New York Time yesterday—Hall of Famous Generals finally went public amid great anticipation! This was the biggest IPO on the US securities market since the ’New Securities Trading Law’ in the United States was enacted in 2110. The Hall of Famous Generals’ listing has been through a roller coaster ride. When the listing was first announced, it was very positively viewed by the capital market with valuations once exceeding One Trillion US Dollars. However, Hall of Famous Generals’ involvement in a feud between God of Slaughter and Half-Beast Holy Land drew fire unto itself, entangling it with God of Slaughter and the Hero Guild backing him, which cast a shadow over its future and quickly turned its prospects grim, causing valuations to plummet. Despite Lv Bu and other executives’ frequent attempts at clarification, they failed to turn the tide. Whether God of Slaughter can avoid the pursuit of Celestial Realm Experts from the Half-Beast Holy Land has become key to Hall of Famous Generals’ listing."

"Three days ago, God of Slaughter evaded pursuit from the Half-Beast Holy Land’s Celestial Realm Experts and did not fall as people had anticipated. Last night God of Slaughter made a high-profile return to the Hero Guild, resuming his position as the president. Sunset, the leader of the Hero Guild’s Dungeon Group, also openly declared war on the Hall of Famous Generals in the forum. A succession of adverse news severely dented the capital market’s confidence in Hall of Famous Generals. There was also serious internal discord within Hall of Famous Generals with Zhuge Liang, the leader of the conservative faction, advocating for postponing the listing while Guan Yu, the leader of the radical faction, insisted on going ahead with the original plan. Lv Bu, the president, eventually decided to proceed with the original plan. The Hall of Famous Generals’ listing today could be described as the worst possible timing, lacking favorable conditions on all fronts." (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to come to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)