CHAPTER 1229: CHAPTER 1223: THEY’RE ALL OUT OF MONEY

"Off work, off work!" As soon as it was five o’clock, Zhang Menglong promptly packed up his stall, "Let’s go, Sister Shadow Moon, Brother Liman, I’ll take you out for some good food!"

Shadow Moon and Liman’s eyes lit up. Besides Zhang Menglong’s unfathomable resources, what they envied most was his amazing cooking skills. They hadn’t tasted Zhang Menglong’s cooking for two months and were already missing the taste of milk tea.

"Menglong, what are you planning to do?" While happily sipping milk tea and eating crayfish, they were more interested in Zhang Menglong’s plan.

"Should we go and smash that Haotian Chamber of Commerce?" Liman suggested, "Now that our ten noble clans have formed an alliance, even if we fall out with the humans, they certainly won’t have any advantage."

"That’s right, although the Haotian Chamber of Commerce has an extraordinary background, we’re not pushovers either. Especially having cultivated the techniques you gave us, Menglong, we really don’t think anyone could be our opponent!" Shadow Moon seemed to be a very combative woman.

"There’s no need for that," Zhang Menglong chuckled, "This time, I’m after an item in the auction. If we smash them, I might not get what I want."

"Besides, we’re civilized people. Let’s not always resort to fighting and killing. My wish is world peace!"

"So, you already have a plan?" Feng Cong said, observing Zhang Menglong’s calm expression.

"Hehe," Zhang Menglong schemed once more, "You Xiang!"

"Captain!" A person in black unexpectedly crawled out of Zhang Menglong’s shadow, even Shadow Moon and Liman hadn’t noticed such a master hiding beside Zhang Menglong.

"No wonder so many people have been giving you trouble these days, only for them to disappear mysteriously," Feng Cong remarked, looking at the person in black called You Xiang.

You Xiang, a sub-human, was the last orphan left from one of the ten noble clans. It was Zhang Menglong’s ancestor who had saved and adopted him, teaching him all his skills.

It’s almost accurate to say, on this Haotian Continent, besides those with the surname Zhang, there’s no match for You Xiang.

"Have you arranged what I asked you to?"

"Rest assured, I’ve arranged it all," You Xiang responded, "All division branches across the Haotian Continent have received your orders, and the materials you provided have been distributed layer by layer. Starting tomorrow, we’ll act according to your orders, and the Haotian Chamber of Commerce will no longer have any business across the Haotian Continent."

"Very good," Zhang Menglong nodded in satisfaction, "If twice the purchase price isn’t enough, then offer triple, triple isn’t enough, go quadruple. You can draw on the Anti-Pornography Task Force’s entire resources across the Haotian Continent, I have only one request: I want them to become a laughing stock in Haotian Continent’s business world henceforth."

"Understood." You Xiang nodded and then merged into the ground just like Zhang Menglong’s shadow.

"Menglong, he is..." Feng Cong stared at the spot where You Xiang had disappeared. Although he was only in the Heaven-breaking Realm, even a residual fragment of a life pattern couldn’t escape his senses, and yet You Xiang really was like a ghost.

He once believed that as long as he burned a life pattern fragment, no one in the Haotian Continent could threaten him. But after seeing You Xiang, he hesitated. Even if he traded life for life, he might not be a match for You Xiang.

"He’s a bodyguard my family arranged for me," Zhang Menglong said.

"Are you also from the High-grade world?" It was the first time Feng Cong couldn’t help but inquire about Zhang Menglong’s background.

"I’m just from a low-level world’s rudimentary civilization," Zhang Menglong laughed, "Don’t look at me like that, if I lie, may I get hemorrhoids tonight."

...

"Let’s see what that wild boy has to challenge my entire Haotian Commerce Guild!" Du Shang, having returned to the Haotian Commerce Guild, immediately took stock of the guild’s assets.

Every so often, the guild needed to transfer a sum of money back to the headquarters of the Haotian Chamber of Commerce. They had just completed a transfer not long ago, and now, in this Land of Chaos, there wasn’t much capital left.

But the daily operations of the guild required a lot of funding. Due to the chaotic nature of the place, people might be vibrant one day and suddenly get taken out the next, so most embraced the mindset of living for the moment.

As such, things like wages weren’t settled monthly but were paid daily for the day’s work.

And in this place, human resources costs were very high, just maintaining the guild’s operation entailed daily expenses unimaginable to ordinary people.

"Boss, our current funds are sufficient, we can maintain operations for three to five months without issue. The auction starts in less than two months, and I believe once the auction ends, this farce will no longer have any purpose."

"Humph, he truly thinks he can bring down my Haotian Commerce Guild!" Upon confirming the news, Du Shang’s mood relaxed.

"Mr. Du, we just received another message..." Du Shang’s subordinate looked troubled, as if something was difficult to express.

"What’s the matter, hemming and hawing? Did those two cause more mischief?"

"No, it’s Haotian Bank. Just now, the person in charge of the Land of Chaos sent someone to inform us that for certain reasons they’re suspending the loan funds they provided us."

"What did you say?" Du Shang’s expression changed, "We signed a contract in black-and-white, are they looking to unilaterally tear it up? They’d have to pay a penalty for that."

"They mentioned it is indeed their breach of contract, so they’ve left 10% of the funds on our account as compensation, having reclaimed the rest, meaning we now have enough funds for only about ten days."

"How could this happen?" Du Shang turned ashen.

And because of a massive purchasing business, such a business heavily depended on a massive financial chain, akin to real estate developers on Earth needing a few billion in loans to buy land, selling upon handover, and then repaying the bank.

Their biggest source for loans was the Haotian Continent’s biggest bank, Haotian Bank.

In past years, they would borrow a large sum from Haotian Bank, repay it by the year’s end, and pay some interest, making their cooperation seamless over the years.

This sudden capital recall was unprecedented, and since the funds were in their loan account, they were powerless against them.

Moreover, they had received compensation for breach of contract, so what could they do?

But for Du Shang, this was an additional burden amidst difficulties. Currently, any funds are crucial to them, and this significant recovery means they couldn’t last two months!

"Understood, you may go." Du Shang said once his assistant left, then took out a jade pendant, which was used for internal communication among guild members.

"Elder, this is Du Shang," Du Shang said, "A problem has arisen in the Land of Chaos; I need financial support, which can be resolved within two months at most. I hope you can assist me with this turnover."

Du Shang reached out to a senior elder with whom he had a very good relationship; Du Shang’s current position couldn’t have been achieved without this elder’s support.

"Shang, I’m afraid I can’t help you this time," came a sigh from the other end, "The guild is facing major difficulties, and we may not be able to provide any assistance."

...