CHAPTER 500: IMAGE 159: NEW VERSION PREVIEW_3

There’s a slim chance that pushing time back to the thirties or forties could change the underlying color of that land.

By the late seventies, it was already too late for them; everything had settled, and not even a king could change it.

Of course, the disappearance of the other party for over fifty years was largely related to Bartmos blowing up the early net.

According to the news at that time, the University of Tokyo was fully committed to artificial intelligence, resulting in severe losses due to the global network collapse, only recovering recently.

So, Kangtao suddenly contacting Lin Miao at this time became quite interesting.

Dong Hui slightly nodded, and instead of lingering on the topic, he cut to the chase:

"Your company has shown rapid progress in Night City recently, and the products you manufacture have unique features. Our investment manager believes Horizon Corporation has great development prospects in the future."

Lin Miao took the investment agreement and project plan.

"Sixty million, fifteen percent? And participating in the development of Stone Ridge Mountain? Co-building new prosthetics and weapon factories?"

The agreement was so hot in Lin Miao’s hands that he almost wanted to throw it away and grab the other party by the collar to ask.

Am I your long-lost son?

Or the illegitimate child of some company executive?

Lin Miao could understand the stock price hike, considering that Horizon Corporation had made a name for itself in Night City days ago, but quoting such a high price—a nearly eight-fold increase to military technology pricing—even listed companies don’t rise this much.

Furthermore, Lin Miao currently doesn’t have any prosthetic manufacturing technology, so co-building would mean Kangtao providing technology and money. Do they really think such a large company is in the charity business?

It’s like taking everything for free; even in a dream, things don’t happen like this.

If he agreed, Lin Miao always felt a sense of betrayal—it was like finding a wealthy mistress while holding military technology behind someone’s back.

Lin Miao suspiciously looked at Dong Hui, whose expression hadn’t changed since the beginning, with hardly any discernible fluctuation on his face.

"What do you guys want? Don’t tell me you just want to invest."

He tossed the agreement onto the table.

"If that’s the case, you can turn around and leave now."

Mr. Lin dared to chew on Huang Ban’s poisonous bait, but he didn’t dare to taste Kangtao’s grand feast laid out in front of him.

"Relax, Mr. Lin."

Dong Hui placed his hands on the table, dropping a photo from one palm.

"If you’ve been following the international situation, you should know that the current international market has a lot of unfair competition. Huang Ban and Soviet Petrochemical have been using various unfair methods to restrict our normal business interactions, and our intelligent weapons need to overcome these difficulties to enter more markets."

"However, this place is quite remote, and unlike Huang Ban and military technology companies that act rampant, we don’t prefer using force or economic blockades against hostile companies. We simply want to engage in normal economic exchanges with local residents and complement each other with our partners, facing those unfriendly and overbearing neighbors together."

Evidently, the video from Watson District had reached the strategic planning departments of major companies. The combat prowess of Lin Miao’s players intrigued many, but their weapons were clearly lacking.

"You want me to fight against Huang Ban for you? As a promotional advertisement?"

If that was the reason, it might just barely make sense.

Moreover, besides Huang Ban, Soviet Petrochemical clearly harbors great hostility towards Kangtao. The borders have seen frequent clashes in recent years, and overseas trade regularly experiences minor incidents, with over a dozen exchanges recorded in Night City alone.

Dong Hui immediately interrupted Lin Miao’s thought:

"We never interfere in overseas politics, only seeking a peaceful and stable trade environment."

Hmm...

After a mental struggle, Lin Miao reluctantly shoved the agreement under the desk.

"Thanks for your company’s generosity, but I need to consider for a while."

To negotiate a better price, he needed to show restraint and principles.

Dong Hui nodded and did not insist further.

Even he felt the amount offered was a bit excessive, but he couldn’t question instructions from above—just execute them obediently.

Overthinking can sometimes bring death quickly.

The domestic situation wasn’t stable either, with multiple purges following recent incidents, leading to rolling heads. He certainly didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of predecessors.

——————

Afterwards, more people from Kangtao kept coming, and they were getting more frequent, with various price offers.

Peizhuo Petrochemical

Asuka and Finch

Keshen

Micro-Tech

Crow Micro-Control

Even military technology expressed willingness to continue paying to expand their equity.

The differing investments meant Horizon Corporation held different values in their eyes.

But undoubtedly, none matched Kangtao’s generosity in terms of money and planning.

After seeing off everyone individually, Lin Miao fell into contemplation over the piles of money in front of him.

Fortunately, he agreed to give Adcardo shares in the water plant; otherwise, he’d have suffered a huge loss.

Regarding these investment agreements, Lin Miao already had a rough plan in mind, but he wasn’t in a rush to respond to these companies.

After all, these companies held no importance compared to his players.

Many people were already lamenting on the forums about the game slots in the new version, with reservation numbers breaking six figures and reaching a million. The game’s information spread like a virus across the internet, no longer confined to the original QQ group and small forum circles.