Chapter Twenty-Nine: Scared Half to Death

“In your Earthly terms, this is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut! I am a dignified intelligent lifeform, and you have the nerve to order me to do such a thing!” Bai spoke with righteous indignation, though a mischievous grin played on his lips.

“…I think you’re quite enjoying it yourself,” Lan Tian muttered quietly.

“What did you say?! I didn’t hear you, say it again!” Bai shot him a sidelong glance.

“I said, you are a paragon of both literary and martial virtue, your fame will last for generations, and you will unify the entire world!” Lan Tian had no choice but to flatter him against his conscience, spouting nonsense.

“That’s more like it! It’s already past nine-thirty; the Nasdaq market has opened. Today’s news has had an excellent effect—the shares of Forest Real Estate continue to drop. However, they’re also taking active measures to respond, so the decline isn’t too severe.” Bai gave him a look of approval and laughed.

“So what are you waiting for? Time for your performance!” Lan Tian smirked.

…

Meanwhile, at the Forest Real Estate headquarters, though it was nearly ten o’clock at night, the building was still brightly lit. Not a single employee had left, all staying voluntarily because they understood that this was a critical juncture for the company’s survival.

Judging by the staff’s attitude alone, one couldn’t help but marvel—Zou Linsen’s rise to Ning City’s wealthiest was not without merit.

“Chairman, the impact of this news is tremendous. Many foreign countries have even reprinted the report. As soon as the U.S. market opened, our company’s stock kept falling. Though we’re doing our utmost to respond, we can only keep the decline at around five percent.” In the chairman’s office, a senior executive reported respectfully to Zou Linsen.

“Keep going! Don’t worry about the money. At any cost, the share price must be brought back up!” Zou Linsen’s face was dark, his words practically spat through clenched teeth.

It wasn’t that he truly didn’t care about the money, but the Nasdaq was a mature market with generally small fluctuations. A change of more than two percent was already considered a surge or a crash. Forest Real Estate had already dropped about five percent—if it fell any further, the consequences would be unthinkable. After all, there was no such thing as a price limit over there…

After a strenuous effort and burning through a fortune, the shares of Forest Real Estate finally stabilized. Though still down by around three percent, it was at least a small blessing in the midst of disaster.

Yet, before anyone could feel any relief, something shocking occurred. In just three seconds, the stock price plummeted another eight percent on top of the five percent loss!

The executive hadn’t even had time to report to Zou Linsen when, in the very next second, the price dropped another five percent!

And it didn’t stop there—after those two sharp drops, the market caught on. Investors weren’t fools; they all rushed to dump their shares. In no time, Forest Real Estate’s stock price was in freefall, with no hope in sight.

Everyone’s faces were ashen. Now, it seemed truly impossible for anyone to save Forest Real Estate…

“No! Impossible! How could it fall so fast?!” At some point, Zou Linsen had appeared behind the group, his eyes wide, gasping for breath.

“Throw money at it! Throw everything you have! At any cost, it cannot fall any further!” Zou Linsen roared.

Immediately, everyone sprang back into action.

In the end, after Forest Real Estate spent lavishly without regard for cost, the share price finally stabilized once more and ceased falling. After calculations, in just two hours that night, the company’s stock had dropped more than twenty percent!

Everyone knew what that meant—a thick cloud of gloom hung over their hearts.

Zou Lintao slumped to the floor, his head buried in his hands, looking utterly defeated.

“Why did you make me stop? Keep going! Drive them all the way to suspension!” In Villa No. 3 of Xuanxin Garden, Bai complained to Lan Tian.

“Heh, don’t be impatient, I have my own plan.” Lan Tian replied with a mysterious smile, putting on an air of profundity. “Go investigate all shareholders of Forest Real Estate who own more than one percent. Dig up as much dirt as you can. I suspect none of them are clean.”

Bai: “…”

Only now did Bai suddenly realize just how devious this young man’s scheme was.

A true mastermind!

But then, his old master had suffered precisely because he was too straightforward, never knowing how to hide his abilities or bide his time, which led to resentment and, ultimately, his downfall among the stars.

To be cunning was indeed a virtue!

That night, for the sake of his revenge, Lan Tian didn’t train in the virtual game for the first time.

Likewise, that night, with few exceptions, almost all shareholders of Forest Real Estate holding more than one percent each received an email. Every single one of them, upon reading its contents, was struck with fear and anxiety—the emails contained various dirty secrets, things they could never allow to see daylight.

For some, the offenses were minor—merely explicit photos with mistresses—but others were far more serious, involving criminal acts.

Soon after, each received a phone call. At first, they all thought the sender was trying to blackmail them and were extremely nervous. Yet after the call, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out, all the caller wanted was their shares in Forest Real Estate. In truth, since Zou Linsen’s scandal broke and the stock price plummeted, they’d all been worried the shares would become worthless in their hands!

So even without Lan Tian’s leverage, they were more than willing to sell.

Of course, Lan Tian wasn’t foolish. The prices he offered were not at market value and were adjusted according to the severity of each person’s misdeeds.

For those with minor indiscretions, he paid half the current market price. For the more serious offenders, only a third or a quarter. For the one with the gravest crimes, he offered just a tenth of the market price.

Why would they accept such low offers? They were not stupid—the crisis was deepening by the hour. Zou Linsen wouldn’t last long. Once news broke of his arrest, the stock price would collapse again, perhaps even triggering a trading suspension!

Given the circumstances, anything was better than nothing—a lean camel was still bigger than a horse!

As for the most serious offenders, Lan Tian’s word was law; they didn’t dare resist at all.

The next morning, Lan Tian rose early and brought along Wang Ling, a lawyer, to the agreed meeting place, where they met with each of the shareholders who had settled the night before.

Though the shareholders were all surprised at Lan Tian’s youth, his formidable methods had already cowed them into submission. Without a hitch, he had one equity transfer agreement after another signed.

By eight o’clock Beijing time, apart from the thirty-five percent still held by Chairman Zou Linsen and the five percent owned collectively by his family, of the remaining sixty percent—including shares held by various shareholders and those publicly traded—about fifty-two percent had already fallen into Lan Tian’s hands!

“Now, the real show begins.” Holding a stack of equity transfer agreements worth tens of billions, Lan Tian smiled playfully.

“…I feel like I hardly know you anymore.” At his side, Wang Ling looked at him as if he were a monster. Though she maintained a calm facade, her heart had been racing twenty percent faster than normal since the start.

Terrifying!

Others might not know the details, but she did. Just two days ago, Zou Tao had gravely offended Lan Tian. Two days later, the very Forest Real Estate he relied on had fallen into Lan Tian’s hands!

Just two days…

This wasn’t some small company—it was the leading real estate firm in all of Ning City, the legendary Forest Real Estate!

It was enough to scare a person to death…