Chapter 210: Zhou Yuanchen's Enlightenment, Qin Shi's Unveiling!

No. 1 Floating Island is the best vantage point in Central City for a panoramic view; standing here, with the aid of a high-powered telescope, one's gaze can almost reach every corner of the Inner Ring.

Especially when night falls, the vast garden filled with many strange plants is illuminated by lights, like torches reaching the sky; even from the Outer Ring, one can see that dazzling brilliance.

Qin Shi and Old Yu boarded the flying vehicle together; Huo Erwen had already applied for an exclusive traffic route that afternoon.

Whoosh!

The flying vehicle bearing the Governor's Mansion license plate rose quickly into the air; after Tai Jun verified their identities, it darted through the sea of light like a swordfish, heading toward the floating island that soared straight into the clouds.

"Qin Classmate, let me explain the dinner's itinerary to you."

Huo Erwen sat in the front row, holding several invitation cards as he turned back and said:

"This time Central City invited all members of the Top Hundred Competition; of course, the 'Death Quotas' you dealt with are not among them."

After long association, this Secretary Huo of the Patrol Department gradually became familiar with Qin Shi and the others, and began to enjoy showing off his cold humor.

Unfortunately, the effect was mediocre; Qin Shi symbolically twitched the corner of his mouth, while Old Yu closed his eyes to rest and cultivate his spirit.

This left Huo Erwen looking embarrassed; he coughed twice to salvage his dignity, then continued:

"The venue is the 'Sky Giant Tree,' a landmark building of Central City and also the tallest tower."

Reaching out to take the travel brochure from the back pocket of the flying vehicle's seat, Qin Shi spread it open; flipping a few pages, he saw the Sky Giant Tree Huo Erwen had mentioned.

It is itself a super-large broadcasting tower used to receive electronic fluctuations throughout all of Central City; if the power is turned to maximum, it can even cover eighty percent of Hengzhou New Star.

To some extent, it is the "eye" of Central City; the active consciousness entity Tai Jun uses this Sky Giant Tree to expand his sight almost without limit.

It is said that during the Great Reclamation Period, this Sky Giant Tree also served as a star torch guiding navigation routes; its history is extremely long, and it can be called Hengzhou's most popular check-in spot; before the blockade was implemented, it once attracted countless tourists flocking to it.

"The top layer is the 'Cloud Top Corridor,' a fully transparent observation deck made of special materials, allowing you to enjoy the high-altitude scenery of over three thousand meters."

"The 'Tree Trunk' in the middle is various entertainment venues, including a banquet hall, an opera hall, and the 'Rising Dragon Arena' where competitions are held."

Huo Erwen introduced them one by one, giving Qin Shi a general impression.

"Below that is the open commercial district, with a dazzling variety of everything imaginable: casinos, pools, intelligent experience halls, and so on. A light show is held every month, and it is quite lively."

After listening, Qin Shi closed the illustrated travel brochure.

His gaze passed through the porthole, vaguely glimpsing a towering giant tree that seemed to prop up the sky and earth, magnificent beyond compare.

Big cities really are better than small places.

Everything fears comparison.

In the past, he lived on Old Factory Street and thought the Tai'an Urban Circle was already prosperous enough.

Only upon coming to Central City did he discover that he couldn't help but sigh at the pervasive air of luxury here.

"After entering, our seats are in Zone One. Governor Tai may speak on stage, or he may have Tai Jun preside over it; this is uncertain. During the event, some entertaining programs will be interspersed, followed by free socializing."

The dinner guest list includes many representatives of big companies and leaders of various departments of Central City.

Contestants who can participate in the Top Hundred Competition have undeniable potential and aptitude, and are more reliable than those recommended by agents and intermediaries.

Many people will come to 'pick up bargains.'"

Huo Erwen said with a hehe laugh.

The Top Hundred Competition is strictly selected, with guaranteed quality!

Qin Shi smiled; this line of thinking was indeed correct.

Any contestant who fights into the Top Hundred Competition, completes the trial, and earns a ranking.

Given time, they have a great chance of entering the Professional Domain.

With a little cultivation, they can become a backbone of a big company's security, or a defensive force for a department with real power.

"By the way, there is finally a 'debut' segment."

Huo Erwen said to Qin Shi again:

"You are the champion of the Top Hundred Competition; you must let everyone in Hengzhou New Star know you. Only then can you set a typical example and establish a model."

Qin Shi pinched his nose and couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Huo, what should I say when I go on stage for my debut? Should I prepare a speech or something?"

Even though he was already a Supernova of the Tai'an Urban Circle, he still maintained a relatively low-profile style.

Except for Kang Yun'er of Outlook Weekly, he had basically not accepted interviews from other media, and had never appeared in public.

"Just give a simple self-introduction; your great name has long spread throughout Central City. Anyone who walks the Martial Path—who doesn't know about the extraordinary high school student who emerged from the Tai'an Urban Circle, who crushed the Top Hundred Competition before even taking the College Entrance Exam?"

"Do you know what the hottest post on the Central City Forum is lately? Strongest High School Student in History! The Absolute Fierce Tiger from Tai'an!"

That's far too chuunibyou!

Qin Shi's mouth corner twitched.

He chose silence.

Huo Erwen joked:

"Show some youthful spirit; be reckless when you should be reckless! You are the future Supernova of Hengzhou, the successor of the First Generation Ten Greats!"

Qin Shi nodded; he was better at steady development and had no experience in showing off.

He would treat this dinner as a trial.

He pondered for a moment and asked:

"Brother Huo, can the Tai'an Urban Circle receive the footage of tonight's dinner?"

Huo Erwen nodded:

"Of course; all cities in Hengzhou will broadcast it. The gold content of the Top Hundred Competition champion is not low, especially since the difficulty this time is extremely high. If you hadn't been in seclusion for a month to let the heat die down, you would already be a student model promoted by all universities in Hengzhou!"

Qin Shi's gaze flickered as he thought:

"Since that's the case! Lao Liang, watch me pull off a big one this time!"

……

……

"This feeling of being second best is quite novel."

Zhou Yuanchen sat in the flying vehicle, opened the panoramic skylight above his head, and tilted his head to look at the exclusive traffic route located at the upper levels.

He sighed emotionally:

"The champion of the Top Hundred Competition appearing on stage, with Hengzhou broadcasting live across the board, commercial value maximized, the funds mobilized are unimaginable."

Just imagining the endless massive sponsorships, like a flood bursting through a dam surging toward him.

Zhou Yuanchen felt overjoyed.

Since his last in-depth exchange with Qin Shi.

He began to seriously reflect, striving to perfect the "lending" technique he had studied throughout his journey.

From this he comprehended a new ultimate move—"Crowdfunding"!

"Borrowed money must be paid back sooner or later! And you have to bear the heavy pressure of interest! Qin Classmate is right, one person's strength is ultimately limited, even if you work hard without sleep or rest, you cannot catch up with the speed at which debt snowballs!"

Zhou Yuanchen pondered:

"Must rely on others' strength, using other people's funds to pay back the loans I borrowed!"

This was the result of his enlightenment summarized after long contemplation following the setback of losing the Top Hundred Competition and exchanging experiences with Qin Shi!

"Little Zhou, don't be discouraged, everyone has their moment of glory. The true Sun compares who can fulfill their own talent! Who can go further!"

Seeing Zhou Yuanchen staring blankly at the traffic route of the Top Hundred Competition champion, Zhou Shu hurriedly comforted him.

He thought that the Supernova of the Education Bureau couldn't shake off the shadow of being defeated in the Top Hundred Competition.

"Director Zhou, I don't regard Qin Classmate as my lifelong enemy; my future lies among the Star Sea, and my opponent should be Yu Li, the first place of the Xing Qiu Bei Shao Nian Zu!"

Zhou Yuanchen showed an arrogant side; he followed Qin Shi's opinion and tried his best to show himself.

Packaging himself as the only genius who could stop the rise of the Supernova of the Taian Urban Circle!

Only then could he obtain continuous, tilted resources from the Education Bureau!

"Good, good, good! Little Zhou, with this ambition, your achievements will surely be limitless! When you reach high places in the future, don't forget to pull your brother up!"

Zhou Shu was very excited; he recently heard rumors that he might be transferred away from Central City to participate in the infrastructure work of the latest round of the Great Expansion movement.

This tragic result, almost like exile, made Zhou Shu unable to accept it.

But previously Education Director Mo Qihuan, who had shown appreciation, couldn't be contacted either, so he could only place his hopes on Supernova Zhou Yuanchen.

"He's actually not a bad crowdfunding target."

Zhou Yuanchen glanced at the other person and said kindly:

"Brother Zhou, I've had a smooth journey all the way, thanks to your help; Yuanchen has always kept it in mind. If there's anything I can help with in the future, just speak up!"

Hearing Zhou Yuanchen change his address to "Brother," Zhou Shu was even more excited.

Once the Supernova of the Education Bureau grows up, his say will definitely not be low.

By then, pulling himself back from the grassroots to Central City should be no problem!

"There shouldn't be much difficulty!"

"Don't ever say such distant words! I've always appreciated and been optimistic about you, Little Zhou. You need to put in effort, fight for a breath, and take back what was lost from Qin Shi!"

Zhou Shu gritted his teeth; if it weren't for the Top Hundred Competition allowing the Nanhuang Daoist Hall Disciple, this dark horse, to break out of the encirclement, how could he have fallen to such a state.

"Of course! No matter how deep his potential or how limitless his future, he currently hasn't crossed the threshold of the Professional Realm! In the Martial Path, one step fast means every step fast; he may not necessarily catch up to me!"

After speaking these hypocritical words, Zhou Yuanchen coughed twice and got to the point:

"Speaking of which, Brother Zhou, as a backbone of the Education Bureau, you should have quite a few resource quotas, right?

I recently have a project with a very high return rate; do you want to participate?"

Zhou Shu was stunned; this obviously fake fraud tactic, spoken from Zhou Yuanchen's mouth, made him unable to bring himself to refuse.

So, he tentatively asked:

"What project?"

Zhou Yuanchen took out his mobile terminal and opened an application software:

"Everyone Invest! This is the project I'm currently endorsing! No threshold, low risk, high return! Even if you only have ten thousand in your hand, you can participate!"

Zhou Shu narrowed his eyes, looking at the endorser in the center of the interface, who was indeed Zhou Yuanchen.

Below, detailed identity information was introduced, various titles that sounded extremely high-end, including awards won from childhood to adulthood.

"Wise investment, shared wealth!"

"Everyone Invest helps assets grow steadily, builds a new inclusive finance ecosystem, and opens a new way of wealth management!"

"Everyone Invest, invest in the future, honest win-win new era……"

"Funds raised: 160 million……"

Zhou Shu recited these seemingly magical slogans and couldn't help but feel strange.

This project looked like a platform for raising funds, mainly through investing in "geniuses" to obtain profit returns.

As long as Zhou Yuanchen's net worth kept rising, the valuation would keep increasing, and those investors' funds would keep rolling and doubling.

"How about it, Brother Zhou? Many people in the Education Bureau want to participate in the project, but I haven't shared it with anyone; you and I have an extraordinary relationship, so I want to introduce it to you."

Zhou Yuanchen strongly recommended it.

"Your project platform seems not to have been notarized by Taijun?"

Zhou Shu hesitated greatly.

"Brother Zhou, everyone wants to walk the path of making money! It's precisely because this project is in the early period that the return rate is high.

Once it's notarized by Taijun and officially launched, those big companies and big bosses will all come to get a share; they eat meat, and we won't even get to drink the soup!"

Zhou Yuanchen used the script he had practiced repeatedly, his tone was extremely high-spirited, containing a powerful force that could move people's hearts.

"This……"

Zhou Shu still hesitated.

"Brother Zhou, you surely don't doubt me, do you?"

Zhou Yuanchen's face darkened, and his voice turned cold.

"You think I can't surpass Qin Shi in the future? Can't become Hengzhou's number one Supernova?"

Zhou Shu panicked instantly; if he were still the Office Director under the Education Bureau, he wouldn't need to fear offending Zhou Yuanchen.

But times had changed—he was about to be transferred to the Border Region, far from Central City.

Zhou Yuanchen was his only lifeline!

"I'm absolutely confident in your strength and performance!"

Zhou Shu hurriedly said.

"This Everyone Invest—how does it work? I'm willing to put in a sum. Little Zhou, teach me."

Zhou Yuanchen smiled at once, his attitude improving:

"Brother Zhou, chances to make big money are rare; we must catch the wind! This is President Wang of Central City Real Estate Company—he's increasing his investment while liquidating assets, and in less than half a month it's already doubled!"

"You've worked so hard for so many years at the Education Bureau; besides your Resource Quota, your personal asset allocation must be considerable, right?"

Seeing one success case after another below, Zhou Shu felt his heart burn hot.

"Little Zhou, I trust you! I'll follow you!"

All in!

……

……

Beep beep beep beep beep beep—

Qin Shi, about to arrive at the Floating Island, felt a slight fluctuation in his Consciousness Sea.

He closed his eyes, feigning rest, and sank his mind into his Inner Landscape.

The little orange dog's tail stood up, like a radio antenna.

He grabbed it and saw it was a flood of incoming payment messages.

"Old Yu did pretty well! He has the potential to be a Sales Champion!"

After his last in-depth talk with Zhou Yuanchen, Qin Shi used the Achievement Trait 【Electronic Engineering】 granted by the Upper Pillar 【Divine Machine】 to create a small platform for fundraising.

He and Zhou Yuanchen had discussed it: there was no need to make money from the poor, only to harvest high-quality leeks like the rich.

In less than half a month online, the amount raised was already nearing two hundred million.

"Whether it's money or not doesn't matter. I mainly hope Old Yu puts in some effort, strives to grow big and strong, and gets onto the main stage of Central City as soon as possible."

As a Supernova of the Tai'an Urban Circle and a Gold Level Customer of Entropy Sea Bank, the resource quotas and funding limits Qin Shi could personally mobilize approached ten billion.

One could say he left Zhou Yuanchen dozens of Old Factory Streets in the dust.

He was willing to lend Old Yu a hand, easing this debt-ridden heaven's favorite's repayment pressure, naturally because he valued the other's status as a Supernova of the Education Bureau.

"Ying Lin has already been eliminated; next is Education Director Mo Qihuan…"

As Qin Shi pondered, the flying vehicle landed smoothly, and he and Old Yu walked out of the cabin one after another, stepping onto a soft, long carpet.

A red "Road" unfurled beneath his feet, extending to a banquet hall that resembled a glorious palace.

"Little Qin Shidi, tonight's banquet will be opened by you!"

Old Yu, who had remained silent all along, linked arms with Qin Shi like a female companion.

Almost illuminating the sky of Central City, the Sky Giant Tree suddenly began to flicker after Qin Shi's arrival.

The astonishing light extinguished and reignited again, as if a vast sea of light surged with waves, pushing the tide toward the distance time and again.

The entire Central City seemed to boil, countless gazes focusing simultaneously on the Sky Giant Tree.

With a boom, a soft pillar of light descended from the sky.

Qin Shi's tall figure, leaping with the surging electronic signal vibrations, appeared on countless screens of all sizes.

(Chapter End)