Chapter 18: The Society Is Starting to Add New Members?

After a brief silence, the entire hall erupted in uproar.

"Knocked down by a single punch? Lord President, can you confirm that what you're saying is true?" A middle-aged man, seemingly in his forties or fifties, stood up. His hair was neatly combed, dressed in a suit, his voice filled with disbelief.

Xu Maoguo nodded slightly, saying nothing more, but his attitude was clear enough. He did not blame the middle-aged man for lacking composure.

In fact, when he first received this news, he too could not remain calm. If this mountain was truly shattered by a single punch, it proved the attacker's cultivation base had crossed into the Master realm.

What did this mean? It meant a new unknown Master might have emerged in Jiangnan Province. If this news was confirmed, it would hold immense significance for both Jiangnan Province and all of China.

Xu Maoguo lightly tapped his fingers against the table. His motion was gentle, yet it instantly silenced the entire hall.

After scanning the room, Xu Maoguo spoke slowly, word by word.

"Gentlemen, deploy your connections and influence—I need you to uncover the truth behind this incident in the shortest time possible. Though there is no concrete evidence, this suspected unknown Master has likely not yet left Haihai City."

"Yes!"

After everyone had dispersed, the young girl who had been standing behind Xu Maoguo finally raised her head, her gaze flickering with uncertainty.

"... What's going on? According to my memories from my rebirth, there shouldn't have been any such unknown Master appearing at this time? Could it be that my rebirth triggered a butterfly effect?"

Li Xuezhu muttered to herself, unable to comprehend it.

She had been reborn from twenty years in the future, so she remembered clearly: roughly three months from now, countless spatial rifts connecting to other worlds would appear across the globe, along with legions of Reincarnators ravaging every corner of the world.

But unquestionably, even in her pre-rebirth future—twenty years from now—though Masters were not as revered as they were now, they were still a force not to be underestimated.

"I remember, during the Great Change three months from now, Haihai City was struck by a monstrous assault and completely annihilated? Only a handful of survivors escaped."

"If there had truly been a Master in Haihai City at that time, the outcome would have been completely different—or did this Master leave Haihai City during those three months, causing this catastrophe?!"

Li Xuezhu sat in the meeting room for a long, long time, finally sighing and attributing the incident to the butterfly effect of her rebirth. She turned and left the room.

…

Although Su Han knew nothing of the turmoil in Jiangnan Province, he had already guessed that surveillance would become extremely strict in the coming days. After returning home, he patted his backside and decided to keep a low profile.

After a moment of thought, Su Han made a decision: "Fuck, order another box of instant noodles! By the way... JARVIS, did you transfer the money I asked for?"

After a brief silence, a cold mechanical voice instantly replied: "Lord Su Han, I have transferred 130 million RMB into your bank account. The laundering process has been successfully completed. No one querying this transaction will find any irregularities."

Su Han fell silent, quickly pulled out his phone, checked his bank statement, and realized JARVIS had not been lying.

"One... one hundred and thirty million?!"

Although obtaining the Ciyuangong Society had already expanded Su Han's horizons, seeing that astronomical sum on the statement still left him dizzy.

Yet, when he recalled his own punch moments ago that had shattered a mountain outside the city, his turbulent heart calmed instantly.

So what if it's a hundred million? Big deal.

"Then I can't eat instant noodles anymore! I'm ordering a deluxe meal... Decided: fatty happy soda and fatty happy home meal, let's go!"

Su Han cheerfully decided his next menu.

Then Su Han re-entered the society chatroom, glanced twice, and found it still utterly quiet. He clicked his tongue, but felt no surprise.

"Probably these guys are still watching One Piece. Nearly a thousand episodes—they've got plenty to keep them busy."

Just as Su Han was expecting a dull stretch ahead, the society system's alert sounded again.

"Society member activity sufficient! Second invitation now activated."

"Second invitation: random selection. May invite 2 to 5 members! Exact number determined by probability. Proceed with invitation?"

Su Han paused, then wore a thoughtful expression. He suddenly remembered the items in the society shop.

For example, the Dimensional Transit Card—though it allows free travel to other members' worlds, the requirements are extremely strict. The most basic requirement: at least fifteen members.

"More society members would make the chatroom livelier, but... there's one fatal flaw: who the hell knows if this random invite will bring two or five?"

Su Han muttered, but didn't hesitate: "Proceed with the invitation."

In an instant, three messages popped up.

"Ding! My Little Sister Is Not Cute has joined the Ciyuangong Society."

"Ding! Miss Xia Shizi has joined the Ciyuangong Society."

"Ding! Symbol of Peace has joined the Ciyuangong Society."

Before Su Han could smile, a flood of messages erupted.

TonyIsNotTheRichest: "Welcome new member to the chatroom."

FallenAngelTwelveWingsBlackCatClan: "Welcome new member to the chatroom."

IAmTheHouJue: "Another new member? How interesting."

TruePersonZhangSanfeng: "... Pity. If only one of the new members were a true Immortal!"

Su Han stared, dumbfounded, as these people flooded the chat. He had thought they were all busy watching One Piece—turns out they'd been lurking and spying all along.

Su Xiao Xiao: "I always thought you guys were busy. How come you all seem so idle? @TonyIsNotTheRichest, doesn't your Stark Corporation need you to handle work? @FallenAngelTwelveWingsBlackCatClan, kid, aren't you still just a regular student? @... well, Hou Jue and Zhang Sanfeng are fine—they're old guys, probably retired."