149: Chapter 149 The First Dimensional Shareholders Meeting

Opening Climax:

The venue for the first Plane shareholder Meeting was chosen to be directly above the River of Oblivion.

This wasn't a metaphor—Lin Chen had literally "solidified" the entire river. The blood-yellow water was frozen at the moment of its surge, transformed into a massive crystal platform spanning heaven and earth. The platform's surface reflected the blood moon of the Underworld, the starry river of the living world, and the shattered holy light of the God Realm. The scenes of the three realms twisted and intertwined within it, forming an eerie yet magnificent backdrop.

On the east side of the platform floated the seats for the Underworld Group's delegation: Lin Chen sat in the center, Su Qingyu on his left, Zhang Hao on his right, and behind them were Lei Xiao, Little Red Clothes, Lin Chens Mother, and twenty other core executives. All the ghosts wore custom-made black suits with samsara seal badges pinned to their chests—even Little Red Clothes' skeleton doll wore a miniature tie.

On the west side of the platform was the Living World Proxy delegation. Led by Wang Ming, twelve proxies from various fields attended via "consciousness projection." Their seats were high-tech silver-white floating chairs, with holographic interfaces unfolded before them, receiving real-time data streams from the living world.

On the south side... was the God Realm Reformist delegation.

But the way they attended left everyone stunned.

It wasn't a projection, nor a consciousness entity, but—

"Physical cross-border travel?" Zhang Hao's eyes widened.

On the southern seats sat twelve living beings radiating intense divine fluctuations. Leading them was the Finance Minister Michael; of the six wings on his back, four had been restored, while the other two were still wrapped in bandages, but they were undeniably real.

Even more startling was that each of them was wrapped in a translucent "chain." One end of the chain was fastened to their wrists, while the other... vanished into the void, connecting to some distant existence.

"It's a 'Pledge Contract,'" Su Qingyu explained softly. "They've mortgaged part of their godhood and divine essence to the Fundamental Laws of the Multiverse in exchange for a seven-day 'Real Cross-Border Authorization.' If they can't return the collateral after seven days, they will permanently fall from their divine positions."

Zhang Hao gasped, "They're gambling that big?"

"Because they can't afford to lose," Lin Chen said indifferently. "In the God Realm, the Old God Court has already begun the final purge. If the Reformist Faction don't take a gamble now, they won't even have the qualifications to be used as collateral."

Just as he finished speaking, Michael stood up and bowed deeply toward Lin Chen:

"Chairman Lin, the twelve core members of the Reformist Alliance are all present."

He looked up, his eyes filled with the determination of someone who had burned his bridges:

"Our lives, our divine positions, the future of the God Realm—"

"Everything is staked on this table."

silence.

Only beneath the solidified crystal platform of the River of Oblivion could the faint, indignant roar of the frozen water be heard.

Lin Chen nodded.

"Then let us begin."

He tapped the table in front of him—the table instantly transformed into a giant holographic sand table covering the entire platform.

On the left side of the sand table was a real-time battle map of the God Realm. The black area representing Abyssal Lord Grammer had already swallowed 45% of the territory and was slowly but unstoppably expanding outward. The golden defensive line of the Old God Court was huddled around "Mount of Gods," with only three strongholds remaining.

On the right side of the sand table was the troop deployment of the Underworld Group: 300,000 ghost soldiers, 5,000 Ghost Generals, 120 mobile Fortresses, and... three "Concept-class Purification Ships" just rented from the Technological Cultivation United Empire (rent: 500 million nether talismans per day).

In the center of the sand table was a constantly flickering "ROI Prediction Model."

"First, define the goal," Lin Chen spoke, his voice echoing over the platform. "Within seven days, achieve actual control over the God Realm. Specifically, in three steps—"

He pointed his finger.

Three points of light emerged on the sand table.

"Step one: Within 24 hours, take the 'Forging Temple.' This is the core of the God Realm's military industry, controlling 75% of the entire realm's weapon production lines. It is currently guarded by the remnants of the Old God Court's 'Ares, the God of War,' with about 80,000 troops."

"Step two: Within 48 hours, control the 'Source of Faith.' This is the node where the God Realm's power of faith converges, equivalent to a central bank. The defending general is the Finance Minister Michael's old rival—'Mammon, the God of Greed'."

"Step three," Lin Chen paused, "at the end of the seventh day, march upon Mount of Gods."

He looked at Michael:

"By then, Grammer's digestion period will have just ended."

"We want to be there the moment it returns to its peak state—"

"And beat it right at its doorstep."

Melodramatic Twist:

Michael's expression shifted, but he gritted his teeth and nodded. "Understood. But there's one problem..."

He pulled up a detailed map on the sand table. "The core of the Forging Temple's defense system is a 'Ten-Thousand Forgings Divine Furnace.' This furnace is connected to the God Realm's ley lines. If we attack forcefully, Ares might detonate the ley lines, blowing the entire temple region into the sky."

"Then don't let him blow it up," Lin Chen said.

"How?"

"Buy it."

The whole place fell silent.

Even the Living World delegation stopped their operations.

Wang Ming swallowed hard. "Chairman... are you saying, buy that divine furnace?"

"Not just the furnace." Lin Chen's finger slid, and a dense list of assets appeared on the sand table. "The Forging Temple and its affiliated facilities, total area of three million square kilometers, including 4,700 military production lines, an inventory of divine materials valued at approximately 900 billion nether talismans, and 120,000 divine smiths and apprentices on duty..."

He looked up at everyone:

"According to the current 'Property Law' of the God Realm, if the owner (Old God Court) cannot fulfill the basic obligation to 'protect assets from malicious destruction,' any third party can file an 'Emergency Trusteeship Application'."

"As long as the trusteeship application is approved by the Multiverse Commercial Arbitration Committee—"

"During the trusteeship period, we will have temporary management rights over the asset."

"And if Ares dares to blow up the asset he manages..." Lin Chen smiled, "it would be equivalent to a 'professional manager maliciously destroying company property.' He would be permanently blacklisted by the Arbitration Committee, and no one would even want him for reincarnation."

Michael listened, dumbfounded. "That... that's actually possible?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Lin Chen countered. "War is war, business is business. Our banner for going to the God Realm this time isn't 'invasion,' but 'commercial trusteeship'—at the request of the Reformist Faction (legal shareholders), to intervene in the God Realm's bankruptcy reorganization."

He pulled up a document he had just drafted:

"Joint Application for Emergency Trusteeship of the Forging Temple and Other Core Assets of the God Realm"

Applicant: Reformist Alliance (Shareholding: Certified to hold 39% of the God Realm's legal equity)

Respondent: Old God Court (Asset at risk of destruction due to poor management)

Trustee: Underworld Group (Qualified for cross-plane asset management)

At the end of the application, three seals had already been stamped: the Godhood Seal of the Reformist Alliance, the samsara seal of the Underworld Group, and...

"The notary seal of the Scales of Truth?!" Michael blurted out.

That silver-white scale badge was slowly rotating at the end of the document.

"I spent 50 billion nether talismans to get it processed urgently," Lin Chen said nonchalantly. "The Scales of Truth confirmed the authenticity of the Reformist Faction' equity and recognized the fact that 'God Realm assets are facing an emergency risk,' so—"

He pushed the document to the center of the sand table:

"Legally, we are not invaders."

"We are there to take over 'Distressed Assets'."

"If Ares dares to blow up the furnace..." A cold light flashed in Lin Chen's eyes, "I'll have the Arbitration Committee freeze all his income for the next ten thousand years, including the incense money from his followers."

The whole room was silent.

On the Living World delegation's side, a young proxy whispered to Wang Ming, "Manager Wang... isn't our Chairman... a bit... too wild?"

Wang Ming wiped his sweat. "You'll get used to it..."

Thrilling Satisfaction:

Just as everyone was digesting this "commercial trusteeship" theory—

The sand table suddenly vibrated violently!

It wasn't a technical glitch, but some external, powerful force interfering!

In the center of the sand table, the black area representing Abyssal Lord Grammer suddenly "opened" an eye.

It was exactly like the Eye of Void that had appeared in the Hall of Samsara before, but larger, more solid, and... more terrifying.

The eye turned, looking at everyone on the platform.

"Interesting..."

Grammer's voice rang directly in the depths of everyone's soul, filled with the playfulness of someone toying with prey:

"Commercial trusteeship... bankruptcy reorganization..."

"Lord of the Underworld, you are... more than I thought..."

"More creative."

Before he finished speaking, the eye suddenly shot out twelve beams of black light!

The target wasn't Lin Chen, nor the Underworld delegation—

It was those twelve "physical cross-border" core members of the God Realm Reformist Faction!

The black light precisely hit the pledge chains on their wrists.

The chains instantly turned from translucent to pitch black, with countless hideous barbs surfacing. The barbs retracted inward, stabbing deep into their divine essence—

"Aaaaaah—!"

Michael was the first to scream in agony.

Blood mist erupted from the four wings on his back simultaneously, and the newly grown feathers instantly withered and fell off. The projections of two other gods even began to turn transparent—their godhood was being forcibly extracted!

"Reverse erosion of the collateral..." Su Qingyu's face changed drastically. "Grammer is using the 'pledge channel' of the Multiverse Laws to reverse-plunder their divinity!"

This meant that the pledge the Reformist Faction had bet everything on had instead become a bridge for Grammer to attack them!

More terrifyingly, the blackness on the chains was spreading along the connection in the void toward the "collateral custodian" (Fundamental Laws of the Multiverse)!

Once the custodian was contaminated, the entire pledge system could collapse!

At that time, all gods who had exchanged cross-border authorization through pledges would instantly fall from their divine positions and become mortals—and on the God Realm battlefield, a mortal wouldn't last three seconds.

"Save..." Michael bled from his eyes, nose, and mouth, looking at Lin Chen with difficulty. "Chairman... save us..."

Lin Chen sat still.

He didn't even look at the gods being eroded; instead, he stared at that eye on the sand table.

He stared for three seconds.

Then, he spoke, asking a question that made everyone's brain short-circuit:

"Grammer."

"Do you charge for this move?"

The eye: "...?"

"According to Article 233 of the 'Multiverse Fair Competition Act'," Lin Chen said solemnly, "during a commercial negotiation meeting, unilaterally implementing attacks, harassment, or threats against participating representatives without the organizer's permission constitutes 'unfair competition'."

"The penalty standard is: for each attack, the attacker is fined 10% of their daily revenue."

He pulled up a newly generated table:

"According to our intelligence, your divine income from swallowing godhood over the last seven days is valued at... approximately 8 trillion nether talismans."

"10% is 800 billion."

Lin Chen gave the eye a professional smile:

"Cash or card?"

The eye: "..."

For the first time, it showed a "stuck" emotional fluctuation.

The black lights eroding the chains stalled for a moment.

"You..." Grammer's voice was full of absurdity. "You're... talking... law... with me?"

"Why not?" Lin Chen countered. "War is war, business is business. You are now attacking 'representatives attending the Underworld Group's shareholder Meeting.' This falls under the scope of commercial behavior and is naturally governed by commercial laws."

He paused and added:

"Or do you think you can stand above the Fundamental Laws of the Multiverse?"

These words were like a heavy hammer.

The eye trembled violently.

Because it felt—deep in the void, a massive, indescribable will was indeed "gazing" over.

That was the manifestation of the Fundamental Laws of the Multiverse.

It didn't favor any side; it only maintained the "rules" themselves.

And now, Lin Chen was using the rules to question Grammer: Do you want to follow the rules?

If Grammer said "no," it would immediately become the public enemy of all orderly forces in the entire multiverse—including those Abyssal Lords from the chaotic faction it originally wanted to win over.

If it said "yes"...

Then it really had to pay this 800 billion fine.

Frustrating.

Unprecedentedly frustrating.

The eye stared fixedly at Lin Chen, the black area churning wildly, clearly on the verge of rage.

But ultimately—

"Hmph."

A cold snort.

All black light was instantly withdrawn.

The chains on the wrists of the twelve Reformist Faction returned to being translucent, the barbs vanished, and the erosion stopped.

But everyone was slumped in their seats, their auras significantly weakened.

"800 billion... put it on my tab."

Grammer's voice was icy:

"When I swallow your godhood..."

"I'll collect it all... with interest."

The eye slowly closed and disappeared.

The sand table returned to calm.

Total silence.

Zhang Hao was the first to react, asking with a tremble, "Boss... it, it really accepted the fine?"

"What else?" Lin Chen put away the fine notice. "Go against the entire multiverse's rule system? It's not crazy enough for that yet."

He looked at the shaken Michael and the others:

"Understand now?"

Michael nodded with difficulty. "U-understand..."

"Rules are our greatest weapon." Lin Chen stood up and looked at the representatives of the three realms. "When we go to the God Realm this time, remember one thing—"

"We're not going there to fight a war."

"We're going for 'compliant operations'."

"If Grammer dares to act, we'll issue a fine."

"If the Old God Court dares to interfere, we'll apply for an asset freeze."

"As for those blind small-fry soldiers..."

A cold light flashed in Lin Chen's eyes:

"Just consider them 'normal wear and tear' during the cleanup of 'Distressed Assets'."

He tapped the table:

"Now, vote."

"Those in favor of the 'Take the God Realm in Seven Days' plan, raise your hands."

The Underworld delegation raised their hands in unison.

The Living World delegation hesitated for a second, then all raised their hands.

The God Realm delegation...

Michael looked at his still-bleeding wrist, then at the weakened state of his eleven companions.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and raised his hand.

"I vote in favor."

"The God Realm... can't wait any longer."

The other eleven gods raised their hands one after another.

Unanimously passed.

Hook:

Lin Chen nodded.

"Then the meeting is adjourned."

"In twenty-four hours—"

"See you at the Forging Temple."

The representatives began to disperse.

But Michael stayed behind.

He walked up to Lin Chen, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

"Is there something else?" Lin Chen asked.

Michael was silent for a long time before lowering his voice and saying:

"Chairman, there's a piece of intelligence... I didn't dare mention it during the meeting."

"Speak."

"The Old God Court... might have already been in contact with the 'Technological Cultivation United Empire'."

Lin Chen's movements paused.

"We intercepted an encrypted communication. It's incomplete, but it mentioned 'reverse engineering of the 7th Generation Concept Purifier,' 'weaponization of pollution,' and..."

Michael swallowed:

"A targeted action against the Underworld..."

"'Reverse Takeover'."

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes.

After a long while, he smiled.

"Interesting."

He looked at the grey area on the sand table representing the Technological Cultivation Empire:

"Then let's see—"

"Who takes over whom.""}],