164: Chapter 164 Acquiring Paradise? No, Acquiring the Future

The "road" to the headquarters of the Myriad Worlds Chamber of Commerce was completely different from what Lin Chen had imagined.

There were no teleportation arrays, no star gates, and no spatial jumps.

The Recorder simply raised a hand and tore a rift in the void—not a physical tear, but more like peeling back a corner of reality itself, like an old photograph, revealing what lay beneath...

Another layer of reality.

It was a hyper-dimensional space composed of countless rotating gears, flowing rivers of data, and floating trading screens. Each gear represented the economic pulse of a plane, each data river was the commercial history of a civilization, and every screen pulsated in real-time with cross-dimensional transaction information.

"This is the 'Trade Path'," The Recorder said, stepping aside. "A private dimension of the Myriad Worlds Chamber of Commerce that connects all member planes. Please, Young Master."

The moment Lin Chen stepped inside—

Hum!!!

Within the entire Trade Path space, every gear simultaneously stalled for a single frame!

Great waves surged within all the data rivers!

The numbers on every trading screen scrambled into a frenzy of garbled code!

It was as if this space was resisting his entry.

"Bloodline authentication in progress..." The Mathematician quickly flipped through ancient texts. "The Trade Path is detecting the Young Master's authority... but it seems..."

Before he could finish his sentence—

The bronze seal above Lin Chen's head automatically manifested.

The seal vibrated gently.

All resistance instantly transformed into submission.

The gears resumed their rotation, but their speed was ten times faster than before!

The data rivers calmed down, their surfaces reflecting Lin Chen's silhouette!

The numbers on the trading screens began to flicker again, but they had all changed into a welcome message:

【Welcome, Young Master, to your rightful place!】

【Highest Authority of the Myriad Worlds Chamber of Commerce activated!】

【Current Callable Resources: ∞】

"This is... the true Chamber of Commerce..." The logic core's data stream was trembling. "Three thousand years... since 'Shang' disappeared... the Trade Path has never opened full authority to anyone..."

Standing in the center of the data river, Lin Chen felt a flood of information transmitted from the entire dimension.

He "saw" it—

The headquarters of the Myriad Worlds Chamber of Commerce was located within the ruins of a "dead" Thirteenth Era, disguised on the outside as an ordinary bronze palace.

The Chamber was currently controlled by seven "Permanent Directors," each representing a different commercial school: the Monopolists, the Speculators, the Harvesters, the Deceivers...

And the one secretly plotting to eliminate him was the leader of the Monopolist faction—the "Plutocrat" Moloch.

Moloch controlled 70% of the Chamber's actual power and had twisted the organization into his personal tool for amassing wealth. Any existence that might threaten his position would be subjected to "Conceptual Liquidation."

"So," Lin Chen retracted his perception, "returning now is the equivalent of jumping straight into a wolf's den?"

"Yes," The Recorder gave a bitter smile. "But you possess the Founder's Seal. According to the rules, you automatically become the Chamber's sole legitimate Chairman."

"Moloch and the others... won't acknowledge that."

"Of course they won't," Lin Chen said. "Therefore—"

He turned around and looked toward the entrance they had come from:

"We aren't going back."

Everyone present was stunned.

"Not... not going back?" The Mathematician was bewildered. "Then where are we going?"

"To where we should go."

Lin Chen raised his hand toward the void of the Trade Path—

And made a gentle swipe.

Screech—

It was like tearing a painting.

A new rift was forcefully torn open in the Trade Path space!

Behind the rift was not any known plane.

It was... a constantly expanding, dark-red living universe filled with blood-vessel-like networks!

"That is..." The logic core's scanners sounded a frantic alarm. "The hatchery of the unknown high-dimensional entity, the 'World Eater'! It is devouring surrounding planes and converting them into its own nutrients!"

"Moloch signed a secret agreement with the World Eater," Lin Chen said calmly. "The Chamber provides plane coordinates and defensive weaknesses, while the World Eater is responsible for devouring them. The resulting profits are split fifty-fifty."

"In the past three hundred years, of the 127 planes devoured, 89 were members of the Chamber."

He looked at The Recorder:

"Tell me, a Chamber of Commerce like this..."

"Does it still deserve to be called a 'Chamber of Commerce'?"

A dramatic reversal:

The Recorder fell silent.

After a long time, he finally said with difficulty, "We... we have a resistance organization internally... the 'Commerce Dao Restoration Society'... but Moloch's influence is too great..."

"So you just watched as I was nearly liquidated?" Lin Chen asked.

"No! We didn't know the Shadow Department had taken action!" The Recorder said urgently. "The audit team is a neutral faction; we only wanted to confirm your identity! If we had known sooner..."

"You know now," Lin Chen interrupted him.

He turned to face that living universe.

Then, he did something that made everyone's skin crawl—

He shouted toward the rift:

"Hey—!"

"You big guy in there!"

"Can you hear me?!"

The surface of the living universe writhed.

The dark-red blood vessels twitched frantically, coalescing into a giant face that covered a tenth of the universe's surface!

The eyes on the face slowly opened—each eye was a burning star!

"Who... is calling... the World Eater..."

The voice exploded directly in the depths of everyone's soul!

"Me." Lin Chen raised his hand, revealing the bronze seal. "The new Chairman of the Myriad Worlds Chamber of Commerce. I'm here to talk business."

The World Eater's billions of eyes focused simultaneously on the seal.

Three seconds later.

It let out... a laugh.

It wasn't a kind laugh, but the mocking laugh of an elephant seeing an ant trying to negotiate terms:

"Chamber... Chairman?"

"That old thing Moloch... has finally been usurped?"

"Interesting..."

"What kind of business... do you want to talk about?"

Lin Chen pulled a document from his robe—it was actually a paper contract, its pages fluttering in the void.

"The 'Plane Reclamation and Ecological Restoration Cooperation Agreement'."

He read aloud:

"Party A (World Eater) agrees to cease all illegal devouring activities and return the cores of the 127 devoured planes."

"As compensation, Party B (Underworld Group) will provide a 'Conceptual Nutrition Package' to satisfy Party A's growth requirements for the next ten thousand years."

"Simultaneously, Party A must join the 'Cross-Plane Ecological Protection Alliance' and serve as a 'Devouring Activity Supervisor,' responsible for capturing other illegal devourers."

"Benefits: An annual salary of thirty billion nether talismans, five insurances and one housing fund, with room and board included."

After finishing, Lin Chen looked at the giant face:

"Will you sign?"

After a brief, dead silence—

"Hahahahahahaha—!!!"

The World Eater laughed so hard the entire living universe vibrated!

"Make me... spit back planes... and be some... supervisor?!"

"Kid... you must be insane!"

"I could swallow your pathetic Chamber of Commerce in one bite—!!"

"Is that so?" Lin Chen asked calmly. "Then try it."

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Snap.

Somewhere within the living universe, a golden point of light suddenly lit up.

Then a second, a third, a fourth...

In the blink of an eye, 127 golden points of light lit up simultaneously inside the World Eater!

Each point of light corresponded to the core coordinates of a devoured plane!

"You... when did you..." The World Eater's laughter stopped abruptly.

"When I tore open the rift just now," Lin Chen said. "The seal's authority allows me to read all secret agreements of the Chamber—including the one you signed with Moloch."

"In that agreement, I found the 'Anchor Marks' you left behind when devouring each plane."

"And then..."

He smiled slightly:

"I sent a 'Return Request' to every anchor."

"Now, the residual wills of the 127 planes are collectively applying to 'depart from the digestive system'."

"According to Article 667 of the 'Cross-Plane Biological Protection Law,' when more than 50% of the residual wills of devoured planes apply for departure, the devourer must—enforce it."

The moment he finished speaking—

Pfft!!!

The World Eater's giant face twisted violently!

Inside its body, the 127 golden points of light exploded simultaneously!

It wasn't a physical explosion, but a forced departure on the level of laws!

One by one, translucent, fragmented phantoms of planes were forcefully squeezed out of its body!

Like vomiting, they were spat out of the living universe!

"Retch—!!!"

The World Eater made a painful retching sound.

With every plane it spat out, its size shrank by a degree!

When all 127 planes had departed—

The living universe that had originally covered several galaxies shrank down to... the size of a dark-red, still-beating heart.

"Now," Lin Chen walked up to the heart, "can we sign the contract?"

The heart trembled violently and emitted a weak voice:

"I'll sign... I'll sign..."

"Please don't... make me spit up anymore..."

A thrilling sense of satisfaction:

The contract was signed.

The World Eater (now to be called "Little Red," a temporary designation given by Lin Chen) was placed into a specially made ecological sphere and hung at the entrance of the Underworld Group's headquarters as a decoration—and a security guard.

Although the 127 returned planes were in tatters, their cores remained, and they were all incorporated into the Underworld Group's "Ecological Restoration Plan."

And just then—

The Trade Path space shook violently!

A cold, majestic voice drifted from the void:

"Lin Chen."

"As expected... you didn't die."

The gears, data rivers, and trading screens twisted simultaneously, coalescing into a giant, pure-gold phantom whose face could not be seen clearly.

It was the leader of the Monopolists—the Plutocrat Moloch!

"You think... that getting the Founder's Seal... means you can control the Chamber?"

The phantom slowly raised a hand:

"Let me show you... what reality is—"

"70% of the Chamber's core assets are in my hands!"

"All high-plane partners only recognize my signature!"

"Even the underlying code of the Trade Path itself... is written with my brand!"

"You want to be Chairman?"

Moloch's voice was full of mockery:

"First ask... if my 'Capital Legion' agrees!"

The moment he finished speaking—

Hundreds of rifts split open simultaneously around the Trade Path space!

From every rift emerged an overwhelming army of war weapons composed of pure money laws!

There were warships burning with golden flames!

There were Law Giants wielding greatswords made of banknotes!

There were financial fortresses continuously spitting out "Inflation Shells"!

Even more terrifying—

The surfaces of these weapons were all branded with the same emblem:

【Moloch Capital · All Rights Reserved】

"This is... true power..." The Mathematician's voice trembled. "A war machine... armed with commercial rules..."

"Young Master... we must retreat quickly..." The Recorder said urgently.

But Lin Chen did not move.

He looked at the Capital Legion, which was sufficient to crush any plane, for a long time.

Then, he smiled.

"Moloch."

He said.

"You made a mistake."

"What mistake?" Moloch sneered.

"You call these things..."

Lin Chen raised his hand and pointed at the war weapons:

"...'assets'."

The next second—

The bronze seal above his head suddenly erupted with unprecedented light!

Within the light, a line of ancient text appeared:

【Chamber Founder Authority · Final Clause】

【When Chamber assets are used for internal conflict, damage member interests, or destroy the commercial ecosystem—】

【All related assets shall automatically revert to the Founder's ownership】

【Method of Execution: Mandatory Acquisition】

【Acquisition Price: 1 nether talisman】

The moment the text finished appearing—

All the war weapons composed of money laws suddenly froze!

Then, the "Moloch Capital" emblems on their surfaces began to flash frantically, twist, and finally—

They all turned into the logo of the "Underworld Group"!

Even the warships, giants, and fortresses themselves were deforming and reorganizing, turning into the standard equipment of the Underworld Group!

"No—!!!" Moloch's phantom let out a shrill roar. "Those are mine! My legion—!!"

"They're mine now," Lin Chen said.

He looked at the legions that had completed their conversion and gave a light wave of his hand:

"Go."

"Go and bring your former master..."

"...back to me."

The legion turned in unison and charged in the opposite direction—toward where Moloch's phantom had come from!

"Just you wait... Lin Chen..."

Before Moloch's phantom dissipated, he spat out a final curse:

"The Chamber's waters... are deeper than you imagine..."

"You have no idea... who the real enemy is..."

The phantom completely vanished.

The Trade Path space returned to calm.

The Recorder let out a long breath: "We won... we actually won..."

"No," Lin Chen shook his head.

He looked into the depths of the Trade Path, at that area of absolute darkness where even the data rivers could not flow.

There lay the true core of the Chamber—

The "Myriad Worlds Vault."

Moloch was just a watchdog.

The true controller had always been hidden inside the vault.

"However..."

Lin Chen retracted his gaze and turned to look at Su Qingyu, Zhang Hao, The Recorder, and everyone standing by his side.

"Before that—"

"It's time for us to go home."

The hook:

On the way back to the Underworld Group, no one spoke.

Zhang Hao held it in for a long time before finally being unable to resist asking:

"Boss... what exactly... are we going to do next?"

Lin Chen watched the light and shadows of planes flashing past the window and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he said softly:

"Zhang Hao."

"Tell me..."

"Would acquiring Heaven be interesting?"

Zhang Hao was stunned: "Hea... Heaven? Isn't that just a legend..."

"If I said," Lin Chen turned his head, his eyes reflecting countless stars, "that Heaven, Hell, the God Realm, the Abyss, and even all the planes we see now..."

"Are all just part of some even more magnificent existence's..."

"...'subsidiaries'?"

Zhang Hao opened his mouth but could not find any words.

Lin Chen smiled and looked back out the window.

"So..."

"What's the point of just acquiring Heaven?"

His voice was light, yet it made the entire cabin vibrate:

"What I want to acquire..."

"...is that 'parent company'."

"It is..."

He paused and spat out the final words:

"...all of the future."