215: Chapter 215 The Night of Controlling the Company: My Account Suddenly Shows a 10,000 Yuan Loss

71 minutes after becoming the absolute controlling shareholder of the Myriad Dimensions Sandbox platform, Lin Chen held a celebratory dinner.

The location was the "Creation Hall" in the platform's core database—billions of miniature projections of worlds floated here, each projection being a live stream, and at this moment, they all broadcasted the same congratulatory message: "Congratulations to Mr. Lin Chen on controlling the platform!"

Owning 92.6% of the equity meant he only needed a single signature to modify any rule of the platform.

"The first thing to change," Zhang Hao excitedly pulled up the draft, "is to cancel all mandatory live broadcasts! Give the 'Right to Perform' back to the various worlds!"

"The second thing," Su Qingyu pointed to the next item, "is to abolish the Screenwriting Team's authority for plot kills. The fate of each world will be decided by themselves."

Little Red Clothes floated in mid-air, her ghostly aura so excited it turned pink: "Master, Master! For the third one, can we turn off the 'Real Damage Mode' in the Horror Film Sets? Those actors are so pitiful..."

Lin Chen sat in the main seat, looking at this group of partners—their fates were once written in others' scripts, but now they could finally write their own.

"Change them all." He raised his wine glass. "From today onwards, this platform..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

A blood-red full-screen alert suddenly popped up in front of him, forcibly overriding all interfaces.

[Emergency! Emergency! Emergency!]

[Major funding gap in the implementation of the "Kindling Project"]

[Current gap: 2.2 trillion dimension points]

[Cause of gap: The "Crowdfunding-Debt-to-Equity Swap-Repurchase" series of operations you initiated in Chapter 19 to acquire equity triggered Article 7.3 of the Universal Financial Regulatory Regulations, the "Leveraged Operation Risk Reserve" clause, requiring a supplementary margin payment.]

[Supplementary payment countdown: 47 hours 59 minutes]

[If not fully paid upon timeout:]

1. The 92.6% equity under your name will be forcibly frozen and auctioned.

2. All implemented projects of the "Kindling Project" will be interrupted (including 17 saved world civilizations).

3. **You and your associates will bear unlimited joint and several liability—until the debt is cleared.]

"This is impossible!" Zhang Hao rushed over. "Boss, we just audited all assets, clearly..."

Lin Chen pulled up the real-time asset panel.

[Total Assets: Platform Equity (valuation 9,000 trillion) + Emotional Revenue Rights (annual income 800 trillion) + Ownership of Seventeen Worlds (valuation 200 trillion) + Cash Flow (84 trillion)]

[Total Liabilities: 31 trillion (Shareholder loans) + 9,000 trillion (Compensation bonds to Seven Civilizations, already swapped to equity) + 2.2 trillion (New gap)]

"Wait." Su Qingyu keenly noticed an anomaly. "That 9,000 trillion bond, wasn't it already converted into platform equity through a debt-to-equity swap? Why is it still counted as a liability?"

"Because the debt-to-equity swap procedure has not been completed." A familiar yet strange voice came from the hall entrance.

Everyone turned their heads.

The newcomer wore a suit identical to Lin Chen's, his appearance 90% similar, but his eyes were colder and his temperament sharper—like a blade quenched in ice.

"Mirror Lin Xiao." Lin Chen called out the other's name. "I thought you were already in the Data Sea..."

"Data aging, but not yet completely dead." Mirror Lin Xiao—Lin Chen's backup clone in the Data Sea—walked to the table and pulled up a document. "A debt-to-equity swap requires the joint signature of the executive officers of the seven civilizations on the Final Confirmation Letter. But at the end of Chapter 19, they resigned."

He projected the document:

[Debt-to-Equity Swap Final Confirmation Letter]

[Signing Status: 6/7 (Missing the signature of the Seventh Civilization's executive officer)]

[Reason for absence: 3 seconds before resigning, the Seventh executive officer transferred the signing authority to—Arrogant Dragon.]

"Arrogant Dragon is holding it and won't sign." Mirror Lin Xiao sneered. "So those 9,000 trillion bonds are legally still your liability. As long as Arrogant Dragon doesn't sign for a day, it will always weigh on your balance sheet, eating up all your cash flow."

The hall was deathly silent.

So while Lin Chen seemingly won the controlling stake war, he was actually carrying a debt nuclear bomb that could explode at any moment.

"Then what's the deal with this 2.2 trillion gap?" Zhang Hao asked.

"Leveraged Operation Risk Reserve," Mirror Lin Xiao explained. "Lin Chen used crowdfunding crystals to set a trap, which is essentially a high-leverage financial operation. According to the Cross-Dimensional Financial Regulatory Regulations, such operations require a 15% margin payment of the operation amount—exactly 2.2 trillion."

"How come I didn't know about this regulation before?"

"Because the regulation was just revised and passed three hours ago." Mirror Lin Xiao pulled up the revision record. "Proposer of the revision: Arrogant Dragon. Seconders: Remaining members of the original Shareholder Alliance. Time of passage: At the very moment the news of Lin Chen's successful controlling stake spread across the platform."

A melodramatic plot twist had arrived.

Arrogant Dragon hadn't admitted defeat at all.

He planted this time bomb at the moment of Lin Chen's greatest triumph.

"What do we do now?" Su Qingyu held Lin Chen's hand. "Our cash flow is only 84 trillion, but to fill a 2.2 trillion gap, we have to use cash. But once we do, other creditors seeing our cash flow decrease might call in their debts early..."

"A chain collapse," Mirror Lin Xiao interjected. "Like dominoes. If one falls, the whole board is lost."

The countdown flashed overhead: 47 hours 58 minutes.

Lin Chen remained silent for a long time.

Then he asked the mirror: "What's your suggestion?"

"I used my remaining computing power in the Data Sea to deduce 1.37 million possibilities." Mirror Lin Xiao pulled up the conclusion. "The only way to raise 2.2 trillion within 48 hours without triggering a chain reaction is—"

He paused and stated the incredible plan:

"Go to the low-dimensional Mortal Realm and find me."

"What?"

"Before being consumed by data aging, I once split off a strand of data avatar and was reincarnated into a Mortal Realm called 'Earth'. There, I spent a hundred years operating from scratch and built a global Business Empire."

Mirror Lin Xiao pulled up a real-time image of Earth—it was a Blue Star with a technological level roughly equal to the early 21st century, with skyscrapers and heavy traffic.

"That 'me' doesn't know he's an avatar, thinking he's just an ordinary businessman. But the wealth he's accumulated, if converted into dimension points..."

The screen switched to the backend of an encrypted account.

The balance showed: 500 billion dimension points.

"This is the entirety of my assets from a hundred years of operation," Mirror Lin Xiao said. "Although it's not enough for 2.2 trillion, it can solve the immediate crisis."

Zhang Hao frowned: "But that's the Mortal Realm, how can currency be converted into dimension points?"

"Use this." Mirror Lin Xiao took out a black token. "'Cross-Dimensional Wealth Conversion License', I bought it from the platform's black market back then just to prepare for a situation like today."

He placed the token on the table.

"But there are two problems."

"First, these 500 billion are physical assets on Earth—companies, stocks, real estate, gold reserves. To liquidate it all would take at least three months. And we only have 48 hours."

"Second," Mirror Lin Xiao looked at Lin Chen, "that 'me' believes those riches were earned through his own hard work. If we take them by force, he will resist. And with the methods he's honed through a hundred years of ups and downs in the business world..."

"He might make it so that we get nothing at all."

Su Qingyu understood: "So you want us to go to Earth and use business tactics to make that 'you' willingly hand over 500 billion in assets within 48 hours?"

"Yes." Mirror Lin Xiao's body began to turn transparent—the data aging had reached its limit. "This is the last thing I, as a 'backup', can do for the main body."

"The rest..."

"Is up to you."

After saying this, the mirror completely dissipated, turning into a stream of broken data.

Only the ticking sound of the countdown remained in the hall.

Lin Chen looked at the black token and suddenly laughed.

"Interesting."

"Going to a low-dimensional world and playing a business game with another me..."

"Playing a business game."

He stood up.

"Zhang Hao, prepare the Dimension Crossing Protocol. Su Qingyu, retrieve all economic data for Earth. Little Red Clothes..."

"Here!"

"You're coming with me." A cold light flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. "That 'me' has been operating for a hundred years; he must have influence in both the light and dark worlds. We need some... unconventional methods."

Three hours later.

Earth, China, Shanghai.

On the top floor of the tallest building on the Bund, the World Financial Center, Lin Xiao (the Mortal Realm avatar) was presiding over the final negotiations of a Cross-border merger and acquisition case.

He was 120 years old this year (maintaining the appearance of a 40-year-old by taking special potions) and controlled an Invisible Financial Group with a market value of over ten trillion. At this moment, he had just used thunderous methods to force back old European families and swallow their core assets at a deep discount.

"President Lin, the contract is signed." The secretary handed over the document.

Lin Xiao took the pen and was about to sign—

The bulletproof glass curtain wall of the office suddenly melted silently.

It didn't shatter; it melted and flowed like ice cream.

A young man in a black trench coat, accompanied by a little girl in a red dress, walked in through the melted hole.

"Sorry to interrupt," the young man—Lin Chen—said with a smile. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lin Chen."

He looked at the face behind the desk that was 90% similar to his own.

"I'm here to talk business with you."

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted sharply.

His hand had already silently pressed the alarm button under the desk.

But the alarm didn't sound.

Because Little Red Clothes tilted her head, and the entire building's electronic system crashed instantly.

"What business?" Lin Xiao forced himself to calm down.

Lin Chen pulled out a chair and sat down, saying the words that made Lin Xiao's worldview collapse:

"I want to acquire you."

"Acquire everything you've accumulated over the past hundred years."

"Including your life."

The neon lights outside shone in, casting similar shadows on the faces of the two Lin Chens.

Countdown: 45 hours 17 minutes.