287: Chapter 287 The Ancient Invitation

On the afternoon of the 100th year of the New Universe Era, Lin Chen and Su Qingyu were reviewing financial reports in a cafe within the Dimensional Gap.

This cafe was their secret base—a small space suspended in the cracks between dimensions, with the radiant colors of countless worlds outside the window. No subordinates to disturb them, no shareholder meetings, just the two of them, two cups of coffee, and a thick stack of financial reports.

Lin Chen flipped through the revenue data of the Underworld Group from the last quarter, his brow twitching slightly: "The performance of the God Realm branch has increased by 30%. It seems those angel trainees have started working."

Su Qingyu leaned over to take a look and smiled: "When you transferred them from the Choir to sell insurance, they weren't happy. Now they're probably fighting for overtime."

"Faith doesn't put food on the table, but insurance does." Lin Chen was about to turn the page when he suddenly froze.

A line of golden text was projected directly onto his retina.

No pop-ups, no warnings, no protective measures could stop it—it appeared out of thin air as if it had always existed in his consciousness.

Sender: True Game Committee.

Content:

「Congratulations on passing the 'Capital Era' trial and obtaining the beta testing qualification for the 'True Game'.

Your opponents: Top-tier beings from the three thousand worlds, including but not limited to: Causality Law Controller, Space-Time Sovereign, Fate Weaver, Chaos Avatar, Logical Paradox Entity, Emotion Harvester...

The stakes: Everything you own—assets, permissions, memories, emotions, relationships, and everyone you care about.

The game will begin 72 hours after you read this message.

Please be prepared.」

Lin Chen stared at those words, his pupils constricting slightly.

Su Qingyu noticed something was wrong: "What's happened?"

Lin Chen didn't answer; he just raised his hand and projected the message into the air.

After Su Qingyu finished reading, her expression changed.

"Is this... something from a higher dimension?"

"Most likely." Lin Chen was about to analyze it when his communicator suddenly blared.

Zhang Hao’s emergency communication came through, his voice cracking: "Boss! Something huge happened! The company headquarters is covered by a gate of light! Arrogant Dragon, Morgana, Alpha—they're all gone! The only thing left is... only this!"

He sent over a video clip.

In the footage, above the Underworld Group headquarters, a gate of light spanning across star systems stood tall. Countless points of light surged within the gate, each like a burning star. Arrogant Dragon, Morgana, and Alpha were currently standing inside the gate with varying expressions—Arrogant Dragon looked full of fighting spirit, Morgana was covered in frost, and Alpha’s data form was fluctuating violently.

Behind them were countless unfamiliar figures.

Below the image was a line of text: 「Already entered: Reincarnated Immortal Emperor, Frost Supreme, AI Collective... a total of 147 people. Player 'Lord of Capital' must enter within 72 hours, otherwise it will be deemed as an automatic abandonment of all associated personnel.」

Lin Chen was silent for three seconds.

Then he laughed.

That smile made Zhang Hao, on the other end of the communication, feel a chill down his spine: "B-Boss? You're still laughing?"

"Why not laugh?" Lin Chen stood up. "Someone wants to bet their life against mine and even proactively delivered themselves as hostages. This business deal is too good to pass up."

He opened the system and began to operate.

First task: Investigate.

He took three minutes to hack into the peripheral database of the True Game Committee—though it was only the surface, it was enough for him to figure out the rules.

The rules were simple: Each player has initial chips—their three most powerful abilities. By challenging other players, one can win the opponent's chips. The final winner takes all the losers' 'right of existence'.

And Arrogant Dragon and the others were already in the game.

Arrogant Dragon was ranked 7th, Morgana 9th, Alpha 12th. There was also an unexpected name—Zhang Hao, ranked 98th.

Lin Chen looked at that ranking and was stunned for a moment.

Why was Zhang Hao in there too?

He continued to look at Zhang Hao's initial chips: Fourth Wall Eavesdropping, Lackey's Intuition, Escape Speed Boost.

"..." Lin Chen didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Second task: Arrange the aftermath.

He took ten minutes to sign three agreements.

First: Transfer all liquid assets—approximately 47.8 quadrillion dimension points—to Su Qingyu's name, authorizing her to fully manage the Underworld Group, Chenguang Reading, Reincarnation Mutual Aid Society, and all other industries.

Second: Back up the core source code of the Capital Law and give it to the Reincarnation Mutual Aid Society for safekeeping. He set a trigger condition: If he dies in the game, the code will automatically self-destruct to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Third: And the most outrageous one—he bought himself "Game Insurance."

Insurance Company: Universe Bank (personally underwritten by Golden Abacus).

Insurance Terms: If Lin Chen dies in the game, the insurance company must pay his designated beneficiary (Su Qingyu) double the amount of his current assets.

Premium: 1 quadrillion dimension points (to be paid in installments from future earnings).

When Golden Abacus received the insurance policy, he was dumbfounded: "You're buying insurance for yourself? And the beneficiary isn't even you?"

"Nonsense, how can I use money if I'm dead?" Lin Chen said. "But Qingyu can. This money is enough for her to keep The Group running for a hundred thousand years. When I reincarnate and return, I can continue being the boss."

Golden Abacus was silent for three seconds, then signed.

Third task: The most crucial one—leave a backup plan.

Lin Chen stripped away a portion of the permissions of the Eternal Author Contract and hid it in Su Qingyu's subconscious. If he completely fails in the game, this portion of permissions will automatically activate, giving Su Qingyu the "Author's Perspective," allowing her to see the underlying code of the entire game.

"In case I lose," he said to Su Qingyu, "use this perspective to find the Committee's weakness, and then..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Su Qingyu's eyes were slightly red, but she didn't cry. She just held his hand tightly: "You must come back."

"I will," Lin Chen said. "I still owe you an answer."

"What answer?"

"Last time you asked me when I could kiss you." Lin Chen smiled. "When I come back, I'll kiss you in front of everyone."

Su Qingyu was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

Lin Chen turned and walked towards the gate of light suspended above the headquarters.

Zhang Hao rushed over: "Boss! I'm going too!"

"You?" Lin Chen looked at him. "You're ranked 98th; you'd just be fodder if you went in. Stay here and help me keep an eye on The Silencer."

"But—"

"No buts." Lin Chen patted his shoulder. "Your Lackey's Intuition isn't useless; it's just not time to use it yet. After I go in, if you feel something is wrong, press this button."

He handed Zhang Hao a red button.

On the button was engraved a line of text: 「Emergency Boss Summon · Limited to One Use」.

Zhang Hao held the button as if it were a sacred relic.

Lin Chen smiled and stepped into the gate of light.

The gate of light slowly closed behind him.

When the last ray of light disappeared, Su Qingyu stood there, silent for a long time.

Zhang Hao walked over and said softly: "Boss's Wife, the boss..."

"He will come back." Su Qingyu interrupted him, her voice terrifyingly calm. "He's just gone to negotiate a business deal. If it's successful, he'll bring them home. If not..."

She paused and looked at the hidden permissions of the Eternal Author Contract in her hand.

"If it's not successful, I'll go negotiate personally."

On the other side of the gate of light.

Lin Chen stood on a massive arena.

Surrounding him were countless floating points of light, each representing a player. Directly above him, his initial chips and ranking were displayed:

【Player: Lord of Capital】

【Initial Chips: Capital Law (Complete Version), Reincarnation Mutual Aid Society President Permissions, Eternal Author Contract (Partial)】

【Current Ranking: 1st (Due to reverse operations before entering)】

【System Note: This player has improved their ranking through capital operations before entering, triggering the 'Special Player' status. The Novice Trial difficulty will be adjusted based on their ranking.】

Lin Chen looked at that note and smiled.

"Difficulty adjustment?" he said. "Then let's see what kind of tricks you can pull."

Just as he finished speaking, the system popped up a new prompt:

【Welcome to the 'True Game'. Detected that you are a Special Player. The Novice Trial content is as follows:】

【Trial Name: City of Capital】

【Trial Objective: Within 24 hours, become the largest asset holder in the 'Novice Village'】

【Trial Rules:】

1. The Novice Village has a total of 17 core assets (Bar, Weapon Shop, General Store, Clinic, Stable, Mine, etc.).

2. Players can acquire asset ownership through trading, mergers, competition, etc.

3. The player with the highest total asset value at the end wins.

4. Winning Reward: Direct promotion to the 'Elite Sector' and the title of 'King of Capital'.

5. Failure Penalty: Elimination (Permanent Deletion).

【Special Note: This trial allows free trading, alliances, and betrayals between players. All commercial behavior is legal. Have fun.】

Lin Chen finished reading the rules and looked around.

He was now standing at the entrance of the Novice Village. Behind him was the gate of light, and before him was a dilapidated Western-style main street. Yellow sand filled the sky, and old wooden houses were on the verge of collapsing. On the street were over a dozen "new players" just like him, each with faces full of confusion and wariness.

Gunshots and the roars of monsters could be heard in the distance.

A typical game opening.

But Lin Chen didn't rush to explore like the other players, nor did he look for quest NPCs.

He just stood there and opened the "Asset List" of the Novice Village.

On the list, detailed information for the 17 core assets was clear at a glance.

His gaze quickly swept over them, finally stopping on the first item:

【Bar】

Owner: System

Appraisal Value: 800 Game Coins

Current Revenue: -50 Game Coins/Hour (Loss)

Holder Privileges: Can set in-store rules, obtain player intelligence

Loss? That’s perfect.

Lin Chen opened the trading system and entered:

「Purchase ownership of the 'Novice Village Bar', offer: 500 Game Coins (on credit).」

System Prompt: 【Bar appraisal value is 800 Game Coins. Your offer is lower than the appraisal value. Do you wish to apply for the 'Bargaining Procedure'?】

He clicked 「Yes」.

Three seconds later, the system replied: 【The Bar owner (System) has accepted the bargaining. Final transaction price: 600 Game Coins. Your current balance: 100 Game Coins (initial distribution), insufficient to pay. Do you wish to apply for an 'In-game Loan'?】

Lin Chen smiled.

Loan? He loved loans the most.