316: Chapter 316 The Old Gods' Second Move: Shorting with Faith

The day after the court's verdict, faith-based civilizations across the myriad realms collectively exploded into chaos.

The first to experience problems was the "God Realm of Light"—a massive civilization with 300 billion believers, using faith in the God of Light as its sole spiritual pillar. It had magnificent temples, pious priests, daily praying believers, and a continuous stream of faith energy.

That morning, a crack suddenly opened in the sky of the God Realm of Light.

It wasn't a rift; it was a projection.

In the projection, the figure of the Chaos Ancient God emerged, his voice echoing throughout the entire domain:

"The God of Light? That thing you worship was just a puppet I crafted back in the day. It was used to collect faith energy for my cultivation."

"Now, I am telling you the truth: there is no God of Light, only me."

As his voice faded, the projection vanished.

The God Realm of Light fell into a deathly silence.

Priests looked at each other in dismay, believers were lost and bewildered, and the divine statues in the temples suddenly cracked.

Faith collapsed.

It didn't fade slowly; it crumbled instantly.

Those who had prayed piously for a lifetime suddenly discovered that the god they believed in was a fake; despair and emptiness swallowed them instantly. Some went mad on the spot, some knelt and wept bitterly, and some took up weapons and rushed toward the temples, wanting to smash those hypocritical statues.

The order of the God Realm of Light completely disintegrated within a single day.

Similar scenes played out simultaneously across thirty-seven faith-based civilizations in the myriad realms.

The "Holy Light Empire," the "Church of Truth," the "Eternal Divine Dynasty," the "Heavenly Mandate Sect"... one by one, civilizations built on the foundation of faith fell into chaos amidst the Old Gods' "revelations of truth."

Believers deserted, faith energy dried up, priests returned to secular life, and temples were abandoned.

The entire faith-based civilization sector teetered on the brink of collapse overnight.

When Lin Chen received the news, he was reading financial reports under the tree of heavenly dao.

Zhang Hao rushed in, his face pale: "Boss! Something big happened! Thirty-seven faith-based civilizations collapsed at once! On the stock market, all faith-related stocks have plummeted! Some have already dropped by 90%!"

Lin Chen put down the financial report and opened the system.

The data on the screen was shocking:

[God Realm of Light] Faith Index: Plummeted from 100 to 7

[Holy Light Empire] Faith Index: Plummeted from 100 to 12

[Church of Truth] Faith Index: Plummeted from 100 to 5

...

Lin Chen's brow furrowed slightly.

Zhang Hao paced anxiously beside him: "Boss, these civilizations are all customers of New Era Development! The God Realm of Light still owes us 300 trillion in loans! If they collapse, that money goes down the drain!"

Lin Chen didn't speak, just stared at the data.

Three seconds later, he smiled.

That smile made a chill run down Zhang Hao's spine—though he didn't know what the boss was going to do, he knew someone was about to suffer.

"The Old Gods' second move," Lin Chen said. "Smarter than the first."

Zhang Hao was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"Having lost in court, they changed the battlefield." Lin Chen stood up and walked to the window. "Faith-based civilizations are the weakest link in the myriad realms. Their economy, politics, and culture are all built on faith. Once faith collapses, the entire civilization crumbles."

"What do they want to do?"

"Shorting," Lin Chen said. "They first create panic to make the faith-based civilizations crash. Then they take the opportunity to buy up the assets of these civilizations at low prices. Once they control these civilizations, they'll have the capital to challenge us."

Zhang Hao gasped.

"Then what do we do?"

Lin Chen turned to look at him.

"Open the insurance."

Three hours later, New Era Development held an emergency press conference.

Lin Chen stood on the stage, facing countless cameras, and got straight to the point:

"Everyone, regarding the recent turmoil in faith-based civilizations, I would like to say a few words."

"First, this is a premeditated shorting operation. The masterminds behind it are the three Old Gods who lost in court a few days ago."

"Second, they want to harvest your civilizations by destroying your faith. But I want to tell you—faith can collapse, but civilization must not be destroyed."

"Third, starting today, New Era Development is launching two products."

He opened a holographic projection:

[Product 1: Faith Value Insurance]

"Any faith-based civilization can purchase Faith Value Insurance from New Era Development. Premiums are calculated based on the scale of the civilization, and the coverage covers 90% of your asset losses after a faith collapse."

"With insurance, you won't fear the collapse of faith. Because even if faith is gone, your assets remain, and your civilization can still transition."

The eyes of the representatives from those faith-based civilizations lit up.

Someone raised their hand: "Chairman Lin, how much is the premium? Our God Realm of Light is about to collapse; can we still buy it?"

Lin Chen looked at him.

"If you buy now, the premium doubles."

The man's face turned pale.

Lin Chen continued: "But if you buy now, I can give you a special offer—premium payments in installments, to be paid off over ten thousand years."

The man hesitated for three seconds, then gritted his teeth and nodded.

"I'll buy it!"

Lin Chen nodded and continued the introduction:

[Product 2: Atheist Civilization Transition Fund]

"This is a transition fund specifically prepared for civilizations after their faith collapses. Any faith-based civilization that decides to abandon its faith and transition into an atheist commercial civilization can apply for this fund."

"The fund's uses include: rebuilding the economic system, training atheist talent, and developing alternative industries."

"For successful applicants, New Era Development will send a professional team to provide full guidance through the transition."

"Once the transition is successful, you will become a member of the commercial civilizations of the myriad realms, no longer fearing the collapse of faith."

The audience erupted again.

Those faith-based civilizations currently collapsing saw this as a lifeline.

"I apply!"

"We apply too!"

"Count me in!"

Three minutes later, out of thirty-seven faith-based civilizations, thirty applied for the transition fund on the spot. The remaining seven were still hesitant but were also considering purchasing the faith insurance.

Lin Chen looked at the applications and nodded with satisfaction.

After the press conference, he returned to the command center.

Zhang Hao leaned in and whispered, "Boss, can we make money by launching these products?"

Lin Chen glanced at him.

"The insurance collects premiums, and the fund collects interest. How could we not make money?"

"But those civilizations have all crashed. Where would they get the money to pay?"

Lin Chen smiled.

"They don't have money now, but they will in the future. Once the transition is successful, they will be loyal customers of New Era Development. For the next ten thousand years, their taxes, their profits, and their development will all be tied to New Era Development."

"This is called long-term investment."

Zhang Hao suddenly understood.

At that moment, Alpha's voice suddenly rang out:

"Boss, abnormal capital flow detected."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

"The Old Gods' side is buying up faith-based civilization stocks in large quantities."

Lin Chen smiled.

"They want to buy the dip?"

"Yes. They have already bought controlling stakes in seventeen civilizations, with a total investment of about 500 trillion."

Lin Chen was silent for a second.

Then he said, "Tell them I'm bidding 600 trillion to buy all the stocks in their hands."

Alpha was stunned: "Boss, you're..."

"Driving up the price," Lin Chen said. "Let them think I want to snatch them, and they'll continue to raise the price. Once they raise it to an astronomical figure, I'll withdraw."

Alpha was silent for three seconds, then said:

"Understood."

Three minutes later, the Old Gods' side received the news.

The Chaos Ancient God looked at the quote, his brow furrowed.

"Lin Chen wants to snatch our chips?"

The Ancient Immortal Emperor analyzed: "He might be afraid of us controlling these civilizations."

The Mechanical God calculated: "If we continue to raise the price, the cost will exceed the returns."

The Chaos Ancient God gave a cold laugh.

"Then let him try to snatch them. I want to see just how much money he has."

He ordered: "Raise the price to 700 trillion."

Three seconds later, Lin Chen replied: "800 trillion."

Chaos Ancient God: "900 trillion."

Lin Chen: "1000 trillion."

Chaos Ancient God: "1200 trillion."

Lin Chen: "1500 trillion."

The Chaos Ancient God was stunned.

He asked the Mechanical God: "Where did this kid get so much money?"

The Mechanical God replied after calculating: "New Era Development has a market value of 1 Jing. He personally holds 51% of the shares; theoretically, the funds he can mobilize exceed 5,000 trillion."

The Chaos Ancient God fell silent.

The Ancient Immortal Emperor said: "He's forcing our hand. If we raise it further, the cost will be too high. If we don't, he'll actually get those stocks."

The Mechanical God asked: "What should we do?"

The Chaos Ancient God gritted his teeth.

"Raise it! 2,000 trillion!"

Three seconds later.

Lin Chen's reply came:

"Congratulations, you win. I don't want them anymore."

Chaos Ancient God: "..."

Ancient Immortal Emperor: "..."

Mechanical God: "..."

They had spent 2,000 trillion to buy seventeen collapsed faith civilizations.

Yet those civilizations had just applied for New Era Development's transition fund and were preparing to transition into atheist commercial civilizations.

Once the transition was successful, faith would no longer be the core value of these civilizations. The stocks they spent 2,000 trillion on would become worthless.

The Chaos Ancient God finally realized.

"We've been tricked!"

The Ancient Immortal Emperor's face turned ashen.

The Mechanical God silently calculated the losses.

Meanwhile, far away under the tree of heavenly dao, Lin Chen was drinking tea.

Zhang Hao was laughing so hard beside him he couldn't stand straight: "Boss, you're too wicked! You let them spend 2,000 trillion to buy a bunch of civilizations about to transition!"

Lin Chen put down his teacup.

"This is called risk education."

"Let them know that shorting others will also result in a backlash."

Outside the window, the starlight was brilliant.

Those civilizations that had just applied for transition were welcoming new hope.

While the Old Gods were footing the bill for their 2,000 trillion.