Chapter 87: The Stock Market Collapse-Prodigal Son(An ordinary heart)

After this, I am entrusting Meg’s firearms training to you. Still, you’d better get to know her better first, or it may be hard to handle.

Hearing the boss grant permission, the chief steward said happily, “Rest assured, boss. I’ll teach her well. I’ll get acquainted with her as quickly as possible.”

“Good.”

After saying that, Xiao Tianci fell silent for a moment, while the chief steward was still delighted at having found such promising material.

“Chief steward, after tomorrow things will probably no longer be so quiet. We need to prepare in advance.”

Of course, the chief steward knew how serious tomorrow would be. “Boss, actually you don’t need to meet them at all. You can leave now and make the announcement elsewhere.”

Xiao Tianci shook his head. “Absolutely not. As long as I stay here, things remain stable. The moment I move, it becomes hard to say. It’s all right. Let’s get ready first, then go back to the old residence and take a look. It’s safer there anyway. As for the domestic side, make arrangements again. Tell them that Nia’s safety must not be threatened in any way.”

“Yes.”

Everyone knew Xiao Tianci was in the hospital, but no one knew what he really looked like. There were endless guesses, and every single thing he had done since appearing had been a world-shaking event. So when word spread that Xiao Tianci was going to hold another press conference, and at a time like this, the reporters swarmed in like flies to fresh meat.

More than a thousand people came, from hundreds of television stations, magazines, and online media. In short, anyone with even the slightest name came rushing. At a moment like this, everyone wanted a piece of the action. In this society, everything comes down to status and strength; those who stand at the very top are the strongest, and the rest fall into line beneath them. One by one, they arrived early, greeting each other and speculating about what explosive news might break today.

This period had kept them all thrilled, because there had been major news every day, and new developments every day. The various debates about the Xiao family had not yet died down. This time, everyone was guessing what kind of bombshell Xiao Tianci would drop.

At a press conference, Xiao Tianci did not want to show his face, but someone had to speak for him. Last time, Will had drawn the most attention; this time, naturally, it was MiHua Group’s number two, Zhou Ao. Standing there, Zhou Ao felt deeply awkward, but there was nothing he could do. Even now, he still did not know exactly what he was supposed to say. The last time had been easier; at least he had known something then. Sigh. Ever since Xiao Tianci had appeared, life had become harder and harder.

Xiao Tianci himself had no visual record, but the reporters were all too familiar with his voice, because the recording of his speech from the previous press conference had circulated widely.

The sound system, already set up in advance, emitted a faint electrical hum. Then Xiao Tianci’s voice came through: “Hello, everyone. I’m truly sorry for the poor hospitality. I haven’t even prepared a place for you to sit, but it won’t take too long, so please bear with it for a moment. I don’t know whether you still remember the story I told you last time. Now we’re talking about the sequel. The recent struggle over the stock market is that sequel, because only after I entered MiHua did I learn that internal contradictions there were piling up. For the future of MiHua, I resolutely began reforms. Of course, that would inevitably touch certain people’s nerves, so it was difficult. In the end, it led to the present stock-market war. Actually, it does not matter who is in charge of MiHua; what matters most is that MiHua can continue to develop. That is why I proposed building villas in the desert at a time like this.”

“The desert villa project is only the beginning. There are many more things that can be done afterward. In fact, in order to devote all my energy to making this desert villa plan a success, I even gave up fighting against my enemies. The desert villa project has gone rather smoothly, as everyone already knows, so I won’t say more about it. What I want to tell you now is unfortunate news. According to the latest report, the energy shield newly developed by the research institute has been seized by a group of armed criminals with heavy firepower. At the same time, the research materials in the laboratory were destroyed, and all the researchers were...”

The room erupted.

Not only the scene, but many others were stunned as well. Knowing that Xiao Tianci would not appear in person, many websites simply arranged for live audio coverage from the venue.

The leaders of the major powers immediately ordered their subordinates to investigate at once: what on earth had happened, and why had something so huge occurred without a single hint of advance warning?

Zhou Ao stood there and felt his legs go weak; he nearly collapsed to the floor. Heaven above, the shield was finished. Didn’t that mean the desert villa had also completely turned into a mirage? And the money invested, the desert land purchased...

Sitting there, Zhou Renjie let out a long sigh. Will had truly lost this time. But what about the future? Would Xiao Tianci really abandon MiHua like this? It seemed there was another long and difficult stretch ahead.

“No way. Xiao Tianci, you bastard, you liar...”

Will lifted the laptop in front of him and slammed it heavily to the ground, smashing it into pieces. If the shield was gone, MiHua would suffer enormous losses; and if the laboratory had been compromised, he could not even imagine the consequences. He had already intended to wait for Zhou Renjie’s message today and then formally announce to the world that he had truly become MiHua’s master. Speaking of which, he could still be counted as such now, but MiHua at this moment was no longer the same as before.

Xiao Tianci had not even finished speaking before the reporters below exploded. He was extremely satisfied. Good. Now he no longer had to worry about people asking about the shield. Since he himself could not even locate that research institute, this solved everything at once.

Damn it, I refuse to believe I can’t make MiHua collapse. Whether it’s the stock or the production bases, MiHua’s assets are concentrated in the great powers of M Country. This time, let them taste it properly.

The impact of MiHua’s collapse would be enough to keep them busy. Still, he had better think of a way to slip away first. At this point, the place was not safe at all. Right—tomorrow he would take little Meg to the Xiao residence for a look. It was his home now, and he had not yet gone there. Then he would go back for Nia. Ha, no matter what the reason, since MiHua had been brought down, he could be considered to have kept his promise. Then...

Far away.

“Hmph, don’t stop me! Hear me? Let go! Hmph, if I don’t beat this little bastard today, I’ll take his surname.”

The two of them were grappling on the floor as if fighting a battle, rolling over and over. And since both were rather heavy, they looked like two giant balls, which made the scene oddly comical. They were on the top floor of a thirty-story building.

“Calm down, calm down. That Xiao brat is just bragging out there. We haven’t contacted him at all—how would he know what happened in the research lab?”

Hearing this, he stopped struggling. After thinking it over, he nodded. “Hmph, true. How could I forget? That kid loves to boast. Honestly, he even said we were all dead.”

Seeing him calm down, the other man stroked his beard and stood up. “Looks like things are getting more and more interesting. I think we should contact him now. Quite a few people have already slipped in. If we still don’t notify him, he probably won’t even know how he died. Yes, we should tell him, but when? We need to get the timing right.”

He stood up and brushed off the dust. “Hmph, we’ll tell him later. That little bastard actually dared say we were dead. Anyway, he’s not strong enough yet, so let’s keep our distance and avoid getting dragged into it too.”

“Yes, I think this kid is pretty good. He’s got a temper a bit like his father’s—he just likes to brag, and that’s the only bad part. Ha! Also, you just said something wrong a moment ago.”

“Hmph, don’t try to catch me out. I won’t fall for that.”

“Really? I remember you just said that if you didn’t beat him, you’d take his surname.”

Without changing expression, he said, “Hmph, so what if I do? What’s the big deal? Anyway, we were originally surnamed Xiao. We used his father’s surname Xiao before, and now using his is the same.”

The stock market reacted to Xiao Tianci’s speech in less than a minute. Share prices plunged. At this point, even if people wanted to sell, they could not. Internal troubles, enormous investments sunk into a useless desert, and everyone knew that although MiHua also had research facilities, some of the hottest technologies were not something its current labs could possibly develop.

Watching share prices crash and drag the whole market down with them, Xiao Tianci smiled with great satisfaction. After a while, when things below had eased a little, he decided to pour more oil on the fire.

“Furthermore, in view of this perilous environment, which is not really suitable for an honest man like me, I have decided to no longer take part in MiHua’s management or operations. If it were not for my wish to honor my father’s memory and maintain stability in the stock market, I would have sold my shares before this news was announced. But I will not do that. Since something like this has happened, I cannot possibly make money from it. Even if I lose money myself, I will continue to hold MiHua shares, but I will no longer manage the company.”

Others did not know that his inheritance had explicitly stated that he was not allowed to sell, so hearing these words, they felt something entirely different. What a noble man he was. He could have sold his stock and then announced this news, but he would rather do it this way...

Yet more people had no time to care whether he was a good man or a bad one, because everyone was busy trying to sell their own shares. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

An hour and a half later, M Country announced a three-day market shutdown. Other places were affected to varying degrees as well, and the financial storm set off by this had only just begun...

Yet more people had no time to care whether he was a good man or a bad one, because everyone was busy trying to sell their own shares. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

An hour and a half later, M Country announced a three-day market shutdown. Other places were affected to varying degrees as well, and the financial storm set off by this had only just begun...