Star Moon Kingdom, Snake of the Body headquarters.
"Guild Leader, great news! You've been worrying about not being able to offload raw materials quickly, right? Just a short while ago, someone agreed to buy all the rare herbs and rare ores. Plus, the attribute gems are selling well across all the major cities — we'll definitely be able to hit the pre-ordered targets in no time," said the tall, broad-shouldered Berserker Xiong She as he strode excitedly into the conference room and reported to Bai Qingxue in a hushed voice.
"I see." Bai Qingxue's perpetually furrowed brows finally relaxed a little. "Immediately transfer all the rare materials from the warehouses in every major city over there."
Even with a twenty percent discount, selling such a massive batch of materials in a short window was an extremely difficult thing to do. After all, the market's absorption capacity was limited.
If the gold they brought in couldn't keep up, all these plans would be nothing but empty talk.
Now that someone was willing to pay a premium to buy all the rare materials, it was a huge help to her.
Right after Bai Qingxue finished giving Xiong She his orders, several corporate representative elders logged on.
"How did you come to a decision so quickly?" Bai Qingxue's expression soured the moment she saw the elders.
Something of this magnitude couldn't possibly be settled in just a few casual words. At the very least, they would have needed to convene an emergency board meeting and put it to a vote. Yet these elders had been offline for less than ten minutes.
"So in the end, you've chosen to bow to the Blackwater Consortium?" Bai Qingxue's face turned grim.
She had fought so hard to drive out Cao Chenghua and reclaim the guild that rightfully belonged to her brother, steering Snake of the Body back toward the right path — only to be abandoned in the end by the major corporations that had been funding them from behind.
Now, with only her own family's company, there was no way she could stand up to a coalition of those major corporations.
"Guild Leader Bai, please understand — this is a world where the strong devour the weak. An arm can never wrestle a leg. Please proceed with the handover of the Snake of the Body guild leader position. The others also hope you'll continue to support the new leader. As for Bai Group's equity returns, the full amount will be transferred to your account within three days." After delivering their message, the corporate representative elders sighed and logged out of the Divine Realm.
Though they were merely supervisors for the major corporations, it was clear enough that those corporations had already struck a private deal with the Blackwater Consortium. They had no intention of keeping Bai Group in the game any longer — they had found a better partner.
"How could they do this?!"
"We were truly blind back then, letting these corporations invest in the guild!"
More than a dozen veteran elders who had fought alongside Snake of the Body through countless battles erupted in furious cursing. To them, Snake of the Body was home. They had worked there for over twenty years. Now, with the regime change, how could they not be outraged?
"Qingxue…"
Bai Group had built its fortune through the virtual gaming industry. It was the very corporation that had founded Snake of the Body and nurtured it into what it was, transforming it over more than a decade from a third-rate guild into a first-rate powerhouse renowned throughout the virtual gaming world. After that, they had dominated over a dozen virtual games. And now it had all slipped through Bai Qingxue's fingers.
Zhao Yueru didn't know what to say.