First Eliminate the Second Wrong Answer

Zhou's father collapsed into his chair, which had been with him for less than six months, and it creaked under his weight in protest.

The assistant's reaction was even more dramatic. He still remembered the disdainful comments he had made about Tang Ao when Zhou's father had asked for his opinion.

That person is actually the Dragon King!

Either Tang Ao's acting was too good, or the assistant's judgment was completely off, or... Zhou's father made a mistake.

First, eliminate the second wrong answer. Zhou's father's judgment had never been wrong in all these years, especially on such major issues!

The assistant felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body, leaving him limp on the ground. "Tang Ao... Dragon King... Tang Ao? Dragon King! Tang Ao! Dragon King!"

"Ahem! Look at you, what a mess you've become!" Zhou's father shot the assistant a disdainful glance before issuing his latest order: "Investigate Tang Ao's records in detail from the day he was born up to today. The more detailed, the better!"

"Y-yes!"

The assistant scrambled to his feet, moving like a fish out of water flopping around on concrete.

Zhou's father turned his back, unable to bear the sight any longer.

Going up against the Dragon King Hall...

Zhou's father weighed his options. He repeatedly asked himself whether he was truly capable and whether Da Zhou Pharmaceuticals was truly up to the task.

...

Meanwhile, in the hotel lobby, as the stock price of Zhou's Special Ling reached a 100% increase, Ye Chen stood proudly, his chest puffed out.

Today was a historic day.

From today onwards, the long-standing issue of the Dragon King Hall's vast power but empty coffers would be resolved!

The mountain weighing on the Dragon King Hall and on Ye Chen's heart for so many years was about to be leveled!

As Ye Chen eagerly awaited the stock price to reach his target, as he began to plan how to steal Lin Ruoxue from Tang Ao and strip Tang Ao of everything he owned, the agents of the surrounding families suddenly began to shout excitedly:

"I bought it! I managed to buy in! A solid fifty million, even though I was a bit late, I'll still make a nice profit!"

"I bought in too! Small bets are meaningless. With such a sure thing, and Lord Dragon King overseeing everything... I leveraged two hundred million with ten times the margin!"

"Ten times margin? That's nothing. I only put in ten million, but I leveraged it fifty times, so I'll earn more than you!"

Listening to the excited shouts around him, Ye Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Calm down, all of you. There's no need to make such a fuss. Everything is going according to plan. Otherwise, I wouldn't have called you all here today!"

The price had reached a high point, and it was normal for most retail investors to reach their profit targets and start cashing out.

As long as the price continued to rise, those who had made money would likely re-enter the market, eager for Ye Chen to harvest their profits...

"Lord Dragon King, your strategies are truly divine!"

"Following Lord Dragon King, I won't have to worry about food for the rest of my life!"

"Lord Dragon King, I'm with you for life. Even if you ask me to carry a bomb in my pants, I won't hesitate!"

Ye Chen felt immensely pleased, enjoying the praise and loyalty from the agents of the major families.

The feeling of being flattered was simply intoxicating.

As he basked in this, Ye Chen couldn't help but think of Tang Ao, gnashing his teeth as he muttered:

"Tang Ao, I hope you get greedy and don't leave too soon. As long as you stay in, I'll make sure you experience what true 'warmth' means!"

Lin Ruoxue's grandfather, excited by Ye Chen's words, couldn't help but ask, "Since Lord Dragon King has spoken, does this mean that the Tang Corporation is about to be finished?"

"Old Master Lin, I've told you many times, your granddaughter Lin Ruoxue... is destined to be my wife. You can just call me Ye Chen from now on!"

"This... this can't be!" Old Master Lin was flattered, his old face turning as red as a monkey's bottom. "Respect for ranks must be maintained. You are the Dragon King, after all!"

"Enough with that. Let's just keep it casual. I'll call you Old Lin, and you can call me Young Friend Ye. Hearing 'Lord Dragon King' from your mouth makes me want to cough!"

"Alright! Alright! Alright!" Old Master Lin felt like a young bullock swinging on a swing, overwhelmed with joy. He tentatively called out, "Young Friend Ye?"

"Yes, Old Lin!"

That one "Old Lin" made Old Master Lin stand up straighter than he had in years!

He was immensely grateful to have such a good granddaughter like Lin Ruoxue, capable of winning over the heart of none other than the Dragon King!

"Lin family is going places! It might just become the number one family in Longquan City!"

"Old Lin, my Zhao family congratulates you in advance!"

"My Sun family will send gifts first thing tomorrow morning. Please don't close your doors to us!"

"What's the use of having sons? Damn it, why don't I have a granddaughter like Lin Ruoxue?"

"Old Lin, I'm kneeling to you. When that profligate Tang Ao was chasing your granddaughter Lin Ruoxue, I said some bad things behind your back. Today, I'm here to apologize. Tang Ao? Tang Ao is nothing compared to Lord Dragon King. I'll invite you to dinner soon to make amends!"

Amid the flurry of congratulations, Old Master Lin felt like he was on cloud nine.

In Longquan City, the head of the Zhao family, second only to the Tang family, had respectfully called him "Old Lin"!

The head of the Sun family, a family as powerful as the Zhao family, would be sending gifts to him first thing in the morning!

Everyone else looked up to the Lin family with envy!

As a member of a previously unknown small family, Old Master Lin would have had to make an appointment a year in advance just to meet these people. Now, they were all scrambling to meet him!

All of this was thanks to his granddaughter Lin Ruoxue and to the Dragon King Ye Chen, who had fallen for her!

Old Master Lin finally understood what it meant to "rise to power overnight." If he let out a loud and smelly fart right now, there would be plenty of people clapping and praising its fragrance!

In comparison...

Tang Ao, the Tang family?

They're nothing!

They're not even fit to be mentioned in the same breath as his excellent grandson-in-law Ye Chen!

In the midst of all this joyous laughter, the head of a small family suddenly pointed at his phone screen, his face filled with alarm. "Everyone's buying like crazy right now, but why does it seem like Zhou's Special Ling's stock isn't rising anymore?"

As soon as he spoke, someone immediately shot back, "You're talking nonsense! The stock has only risen by 101%, and there's still 24 percentage points to go before it reaches Lord Dragon King's target of 125%. How can it not rise?"

"With Lord Dragon King at the helm, who in this world could possibly compete? You're just too nervous!"

"Damn it... My phone must be broken. This lousy fruit phone is terrible—it's showing that Zhou's Special Ling's stock price dropped by one percentage point. After I make money from this, I'll get my grandpa to buy me a 7747 Titanium phone!"

Suddenly, everyone fell silent, simultaneously pulling out their devices to carefully check the status of Zhou's Special Ling's stock.

It had indeed dropped by one percentage point!