Chapter Sixty-Five: I Am the Capital Myself (Double-Length Chapter)

According to Yi Shen’s original plan, he simply wanted to liquidate some family assets, thinking that, after all these years, the family was well-established in Peach Blossom Cove and could easily come up with a million or two in contribution point savings.

But he hadn’t expected his mother to casually mention ten million, with another fifty million in potential liquidity. A tumult of emotions welled up within him.

So, after struggling for days, he realized he was still not as significant as a fraction of his family’s wealth?

It was the age-old tale: graduate, work hard for ten years, save up two hundred thousand, add the four million eight hundred thousand from the family, and finally buy a house.

Upon further inquiry, Yi Shen learned that his family held original shares in the Peach Blossom Cove Chamber of Commerce, and the annual dividends were a staggering sum. Moreover, as one of the three oldest guilds in the Jingmen Safe Zone, Peach Blossom Cove owned countless businesses and industries, some of which were registered directly under Lin Grape’s name. Years of accumulation had brought in considerable income.

Reflecting on how Zhu Qing and Zhu You were still struggling for meager gear and tuition, and how they complained about certain guild members who did nothing yet reaped most of the rewards, Yi Shen suddenly realized:

So I myself am capital?

In the end, his mother directly transferred over three million contribution points to him, handing over several specially made crystal cards and vouchers for the rest. The crystal cards were designed to store contribution points, while the vouchers could be exchanged at the Peach Blossom Cove Chamber of Commerce. Altogether, she entrusted him with assets worth about nine million.

Given the current situation, it wasn’t a huge sum; what Lin Grape truly hoped was for her son to quickly grow stronger, so he could better protect himself in the coming chaos.

She desperately wanted to know what secret power Yi Shen possessed, that allowed him to rise to level twenty or thirty in such a short time, but since he kept silent, she didn’t press further—perhaps it was some contingency left by Yi Qinfei, something she wasn’t meant to know.

After their conversation, night fell.

Yi Shen did not rest; instead, he was filled with vigor. He quickly linked together the information he’d gathered from his mother with his own findings, forming a closed loop.

Whether it was Peach Blossom Cove or his father’s accident, everything pointed to a single key figure.

An Qing.

Yi Shen had interacted little with An Qing, but recently, almost everything seemed to involve this man.

An Qing was among the oldest members of Peach Blossom Cove, level fifty-three. He had once joined the main team in pioneering efforts, but stepped down for various reasons to become a deputy president in charge of logistics.

His class was a rare one: “Sage”—capable of both healing and long-range offense. With these ten million in resources, Yi Shen estimated he could catch up to An Qing’s level.

Moreover, An Qing had by his side a high-level rogue named Fan Xidiao. Publicly listed at level fifty-five, Fan had retired with An Qing and acted as his bodyguard—a formidable force. The announced level was from two years ago; it might well be even higher now.

If Yi Shen wanted to strike, he would need to either raise his own strength enough to face both of these high-level explorers at once, or find a chance to catch An Qing alone and strike from the shadows.

In the past, either option would have been unthinkable.

But now, with ten million at his disposal—and even fifty million more from his mother if needed—he felt a newfound confidence.

……

Jingmen Safe Zone.

Eastern District.

Not far from Yi Shen’s family villa.

An Qing, the acting president of Peach Blossom Cove and the focus of everyone’s attention, had hardly been idle lately. After a dinner engagement, he returned to his own villa, sprawled lazily on the sofa, and massaged his temples.

The villa was heavily guarded, with a combat squad stationed nearby for his security.

Being president had left him utterly drained—far less carefree than his former role as deputy head of logistics.

But at this point, many things were out of his hands.

Peach Blossom Cove still had a faction supporting him, hoping for greater profit, but if he dared step down now, he knew disaster would await him.

As he had anticipated, the people from Jingbei Industries still seemed keen to cooperate. But the Blood Butcher side had apparently reached out to Lin Grape, and Zhao Nanxing had made an appearance, causing some trouble that would need to be dealt with.

“Brother Fan.”

An Qing waved in a certain direction.

A shadow appeared in the living room—a man named Fan Xidiao, now An Qing’s chief bodyguard. They had once served together in a squad; when An Qing retired to head logistics, Fan Xidiao followed suit.

Fan Xidiao’s figure was merely a pale blur near the door, not fully corporeal, with a sinister crimson aura swirling about him.

“Is everything arranged?” An Qing asked.

“Yes. The men have been dispatched. Two are disguised as black mages, and two as Blood Butcher operatives,” Fan Xidiao nodded. “We’ve cut all the loose ends—these are outsiders from other safe zones, with no connections to us or each other. They’ll arrive in Jingmen tomorrow to take care of Lin Grape and Zhao Nanxing.”

An Qing smiled. “Whether they trace it back to us or not hardly matters. Even if we didn’t do it, they’ll still blame us.”

“Lin Grape and Zhao Nanxing aren’t the priority. Their levels are low, and they’ve inherited little beyond some chamber shares. The real threat is Blood Butcher and Jianghe.”

“Do your best. If you can’t pull it off, don’t worry. Also, we need to start assembling a new team for Peach Blossom Cove. Invest more resources, build up some combat power. You should consider leveling up yourself as well.”

An Qing continued issuing instructions. From the moment Lin Grape resurfaced, he understood Blood Butcher’s intentions—they were ready to eliminate this obstacle.

In his view, with Yi Qinfei gone, Lin Grape was defenseless; without Zhao Weimin, Zhao Nanxing was a fish on the chopping board.

Others criticized An Qing for lacking leadership talent and plunging Peach Blossom Cove into chaos.

But to have clawed his way to the top, he must have had both confidence and cunning.

Blood Butcher had once used him to purge Peach Blossom Cove’s ranks—was he not likewise using the Blood Butcher faction in return?

“It’s almost confirmed—An Qing has joined forces with Jingbei Industries. Their offer must be much higher than ours.”

“Tough situation. I knew An Qing would botch things.”

Blood Butcher Guild.

Several figures, including Jiang Jinying, were conversing in their office.

“If it comes to it, we’ll use the alternate plan. Lin Grape should be fine—her son’s returned, and her only demand is that we ensure her and her son’s safety. Zhao Nanxing, however, refuses to negotiate.”

“An Qing knows too much. If he exposes us, Peach Blossom Cove will inevitably turn on us.”

“Heh, he dares? If Peach Blossom Cove falls, he’ll take most of the blame.”

“I wouldn’t put anything past An Qing.”

“Should we take him out?”

“An Qing’s holed up like a turtle. It’s hard to get to him, and Zhan Yu is watching closely.”

“We’ll hold for now. Let’s focus on protecting Lin Grape—I’m concerned someone will make a move on her.”

With An Qing’s defection, those in Blood Butcher found themselves in a bind.

Based on current intelligence, their supporters were consistently on the weaker side, always on the defensive.

Jingbei Industries, too, was making plans. Their task force was patrolling the city to prevent bigger incidents.

Meanwhile, Jianghe Guild remained silent as ever.

They were used to being the perennial runner-up, and—being somewhat removed from the fray—saw things most clearly.

In the end, it was always the same struggle for resources. As long as Jingbei Industries didn’t fall, it mattered little whether Peach Blossom Cove or Blood Butcher ended up third. It was no concern of theirs.

As the various factions began cultivating their own power bases within Peach Blossom Cove, the final outcome was all but determined.

Even though the recent black mage incident had caused a stir, and there were still scattered attempts to disrupt order, in the eyes of the upper-level explorers, such efforts were as insignificant as mayflies shaking a tree.

……

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

The night seemed peaceful on the surface, but undercurrents continued to surge in secret.

Yi Shen had received not only information from his mother about Peach Blossom Cove, but also a more precise list from Bai Hongjiang.

His mother’s news focused mainly on the factional alignments of the major powers, while Bai Hongjiang’s was more specific.

With his insight into Peach Blossom Cove’s lower management, Bai Hongjiang was even able to mark out the locations of key personnel.

Most of these people were fence-sitters, watching and waiting, having profited handsomely from Peach Blossom Cove over the years. They now wondered if they could cash in one more time.

By the usual playbook, the major powers were all trying to win over these Peach Blossom Cove affiliates to gain leverage in future negotiations.

But to Yi Shen, these people were dispensable.

Apart from the resources they had amassed—which were useful to him—their very existence was like that of parasites to Peach Blossom Cove.

Only at this point did Yi Shen fully sense how deeply divided the upper and lower strata of Jingmen Safe Zone truly were.

It was no exaggeration to say that the rich feasted while the poor froze to death outside their gates.

The recent protest had been quashed in a single day, which only underscored that the lower classes had been stripped even of the right to speak.

Yi Shen’s plan going forward had four main points.

First, to use his mother’s resources to rapidly increase his own level and skills. These assets could be instantly converted into power, and this was the top priority. His father’s whereabouts remained unknown—despite the official declaration of death, Yi Shen was determined to search until he found proof, alive or dead.

Second, he realized he couldn’t stake everything on Peach Blossom Cove. Its network was far too complicated; even if he managed to take control, managing it would be a daunting task. He had once thought to use it as a vehicle for growth, but now it seemed preferable to build his own power base atop it.

He needed a vast quantity of materials and skill books to disassemble and learn from. If he went through Peach Blossom Cove’s chamber, the risk of exposure was high. But if he set up a new, smaller chamber of his own, it would be safer.

He could set aside some of his mother’s money as startup capital, and for manpower, Zhu Qing could help for now. No one knew of his connection to her, and since she’d tried to recruit him before, she probably had her own motives. She was definitely one of the best candidates.

Meanwhile, Bai Hongjiang could also be given some resources to operate with. After working together for a while, Yi Shen saw that the fat man’s potential was higher than he’d thought—at least in matters concerning KTVs and nightclubs, he was an expert. Yi Shen would pay more attention to the movements of these lower-level leaders to better assess the situation in Jingmen Safe Zone.

Third, even though Zhan Yu had forbidden large-scale fighting within the city, a rash of fake “black mages” had appeared recently. Some were willing to risk everything in confrontations with the major guilds, which gave Yi Shen certain opportunities.

Several people in Peach Blossom Cove had already made it onto his blacklist. These parasites would be dealt with in time, allowing him to consolidate his own resources.

The last point concerned his personal affairs—specifically, how to handle future relations with Zhu You and Zhu Qing.

His fate seemed tightly entwined with the Zhu sisters. Not to mention what had happened with Zhu Ke before, Zhu You in recent days had been messaging him constantly with concern—clearly, she had feelings for him.

But she was too young, too low in level, and with Yi Shen’s own rapid progress, the gulf between them would only widen.

He now faced two choices: to slowly break off contact and reduce their interactions, or to bring her fully into his fold and cultivate her as a member of his team—perhaps by helping her change to a support class, so she could provide special buffs in the secret realms.