Chapter 200: Accelerate
"Actually."
Jiang Feng became suspicious.
"What?"
"How are you funding Windfall?"
"..."
Silence.
LittleMaple slowly looked away.
Shen Tian understood.
"You’re funding it yourself."
Jiang Feng sighed.
"Mostly."
"How much?"
"Enough."
"That means too much."
Jiang Feng stared.
"Why do you care?"
Shen Tian smiled.
"Business opportunity."
Jiang Feng’s expression changed.
"Shen."
"Hm?"
"If you’re about to buy my guild..."
"I’m not."
"Good."
"My family’s company might invest."
Silence.
Jiang Feng stared.
LittleMaple’s mouth opened.
"Like..."
"Real money?"
Shen Tian looked toward her.
"That’s usually what investing means."
She stared.
"Rich people are weird."
Jiang Feng didn’t laugh.
He looked serious.
"What terms?"
Shen Tian smiled.
"Talk to Ling Shuangxue."
That name made Jiang Feng pause.
He knew her.
Everyone did.
CEO.
Businesswoman.
Public figure.
Connected to Shen Tian.
Jiang Feng looked around the fortress.
Then back.
"No control?"
"None."
"Guild decisions stay mine?"
"Yes."
"Roster?"
"Yours."
"Sponsors?"
"Negotiated."
"Revenue split?"
"Fair."
Jiang Feng studied him.
Then...
"Why?"
Shen Tian could have said Fate.
Obviously...
He didn’t.
"Because Titan has infrastructure."
"Windfall doesn’t."
"You’re better competition if you aren’t fighting with one hand tied behind your back."
Jiang Feng became silent.
That answer...
He respected.
Then...
He smiled.
"Fine."
"We’ll talk."
Xu Ning appeared.
A system notification flashed.
[Destiny Investment Event Altered.]
Exploitative Investor Route interrupted.
Fate stolen: 3,500
Jiang Feng Current Fate Value: 154,000
Shen Tian smiled faintly.
Three thousand five hundred.
And...
He was genuinely helping.
Perfect.
Xu Ning sighed.
[You found a way to steal Fate through venture capital.]
Innovation.
[Terrifying.]
That evening...
Jiang Feng arrived at Ling Corporation.
In real life.
For the first time...
He was entering Shen Tian’s world.
The building towered over the city.
Glass.
Steel.
Luxury.
Jiang Feng wore a simple black jacket.
Nothing expensive.
Nothing flashy.
He entered.
Reception immediately recognized him.
"Mr. Jiang?"
"Yes."
"President Ling is expecting you."
That alone felt strange.
Less than a week ago...
He had been fired.
Now...
One of the city’s most powerful business executives was expecting him for an investment meeting.
Eternal Realm had changed his life unbelievably fast.
An elevator carried him upward.
When the doors opened...
Shen Tian stood outside.
Hands in his pockets.
"Hey."
Jiang Feng laughed.
"That’s how you greet business partners?"
"I’m not the businessperson."
"Clearly."
They walked.
Then Jiang Feng stopped.
Shen Tian looked back.
"What?"
Jiang Feng stared through the glass wall.
Inside the conference room...
Ling Shuangxue.
Yin Suyi.
Qin Ruobing.
And several lawyers.
Jiang Feng slowly looked toward Shen Tian.
"...You said talk to Ling."
"Yeah."
"You didn’t say your mother would be here."
Shen Tian smiled.
"Surprise."
Jiang Feng sighed.
"Can I log out?"
"This is real life."
"Exactly."
Shen Tian laughed.
The meeting lasted nearly two hours.
Jiang Feng asked questions.
A lot.
He did not simply accept money because Shen Tian offered it.
That impressed Ling Shuangxue.
Windfall would remain independently controlled.
The investment provided...
Operational funding.
Professional player salaries.
Training facilities.
Legal support.
Marketing.
Travel expenses.
Hardware.
Streaming infrastructure.
In exchange...
A Shen affiliated holding company would receive a minority commercial stake.
No majority ownership.
No authority over roster decisions.
No forced sponsorship.
No branding control over Windfall’s in-game identity.
Jiang Feng read everything.
Twice.
Finally...
He looked toward Shen Tian.
"This is much better than I expected."
Shen Tian leaned back.
"What did you expect?"
Jiang Feng smiled.
"Rich guy contract."
Yin Suyi raised an eyebrow.
Shen Tian laughed.
"Fair."
Ling Shuangxue spoke.
"We aren’t interested in stripping control from the founder."
Jiang Feng looked toward her.
"Why?"
Ling Shuangxue glanced toward Shen Tian.
"Because he said not to."
Jiang Feng slowly looked toward Shen Tian.
Shen Tian shrugged.
"Your guild."
That...
Mattered.
Jiang Feng signed.
Windfall now had real backing.
And Titan...
Would soon find out.
After the meeting...
Jiang Feng and Shen Tian walked toward the elevator.
Jiang Feng remained quiet.
Then...
"Thanks."
Shen Tian sighed.
"You say that too much."
"Get used to it."
"Don’t."
The elevator doors opened.
Jiang Feng stepped inside.
Then stopped.
"You know..."
"What?"
"If you’d been on Titan’s management..."
He smiled faintly.
"I probably never would’ve left."
Shen Tian’s expression softened.
Then...
"Good thing I wasn’t."
Jiang Feng looked confused.
Shen Tian smiled.
"Windfall’s more fun."
Jiang Feng laughed.
"Yeah."
The doors closed.
Outside...
Photographers waited.
Someone had leaked Jiang Feng’s visit.
The instant he exited...
Cameras flashed.
"JIANG FENG!"
"ARE YOU SIGNING WITH SHEN CAPITAL?"
"IS WINDFALL GOING PROFESSIONAL?"
"ARE YOU RETURNING TO ESPORTS?"
"WHAT ABOUT TITAN?"
Jiang Feng froze.
Security moved.
Then...
He remembered something.
Titan had controlled every public statement he’d made for years.
Media training.
Approved answers.
Prepared lines.
Today...
Nobody owned his words.
He stopped.
The reporters quieted slightly.
Jiang Feng looked toward them.
"Windfall is going professional."
Cameras exploded.
He continued.
"We’ll compete in Eternal Realm’s official league."
"Yes, we received investment."
"No, Windfall wasn’t sold."
"I still control competitive decisions."
Then...
Someone shouted.
"Will you compete against Titan?"
Jiang Feng smiled.
"I hope so."
Another reporter yelled.
"Do you want revenge?"
His smile faded slightly.
He thought.
Then answered honestly.
"No."
The crowd became quieter.
"I want to win."
"There’s a difference."
That clip...
Would go viral before he reached home.
Titan watched it.
Manager Liu sat inside his office.
Chen Hao stood nearby.
The clip ended.
I don’t want revenge. I want to win. There’s a difference.
Silence.
Chen Hao finally spoke.
"...He’s good at interviews."
Manager Liu laughed bitterly.
"He had years of practice."
Then...
An employee entered.
"Sir."
"What?"
"Windfall’s investment partner has been confirmed."
"Who?"
The employee hesitated.
"Shen affiliated capital."
Manager Liu closed his eyes.
Of course.
Chen Hao looked toward him.
"Problem?"
"Big one."
Windfall had gone from a rising independent guild...
To a financially stable competitor.
With one of the strongest families behind it.
And Shen Tian himself...
Was playing beside Jiang Feng.
Manager Liu slowly exhaled.
"We need to accelerate."
Chen Hao’s eyes sharpened.
"The league?"
"Everything."
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(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
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ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!