Chapter 35
Hubbard, seeing the con artist he had long despised, was grinding his teeth in frustration.
It was because of this guy that he was being reassigned by headquarters.
It was because of him that he had lost most of his wealth and couldn’t reclaim it.
It was because of him that his long-time friendship with George had turned into bitter enmity.
Hubbard’s three eyes were red with anger; he gasped, scanning for anything to smash Lu Chuan’s face.
What Lu Chuan was saying? He didn’t hear.
Lu Chuan realized Hubbard was too angry to listen. People get clouded by rage.
Fortunately, he was prepared.
With a snap, ten muscular men in black suits and sunglasses, armed, charged forward, forming a human wall around Lu Chuan, preventing Hubbard from approaching.
Lu Chuan then handed a bottle of water to the bodyguards. They opened it and splashed the water on Hubbard.
“Hubbard, calm down before talking to me,” Lu Chuan said coldly.
Hehe.
Hubbard, drenched, couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.
“Little Lu, huh? You really have guts. Manager, call the police! Arrest this lying con artist—I’m sure the former mayor would love to see this disgraceful little nephew of his!” Hubbard snorted, taking a towel from a bank employee to dry himself.
“It seems, Hubbard, you’re ready to become the branch manager of that leafy little town,” Lu Chuan said with a laugh. “Fine. I’ve already hired a team of lawyers to appeal. Mr. Hubbard, I hope my appeal can send you on your way.”
With that, Lu Chuan didn’t wait for Hubbard to react. He simply left with his bodyguard team.
[Host, we’re just leaving like this?] #888 felt stuck in the middle.
“Of course,” Lu Chuan replied. “Hubbard sees me as a con artist now. The chances of him trusting a word I say are slim. You have no idea—these upper-class people value face and dignity above everything. I’ve made him lose face for five years; do you think he’s going to treat me kindly?”
[Then what do we do?] #888 asked, worried.
Mayor Bruce was already in prison, so the only ones left outside were Hubbard and George.
“Next, we go see Mr. George,” Lu Chuan said with a smile. “I’ll let them know I’m back. Three months is plenty of time for me to crush them completely and make them obedient.”
This would be the only time he actively approached them; the rest would be up to them to come to him.
Last time, the plan had been a bit rough due to limited time. But now, with three months and Golden Tower still under his control, he could plan thoroughly.
Lu Chuan had already calculated everything.
Golden Tower couldn’t just sit idle; it needed to generate profit. Clothing, gourmet food, jewelry, cars—anything that could be sold would be sold in his tower. Hiring skilled NPCs to work there would tie everyone to him.
That way, Golden Tower wouldn’t just make money; he’d also gain a network of powerful NPCs. If that “Executor” came looking for trouble, he could hide in the tower while the NPCs rushed to fight for him. How many items could that save him?
For the bright future of Golden Tower, Lu Chuan wasn’t leaving this dungeon easily.
“Once I fully control Golden Tower, I can build all my towers in the dungeon. The game points I earn will all go to you, right?” Lu Chuan teased #888. “The sooner I become the God of Wealth, the sooner you can finish your task.”
#888 thought Lu Chuan’s plan was flawless. He just wanted to use Golden Tower to make NPCs generate money—not the stars in the sky. Why wouldn’t that be possible?
*
Lu Chuan then went to see George.
Mr. George hadn’t been doing well lately.
Mary Tower had originally belonged to him, but he had sold it to Lu Chuan. The contract was signed, and ownership transferred. George had expected to receive the installment payments from Hubbard but ran into trouble.
Ultimately, it was George’s own greed.
He had wanted a lump-sum payment, but Hubbard claimed that would strain the bank’s cash flow. Since George had other loans with the bank, installment payments were better, and he could even earn interest.
For big businessmen like them, idle money was useless.
With this large sum in Hubbard’s bank, George had aggressively expanded, taking on many new projects, expecting his wealth to double.
But everything collapsed with Mayor Bruce’s removal.
Hubbard refused to pay the remaining balance.
Because their transaction had caused the head office to suspect embezzlement, other loans from Bruce’s administration were blocked.
Cash flow interruption is deadly for businesses.
George’s situation became very difficult.
Now, all he could do was move near Golden Tower, install surveillance, and wait for Lu Chuan to fall into his trap. If he couldn’t catch him, he’d have to find a way to reclaim the tower.
*
“Mr. George looks thinner—again, thanks to me. No need to thank me,” Lu Chuan said casually as he entered George’s office.
George raised his head and tried to act, but Lu Chuan’s bodyguards were faster and pinned him down.
“Seems my uncle caused you quite a mess,” Lu Chuan sighed. “I rushed home to reclaim my inheritance and finally have time to see you, only to be treated like this. It’s disappointing.”
“You con artist! You’ve ruined us—what do you have to say for yourself?” George nearly lost his mind, ears ringing. “Where are the guards? Why wasn’t I informed?”
“My bodyguards are top-tier; you can’t touch me,” Lu Chuan shrugged. “Your subordinates wouldn’t dare inform you. Mr. George, I’m here to deliver a lawyer’s letter. You, Mr. Hubbard, and Mayor Bruce forcibly tried to seize my property, falsified documents, and placed a bounty on me, causing personal and financial harm. You will repay me.”
He placed the legal notice in front of George.
“If you prefer settlement over litigation, you must provide proper compensation for your actions.”
George’s blood boiled. This man was audacious! A con artist trying the same trick again? Did he really think George would fall for it?
Lu Chuan said nothing more and left after dropping the letter.
Ha. Now he was truly wealthy.
He could sue in court, show the contract, and unfreeze his assets.
Plus, with all his jewelry, he could use any piece as collateral to get a huge loan from other banks.
These days were enough to acquire the assets George and Hubbard were selling off cheaply.
Lu Chuan had never feared a head-on confrontation.
He even bought the rooms next to Hubbard and George’s residences, moving from one to another daily, showing off his wealth and presence.
At events, he displayed his priceless jewelry, attracting countless socialites to act as intermediaries for George and Hubbard.
“Hubbard, you must have misunderstood! Lu Chuan is genuinely rich. Each of his possessions is a rare treasure!”
“Yes, George, recently he’s been spending gold as tips. He clearly isn’t short on cash.”
“Let’s just forget the old grudges…”
Hubbard and George felt these people were speaking without consequence—they had all been scammed, just like before.
Yet Lu Chuan’s offensive continued.
Hubbard was about to be reassigned to a remote town, but Lu Chuan had found a way to intervene.
He contacted the head office, particularly the secretary who had previously taken his money to call Hubbard and had now risen to an important position.
The head office also received the legal notice from Lu Chuan’s professional lawyers.
Yes, Lu Chuan was suing the head office as well.
They had frozen his accounts without cause, halting his tower’s construction. Golden Tower remained empty—these losses were significant.
Lawyers calculated damages at the maximum, making the total astronomical.
“Hubbard, don’t drag the head office into your disputes! Recover your losses, and there’s still hope. If matters worsen, even being sent to a remote town won’t save you!” the head office scolded. They didn’t care about personal grudges, only that Hubbard was causing trouble. Why did he have the most problems among branch managers?
Hubbard, furious from the call, turned to George and cursed at Lu Chuan.
*
The next morning, Lu Chuan had a breakfast prepared by a professional chef. After cleaning his hands, he leisurely looked at Hubbard and George, who had come to confront him.
“Rare guests,” Lu Chuan said slowly, leaning back, smirking. “Weren’t you trying to kick me out before? Now you both came together?”
Hubbard and George didn’t want to back down, but their business partners and superiors were pressuring them.
Under the roof, one must bow.
They had no choice but to negotiate.
These days, they realized Lu Chuan’s wealth was real and liquid—an unexpected boon for them in their low period.
Thus, they had to come.
“Little Lu, what’s going on?” Hubbard started to question, but softened it into a polite inquiry.
Heh, I still like your previous defiant attitude, Lu Chuan thought.
“See, System? Money moves the world. These two couldn’t handle me when I was new. Now that I’m wealthy, they’re even more powerless.”
[Host, your strategy is flawless—they’re not even worthy to tie your shoes.] #888 flattered extravagantly.
This host of his was completely using a “surround-and-trap” strategy, pressing step by step.
Hubbard and George’s superiors, business partners, even their neighbors—all had become pieces in Lu Chuan’s trap.
It was as if their unwillingness to forgive Lu Chuan was a sign of pettiness and narrow-mindedness.
Lu Chuan, simply by pretending and flaunting his wealth, could easily manipulate these people for his own purposes.
Had Lu Chuan really spent massive sums of money? Not really. Most of the time, he just lifted his wallet to let people hear the clinking of his coins. That alone was enough.
“Look at me now… how am I different from before?” Lu Chuan sighed theatrically and asked half-probingly.
Hubbard and George studied him carefully and paused for a moment.
“You… lost an eye?” Hubbard asked first.
Only then did George realize that Lu Chuan seemed disabled.
He clearly remembered Lu Chuan having three eyes before.
Had the changes in the dungeon also altered his memories?
Lu Chuan found it amusing, but he went along with their assumptions. “Yes. Losing one eye is why I haven’t appeared for the past five years.”
“My family is ancient and mysterious. I am my father’s only son, but my father has several brothers—my uncles. While I was away, they tried to take the inheritance for themselves. I had to rush home overnight,” Lu Chuan fabricated.
“In the early stages, I was at a disadvantage. They emptied my assets and companies, altered records, and left me with nothing.” He sighed, subtly explaining why his previously “real” wealth had turned “fake.”
“At that time, I thought, even if all my other assets were gone, Hubbard and Mr. George, you two are smart and wise, and with Mayor Bruce vouching, you would believe in me and wait for my comeback.”
As he spoke, a faint trace of sorrow appeared on his face. “I thought we were partners with shared ideals. I imagined reclaiming everything and returning to work with you. But when I finally won this grueling battle, what awaited me was a huge bounty? In your eyes, I became an unforgivable con artist. You froze my accounts, halted my tower, and even Mayor Bruce defamed me for siding with my uncle. I’m so disappointed. I treated you as friends, yet you treated me like this?”
Hubbard and George shifted uneasily in their seats.
Huh? Was that true?
But it was true that Lu Chuan was disabled.
If everything had really been a setup by his uncle, were Hubbard and George just unlucky victims caught in the middle of the Lu family inheritance feud?
If so, how powerful was Lu Chuan’s family?
“You may not know,” Lu Chuan shook his head. “My family has deep connections with certain entities. Watch this.”
He casually pulled out the “God-Slaying Cross” for them to see.
Although the item was still on cooldown and unusable, for high-level NPCs, the divine aura lingering on it was enough to make them tremble.
Hubbard and George shook slightly, shocked.
“You… you’re really such a powerful figure?”
“No wonder, no wonder after you left, every trace of your presence turned false. Only such power could manipulate us so easily!” George, who regularly dealt with high-level NPCs, knew that true control lay with these mysterious entities.
He and Hubbard could only dominate in this remote city, but compared to the real big players, they were nothing.
All they could do was support local cults and hire priests for exorcisms.
“Just distant relatives,” Lu Chuan said, shaking his head as he put the item away. “If I were truly that powerful, I wouldn’t be here now.”
[Host, it looks like they actually believe you.] #888 was losing it.
How could a cooling, unusable item still intimidate people?
“System, they don’t really believe me—they have no choice but to,” Lu Chuan explained. “What I say isn’t fully true, but I’m their only lifeline right now. Even if it’s fake, they have to believe it because everyone around them does.”
Seeing through the illusion alone is never easy—especially in business, where everyone knows they’re part of a larger con.
As long as it can make money, attract new investment, or find someone to bail out the losses, it doesn’t matter if it’s real or not.
That’s how some cryptocurrencies were hyped up, after all.
Lu Chuan was doing the same: weaving a dream for them.
“The misunderstanding is almost cleared,” Lu Chuan said to them. “Now, let’s get to the main topic.”
George and Hubbard straightened in their seats.
“Golden Tower,” Lu Chuan said, gazing at them. “This was my first independent project. I cannot let it sit idle. Tell me your ideas—how can we make it thrive?”
