I Carry a Game World With Me

...

As Brother Huaqiang watched from his car, several official vehicles pulled up and stopped in front of the building.

The show was about to begin.

"See? Why did they have to make an enemy of someone like Mr. Chen?" Brother Huaqiang shook his head, settling in to watch the drama unfold.

Once the threat from Qingfeng Network Company was dealt with, they could act without restraint and take care of those people in Youcheng. Then, his faction would become the most powerful in Tianzhou City’s underworld.

With the backing of Mr. Chen, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’d be able to call the shots.

Still, he had to thank the people at Qingfeng Company. After all, if they hadn’t gotten the Gao Brothers killed, he never would have had the chance to take their place.

But he certainly wouldn’t be as useless as the Gao Brothers.

After the official cars stopped, several people in uniforms got out. Their uniforms bore the emblem of the anti-monopoly department.

Clearly, someone in this building had violated anti-monopoly regulations.

「Inside Qingfeng Network Company.」

Wang Kai looked at the latest data, a smile spreading across his face.

Registered users for the Qingfeng Intelligent Assistant had reached a new high, drawing ever closer to Penguin and Douyin, and user stickiness was now nearly on par with both.

In other words, their status as one of the three great giants of the internet was becoming more and more deserved.

There was also some good news about Teacher Youcai.

Previously, President Lu had given Teacher Youcai a few songs from Plaster Country to release. Although her voice had a sultry quality that could easily lead one’s thoughts astray, there was no denying her vocal talent was excellent.

This had indeed boosted her popularity quite a bit, and the new "Teacher Youcai - Singer" skin they released to capitalize on it was also a huge seller.

Everything was heading in the right direction.

Just as Wang Kai was thinking this, his secretary rushed in, frantic. "President Wang, we have a problem! People from the anti-monopoly department are here for us! They say we’ve violated monopoly regulations!"

"What?" Wang Kai’s expression changed the moment he heard this.

It was true that tech companies like theirs could easily run afoul of monopoly regulations. Both Penguin and Douyin had done so and had been warned and fined by the higher-ups.

But Qingfeng Network Company had only been around for so long. They were nowhere near the level where they would trigger anti-monopoly laws.

Who would have thought they would come knocking?

Wang Kai hurried out with his secretary and saw several officials. "Gentlemen, I’m Wang Kai, the CEO of Qingfeng Network Company. Is it possible there’s been a mistake?"

The man in the lead snorted coldly. "President Wang, since we’ve come to Qingfeng Network Company, don’t assume you can get away with anything. This is the document we’ve issued."

With that, he handed a document to Wang Kai and continued, "President Wang, Qingfeng Network Company is still 100% privately owned, correct? That’s not a good thing. We hope you will rectify this situation properly."

"If you fail to rectify the situation within the stipulated time, we will take special measures: fines, or a suspension of business for reorganization!"

After announcing the contents of the document, the men left.

Wang Kai stood there holding the document, his face turning grim.

He understood the meaning behind the man’s last sentence.

’One hundred percent ownership isn’t a good thing. That means they want us to dilute the shares, to let other people or companies invest and take a stake.’

’It means someone has their eyes on the shares in President Lu’s hands.’

"Sigh..." Realization dawned on Wang Kai, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

For something like this to happen now, right when Qingfeng Network Company was at the peak of its development...

But given Qingfeng Network Company’s potential, it would have been strange if no one had coveted President Lu’s shares.

As Wang Kai was thinking, someone else came to report. "President Wang, it’s bad! The people from the Cyberspace Administration are here! They want to see you..."

...

He had barely seen off the people from the Cyberspace Administration when his secretary rushed in again, panicked. "President Wang, someone from the General Administration of Press and Publication is here! They said one of our past news stories violated broadcasting regulations, and they want to see you."

"..." Wang Kai’s face was dark as he followed his secretary to meet the official from the General Administration of Press and Publication.

The official from the General Administration of Press and Publication reminded him coldly, "President Wang, while we advocate for freedom of the press, you still need to be mindful of the impact of certain news stories. For example, regarding certain positions..."

The man went on for a while, but Wang Kai quickly understood what he was getting at.

It was about the news story on the Gao Family. They had implicitly mentioned that Mr. Chen.

This was related to that Mr. Chen.

Or rather, he was fanning the flames.

After all, Penguin and Douyin had definitely never broadcasted this kind of content; some news was clearly being controlled by the higher-ups.

The news story broadcasted by Qingfeng Network Company had only touched the edge, but that alone shouldn’t have been enough for them to come knocking.

Unless someone was fanning the flames—and it was obvious who.

He immediately took out his phone and dialed Lu Feng’s number. This had to be reported to President Lu right away.

...

「The border between Cambodia and the Xuanfeng Alliance.」

Lu Feng had arrived with his men. Naturally, he was accompanied by Bulin and the others, as well as their captive, Dali.

Soon, a video call was started on a computer.

Hong Xi appeared on the screen.

Behind her, soldiers could be seen holding a group of people captive.

When Dali saw these people, the color drained from his face. They were the president and key officials of Cambodia. They had been captured too, which meant the entire top leadership of Cambodia had been wiped out in one fell swoop.

Moreover, they had also been fitted with those damn electronic shackles. In other words, none of them could resist unless they weren’t afraid of death and chose to fight back, only to be killed.

But in a situation like this, who could face death so calmly?

"Very good. It seems we can now have a proper discussion about the merger between the Xuanfeng Alliance and Cambodia," Lu Feng said with a smile.

His words, however, made Dali and the people on the other side of the video call, like Baguda, commit his face to memory.

Who could have imagined that the one to overthrow them would be such a young man?

Just then, Lu Feng’s phone rang. A glance at the number showed it was Wang Kai.

He answered immediately, and Wang Kai’s voice came from the other end. "President Lu, it’s bad! Something’s happened! Several government departments have come after us..."

As Wang Kai explained, Lu Feng’s brow gradually furrowed.

Just from listening, he could tell that someone was deliberately targeting them.

’One hundred percent ownership? Triggering anti-monopoly laws?’

’It’s way too soon for that.’

’Someone wants a piece of Qingfeng Network Company and is resorting to these kinds of tricks.’

He had actually considered this possibility when he bought Qingfeng Network Company. After all, in the domestic environment, there were far too many unwritten rules.

Even behemoths like Penguin and Douyin had to abide by those unwritten rules.

This was likely why some companies were forced to bring in foreign investment after they grew large, like Penguin, where foreign capital held nearly 35% of the shares.

The reason was simple. With foreign investment involved, certain people would be more cautious, afraid of certain matters being exposed, and wouldn’t dare to act too brazenly.

Take, for instance, a certain "Company D," often called a running dog of the West. Despite its actions, it got off with just a fine and continued to thrive.

That was because foreign investors held a large stake. Even if the authorities wanted to deal with them, they had to consider this and that.

It was a truly frustrating problem.

’I don’t want to let foreign capital in; I want to maintain the company’s purity. But then everyone tries to bully me, everyone is eyeing me, wanting to take a bite.’

’But if I let a well-known foreign investor buy in, those who want to bully me, those who want to take a piece of my flesh, will back down, intimidated...’

It was a damned frustrating situation.

Lu Feng had never considered bringing in foreign capital, but now someone was forcing his hand.

Some might say, "If they don’t want me here, I’ll just go somewhere else. Isn’t there anywhere I’d be welcome?"

But the reality was, if you tried to leave, someone would immediately lock down your network data and source code. You wouldn’t be able to take them with you.

Others might say, ’You have a whole game world, the higher-ups won’t force you out.’

’But the higher-ups don’t know about it.’

Crucially, he couldn’t just reveal that he possessed a game world. Before he was powerful enough, while the forces of the real world could still threaten him, revealing it would certainly mean a swift loss of his freedom—unless he decided to immediately abandon his current identity and leave for good.

Most importantly, he believed that these schemes weren’t coming from the top echelons of government, but from certain "little ghosts" down below.

After all, the little ghosts are the hardest to deal with, especially those parasites who hold a bit of power or cling to the system.

’Foreign investment?’

A sudden thought occurred to Lu Feng, and he looked at Dali and the people on the video call, like Baguda.

’Foreign investment... it seems there might be a way.’

’But it has to be a big enough name.’

Thinking of this, he turned to Feisen, Bulin, Hong Xi, and the others. "Get this done as quickly as possible. Announce the merger of Cambodia into the Xuanfeng Alliance, then exercise political power. The faster, the better. The more people who know, the better."

Hearing Lu Feng’s command, Hong Xi and the others nodded in agreement.

"I’ll leave things here to you. I have something to take care of, so I need to leave for a while." Lu Feng didn’t hesitate. He immediately contacted Black Snake and had him book a flight back to the country.

Before long, he was on a plane back home.

He was going to see just who was playing tricks behind his back. Now that he had not only his game world but also the Xuanfeng Alliance as a fallback in reality, perhaps he no longer needed to be so cautious about certain things.

「Tianzhou City.」

Outside Qingfeng Entertainment City, several cars pulled to a stop.

Inside one of the cars sat none other than Brother Huaqiang, his eyes fixed on the entrance to Qingfeng Entertainment City.

"Brother Huaqiang, are we making a move?" a young man beside him asked.

"Mr. Chen has given the order. We’re to give them a show of force first!" Brother Huaqiang said with a grin. "However, we haven’t been able to find any trace of that guy Lu or Chen Bo these past few days, so we’ll have to settle for the next best thing."

They continued to watch Qingfeng Entertainment City until a person walked out. At that moment, Brother Huaqiang and his men perked up.

The person who walked out was none other than Yang Ming.