Chapter 764.3: Wild Joy

Sun Shiqi believed it would not be long before the Dawn City Stock Exchange moderately lowered the market’s entry requirements.

Zhou Nan considered it and realized it indeed made sense. There would have been no reason to establish an entire stock exchange merely to sell an 8% stake of a single company.

In other words, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

“That makes sense... Ssss... Now that you put it that way, 40 Silver suddenly feels far too cheap. I need to buy some more,” Zhou Nan said thoughtfully.

Regret abruptly appeared on his face. When the shares had been cheaper, he had failed to purchase more, too preoccupied with celebrating the profit he had already made.

Seeing his remorseful expression, Sun Shiqi laughed and took another sip from his glass. “Don’t be too greedy. I already told you there will be more opportunities in the future. Impatience won’t help you grow.”

His friend saw only that the Baiyue Strait Development Company’s share price had quadrupled. What Sun Shiqi saw was the terrifying market capitalization created by Baiyue Company’s soaring shares. That was an astonishing 25,000,000,000 Silver!

What did that number represent?

When he acquired the Mighty Steelworks from Fred from Boulder Town, he had spent only 50,000,000 chips. At the exchange rate back then, that was only 25,000,000 Silver. Because he had borrowed that money from the Dawn City Bank, he remembered the figure particularly clearly.

It was no exaggeration to say that the acquisition had marked the true beginning of his career’s meteoric rise! The Mighty Steelworks in Boulder Town had now resumed operations after completing its debt restructuring, and it remained the largest steelworks in the city.

If Baiyue Company was truly worth 25,000,000,000 Silver, his factory had to be worth at least a billion or two!

Had the Baiyue Strait Development Company not gone public, he would not even have realized that he had become so wealthy.

If he was already so rich... how much was the Liszt Trading Company worth?

That fellow had recently won the contract for Port Gallon’s electrical system, and Sun Shiqi had heard that he had even established an electric-vehicle factory. Its valuation might exceed 5,000,000,000! No, it was entirely possible it was double that.

After all, the Baiyue Strait Development Company’s limit was far from being reached, and that meant that he was still undervaluing everyone else.

Countless thoughts passed through his mind. As he drank his beer, Sun Shiqi suddenly sighed. “To be honest, I feel both delighted and afraid...”

Zhou Nan, who had been calculating how much money he had lost, looked up at him and laughed in surprise. “Are you still worried that the administrator will cause trouble for you? I would wager that great man forgot about you long ago.”

Sun Shiqi shook his head. “No, that’s ancient history. I was thinking about something else. Do you remember S Coins?”

Zhou Nan replied, “Of course I do. How could I forget something that significant?”

Sun Shiqi nodded. His gaze sank into his memories, and his thoughts seemed to drift away with them. “... The chips that ruled this region operated steadily for 150 years. Their designers included experts from the prewar era as well as residents who emerged from the shelters. Yet a single minor mistake buried everything. I still remember the man who sold me the factory. I occasionally invite him out for a few drinks.”

“Ah... You mean that drunkard. I remember him,” Zhou Nan said as the man came to mind.

The fellow occasionally appeared in taverns on Dawn City’s northern street. He was perpetually unkempt and wore a gold-rimmed monocle despite not being nearsighted at all.

Taking a sip of foamy beer, Sun Shiqi spoke slowly. “Stupidity won’t destroy a person, but madness will... That is what worries me most. I’m afraid it will remain completely motionless, yet I’m also afraid it will take one step too far and drag all of us into a ditch.”

Zhou Nan thought for a while, then lightly shrugged. “Your concern is reasonable, but I don’t think there’s any need to worry excessively... After all, are you that drunkard?”

Sun Shiqi replied, “No, I’m not.”

“Exactly. You aren’t him. You’re the one who won...” Zhou Nan smiled and clinked glasses with his drinking companion, giving him a wink. “Boulder Town’s lesson was painful enough. I’m sure our administrator understands it even more profoundly than you do. No offense, but you merely picked up a steelworks at a bargain. He picked up the entirety of Boulder Town.”

“Haha, that’s true.” Sun Shiqi laughed and nodded, and the worries accumulated in his heart abruptly dispersed.

The New Alliance was different from Boulder Town, after all. It absorbed not only Boulder Town’s technology, but also its people’s experiences and lessons.

The Workers’ Association and the Survivor’s Daily were the best proof. The New Alliance had not rejected them merely because they originated in Boulder Town. Instead, it had taken them into the wasteland and allowed them to flourish. Since the VM would never become the Black Card, what did he have to worry about?

For a moment, he suddenly felt that the Workers’ Association, which was always causing trouble for him, was not so detestable after all. Those people were admittedly somewhat crude at times, and a little greedy, but they at least respected reason and the law.

Without that organization, he suspected his final fate might not have been any more dignified than Fred’s or Vega.

The latter had at least escaped and was reportedly living fairly well in the Bugra Free State. The former had also escaped, but then lost everything because of his greed for S Coins. All his wealth vanished overnight.

That was what was truly miserable.

Of course, understanding them was one thing. When the time came to fight for his own interests, he would still show no mercy.

“Greed... Right. It isn’t only madness. Greed is another one. Greed and madness are both great taboos! I need to write that into my family precepts,” Sun Shiqi muttered while swirling the foam in his glass.

Seeing his neurotic appearance, Zhou Nan mocked him. “Do you even know who your parents are? What family precepts could you possibly have?”

Zhou Nan at least had a family, and he had recently brought them into the New Alliance from the Brocade River Province.

Sun Shiqi had never spoken about his origins, but since he had been born in Red River Town, he had probably once been a slave in the mines there, or the child of one.

Of course, Zhou Nan did not mean to look down upon his friend, just as he had never concealed his own origins as a serf.

“That doesn’t matter.” Sun Shiqi coughed and laughed unconcernedly. “It isn’t too late to start recording it now... I might have been born in this damned wasteland, but that doesn’t necessarily mean my descendants will be.”

Zhou Nan teased him with a smile. “Find a good person and start a family first.”

Sun Shiqi laughed vaguely and brushed the matter aside. “Hahaha. We’ll talk about that later.”

The night gradually deepened.

As a group of shelter residents joined them, the lively atmosphere within the Highway Town Hotel reached its peak. The sounds of clinking glasses and cheerful conversation continued without end.

Perhaps it was merely everyone’s imagination, but the beer seemed especially intoxicating that night. Even the aroma of malt carried a strong scent of alcohol, enough to make one feel drunk from the smell alone.

A drunkard suddenly stood and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Praise the administrator!”

His cry received the approval of countless people. For a time, shouts of praise rose and fell amid the crowd’s laughter.

Sitting at the bar, Battlefield Cheerleader smiled and raised his glass toward the edge of his helmet. Just as he was about to drink, he discovered that the glass was empty and awkwardly lowered it again.

He was wearing a K-10 Iron Wall exoskeleton. Since there had recently been quite a few Wislanders in Dawn City, he could only wear the fully enclosed armor whenever he came to drink.

To be honest, drinking while wearing his equipment was genuinely inconvenient. It became even more inconvenient after he had drunk too much.

Not long after he put down the glass, a petite figure approached carrying a tray and placed a fresh drink before him.

Looking at the beads of sweat hanging from Lisa’s forehead, Battlefield Cheerleader spoke with some embarrassment, “Thank you.”

Lisa gazed warmly at the helmet and gave him a cheerful smile, replying in a very soft voice. “You’re welcome.”

Looking at her delicate and moving face, Battlefield Cheerleader felt somewhat embarrassed.

The next second, a thick palm slapped him on the shoulder, startling him. He thought his identity had been exposed, but when he turned around, he discovered it was merely a drunken man. “Hey, bluecoat brother, tell our respected administrator that I said thank you. Hic! You’ll never guess what just happened! In the blink of an eye, the 1,000 Silver in my pocket turned into 4,000! I’ve never been this rich before!”

Laughter erupted nearby, seemingly from the drunkard’s friends.

Seeing that the man truly had drunk too much, Battlefield Cheerleader helped him onto a stool by the bar and replied casually with a smile. “Our respected administrator certainly wouldn’t want to see you in this state. Besides, he doesn’t care about your thanks. He only hopes that when you lose so badly next time that you can’t even afford to drink swill, you won’t curse him for failing to warn you. That place wasn’t established for you to gamble.”

“How could I?” The man widened his eyes and shouted, “He saved my life! I could offer my life to him! A few thousand Silver can never buy my loyalty or change my faith!”

Battlefield Cheerleader did not take the man’s words seriously. He merely patted him on the shoulder, then handed him the cup of water Lisa had brought over. “In that case, keep your word. Never sell, no matter what happens. Hold it for the rest of your life. I don’t know how large the annual dividends will be, but they should be enough to let you soak in a vat of liquor.”

The drunkard burst into laughter. “Hahaha! Don’t worry! I wouldn’t sell even if you beat me to death! I’ll always be loyal to him! I’ll pass the shares down from generation to generation, to my son, and then to my grandson!”

Looking at the thoroughly intoxicated man, Battlefield Cheerleader smiled. “Is that so? You had better mean it. You’ll thank me someday.”

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