Chapter 470: Home

Moments later.

The senior executives of Pinghai Company warmly saw off a group of people from the Investment Department of the Virtual Universe Company stationed on the Qianwu Continent.

“I clearly understand Lady Luo’s intentions,” Botele smiled. “However, twelve times the offer is absolutely impossible. Please prepare yourself mentally, Lady Luo. As for the report you’ve given me… of course, I will personally ensure the director reviews it.”

“Thank you,” Xu Xin replied with a smile.

Then Botele directly walked outside, followed by several subordinates.

Outside the company, a sleek, flat-shaped spacecraft was parked, with eight one-horned warriors clad in battle armor standing respectfully by the hatch. Botele and his men boarded the vessel directly, followed by the entourage of bodyguards. The hatch sealed shut, and moments later, the spacecraft soared into the distance.

“Xu Jie, about the raw materials procurement for our restaurant…” a short-haired woman standing beside Xu Xin called out.

“I still have matters to attend to. Handle the usual company affairs yourself,” Xu Xin instructed.

“Yes,” the short-haired woman responded.

Xu Xin gestured to the sky.

Instantly, a carriage drawn by winged Tianma (Celestial Horses) descended from the sky. Xu Xin immediately jumped aboard. “To the teleportation point.”

“Yah!” The carriage driver shook the reins, and the Tianma soared into the air.

…

Virtual Universe, Heilongshan Island, Nine-Star Bay Community.

“Dad, now the entire eastern half of the Nine-Star Bay Community land belongs to us. We’ve hired the best designers from Earth, drawing inspiration from numerous cosmic architectures, and just completed construction recently,” a smiling, approachable, and refined-looking man pointed to the surroundings filled with palace-like buildings.

“Mm, good job,” Luo Feng nodded.

“Is your mother not back yet, Luo Ping?” Luo Feng asked.

“I’ve already notified Mom, but she currently works at the headquarters on the Qianwu Continent. She goes to the company every day, and since Dad rarely comes back, Mom decided to fix her online location at the company,” Luo Ping explained. Normally, those who owned property in the Virtual Universe could set a fixed online address.

Xu Xin had chosen to fix her address at the company.

“Fixed at the company?” Luo Feng felt a bit guilty; he had indeed returned home very infrequently.

“Dad.”

Luo Hua pointed to the luxurious mansions in the distance. “Because Dad lives here, the land prices in Nine-Star Bay have skyrocketed! Previously, the residents here almost all sold their land to people of high status. These important figures… also wanted to get closer to Dad, after all, Dad, within our Heilongshan Star Region, is quite prominent.”

“Oh?” Luo Feng smiled in surprise.

That made sense.

As a member of the Tai Chu District of the Virtual Universe headquarters, even the leader of the guards was a World Lord acknowledged by the Laws. In terms of status, Luo Feng was even higher than the Emperor of the Heilongshan Empire. Even the immortal being behind the Heilongshan Empire would still show Luo Feng respect.

In the vast universe, this small star region was just a tiny corner!

It wasn’t surprising that many powerful and influential figures wanted to live near Luo Feng.

“Master Luo Ping!” A bald, overweight man, holding a fuzzy pet beast about three meters tall, was leisurely strolling with two servants when he saw Luo Ping and enthusiastically called out.

“Baksen,” Luo Ping smiled and greeted.

This bald man had scaly skin on his head and looked at Luo Feng in astonishment: “Master Luo Ping, who is this…?”

“This is my father,” Luo Ping smiled.

“Ahh, Master Luo Feng!” The bald man immediately showed deep respect, bowing so low his face nearly touched his belly, then looked up excitedly, “Master Luo Feng, it’s a great honor to meet you. I moved here eight years ago and have always admired you. I never expected to meet you today. It’s truly a great honor for me, Baksen!”

Luo Feng smiled slightly: “Hello, Baksen.”

“Ahh!” Baksen was so excited his face turned red.

“Dad, Mom is back!” Luo Ping pointed to the sky.

“Xu Xin?” Luo Feng turned to look.

In the sky, Xu Xin was slowly descending in a carriage pulled by Tianma.

“Xu Xin,” Luo Feng quickly ran over.

On the carriage, Xu Xin looked down at Luo Feng, her eyes brimming with tears. As the carriage was about to land, she jumped down directly onto the ground.

“You still remember to come back!” Xu Xin stared at Luo Feng.

“Uh…” Luo Feng felt a bit guilty.

“How long has it been? How long have you been away?” Xu Xin stared at him, and Luo Feng was too embarrassed to answer.

“Ten years! You haven’t come back for over ten years!” Xu Xin couldn’t help but show a hint of anger. “I know you’re in Chaos City to cultivate, but couldn’t you occasionally come back and see the kids, see me, see your parents?”

“I’m sorry,” Luo Feng said softly.

Yes.

Ten years.

His most recent cultivation in Chaos City lasted three years and nine months. However, time flows slowly in the Initial Universe; three years and nine months there equates to over ten years in the Original Universe! And the flow of time in the Virtual Universe aligns with that of the Original Universe.

“Ten years!” Xu Xin stared at Luo Feng.

“Alright.” Luo Feng gently reached out and hugged Xu Xin. “I promise, from now on, I will try to come back every year, unless some special circumstances prevent me.”

“Okay.” Xu Xin nodded softly.

She just wanted to remind Luo Feng, because in recent thirty-plus years, both Earth and the Luo family have undergone tremendous changes! For example, Earthlings have gained considerable status throughout the Milky Way, and the Luo family’s power has grown stronger. Everyone clearly knows that all of this is because of Luo Feng!

Luo Feng is a core member of one of the five major human powers in the universe—the Virtual Universe Company!

“Let’s go. Let’s go home,” Luo Feng said.

“Okay, home,” Xu Xin nodded.

The family of three walked back together. Xu Xin glanced at the fat man in the distance and whispered, “That fat man is called Baksen. He owns over 30,000 life-bearing planets and controls hundreds of millions of human slaves. He’s a major supplier of slaves. He seems sincere and naive on the surface, but in reality, he’s ruthless.”

“Oh?” Luo Feng looked over in surprise.

That guy?

He owns over 30,000 life-bearing planets? Isn’t that much more powerful than the former ‘Nuolan Mountain Family’?

“He has to be low-key and try to please us when he’s at our doorstep,” Xu Xin’s eyes flickered with disdain. “Luo Ping, avoid people like him in the future.”

“That’s right, your mother is right,” Luo Feng nodded.

With different statuses come different perspectives.

Back when they were still small figures on Earth, perhaps the Nuolan Mountain Family was a towering giant, and someone like Baksen, a major supplier of slaves, was even more terrifying. But now, the leader of Luo Feng’s personal guard is a ‘World Lord,’ and with just a command, he can wipe out small family powers within the star region.

“Mom and Dad, one has to know all sorts of people from all walks of life,” Luo Ping smiled.

“You really are different from your younger brother,” Luo Feng couldn’t help but sigh.

“Third Brother!”

“Third Brother!”

A loud voice came from not far away.

“Is that Second Brother?” Luo Feng’s eyes lit up.

…

It had been ten years since Luo Feng last returned to the Nine-Star Bay Community.

When he returned home this time, Luo Feng found that his family had become a large family indeed. Many of the grandchildren had already started their own families and careers. Now, many matters in the Milky Way concerning the Luo family were mainly managed by ‘Xu Xin’ and the eldest son ‘Luo Ping.’ As for the younger son, Luo Hai, he had completely become a martial arts fanatic!

He pursued the limits of the human body, striving to become a super powerful figure in the universe.

Why? First, for his own dreams, and second, for his family and hometown!

…

Luo Feng stayed at the Nine-Star Bay Community for three days before his consciousness returned to Chaos City! The only thing that slightly disappointed Luo Feng was that he couldn’t meet ‘Hong.’ According to Thunder God, Hong seemed to be undergoing very important training, blocking all emails and call requests, making him completely unreachable.

…

89th Floor of Pinghai Company.

Xu Xin stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the beautiful and vast city.

Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knocking on the door echoed.

“Come in,” Xu Xin called.

A slim woman with short hair wearing a work uniform walked in, smiling. “Xu Jie, how were these three days?”

Xu Xin smiled instantly.

“Xu Jie, this is the document from Botele’s side,” the short-haired woman handed it over.

“Oh?” Xu Xin connected to receive it.

The Virtual Universe Company was divided into the Commercial Division and the Martial Division, though the upper management of both divisions belonged to the ‘Core Division,’ which was the true ruling class!

Commerce was a very important aspect of the Virtual Universe Company.

However, even within the Virtual Universe Network, the Virtual Universe Company itself did not take over all commercial activities. They understood clearly that forcibly controlling all profit-making would greatly hinder economic activity and prevent a large influx of real-world funds.

Creating a fair and free environment would encourage many superpowers in the real world to invest heavily!

Otherwise, if everything was monopolized and unfair, who among those powerful entities would invest?

Thus!

In the Virtual Universe, there were various companies and groups competing with each other. Some very promising companies were usually acquired by many major forces.

“Xu Jie, the First Bank of the Universe is also willing to acquire our company and has offered very favorable terms. Why did you refuse directly?” the short-haired woman asked.

“We’re not short on development funds,” Xu Xin remarked, flipping through the documents in his hands.

“Then why are we willing to negotiate with the Virtual Universe Company?” the short-haired woman asked, puzzled.

Xu Xin was momentarily taken aback.

“I’m just confused,” the short-haired woman said sincerely. “Xu Jie, I’ve been following you for nearly forty years now, and we’ve developed step by step. Even according to our Han Chinese cultural characteristics, we’ve created a chain of restaurants… many of the staff in the restaurants were trained on Earth, and we set up industry barriers as much as possible to prevent imitation. Our Pinghai Restaurant brand has already become well-known! Moreover, with a large amount of capital and collaboration with Mr. Luo Hua’s ‘Financial Investment Department,’ we’ve formed an industry-finance combination. The speed at which we make money is extremely fast, and our assets are excellent! Plus, the Qianwu Cosmic Nation… because of Master Luo Feng’s relationship, protects and supports us. Our development absolutely has no problems, so there’s no need to give away shares to others.”

“Yes,” Xu Xin nodded.

She had been striving in the Virtual Universe for nearly 40 years; this enterprise was like her other child, how could she bear to give it away?

“But it’s different this time,” Xu Xin said softly.

“How is it different?” the short-haired woman asked, puzzled.

“Because my husband is also part of the Virtual Universe Company,” Xu Xin turned her head, looking through the glass window at the sky outside. “Luo Feng is excellent and powerful, even back on Earth he was the best! However, because of that, he has become increasingly distant from me. Like this time, he hasn’t returned for over ten years.”

The short-haired woman opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.

Luo Feng was the pride of Earthlings. But for Luo Feng’s family… he had indeed neglected them.

“I don’t blame him.”

“I’m proud of him,” Xu Xin looked out the window, a slight smile on her face. “But I don’t want to be left further and further behind. I want… to stand by his side, to get as close to him as I can.”

“Xu Jie…” the short-haired woman wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

“By becoming a subsidiary of the Virtual Universe Company, I will also become an internal member of the Virtual Universe Company,” Xu Xin smiled. “As long as I manage the subsidiary to a sufficiently high level, I can be absorbed into the core members. At that time, I can also enter Yuxiang Mountain.”

“Core members?” the short-haired woman was startled.

She hadn’t expected Xu Xin’s goal to be so grand!

“The one thing I most hope for is to meet Luo Feng at Yuxiang Mountain,” Xu Xin said softly.