Chapter 467 - 394: Zhou Shuwen’s Treacherous Banquet

Wu Yun had originally planned to head to Modu in mid-May, but a phone call disrupted his schedule. He had no choice but to say goodbye to Wen Meng and fly straight to Modu on May 9th.

The call was from Zhou Shuwen of Revitalization Capital. She said she had already persuaded Pinduoduo’s shareholder, Tencent, that everything would be fine as long as this round of financing gave Pinduoduo a high enough valuation.

Now, Zhou Shuwen wanted to win over Wu Yun, so she had set up a meeting in Modu and invited him to join.

After some thought, Wu Yun agreed to Zhou Shuwen’s invitation. He was also quite curious as to how she had managed to persuade Tencent.

Wu Yun arrived in Modu in the morning. After joining Qi Fei for a delicious lunch at her school’s cafeteria, he leisurely made his way to Pinduoduo and then Phoenix Entertainment.

Pinduoduo was currently in full swing preparing for the 618 shopping festival. While their war chest wasn’t fully stocked yet, they had already gotten in touch with most of the necessary merchants and manufacturers.

Meanwhile, their "slash the price by inviting friends" campaign was still running continuously.

As for Phoenix Entertainment, it would still be a while before the box office revenue from *Wolf Warrior* came in.

*Disguiser* was in the middle of tense post-production and promotional work, with a projected television broadcast in August.

Casting for *The Immortal Ascension* had already begun. The story, from the novel’s opening to the point where Han Li travels to the Chaotic Star Sea via an Ancient Teleportation Array, was being adapted into the first season, titled *The Immortal Ascension: Wind Rises in Celestial South*.

The male lead had been confirmed: Hu Ge. As soon as the news broke, countless fans of *The Immortal Ascension* took to the internet to express their excitement.

After all, *The Immortal Ascension* was a novel heavily centered on its male protagonist. While there was a female lead, her role wasn’t particularly prominent. To accommodate Qi Fei, the writers had deliberately expanded Nangong Wan’s part without altering the main storyline.

For instance, they added scenes explaining why Nangong Wan entered the Blood Trial, as well as a series of solo plotlines for her after she emerged, some of which even intersected with the male lead’s journey.

Wu Yun did ask about some of the key supporting roles for the early parts of the story. For example, the role of Doctor Mo had gone to Sonny Chiba, of *Wind and Cloud Dominate the World* fame.

It was worth noting that Ryan Film and Television Special Effects Company—owned by He Yongzhi, whom Wu Yun had met once—had managed to beat out the company that did the effects for *Shushan* back in the day, thanks to its superior technology and relatively low prices.

This was something Wu Yun hadn’t expected. He had assumed that even though He Yongzhi had acquired a special effects company from the United States and had the technology, they wouldn’t have any grasp of Huaxia’s cultural elements.

But the reality was the complete opposite of what Wu Yun had imagined. During the bidding process, Wei Feng had required all competing VFX companies to produce the same two sample clips at the highest possible quality. The first was a scene of the Blood Jade Spider appearing in a mine shaft and killing a Cultivator. The second was a scene of Han Li escaping from Yan Family Castle aboard the Divine Wind Ship.

The clip from Ryan Film and Television Special Effects was packed with detail; even the fine hairs on the spider’s legs were crystal clear.

The Divine Wind Ship clip, on the other hand, was a test of their command of the Huaxia aesthetic. To everyone’s surprise, Ryan’s submission excelled in that area as well.

When Wu Yun arrived at Phoenix Entertainment, he happened to walk in on the afternoon session of a new round of auditions being held by Wei Feng and his team.

Upon recognizing Wu Yun, the agents of some minor starlets swarmed him like flies to honey. They were desperate to use him as a "back door" for their clients, with some even crudely offering to let Wu Yun use *their* back door.

Wu Yun, of course, had his bodyguards throw them out. He also made a mental note of the starlets they represented, effectively blacklisting them.

After slacking off until about half an hour before closing time, Wu Yun left without disturbing the casting session. He got into the extended-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom that had been delivered early and headed for the M1NT Club in Modu.

Wu Yun had looked up the M1NT Club beforehand and discovered it had quite the reputation.

The M1NT Club originated as a luxury club in London.

The M1NT Club was founded by an Australian named Alistair Burton, with the first location opening on a bustling street in London.

While exclusive clubs for the wealthy were nothing new, M1NT dared to call itself the most unique. This was because it not only allowed the rich to spend money but also to make money by employing a shareholder-membership system—a model that could very well become the future trend for clubs.

According to what Wu Yun had read, M1NT had once rejected David Beckham’s membership application back when he was still playing football in Spain.

To join the M1NT Club, aside from a hefty capital buy-in, applicants also had to be thoroughly vetted by the board based on their social status, profession, and lifestyle. Only those who successfully passed the initial screening and interview could become shareholders.

The information also indicated that the lowest buy-in fee was for the Modu branch, and even that required at least 100,000 Hong Kong Dollars for a chance to become a shareholder.

From M1NT’s inception in February 2005 to the present day, its share price had been steadily climbing. By the end of 2005, the net value of M1NT shares had reached a staggering 38 billion pounds. Its ever-increasing value was largely propped up by its long list of billionaire members.

However, the more Wu Yun researched, the more he felt that M1NT resembled a pyramid scheme—no, more like a multi-level marketing company. ’It’s the same model,’ he thought. ’You pay a high fee to buy in, and the equity’s value is entirely propped up by a constant influx of wealthy and famous new members.’

He had seen online rumors that the London M1NT had secretly shut down long ago and was now only staying afloat thanks to wealthy patrons in Asia.

Wu Yun, who had initially been tempted to join, immediately cooled his heels and decided to wait and see how things played out.