Chapter 507 - 304: Gold Is Everywhere, I Am "The Great Villain

Chapter 507: Chapter 304: Gold Is Everywhere, I Am "The Great Villain

For the next several hours, tens of thousands of feet in the air, Lin Chu held a long and formal meeting with the group of elites from various fields gathered before him.

After all, the flight from Dubai to Paris would take at least seven hours.

From that perspective, the Middle East was the geographical center of the entire Eurasian continent.

Listening to them discuss mergers, exchange rates, onshore, offshore, international financial agreements... and other professional financial jargon, occasionally sprinkled with English words, Lin Chu’s mind began to wander.

He couldn’t understand it.

He really couldn’t understand any of it.

These were all highly specialized fields.

’With my second-rate university degree, I’d be utterly crushed by this group.’

So, Lin Chu maintained a calm and composed smile throughout the entire meeting.

He would nod occasionally, feigning approval.

’I can at least pretend, can’t I?’

Every person who spoke saw the big money man’s expression, assumed they were being appreciated, and thus became even more enthusiastic.

For them, this trip was partly about participating in a historic event. After all, cases of domestic capital acquiring overseas banks were truly rare—you could count them on two hands.

Secondly, Bian Gaige’s influence, as well as the compensation package he offered, were genuinely appealing.

"I’d like to know, roughly how much capital will we have at our disposal this time?"

At a critical juncture, Bian Gaige turned to Lin Chu with a smile and asked him in front of everyone.

Lin Chu had mentioned it to him briefly before: no upper limit.

However, even with no upper limit, there had to be a practical ceiling.

Now that they were about to enter the battlefield, they needed to have a clear idea of the firepower at their disposal.

Hearing this, Lin Chu gave a faint smile.

"Currently, my bank account has ten billion... oh, to be precise, eleven billion USD."

How much?

Bian Gaige’s pupils suddenly dilated. He stared at Lin Chu in disbelief.

The others also looked over, completely stunned.

Ten billion... USD?

It was as if the air inside the cabin had frozen.

"Is that not enough?"

"If it’s not enough, give me a little more time, and I can raise some more."

"Like I said before, no upper limit."

Lin Chu said nonchalantly, taking a sip of his coke.

Sometimes, money is the simplest and most direct way to shock people.

Bian Gaige scratched his head.

"Should we just kidnap him?"

"Hahaha..."

The old man’s teasing question was a joke meant to liven things up, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the cabin.

The amount was truly unexpected and a pleasant surprise.

At first, he thought a billion USD would have been plenty.

After all, with that figure, they could become the second-largest or even the majority shareholder of a small to medium-sized bank. They could use that as a foundation and develop slowly from there, at least securing a beachhead.

But now...

There was no need for that!

They had more than enough money!

He had never fought such a well-funded war in his entire life!

"It’s enough, more than enough. Give me one year, and I guarantee that LC Group will own a fully licensed European Bank."

Bian Gaige said, full of confidence. Anyone would feel honored to personally take part in something like this.

What’s more, he himself was one of the main "players" in charge.

"Great, no problem. I’ll handle the capital, you handle the professional side. If the money runs out, I can add more."

"Regardless of how long this project takes, I promise that for the twenty-something experts present, once the job is done, a total bonus pool of one hundred million USD will be distributed among you."

"That’s the plan. You guys can discuss the specific details. I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to get some sleep."

Lin Chu said with a smile, taking the opportunity to slip away.

It would be rude not to listen while they were in a meeting.

But listening was a complete waste of time.

’Better use this chance to get out of here.’

The plane was equipped with a private bedroom. The bed wasn’t huge—one and a half meters wide—but for an airplane, it was quite impressive.

Watching Lin Chu’s retreating back, the group of experts looked at each other, their hearts pounding as they thought about what he had just said.

A total bonus of one hundred million USD!

Who... wouldn’t be tempted by that?

Among twenty-something people, even if split evenly, that would be around five million USD each!

This young chairman was truly generous!

...

After taking a hot shower mid-air and changing into pajamas, Lin Chu lay down, holding his phone.

Although he was the one who proposed acquiring a bank, he was destined not to be heavily involved in the process.

Because he truly didn’t understand it.

’You always regret not studying more when you need the knowledge.’

But he had no particular desire to make up for his shortcomings.

There were too many specialized fields in this world; it was impossible to dabble in all of them. He just needed to pick the right people and provide enough money.

Besides...

As long as the main goal was accomplished, he didn’t really care if they skimmed a little off the top and made some extra money for themselves on this project.

A general on the march doesn’t chase after rabbits.

...

「As night fell, the plane arrived over Paris.」

At night, the view of Paris from high above was quite magnificent, but it wasn’t much different from any other city filled with skyscrapers.

The group checked into the Intercontinental hotel; Gao Haitao had already arranged everything.

The Security Group also had a branch in Paris, one even larger than the one in Dubai.

After all, this was one of the centers of all of Europe.

Having taken a long nap on the plane in the afternoon, Lin Chu was now wide awake and quite energetic by the evening.

He left the hotel with Gao Haitao and two bodyguards, strolling casually down the street.

"Old Gao, do you like soccer?"

Seeing a shop selling soccer merchandise not far away, Lin Chu was struck by a sudden thought and asked casually.

Gao Haitao cleared his throat twice and replied with a smile, "I played when I was younger, but not anymore. I can’t keep up physically, and it’s not much fun. There are a few young guys at the company who are pretty good, though."

He thought Lin Chu had gotten an impulse to go play a game of soccer for fun.

It wouldn’t be a problem. There were plenty of public fields around, and they could organize a game if needed.

Lin Chu glanced at him, shook his head, and smiled. "That’s not what I mean. I mean, if you like it, I could buy you a team to play with."

"Soccer superstars are Celebrities, after all. The Security Group could break into that line of business and might see some unexpected gains."

In truth, Lin Chu had just made that reason up on the spot.

He just wanted to have some fun and also spend money.

Art and antiques, at the very top end, would only cost two hundred million USD, and that would already be one of the ten most expensive pieces of art in the world.

A team was obviously much more expensive.

And not just teams. There were also all sorts of company shares, easily costing over a billion, or even tens of billions.

In Lin Chu’s eyes, this place was paved with Gold!

Buy something, flip it, and you’d get double back, maybe even ten times.

His desire to buy was swelling to infinity at this moment.

’Never mind buying one team, what if I bought up most of the teams in Ligue 1?’

’If I can do it for Ligue 1, what about the Premier League?’

’Buying all five major leagues isn’t out of the question.’

Rich tycoons from the Middle East buying teams was all the rage, and many of these teams couldn’t be happier about it.

It was an arms race, after all.

They’d welcome a major investor with open arms.

Thinking about it, Lin Chu felt he was going a little crazy.

’Just imagine the scene...’

’The two teams in the finals belonging to the same owner...’

Uh...

’The entire industry would be ruined.’

’Am I some great menace?’

’But if I’m a menace, so be it. It doesn’t matter. This is a foreign country anyway, so I can go as wild as I want.’

"So it’s settled. You guys take a look over the next couple of days, see if there’s anything suitable, and buy it for fun."

Before Gao Haitao could reply, Lin Chu had already made the decision with absolute certainty.

Gao Haitao: ...

’It’s one thing to be willful with your money, but you don’t have to take it this far.’

’Saying you’ll buy a team and just buying a team?’

’How is this casual attitude any different from casually buying a piece of clothing at the mall?’

But he had heard what Lin Chu said on the plane that afternoon—ten billion USD. He was, indeed, absurdly rich.

Buying a team would be a trivial matter for him.

"Does this count as planting our flag around the world, in a sense? Hm?"

Lin Chu asked casually with a nonchalant smile.

"Of course it counts! Why wouldn’t it? I’m also looking forward to the day we become a Fortune 500, a Fortune 300, a Fortune 100, or even top ten... even number one isn’t impossible. The future is full of possibilities."

Gao Haitao replied, casually agreeing.

At that moment.

Lin Chu was suddenly reminded of a concept from a sci-fi novel—the Ultimate Proprietor.

At this rate, his assets would be spread across the globe by the time he was forty or fifty, long before he died.

Of course, doing so would certainly come with risks.

Once there was a certain amount of excess money in the market, the relevant authorities would definitely take notice.

Tsk.

’I, by myself, will have caused global inflation.’

’At that point...’

’It’s entirely possible I’d be wanted worldwide.’

At this thought, Lin Chu couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. He looked up at the sky and suddenly thought, ’How have I become the poster child for evil capitalist villains?’

’But... this isn’t my true nature.’

’This is the nature of capital itself.’

Appreciation and expansion are the primary directives of all capital, perhaps even independent of the owner’s will.

Lin Chu felt a mix of anticipation and baseless fear for that moment.

’This is probably what they mean when they say a capitalist will sell you the rope to hang himself.’

’But...’

"Let’s hire people. Keep hiring, hire more people..."

"I’m setting a hard rule. The company’s employee count must double every year. We can go slower domestically, but our international operations must meet this standard."

Turning back to look at Gao Haitao, Lin Chu spoke again with deep meaning.

Hearing this, Gao Haitao’s heart skipped a beat. He thought of what Lin Chu had said before about "adopting war orphans" and was once again left speechless.

’What are you trying to do?’

’Huh?’

’What in the world are you trying to do!’

’At this rate, it’s really hard not to let your mind wander to dark places.’

Gao Haitao even suspected that Lin Chu might have a master plan. Otherwise, why was he buying up so much land all over the world?

First Daber Island, now Dubai...

’For a single company, you’re trying to take over the world!’

...

...