Slap! Slap! Slap!
Chu Junlin leaned back in his chair and clapped slowly.
“Brilliant, truly brilliant.”
“Miss Liu lives up to her reputation—decisive and ruthless. Today, I’ve seen it all firsthand.”
“This act of yours, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, is certainly impressive. Look how frightened they are.”
Liu Yutong turned to look at him. “Does Young Master Chu have some advice? Or would you like a taste of the contract yourself?”
Chu Junlin shook his head with a smile. “No, I’d rather not. I just wanted to speak my mind.”
“As the old saying goes, in business, harmony brings wealth. Zhou Zhao merely asked a few reasonable questions. Even if his words were a bit off, your approach today was far too overbearing. Word gets out, and soon no one will want to deal with Cloud Mountain Consortium.”
Liu Yutong said, “I don’t need an outsider to teach me how to do business. As for you, you seem to think too highly of yourselves.”
“Cloud Mountain Consortium has never begged anyone to join. Young Master Chu, if you have something to say, say it directly. Sending some pawn to test the waters only brings humiliation.”
At this, Chu Junlin’s smile slowly faded.
“Miss Liu gets straight to the point. Then let’s not beat around the bush. I’m not here for some low-tier membership.”
Gu Yebai sneered, “Chu Junlin, what do you mean? Don’t tell me you want a founding member spot?”
Chu Junlin nodded, then shook his head.
“You’ve built Cloud Mountain Consortium into a massive six hundred billion operation in just a year—that’s impressive, really. It makes people sit up and take notice.”
“But I suspect your success comes from pooling resources among the seven of you, right?”
“Don’t get me wrong—it’s a clever and effective strategy.”
He refused to believe anyone could go from zero to a terrifying six hundred billion in a single year.
If that were true, they’d be better than the stock market gods themselves.
So he guessed these Cloud Mountain Consortium players must have leveraged their insider knowledge and coordinated their moves to build such a massive business.
After all, with multiple families pooling their resources and ensuring complete information sharing, they’d have a considerable advantage.
As for why no similar consortium had risen so fast in the imperial capital, it was because others couldn’t achieve the same level of coordination—too many conflicting interests.
Otherwise, Cloud Mountain Consortium wouldn’t even exist.
Seeing that everyone in Cloud Mountain Consortium remained silent, he felt more certain of his judgment.
He pressed on, “Have you ever thought what this operation could become if someone with stronger connections led it? Reaching a trillion might be just around the corner, and then we’d be true business giants.”
Gu Yebai said, “Are you saying you want to take the credit for yourself?”
Chu Junlin raised a finger and wagged it. “No! No! It’s about mutual benefit. Everyone gains—why not?”
“Miss Liu, you’re a clever woman. You know what I’m getting at.”
“I may not have many other skills, but when it comes to resource integration and capital management, I dare say I’m second to none.”
“So why can’t I become a founding member of Cloud Mountain Consortium, or even its chairman?”
“Let me lay it out plainly. Either you seven founding members accept my terms—let me be chairman and join the core group—and from now on, I’ll bring Chu family resources and capital to grow this to a trillion or even more…”
“Or… I’ll rally the like-minded people here and start a new consortium from scratch.”
“I refuse to believe that with the Chu family’s background and the funds and connections of the imperial capital’s elite, I can’t outdo your Cloud Mountain Consortium. When that day comes, let’s see how you compete with me for projects and resources.”
“I’ll crush you so hard you won’t know what hit you.”
Chu Junlin’s words were no longer a power play—they were a barefaced threat.
A threat to Cloud Mountain Consortium: if Liu Yutong and the others didn’t agree, he’d immediately form a new consortium and target them specifically.
Chu Junlin believed he had fully grasped the secret behind Cloud Mountain Consortium’s rapid rise, so he dared to threaten them like this.
And indeed, with the Chu family’s foundation and his capital, forming a rival consortium and luring away the prospective members could pose a minor threat to them.
A minor one.
They had no idea what kind of person they would face. If things got dirty, he’d strip them clean down to their underwear.
Chu Junlin’s words did make some prospective members waver.
On one hand, there was Cloud Mountain Consortium’s founder, who had strict rules and a habit of feeding people contracts.
On the other hand, there was Chu Junlin, equally backed by deep resources and capital.
If Chu Junlin was really starting a new consortium, they might consider joining him.
Still, unless absolutely necessary, Chu Junlin preferred not to go that far and establish a new consortium.
What he really coveted was Cloud Mountain Consortium’s six hundred billion capital pool.
“Miss Liu, I’ll give you and the others three days to think it over.”
“In three days, either let me be chairman and grow Cloud Mountain Consortium even bigger… or…”
He paused before continuing, “…or I’ll form my own group. Once the new consortium is established, you’d better be prepared.”
“Especially you, Liu Yutong.”
With that, he stood up and prepared to leave.
“Wait.” Liu Yutong called out to him.
Chu Junlin stopped and turned around, a smile spreading across his face.
“What, Miss Liu, has had a change of heart so soon?”
Liu Yutong shook her head. “Young Master Chu, you’re overthinking it. I can give you the answer right now: no way.”
Chu Junlin narrowed his eyes. “So you really want to go head-to-head with me.”
He then looked at the other founding members. “And you all? Are you going to let a woman run the show? Don’t you have anything to say?”
“President Zhu, what about you?” He deliberately singled out Zhu Silin.
After all, she was the CEO of Cloud Mountain Capital.
Without hesitation, Zhu Silin said, “Young Master Chu, you don’t need to test us. Sister Yutong’s word is our word.”
“Also, I want you to know something. Sister Yutong is the chairman of Cloud Mountain Consortium and the chairwoman of Cloud Mountain Capital—she is the core of our consortium.”
“What you said earlier about Cloud Mountain Consortium succeeding only through resource integration and information sharing is wrong.”
“Without Sister Yutong, Cloud Mountain Consortium would never have achieved such glory in just one year.”
At her words, the prospective members looked shocked.
“What does she mean—that Cloud Mountain Consortium’s success is all thanks to Liu Yutong alone?”
“Is that for real?”
“If that’s true, then it’s terrifying…”
Chu Junlin sneered in response. “You think you can fool me? You expect me to believe that?”
A twenty-year-old woman, no matter how gifted, couldn't possibly create sixty billion in capital on her own.
Zhu Silin: "Believe it or not, if any of you want to leave, you can go now."
Chu Junlin didn't stand on ceremony either. He turned directly to face the twelve provisional members and said, "Who wants to come with me? I promise that anyone who joins my guild will be a founding member, entitled to a larger share of the profits and a greater say than they had in the Cloud Mountain Society."
The twelve provisional members hesitated for a moment, then someone quickly stood up.
One, two, three...
One after another, they rose and walked over to stand behind Chu Junlin.
In the end, of those twelve people, aside from Zhou Zhao, who had been force-fed paper earlier, seven of the remaining eleven stood up.
Only four remained seated.
Chu Junlin looked at the eight people behind him and grinned broadly.
"Miss Liu, it seems my appeal is stronger. This proves I'm more suited to be the leader."
Liu Yutong glanced at the nine people, including Chu Junlin, and suddenly changed the subject. "Young Master Chu, you just said you wanted to start from scratch and beat the Cloud Mountain Society until it couldn't find its way back, didn't you?"
Chu Junlin raised his chin and said arrogantly, "What, scared? It's not too late to regret it now, as long as you agree to my terms."
Liu Yutong smiled, a smile laced with undisguised mockery. "Young Master Chu, since you're so confident, let's make a bet."
Chu Junlin was taken aback, not expecting Liu Yutong to propose a wager.
"A bet? What kind of bet?"
Liu Yutong: "You said you wanted to beat us into submission, right? Then let's see who beats whom into submission!"
With that, she had someone bring out a checkbook, scribbled a few lines, tore the check off, and slapped it on the table.
"One hundred billion!"
The entire room fell silent instantly.
Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the check with its long string of zeros on the table.
One hundred billion?
What was she doing?
The expression on Chu Junlin's face gradually froze.
Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Liu Yutong pointed at the check again. "Young Master Chu, cat got your tongue? Didn't you want to beat the Cloud Mountain Society until it couldn't find its way back? There, I'm giving you the chance."
"This is a check for one hundred billion. I'm betting it in the name of the Cloud Mountain Society."
"From now on, we'll set a one-year term. We'll see who ends up with the higher rate of return. The loser pays the winner one hundred billion and must also bow down and worship the winner, prostrating on the ground."
"So, Young Master Chu, do you dare to accept this bet?"
