As Chu Junlin and his group left in disgrace, the private room finally calmed down.
Liu Yutong turned to look at the four provisional members who had chosen to stand with the Cloud Mountain Society.
These four young people straightened up nervously as Miss Liu’s gaze swept over them.
After all, this woman seemed a bit too formidable—they couldn’t help but feel intimidated.
Liu Yutong reined in her imposing aura, a warm smile spreading across her face.
“The four of you were introduced so hastily earlier that I didn’t really remember much. How about we get to know each other again?”
The four quickly stood up and began introducing themselves one by one.
The first to step forward was a young man in his mid-twenties, slim and scholarly.
“Miss Liu, my name is Shen Cheng. I’m from the Shen family. My father works in XX. I’m a branch member, not of the main line, but I’ve always wanted to make something of myself.”
Liu Yutong nodded. “The Shen family, huh? Then Lin Yi is your cousin?”
Shen Cheng quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, Lin Yi is my cousin. She’s mentioned you, Miss Liu, saying you’re a rare extraordinary woman. She told me that if I ever had the chance to meet you, I should learn as much as I can from you.”
Liu Yutong smiled. “Sister Yi is too kind. But the fact that you stayed shows you have good judgment.”
Shen Cheng smiled shyly and scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
The second to step forward was a girl in her early twenties, with long hair flowing over her shoulders, a sweet face, and bright, clever eyes.
“Miss Liu, my name is Shangguan Ling’er. I’m from the Shangguan family. My father works in the XX department. I really love finance, but my family has never really supported it—they say girls are better off in steady government jobs. But I want to try. I don’t want to be a vase my whole life.”
Liu Yutong studied her for a moment.
This girl looked sweet on the surface, but there was a stubborn, determined streak in her bones—she liked that.
“Alright, now that you’ve joined Cloud Mountain Society, it’ll show your family that women can earn respect too.”
Shangguan Ling’er nodded firmly. “Mm! I’ll work hard!”
The third to step forward was a man around thirty, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, standing tall and straight like a pine tree—clearly from a military family.
“Miss Liu, my name is Wei Xiao. I’m from the Wei family. My father works in XX. I run my own security company—it’s not big, just a few dozen people. I don’t know much about investing, but I trust your judgment, Miss Liu. I’m willing to follow you.”
As Liu Yutong looked at this young man named Wei Xiao, she suddenly thought of Chu Yang.
Both had military backgrounds, both were the practical, hardworking type.
“Wei Xiao, what exactly does your security company do?”
Wei Xiao answered honestly. “Mainly provides security services for businesses and individuals. We also take on some overseas projects. It’s not large in scale, but we have a good reputation.”
Liu Yutong’s interest peaked. This guy was impressive—he’d even managed to take his business abroad.
Most legitimate security companies in China focused on things like bank cash transport or corporate security—they rarely ever ventured overseas.
Companies doing international work usually registered abroad. Doing it from here was no small feat.
Liu Yutong said, “I actually have a security company under me too. We can exchange ideas sometime.”
Wei Xiao’s eyes lit up immediately. “I’d be thrilled.”
The fourth to step forward was a young man who looked barely over twenty, fair-skinned and clear-eyed, like a fresh graduate.
“Miss... Miss Liu, my name is Xu Ke. I’m from the Xu family. My family sent me out to gain experience. I... I’m not really sure what to do, but I knew that the ones who left were wrong—you were right—so I stayed.”
He spoke with a slight stutter but was very sincere.
Liu Yutong smiled. “Good. Work hard at Cloud Mountain Society in the future.”
After the introductions, Liu Yutong gestured to them. “Sit down, don’t just stand there. Once the contracts are signed, we can chat together.”
The four sat down cautiously.
Zhu Silin had new tea and snacks brought in.
With Chu Junlin’s annoying group gone, the atmosphere in the room had indeed become more relaxed.
As the conversation deepened, the four of them grew less tense.
After all, they’d officially signed on and become part of Cloud Mountain Society.
Now that they were part of the team, their mindset naturally shifted.
The clever-looking Shangguan Ling’er even sidled up beside Liu Yutong and asked a question she was dying to know.
“Sister Yutong, do we really think we can win the bet against Chu Junlin?”
As soon as she asked, the other three perked up their ears.
They all wanted to hear what Liu Yutong would say—whether she had simply bluffed and used the hundred billion figure to scare Chu Junlin, or if she really had absolute confidence in herself.
Before Liu Yutong could speak, the other founding members of Cloud Mountain Society couldn’t help laughing.
“Ling’er, your question... is a bit too underestimating our Sister Yutong.”
“Exactly. Do you know how much profit Sister Yutong has led us to make in the year since Cloud Mountain Society was founded?”
Shangguan Ling’er honestly shook her head.
Though rumors had spread about Cloud Mountain Society’s incredibly high returns, no one knew exactly how much initial capital had turned into that massive six-hundred-billion portfolio.
“A year ago, Sister Yutong and the rest of us pooled together about five billion in initial capital.”
“And now you’re wondering if we can beat that Chu Junlin?”
“Let me tell you—from the moment Sister Yutong took out that check, Chu Junlin had already lost.”
At that, Shangguan Ling’er and the others’ eyes went wide.
“How much?!”
“Five billion?!”
Five billion in initial capital, turned into six hundred billion in one year.
What kind of terrifying rate of return was that?
This wasn’t just making money anymore—this was printing it on a money press.
And a money press that could burn out from overuse.
No wonder Zhu Silin had said earlier that the core of Cloud Mountain Society was only one person—Liu Yutong.
If someone could turn five billion into six hundred billion in a year, who else would you put at the center?
What they didn’t know was that the six hundred billion only referred to the funds controlled by Cloud Mountain Capital, not the money Liu Yutong personally managed.
The subsidiaries under Liu Yutong, like Wanlong Capital and her offshore funds, were larger than that six hundred billion.
To say nothing of the more than six billion US dollars in overseas assets she had initially set aside, which after this year had grown to over ten billion US dollars.
And that number would only grow wildly in the future.
Because this year, she had already started sweeping up Bitcoin.
At this time, Bitcoin was almost worthless—not just worthless, but so obscure that no one would even take it for free.
As far as she could recall from her past life, it wasn’t until next year that a programmer overseas would first use Bitcoin to buy something, marking the cryptocurrency’s tradability milestone.
That programmer used ten thousand Bitcoin to buy two pizzas.
She wondered if that programmer ever regretted it later, since those two pizzas would one day be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
It took Shangguan Ling'er and the others quite a while to calm the shock in their hearts.
At this moment, they felt incredibly fortunate to have chosen to stay behind instead of leaving with Chu Junlin.
They could well imagine that if Chu Junlin and his group learned that Yun Shan had made a six-hundred-billion-dollar plate with only five billion in capital, they'd probably have the urge to jump off a building.
Right now, Shangguan Ling'er was filled with confidence about the future. Following someone so brilliant in finance, how could they possibly lose?
"Then... Sister Yutong, how long do you think it will take us to take them down?"
Liu Yutong didn't beat around the bush either. "The four of you chose to stay, which shows you're not the kind of fair-weather friends who shift with the wind. Since you're now part of the inner circle, I won't play games with you."
Then she held up three fingers and said a number that was both exhilarating and stunning:
"Three months."
"Three months will be enough to wipe out Chu Junlin's so-called business alliance into thin air."
.................
