99: Chapter 99: Mother's Secret Funds Enter the Market; Mother and Son Join Forces to Plot a Major Overseas Strategy
The crisp sound of high heels striking the floor approached from afar.
The sound was steady and unhurried, each step seemingly landing on the drumbeat of one's heartbeat, carrying a natural elegance and sense of oppression.
Qin Yuan slowly turned around.
The pungent smell of blood in the underground water prison seemed to be dispersed the moment this figure appeared, replaced by an elegant and noble fragrance.
The person who arrived was none other than Qin Yuan's biological mother, Chu Mengyun.
She wore a Chanel haute couture suit that was impeccably tailored and devoid of any logos, yet its exorbitant price was visible to the naked eye. Her jet-black hair was coiled at the back of her head, revealing a swan-like, fair, and slender neck.
Time had left no trace on her face; instead, it had settled into a grace and charm that made all young girls feel inferior.
Her gaze was soft, carrying the tender love of a mother looking at her son.
Yet deep within those eyes hid the same coldness and dominance that controlled everything, just like Qin Yuan's.
This woman, who appeared to be a pampered noble lady, was actually the international venture capital queen who could manipulate Wall Street with a flip of her hand, striking fear into the hearts of countless financial giants.
Chu Mengyun's beautiful eyes flickered, sweeping over the pile of human ash on the ground, and then looking at her son's calm face.
Far from feeling any discomfort, her red lips curled into an extremely proud arc.
"Well done."
Her voice was warm and pleasant, as if she were praising her son for getting a perfect score on an exam.
"Just a small nuisance."
Qin Yuan shrugged, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing the weather today.
"You've been standing outside for so long, aren't you tired?"
Chu Mengyun walked to Qin Yuan's side and naturally helped him straighten his slightly wrinkled collar, her movements intimate.
"I had to let those old friends see that my son isn't a soft persimmon that anyone can pinch."
Her tone was light, yet it carried an unquestionable protectiveness.
"Aren't you afraid that if I play too recklessly, I'll lose all the family assets of the Qin Family and the Chu Family?"
Qin Yuan asked half-jokingly.
Chu Mengyun chuckled, her allure enough to make any man lose his focus.
"Family assets?"
"My son, do you have some misunderstanding about our family's 'family assets'?"
She extended her well-maintained jade fingers and gently tapped Qin Yuan's chest.
"What you've done domestically is beautiful, very beautiful."
"Whether it's your decisive methods of killing or your strategies of alliances, everything has far exceeded my expectations."
Chu Mengyun's eyes were full of approval, as if she were admiring her most perfect work of art.
"But..."
Her tone shifted, and her eyes became profound.
"Your perspective is still limited by this land."
"While China is vast, it is ultimately just one piece on the chessboard of the Blue Star. If you clear out all your opponents here, at best, you're just a more capable 'village chief'."
Qin Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this, not refuting her.
He knew his opportunistic mother was about to start teaching him the real "Art of Emperors."
"A true empire can never be built by just guarding one's own small plot of land."
Chu Mengyun's voice was not loud, but it carried a power that could make the world listen.
"Its tentacles must reach into every inch of land on this planet, and its rules must become the iron law that all races must obey."
Qin Yuan laughed.
"Mom, are you saying I'm making money too slowly?"
"No."
Chu Mengyun shook her head, a hint of playfulness flashing in her eyes.
"I'm here to bring you ammunition."
She snapped her fingers.
The secretary who had been silent behind her immediately handed over an extremely thin tablet computer.
Chu Mengyun swiped the screen and displayed an account interface in front of Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan's gaze fell on the screen, and even with his current mindset, his pupils couldn't help but constrict slightly.
That string of numbers was too long.
Long enough to cause a heart attack for any country's Minister of Finance on the spot.
It was an offshore capital account measured in "trillions."
And the currency unit was US dollars.
"This is some private money I hid overseas years ago; I didn't let your father know."
Chu Mengyun's tone was nonchalant, as if she were talking about hiding a few hundred dollars of pocket money.
"With this money, your Shadow Empire will finally have a real backbone."
Qin Yuan took a deep breath, having to admire his mother's scale.
This wasn't just private money; this was a mobile World Bank!
"It seems you've been planning to make a move overseas for a long time."
Qin Yuan immediately understood his mother's intention.
"Correct."
A sharpness inconsistent with her age flashed in Chu Mengyun's eyes.
"I have been waiting for a qualified sword-wielder. Now it seems that you, my son, are even more excellent than I imagined."
"Coincidentally, those old things overseas have recently seemed to sense the unusual movements in China and have started to become restless."
She swiped the screen to bring up several top-secret intelligence reports.
"Rothschild, the oldest financial family in Europe; they believe in killing people invisibly with rules and capital."
"And this..."
Chu Mengyun's finger pointed at a black skull logo entrenched on an island in the Pacific Ocean.
"Crooked-Mouth Dragon King, a barbarian of the overseas underground world, who built his own kingdom with 100,000 mercenaries and absolute force."
"One plays dirty, the other plays rough. They have recently joined forces to blockade all of the Qin Family's expansion channels internationally."
Chu Mengyun looked at Qin Yuan, her red lips slightly parted, a hint of undisguised killing intent in her smile.
"Son, tell Mom, which one do you want to crush first?"
Qin Yuan looked at the two symbols representing the highest power overseas on the screen, not feeling pressure, but rather feeling his blood begin to burn with excitement.
The domestic chapter was finished; it was time to go to a wider world and harvest fatter leeks!
He wrapped his arm around his cheap mother's shoulder and, to her surprise, kissed her on her smooth forehead.
"Mom, you really are a great mom!"
Chu Mengyun's fair face flushed, and she playfully patted Qin Yuan.
"You have no manners."
"Let's go."
Qin Yuan took Chu Mengyun's hand and strode towards the deepest part of the base.
"Let me show you the 'family assets' your son has saved up over the years."
The heavy alloy door slowly opened.
A vast command center, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people and filled with futuristic technology, appeared before the mother and son.
A huge 3D holographic Earth projection floated in mid-air, and countless data streams flew across the transparent screens all around like blue waterfalls.
Hundreds of technicians in white uniforms were busy at their posts in a tense and orderly manner.
"Activate highest authority, connect to the global SkyNet System."
Qin Yuan's voice echoed in the command center.
"Authority confirmed, Emperor."
Gu Qianqian's slightly lazy girl voice sounded from the broadcast.
"The global SkyNet System has been activated. All of the Shadow Empire's overseas military bases, financial nodes, and intelligence networks are now online."
As her voice fell, thousands of dense light points lit up on the holographic Earth floating in the air.
Each light point represented a nail Qin Yuan had planted around the world.
Chu Mengyun looked at this shocking scene, her beautiful eyes shimmering with brilliance.
She knew her son was strong, but she hadn't expected that, without her knowing, he had already built the prototype of such a terrifying global empire.
"Mom, now, our mother and son join forces."
Qin Yuan turned his head to look at Chu Mengyun, his eyes flashing with unprecedented ambition.
"On this tiny planet, who else can stop us?"
Chu Mengyun smiled.
She smiled with immense gratification and fanaticism.
"Then... my Emperor son."
She stood on tiptoe and whispered to Qin Yuan, her breath like an orchid.
"Where shall we choose for the first stop of our world conquest?"
Qin Yuan turned around and looked at the huge holographic Earth again.
His gaze traveled across the vast ocean, finally landing on the black skull island in the center of the Pacific, marked as "Extremely Dangerous" by the system.
His finger tapped heavily in the air.
The holographic Earth zoomed in instantly, magnifying the detailed 3D map of the island to the extreme.
It clearly marked aircraft carrier formations, military ports, and the dense red light points representing the 100,000-strong army.
"Mom, let's take this Crooked-Mouth Dragon King with his 100,000-strong army and make him our first strike."