"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Zhou Yunqiong furrowed her brows.
"Should I look into the situation and buy it back?" Uncle Zuo asked. After all, the family head had personally ordered it; leaving a plot of land unaccounted for would certainly look bad.
Therefore, it had to be bought back. As for who currently owned the farm, he did not care in the slightest. With the strength of Wuzhou Group, so long as those few major factions had not stepped in, it would be an easy matter without the slightest trouble.
"Forget it. We've bought enough. The meteor impact sites are scattered far and wide; missing a single plot of land is nothing."
Zhou Yunqiong waved her hand and continued, "Besides, out of the meteors falling from the cosmos to earth, only an extremely tiny fraction might carry an extraterrestrial divine artifact."
Months ago, after specialists at Wuzhou Group conducted research, they discovered that a meteor shower unseen in a millennium would soon occur.
The Zhou family suspected that some of these meteors might contain extraterrestrial divine artifacts.
So, they had the projected impact sites calculated, then spent massive sums to purchase the land directly.
In fact, the Zhou family had been purchasing land all over the world for many years largely for this exact reason.
They held out hope that extraterrestrial divine artifacts would descend to earth. Through years of effort, they had indeed obtained a few, but that was all; most of their attempts had been wasted effort.
Zhou Yunqiong's view was simple: she did not believe this meteor fall would be any different.
Furthermore, certain other factions were secretly competing with the Zhou family.
Great upheaval was fast approaching.
At a time like this, maintaining stability took priority.
"Understood."
Since the young miss had spoken, Uncle Zuo naturally raised no objections. He continued, "Then Young Miss, where to next...?"
They had been outside for a while, and he wondered if they should head back into the hotel.
"Forget it. Let's go."
Zhou Yunqiong shook her head and turned toward the exit, clearly having no desire to return.
Nor did she intend to offer any explanation to those so-called classmates.
She even quickly cast aside the impact Lu Yuan had made on her just now.
Just as she had said earlier:
In the end, they belonged to two different worlds.
...
After driving away from Yunzhong Grand Hotel, Lu Yuan did not return to the villa in the northern part of the city.
Instead, he headed for another destination.
However, while on the road, a message from Chen Song arrived on his phone.
Chen Song: *Classmate Lu, I just called my dad to discuss it. We can sell that item to you. Whenever you have time, let me know when you can come pick it up.*
Lu Yuan: *Let's find some time to meet up in the next few days.*
After replying, he immediately transferred the remaining two hundred thousand yuan.
Chen Song was an honest, upright person, as was his entire family, so there was no need to worry about him running off.
Besides, with Lu Yuan's current wealth, even if the other party harbored petty schemes, Lu Yuan could track him down in short order.
Lu Yuan continued driving, reflecting on his recent actions.
In truth, aside from the Ancient Bodhi Tree, he could have hired people to steal the complete version of the *Daodejing* from Christie's, or even Chen Song's heirloom cauldron. That way, he would not have had to expend so much thought and energy.
Yet he did not want to do that for a very simple reason: not everyone could be trusted.
The Centipede Syndicate was highly capable, and there was no fear of them leaking information.
However, if he kept hiring them over and over, quite apart from the exorbitant cost, doing too much would easily draw unwanted attention.
He might even suffer a backlash. After all, those people lived by the edge of the blade and were thoroughly ruthless.
Another factor was that Lu Yuan wanted everything he did to remain sufficiently clandestine, leaving no trail for anyone to trace.
Just like purchasing land and making the donation to Mount Longhu, he had handled them through separate intermediaries precisely so he would not leave behind any loose ends or arouse suspicion.
With less than two months until the global mutation, time was running out. Any unexpected mishap would mean all his previous efforts would go down the drain.
Therefore, Lu Yuan preferred going through extra trouble, and he had to proceed with utmost caution.
Lost in these thoughts, Lu Yuan drove onward.
He continued until he reached a road along Shanghai's Outer Ring, where he parked his car beside a certain building.
The building exuded an antique elegance, boasting upturned eaves and interlocking brackets steeped in traditional Chinese architectural style. It had five stories, with a main structure crafted from timber rather than reinforced concrete. Outside the front entrance stood two lifelike stone statues of Pixiu weighing several tons each.
To possess such a building in Shanghai was testament enough to the background of its owners.
Stepping out of the car, Lu Yuan walked to the entrance and glanced up at the horizontal plaque.
Inscribed upon it were three grand characters: *Jubaozhai*!
The brushstrokes were vigorous, dynamic, and full of life.
Without a word, he stepped straight through the doors.
The first floor was spacious and grand, furnished with various seats and folding screens.
Walking up to the front desk, he spoke without pretense: "Hello. I'd like to go to the sixth floor."
The receptionist at the counter was dressed in a cheongsam, possessing striking beauty and refined grace. Hearing his request, she smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, sir, but Jubaozhai does not have a sixth floor."
Lu Yuan said nothing more. He pulled a black gold card from his inner pocket and placed it on the counter.
The receptionist's eyes shifted at the sight. When she spoke again, her tone was respectful, tinged with a hint of allure.
"Forgive me, honored guest. Please follow me, sir."
With that, she stepped out from behind the desk, dipped into a slight curtsy, and led the way forward, her movements seductive and graceful.
Appreciation flickered in Lu Yuan's eyes. He took back the black gold card and followed at an unhurried pace.
Jubaozhai.
To outsiders, it seemed like nothing more than a private club for dining and entertaining clients, distinguished only by its steep prices.
In reality, it was far more than that. It was an underground trading post—or more simply put, a black market.
Inside, one could purchase all sorts of illicit goods that were barred from open circulation.
However, first and foremost:
One needed a net worth of at least one hundred million yuan—in liquid cash.
Second, an annual membership fee of over one million yuan was required. That was right: merely for membership.
Consequently, those who knew of it and held the credentials to enter were exceptionally few.
Lu Yuan happened to be one of them.
Before long, guided by the receptionist, they traversed several corridors and arrived before an elevator. The panel displayed only a single floor: Floor 6.
Yet after the two entered and the elevator started, it surprisingly moved downward.
Indeed.
The sixth floor was not above ground; it was subterranean.
Before long, the elevator doors slid open. Lu Yuan stepped out while the receptionist remained inside.
Where he stood was a long, dimly lit corridor. Yet once he walked through it, a massive venue opened up before him.
It resembled a lounge bar, but was vastly larger and far more brilliantly lit. Every seat was carved from precious timber; out in the regular market, each piece would fetch at least several hundred thousand yuan.
This was Jubaozhai's sixth floor.
There were not many people, only around a dozen or so.
Of course, aside from the service staff, every single person who could set foot here had a fortune of over one hundred million yuan.
"Haha, Mr. Lu! Haven't seen you in days. You look even more vibrant than before!" A plump, middle-aged man in a sharp suit walked over with a hearty laugh. This was the manager of Jubaozhai's sixth floor, surnamed Lin.
"Manager Lin, no need for pleasantries," Lu Yuan said, waving his hand to cut straight to the point. "What about the item I requested last time? Did you manage to find it for me?"
Chapter 8