“Boss, Boss, Boss!” a middle-aged man in black burst in, waving a sheaf of utterly disorganized documents, his voice loud and urgent.

“What is it? Hurry up and say it!” Nakagawa Tengjun looked heavy-faced, the dark circles around his eyes clearly indicating he hadn’t slept well the previous night.

That was easily understandable; after all, the Nakagawa Group had been inexplicably attacked by some unknown force yesterday, causing the stock price to plummet violently, and the company had sold off ten percent of its shares—an event that couldn’t help but make Nakagawa Tengjun stumble.

“Our stock price is under attack again, Boss! It’s broken below five thousand points!” The man in black tremblingly handed the documents to Nakagawa Tengjun as he frantically reported.

“What? Dropped below five thousand again?” Nakagawa Tengjun took the documents with a look of profound shock, slowly scanning them, his complexion shifting dramatically.

After dropping below five thousand yesterday due to those unknown assailants, the price had fallen to three thousand points in less than a single morning today. That amounted to a fifteen percent stake lost! If this continued, how much more of the Nakagawa Group would be eroded by the opposing force?

“Boss, should we terminate the stock market intervention immediately?” The man in black couldn’t believe it. An unknown power had stripped the Nakagawa Group of twenty-five percent of its shares in just a day and a half. If this kept up, the entire Nakagawa Group would descend into chaos.

And it wasn’t just the Nakagawa Group; all the various branches, sub-divisions, and smaller factories of the company across Shanghai were already experiencing waves of urgent demands and complaints. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the Nakagawa Group collapsed entirely.

“No, not yet. If we pull back now, we’ll lose even more.” Nakagawa Tengjun couldn’t fathom who was behind this assault.

“But…”

“No buts! Quickly, issue the order immediately. Notify all major branch companies and the banks investing in Shanghai to hold their ground. If the stock fluctuates, sell immediately!” Nakagawa Tengjun was growing anxious. He then shouted, “Also, summon all major shareholders right away for a meeting at headquarters at two o’clock this afternoon—no excuses. We must guard against the enemy taking advantage of the situation to acquire our company at inflated prices!”

“Yes!”

“And send people out right now to investigate! By any means necessary, discover the origin of this force. Dig up everything, even their ancestors from eighteen generations back, and get a crystal-clear picture!”

“Yes!” The middle-aged man in black acknowledged and then departed.

Nakagawa Tengjun stood still, his expression grim. He subconsciously spotted a particular project and muttered to himself, “Impossible. They only just began cooperating with me; they wouldn't target my group so quickly. But if it isn’t them, who could it be? Could it be the Shangguan family? But the Shangguan family wouldn’t be so sneaky. With their power, they could suppress me openly with no trouble. But this enemy is like a cunning fox, engaging me in guerrilla warfare?”

As he speculated, Nakagawa Tengjun’s face grew increasingly strained. Yet, no matter how much he thought or guessed, he couldn't pin down the source of this power. A flicker of dejection crossed his face as he sighed deeply and sank into his chair.

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind these events was sitting in a classroom, staring gloomily at the blackboard. His gloom, however, was entirely due to the person beside him.

When Yang Yi returned to class that morning from outside, before he could even reach his seat, he was immediately enveloped by Dongfang Meier. One had to admit, this capricious and beautiful young lady was more terrifying than a demoness.

Her first sentence was: “Dear Brother Yi!”

Her second sentence was: “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

Her third sentence was: “Brother Yi, want to have lunch together?”

Sigh—only this one word could describe Yang Yi’s feeling, and that included Fatty Lin, who was always beside him. Imagine it: early in the morning, a stunning beauty whose personality was utterly spoiled suddenly speaks to you so meekly. What would you think?

Undoubtedly, you’d be trying to figure out her ulterior motive. A complete 180-degree personality shift isn't bad; it's just happening too fast. As a result, Yang Yi spent the entire morning feeling thoroughly depressed.

Dongfang Meier glanced at the brooding Yang Yi beside her, a playful smile touching her lips. She shifted her chair slightly, moving closer to him, causing all the guys—front, back, left, and right—who always held a soft spot for Dongfang Meier to take a deep breath.

“This girl!” Yang Yi felt a wry helplessness and instinctively glanced sideways at her. “What’s gotten into you today?”

“Um, Brother Yi, can I sit a little closer to you?” Dongfang Meier asked, blinking her large, bright eyes cutely.

“Uh!” Yang Yi was momentarily stunned. He glanced ahead; the teacher was writing on the board. He looked left and right; a few students were staring intently at him. He looked behind; a whole crowd of guys was glaring at him. A cold sweat beaded on his forehead; he felt as if he had returned to the days in high school when he was constantly chased and cornered.

“You should sit properly. We’re in class now; concentrate.”

“No, I want to be closer to you! Just let me sit closer!” Dongfang Meier wasn't really asking for Yang Yi’s opinion; she was clearly teasing him. After all, with every word she spoke, she scooted a little nearer, almost making their two chairs touch.

“Ahem, ahem!” A sound came from the front of the classroom. The teacher spoke with a forced seriousness: “Everyone, please pay attention! This is class time!”

Dongfang Meier knew the teacher was addressing her, so she stuck out her tongue and pulled her chair back a fraction. Seeing her move away slightly, Yang Yi silently offered a prayer of thanks—Amitabha, what a blessing—finally breathing a full sigh of relief.

Dongfang Meier saw Yang Yi’s look of liberation and pouted, glaring unhappily at the teacher. The truth was, she didn’t know why herself, but she genuinely wanted to understand Yang Yi. Since learning he was the leader of the Xuanmen, and after sending her older brother out to work on his affairs, Yang Yi’s mature composure, far beyond his age, had utterly captivated her. That’s why she was trying every possible way to get ‘closer’ to him now.

The entire morning slowly slipped away. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Yang Yi bolted for the door. He desperately wanted to avoid being entangled by Dongfang Meier, so he vanished from the classroom before even calling out to Fatty Lin.

“What’s wrong? Am I that terrifying?” Dongfang Meier pouted and stomped her foot. The guys standing not far behind her all had stars shining in their eyes.

Fatty Lin quietly packed his textbooks, carefully sliding them into his drawer. Then, without even looking at Dongfang Meier, he hurried towards the classroom door. But just as he reached the exit—

“Brother Fatty, Brother Fatty!”

“Oh, heavens above!” Fatty Lin ignored the call, muttering under his breath, and immediately ran off.

Dongfang Meier grew even more frantic. She couldn't fathom why those two guys were so terrified of her.

In reality, it had nothing to do with her. Yang Yi had a packed schedule today. After getting permission to leave from the academic affairs office, Yang Yi directly boarded the car where Feng Shi had been waiting for some time.

“Brother Yi, did you get released?” Fatty Lin asked Yang Yi.

“Yeah, I got permission. Good thing I ran fast, or I’d have been done for…” Yang Yi sounded helpless.

“Damn, I wonder if that Dongfang Meier took the wrong medicine. She suddenly became so gentle, even calling me Brother Fatty. It gave me goosebumps all over!” Fatty Lin shuddered remembering being called ‘Brother Fatty.’

“Alright, stop talking about it. Drive!”

“Yes, Young Master!”

As Yang Yi’s car slowly drove away, a cold beauty watched them from a certain location, a sentence escaping her lips, “Who exactly is he? Hmm? Should I follow him and take a look?” Although she was speaking to herself, her foot was already pressing down on the accelerator.

“Beep-boop, beep-boop!” A sequence of key presses, a cacophony of noise, and the sound of continuous chatter filled the air.

In the operations control room of the Dragon Guard, Long Yi was staring at a large screen, a cold smirk playing on his lips. “It’s already broken ten thousand points. I believe the Dragon Lord will be extremely pleased when he arrives shortly.”

Speak of the devil, speak of the devil. Yang Yi arrived swiftly at the door of the operations control room.

“Dragon Lord!” Long Yi called out respectfully upon seeing Yang Yi.

“What’s the situation now?” Yang Yi asked.

“The Nakagawa Group has successfully fallen below ten thousand points. Fifty percent of its shares are completely under our control,” Long Yi said excitedly.

“Good, very good! Even better than I predicted!” Yang Yi inwardly sneered. This was the nightmare of the Nakagawa Group now. Losing fifty percent of its shares in two days marked the first act of guerrilla warfare.

“What reaction has the Nakagawa Group shown?”

“They have started a large-scale sell-off, borrowing heavily from various banks. While they haven't dumped everything yet, they will likely counterattack soon.”

“Hmm?” Yang Yi frowned. Yang Yi never underestimated an enemy. Although he didn't think highly of Nakagawa Tengjun, an old fox who had been in the business world for so long must possess some hidden capital. Seeming to realize something suddenly, Yang Yi abruptly commanded, “Terminate all attacks on the Nakagawa Group immediately. Hurry!”

“Yes!” Although Long Yi didn't understand why Yang Yi would do this, he didn’t hesitate to issue the orders upon seeing his serious expression.

“Brother Yi, what’s wrong? Why not just wipe them out completely?” Fatty Lin was very confused. Wouldn't it be best to crush the Nakagawa Group in one final push? Why suddenly halt the assault?