Chapter 7

"Brother Kun, the people from the mainland have agreed. At next year's ceremony, Brother Kun will have a seat!"

A henchman stood in front of Zhang Chen, reporting while filled with admiration and reverence.

The ceremony next year, that would be the world's top political event. To be able to make an appearance there, in the Hongxing, there would be no one else but the person in front of him, right? Even Mr. Jiang would fall short in comparison.

Zhang Chen nodded faintly, lifting his head from a pile of documents and yawned widely. "I know, go and arrange it. After next year, we can establish a tourism investment group and collectively head to the mainland. At that time, I estimate that we can multiply the money in our hands several times over!"

The henchman nodded excitedly, which made Zhang Chen somewhat pleased.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed. It was now 1996, and in just over a year, Hong Kong would be returned.

Over these years, he had been busy both inside and out, constantly expanding his sphere of influence in Hong Kong, strengthening his subordinates, and even personally sending over a hundred of them abroad for further studies.

Abroad, his investments in the stock market had surged, and his funds had increased crazily. Now, he held a significant share in companies like Microsoft and Oracle, and he had also made early investments in the emerging internet industry.

On the mainland, he had invested in various sectors, including real estate, urban construction, and corporate reforms. He had even aggressively sought connections, even establishing a private relationship with the "big boss" who was known for his "too simple, sometimes naive" approach.

Because of this, although he was still officially the leader of the Hongxing, his actual status had far surpassed Jiang Tian Sheng!

Standing up, he ignored the remaining pile of documents.

Zhang Chen walked to the fully enclosed glass window on the 60th floor, looking down at the scenery below, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Suddenly, a suction force came, and Zhang Chen's eyes lit up. He knew that the mission in the Cube World had finally begun!

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, his figure flickered, and everything before his eyes turned snow-white.

The white room was like an old American sci-fi movie, completely pure white without a single impurity. In the room, the black cube had shrunk to the size of a basketball, floating quietly. The Agent, still dressed in her Gothic Lolita outfit, stood behind the cube with a smile.

"How do you feel?" the Agent asked.

"I'm naturally a good person. Even as a villain, I'm on the path to redemption," Zhang Chen shrugged and said.

"Don't worry!" The Agent grinned, "I believe you'll soon become obsessed with your villainous identity and can't pull yourself away."

"Why did you bring me here?" Zhang Chen rolled his eyes and pointed around.

"This is the completed Cube Room, a part of the Cube World. I spent a long time setting it up, and now it's officially operational. From today, players of the Cube World will start entering one by one, and your work can officially begin."

"But I'm just one person. Can I handle it?" Zhang Chen asked.

"No problem," the Agent patted her chest, "The Cube has created N multiple clones for you. You don't have to worry about overworking yourself!"

After saying that, she pointed, and a wave of light flashed. The surroundings suddenly changed into a pink, fairy-tale-like girl's room. The floating cube now looked like a toy, stacked on a shelf, no longer as terrifying.

"This is my room," the Agent said. "What you saw earlier was the standard Cube Room. This is my personal customization. How does it look, much better, right?"

Zhang Chen was speechless, "Please don't waste my time. Tell me about my work."

The Agent nodded, waved her hand, and turned on the 40-inch TV in her room. Suddenly, the screen flickered, and over a dozen people appeared.

In the white, empty room, the cube floated, and over a dozen people stood or squatted, some with confused looks, others with boundless excitement.

"Your mission in the Cube World should have been conveyed to you. You need to cause a 70% or higher casualty rate among these players. These players are your prey. They will soon enter your world, and I'm sure you have a plan. Of course, one important point: as the villain, you must die, and you must die directly or indirectly at the hands of these people. Otherwise, your villainous identity won't be established, and your mission will be considered a failure!"

"Tch! I knew it would be like this," Zhang Chen clicked his tongue, thinking he couldn't escape the fate of being a minor character.

"What about now?"

The Agent laughed and pointed at the dozen players. "I've prepared a fun game for you. You shouldn't have any objections, right?"

Zhang Chen looked at the direction she pointed, covering his forehead in exasperation. "Infernal Affairs!"

...

In the white space, Zhang Chen opened his eyes to hear a fierce argument.

"Damn it, it's all your fault, you idiot! If you hadn't overturned the car, how would we have ended up in this place!" A middle-aged man with a fat head and gold-rimmed glasses was scolding a tall, relatively honest-looking man.

The man also looked furious, shouting back, "Why did I overturn the car? Think about it yourself! The police are cracking down hard now. You didn't restrain yourself and insisted on going to see your mistress at this time, taking the undeveloped road. It was raining heavily today. It would be a miracle if the car didn't overturn!"

The middle-aged man's face turned slightly red, but he still tried to shift the blame.

Zhang Chen listened with interest for a while and learned that the man seemed to be some official, and the honest-looking man was his driver.

Apart from these two, there was also a high school boy, who was looking around curiously, eager to touch the cube.

A tall, thin man, with makeup on his face, looked like a drag queen, and behind him stood three young girls with good figures, probably models. They all looked distressed, clearly uncomfortable with the unfamiliar situation.

A newly married couple, still in their wedding suits and dresses, both frowned, though they looked ordinary, there was a hint of a fierce aura in their expressions.

A college student, about Zhang Chen's age, sat quietly, his face expressionless.

There was also a child, about seven or eight years old, hugging his head, looking around in fear.

In total, there were eleven people, plus Zhang Chen, making twelve.

If the Agent was right and he was just a visitor and not counted among them, then he needed to eliminate at least eight of the eleven people in front of him.

Zhang Chen focused on the quiet college student and the newly married couple. He keenly sensed that these three could be significant trouble.

*Ding...*

Suddenly, the cube in the center began to spin, making a light sound, and then a voice, devoid of any emotion, like an electronic simulation, gradually sounded.

"Welcome to the Cube World."

The two arguing men immediately fell silent, and the others also focused their attention on the cube.

"The Cube World is a world of infinite possibilities. Here, you can fight and survive to obtain everything you desire."

"The Cube World is infinitely vast. As newcomers to the Cube World, you will face unprecedented challenges."

"Next, you will enter your first Cube World. Please prepare, the journey is about to begin..."

The cube spun rapidly, emitting sparks like brilliant fireworks, stunning many.

But they quickly reacted.

"What is the Cube World, and why are we here!" the official shouted.

"You are already dead. The Cube World has resurrected you and requires you to survive and complete all Cube World missions. Failure means annihilation!" the cube said coldly.

"Annihilation? What a big talk, what are you anyway!" the official continued, clearly disliking being ordered around after years in a high position.

But the cube wouldn't waste time on him.

"Right arm broken." the cube said coldly.

*Snap!*

With a light sound, the man's right arm suddenly severed at the root, the wound instantly healing without a drop of blood.

As if his arm had been broken and healed long ago.

The man screamed in terror, and his driver quickly covered his mouth, pulling him back. "Shut up, don't get yourself killed here!"

The high school boy, however, looked curiously at the severed arm on the ground, asking, "Are you the Overlord? So, are we about to enter the infinite worlds? Oh, I've been looking forward to it for a long time. Hey, Overlord, do you have any special gifts for me? I need a container to hold my lust when I enter the infinite worlds, right?"

"First, I am the Cube, not the Overlord," the cube said coldly. "Second, think about how you will survive in the upcoming world, not about useless things!"

After saying that, the cube stopped spinning, making a light click, and returned to its complete state.

*Buzz.*

Suddenly, twelve light circles appeared on the ground, each about one square meter, just enough for a person to stand.

"Please stand on the teleportation circles. The Cube World is about to begin."

The cold voice in everyone's ears was like a cold blade, making them feel a chill of fear.

Zhang Chen looked around and, seeing no one moving, stood up and walked towards the light circle.

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out, "Wait!"

Zhang Chen turned his head in confusion and saw the college student stand up. "Before we enter, I need to ask some questions."

"The Cube World will open in one minute. Once the countdown starts, if it ends, everyone will be annihilated!" the cube said coldly, but the man remained calm.

Hearing this, everyone became anxious. The official shouted, "Don't waste our time. If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"

"Why don't you provide us with weapons?" the man ignored them and said coldly. "You gave no hints about the mission, but it will surely be dangerous. Why didn't you provide us with weapons for combat?"

The cube seemed to stall, falling silent.

He continued, "You said we will die if we fail, but what will we get if we win? You resurrected us, but that doesn't make us your slaves!"

The cube fell silent again, and after about ten seconds, it said coldly, "All your doubts will be answered in the first world. The countdown has 15 seconds left. Please confirm if you are unwilling to step onto the circle."

"Of course, I'm willing," the man's eyes flashed with determination, and he smiled coldly.

He quickly stepped forward and was the first to step onto the circle.

Zhang Chen's face still showed confusion, but he couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

"Little Agent, it seems you've been seen through!"

...