Ch. 61..70
Life at the Top Chapter 61
“If it hadn’t been for the invitations that I kept receiving from those few close female classmates, I wouldn’t have gone,” Wendy explained.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t overthink it. It’s Ivan’s own business if he wants to pursue you. There are so many people out there chasing after you.
However, since he’s about to show up in front of you, I want to tell him that he shouldn’t indulge in wishful thinking,” Jasper chuckled.“Your words make it easy for others to misunderstand our relationship,” Wendy murmured.
“There won’t be any misunderstandings. I mean what I say, and you know it too,” Jasper said affirmatively.
“Hey! You’re not even prepared yet! You… how can you just say that!?”
“What do I need to prepare? What I meant was that you should focus on your work by my side instead of thinking about relationships. As a boss, I don’t want my secretary to be thinking of other men all the time.”
“…Go to hell!”
……
Five o’clock in the evening, Sheraton Hotel.
As one of the first clusters of Western hotel chains in the province, ordinary people could not afford to go to the Sheraton.
A lot of people held a deep sense of curiosity and admiration toward this extravagant five-star hotel.
Jasper’s Bentley gradually came to a stop in front of the hotel entrance. After getting out of the car and throwing the key to the bell boy, Jasper received a call from John.
“Mr. Laine, we’re in the Orchid Chamber. Everyone is waiting for you.”
Jasper glanced at the time and grinned. “I’m in room 407 downstairs. I’ll come up after talking with a few people.”
“407? Alright, we’re waiting for you,” John said with a chuckle.
After hanging up on the call, Jasper and Wendy entered the hotel lobby together.
Although the Sheraton was extremely luxurious for people in the current era, it was way too old-fashioned for someone who has seen the aesthetics 20 years into the future.
“I should get involved in the hotel industry next. None of the hotels of present are notable,” Jasper said casually.
Wendy was already used to Jasper’s eccentric train of thoughts. Just as she was about to speak, a familiar woman appeared in front of them both.
“Wendy Schuler?” the woman remarked in surprise.
Wendy smiled. “Are you Quinny Clint? I almost couldn’t recognize you,” she said.
Quinny’s face was amicable and rather pretty. However, her looks paled in comparison to Wendy.
Despite this, Quinny had a refined demeanor. Jasper remembered her as well; She was a highly-educated and well-mannered girl.
Quinny had dressed up for today’s reunion event. She had bought her dress not too long ago and it was quite a good fit for her.
“I thought that you wouldn’t come.”
Overjoyed upon seeing Wendy, Quinny walked forward and continued speaking.
“I had no choice, you guys kept calling me one by one. I had to come over no matter what…This is Jasper Laine. Do you still remember him?”
Upon hearing Wendy’s words, Quinny looked toward Jasper. She pondered it for quite some time before shaking her head. “It’s been too long, I don’t remember,” she said awkwardly.
Jasper did not mind as well. He laughed. “Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. It’s normal for you to not remember,” he said.
Quinny did not put much thought into what Jasper had said. “Did you know? There’s a very skilled stock speculator in our class. Ivan Larson has earned 700000 to 800000 dollars from the stock market this year alone. He paid for today’s reunion event,” she told Wendy happily.
“He’s in the room upstairs telling everyone about the basics of stocks. Let’s go quickly. We may be able to get some tips and earn a sum of money!” Quinny said. She then pulled Wendy upstairs with her.
Looking at Jasper, who had a faint smile on his face, Wendy smiled exasperatedly. Which stock speculator could even compare to Jasper?
Ivan was so full of himself after earning 700000 to 800000 dollars. He even held a reunion event to show off. He did not know how badly Jasper surpassed him in achievement.
Upon arriving at the room upstairs, Jasper could hear the voice of an arrogant young man before even entering.
“That’s why I said that you guys are clueless. If you want to learn how to trade stocks, learn from me. I earned up to 800000 dollars in a year. You guys can’t even earn that much in ten years.
“If we weren’t classmates, I wouldn’t give you guys this chance.
“Do you what the people out there call me? They call me the King of Stocks!”
Right then, Quinny pushed open the door. “Look who I brought over,” she told Ivan, who was imparting advice by the table, excitedly.
Ivan turned over. Upon catching sight of Wendy, his eyes gleamed.
He took a few large strides over. Ivan, who was clad in a designer suit, feigned an air of elegance as he spoke to Wendy. “Wendy, we’ve been waiting a long time for you.”
A slight frown formed on Wendy’s face. “I’m here just to visit my old classmates. You don’t have to wait for me,” she said.
Noticing that Wendy was still adamantly rejecting him, Ivan was rather displeased.
It was fine if she did not like him in the past. Now that he was rich, how dare she continue to treat him with a lukewarm attitude?
“Wendy, you didn’t know, right? I earned up to 800000 dollars from the stock market. In a few months, it’d sum up to a million dollars. I’m wealthy now,” Ivan said matter-of-factly.
Being known as a millionaire was indeed an attractive title at this point.
He was confident that Wendy would look upon him highly.
“Congratulations,” Wendy said. Nevertheless, her response was still indifferent and underwhelming.
Ivan frowned. He felt humiliated.
Everyone had flattered him with smiles on their faces after learning about this. However, Wendy still seemed indifferent toward him.
Ivan glanced at Jasper, who was standing beside Wendy in close proximity, and frowned. “Who are you? This is our reunion event, unrelated people shouldn’t be allowed to enter,” he said.
“He’s Jasper Laine.”
Quinny thought of Jasper right then. “He’s our classmate as well,” she added on in a hurry.
Ivan thought about it for a while. He then scoffed and pointed at Jasper. “You’re that poor jerk that ate two meals a day? The one who only has measly oats for meals every day?” He exclaimed.
“Ivan Larson, he’s our classmate. Be more polite!” Wendy shouted out upon seeing him humiliate Jasper.
The more Wendy stood up for Jasper, the more unhappy Ivan became. He sneered coldly. “Classmates or not, he must have come to beg me for tips after hearing that I earned a large sum from the stock market, right? I’ve seen plenty of such people,” he said.
“You couldn’t even compare to me during our schooling days, you poor jerk. The gap between us is even larger right now. If you know your place, don’t get too close to Wendy. Don’t even approach her. I can give you a few tips on the stock market if I’m in a good mood. You can earn enough to have some meat,” he added.
As Jasper set a stony gaze upon Ivan, who was being beyond arrogant, he raised an arm…and wrapped it around Wendy.
“What did you say?”
Ivan’s pleased expression turned rigid immediately. Jealousy and humiliation overcome him. He pinned Jasper with a dark gaze and gritted his teeth. “Get your dirty hands off her!”
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Jasper’s sudden act of intimacy shocked Wendy as well.
However, she did not show any form of resistance and simply let him hold onto her.
She knew that as a woman, she had to show full support for the man by her side.
“What if I don’t let go?” Jasper asked calmly.
The expression on Ivan’s face turned even more overcast. He sneered coldly. “You must not want to live anymore!”
Noticing that everything was about to go haywire, Quinny pulled Ivan away at once. She chuckled, “Ivan, we’re all classmates. Don’t make things too awkward. Right, didn’t you mention that you wanted to recommend a stock to us? Tell us about it and enlighten your old classmates.”
Ivan pointed at Jasper and snickered, “Wendy is just showing sympathy toward a poor jerk like you. Don’t think too highly of yourself and take things seriously. I’ll show you the difference between us today.”
With that, Ivan fixed his clothes and announced arrogantly, “The stock I want to recommend to all of you is Atlantis Tech. There will definitely be a great spike in its price when the market opens tomorrow.”
Everyone began whispering among themselves. Nonetheless, the majority of them believed in Ivan. After all, his record was clear to the public eye.
Quinny memorized the name of the stock as well. She intended to buy some of it when the market began trading tomorrow.
Jasper chuckled condescendingly upon hearing what he said.
Atlantis Tech was well known for being a trashy stock in the future.
Very soon, scandals regarding debt and accounting fraud will break out due to the reorganization of Atlantis Teech’s board of directors. The stocks will be suspended for up to 16 months and the stock prices will plummet after the market opens.
It was yet to rise back up during the day Jasper got reborn.
Plenty of people lost all their savings and lives because of this stock.
Of all the stocks out there, Ivan Larson had targeted this one?
“Atlantis Tech is trash. It’s doomed. The more you buy, the more you’ll lose.”
“If you really intend to earn some money from trading stocks, buy some from Millenium Tech. You’d be able to gain up to 30% in profits in the long term,” Jasper told Quinny.
“You know about stocks too?” Quinny asked suspiciously.
All things considered, Jasper seemed to be the underdog right now. Furthermore, he firmly denied Ivan’s recommendations. This made things difficult for her.
“Quinny, believe him,” Wendy said in a hushed tone.
Her words did not go unnoticed by Ivan.
“Hahaha,” Ivan burst out into laughter. “Did I hear wrongly? You said that the stock I chose is trash? And it’ll be doomed?”
Ivan pointed at Jasper in front of everyone and laughed out loud. “You shouldn’t act up like that. We are all knowledgeable people that know all about you. Who doesn’t know that you’re a poor, useless b*stard? How dare you question me? I’ve earned up to 800000 dollars within a year from trading in the stock market. How about you?”
“You’ve never even had enough tokens for playing games, right?” He continued to laugh.
Ivan then shrugged and spread out his arms. “Everyone, listen clearly. This fool here said that the stock I recommended is trash. He recommended Millenium Tech instead. Will you hold yourself responsible for the consequences of your rash words?”
“I’ve said what I wanted to say. It’s your choice whether choose Atlantis or Millenium Tech. Don’t blame me for not giving you guys tips if you lose out on the opportunity. You’ll lose your money if you make the wrong choice.”
Ivan sneered coldly, looking at Jasper with a gaze full of contempt and disdain.
“To hell with your foolish antics! Quit acting up in front of me.”
Ivan’s words made the others turn to look at each other. At this moment, someone immediately spoke up.
“Yeah, Ivan is well-known for being the King of Stocks. He won’t make a mistake in his recommendation. Just give up, Jasper Laine. You must be bullshitting. I choose to believe Ivan.”“Exactly, he must be trying to show off in front of Wendy. The King of Stocks’ record is as clear as daylight. He’s nothing compared to him. I’ve decided to purchase stocks from Atlantis Tech when the market begins to trade tomorrow.”
“What a joke. This b*stard ruined everyone’s mood at this nice reunion event.”
“Ivan, don’t drag yourself down to his level. What is a country bumpkin like him capable of? You should share more about your experience in trading stocks.”
Jasper did not mind their intrusive, impolite discussion.
They could go to hell for all he cared. If Quinny wasn’t Wendy’s good friend, he would not have bothered to give her a reminder either.
The life and death of these people had nothing to do with him.
Wendy could not stand how they were looking down on Jasper. She grabbed Jasper’s hand and told him, “Jasp, let’s go. Nothing good will come out of gathering with these people.”
From Wendy’s perspective, these classmates of hers were a literal joke. They were amazing at fawning over those of a higher status and trampling over those of a lower social status. They didn’t recognize the true god of stocks, who was standing right before them, and chose to suck up to Ivan instead.
At that moment, Quinny was staring at her phone screen.
“Oh my goodness, Atlantic Tech just released a notice. The board of directors have been reorganized and there will be major changes to the company’s management,” Quinny said, attracting everyone’s attention immediately.
Ivan explained at once, “That’s why I’ve chosen this stock. Once the board of directors get reorganized, the company’s performance will rise as well. By then, the stock price will spike.”
Most of them did not know anything about stocks. They believed in whatever Ivan said due to his confident demeanor.
“However, someone said that Atlantis Tech has hidden the company’s significant financial losses from the public. Also, they are suspected of faking their accounts. Stockholders are being told to sell out their stocks at once,” Quinny said. She then raised her head to look at Jasper in a daze.
This notice had just been released. However, Jasper seemed to have known about it beforehand.
Jasper did not expect the news about Atlantis Tech to break out so coincidentally as well.
Ivan was instantly stupefied. He made his way forward and stared at Quinny’s phone with a pointed gaze. His face gradually paled.
“How is this possible? I… I put in all my savings into this stock! It must be fake news!”
Ivan shouted out in disbelief.
“The dealer must have released fake news deliberately just to get the stockholders to sell their stocks!”
The entire room fell into pin-drop silence. The only sound that could be heard was Ivan’s heavy yet desperate breathing.
Right then, someone knocked and pushed open the door of the room.
John Jackson and Mr. Ziegler entered the room with a few prominent people from the city’s financial sector. They all held glasses of wine in their hands and had come over to make a toast.
“Mr. Laine, you said that you had some business down here. The few of us wanted to meet your friends as well. We’re here to make a toast in honor of you,” John said. This act alone was a sign of respect and honor to Jasper.
Everyone burst out into an uproar upon hearing these words.
“Oh my God, isn’t that the president of the Commercial Bank, John Jackson?”
“Isn’t that the boss of Dason Companies? I accompanied our company’s boss to have dinner with him last week.”
“Mr. Ziegler? Mr. Ziegler from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce is here as well?”
“All these renowned people… are here to make a toast in honor of Jasper Laine?!”
Life at the Top Chapter 63
“All of you are being way too kind,” Jasper said with a smile. He knew the good intention behind John’s actions.
John Jackson and the rest of them were all quick-witted and intelligent people.
They could easily tell what was going on at just a glance.
They could tell that the atmosphere in the room was not quite right.
The other people in the room were not on the level to drink with them whereas the atmosphere was slightly off. With that, John and the others clinked their glasses with Jasper and left the room.
Jasper had no interest in staying there either. He followed John and the others to the Orchid Chamber upstairs.
On the other hand, Wendy did not leave as she instantly got surrounded by a bunch of their classmates.
“Wendy, those people were all here to look for Jasper Laine?”
“They seemed to treat him very courteously.”
“What kind of person is Jasper now? How can he have a meal with those renowned people?”
Annoyed by all the questions, Wendy spoke out directly, “Weren’t you all sucking up to Ivan Larson just now? Why do you guys care about Jasper? Does a poor jerk like him deserve your attention?”
It was common knowledge that women tended to hold grudges. Thus, it was impossible for Wendy to forget how they mistreated Jasper just now.
All of them had awkward expressions on their faces. A few of them were embarrassed.
“Wendy, we’re all classmates. Don’t be like that,” Quinny said while pulling at the hem of Wendy’s shirt.
Wendy’s impression of Quinny was rather good. Furthermore, she did not do or say anything against Jasper from the very beginning.
Letting out a sigh, Wendy waved a document folder at Ivan, whose face was ash pale. “Do you know what’s inside this folder?” she asked.
Wendy then pulled out the freshly obtained business license from the folder.
More than a dozen of them raised their gaze and looked over.
JW Capital Co., Ltd.
Legal representative: Jasper Laine.
Natural person shareholder: Jasper Laine (Fully-owned holding).
Registered capital: 1000000000 dollars.
Sharp intakes of breath instantly resonated in the room when all they caught sight of the keywords in those three lines of text.
The number of zeros behind the number 1 on the business license dazzled their eyes. If it were not for dollar sign behind the number, they would hardly be able to tell what number it was.
Forget a billion dollars, many people could not even catch a glimpse of such a business license throughout their entire lives.
Everyone grew wide-eyed with disbelief. Ivan could not even utter a single word. It was as if he had been struck dumb.
At this moment, Wendy felt that it was all meaningless.
She could finally understand why Jasper was not interested in this reunion event since the very start.
They were really not on the same level. How could they get along?
Jasper was not arrogant like Ivan was. He did not care about what these people thought of him. This was because… he did not have to care about his achievements anymore.
So what if they thought highly of him? So what if they looked down on him?
When these people were still discussing about daily necessities, Jasper already had a net worth of up to a billion dollars.
They lived in different worlds. There was no way for them to get along.
“Wait!” Ivan shouted out as he stopped Wendy from leaving.
Life at the Top Chapter 64
Wendy frowned and looked at Ivan. She asked stonily, “Is there anything else?”
Ivan’s expression changed. His arrogant and haughty demeanor from before was long gone. He was simply a sore loser right now. “Since Jasper has so much money, can you put in a word for me?
Help me out. We are all classmates. You can’t watch me go down like this, right?” He said with a pathetic stance.
“That’s right. Since he’s so rich, he should distribute some to us.”
“Even if he earned that much money, he can’t spend all of it. How can he bear to watch us suffer?”
Once Ivan spoke out, a few petty people began to join in as well.
“The lot of you are really… hopeless!” Wendy shouted. She was utterly shocked at how shameless these people were.
“Jasp has never wanted to show off. Classmates or not, he has never minded. Ask yourselves. During our schooling days, or even just now, who among you have ever treated him like a classmate?
“I was the one who forced him to come over today. However, I regret it badly. It’s better for us to go on our separate ways in the future.
“Don’t let your shamelessness break off the last strand of sentiment I have for all of you.”
After speaking, Wendy left without looking back at their awkward, embarrassed and regretful faces.
……
At that moment, Jasper was upstairs. He raised his glass and grinned. “Everyone made a toast with me downstairs just now. My alcohol tolerance isn’t that great, so I can’t make a toast to each of you individually. So, I’ll make a toast to all of you now. I hope you don’t mind,” he announced.”
With that, Jasper finished his glass of wine amongst their loud applause and cheers.
John burst out into laughter. “Mr. Laine, your news has spread everywhere within this sector. Everyone now knows that you’ve just registered a company. Don’t forget us if there comes an opportunity to make a fortune,” he told Jasper.
Several bosses from the financial circle looked at Jasper intently. Their faces were full of interest.
“We must definitely work together if the chance arises. Money is meant to be earned together,” Jasper chuckled.
“He’s absolutely right. Let’s make a toast to his words!” John guffawed.
Everyone would show support to someone who looked like they were on the path to glory. Nobody here would get on the wrong side of Jasper, who had just risen to power. Naturally, the host and the guests of the event were all happy and satisfied.
After the meal, he received an entire pile of namecards. John, who was tipsy due to the alcohol, walked out of the hotel with Jasper.
“Brother, that bunch of people may sweet-talk you, but they are all actually a bunch of ruthless, disloyal wolves. You should figure things out as you go. Remember not to make friends with them. You’re nothing but a set of glowing benefits in their eyes.”
Jasper smiled upon hearing John’s genuine advice. “Don’t worry, I know what to do,” he said.
John nodded and let out an alcohol-infused breath. “That’s enough. I’m old now. I can’t withstand that much anymore. I’m going to go now,” he said.
Watching John get into his car shakily, Jasper turned over. He caught sight of Wendy in the leisure bar of the hotel lobby. Overcome with boredom, she was using a fork to poke at the plate of pasta before her.
Jasper walked toward Wendy and sat down in the seat opposite her. “Why didn’t you follow me just now?” he asked.
“You were busy socializing with a bunch of men. I won’t go,” Wendy remarked with a hint of distaste.
“You must have waited for a long time,” Jasper said apologetically.
Shaking her head, Wendy replied in a dismal tone, “Those classmates of ours are really despicable. After you left, I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I showed them your business license.
“I was rather happy to see their shocked expressions. However, I found it meaningless after that.”
Jasper chuckled. “That’s fine, you can just cut down on your interactions with them in the future. Don’t let it ruin your mood,” he said.
“You don’t blame me, right?” Wendy asked hesitantly.
“Why should I blame you?” Jasper asked.
“For bringing you along to the reunion event. Also, I showed them your business license on my own accord. I understand that we shouldn’t show others the money we have, but I can’t stand how they were looking down on you.”
Jasper burst out into laughter. “Don’t show others the money we have? If I only had a million or 10 million dollars, I would not dare to reveal it either. However, now that I’m so wealthy, I want the whole world to know that I am rich. Otherwise, how can I act high and mighty in front of everyone?”
“You…” Wendy glared at Jasper. “How honest of you!”
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“There’s nothing I need to hide from you,” Jasper chuckled.
Wendy felt that Jasper was being beyond shameless with his words.
However, thinking about it, it was the truth.
If one owned a few million dollars, some people may come up with certain intentions and do something irrational.
However, in the face of a wealthy man that had a net worth of a billion dollars, who would dare to do anything to him?
……
One week later, Jasper moved from the town to Thorton Park in the city.
The house was already well-renovated and designed, so Jasper could move in any time. However, Jasper had contacted the renovation team and asked them to carry out the renovation of two other villas within the same week.
These two villas would be used as the temporary workspace of JW Captial.
The computers, printers, and network office supplies had to be prepared and set up as well.
The company only consisted of three employees, Jasper included, as of now. Meanwhile, he had handed the management of the company’s finances to Wendy as he did not trust anyone else for this except her.
On this day, Jack Tanner came to the city as agreed.
Jasper went to greet him personally. Jack had thoroughly made up his mind this time around. He had brought his wife and daughter along with him.
“This villa is our temporary office space. On the other hand, your family can stay in the villa next door. You can choose any room you want.”
Jasper said this as he handed the key of the villa over to Jack.
Jack did not have much to say about that. He directly asked, “What is my job scope?”
“You are the general manager of JW Capital. The company still hasn’t taken on any professional tasks yet, but there’ll be work soon. By then, the operation of the entire company will be entrusted to you.”
Jasper had formed a plan early on. If a management prodigy like Jack Tanner was not put to good use, it would literally be a waste of a gift bestowed by God.
Jack followed Jasper into the villa. Looking at the empty space and new office equipment, he chuckled. “This feels like a start-up company,” he remarked.
“We are a start-up company!”
Jasper laughed. “The only thing that’s different is we don’t need to accumulate our raw capital. I have the money. We can just acquire other companies,” he said.
“Have you found an acquisition target, Mr. Laine?” Jack asked.
Jasper laughed lightly. “Yes, and I’ve ordered two plane tickets to Cavern City for the both of us,” he said.
“Cavern City!”
Jack frowned and thought about it for a while. He shook his head and said, “There are too many internet companies in Cavern City. May I know which company you have targeted, Mr. Laine?”
“Terizone Inc.,” Jasper answered straight away. He clicked into a software program on the computer and said, “This instant messaging software currently has the largest number of users within the country, and the number of new users is increasing daily. As of now, it has more than 5 million users.
“This small icon will grow to become something that nobody could have ever imagined.”
Hearing Jasper evaluate Terizone so highly, Jack grew serious about it as well.
“I’ve heard of it before. Weresoft has its own instant messaging software as well. It’s called MSN. You know about it right, Mr. Laine? According to our internal evaluation, Terizone is Weresoft’s biggest rival in the country.
“However, all Internet products, Terizone included, have not found a way to make a profit. They are making a loss every day.”
Jasper chuckled. “This will only be temporary. I want to let everyone know that it’s possible to profit by selling internet products. We’ll make a fortune!”
Jasper and Jack’s flight would depart in the afternoon. After Jack familiarized himself with their surroundings and helped his family settle down, the both of them headed straight to the airport.
Wendy did not follow along this time. She had to remain in the country to hire some clerks.
Alas, it was impossible for only three people to work in such a large villa. Tasks like photocopying materials and picking up calls would have to be delegated to other people.
Just as Jasper and Jack got onto the plane, Weresoft released news about Jack leaving the company on their official webpage. The domestic circle of professional managers was thrown into an uproar.
It was not wise to overlook Jack Tanner’s appeal and charisma in this era.
As someone from a ethnic minority group, he was able to get a high-level executive position in Weresoft and even received numerous praises from the world’s richest man, Mr. Gates. Jack was definitely the best in the country in terms of his work abilities and performance in the finance industry.
Life at the Top Chapter 66
People would pay attention to every move and action of a person like that.
It can even be said that as long as Jack Tanner was willing, countless of domestic companies would wave banknotes around just to hire him.
However, Jack had left his position in Weresoft so unexpectedly to join a company that no one had even heard of.
Suddenly, countless dominant forces and capital firms within the industry began to pay attention to a company named JW Capital.
They were stupefied after looking it up.
It was a newly registered company. The company had just obtained its business license not too long ago.
The legal representative was someone named Jasper Laine.
Who was he?
Nobody knew him.
They were all the more shocked after looking at the company’s registered capital.
A billion dollars!
How many people within the country could take out a billion dollars just like that?
Assets were assets, cash was cash.
These were two very different concepts.
For example, Schuler Group, which was under Dawson Schuler, had a market value of 2 billion in terms of assets, but it almost went bankrupt because of the 600 million dollars in their cash flow.
This incident occurred when Schuler Group’s main business was their supermarket chain, under the condition whereby their cash flow had been maximized.
It was considered pretty good if the cash possessed by an ordinary company could account for 20% of the company’s assets.
However, this unknown, newly established company already had a billion dollars in registered capital.
Everyone initially thought they were a new paper company of one of the major companies and speculated about the company behind it. There were various diverging opinions.
This was also the very first time the higher-up executives from the financial circle began taking notice of the names ‘Jasper Laine’ and ‘Wendy Schuler’.
Right then, Jasper and Jack arrived at the Cavern City International Airport.
They took a ride to the hotel and put down their luggage. After that, Jasper dragged Jack into a taxi and headed over to the address that he had memorized beforehand.
Half an hour later, they found Terizone Inc.’s current office venue in a remote and old alley within the city.
“This is it?!”
Jack stared at the old residential building in front of them in shock. It was hard to believe that a company like Terizone with up to 5 million software users had such a shabby workspace.
“You have been working in a high-end company like Weresoft all this while. Of course you wouldn’t know about the difficulties of being a domestic company that has started from nothing. These conditions are comparatively pretty good.”
Jasper said while shaking his head. He thought of another entrepreneur named Wayne Marlon. He was still working on his wholesale webpage with his team in a house located in one of the districts within Harvey City.
The two of them walked up the dilapidated stairs. Of course, a building like that did not come with any form of soundproofing. Before reaching the door, Jasper heard a wail coming from within the house.
“The server is about to break down! No, I can’t take it anymore! I want to buy a new server!”
“How I wish as well.”
This was another voice.
“Hehe, who doesn’t wish for the same? But what about the money?!”
This was the third voice.
None of the three unkempt young men, who were all huddled together, noticed the two men standing by the door of their ‘office’.
Li Jin smiled and looked at the young men before him. The three of them were part of the famous founding team of Terizone Inc.
Hudson Moore and Daniel Carter, the key figures, were not there. Meanwhile, Zaine Colton, Cameron Scott, and Logan Zimmerman were all there.
Jasper’s gaze shone. He looked like he had just caught sight of three golden-egg laying hens.
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“Who are you guys?”
Logan Zimmerman asked them curiously. He was the first to notice Jasper and Jack standing at the door.
“Is there anything we can help you with?”
Zaine Colton and Cameron Scott asked them after noticing their presence as well.
Although Terizone Inc. had been established for more than a year and even had around 5 million software users right now, people hardly ever came to visit the company.
“We’re here to collaborate with you,” Jasper chuckled. “However, before commencing this discussion, your server will break down if you don’t handle it right now.”
It was exactly the same as he remembered. Terizone was terribly poor right now.
The entire company sustained themselves on the software Hudson Moore had created years ago and the first set of earnings they obtained from the stock market until now. It was hard to make ends meet, and what more, the five of them did not even take any salaries.
Meanwhile, the server was their biggest problem.
This was different from the future, where there would be tons of server resources. During this era, a normal server cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Other than wealthy state-owned enterprises, private enterprises could hardly afford one.
The server currently used by Terizone was a sub-standard product that Zaine had assembled after buying the individual components from the Northern district during a desperate point in time.
This simply showed just how poor Terizone Inc. was.
Upon Jasper’s reminder, Zaine turned over to look at the server. It was on the verge of breaking down due to the huge data stream passing through it. Zaine rushed forward with a yell.
Other than Daniel Carter, who was in charge of the company’s legal affairs, the five founders of Terizone Inc. all had top-notch programming skills. Otherwise, Terizone would not have been able to support 5 million software users with a self-constructed, sub-standard server.
The sound of the keyboard rang out in the small office. Zaine stared at the screen, sweat beading on his forehead.
The technical prodigy who had developed the main program of KK was not in a good mood.
“Logan, think of something. The server is now overloaded. It could break down at any moment. If it breaks down, we’ll lose a lot of users.”
“What can we do?” Logan remarked. His fingers flew across the keyboard at the speed of light. “The server’s performance has reached its capacity. We can either add a server immediately or wait for this one to go down.”
“If nothing else works, should we forcibly disconnect some of the users? That way, the data load could be alleviated,” Cameron suggested.
Zaine and Logan remained silent after registering what he had said. Users were the very core of Terizone. Although disconnecting some of the users would reduce the load on the server, doing so would make it seem like they were going against their principles.
Right then, Jack, who had been standing behind them all along while watching them hustle, whispered in Jasper’s ear. “Mr. Laine, this bunch of young people seems to have a pretty good attitude, but it’s just that…”
“They’re simply too poor, right?” Jasper smiled and stated what Jack was too embarrassed to say.
“If they weren’t poor, we wouldn’t have the chance to work with them,” Jasper said matter-of-factly.
He took a step forward as he spoke. “Look at it from a different perspective. The main load on the server is coming from data transmission between users within the country,” he told Zaine, who was now drenched in sweat.
“You can open up a buffer area in the server memory to store the current messages being sent out by users and send them out after a one-second delay. That way, the users would hardly feel the delay, but the server will get one second window to cool down. After this, it will have more computing power.”
Jasper’s suggestion introduced a new perspective to the three of them.
After thinking about it for a while, Zaine was certain that this was an effective tactic.
“Cameron, Logan, hurry up and do as he says! Write up the code for the buffer area. I will support the data stream here. Do it at once!”
Life at the Top Chapter 68
Jack looked at Jasper in astonishment. Although he did not know anything about programming, he could tell that Jasper’s idea was indeed feasible from the expressions on the others’ faces.
Not only was his new boss a total prodigy in terms of earning money, but he also knew how to do programming?
He was still so young. He could not have learned all this in his mother’s womb, right?!
Ten minutes later, Logan and Cameron wiped the sweat from their faces as they looked at the server, which had gradually stabilized down. They breathed out in relief. “We’ve finally overcome this stage. It can hold on for at least one more week.”
“More accurately, it would be able to support the users for four to five more days. You must consider the rate of increase in users,” Jasper corrected them with a grin.
Right then, Zaine stood up and gazed at Jasper intently. It was almost as if he had just discovered a new piece of land.
“I’m Zaine Colton. Your suggestion was really effective. Thank you for your help.”
Jasper chuckled. Actually, he did not know anything about programming. Zaine was the one who had thought of this idea in his past life. He merely plagiarized his ideas in front of the mastermind himself.
Jasper would never turn down the excellent opportunity to show off in front of a skilled programmer like him.
“I’m Jasper Laine. This is Jack Tanner. As I said just now, we’re here to propose a collaboration with Terizone Inc.,” Jasper said while shaking hands with each of them.
“Jack Tanner?! Jack Tanner from Weresoft?!”
A shocked voice rang out from the side of the door. They all turned to look at the door at once. Jasper instantly caught sight of a young, seemingly well-educated man. He was holding two bags of takeaway while standing by the door.
He was the key figure of Terizone Inc. He was the future chairman of a board of directors with a market value of up to trillions of dollars and a global leader of the internet, Hudson Moore!
Unlike Zaine and the others, who were fully immersed in programming and were hardly ever concerned about global news, Hudson always paid attention to the changes going on in the outside world.
Today’s greatest news was inarguably the fact that the nation’s number one professional manager, Jack Tanner, had quit Weresoft and joined a different company.
Hudson would never have expected this renowned figure to appear in his small company today.Hudson felt like he was in a trance as he looked at Jack.
Jack laughed. He said, “I’ve already left Weresoft. I’m now the general manager of JW Capital. Mr. Laine is my boss.”
This sentence alone made all of them shift their attention from him to Jasper.
Jack, who was well-versed regarding workplace rules, understood that one should never steal the limelight from his or her boss no matter the circumstances or occasion.
Although, he felt that Jasper would not care about superficial mannerisms like that.
Putting down the takeaway bags, Hudson looked at Jasper curiously. “You’re the boss of JW Capital? But you look really young,” he said.
“You’re not that much older than me either, Mr. Moore. Didn’t you establish Terizone as well?” Jasper asked with a hint of a smile.
Hudson waved his hands at once. He had yet to be the most powerful businessman in the world. Right now, he was only a founder of a start-up company who was sick of being poor.
“Terizone cannot even begin to compare to JW Capital. I saw the news of Mr. Tanner joining JW Capital today, so I looked up the company due to curiosity. It has a registered capital of a billion dollars.”
After Hudson finished speaking, the other founders of Terizone, who were still shocked by Jack’s identity, felt a buzz fill their minds. They looked at Jasper with looks of disbelief.
Other than Jack, everyone here was below 30 in age. Jasper was the youngest among them. However, he already owned a company that was worth a billion dollars?!
Zaine and the others felt that the world must have gone mad.
Life at the Top Chapter 69
“How much is a billion dollars?”
Logan asked Zaine in a hushed voice.
Shaking his head, Zaine replied honestly, “I’ve never seen that much money either. I’m guessing the money should be able to fill up this house… and the toilet as well.”
“Oh…” Cameron took a sharp breath. This was simply unbelievable.
The five founders of Terizone Inc. did not come from poor family backgrounds. In this era, their families could be regarded as wealthy families with a decent amount of money.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to get together just for a so-called ‘dream’ and endure a few months without having a salary in order to establish Terizone.
However, everything paled in comparison to a billion dollars.
After getting to know each other, they told Hudson about how Jasper had come up with an idea that helped reduce the load of the server effectively. Hudson suddenly began to look at Jasper differently.
Jasper pointed at the box of takeaway in Hudson’s hand. “Jack and I came over in a hurry. We haven’t had lunch yet. Do you mind if we eat with you guys?” he asked with a grin.
“Of course, we wouldn’t mind,” Hudson said. “It’s just that the food may be a little too meager for your liking,” he added.
“Haha, I’m from the countryside myself. Back then, even a box of takeaway was a luxury for me,” Jasper said while opening the boxes of takeaways. He handed each of them a box.
Originally, there was no share of food for the both of them. However, there were many people in the company who were all young men. Therefore, Hudson had bought a few extra boxes of takeaway. Now, it was just enough for all of them.
Nobody felt that Jasper was being bossy and domineering despite the glorification of his identity. On the contrary, they all felt that Jasper was humble, approachable, and easy to get along with.
Since they were all young men, conversation flowed easily among them. When Hudson heard that Jasper was from the countryside, he asked him how he earned so much money out of curiosity.
After knowing that Jasper earned his money from the stock market, Hudson’s eyes shone.
Not many people knew that Hudson had earned his first sum of money from the stock market. He had earned 700,000 dollars with a principal of 100,000 dollars. Otherwise, he would not have had the money to start up Terizone.
Hudson could hardly imagine how Jasper earned a billion dollars. He had felt pretty good about himself when he earned 700,000 dollars.
Just how scarily accurate was his investment vision?
He still did not know about all of Jasper’s assets. Otherwise, he would have received an even greater shock.
Even so, the founders of Terizone felt that the takeaway food in their hands had lost its appeal after listening to Jasper telling them about his journey to wealth.
Comparing oneself to others would only bring rage and anguish.
After having his meal, Hudson finally asked Jasper what everyone was curious about, “Mr. Laine, you said that you want to work with us. May I know which aspect you’re referring to?”
Zaine and the others turned to look at each other. They then looked at Jasper curiously. Although Terizone had five million users right now and was ranked first in the country in terms of instant messaging software, they knew their place. Their company was nothing in comparison to Jasper’s JW Capital.
Jasper did not keep them in suspense. He told them directly, “I look highly upon Terizone as I’ve been using your products all along. In my opinion, Terizone’s KK is the best instant messaging software in the country.”
After hearing what he said, Zaine and the others were overcome with joy.
After all, KK was their brainchild. They had watched it slowly grow up just like their own child. Receiving praise from a billionaire like Jasper Laine naturally made them feel a sense of accomplishment.
However, Hudson read into the situation more deeply. He stared at Jasper with a scorching gaze and asked, “Mr. Laine, do you intend to make an investment?”
What did Terizone need the most right now?
Money!
Life at the Top Chapter 70
Not to mention the price of a server, they had not even been able to afford to pay their own salaries for the past few months.
If they did not earn anything in the short term, Terizone could only go bankrupt.
Terizone was currently going through its toughest time.
Plenty of investors had approached them due to KK, which had the largest number of users in the country. However, they were either greedy in terms of their demands or pessimistic toward Terizone’s future development.
In short, they just could not agree on anything.
Hudson was eager to obtain an investment. He had even thought of selling KK. His ideal sum was a million dollars, but the only boss who was interested only offered up to a maximum of 800,000 dollars. A disagreement thus occurred due to the difference of 200,000 dollars.
This would become a major joke in the future. That boss missed out on the opportunity to invest in a trillion-dollar company just because he could not bear to pay an extra 200,000 dollars.
“Yes, I intend to invest ten million dollars.” Jasper threw out a shocking statement in a calm tone.
“Huff! Cough!” Logan choked on a mouthful of food and instantly spat it out.
His spit landed on Cameron, who was seated opposite of him. However, Cameron did not bother to go after Logan for spitting on him as well. His eyes widened. “How much did you say?! Ten million dollars?!” he asked in utter disbelief.
It felt as if Jasper had just pulled out a royal flush in front of them while all they had were pairs of threes. (TN: royal flush and pairs of threes refer to cards dealt in a game of poker. A royal flush is the highest hand in poker.)
Unlike Zaine and the others, Hudson did not show such an exaggerated response toward Jasper’s proposal. Instead of excitement, worry overcame him when he heard about the sum of money Jasper would like to invest.
Based on Terizone’s current net worth, ten million dollars was enough to buy two to three companies of the same net worth. The fact that Jasper was willing to offer such a large sum of investment meant that he really looked highly upon Terizone. On the other hand, this meant that… Hudson’s ownership and rights to Terizone would likely be relinquished.
This went against Hudson Moore’s basic principles.
When a company received an injection of capital from an outside party, the founders would not be able to develop the company according to their own ideas. Would this brainchild of theirs still belong to them?
Jasper could tell what Hudson was worrying about instantly. He continued to speak, “Yes, ten million dollars. It will be a cash injection, but not a full-scale acquisition. I want 51% of the company’s shares. You guys can have the remaining 49% and distribute it amongst yourselves however you want to.
“In other words, I don’t care how you divide the shares among yourselves, but I cannot have less than 51% of the company’s shares.”
Hudon let out a dry laugh. “51% of the shares exceed the proportion of shares owned by a majority shareholder. How is this any different from a full-scale acquisition?”
“It is different from a full-scale acquisition because I’m only going to formulate the major strategic policies, such as coming up with ways to increase Terizone’s profitability, whereas you guys will have the final say on the specifics in company management and operation. I will not intervene.”
Jasper put down his spoon. Although he had a calm expression on his face, his stance was domineering and overbearing.
Amazed by Jasper’s strong demeanor, Hudson furrowed his brows without saying anything.
“Zaine, what do you guys think?” Hudson asked while turning to look at Zaine and the others.
Zaine and the others were beyond excited.
“What else do we need to say about this? Of course, we’ll agree to it wholeheartedly!” Cameron said excitedly.
“Mr. Laine has already said that he won’t intervene in the management of the company. He’ll also help us achieve profitability. Isn’t this exactly what we dreamt of?”
Jasper chuckled. “Exactly. Don’t think that the shares you own are little. Think about this instead. With a capital injection of ten million dollars, the 49% of shares you guys own will be worth up to five million dollars. Even if you resell the shares, you’ll earn a huge profit.
“Besides that…”
Jasper paused momentarily. He then stood up and continued speaking with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.
“In the future, Terizone will become an invincible company with a market value of up to trillions of dollars.
You’ll have the largest user base in the world, and you’ll earn up to millions of profits every second. You guys will change the way humans communicate!”