Ch. 741..750
Life at the Top Chapter 741
Mr. Adams’ eyes widened as Jasper said this.
He was about to say something when he noticed Jasper looking over with a smile. “Mr. Adams, do you have any more opinions?”
Thinking about the bet he had made with Jasper, Mr. Adams snorted coldly and said, “It’s all your money, Mr. Laine. Of course, I have no objections if you’re willing to spend that money. I just hope you won’t end up feeling bad when none of the 70 group servers are usable.”
Jasper only smiled and no longer mouthed off at Mr. Adams. He immediately announced, “Everyone, please work a little harder today, stick to your guns, and clock in a few extra hours. I’ll join everyone in working overtime. Also, supper is on me. I’ll get the chefs from Sheraton to whip up something for us. Just make sure everything is done well on your end!”
Cheers filled the entire branch office.
Coming out of the conference room, Jasper noticed Jack’s slightly stiff expression as they made their way to Jack’s office. He smiled and asked, “Jack, are you nervous? This isn’t like you.”
Jack laughed bitterly. “Mr. Laine, it might be nothing for you but we’ve spent too much time and money on this United Legends project. I don’t think I’ll still have the confidence to continue if this fails.”
Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen
Patting Jack’s shoulder, Jasper said with a smile, “First of all, we won’t fail. Second, even if we do fail, that’s not important. A loss is a loss. I can still afford to lose this bit of money, and it would be my first time failing so I wouldn’t mind having a taste of it.”
Jack gave Jasper a blank look before shaking his head and saying with a wry smile, “Mr. Laine, to be frank, what you say sometimes really… makes me want to punch you.”
“Hahaha!”
…
“United Legends is opening soon for open beta testing!”
The news spread across the country in a short period of time.
During this time, it did not matter if one was accessing a web portal or a messaging app, even when they had gone to the internet cafe to surf the internet, there were advertisements for United Legends everywhere.
Countless netizens had already been subtly turned into quasi-online game players. They were curious about the game that had been dominating the internet.
In the year 2001 when domestic games were still scarce, the kind of games that many people played were like Command and Conquer: Red Alert. Although they were interesting, they would still become boring after a while.
There were still none of those huge online multiplayer role-playing games in the domestic market.
Currently, all the players were looking forward to the game’s release.
After the news was released, everyone was trying to gather friends through phone calls and text messaging apps.
The men who had scheduled dates with their girlfriends all had to suddenly work overtime for the time being.
Not only that but students who had unfinished assignments were also suddenly working hard to finish them in one day.
Those who had plans at night were suddenly making excuses for not being able to make it.
At 6 p.m. in the evening, a sea of people flooded the internet cafes across the country at almost the same time. One after another, they sat in front of their computers after switching them on, waiting for it to be 7 p.m.
As they waited, they looked to the right and left only to see that everyone there was waiting for the release of United Legends. At once, they all smiled.
“What user ID are you gonna choose?”
“Which realm do you wanna go to?”
“Are you going for warrior or mage? Or maybe cleric?”
Just like that, they began chatting about the game.
The owner of the internet cafe smiled lopsidedly and began thanking Sena. It was hard to tell the future of such a game but at least for the time being, business was doing well.
Not only did the players have high expectations but other people from the local gaming industry and the internet industry were also keeping an eye on the game.
Sena was the first to venture into online gaming and had received quite a lot of attention because of it. Everyone was waiting quietly for the outcome, to see if this game would blow up in the country.
With the expectations of millions of players, the hand of the clock slowly struck 7 p.m.
“Open the server!”
With an order from Jasper, the first ten group servers were opened.
Mr. Adams and Jack were staring at a computer. This computer had the master control program and could directly observe the load in each server.
“The servers are open and some players have already entered the game.”
“Oh no, the load is too big! The server has crashed!”
These two sentences were said almost at the same time.
At that moment, Jasper’s expression was dark.
“What the f*ck are all of you doing? I told you all a long time ago to pay attention to the server loads! The moment a server reaches full capacity, stop the registration for the current server immediately and open up a new one to redirect the traffic! And yet, you still allowed the server to crash!”
The more composed a person was usually, the scarier they were when their temper flared.
Jasper was usually always calm and composed regardless of who he was dealing with. However, now that he had started reprimanding, no one in the entire office including the group of fastidious technicians from Coreana dared let out a squeak.
In the end, it was still Jack who bit the bullet and said, “Mr. Laine, we had already set a threshold but the traffic at that instant was so large that we couldn’t hold it back at all, so it crashed on the spot.”
Jasper frowned. “Let’s not talk about this now. Start redirecting the traffic and guide the players to the new servers.”
Just like that, the first batch of ten group servers was filled up within the first ten seconds of the launch of United Legends. New players had no way to register for an account and were anxiously tapping on their tables.
However, an announcement was immediately published on the official website, and with that, 30 groups of spare servers were opened in one go.
In any case, the people who were keeping an eye on United Legends let out a sigh because they could already tell that the game would be unstoppable!
Life at the Top Chapter 742
Despite releasing another 30 group servers, they still could not hold back the players’ excitement.
Fresh new gameplay, novel user interface, and never-before-seen system; all these different elements were pulling new players in continuously.
Because of that, even the backup servers were being released one after another.
At the same time, the number of individuals going online on all servers was also rising.
From the first 100,000 to 300,000, it then rose to 500,000 and again to a million.
It was already half past one in the morning of the next day when the last of the backup server groups were released.
The opening of a new game region at half-past one in the morning was something that would not happen again in the country in the next few years.
Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen
At present, the number of players who were online in United Legends had reached a staggering number of 1.95 million.
A total of 80 server groups were filled to the brim.
Mr. Adams sat down in a chair, his face ashen as he looked at the figure on the computer screen in disbelief. He gulped, feeling that his mouth was a little parched.
A game he created actually had 1.95 million players online at the same time on the first day of its open beta testing. It was not something he had even dared to imagine before this.
However, a miracle had actually happened in front of his eyes.
How many people had been online when the game was tested in Coreana previously?
The figure was not even a miserable 100,000.
However, the game had actually achieved such a sensational result in the Mainland.
This was a matter worth rejoicing, but Mr. Adams could not let himself be happy.
This was because the outcome of his bet with Jasper had now been determined.
Even though they had not reached two million, everyone knew that the 50,000 gap would be easily bridged come morning when traffic would be at its peak due to it being a holiday.
At present, everyone in the branch office was cheering and celebrating.
Jasper had also fulfilled his promise. He had gotten an executive chef from Sheraton Hotel and his team of chefs to prepare a sumptuous supper for everyone.
Not only that, he even gave everyone an envelope packed with a one-month salary bonus.
Who would not like a boss like him?
Even the technicians from Coreana were looking at Jasper with stars in their eyes.
Mr. Adams was the only one who was beside himself.
He could forget about losing the bet, but what bothered him more was that Jasper had probably seen him as a clown since the very beginning.
Mr. Adams stood up and walked toward Jasper. Letting out a long and deep sigh, he said, “Mr. Laine, you’ve won.”
Jasper replied indifferently, “We haven’t reached the two million count, you’ve not lost yet.”
Mr. Adams smiled wryly and said, “Mr. Laine, we both know clearly that breaking through the two million count is only a matter of time. There’s no need to fuss over that little bit of time.”
“Then, do you still plan on fulfilling your promise?” Jasper asked.
Expressionless, Mr. Adams replied, “Consider me won over.”
Jasper laughed and said to Mr. Adams, “I’ll give you an extra bonus when you leave in the future as long as you properly cultivate talents for me.”
Mr. Adams was touched and said solemnly, “Thank you, Mr. Laine, for your generosity. I know what to do now.”
Hearing Mr. Adams’ response, Jasper felt very satisfied.
Life at the Top Chapter 743
Even though he hated the Coreanans’ unwarranted superiority, he needed to wring them of all their skills. By adequately giving them some innocuous benefits, they would then be more obedient in teaching others their skills.
Moreover, Mr. Adams and his group believed that even if Jasper’s people picked up all of their skills, it did not change the fact that they would not have any competition in Coreana, so they would not be pressured upon returning.
This was exactly the point that Jasper was also focusing on.
At present, the situation with the entire project was slowly stabilizing and as the night darkened, the players had also begun logging out of the game to rest. After ensuring that there would not be any more accidents, Jasper then returned to the hotel.
Jack and Terry would be on watch for the night just in case something happened.
With them here, Jasper could relax a little.
Jasper waited for a long time after leaving the branch office but Julian still had not arrived with the car. This was the first time something like this had happened. Just as Jasper was about to give Julian a call, he saw the car driving closer from afar.
Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen
“Julian, have you been slacking?”
Jasper teased as he opened the car door. However, he was shocked when he realized that there was someone else sitting in his seat.
“Why are you here?”
Jasper asked, pleasantly surprised to see Wendy who was smiling sweetly at him.
Wendy gave him a wink and replied, “Someone had quietly broken the world record for online games, of course, I’d come to sing him some praises.”
Jasper sat in the seat that Wendy had offered him and said with a laugh, “You found out about it too?”
“I’d see ads for United Legends everywhere these few days as long as I was surfing the internet. There are even promotional posters hanging in front of internet cafes by the road. It’s hard to miss.
“I plan to create a character and try it out tomorrow too,” said Wendy.
Jasper said with a smile, “That’s nice. Let’s play it together. We’ll get the tech department to adjust the game level for us and then we can go get married.”
“As if.” Wendy retorted with a blush, “Aren’t you afraid of the players finding out about you throwing your weight around?”
“It’s no big deal. I can just ask them to set up an internal server for the two of us,” Jasper said with a smile.
“Good for you.” Wendy leaned her head on Jasper’s shoulder and said, “I heard from Julian that you haven’t been sleeping before three in the morning these days. Look, it’s already half-past two now.”
“I was busy,” Jasper rubbed his cheeks, feeling a little tired. “There were many things I had to attend to personally, I had no choice,” he said.
“How about I find you a secretary later?” Wendy suggested.
“While I do need a secretary, I should look for one myself,” Jasper said solemnly.
“Why is that? Can’t I look for one for you?” Wendy asked while feeling confused, her head tilting slightly.
Of course, Jasper would not say that if he allowed Wendy to look for someone for him, she would definitely get a man to become his secretary. Jasper could not stand having a man tailing him as his secretary every day. Julian was enough.
For such a special role as a secretary, it was only fitting that the person should be a beautiful woman.
“My secretary has to be shrewd and capable. They also need to be familiar with the company’s various businesses. How many industries do you think the company is involved in now? Most people can’t handle it all, so it’s better for me to look for one myself,” Jasper explained convincingly.
Wendy understood what he meant and nodded. “You’re right, then you should go look for one yourself.”
Jasper had only just breathed a sigh of relief when Wendy added lightly, “They can only be a man.”
“…” Jasper was at a loss.
“By the way, I came today for something important,” Wendy said seriously all of a sudden.
“What is it?” asked Jasper.
“You’re still shameless enough to ask? You asked me previously to transfer five billion into the account of a real estate subsidiary company and now there’s only two to three billion left in the investment company’s account. There’s no more money…” Wendy said.
Jasper’s expression froze. Was he becoming poor now?
Life at the Top Chapter 744
“Give it one more week at most and we’ll have to pay the balance for the Southface River Project. It’s at least seven billion. We don’t have that kind of money anymore,” Wendy ranted about being poor.
Jasper coughed and said, “About the real estate subsidiary company, it’s the upfront investment fees needed to start the construction of the skyscraper, so it can’t be avoided. As for the rest, I still have money in my Harbor City account but it’s best that we don’t touch that. If we do, our profits will drop drastically.”
Wendy rolled her eyes at Jasper and said, “I already knew that you didn’t have much money on hand. My father will transfer ten billion over tomorrow but we can’t keep doing this. The skyscraper is too expensive, do you really want to build it?”
Jasper nodded and said, “It has to be built. Moreover, the die has been cast now. We have no choice but to proceed with it.”
Besides, Jasper was familiar with the real estate and construction materials market in the future. He knew that a building that could be built with 16 billion dollars now would require at least 20 billion in not even two or three years.
The four billion difference could be used to do so many other things.
“I’ve already paid the down payment for the pedestrian street earlier and as a result, I’m tight on cash…” Jasper said gloomily.
Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen
“You’ve pumped all your cash into investment projects.” Wendy’s eyes blazed like torches as she immediately pointed out the cause of Jasper’s penniless state.
Grinning, Jasper said, “This is also the reason why I’m rushing to get United Legends out there. The MP3 players aren’t doing too bad either. We could get millions in profits every day. While it’s not much, it’s going to be a lot of money once it accumulates.”
“But as big as United Legends gets, we still need a procedure to gain profits. Do you have any other plans?” asked Wendy.
Jasper narrowed his eyes and said, “We have to make money with United Legends but its most important function now is to create a good base for Sena. I want Sena to become a public listed company. Once it does, I’ll then be able to cash out huge sums of money from the stock market in an instant, and our problem will essentially be solved.”
Speaking of this, Jasper recalled the time when he had bought Sena before this. Even though it was in retaliation against Dane’s attack on Terizone, he had still planned on merging Sena and Terizone together then.
Looking at it now, however, fortunately they had not been merged.
JW Capital was currently still unable to manage such a large company from a merger. As such, the best solution was to control the two companies at the same time. One as a listed company and the other to preserve the status quo.
Leaving the two companies to perform their duties while keeping the competition was the best way.
“Anyone would also make a wrong decision,” said Jasper regretfully all of a sudden.
Wendy turned to look at him curiously but Jasper only smiled and asked without further explanations, “Why not stay in Harbor City for a few more days this time?”
“I wish. The reason I rushed here tonight was one, I wanted to pay you a visit; two, I needed to confirm things with you personally given that the five billion fund transfer was too big. I’ll head back tomorrow morning once I’m done with the transfer procedures. We’re almost done with the Southface River Project. There’s still a lot to do and since you’re not there, I have to be the one to keep an eye on things.
“Actually, we’ll also be able to recover a large number of funds once the work at Southface River is complete.”
Jasper held Wendy’s hand and said with a smile, “See, your man isn’t a pauper yet.”
…
Wendy had indeed been busy as a bee. She went to the bank early the next morning to carry out the transfer procedures. After that, she immediately got Fallon to drive her back to Southeast Province.
She did not even have time to have lunch with Jasper.
After Wendy left, Jasper then went to the airport.
He was there to welcome someone.
Life at the Top Chapter 745
She was a woman who would be crucial in the subsequent IPO plans for Sena.
Jasper smiled and walked over when he saw the charming Celine again. He had initially planned to shake her hand politely, but she embraced him in a tight hug.
“Tell me you weren’t joking when you said you’re drafting an IPO plan for Sena?” Celine asked, a smile blossoming in her beautiful eyes as she gazed at Jasper.
He took in the woman’s fragrance but suddenly saw the fire that was blazing from Miss Stone’s eyes. Jasper took a delicate step backward as he smiled. He said, “Of course, it’s true. Why would I joke about such matters?”
Celine rolled her eyes at Jasper as she said flirtatiously, “You never know. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lied to me.”
Jasper knew she was referring to how he had used his shares to lie to her when he wanted to stop Dane Warren from releasing Sena to the market. He smiled and said, “They were right when they said you should never lie to a woman, they hold grudges forever.”
“Since you knew that women held grudges, you should have long since made up for the losses I suffered from your deception,” Celine said as she walked out of the airport with Jasper.
As Celine spoke, she ran a careless hand through her hair. Her femininity and charm caused the eyes of several tourists to widen.
“Well, aren’t I here now?” Jasper laughed and said.
Celine gave Jasper a meaningful look as she said, “I’m the one who traveled all the way to you, alright?”
Sensing how the conversation was turning flirtatious, Jasper hurriedly changed the topic and said, “Do you have any plans regarding the collaboration I mentioned earlier?”
Celine replied, “It’s still in the evaluation stages now, and I haven’t formally submitted it yet. You must remember that I’m only the general manager. The president, William, has more power than I do. He has always remembered you.”
“Please make sure this doesn’t fall into his hands, or else we’ll be done for,” Jasper said jokingly.
“I’ll help you keep it a secret,” Celine said as she laughed lightly.
As the two spoke, they did not notice the look that flashed through Miss Stone’s eyes when she heard what they said.
When they reached the hotel, Jasper and Celine sat down in the same club lounge and seats that Jasper and Kayden had sat in before.
“Here’s the current situation. The way Sena currently operates isn’t that much different from before. The only difference is that the United Legends project has been successfully launched. It currently holds the world record for having the most online users at one time, and huge profits are waiting for me to collect them.
“Thus, Sena is currently even more powerful than it was when Dane came to meet you.”
Jasper said as he gazed at Celine.
To be honest, Jasper did not want to be connected in any way to these bloodsuckers if it were not for the fact that foreign companies were required to have a licensed local investment bank as their broker before they could be listed on the Nasdaq Composite.
As one of the four largest investment banks globally, Colossal Investments was well versed in the procedures to help foreign companies begin their IPOs. However, that also meant they did not hesitate to drain one of their money.
Take Dane as an example. Colossal Investments had wanted to take 25% of Dane’s shares back when Sena first went public. That seemed highly unreasonable to Jasper.
“Helping Sena go public will be a project that brings in loads of earnings, which is precisely why I’m interested in it. Let me congratulate you in advance. You’ll be the next multi-millionaire when Sena goes public,” Celine said.
Jasper smiled but did not say anything.
He had long since been a multi-millionaire, alright?
Life at the Top Chapter 746
“As the only internet company that has managed to successfully rebrand itself and gain profits, what do you expect the shares for Sena to be priced at when it goes public?” Jasper asked.
However, Celine shook her head and said, “It’s too early to tell now. There are so many factors that would affect the share price.
“Of course, the most basic prerequisite would be the company’s competence and financial status.
“Next up would be how the company goes public. Colossal Investments will help you get in touch with a bunch of millionaires who make private placements before the share market opens. This will be a great plus for us when the news goes public.”
“I’m already doing that,” Jasper said as he gave Celine a meaningful smile.
“I’ve gotten in touch with the J. Langdons and the Law family in Harbor City. They’ve offered their full support.”
Jasper and Kayden had come up with that plan the last time they met.
Playvolume00:10/00:44TruvidfullScreen
News of multi-millionaire Half-the-Harbor Langdon making private placements in Sena would certainly benefit the company.
At first, Kayden had thought Jasper was only letting him make private placements so he would put in a good word for him at the trade settlement center. However, he had not expected Jasper to have more tricks up his sleeve.
They were merely harmless tricks, though.
Thus, Kayden had merely smiled and glossed over it after he learned about it.
Celine was surprised, but she did not probe for further details.
“Alright, it seems like Colossal Investments won’t be earning commissions from you, but that’s alright. Colossal Investments will take care of the entire listing process for Sena, including the promotional activities in America.
“How many shares are you willing to put up as shares outstanding?”
Shares that were bought, sold, and traded on the share market were known as shares outstanding. These shares would be diluted before a company went public.
As Sena’s only investor, Jasper had complete say in whether he wanted to put up 10% or 50%.
The higher the number of shares, the higher the number of stocks, and the lower the price per share. However, this had nothing to do with the company’s total market value after it was listed. Comment by Amber Lee: @joe.lambsheepmutton@gmail.com
Just like how both one one-hundred dollar bill and ten ten-dollar bills would both total to a hundred dollars.
Jasper had already thought about this, so he immediately answered, “32% shares.”
Celine frowned slightly as she said tentatively, “Companies usually issue at least 40% of their shares as shares outstanding if they want to be listed on the Nasdaq Composite…”
“Listing Sena publicly is just one part of my business strategy. It’s not the entirety of the plan.
“Besides…
“Only I can control Sena! And by that, I mean I will hold absolute control over the remaining 67%. I won’t allow anyone to become a shareholder or part of the board of directors and mock me!”
Jasper said without hesitation.
Celine said nonchalantly, “Alright. Your company, your call. Colossal Investments won’t make any further comments if you’ve already decided on issuing 32% of your shares.”
“I’ll have my team meet up with Sena and crosscheck figures with the accounting, financial, and general management department this afternoon before we come up with a final evaluation report this afternoon. This report will first be audited internally by Colossal Investments before it’s passed to the Nasdaq Review Committee for its final deliberation,” Celine said.
“I’ll put a word in with Sena and ensure they cooperate fully with your investigation,” Jasper said as he nodded.
Upon finishing their formal discussion, Jasper and Celine had lunch and enjoyed a pleasant time together.
After that, Jasper was stunned to hear that Celine had booked a room beside his room.
“I was too lazy to book another hotel. Are you not open to having me as your next-door neighbor?” Celine said as she smiled and waved her key card in front of Jasper.
“Of course, you’re welcome,” Jasper said with an odd expression on his face. “It’s better this way too. We can contact each other easily if there’s anything that needs to be discussed.”
“I heard your game is super popular now. Why don’t we go try it out this afternoon?” Celine said invitingly.
“I have another meeting this afternoon…” Jasper was just about to refuse when he heard Celine say, “I can let you have the final say in regards to the amount of commission you’ll receive.”
“Alright, I’ll call on you this afternoon,” Jasper said as he smiled.
“Hah, men.” Celine turned and pranced back into her room after she glanced flirtatiously at Jasper.
Behind her, Miss Stone was gritting her teeth as she glared at Jasper. She said softly, “I’m warning you, don’t even think about laying a hand on her, or else you’ll be in deep trouble.”
Jasper glanced nonchalantly at Miss Stone whom he had never gotten along with. He said calmly, “Can’t you tell that your employer is the one who’s trying to seduce me? Why don’t you try saying something to her?”
Paying no attention to the stony expression on Miss Stone’s face, Jasper turned and walked back into his room.
When Miss Stone finally suppressed her anger and entered the room, she saw Celine sitting on the couch with a glass of red wine. She seemed to be waiting for her as she swirled the liquid in the glass nonchalantly.
“Miss Maynard,” Miss Stone said carefully.
“What did you tell him?” Celine asked with a blank expression on her face.
Miss Stone’s body stiffened as she hurriedly said, “No-Nothing. I just wanted to say goodbye to him.”
“Really?” Celine smiled. She obviously did not believe her words.
She gazed at the liquid that was swirling in the glass. The maroon-colored liquid crashed against the walls of the glass before slowly dripping back down. It was a lovely sight to behold.
“If my husband, who is also your employer, is allowed to have mistresses, why can’t I have a lover?”
“You can very well go tattling to him, but remember that I know about everything you’ve done. Don’t try to anger me, understand?”
Miss Stone’s entire body stiffened as she said shakily, “Yes, understood.”
Life at the Top Chapter 747
The next day, Celine’s team went to Sena’s headquarters at Swallow Capital as well as its branch office at Waterhoof City to conduct a comprehensive review of its accounts, just as they had planned.
Celine had a lot of time on her hands now that everything had been delegated to her subordinates. She dragged Jasper to accompany her to go sightseeing all around Waterhoof City. She was seemingly delighted to have found some time in her busy schedule to let off steam.
The two seemed almost like a couple as they strolled through every road and alley in Waterhoof City.
Although Celine was a woman with beautiful looks and a wonderful temperament, Jasper was not a lustful person. However, he needed to ensure he was on good terms with Celine during a critical time like this.
Thus, Jasper gifted Celine a wristwatch that was priced at six figures. Although Celine teased Jasper about openly bribing her, she later gifted him a tailored suit that was equally expensive.
On the evening of the third day, the two were sitting in a restaurant. Celine swirled her glass of red wine and said to Jasper, “I heard you’re planning to construct the tallest tower in the world here in Waterhoof City?”
“Colossal Investments has a great source for insider news,” Jasper replied.
Although the project had officially commenced and was about to begin construction, the news was only circulating among a very small circle. It had not been publicized yet.
Celine smiled as she said, “That depends on who the person is. You’re one of my most important clients, so it’s only natural that I would consolidate more information on you. I gather it’s true judging from your reaction?”
“Of course, it is.”
Jasper nodded. He did not plan to hide it from her. After all, even if he did not admit to it now, the news would have to be publicized for Waterhoof City’s advertising needs in the future.
Since this news would be announced sooner or later, Jasper was willing to share the news with Celine.
Celine’s eyes brightened slightly as she said to Jasper, “To be honest, I would be more than willing to assist your parent company in going public. Believe me, you would have secured the position as the richest man in Terra if that business deal went well.”
Jasper shook his head, showing his apparent disinterest in gaining wealth through market inflation.
Frankly, he would never have considered putting Sena on the market if the tower project had not caused him to be strapped for cash.
Born into a family of farmers, Jasper had always taken the concept of ‘ownership’ very seriously. He would never allow the risk of his businesses being out of his control, which was why Jasper had ensured he had total ownership over Sena even as he allowed it to be listed publicly.
“What if Colossal Investments was interested in investing in your company?” Celine asked abruptly.
“The rewards are far greater than you can even imagine. I promise that you’ll immediately earn more than ten billion Somer Dollars if you agree to sell 40% of your shares. Moreover, Colossal Investments will absolutely never interfere in your rights to operate and manage the company.”
Jasper could not help but smile when he heard these familiar statements.
Had he not said the same thing to ‘befuddle’ Hudson Moore before?
Of course, all capitalists were equally corrupt.
“Oh? Wouldn’t that be giving me money for nothing?” Jasper asked teasingly.
“Of course.”
Celine propped her face up with a pale hand as she tilted her head and gazed at Jasper. This posture caused her to look a little less mature and slightly more playful and spunky.
“Colossal Investments would have to send over at least three people to sit on the board of directors. Of course, that can still be discussed…”
“Never mind,” Jasper said as he shook his head. “Miss Celine, I will never consider splitting the rights to my parent company. That’s my bottom line.”
“What a stingy person you are.”
Celine glared at Jasper as she rebuked, “You must understand that the reason so many companies are making it big now is because they’ve received help from the capitalists. How long would it take for a company looking to expand to reach a market price of 100 billion dollars if they do not receive aid from the capitalists? Or are you saying you’re satisfied with owning a company that’s only worth tens of billions of dollars?”
Jasper chuckled as he said, “I’m more of a backward thinker, and my poor background has made me particular about such things. The thing I despise most is people trying to leech benefits from me. Moreover, who’s to say I’ll only have several billion dollars to my name in a year?”
Celine was startled.
True. In her process of researching Jasper’s journey from rags to riches, she had nearly forgotten he had amassed his fortune within a year.
That was not just a shocking fact but a horrifying one.
“Alright, but please let me know if you ever change your mind. Both I and Colossal Investments will always have our door open for you.” Celine smiled elegantly as she changed the topic wisely.
Life at the Top Chapter 748
After dinner, the two returned to their respective rooms. When Celine was done taking a shower, Miss Stone reminded her that the assessment team had completed their report.
Celine immediately sat down in front of her laptop and began reading the report that had just been written.
The team from Colossal Investments always produced detailed, professional reports which an ordinary person might not be able to understand. However, Celine merely needed to skim her eyes through the report to capture the key information.
Sena’s main role was in acting as a web portal. It was currently the largest portal within Somerland, and in terms of web traffic, it was ranked first in Somerland, third in Terra, and sixth globally.
Every day, tens of millions of people used the portal to read the news and search for the information they were interested in.
The evaluation showed it had large traffic, a strong base, and a bright future. However, the problem was it was difficult to liquidate and make a profit from it, which was why it was making losses now.
Its secondary role was in online games.
United Legends had already completely taken over the gaming community within the country.
No matter if you were in the gaming industry, the internet industry, or not in either, everyone was surprised at the popularity United Legends had gained.
Within a month of the opening of servers, it had reached a peak of 2.4 million users simultaneously with an average of 2.1 million users online at any one time.
These statistics were what other online games could only dream about.
The steady popularity of the game had caused some who were observing from a distance to become jealous.
According to official announcements regarding payment details that had been put out by United Legends, the game would launch a charging system using point cards the week after the first wave of beta testing was over.
Players would begin being charged 50 cents an hour for every player that surpassed level seven.
If calculations were made based on the assumption a player would be online for four hours a day and that there were two million players in total who had surpassed level seven, then United Legends would bring Sena four million dollars worth of earnings by simply using the points cards charging system!
As for the costs?
The net profit would be 3.58 million dollars after deducting costs such as manpower and server bandwidth.
These were the most professional statistics provided by the assessment team.
Earning 3.58 million dollars a day was a shockingly huge amount in the year 2001.
Even Celine, who had been exposed to such things before, was also shocked at how much money one could make off online games.
As United Legends continued gaining popularity, new servers would gradually be opened to the public as well. This number could only increase and not decrease within the next two years.
Unless the developers fell ill or got themselves into a mess that would ruin the game.
However, based on Celine’s understanding of Jasper, there was no way such accidents would happen.
It was not rare for a company to earn 3.58 million dollars a day. At least, Celine knew of several large corporations that could do so.
However, the problem was that this was an internet company. While countless internet companies across the world fretted over how they could cut their losses, Jasper was leading Sena to a point where they could make several million dollars a day.
That was great news to Sena when they were going to be listed publicly.
At the very end of the report, a grade of S+ had been given.
According to Colossal Investment’s rubrics, this was only given to companies that had the most potential to expand and grow even further in the future.
Celine had worked in Colossal Investments for a long time, but this was the first time she had ever seen the S+ grade awarded.
Miss Stone, who was beside Celine, also saw the report she was reading. She stared at the contents in shock and muttered to herself, “These statistics are horrifying. Could there have been a mistake?”
Life at the Top Chapter 749
“If you’re doubting the abilities of my team, in which there are three chief appraisers with at least 20 years of experience under their belts, you may file a complaint to internal affairs and request for a reassessment saying you do not trust the results of this report. But don’t bring me into this,” Celine said coldly.
Miss Stone said hurriedly, “Miss Maynard, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know you didn’t mean it that way.” Celine sighed. “To be honest, I was shocked too.”
Compared to Miss Stone, Celine had even more things on her mind.
Sena was just one of the many companies Jasper had control over. The other ones did not even need mentioning.
His real estate company was about to begin work constructing the tallest skyscraper in the world.
Terizone Inc held rights to the number one instant messaging software, a blue ocean market anyone would drool over. Although it was still difficult to make profits from it now, Celine had a feeling it would not pose a problem to Jasper.
Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen
According to Celine’s informants, Jasper seemed to be supporting Terizone in creating an online payment system. Celine’s instincts told her the words ‘online payment’ would be a mighty thing that would shock everyone.
Even his newly established electronics company had managed to dominate 80% of Somerland’s domestic marketplace by upgrading the MP3 to a MP4. Apparently, several foreign merchants had gotten in touch with the electronics company in hopes they could sell the product overseas.
This MP4 product, which was developed based on patented MP3 technology, had attracted the attention of various western capitalists.
Who would have thought a tiny box could bring Jasper earnings of a million Somer Dollars a day?
This was when the market had not been fully utilized yet. If the product were sold overseas and brought about a ripple effect in the future, Jasper’s electronics company was well on the way to having a net worth of at least three billion dollars!
Moreover, both the electronics company and Somerland’s officials were highly supportive of the idea of selling the product overseas.
After all, it would benefit both the country and its people when a local product was exported overseas.
All these had been accomplished by Jasper alone.
If that was the case, how much money was Jasper’s parent company worth?
This was the first time Celine realized she did not dare to even imagine the number.
With a jolt, she realized that both her past self and Colossal Investments had underestimated Jasper’s power.
While no one was paying any attention, a tiny business group rooted in Somerland had quietly taken form and would soon expand to become a dominant force in the marketplace. Perhaps… it would even become a financial group in the future!
Could financial groups be formed in Somerland?
Celine shook her head and dispelled all her jumbled thoughts from her mind as she said to Miss Stone, “Contact the headquarters through the encrypted channel. I want to speak directly to President Paulson.”
Miss Stone said hesitantly, “But Miss Maynard, if you take the time difference into account, the president might have just woken up…”
“Yvonne Stone.” Celine’s eyes glinted coldly as she stared at Miss Stone and called her by her full name.
“You seem to be getting more and more ideas lately. Do you think you’re in charge of me now?”
“I’ll have it done right now!” Surprised, Miss Stone hurried off to fulfill Celine’s orders.
The call went through a short while later. Celine entered the study to talk to Paulson, the president and chief executive officer of Colossal Investments. Meanwhile, Miss Stone left the study.
Even as a personal secretary, she had no right to listen to a conversation of such high importance.
As Yvonne left the study, she caught sight of the laptop that had not been turned off yet. The report caused a look of jealousy and hatred to appear in her eyes.
Jasper’s appearance had caused Celine to dislike her more and more. Before this, they had a pretty good relationship.
However, Yvonne could now sense that Celine was becoming less trusting of her and was maybe even dissatisfied with her.
It was all Jasper’s fault!
A resentful look clouded over Yvonne’s eyes as she thought of that. After secretly taking two photos of the report with her phone, she hurried into her room and dialed a number.
Life at the Top Chapter 750
After she entered her room, Yvonne hid in the bathroom. Her call was soon answered.
The person on the other end of the line was a man who spoke in a lilting Somerish accent.
“It’s William.”
That’s right, Yvonne had phoned Celine’s direct competitor, William. He also happened to hate Jasper with all his might.
William had always been looking for a chance to attack Jasper, but he was always too far away to have any chance of launching an attack on him. Thus, he could only repress his hatred of being tricked the first time.
Now, Yvonne was handing William a sword.
The sword would also hurt Celine, but jealousy and hatred were enough to drive a woman to do crazy things.
“Mr. William, I believe you wouldn’t know that Celine and Jasper are in contact right now. They’re planning to list Sena publicly again.” Yvonne did not bother beating around the bush.
The other end of the line remained silent for a while. Only the sound of William’s breathing that was rapidly growing heavier was heard.
“Which means that Celine was lying to me when she told me two teams needed dispatching to make return visits to some of our old clients. She was actually going to work with Jasper in secret and go behind my back to help him list Sena publicly, is that right?” William’s deep voice, which could be heard holding back anger, traveled across the line.
Having such things being done behind his back was already humiliating enough when he was the president, not to mention the fact that he and Celine shared a competitive relationship in their workspace. As for Jasper, the two had a grudge against the other. How could William not be furious when he learned the two were working together while keeping him in the dark?
“The assessment report is already out, and Celine is talking to President Paulson right now. I’ll send you a screenshot of the assessment report later. You’ll understand everything after you read it,” Yvonne said calmly.
“You’re Celine’s secretary, aren’t you?” William asked abruptly.
Yvonne did not confirm nor deny the fact.
“Haha, what a surprise. Celine’s personal secretary has betrayed her,” William said mockingly.
No matter where you were, you would be looked down on if you turned and joined the enemy.
Yvonne’s face turned pale from anger, and she bit down on her lip as she said, “I didn’t betray her. You and I just happen to share Jasper Laine as our common enemy. You wouldn’t let him have his way, would you?”
William laughed coolly and said, “Sena can stop thinking about getting listed publicly so long as I’m here.”
“You’re wrong if that’s what you’re thinking. Sena was awarded a grade of S+ in the assessment report, and Celine has already told President Paulson that. The board of directors at the company’s headquarters will be receiving this report soon. Do you think that you, the president of Terra regional branch, will be able to go against the board of directors’ wishes?”
Yvonne’s cold words caused William to be utterly shocked.
“S+!? How is that possible!?”
“I’ll send you screenshots of the report. I don’t have any reason to lie about this, so if you really want to stop them, you must begin doing so before the board of directors at the headquarters have an official meeting.”
Yvonne hung up the phone after she finished speaking.
Then, she used her phone to send the screenshots of the report she had taken earlier to William’s email. She deleted her call history and the photographs from her phone immediately after that.
Yvonne heaved a sigh of relief after she completed all these actions in fluid movements. She sneered coldly at her reflection in the mirror as she looked at her crazed expression.
‘Jasper Laine, let’s see how cocky you’ll be after this!’
…
The next morning, Jasper stretched lazily as he walked out of his bedroom. When he saw Celine, who was smiling coyly at him as she sat on his couch, his first reaction was to pull his half-open robe tightly around himself.