Chapter 212: History Repeats Itself

Xiao Ran greeted the media professionals warmly. At first glance, he spotted his old friend Liang Jiabao. Laughing heartily, he walked over and patted his shoulder, saying, “A’Bao, there’s no need for you to come in person for an event like this!”
“Ran Ge, we all understand the situation. Why go through the trouble of saying such things to appease me?” Liang Jiabao wasn’t someone who could be easily deceived by a few words from Xiao Ran. Smiling, he replied, “Everyone is looking forward to Shadow Team facing Hongguo this time. There will be another headline in the newspaper tomorrow.”
Xiao Ran laughed and patted his shoulder before going to greet the others. People clearly saw no issue with a wealthy man like Xiao Ran personally welcoming the journalists—this was a testament to his charisma and popularity, which had changed everyone’s perception.
While Liang Jiabao was instructing his assistant to make all preparations, his gaze accidentally fell outside the door, where he saw several people walking in with bright smiles. He was shocked. It was Fa Ge and Liu Hua, artists who had defected to Hongguo. Not believing his eyes, Liang Jiabao rubbed them and realized it wasn’t a hallucination. He immediately understood this could be big news and frantically grabbed his camera to take pictures.
Yet he remained puzzled. This battle might not mean much to Shadow Team, but it was absolutely crucial for Hongguo. Moreover, earlier reports said that Hongguo’s contracted artists and filmmakers would mostly attend the premiere. But Fa Ge and the others were here…
Not only Liang Jiabao but also all the media professionals and staff, even Zhong Chuhong, were stunned. They thought Fa Ge and the others were there to show defiance, but their smiles suggested otherwise. As they were confused, Xiao Ran strode forward, and every journalist grabbed their camera, waiting…
How could they not be surprised? The whole of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia knew about Hongguo’s challenge to Shadow Team, but nothing had happened because Shadow Team hadn’t shown any reaction. Yet now, everything seemed to have reversed in an instant—everything they thought they knew appeared to be a lie…
The only one unshocked was Xiao Ran. He and Wei Dongling had known the whole truth all along, so how could they be surprised? Seeing Fa Ge and the others arrive, a smile gradually appeared on Xiao Ran’s face and spread across it. He strode up to Fa Ge and examined him carefully, noting his cheerful expression.
As their eyes met, a strange emotion seemed to spread throughout the room. Suddenly, Xiao Ran and Fa Ge burst into laughter, spreading their arms and hugging each other. Xiao Ran gratefully patted Fa Ge’s tall back, saying, “Fa Ge, thank you for your hard work!”
“It’s no big deal,” Fa Ge replied. His smile always had a strange charm, something Xiao Ran couldn’t match. Fa Ge always possessed that convincing aura of a big brother.

The scene left everyone in the room utterly stunned. The incident last time when Fa Ge and the others confronted Xiao Ran after the Golden Horse Awards had even been reported by journalists. Isn’t Xiao Ran extremely angry at Fa Ge and the others? Yet now they seem so affectionate, as if they hadn’t seen each other for years.

Letting go of their hands, Xiao Ran’s gaze shifted to Liu Hua, Liang Chaowei, and the others, who were also smiling happily. He suddenly felt very lucky to have such friends. Overcome with emotion, he said nothing more, only adding, “Thank you all for your hard work. I believe it won’t be long before we can all return to Meiying!”

Liu Hua and Liang Chaowei stepped forward smiling: “Brother Ran, we’ve been waiting for this day all along. Now it’s up to you!” Xiao Ran smiled knowingly and gently patted their shoulders, signaling them to rest for a while.

“What on earth is going on?” “What happened?” The doubts in every journalist’s mind grew larger and larger; they wished they could grab Xiao Ran and torture him into revealing the truth. But before they could do that, they witnessed something that left them all dumbfounded.

More people kept coming in from outside. But it wasn’t just ordinary spectators—there were also stars like Feng Feier, Wang Zuxian, and Zhang Manyu. In addition to these stars, those film talents poached by Hongguo, such as Wu Yusen, Du Qifeng, and Huang Yongheng, also arrived one after another.

The journalists were not only stunned but almost driven mad by this confusion. They had thought about Xiao Ran reconciling with these stars, but given their opposition to Hongguo, reconciliation was impossible, let alone choosing a side on such a day.

The entire place fell silent, with only Xiao Ran’s sincere and cheerful voice echoing: “Brother Sen, I’ve missed you so much. It’s been half a year, right? Ah Du, it’s great you’re back. There’s a movie that really needs you…”

One after another, most of the artists and filmmakers who had defected to Hongguo months ago returned, appearing here at this utterly impossible moment. Zhong Chuhong and the others from Meiying were completely confused—this was all too unbelievable.

Looking at the premiere venue, which was ten times busier than before, the stunned journalists threw aside their doubts and frantically took pictures. As they chatted with these film professionals and stars, Zhong Chuhong seized the opportunity to ask, her face full of confusion, “Ah Ran, what exactly is going on?”

Xiao Ran smiled subtly. He didn’t want to be too ostentatious in front of so many journalists, so he quietly leaned in and whispered in Zhong Chuhong’s ear, “They never left Meiying…”

Zhong Chuhong felt dizzy. She understood the meaning of those words but not the implication behind them. She grabbed Xiao Ran and asked in shock, “But didn’t they sign contracts with Hongguo?”

“That was me who told them to go. As long as Hongguo falls, they’ll still return, won’t they?” Xiao Ran was in high spirits. After months of effort, he finally reaped the rewards—how could he not be happy?

Finally, the premiere ceremony arrived. The main actors, whose attention had been completely overshadowed, were equally shocked, but none of them complained. Instead, under Xiao Ran’s guidance, they answered the journalists’ questions. Most of the questions, however, were directed at Xiao Ran: “May I ask why Brother Fa and the others are here?”
“I think this question might as well be postponed for a while. By then, you’ll surely be able to find the answer!” Xiao Ran laughed heartily at Brother Fa, nodded in understanding, and continued, “But enough about Brother Fa and the others. Now, let’s move on to questions related to the movie!”
“President Xiao, it was also here that you said you would eventually make a movie costing hundreds of millions. Since we haven’t reached that goal yet, when do you think it will happen?” This was a question from a reporter from the New Paper, who asked in a much more sensible manner, knowing how to guide the direction of the questions.
“I entered the film industry five years ago. Back then, 5 million was already considered a large budget. Now it’s reached 80 million. I think reaching 100 million isn’t a problem at all.” Xiao Ran nodded in approval. The New Paper, due to its lack of experience, wasn’t yet competitive with major newspapers like the Ming Pao, but its performance already satisfied him greatly. “The key is that it’s not up to us to decide how many hundreds of millions it will be—it’s the market that decides. If the market is large enough, then hundreds of millions is entirely possible!”
After the premiere, Xiao Ran and Brother Fa and their group found a quiet place. There, they glanced at those who had once been seen as having betrayed Xiao Ran, and sincerely bowed to thank them. “We’re all friends. There’s no need for thanks. Anyway, from now on, Shadow is our home.”
Brother Fa laughed heartily, shook Xiao Ran’s hand, and said jokingly, “If Shadow isn’t our own company, then why would we agree to Mo Huaien’s demands?” Xiao Ran also smiled and firmly shook his hand. That’s what friends are for.
“Brother Ran, let’s go inside and watch the movie. You said you had tickets saved for us!” Liu Hua came over to Xiao Ran with a smile and stretched out his hand. “We’re all eager to see what you used to defeat Mo Huaien!”
Earlier, at Shadow’s headquarters, Wei Dongling was overseeing other aspects of the attack. After checking the time, he picked up the phone and called Li Chaoren. “Chairman Li, it’s time. Let’s start!”
Fifteen minutes later, both the Changhe Group and Shadow issued statements saying that there might be geological issues with the land in that area, and officially announced the suspension of plans to build large shopping malls. The news spread rapidly through Hong Kong’s real estate industry, causing the value of the land in that area to plummet quickly.
Right after hanging up the phone, Wei Dongling lit a cigarette, checked the time again, and then picked up the phone to make another call. “Xiao Yi, execute!” He made a few more calls, each time with just two simple words—execute!
Quietly lighting another cigarette, a smile gradually appeared on Wei Dongling’s face. In a very low voice, he murmured to himself, his words sounding eerie amidst the swirling smoke: “Guoli, Hongwei, wait for bankruptcy!”

Not long after Wei Dongling gave the orders, a serious dispute broke out within the Korea Guoli Group. About 30% of the directors faced financial problems as their businesses were targeted, forcing them to withdraw their investments. Coupled with Guoli’s entanglement in a bank scandal from which it could not escape, almost all the other directors chose to protect themselves, plunging the Guoli Group into an immediate financial crisis with only tens of millions left in its accounts.

When Mo Huaien heard this news, he immediately realized that Guoli would surely withdraw its investments to save itself in such a difficult situation. This meant that Hongguo would soon face its own financial crisis.

At that moment, the stock price of the largest company in Europe, which Hongguo had acquired, plummeted, making it impossible to convert the shares into cash. In that instant, Mo Huaien’s heart seemed to be pounding violently as if surrounded by enemies.

Just then, an assistant, looking hesitant and panicked, handed Mo Huaien his cell phone. Mo Huaien felt his whole body go numb, his scalp seeming to stand on end. He didn’t dare answer the call, fearing more bad news.

It was only then that he realized how much he hated this mobile phone he used to like so much. Even though he hesitated, he still had to answer it, right? With trembling hands, he took the phone and gritted his teeth, convinced he could withstand any bad news—ready for anything that might happen.

But after less than three seconds of listening, his already pale face turned ashen. In that instant, he felt weak all over, his legs losing all strength as he collapsed to the ground. His eyes were vacant as he muttered like an idiot, “Insolvent… declared bankrupt… bankrupt…”

Tielong’s face also changed drastically. It felt as though someone had hit him hard in the head with a hammer. In his hallucination, it seemed to be Xiao Ran doing it. Moreover, Xiao Ran seemed to be laughing maniacally and shouting, “Challenging me means certain death!”

He couldn’t help but close his eyes. Was he really inferior to Xiao Ran? In an instant, he lost all courage and confidence. He swore that no one other than Xiao Ran could have done such a targeted attack. Even a fool would know it was Xiao Ran’s doing. But what good was knowing? It only brought him a deathly pale face and despair.

All that remained in Mo Huaien’s mind were two words—bankruptcy! He couldn’t believe he had lost to Xiao Ran. He refused to accept it. But everything happening before his eyes forced him to believe it. No hallucination could be this real, could it?

He knew he had lost, just like Fang Ruohai before him, to Xiao Ran. But he didn’t realize he was far inferior to Fang Ruohai in Xiao Ran’s eyes. He sat there in confusion, not even knowing how to stand up.

He had lost—lost to Xiao Ran! He wanted to laugh wildly to vent his frustration. If only he hadn’t been so aggressive and eager to challenge Shadow… Maybe he would still be safely in the real estate business, or even in the film industry.

Now he finally understood where his constant unease had come from—it was due to Phantom’s silence, Xiao Ran’s ability to endure, and the fact that these film people like Fa Ge had unreasonably turned to Hongguo. He could even guess that their performance at the Golden Horse Awards was a staged act meant to show him and dispel his doubts.
“You’re good, you’re really good…” He closed his eyes and uttered these words in pain, then suddenly opened them, a trace of resentment flashing in his eyes. If he went bankrupt, he would definitely not let Xiao Ran off easy…