My capital is quite large.

Chapter 256 Enjoying the Moment

Before we knew it, it was June.

The Jinling Olympic Sports Center was once again illuminated by neon lights, and the annual Haofeng Weibo Night Coronation Ceremony arrived as scheduled.

At this gala, hailed as the highest review platform for traffic in the Chinese entertainment industry, the seating arrangements and rankings in this arena of fame and fortune constantly revealed the changing of the guard among capital and power.

On the male celebrity list, two more Chinese members of EXO have returned to China, bringing with them a large number of enthusiastic fans who have just been brainwashed by the Korean wave, and are making a strong impact on the local traffic ecosystem.

Fortunately, Yang Yang, Hao Feng's biological son, has a solid foundation and has maintained his position as a top-tier gatekeeper thanks to the company's promotion across all channels.

In contrast to the relatively calm rankings of male stars, the competition among female stars is more subtle and brutal.

In the VIP section below the stage, countless flashes were going off, but many insiders had already noticed an obvious trend based on the data from the past six months – the gap between Li Xin and Zhao Liying, these two rising stars, was widening!

"Li Xin's resources are so good that they're the envy of everyone."

The agents sitting in the back row couldn't help but whisper among themselves as they looked at Li Xin, who seemed a bit awkward in the second row.

"That's right! From her debut in 'Meteor Shower' to becoming the only female MC on 'Running Man', she also starred in the wildly popular 'iPartment 2'."

"With all that resources poured into her, anyone else would have become a superstar by now. But she... she's the kind of person who just can't become famous no matter how much she's promoted. Apart from the nostalgia factor and exposure from variety shows in her early years, she hasn't had a single blockbuster drama that she can carry on in recent years, and her popularity with the general public is always just a little bit lacking."

This awkward situation of "pushing hard but not getting a hit" made Li Xin feel quite uncomfortable at tonight's seniority-based party.

On the other hand, Zhao Liying, who was sitting not far from her, presented a completely different picture!

This girl, who had spent many years as an extra at Huayi Brothers, seems to have been given a cheat code since signing with Haofeng.

From "Legend of Lu Zhen" to "Boss & Me," she has starred in two hit dramas featuring strong female leads, securing viewership in the lower-tier market! And her recently wrapped drama, "The Journey of Flower," is considered by industry insiders to be a potential blockbuster next year!

If this drama becomes a hit again next year, Zhao Liying will have enough confidence to surpass all the other actresses of her generation and challenge the four legendary poets of the Tang Dynasty!

As for Fan Xiaopang, who ranked third on the list tonight, it is the result of her years of hard work and dedication in the industry.

Her drama "The Empress of China," which sold to Tencent Video for 5 million yuan per episode and a total price of 200 million yuan, is one of the very few domestic dramas that can rival Korean stars and guarantee high viewership in this era dominated by the Korean wave.

This tangible commercial value naturally makes her incredibly popular with casual observers.

Song Qian, who ranked fourth, is purely a product of the current excessive Korean wave, which has pushed her to the position of one of the four little actresses.

On stage, holding the solid gold trophy custom-made by Chanel, Victoria Song was the most out of sorts among all the guests.

Looking at the support posters for her below the stage, she thought of the grievances she had suffered over the years, and tears welled up in her eyes. She cried so much on stage that even her exquisite makeup was smudged.

After the party ended that evening, to express their gratitude to the boss for his support...

The three consecutive days of challenging tasks forced her to suspend her acting career for half a month to recuperate.

……

At this time.

Inside the president's office of Haofeng Group Building in Jinling.

Li Feng, who was reviewing documents, showed no sign of the relaxation that came from his passionate encounter with a beautiful woman.

He had been agonizing over that crazy idea in his heart for days in his office.

"If you invest 100 million in cash through offshore channels... can you really get it back safely?"

Li Feng fiddled with the sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, his gaze fixed intently on the calendar on the computer screen.

June 2014.

This is not just a celebration of Weibo Night in China; on the other side of the world, the quadrennial global extravaganza—the Brazil World Cup—has already begun!

Li Feng clearly remembers the score of the most absurd semi-final match in the World Cup!

On July 9, 2014, the host country Brazil played against Germany!

The final score of that match, which would later be known as the "Mineiro Massacre," was 1 to 7!

In the World Cup semi-final, on home soil in Brazil, a country known for its Samba football, they were thrashed 1-7 by Germany!

This was an absolutely insane score that no normal fan or betting expert at the time would have thought!

"The current overseas odds for this score are ridiculously high."

Li Feng was calculating rapidly on the paper.

If, before the semi-finals began, he used ten different virtual accounts through an offshore shell company in the Cayman Islands to bet 100 million RMB on the betting platforms of major European betting groups, hoping to gamble on a score of 1 to 7.

If this upset happens, with odds nearly ten thousand times higher...

His initial investment of 100 million yuan will turn into an astonishing fortune of 650 billion yuan overnight!

Sixty-five hundred billion!

With this money, he wouldn't even need to borrow a single penny from the bank to push the entire Huaxin Technology and lithography machine research and development to its fastest speed!

but.

Li Feng took out a cigarette, lit it, and chuckled self-deprecatingly in the rising smoke. He then threw the piece of paper covered with numbers into the trash can.

"Greed knows no bounds."

"Six hundred and fifty billion, within the rules, who the hell has the guts and the ability to pay out this astronomical sum of money for me?!"

That's a gray-area gambling industry secretly controlled by transnational gangs and the world's top financial tycoons!

The boss of an unlisted group with a background at Dongda University, based on his intuition, spent 100 million and accurately bought a 1:7 ratio that was impossible to come by, and then went to take away the bottom pool of tens of billions of US dollars.

Not only would those people in charge of the gambling den not give him a single penny, but they would also be thinking about how to physically exorcise him!

"I currently have billions of dollars in my hands from the clearance sales of LOL and mobile games. Although I've spent heavily on semiconductors, I'm not so short of money that I have to risk my life against foreign gangs."

"It's best to stay away from these suicidal investments where you can't even get your principal back."

Li Feng erased the last trace of greed from his mind and regained his composure.

However, people are ultimately a little vain and have an itch to get their hands dirty, which is a trait of those who have been reborn.

Before we knew it, it was July 9, 2014.

There are only two hours left before the start of the highly anticipated semi-final match between Germany and Brazil.

On the terrace of Zijinshan Manor, Li Feng looked out at the sweltering summer night, swirling a half-full glass of whiskey in his hand.

"Yu Xi, come here," Li Feng called out calmly.

Secretary Zhang, her long legs encased in thin stockings, trotted over, her expression respectful: "Boss, what can I do for you?"

Li Feng took out an anonymous black bank card from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Use my personal overseas account to place a bet on me on an online betting platform outside Hong Kong."

Zhang Yuxi paused, somewhat surprised: "Bet on the World Cup? Boss, you're interested in that too? Who are you betting on to win?"

"Bet on Germany to win."

Li Feng took a sip of his drink and casually uttered five words: "Score, bet on the loser, and the rest."

In sports betting terminology, "Other Losses" refers to any score where the away team scores 5 or more goals, and that is not among the regular score options.

"The limit doesn't need to be too high," Li Feng said with amusement.

"Let's buy it for 20,000 yuan."

With today's odds, betting 20,000 yuan would only yield a few million yuan in profit.

In the eyes of those overseas gambling groups that routinely possess billions, betting 20,000 yuan on an underdog is a perfectly normal act of gambling for free. Even if they win, they will readily pay out the winnings as a publicity stunt.

"If you win, I'll use the money to buy you a few bags as a bonus for your hard work these past few days."

Li Feng pinched Zhang Yuxi's fair cheek, smiled, and walked back into the house.

"Thank you, boss! I'll go buy it right away!"

Zhang Yuxi nodded in delight, then happily ran off to make a phone call, clutching the card.

And on this night...

On the other side of the ocean in Brazil, the relentless German machine repeatedly sent the ball into the Brazilian goal, eventually bringing the score to 1-7.

Not only were fans around the world covering their faces and crying, but a certain underground bookmaker in Hong Kong, looking at the HK$20,000 bet slip that had won against the other side, was also cursing his incredible luck while happily transferring several million Hong Kong dollars over.