Chapter 43: The Six Major Financial Conglomerates of China

Within Lin Mu's attribute panel, there were several information columns, including System World Announcements, System Huaxia Region Announcements, Territory System Information, and personal System Prompts. Clicking on the Huaxia Region Announcements revealed rows of information lists, organized neatly and making it very convenient for players to view.

Regarding the Territory Information System, Lin Mu had essentially handed over all territorial affairs to Chang Yin to manage, so the system prompts were very sparse. Most information was recorded by Chang Yin on media such as parchment, which Lin Mu could not access. This was the downside of being a "hands-off manager"—he could not stay constantly informed about every detail of the territory. Even the discovery of the expert-level talent had been something Chang Yin had to tell him.

...

From the announcements regarding the establishment of territories in the Huaxia Region, one could analyze the situation of the various major powers. By using these announcements as clues and following the trail based on his own experience, it was easy to identify which factions had already "landed"!

The second village in the Huaxia Region, Yanhuang Village, was ostensibly controlled by Jiang Chenglong, but in reality, it was the "National Team." The convergence of numerous terrifying resources had turned it into a behemoth.

Yanhuang Village was the most influential and powerful faction. Lin Mu knew this; it was the most formidable warlord-style faction among players, capable of competing for supremacy over the world.

When facing invasions from other foreign regions, this behemoth was also the faction that charged at the front lines most fiercely.

Because of this faction's existence, many overt conflicts within the Huaxia Nation were minimized, as some could be perfectly resolved through so-called negotiations.

Jiang Chenglong was the youngest top-tier general in the Huaxia Nation. His military combat skills were outstanding, and his national martial arts were equally impressive. Legend had it that he possessed a lineage of national ancient martial arts; he had once won third place in the 10th [World Combat Martial Arts Championship] and was a favorite to win the 11th [World Combat Championship] held this October—a seeded martial artist!

The [World Combat Championship] was held every four years. It was the grandest event in the world of martial arts combat, celebrated globally, drawing massive crowds!

Due to his heritage of "Red Family" bloodlines, his family was brimming with talent and excellence, with many clansmen holding high positions. Consequently, much of their secret information remained unknown to the public. Lin Mu had only learned of this man's extraordinary nature through the records of the 10th [World Combat Championship] third-place finisher.

A dragon among men, a phoenix among talents, and a tiger among warriors—that was Jiang Chenglong.

Brilliant, dominant in martial arts, of high status, and world-renowned, Jiang Chenglong was the controller of Yanhuang Village. Although other big shots pulled the strings behind him, his personal ability could not be ignored. Lin Mu placed great importance on Jiang Chenglong, ranking his threat level among the highest in his mind.

However, due to the special nature of Yanhuang Village, ordinary players would not attempt to conquer his territory, nor would Yanhuang Village wage war against other players' territories.

Yanhuang Village's usual tactic was to negotiate using the "righteousness of the nation," the "hope of the people," and the "protection of the populace." Although this was loathed by countless lord-players, it was extremely effective.

In his previous life, many large-scale factions disliked interacting with Yanhuang Village. Not only did they play the role of a savior and a mediator, but certain corrupt individuals also secretly acted as insatiable plunderers. Of course, this was merely the behavior of certain greedy scions of families; many ambitious Huaxia heroes would not engage in such shallow acts, yet they maintained a tacit acceptance of these actions...

However, when it came to matters of great principle, Yanhuang Village was indeed very responsible as a whole. In wars against foreign regions, Yanhuang Village unhesitatingly took the vanguard. Internally, while they were domineering, their expansion was done in a way that seemed reasonable and logical, leaving one with nothing to say.

Perhaps due to its unique composition, this faction was a mixed bag of people, with numerous factions and constant internal strife.

Regardless, Lin Mu took Jiang Chenglong very seriously! He maintained a respectful distance from Yanhuang Village. If it truly came to a head, he believed his future self would have the confidence to face them.

In Lin Mu's mind, the definition of Yanhuang Village was: respect and keep distance in the early stage; cooperate and suppress in the mid-stage; suppress and cooperate in the late stage.

Aside from the special faction of Yanhuang Village, the prominent powers in the Huaxia Region included the Six Great Conglomerates and the Ten Super Guilds.

This world had once fallen into a state of collapse, sinking into boundless darkness. However, through the efforts of countless martyrs, it had survived that desperate period of history!

Throughout thousands of years of Huaxia history, countless heroes, legends, and noble clans had been born. One could not even count how many reclusive families existed. Influenced by Huaxia's historical philosophy, the people of Huaxia preferred to remain low-profile, hidden, and moderate.

In the new era, Huaxia remained a land of vast resources and rich history and culture, with advanced science and technology and a comprehensive national strength that led the world. Although there had been one or several dark periods in history, the Huaxia people were the most cohesive nation in the world, without exception!

The roots of the Huaxia nation were deep and flourishing, with the customs of dozens of ethnic groups converging into a brilliant Huaxia culture. Countless heroes and pillars of the state brought a profound historical depth to the land of Huaxia. This was Huaxia!

Due to the uniqueness and mystery of *Mythical World*—with its secrets of immortality and more—hidden powers that had stayed out of the public eye began to surface, with countless "big fish" emerging to fight for kingship and supremacy within the mythical world.

The Huaxia Nation had a highly developed economy, the highest global economic growth, and the strongest market prosperity, while also possessing the world's largest population, reaching 2 billion.

In this new era, due to historical reasons, a developed economy naturally gave rise to the emergence of large conglomerate powers. These were the conglomerates—formed through a combination of market economic necessity and coincidence.

Huaxia had six major conglomerates: [Hanye Conglomerate], [Dongcheng Conglomerate], [Sima Conglomerate], [Ji Clan Conglomerate], [Yanhuang Conglomerate], and [The First Conglomerate].

Lin Mu had only learned of this information within the professional player circles. Usually, when people exchanged experiences, they would occasionally discuss issues like funding and compensation. Different guilds offered different treatments, which would lead to unintentional mentions of the conglomerates behind them. When people spoke of these conglomerates, they always did so with expressions of reverence and longing, though such things were very, very far from them.

Many virtual game guilds were funded by large conglomerates; some were directly acquired and controlled, while others were joint ventures.

In his previous life, the guild Lin Mu belonged to was under the command of the Ji Clan Conglomerate, so he was most familiar with them.

The Ji Clan Conglomerate was somewhat different from other conglomerates. It was led overall by the Ji family, who held absolute power and occupied a massive share of the conglomerate; only small, scattered shares were controlled by other minor families. One could say they held the heavens in their hands.

Lin Mu's expulsion from his guild in his previous life was also caused by the instigation of other minor families within the Ji Clan Conglomerate, possibly aided by certain detestable individuals in the shadows.

The Ji Clan Conglomerate operated many projects, including aerospace materials, space exploration companies, control over one or more ocean cities, the management of space asteroid mineral veins, and so on. Essentially, they did whatever was most profitable, which was the source of a conglomerate's confidence.

The wealth of the Ji Clan Conglomerate was something that many wealth-ranking companies specializing in data analysis could not specifically calculate. This was not just true for the Ji Clan; these institutions could not statistically analyze the wealth of other conglomerates in the world either, because the hidden interests involved were simply too numerous and complex.

General wealth rankings merely performed slight statistical analysis on individual wealth and published rough estimates.

Lin Mu did not know much about the Hanye, Dongcheng, or Yanhuang Conglomerates, but he knew their compositions were very complex and frequently heard rumors of internal struggles leading to decision-making errors.

The Hanye Conglomerate was the overlord behind Hanye Village, established by Ye Nantian. Its composition was relatively pure, consisting of only two families: the Han family and the Ye family. Legend had it that these two families were old allies in the old era; later, they cooperated as partners to create wealth that rivaled nations, becoming the ultimate role models in the hearts of countless entrepreneurs! Various rumors flew about; although Lin Mu occasionally paid attention, he had not delved deeply and mostly relied on hearsay.

Hanye Village, under the Hanye Conglomerate, was located in Xuzhou. The village chief was Ye Nantian, the eldest son and legitimate heir of Ye Zhende, the chairman of the Hanye Conglomerate!

This conglomerate was too far removed from Lin Mu; whether to suppress or cooperate with them was a policy he had not yet formulated.

...

The Dongcheng Conglomerate was controlled by the Beitang family, though they did not have absolute control. They likely relied on decisions from a conglomerate board of directors—a group of forces huddling together for warmth. Such forces rely entirely on interests; when interest conflicts arise, they can easily collapse, but if interests are steadfast, the relationship can be extremely reliable! They were a community of both spear and shield, requiring a balance point!

It was said that the Valkyrie Beitang was one of the heirs of the Beitang family. The "All-Seductive Beauty" Guild was the largest super guild under the Dongcheng Conglomerate. If Lin Mu's guess was correct, the territory they established was in Yangzhou. It would be the first transcendent major power Lin Mu would have to face, and he wondered how it would unfold.

Lin Mu would not easily categorize this transcendent power as a pure entity like Yanhuang Village, because they were too complex. They required specific analysis based on specific circumstances.

...

The Yanhuang Conglomerate was established by a group of "chosen ones" from the third and fourth generations of official families. Possessing official power, their development of the Yanhuang Conglomerate was rapid, with a bright future ahead. However, it was rumored that much of their wealth was contributed to the Huaxia government, though whether this was true remained unknown.

Some also claimed that this conglomerate existed to create wealth for the state in the sea of commerce and to provide a source for certain secret funds... Of course, these were all speculations on the web; no one knew what was right or wrong.

Jiang Chenglong was a standout talent from one branch of the Yanhuang Conglomerate.

...

Lin Mu knew even less about the First Conglomerate and the Sima Conglomerate, but he knew the First Conglomerate was controlled by a family with the surname "First."

As for the Sima Conglomerate, it belonged to the legendary Sima family, a reclusive clan with a lineage of thousands of years. Although members of this family often appeared in the public eye, they were likely just spokespeople; the core direct lineage had never appeared.

However, in Lin Mu's heart, he knew of one direct descendant, Sima Ying, a scion of a great clan who had a significant connection to him...

...

With the temptation of *Mythical World*, it was believed that many hidden powers would surface, recruiting soldiers and horses, seeking talents, fighting for the legitimacy of world supremacy, and gathering the world's providence. They did not seek immortality, but rather sought to increase their lifespan and increase their martial arts cultivation to traverse the world!

In the Huaxia Nation, besides the overlords of the six major conglomerates, there was another group of forces that Lin Mu needed to pay close attention to: the countless professional and amateur player guilds that had formed as virtual gaming developed to this day.

Player guilds had been an appendage of the gaming industry since its inception.

Games are created for people to play, and those who play are called players. As the number of players grows, they will encounter partners with whom they share common goals to conquer the world, or accomplices with whom they share bad habits to act in collusion, or collaborators who establish interest-based camps to earn profits. It is these human elements that make games more prosperous and more enjoyable!

Players with shared ideals form player guild forces that do not seek profit but only the passion of playing the game. These are forces welcomed by game companies and are a major source of game profit.

Those with shared bad habits and collusion form guilds that ordinary players call "bully forces." They monopolize game resources, oppress ordinary players, and act tyrannically and wickedly in the game.

This can be seen as a way to vent emotions from reality, but since evil deeds in a game are not subject to legal punishment, it makes them even more arrogant. Sometimes, games have even gone bankrupt because of such player guilds; to be able to drive a game company into bankruptcy is considered a "great achievement."

Although they contribute a lot to the game, they are the least welcomed group.

In a game, there is another important group: the low-end players. Their numbers determine the potential of the game.

Countless low-end players serve high-end players to some extent to earn rewards, creating a cycle of buying and selling that makes the game market more prosperous.

Low-end players with similar ambitions form game studios of various sizes; in the virtual game world, these studios are as numerous as the hairs on a cow!

Since the development of virtual games, due to their holographic nature, players have had better experiences and higher playability, giving birth to countless professional players and causing the gaming industry to flourish like the midday sun. The state, due to various social reasons, has also vigorously developed the virtual gaming industry.

Countless conglomerates and families have also invested, seeking to share the cake of this great era!

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I hope everyone can cast some free recommendation votes and add this book to your bookshelf. These are very much needed for a new book. Thank you!~

(End of Chapter)