The Great Thief

Mr. Hong’s reforms affected the interests of the majority shareholders, and he was eventually boycotted by the other shareholders as well. This eventually turned into a protracted legal battle, accelerating the destruction of the Brotherhood. At the time when Lu Li was about to be reborn, the Brotherhood wasn’t even making it into the top 100 anymore.

“Let’s talk about it more afterwards. Introduce me to Mr. Hong,” Lu Li agreed after giving it some thought.

Hot Twitch let out a sigh of relief when he heard Lu Li’s response. He surrendered the match and reported to Mr. Hong behind the scenes. The players that the Brotherhood later sent didn’t even stand a chance against Lu Li.

The group round was completely one-sided as well; Lu Li didn’t even participate in the battle.

Instead, he met up with the legendary Mr. Hong in a bakery in Stormwind City. In game, this man was a full-time chef and Lu Li saw him baking some bread as he walked in.

“Please sit down; I just baked this bread. If you don’t mind, please try it,” Mr. Hong offered politely to Lu Li.

He was a rich man, and had invested in a number of smaller guilds in addition to the Brotherhood. All of them have developed quite nicely since then and he was actually quite a powerful figure.

His skills were very suited towards this industry.

However, compared to the Brotherhood, Lu Li’s Ruling Sword was something that Mr. Hong was envious of. He dreamt of developing a guild to their heights.

The era of the gaming industry was about to come, and Mr. Hong was very optimistic about the development of the game.

“This is delicious. I’ve never had bread that was this good,” Lu Li said sincerely. He wasn’t flattering Mr Hong; he had genuinely never eaten such delicious bread.

Mr. Hong laughed and immediately felt closer to Lu Li. He initially thought that it would be shameful for him to contact Ruling Sword, but after having the bread, the tensions disappeared.

“If you like it, you can come back in future. I have some bread that can regenerate HP and provide some decent effects.”

Mr. Hong was keen to recommend some other bread that he had. It really didn’t seem like this guy had thousands of employees working for him and depending on him for their next meal.

“I hear that you want to form an alliance?” Lu Li asked, getting straight to the point.

He was no match against such an experienced businessman anyway.

“Yes, that’s correct. When I heard that our opponent was Ruling Sword today, I got worried,” Mr Hong sighed then continued, “They still wanted to beat you, but I didn’t think it was possible. I don’t actually know anything about the game.”

“You have invested in so many different guilds in Dawn. Why do you want to form an alliance with us?” Lu Li was quite curious about this.

“I’ve been investing in the Brotherhood for a long time,” Mr Hong reminisced. “Glory Capital was on the rise at the time, and they had countless enemies, but no one could stop them. Glory Capital and their allies were like a huge wave crashing over anyone who dared to oppose them…”

“Oh, are you saying that Ruling Sword is like what Glory Capital used to be?”

“Don’t you feel that same confidence?” Mr Hong asked.

“Never. I still think Ruling Sword has a long way to go,” Lu Li said humbly.

“Hahaha, now that is just untrue. Just look at Ruling Sword. It has grown faster than when Sorrowless led Glory Capital, and you haven’t accepted any external investments. There’s no way you’ve never thought about the decisions you’re making,” Mr. Hong said as he stared at Lu Li without giving away anything in his expression.

“Let’s go back to talking about this alliance.” Lu Li touched his nose; he had no plans of continuing the topic.

“It’s pretty simple. Ruling Sword will lead us,” Mr. Hong said firmly.

“I’m curious, are you now running the Brotherhood?” Lu Li wondered why an entrepreneur would be part of a power struggle within the game.

“Not yet, but it will be fine. I just want to ask know if Ruling Sword would agree to such an arrangement,” Mr Hong said.

Lu Li laughed and shook his head.

“What do you mean?”

Mr. Hong stared at Lu Li. Had he read the situation incorrectly? He had felt that Lu Li was very interested in this alliance from the beginning. Why was he refusing it now?

“Mr. Hong, you’re underestimating your opponents. The people in this game are much more shameless than in reality. They would rather destroy something than let you have it.”

Lu Li didn’t know how to say that he knew what would happen in future. He could only talk about it in general terms and hope that Mr. Hong would understand. As to whether this would change his future actions, that wasn’t something Lu Li could decide.

There was simple no value in forming an alliance with a Brotherhood that was going downhill.

The reason why he promised to see Mr. Hong was just out of curiosity. Of course, he didn’t actually mind cooperating with the Brotherhood, provided that Ruling Sword would benefit from the alliance.

“You think that I can’t fix Brotherhood?” Mr. Hong asked as he raised his voice slightly.

“Yes, you are a layman in this area. That is enough for me to conclude that you will not succeed,” Lu Li said bluntly.

“Well, if I can fix it, then will Ruling Sword promise to ally with us?”

Mr. Hong thought about it for a moment, and suddenly didn’t feel as confident anymore. To him, Lu Li was a game expert.

If an expert said that your couldn’t do it, but you refused to believe it, then it was no longer self-confidence but just arrogance.

“That works. We just need to negotiate the terms of our alliance. If you want to get onboard, you’ve got to have a ticket.”

As for what the fate of Brotherhood would be, Lu Li didn’t know and only time could tell. He didn’t want to go poking in someone else’s business since the Brotherhood didn’t affect the big picture anyway.

Even if they formed an alliance, it was impossible for there to be an equal alliance between the Brotherhood and Ruling Sword.

Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court was a strong alliance because they were equals. In fact, because of their relationship when it came to Instance Dungeon strategies, Drizzle Court actually held a slightly weaker position. Even so, in the eyes of the outside world, no one thought that Drizzle Court was lower than Ruling Sword.

However, the Brotherhood was different. Even if they managed to fix the guild, they would definitely be a subordinate in this alliance.

Mr. Hong clearly understood this as he said from the outset that he wanted Ruling Sword to lead. He wanted to reap the benefits of Ruling Sword’s ascension just like countless other guilds did during the rise of Glory Capital.