Fang Zheng went to prepare for his work, and Ling did not put down her luggage and clamor to go out to play like she would do if she went to other places, but locked herself in the room.

Theo and Tita had no way to deal with this. They knew why Ling was acting strangely, but this kind of thing... it didn't matter if they said anything, right? After all, this was someone else's personal matter, and even if they were Ling's friends, they couldn't say anything.

Especially Theo, after all, she is also a member of the runaway party. It is impossible for her to slap herself in the face by saying so to Ling.

So the three girls started playing with the cat happily together in the room.

It’s so nice to pet cats. You can forget your worries and indulge in pleasure. Just one puff of cats and all your worries will be gone... It’s really addictive and you can’t help yourself.

While the three girls were obsessed with petting cats, Fang Zheng had already arrived at the City Hall and met with Mayor McDowell.

In fact, it was normal for Mayor McDowell to have doubts about Fang Zheng's plan. After all, this was a big project, and the area occupied by the Starlight Tower was terrifyingly large. If the project failed, Crossbell would have big problems. So Mayor McDowell had to find Fang Zheng and ask him clearly. Otherwise, he would still feel uneasy.

Fang Zheng was naturally not afraid of this at all. When he first lied... and persuaded investors, it was much more troublesome than it is now.

After all, people in that era were smart, so here... Fang Zheng only needed to turn on the computer and show Mayor McDowell the real-life picture of the Starlight Tower to solve all the problems.

And in fact, when the magnificent Star Tower appeared on the screen, Mayor McDowell's eyes almost popped out.

"This...is this the Starlight Tower?"

"Yes, this is the Starlight Tower we are going to build."

Fang Zheng nodded, then pointed at the screen and began to explain, including the design of each floor, how to use it, how many people are needed, the specific planning and operation process, the number of people to be hired and the requirements, and what kind of effect it will bring after it is completed.

It must be said that Mayor McDowell was also moved after listening to Fang Zheng's explanation and looking at the PPT in front of him. Although Starlight Technology did give a lot of explanations before, it was meaningless to imagine it from just words. For example, regarding the exterior design of the Starlight Tower, the design draft only had sketches and text descriptions, so it was difficult to imagine what it would look like when it was built.

However, now, on the PPT in front of him, Mayor McDowell finally saw the true appearance of the Starlight Tower.

The entire Starlight Tower was in a completely Protoss style, with golden supports and crystal-blue walls intertwined and reaching up into the sky. It didn't even feel like a simple building, but more like a solemn and majestic temple that existed on a higher level. Mayor McDowell could swear that he had never seen a similar building anywhere on the continent of Semria!

Even the highly developed ancient Semlia civilization did not have this kind of building!

The entire Starlight Tower consists of two parts: the foundation and the tower. In simple terms, it is a huge building made by combining three towers. There are three entrances, corresponding to the different functional characteristics of the three towers. For example, the entrance in the central square is the hotel area, the entrance in the Happy Street is the indoor playground area, and the entrance in the last back street is the entrance for employees only.

The three towers are combined into one, and then connected together from the lobby to form a whole. The entire tower is equipped with six sightseeing elevators, six internal elevators and three freight elevators, and there is also a parking lot on the third underground floor. Not only that, according to Fang Zheng, this high-rise building will be designed and constructed with the latest technology to ensure safety and will never be damaged by any accidents.

Poor Mayor McDowell is also an old man. Although he is considered to be calm and steady, his reactions are slow after all. How could he be a match for Fang Zheng, who dared to deceive investors and players to spend money with just a concept map in the PPT era? In fact, he was dumbfounded when he first saw the pictures on the screen, and then listened to Fang Zheng's explanation which seemed so professional, and all kinds of incomprehensible professional terms were poured into his ears. The old man was completely confused and could not say anything except nodding.

Moreover, Fang Zheng boasted a lot, saying that Crossbell has such a good geographical location, located between the Republic and the Empire, with dense personnel exchanges. Once the Starlight Tower is completed, it will surely spread at the fastest speed. By then, a large number of tourists will come, and the GDP of Crossbell will definitely double again... The old man nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

As a result, when Fang Zheng said goodbye and left, the old man was still sitting behind the desk nodding - if you didn't know, you would think he had Alzheimer's disease.

After successfully "persuading" Mayor McDowell, Fang Zheng came to IBC. It was lunch time, so Dita Kurois from IBC invited Fang Zheng to have lunch together. Since there was a free lunch, Fang Zheng would naturally not miss it.

During the meal, the two sides finally had an in-depth exchange on this issue.

"I have heard about what Starlight Technology has done in Crossbell, and I admire your courage very much."

Dita Kurois is a middle-aged blond man who always smiles and looks like a successful entrepreneur - in fact, he is indeed a successful entrepreneur. After all, IBC is equivalent to a large bank on Earth, with branches in various countries. As the president of IBC, Dita Kurois can be said to be the godfather of the financial industry in the continent of Semlia.

“It has nothing to do with courage.”

While drinking the coffee in front of him, Fang Zheng changed the subject.

"Starlight Technology developed this plan after reasonable evaluation and consideration. Most importantly... we have money."

"But I think you should understand that long-distance remittance is not an easy task, and it is very easy to have various problems. If possible, I hope IBC can cooperate with Starlight Technology..."

"Oh, President Dita doesn't need to worry about that."

Fang Zheng smiled and wiped his hands with a napkin.

"The security of the country's financial industry is also a concern for us at Starlight Technology. In fact, we at Starlight Technology have already received official permission from the Kingdom of Liberl and will establish a dedicated financial network in Crossbell that will be connected to the Kingdom of Liberl to serve citizens of Liberl everywhere."

"…What do you mean?"

Hearing this, President Dita's expression changed slightly, while Fang Zheng cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth without any concern.

"It's simple. Currently, we at Starlight Technology are assisting the Kingdom of Liberl in reforming and building a nationwide information system. This means that we can transmit information through the Internet. In other words, any citizen of Liberl in Crossbell can use his or her account in the Kingdom of Liberl to withdraw and store Mira."

“…”

Hearing this, President Dita's expression finally changed slightly.

As the president of IBC, he certainly understood what Fang Zheng meant. In fact, IBC also used this system. However, as mentioned before, due to the range of the guide network, each place was a regional network. For example, the IBC headquarters in Crossbell had a network that could only cover the entire Crossbell and could not be connected to branches in other countries.

The reason for choosing Crossbell is naturally because of its characteristics as a transit station. IBC can act as an intermediary to transfer funds between the Empire and the Republic.

But if they could directly interact with other countries’ internal financial networks…

"Mr. Fang Zheng, IBC sincerely hopes to cooperate with Starlight Technology."

President Dita's expression also turned serious.

"I know you have mastered this technology, and I think you also know..."

"Feel sorry."

However, before President Dita could finish her words, she was interrupted by Fang Zheng.

"This concerns the country's financial security. I cannot make the decision. If you need this, please discuss it with Her Majesty the Queen or the head of the Makado Workshop. After all, we at Starlight Technology are only cooperating in system design and maintenance. As for the network connection lines, we currently need the approval of the Kingdom of Liberl before we can build them."

The excuse of national security is really useful...

Faced with Fang Zheng's answer, President Dita was speechless. He also understood that the dominance brought by new technologies was what everyone wanted to fight for. No matter which country it was, except for colonies like Crossbell that had no choice, all sovereign countries would want to control financial information in their own hands. Now that there was a network that could connect the entire country, the Kingdom of Liberl would naturally not lose the initiative in this regard.

Otherwise, even though it was you who started it, it ends up being... well, we all know.

After hearing this news from Fang Zheng, President Dita was in no mood to eat and left in a hurry. If the Kingdom of Liberl was like this, then the Empire and the Republic must have the same idea. IBC has always been able to grow bigger and stronger because of the financial and banking industries. If it doesn't find a way to face this wave, then IBC is probably not far from being extinguished.

Seeing President Dita leaving in a hurry with no appetite, Fang Zheng's eyes flashed with a smug smile. You old boy, you still want to trick me into joining the pirate ship? Otherwise... Forget it, I'll let you, a grasshopper in autumn, jump around for a while.

We’ll settle the accounts together then.

After eating and drinking, Fang Zheng patted his belly and then strolled to the Rubacher Chamber of Commerce in the back street, intending to solve the last problem.

Unfortunately, however, the meeting with Rubacher's President Malkney was not as pleasant as that with Mayor McDowell and President Dita.

"You are dreaming, don't even think about it!"

Slamming the table in front of him, the fat, big-eared, Mediterranean-looking President Markney glared angrily at Fang Zheng who was sitting on the sofa opposite him.

"I don't care how much money you have at Starlight Technology. I want you to know that Crossbell is not a place where a little kid like you can do whatever you want! You even want us to move our Rubacher Chamber of Commerce? I think you are tired of living!"

“Haha…”

Listening to President Malkni's roar, Fang Zheng sighed and picked his ears.

"So your answer is still no, right?"

"That's right! Why don't you go out and ask around, what kind of existence our Rubacher Chamber of Commerce is in Crossbell! You... uh... uh..."

However, before President Markney could finish his words, Fang Zheng raised his head and stared at him. The next moment, Markney suddenly closed his mouth, his cheeks turned red, and he opened his mouth as if he couldn't breathe.

"What have you done!"

Seeing this scene, the burly man standing behind Markney roared and rushed directly towards Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng didn't even look at him. He raised his right hand and flicked it lightly as if to drive away a fly. Then the burly man flew backwards and hit the wall not far away and stopped moving.

Fang Zheng also stood up at this moment and walked slowly to Markney's side.

"You...what do you want to do...do you know...who's behind me..."

"Oh, I don't care about that."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng raised his right hand. A moment later, a mollusk that looked like a snail without a shell crawled out from his sleeve and landed on Markney's smooth head with a "pop". Markney's eyes widened at the strange sticky touch, and then he watched the mollusk go down his head and directly into his nose.

“Woo… woo…!!!”

Shortly after the monster entered his nose, Markney suddenly began to tremble wildly, his mouth wide open and his eyes rolled back.

"What, what is this? My brain, something is gnawing at my brain... No, I don't remember, I don't remember..."

Soon, Markney's voice gradually faded, and then he fell to the ground without any movement. For a moment, the entire reception room was dead silent. Only when you put your ear to Markney's smooth forehead can you hear the faint "crunching" sound coming from inside, as if something was gnawing.

After a while, Markni opened his eyes again, stood up respectfully, and lowered his head in front of Fang Zheng.

"dominate."

"You know what to do, I don't need to tell you."

"Yes, I promise not to disappoint the Master."

"Very good, then I'll leave this to you."

Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders, then turned around and left the Rubacher Chamber of Commerce leisurely.

The two sides had a frank communication and finally reached an agreement... Isn't that great?