As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 226 Chain Reaction
The chain reaction that Long Jianhuan mentioned was not unfounded.

Just three days after they began investigating the crime scene, four of the Star Shattered Club's suppliers declared bankruptcy.

These suppliers, who have long provided food, nutritional supplements, and various consumables to the Shattered Star Club, are owed large sums of money by Sheikh Krat.

Several other companies contracted the renovation business during the recent comprehensive upgrade of the Shattered Star Club, and similarly advanced a large amount of wages and renovation material costs.

Logically speaking, many of the debts had already far exceeded the final repayment deadline, and they had repeatedly urged Sheikh Krat to settle the payments.

The problem is that business is tough these days, and it's not easy to find clients like the three high-end card clubs.

Despite Sheikh Krat's extravagant boasting and the allure of the club's bustling atmosphere, they had no choice but to accept the repeated delays.

They had originally hoped that the Shattered Star team would achieve great results in this Dawn Cup.

It became the largest and most luxurious Spirit Card Club in Dawn City.

They even received a share of the profits from Liming Heavy Industry for building the "future mining town".

Not only will they be able to pay off all their debts, but they will also be able to take on more high-value business from the Shattered Star Club.

The beautiful dream vanished with the death of Sheikh Krat and the exposure of the Shattered Star Club's appalling financial situation and near-fraudulent business strategies.

The suppliers who were owed the most money by Shattered Star Club were immediately sentenced to death.

Several other suppliers are barely hanging on and could go out of business at any moment.

And suppliers also have their own suppliers.

In an instant, the entire city of Dawn was enveloped in an unprecedented atmosphere of tension.

No one knows whether the career they've worked so hard for half their life will last forever, just like the sun, when the sun rises tomorrow.

The two high-end clubs, "Brilliance" and "Ben Teng," did not benefit from the collapse of their competitors.

On the contrary, they are also among the victims of the chain reaction.

On the one hand, the collapse of the Shattered Star Club did not bring back all the old members to their club.

Membership fees at high-end clubs are very expensive, and even though these long-time members have well-paying jobs, they are reluctant to apply for a new card in such a short period of time.

Not to mention that the higher the income of a job, the more unstable it is. Today you may be a glamorous white-collar worker, tomorrow you may be a homeless person burdened with debt. This kind of thing is commonplace in Dawn City today.

Besides, once bitten by a snake, twice shy. If even a club as prestigious as Shattered Stars Club can suddenly go bankrupt, who knows if the "Ben Teng" and "Hui Huang" clubs are doing well, if their cash flow is healthy, and how long they can last?

If I were to spend a large sum of money on memberships at two high-end clubs, and the owners of those clubs were to follow in the footsteps of Sheikh Krat and successfully abscond with the money, wouldn't I have nowhere to turn to cry?
With such doubts, it's no wonder that long-time members didn't change their minds.

Even among members who are still training and purchasing at "Ben Teng" and "Huihuang", many have downgraded their long-term membership cards to short-term membership cards, preferring to pay a little more in membership fees each month rather than recharge in advance.

On the contrary, Kuangtie Club once again inexplicably benefited.

Members of the Shattered Star Club no longer dare to apply for long-term memberships at high-end clubs.

There is also a rigid demand for daily training and the purchase of sealing cards.

The outstanding performance of the Kuangtie team in the Dawn Cup brought more attention to this once little-known club. They were quite surprised to find that after renovations and upgrades, the environment was no longer cramped and rudimentary, yet the membership fees remained affordable, the application process was flexible, and there were even inexpensive secondhand cards available for purchase, making it an excellent choice for temporary use.

After training here for a few days with a try-it-out mentality, they discovered that the cardless style does indeed have unique advantages in terms of strengthening muscles and bones and tempering will.

Even more surprisingly, the Kuangtie Club not only offers second-hand Black Iron civilian cards specifically for manual laborers, but also provides them for purchase.

Technical Director Xu Yan is able to enhance their cards and customize the most suitable second-hand cards for them, based on their status as mostly mental laborers and their daily work needs.

Although its performance may not reach 100% of the standards of the latest cards produced by major companies.

The price is only 50% or even lower.

For many white-collar and gold-collar workers who have high incomes and high consumption, and who have to pay off seven or eight loans every day, finding a card maker with such low fees and outstanding skills is like finding a treasure in this increasingly sluggish economic year.

For a time, everyone at Kuangtie Club, from the two owners to all the staff, was extremely busy.

While other companies are cutting salaries and laying off employees, this company has posted job advertisements, looking to recruit more people and make a big splash.

The recruitment notice from Kuangtie Club left the old coaches and players, who had just switched to Suixing Club with Chu Zhifeng a month ago and had now lost their jobs and credibility, feeling as bitter as if they had spilled oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

But they weren't the most desperate.

Instead, they are the long-time employees and members of the Shattered Stars Club.

They simply lost their jobs.

The long-time employees of the Shattered Star Club had followed Sheikh Krat for many years and were the most deeply brainwashed by him.

They genuinely believed that Sheikh Krat had an unfathomable relationship with Aurora Life and Dawn Heavy Industries, securing astronomical investments that would allow him to wage a price war in Dawn City for three to five years, until he crushed all competitors and made a fortune.

In their quest for financial freedom, they risked everything, even their lives. When Sheikh Kratt feigned refusal, they argued fiercely, insisting that their boss accept their money.

In addition, many people are very optimistic about the performance of the Shattered Star team in the Dawn Cup.

They all bet their life savings on underground casinos.

No one expected Chu Zhifeng to go mad or Sheikh Krat to die.

No one expected that Dawn Team's performance this year would be this bad. After hearing the news of their boss's death, the entire team was in a daze, unable to muster any fighting spirit on the stage, and were swept out of the competition by their opponents.

As a result, they lost all their wealth.

They also owed a lot of debt.

The creditors are not even formal financial institutions.

Instead, it's about all sorts of ruthless and vicious people connected to underground casinos.

Fortunately, they were not lambs to the slaughter.

Instead, he is a well-trained, desperate, mentally broken spirit master who possesses multiple dangerous cards.

(End of this chapter)