Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

In the far west, in Rome.

In the circular conference room deep underground in the Senate.

The dim flame of the electronic candle flickered, casting distorted shadows.

The old governor stood in front of a huge holographic surveillance wall.

On the screen, the black mechs of the Tang Dynasty are frantically digging in the Aksu mine.

Large chunks of superconducting ore were brutally torn from the surface.

He didn't get angry.

His aged fingers gently stroked the cold stone tablet beside him.

This stone tablet is the liquid-cooled outer shell of the main computing tower in Rome.

A fine layer of moisture settled on my fingertips.

"Go ahead, dig as much as you like."

The old governor picked up his wine glass and took a sip of the scarlet liquid.

The liquor stained his white beard.

"The computing power of the Tang Dynasty is increasingly tilted towards the real-world mecha."

"The more vulnerabilities they have on the virtual trading platform, the greater the vulnerability."

He snapped his fingers.

The crisp sound echoed in the empty basement.

The Persian technician next to him immediately started typing on the keyboard.

A pre-prepared data packet was thrown into the global dark web.

The destination was directly aimed at the peripheral trading points of the Datang Tianshu system.

This is a virtual industrial block called "Third Continent".

It's covered with ridiculously cheap virtual land plots.

Chang'an, Taiji Palace, Liangyi Hall.

The main lights were not on in the side hall.

Only a few holographic projectors on the floor tiles emitted a faint blue light.

Li Shimin sat cross-legged on the Luohan bed.

He was holding a pure gold and jade-inlaid electronic pipe in his hand.

clack.

He took a puff and exhaled a cloud of white smoke with a minty flavor.

He stared intently at the light screen in front of him.

On the screen were rows of flashing data lines.

He had just been scolded by the Crown Prince and was seething with anger.

Three people were standing under the daybed.

Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Cheng Yaojin.

The three had just finished court and hadn't even had time to change out of their court robes when they were secretly summoned by a eunuch.

My stomach was pounding with hunger.

Cheng Yaojin touched his empty belly.

He swallowed.

"Your Majesty...it's already noon."

"How about we have some food first? I caught a cold last night and I'm still feeling dizzy."

"Eat, eat, all you ever do is eat."

Li Shimin tapped the table with his pipe in annoyance.

The cigarette holder made a crisp sound as it struck the hardwood.

"You guys come and take a look at this."

He beckoned.

His tone revealed an barely suppressed excitement.

The panic that had gripped them when foreign capital dumped their shares was completely gone.

The three of them moved closer.

The screen displays a 3D image of a vast virtual continent.

The top is covered with densely packed green price tags.

"This is the 'Third Continent' that the Western Region merchants just released."

Li Shimin lowered his voice, like a nouveau riche who had discovered a treasure.

"The metaverse blocks of the Romans and Persians."

"Look at the price of this land."

Changsun Wuji squinted his old eyes, his face almost touching the screen.

"One acre of virtual industrial land...only ten Datang Credits?"

He gasped.

His beard twitched twice.

"In our Chang'an's Tian Shu system, that's not even enough data to buy a toilet!"

"yes!"

Li Shimin slapped his thigh, causing the Luohan bed to creak.

"These barbarians from that foreign land have absolutely no idea how to play the virtual economy!"

"They're afraid our mechs will deplete the mines, so they're selling off assets at low prices to cash out."

Li Shimin jumped off the bed.

Barefoot, I stepped onto the thick Persian carpet.

The carpet fibers brushed against the soles of my feet.

"What's this called?"

He scratched his head.

"Chengqian mentioned it to me before... oh right, this is called a value depression!"

"This is money I found for free!"

The old emperor's investment addiction has resurfaced.

He was humiliated when the powerful families shorted the Tang Dynasty.

Today at the grand assembly, my son pointed his finger at me and berated me again.

He desperately needs a spectacular victory.

He wanted to prove that the emperors of the Tang Dynasty were not only good at fighting, but also at making money in the cyber world.

Fang Xuanling was quite cautious.

He glanced at the gloomy sky outside the palace.

"Your Majesty, is His Highness the Crown Prince aware of this matter?"

"His Highness just said he wanted to turn off his phone and go to sleep. Shouldn't we inform him first before we use the funds?"

"Don't mention that unfilial son!"

Li Shimin felt a headache coming on whenever he heard the name Li Chengqian.

"Let him rest, I'll do mine."

Li Shimin walked in front of the light screen and put his hands on his hips.

"He's always the one who steals the spotlight."

"This time, I'm going to lead you to wipe out the entire foundation of these barbarian tribes!"

"When he wakes up, I'll slam the billions I've earned back onto his table."

"Let's see if he dares to say he doesn't understand economics!"

Cheng Yaojin shrank back.

The oversized court robes hanging on his muscular body looked somewhat comical.

"Your Majesty... I don't understand these colorful threads."

"Or maybe I should go to the Western Regions and help kill people?"

Li Shimin glared at him with disappointment.

"You worthless scoundrel!"

"Going to the Western Regions to eat sand is nowhere near as fast as making money with just a few taps of your finger."

"What's there to be afraid of when you're making money off foreigners!"

Li Shimin reached out and tapped on a hidden account interface.

A multi-password verification box pops up on the screen.

He pressed his thumb against the retina and then leaned in to scan it.

drop.

A long string of zeros popped up on the screen.

Changsun Wuji saw the number clearly.

My legs went weak, and I almost collapsed to the ground.

"Your Majesty! This...this is the Ministry of War's military expenditure and national treasury reserves for the second half of the year?"

"A full 20 billion!"

"What's the panic?"

Li Shimin waved his hand dismissively.

"I'll borrow it for now, and return it tomorrow when the price doubles."

"The Third Continent's plate is now completely without any defensive walls."

"We call this a dimensional reduction attack."

Li Shimin turned to look at the three old ministers.

His eyes held an undeniable, compelling pressure.

"Each of you will subscribe to a quota of 3 billion."

"Use the private savings of your various money shops."

"This is a sure-fire way to make money; I'm leading you to wealth."

Cheng Yaojin's face turned green.

"Your Majesty, my wife has locked all our money in the cupboard..."

"I can't get it out."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Li Shimin's face hardened.

"This is an imperial edict."

"Today's 'Royal Property Speculation Group' is something you all have to participate in, whether you want to or not."

"The Western Expedition!"

He waved his hand with the same imposing manner he displayed when he reviewed his troops at Xuanwu Gate in the past.

Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling exchanged a glance.

They both saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

Once the emperor gets into this addiction, not even ten oxen could stop him.

Moreover, the price of that piece of land was indeed too tempting.

The atmosphere in the side hall became eerie.

Four of the most powerful old men in the Tang Dynasty were surrounding a holographic terminal.

They started dreaming of cross-border real estate speculation.

Cheng Yaojin gritted his teeth and took out his identity token from his pocket.

I swiped my phone at the recognition port.

Fang Xuanling pressed his fingerprint with trembling hands.

Li Shimin personally took charge.

His fingers tapped awkwardly on the virtual keyboard.

I had to stop every now and then to find the position of the letters.

The only sound inside the hall was the hum of the holographic terminal's cooling fan.

Several small flying insects circled around the beam of light.

"Connect to third-party transaction channels."

Li Shimin muttered the prompts on the screen.

"Authorize full transfer...to buy."

He hovered his finger over the red confirmation button.

He glanced back at the three of them and grinned.

"Your fortune is today!"

clack.

Press down hard with your finger.

The terminal's fan suddenly increased its speed.

The chassis instantly became very hot to the touch.

More than 20 billion Datang credit points.

It transformed into a massive torrent of data, instantly surging out of the Taiji Palace's servers.

Following the smuggled undersea fiber optic cable, they plunged headlong into the "third continent" constructed by Rome and Persia.

Above Chang'an City.

A cold wind blew by, stirring up the fallen leaves on the ground.

The moment this huge sum of money poured into the entrance to the outer universe.

The holographic terminal screen in the Taiji Hall suddenly froze for a moment.

It emitted a piercing noise.

The previously green data on cheap land disappeared instantly.

It disappeared completely.

Instead, there was a bottomless blackness.

Li Shimin's smile froze.

The electronic pipe in his hand fell to his feet with a thud.

It rolled to the edge of the Persian carpet.

There were no alarms on the screen.

There were no text prompts either.

There was only a dark golden light curtain.

Within a microsecond of the funds crossing the border, all exits from the "Third Continent" were completely blocked.