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

In the virtual sandbox of the Third Continent.

Mount Olympus collapsed completely.

Those once invincible dark gold temples are now shattered into a jumble of random fragments.

Niu Jinda stepped on a piece of gravel with a Roman shield pattern.

The Xuanhua axe in his hand was still dripping with virtual data fluid.

He wiped the sweat from his face and turned to look at the Western gods scattered across the sky.

"They've all run away already?"

"I haven't had enough of hacking yet!"

The Southern Heavenly Gate still hangs high in the sky.

The high-power heat dissipation grilles on the black titanium door pillars spew out large amounts of condensed steam.

Li Chengqian's voice resounded throughout the entire sandbox via broadcast.

A mechanical voice devoid of emotion.

"All short positions, lock in."

"Forced liquidation initiated."

As the instructions were issued.

Those remaining Western deities who were still fleeing in mid-air.

Suddenly, red debt figures appeared above my head.

Immediately afterwards, their divine bodies were forcibly disintegrated.

It transformed into streams of pure capital, which flowed directly into the Tian Shu system's overall market of the Tang Dynasty.

But this is not enough.

In this transnational financial short selling, Persian and Roman tycoons used leverage tenfold.

My account has been liquidated.

After the virtual funds were drained, the deficit spread directly to physical assets in the real world.

Hawaiian safe house.

Li Chengqian's fingers tapped on the keyboard, and a series of asset transfer agreements flashed on the screen.

"Trying to steal a chicken only resulted in losing the rice instead."

He pressed the confirm button with a cold smile.

"The mining rights of the Aksu superconducting mine in the western region have been confiscated, with 70% of the rights held."

"The legal land deeds of four deep-water ports along the eastern Mediterranean coast of Rome have been transferred to the Crown Prince's name."

"The Persian conglomerate forcibly took over twelve underground computing centers overseas."

These are real money and strategic resources.

Under the absolute crushing computing power of the Tian Shu system.

They skipped even the legal procedures and directly and violently transferred ownership of the underlying data.

The Roman Senate no longer even has the confidence to protest.

Chang'an, Taiji Palace, Liangyi Hall.

"Buzz—"

The terminal emitted a long hibernation tone.

The dark golden light barrier that had been blocking Li Shimin and the others on the screen finally dissipated.

The interface has returned to normal.

Li Shimin's body trembled violently.

He looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water, his whole body soaked in cold sweat.

The bright yellow casual clothes stuck to my back, feeling sticky.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.

The near-death experience I felt in the arena still lingered in my nerves.

Cheng Yaojin and Changsun Wuji, who were standing nearby, also woke up.

Cheng Yaojin collapsed to the ground, clutching his back and crying out.

"Oh my goodness... my back must be cracked from being whipped."

Changsun Wuji reached for the Jinxian crown with trembling hands, only to find that he had long since lost it.

She could only awkwardly smooth her disheveled hair.

"He's alive..."

Li Shimin swallowed.

He stood up, supporting himself on the edge of the daybed, his legs still trembling.

Sudden.

The numbers on the holographic screen caught his attention.

It was a green upward arrow.

After the arrow.

It was the balance in his hidden private account.

Not a single penny of the 20 billion yuan Datang Credit Points Reserve Fund was lost.

After a round of violent forced liquidation.

It more than doubled.

It became 48 billion.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up instantly.

My legs stopped shaking.

The fear I felt just now was instantly kicked to the back of my mind by this string of numbers.

"Wuji! Zhijie! Come and see!"

Li Shimin pointed at the screen, his face crinkling with laughter.

"It's doubled! My money has doubled!"

He clapped his hands with joy and paced back and forth in the side hall.

"I knew this was an undervalued area!"

"That kid Chengqian doesn't know anything about economics, all he knows is smashing keyboards and unplugging internet cables."

"Look, it takes my personal intervention to pull this off. This cross-border 'harvesting' operation is absolutely perfect!"

Changsun Wuji leaned over and took a look.

The gloom on his old face was swept away.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations!"

"With this windfall, the Ministry of War's military expenses and the Ministry of Works' deficits can be fully covered."

"They could even build a new garden for the palace."

Just as the emperor and his ministers were immersed in the joy of sudden wealth...

The heavy wooden door of the side hall was pushed open.

With a creak.

This interrupted Li Shimin's laughter.

Wu Zetian walked in wearing flat soft shoes.

She had changed back into her signature blue business suit.

Her hair was combed meticulously.

There was not a trace of joy on his face as if he had just won a battle.

Only that unique coldness when settling accounts.

She was holding a black tablet computer.

The screen's dim blue light shone on her face, making her appear somewhat aloof.

"Chief Steward Wu has arrived at just the right time."

Li Shimin was in a very good mood and took the initiative to greet him.

"Quickly arrange for the central bank to withdraw the money from my account."

"I will reward you handsomely for what you did today."

Wu Zetian walked to the dragon table.

There was no bowing.

Instead, he slammed the tablet he was holding heavily onto the table.

Snapped.

The tablet collided with the hardwood tabletop, producing a dull thud.

"Your Majesty, the money cannot be withdrawn."

Wu Zetian's voice was very calm.

The calmness made Li Shimin feel uneasy.

Why?

Li Shimin's smile faded slightly.

"That's something I earned through my own abilities!"

"Because we need to pay the bill."

Wu Zetian stretched out her finger, which was painted with clear nail polish, and swiped it across the tablet.

Retrieve an urgent financial statement.

The projection is in mid-air.

"This is the bill that His Highness the Crown Prince just sent."

Li Shimin leaned closer to take a look.

The report was filled with various loss data.

The red lettering stung his eyes.

"To defeat the silicon-based gods of Rome and Persia."

Wu Zetian offered a cold explanation from the side.

"His Highness forcibly mobilized 30,000 supercomputing centers nationwide."

"And it operated thirteen quantum satellites at overclocked speed."

She pointed to the bolded number at the very bottom of the report.

"Within just ten minutes."

"The liquid nitrogen cooling energy consumed by global supercomputing, the losses from power grid overload, and the physical wear and tear of submarine optical cables."

Total: 4.7 billion Datang Credits.

Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Four billion it is. I've already made over two hundred billion, so deduct it!"

He waved his hand, looking all rich and powerful.

"Take it directly from my profits."

"Your Majesty, please look carefully."

Wu Zetian did not move.

"4.7 billion is for heavy metal energy settlement."

"It's not those worthless virtual credits you just snatched back from your account."

Li Shimin was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"This means that these virtual credit points must be backed by real heavy industry to be redeemed."

"And the current industrial reserves of the Tang Dynasty have been drained by the computing power you forcibly pulled up."

Wu Zetian pushed the tablet forward.

"His Highness said so."

"This energy bill must be offset by actual taxes."

"To make up for this energy shortfall of 4.7 billion yuan."

"His Highness has initiated the enforcement procedure."

The holographic report begins to scroll.

Finally, the image settled on three lines of bright red characters.

[Direct deduction: All physical gold reserves in the Emperor Emeritus's private treasury]

[Direct allocation: All entity tax revenues from Gangnam Province, Kennam Province, and Yeongnam Province over the next three years]

[Executor: Donggong Tianshu System]

The side hall was deathly silent.

The only sound was the humming of the terminal's cooling fan.

Changsun Wuji gasped.

The total tax revenue of three wealthy provinces over three years.

In addition, there was the emperor's private treasury.

This is practically tearing the backbone of the Tang Dynasty apart.

The Crown Prince is even going so far as to expose his own father's dirty secrets.

Li Shimin stared intently at the names of those three provinces.

His eyes were so wide they almost popped out.

He stretched out his finger, which trembled as he pointed at the report.

His lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"My...my money..."

He felt as if he had been hit hard in the chest with a hammer.

The doubled joy he had just experienced turned into sharp blades, cutting into his flesh.

He suddenly turned his head to look at the terminal.

"You unfilial son! You rebellious son!"

"This is robbery! This is treason!"

He was consumed by rage, coupled with the stimulation he received in the virtual arena.

Li Shimin felt a sudden darkness before his eyes.

My mind went blank.

His legs went weak, and he couldn't even make a sound.

They rolled their eyes on the spot.

He fell straight down onto the Persian carpet behind him.