Woo Tianhao spent quite some time talking to his uncle. Not only did his uncle have an eye on the few mountains in the video, his uncle was also eyeing the mountain that Woo Tianhao had selected for himself. It took a while for Woo Tianhao to explain to his uncle that everyone would have their own territory. After ending the call, Woo Tianhao asked whether there had been any developments with Fang Zhao. He found out that Fang Zhao had not yet come out after returning to his room. Upon learning of this, he headed straight to Huo Yi's office.
He wanted to know whether Fang Zhao had managed to rope in Zaro within this short time.
"Zaro?" Huo Yi opened up the 3D map and pointed to a mountain that had been marked. "This mountain has been reserved for him."
When Tianhao stared at the map in front of him, his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.
All he saw were shiny golden marks on the map. These marks meant that the areas had already been booked.
Woo Tianhai could not believe his eyes. "I was just away for two hours and all these... have been purchased?"
There were hints of joy in Huo Yi's eyes, but he was still rather calm. "Yes. The areas with golden markings have all been reserved."
Woo Tianhao swallowed his saliva. He somewhat rejoiced in his heart. Luckily, he had staked a claim on a few mountains. Otherwise, they might all have been snapped up. Weren't these people's actions a little too quick?
"Woo Tianhao was curious. Who bought all these?" Zaro alone couldn't have gotten them all himself. The markings on the map had initials representing their buyers, but Woo Tianhao could not guess who they were just from the initials alone.
Huo Yi pointed at an area encircled by mountains. "This area was purchased jointly by Fang Zhao and people from Yanzhou's Silver Wing. This, this, and this were reserved by people from Lakalinazhou. This side..."
Huo Yi told Woo Tianhao about the people who had bought these places.
Woo Tian had a bewildered expression. "Why are they involved? How did these people set their eyes on this area?"
"That..." Huo Yi shook his head. "I am not too sure." He had no idea why these people had used various means and contacts to get in touch with him and inquire about the matter of the cultural film base. He wasn't sure how they had gotten the news in the first place.
Huo Yi and Woo Tianhao could not understand it. Even Fang Zhao had not expected the situation to turn out this way.
Actually, when Zaro had been chasing Barbara's debt, it had caught Barbara's attention. However Barbara had been unwilling to take the risk alone, so she had gone looking for partners to collaborate with and had piqued the interest of a few others from the Lakalina family. A few had come together and decided to buy! They had reserved the place first and, following that, organized a survey team to head over to planet Wai to check things out. The deposit had already been paid, and if the preliminary surveys gave the go-ahead, the remaining funds would follow after shortly.
Over at Silver Wing's side, Duan Qianji had searched for a few collaborators. Just looking at the amount Silver Wing had claimed, it was clear that Silver Wing had prepared a large sum. This was also something that delighted Huo Yi to no end.
Who knew whether there would be even more people coming in.
Woo Tianhao eyed the map for a while longer before leaving.
The moment Woo Tianhao left, Huo Yi immediately became excited. A while back, when he had received news of Lazhou and Yanzhou investors forming groups to head over, warm tears of joy had welled up in his eyes when Woo Tianhao had come over. For the sake of protecting his image, Huo Yi had restrained his emotions and maintained the dignified and imposing manner of a base commander. Now that Woo Tianhao had left, he could finally let his emotions run wild.
Planet Wai would also have inspection teams visiting!
Huo Yi brought up the system's name list once again and ran through it from the top, not missing out on a single one. It was as if he was appreciating a treasured heirloom that had been passed down from generation to generation.
And on the other side, Woo Tianhao was trying to control his annoyance as he left Huo Yi's office.
Huo Yi had not said why these people had taken part in this campaign to purchase land, but from what Woo Tianhao had seen, Fang Zhao had surely done something.
Just from Yanzhou, besides Silver Wing Media, there were another two large Yanzhou corporations: a hotel chain and another high-risk investment organization. One look and he could tell these companies were not in it for fun and giggles.
There was also the inspection team from Lazhou. It would have been fine if Barbara alone had gone crazy, but they had actually formed an inspection team and reserved a number of mountains. Furthermore, given the Lakalina's obsession with ancient castles, Woo Tianhao was certain they were all serious about it.
Just from this, the number of people Fang Zhao had roped in was greater than his number! Woo Tianhao had only managed to pull one uncle on board and nobody else. Just by comparing this, it seemed like Fang Zhao had greater influence.
Woo Tianhao was unwilling to concede.
Thus, when he returned, Woo Tianhao contacted his close childhood friend.
After a few rings, the call was accepted.
"About the matter I spoke of previously—"
Before Woo Tianhao could finish, the other party began bawling. "Brother Hao, I really do not have money to invest. I just invested in a film a while back and my finances are tight right now."
"Your brother just has this to say: if you don't hop on soon, it will be too late. The land will probably all get snapped up soon."
The other party did not seem to care. "I really don't have any cash on hand."
Woo Tianhao paused for a while. Instead of the rage the other party had expected, Woo Tianhao spoke rather calmly. "Sure. After all, Zaro has already staked a claim on some land here, Lazhou's Barbara is cooperating with her family members to send an inspection team over, Yanzhou have already circled out the largest plot of land, and me and my uncle have also reserved areas here. It's fine if you have no interest."
There was silence on the other end.
If it was only Woo Tianhao, Zaro, and those few people, he would not have changed his mind, but to think that Yanzhou's famous Silver Wing Media, Woo Tianhao's uncle that ran an entertainment company, and other reputable companies from various continents had all joined in? These firms surely were not just following a bunch of rich and spoiled kids to have fun. Commercial companies were all rushing in for their own interests.
These people had all gotten involved and, as of now, no information had been revealed. This could only mean one thing—these people were plotting something big! They were afraid of others joining in and sharing the pie!
This childhood friend of Woo Tianhao's was using his mind and trying to verify the authenticity and benefits to be gained here.
Woo Tianhao spoke as if he was going to terminate the call. "I won't bother you if you are busy. I'll inform others."
"Brother Hao—" It was half a shout. "I haven't finished talking yet. Although I don't have cash on hand, as a brother, I have decided to borrow money to support your project!" Now that Woo Tianhao had already informed him, passing up on this chance was impossible!
"Don't force yourself," Woo Tianhao advised.
"Not at all! I'm totally supportive!"
"So that's it. Long distance communication fees are too expensive. I'll cut the chatter here."
"I'll pay. I'll pay! I will pay for the communications expenses! Brother Hao, on account of us having grown up together, bring me along to dream and soar!!"
"What can you build if you come over? There are restrictions on construction styles here. It has to fit in with the film studio complex's development. The constructs ought to have historical or cultural implications."
"Mountain stronghold! I want to build the sort of mountain stronghold from ancient times! That should have sufficient historical and cultural implications, right? You know, right? When we were in primary school and the teacher asked us to write about our dreams, I wrote that I wanted to be a bandit chief."
"We don't accept thieves and plunderers here."
"Bah! I'm a law abiding citizen! It's just nothing more than a fancy of mine. Do you have a map? I want to pick a place."
Woo Tianhao sent a copy of the map over immediately.
"The f*ck, are the ones with golden markings already reserved? How do I choose when all the good places have already been taken?"
Woo Tianhao spoke unhurriedly. "That is why I said that if you don't hop on soon, it will be too late. Luckily I reserved a few mountains."
"Brother Hao—"
After the two finished discussing, Woo Tianhao's childhood friend decided to organize his own inspection team and head to planet Wai for a survey. If it was really suitable for large-scale investments, then he would purchase the plots of land.
On planet Wai, Woo Tianhao grinned after the call ended. "Pulled in yet another one."
Looking through his contact list, Woo Tianhao recommended places to his friends and acquaintances in succession.
And as Woo Tianhao was working hard to rope others in, Fang Zhao was no longer contacting anybody else. Instead, he was doing some research and drafting up construction plans.
Silver Wing's professional team would be arriving on the next transport ship to planet Wai, and according to Huo Yi, there would be a few other affluent parties on board too.
Huo Yi held this project in high regard and would surely supervise it carefully. Fang Zhao was not worried about this. Perhaps by the next time he came to planet Wai, this land might already look totally different.
The next morning, Fang Zhao signed a contract with Huo Yi first.
"Signing a lease for 200 years straight?" Huo Yi asked.
According to alliance regulations, these sorts of leases could only be signed for a maximum of 200 years. After exceeding 200 years, the purchasing party would still have priority usage rights but would need to replenish the funds.
For many people, 200 years was more than their lifespan. Therefore, most people would only sign 100- or 150-year leases. When Huo Yi heard that Fang Zhao wanted to sign for 200 years, he did a double take.
Fang Zhao nodded. "Mmhm, 200 years."
After signing the contract, Huo Yi carefully put away the electronic file and hard copy.
"Anyway, the spacecraft is ready. It will fetch you for your next destination tomorrow afternoon," Huo Yi told him.
Fang Zhao returned to pack up his belongings after he was informed. As he was tidying up, he received a call from Zaro on planet Baiji.
The moment the call connected, Zaro impatiently asked, "Fang Zhao, when will you be coming back?"
"Not so soon."
"You gotta hurry up! I want to head to planet Wai and inspect my territory!" Zaro exclaimed. Having already had his fun with live broadcasting, Zaro's attention had switched to something else, and he could not wait to go over and see the plots of land he had claimed. The plans were currently being drawn up by his people, and once completed, construction could start.
Minutes after ending the call with Zaro, Fang Zhao informed Kevin Lin, and he then received a video call from Kevin Lin.
"Fang Zhao, when are you coming back?" Kevin Lin grumbled. He had only known that Fang Zhao was heading to planet Wai after Fang Zhao had left Baiji, and he could guess the reason Fang Zhao had headed there.
This period had been too tiring, and he was always on the edge. Although channel S5's viewership numbers had increased by a lot, the amount of complaints had increased too. It was frustrating.
Back before Fang Zhao had been dispatched on this assignment, he had to listen to Kevin Lin's views and suggestions. But Zaro? One sentence from Kevin Lin would receive 10 sentences of objections and rebuttals, and none were repeated!
"Hurry up and complete your assignment and rush back home. If you don't come back soon, that 'rabbit' might die from Zaro's actions."
"What happened?" Fang Zhao asked.
"Zaro said he wanted to observe it up close and got his bodyguard to fish that 'rabbit' up. His bodyguard reached his hand into the water tank and got stung. Two seconds later, he was lying unconscious on the floor and foaming at the mouth. Only after Fan Lin administered the antidote did he recover. Zaro said that he wanted to cook it but Fan Lin did not allow that. I remember you saying that you want to buy it from Fan Lin. Hey, in short, just hurry up and return. If you don't return soon, nobody can guarantee the safety of your 'rabbit'."