Su Mo looked at the purchase posts and found them a bit absurd, the prices had been炒 (chǎo) – hyped up so high. If the forum continued like this, the trading platform's prices would inevitably skyrocket sooner or later.

However, after careful consideration, Su Mo still felt something was wrong.

It was true that Star Ring had entered the Land Cup生死追逐 (Shengsi zhuizhu) – life and death pursuit, resulting in a large number of player deaths and departures, leading to a historic low in the production of Gold Points and Silver Points. But the purpose of Gold Points and Silver Points hadn't even been unlocked yet, so there was no need to use them at all. Major guilds should still have some stock on hand, so there was no reason for the price to fluctuate so drastically.

This couldn't be described as mere speculation; it was an acquisition at all costs.

With so much money pouring into the purchase of Gold Points and Silver Points, something felt off. Thinking about it, Su Mo was even more certain that he had done the right thing by manipulating the market and reaping the rewards.

.......

-------------------------------------

Magic City central old city area,

A dark mass of neighbors, all armed with sticks, gathered together, facing off against a group of security personnel wearing white shirts, blue uniforms, and hard hats.

"If you dare to come any closer, we'll fight you to the death!"

At this moment, a manager wearing a suit and a blue tie, who seemed to be the leader of the opposing side, stepped forward and roared.

"You bunch of stubborn old fools! You're openly obstructing construction!"

"Construction my ass! This is our home. Why don't you go build in your own home? If you dare take another step forward today, we'll fight you to the death!"

Uncle Zhao roared back.

"Yes, fight them to the death!"

The surrounding neighbors shouted, filled with righteous indignation.

.....

"Rebellious! Rebellious!"

The lead manager was also exasperated.

"Manager Zhou, what do we do now? There are just too many of them. If a conflict breaks out, we might not be able to handle it."

The security captain beside him was also frightened. There were just too many people living in this area.

"We have to do it, no matter what! This place is definitely being demolished!"

Manager Zhou said through gritted teeth.

"Since you say so, then we brothers will risk it all."

The security captain's expression changed for a moment, and he prepared to go all out.

Just as the two sides were about to engage in a large-scale conflict, a loud shout rang out.

"Stop!"

The highly charged atmosphere instantly quieted down.

Uncle Zhao and the others turned to look, and saw Su Mo walking over with a very unpleasant expression.

Seeing Su Mo, all the neighbors excitedly shouted, "The landlord is back..."

"Su Mo!"

.....

Everyone immediately surrounded him.

Manager Zhou was stunned by this scene. Holy shit, the owner of the shantytown is back? That's even better.

"Uncle Zhao, what happened?"

Su Mo asked, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Su Mo, you're finally back. I don't know where these people came from, but they want to tear down our entire old city. They said they're building some kind of interstellar airport, and they're being extremely barbaric, trying to forcibly demolish everything regardless. Look, the walls of those buildings on the west side are damaged, and they've injured several people who tried to reason with them."

Uncle Zhao angrily pointed and accused.

"Are the injured people okay?"

"Yes, they've all been sent to the hospital."

Uncle Zhao nodded in response.

At this moment, Manager Zhou squeezed over with a smile and respectfully handed a business card to Su Mo.

"Hello, I'm Zhou Huai from Lake Shield Corporation. You must be the owner of this shantytown."

"I am. What's the matter?"

Su Mo didn't take the card and replied coldly.

"That's great! Please tell these troublemaking residents to disperse. This area has been requisitioned for demolition to build an interstellar airport. You're going to get rich!"

Zhou Huai said with a beaming smile.

"Who gave you permission to demolish it? Did I agree to it?"

"Sir, you must be joking. The compensation is very generous. Who would refuse money? Besides, this is a legitimate official project, and we can't afford to delay it."

"I solemnly warn you! I have never signed any demolition agreement. This is an illegal forced demolition, and you've injured my tenants. You will immediately withdraw your people, apologize, or you'll be facing a lawsuit. You'll lose this lawsuit even if it goes all the way to the capital. I can send you all to jail one by one!"

Su Mo said with extreme firmness.

Zhou Huai's face darkened upon hearing Su Mo's words, and he couldn't really lose his temper this time. He wasn't as tough as before.

Because what the other party said was correct. Since they couldn't contact Su Mo, they hadn't signed any agreement at all.

Forcible demolition was indeed illegal. Moreover, this guy was not to be compared to these poor屌丝 (diǎosī) – losers. Anyone who owned such a large area must be a hidden rich man. If he sued, he would definitely win, and he might really end up in jail.

Zhou Huai wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced a strained smile.

"Please wait a moment."

Zhou Huai said as he picked up his phone and quickly dialed a number, walking to the side to whisper a few words to the person on the other end.

Not long after, a number of official buses drove over.

The buses stopped nearby, and men in professional uniforms stepped out. The leader was a shrewd-looking fat man.

Su Mo frowned slightly when he saw the logo on their uniforms. Wasn't that the Construction Bureau?

The fat man walked over and said to Su Mo with a smile, "You must be Mr. Su Mo, the owner of this place. Hello! I'm Lei Jiang, the director of the Construction Bureau. Please forgive us for this matter, as it's all for the public good."

"How much did they bribe you with?"

Su Mo blurted out.

"Huh?"

Lei Jiang was stunned.

"I'll give you double!"

Su Mo said directly.

"No, Mr. Su Mo, you've misunderstood."

Lei Jiang was a little confused.

"Three times!"

"No...."

"Five times!"

Lei Jiang's expression became incredibly interesting upon hearing that, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Mr. Su Mo, please let me explain."

"Ten times!"

Su Mo directly made an exorbitant promise.

Lei Jiang was on the verge of tears. He quickly explained, "Mr. Su Mo, you've really misunderstood. How could I dare to accept any bribes? I'm really just doing my job. We really need to build an interstellar airport here, and we couldn't find you before, and the planning deadline was approaching. That's why we acted so rashly. It's really for our own good. You know that land is incredibly valuable in Magic City, and there's nowhere else to build an interstellar airport."

Hearing Lei Jiang's words, Su Mo's expression became even more serious. This was a big problem.

Judging from his attitude, this didn't seem like a personal group seeking profit; it was likely that they really were going to build an interstellar airport.

"Alright! Since it's a plan from above, I'm not one to be uncooperative. There are millions of tenants living here. How do you plan to relocate them?"

"This, this, how are we going to relocate them? There's nowhere to put them in Magic City."

Lei Jiang was also very troubled.

Seeing this, Manager Zhou hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile.

"The houses don't belong to them anyway. As long as the compensation is in place, it should be fine. And even if we need to relocate them, it's simple. We can just move them all out to other cities."

"Why don't you move out and live there? Would you be willing to live in another city?"

Su Mo was speechless. He immediately retorted, "Who would want to leave here?" Although the pressure of life was high here, the facilities were good. The schooling, employment, and medical care were simply incomparable to other cities.

Zhou Huai was immediately silenced, naturally, he wouldn't want to.