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Chapter 199: Chapter 168: The Confidence of the Banker (Please Subscribe!)_1
Seeing that several matters had been resolved all at once, Tang Qing’s mood improved drastically, and he unconsciously started singing a nursery rhyme. Even though his voice wasn’t loud and he was speaking/singing at normal pitch, his magnetic resonance attracted attention from passersby.
Seeing Tang Qing, a tall, handsome, and suave student, many were ’astounded’ by him. Although Tang Qing, with his Level 2 Genetic Lock unlocked, hadn’t changed much in terms of appearance or demeanour, there was nonetheless some subtle improvement. Tang Qing now had a charm that seemed to add favourability towards all living beings.
Especially female creatures, one by one, once they saw him, they didn’t want to shift their eyes away; their minds filled with only one thought – he’s so handsome, I must steal another glance.
However, the childish song Tang Qing was singing caused some damage to his overall image. Several people thought this guy must be mad, still singing nursery rhymes at this age, and not even covering up the look of happiness on his face.
This also eased the discomfort felt by quite a few male species. They thought to themselves, ’so he’s a fool, what a waste of a good face. If it were me, it would be so much better, I could gallop all day long and share the world’s beauty.’
These ’nasty comments’ from male counterparts reached Tang Qing’s ears, but it made him laugh even harder. He wasn’t bothered a bit. After going through so much and taking so many hits, being reborn, he believed he could reverse his destiny and regain the lost. Now that everything seemed to be on track, and he had managed to free himself from manual labor, his mentality seemed to have suddenly loosened. He didn’t care much about people’s opinions anymore.
It was like a description he had read in his previous life. His mood was now like parking a Lamborghini in the middle of a crossroads, climbing onto the roof, lying down, watching the clouds drift by, listening to the cursing and threats of the surrounding drivers, yet feeling absolutely peaceful inside.
Of course, this is just a metaphor to describe an open mentality. Any person who would really do this would undoubtedly look like a fool; playing till the end would only make them look stupid.
"Tang Qing, good morning. Why are you so happy today, even singing a song?" Before he reached the school gate, Wang Yan saw Tang Qing and ran over, asking with a joyous expression on her face.
"Wang Yan, good morning to you too. Nothing much, just the fine weather today that has put me in high spirits." Tang Qing replied with a smile.
Truthfully, his good mood was not just because he had cleverly moved out of his daily chores in the morning, but it also came from self-assuredness.
Yes, self-assuredness.
In his view, what did being rich mean? Even though he had Sheng Tang, Sky Eye, and billions of dollars in deposits, and had even made many important connections, as well as numerous arrangements that made him a force not to be taken lightly in Qingyan City, he should have been confident and at ease by now.
However, the reality was not so. Deep down, he had always felt that he was fighting alone, with nobody to confide in or trust, no sense of security, and even an unclear target because he didn’t know what to use to compete with his future rivals.
The path he had to walk was utterly different from others. The protagonists in the novels only had one goal which was to make money, expand influence, mingle with the wealthy, and enjoy life. Practically none of them had dealings with bankers at that level. Even if they did, they were basically friends, and did not involve in core business of these bankers --- currency.
Money and currency are two different concepts; the difference is vast as heaven and earth. Money is only a tool; currency represents power. Hence, the conflict is not as intense, and is primarily restrained within certain limits. People play around, and even if you send a missile to their planes it’s just a polite ’greeting.’
However, now that the Banking System had been upgraded to Level 4, and especially when he saw something like the Comprehensive Service Center, he had pretty much figured out who his future competitors were and what path he would have to tread on.
When the system speaks of a banker, it doesn’t just mean someone who operates a bank. From the system’s perspective, that might only be considered a businessman, barely brushing shoulders with actual bankers. The true bankers recognized by the system are those incredibly powerful beasts hidden behind the world, controlling currency, wars, politics, and the development of humanity.
Facing those bankers, Tang Qing lacked a strong sense of security. Given the proud and independent nature of the system, he believed it would never allow him to compromise with that group, to sit peacefully together, free from conflict. There was bound to be violent confrontation and, thus, deep within his heart, a trace of fear lingered. He feared he would not be able to protect the people he loved in the midst of this conflict. However, the service center he unlocked the previous day gave him some confidence. It might be small, but what he saw in it was hope, a power to control events.
When one has little money, the sense of security money provides is the strongest. Because there won’t be many people thinking about your modest amount of money. You will not be plotted against for such a small sum. But as your status rises and your wealth grows, the sense of security money brings becomes weaker, something he had already deeply experienced.
After all, even if you had assets amounting to hundreds of billions or even several trillions of dollars, you could only bully those ’underlings.’ The top-tier bankers could easily crush such people. There are so many ways to do it. As for retaliation? Don’t make me laugh. Your entire fortune could be ’mysteriously’ frozen. How will you afford reprisals? Even if you have the funds, no armed organization would dare to take on the job because their money is also under the control of those bankers. Even if they completed the task, they wouldn’t receive a penny, so any plan for retaliation would immediately become their bargaining chip.
And this is under ideal circumstances. In reality, as soon as they make their move, you’ve already lost your chance for retaliation.
Therefore, in Tang Qing’s views, ’power’ was the true source of security for a banker, nothing comes close. As for money, a billion? A hundred billion? A trillion? They are just paper, too hard to even wipe your ass with, or lit a fire.
"Oh, I see." Wang Yan laughed. She knew Tang Qing hadn’t told her the whole truth, but as long as he was happy, she would be happy too.
The two of them chatted now and then until they arrived at their classroom.
As soon as they arrived, Tang Qing and Wang Yan greeted everyone and then Tang Qing collapsed onto his desk to sleep. He hadn’t written or intended to hand in any homework. No teacher complained about him. As the top student of his grade and achieving near-full marks in every subject, hardly any teacher dared to rebuke him. They were even afraid their words would reach the principal’s ears, and they would be the ones scolded.
Besides, Tang Qing was genuinely amiable, never caused trouble, nor was he arrogant. He always showed respect to them, wishing them well over the phone during Chinese New Year and even sending small gifts after the holiday. The teachers knew such an exceptional student was hard to find.
Indeed, when the teachers noticed Tang Qing snoozing on his desk, they assumed he was tired from studying the previous night. Their voices unconsciously lowered even as they praised silently, ’Classmate Tang Qing is really hardworking.’
So, Tang Qing slept for the entire morning. Partly because he had to catch up on his sleep from last night, and party because he had overexerted himself and needed to recover.
Actually, he woke up during the fourth period but spent the remaining time wandering around the virtual shopping mall.
He only gave it a quick browse previously and didn’t get the chance to examine the new items carefully. Now, looking at each item, he found quite a few good ones.
For instance, there were spy devices, albeit only a few. Technically, they were available from the moment the mall was unveiled, like the silenced pistols. He had even considered using them during his last gunfight but found them so unsightly and awkward to use that he switched to the M1911 instead. These silenced pistols weren’t simply fitted with silencers. They were designed for nearly complete noise reduction.
So, it wasn’t hard for him to accept the presence of spy devices since they were frivolous for him, merely eavesdropping and signal tracking devices. Though they seemed technologically advanced, they were of little use to him presently. He didn’t need to eavesdrop or track anyone.
PS: Sorry for the late release.
