OFR – Chapter 298 The dust has settled

At this moment, all eyes in the venue were focused on Mu Bai, gathered upon the victor of this grand clash among the elite.

Everyone quietly listened to the winner of this power struggle speak. It wasn’t until several minutes later, when Mu Bai waved his hand and indicated that he would cover all the expenses for tonight’s entire Zijin banquet, that the crowd once again erupted into applause.

Immediately after, the manager of Zijin Pavilion seized the opportunity to officially announce the commencement of the banquet.

Soon, the finest delicacies and wines were served table by table by the highly professional staff, brought in from the corridor into every section of the pavilion.

With Rong Qingwen’s departure, the once stifling atmosphere of the venue began to lift.

Now, the entire Zijin Pavilion was filled with cheer and energy.

Meanwhile, those who had fallen alongside Rong Qingwen—Yu Youxiong, Li Shaofeng, Pulwen, and others—stood by the pavilion with awkward smiles, trying to strike up conversation with Mu Bai, Nalan Yun, and Chen Yunzhi.

But even as they lowered themselves as much as they could, they discovered that they no longer had any voice or presence at this banquet.

Victory crowns the king; the defeated are forgotten.

This ancient truth had never been more relevant.

At this moment, they all realized that even if the Nalan family didn’t retaliate directly against their businesses…

Their personal reputations—and the prestige of their companies—had plummeted in the eyes of Nanjing’s elite.

Especially Yu Youxiong—his business was mainly built on high-end services. Now that his influence had vanished among the elite, it was likely that Baiyun Group’s revenue, client base, and operations would be slashed in half.

Sooner or later, this long-standing tycoon who once stood at the top of Nanjing’s elite would fall off the rich list.

Yes—what defines a true top-tier battle of power?
This. Right here.

If this clash hadn’t brought down a few of the most prominent titans, no one would dare call it a historic showdown.

And now, with former giants like Yu Youxiong and Li Shaofeng utterly defeated, everyone at the pavilion could feel the brutality of this battle.

These defeated few tried awkwardly for a long time to join conversations, only to find that no one acknowledged them.

That final sliver of pride in their hearts kept them from fully disgracing themselves—so they chose to get up and leave the pavilion in silence.

Yu Youxiong, Li Shaofeng, Pulwen—all veterans of Nanjing’s power circle—still had some die-hard supporters who had risen with them, and a small group followed them out of loyalty.

But the majority of the elite in the room merely gave these once-dominant tycoons glances of pity, indifference, or even scorn.

Everyone knew—by tomorrow, Nanjing’s most prestigious rich list would be completely reshuffled.

And this reshuffle would not go unnoticed by the outside world.

News agencies covering this dramatic confrontation would undoubtedly sense the bloodshed behind the scenes.

After all, Nanjing’s elite ranking hadn’t changed significantly in over a decade. Each name on that list represented supreme power and influence.

But if someone truly fell from it—everyone would know that an earth-shattering battle had occurred, invisible to ordinary people but enough to shake the foundations of the city.

Then—

At 9:30 PM, after drinking a couple of toasts with the crowd, Mu Bai quietly took his leave.

He left low-key, without attracting too much attention.

Within minutes, under the soft moonlight, he had reached the parking lot of Zijin Pavilion and slowly started up his luxurious Bugatti Veyron.

As the car pulled out of the lot, Mu Bai glanced in the rearview mirror at the brilliant lights and vibrant energy of the banquet still going strong.

He rubbed his forehead wearily, clearly fatigued by all the noise.

Saying nothing, he gently pressed on the accelerator and drove off.

On his way out, his phone buzzed with a notification.

Mu Bai casually glanced at it—
It was a transfer: over 130 billion yuan, sent just now by the manager of Zijin Pavilion.

130+ billion!

Even though his standards were sky-high now, the long string of zeroes in that notification still made Mu Bai pause for a moment in disbelief.

With this level of immediately accessible liquid capital, it was likely that no visible tycoon in all of China could match him.

After a few seconds of surprise, Mu Bai came back to his senses—and thought:

It was time to repay that 15 billion loan from his first black market pledge.

After all, before he even realized it—
15 billion had already become insignificant to him.