Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 579 Magnificent
Ding!
[The item "Ali's Conch (Imitation)" has expired. The side effect aura is about to activate. Please go to the system interface to set the activation time.]

Just as Zhou Wang was putting away the items, he suddenly heard a system notification.

A string of question marks flashed through his mind. He certainly knew that the props had side effects, but what did this hint mean?
Unable to figure it out, Zhou Wang opened the system interface and saw a red notification.

[Please manually set the duration of the side effect aura, not exceeding 72 hours.]

Ok?
So, does that mean I can decide when this "side effect" will be activated?
Zhou Wang took a look and sure enough, there was a clock option. By fiddling with it, he could delay the onset of the side effects.

That's quite thoughtful...

Since he was unsure of the item's side effects, Zhou Wang naturally wanted to delay them as long as possible. So, after thinking about it, he set the side effects to "activate after 72 hours".

This way, he can be mentally prepared in advance to deal with any unexpected situations that may arise.

……

"Mr. Zhou, we're almost at the next checkpoint."

After the vehicle had been driving for about ten minutes, Lai Yuanbao, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and reminded him.

Zhou Wang looked up and saw a magnificent building in front of him. It was Huanggang Port, one of the five land border crossings from Shenzhen to Hong Kong Island.

In fact, among the several land border crossings to Hong Kong Island, tourists generally choose Futian Port and Luohu Port more often.

However, Huanggang Port has a special feature: it is the only one of the five major ports that provides 24-hour border crossing services. Because of this, there are relatively more trucks passing through here, which leads to longer queuing times and more crowded people.

However, this problem obviously did not exist for Zhou Wang and others, because they were given priority inspection through the "green channel".

Just over ten minutes later, the convoy had passed through the border and entered Hong Kong Island, which is within the administrative division.

However, there was no scenery to be seen at this time, and it would take nearly an hour to reach the city center of Hong Kong Island.

During this process, Zhou Wang was not idle.

He was flipping through a thick stack of documents.

These materials are a compilation of financial information from Hong Kong Island and Macau Island. In fact, they contain the capital structure of these two places, including information on the many deeply rooted family conglomerates in Hong Kong Island and Macau Island, as well as their activities in recent years.

The information was entrusted to Zhou Wang by Mu Li and delivered by Lai Yuanbao. It arrived very promptly and should be of great help to Zhou Wang's upcoming journey.

After quickly skimming through the materials, Zhou Wang gleaned a crucial piece of information.

About two years ago, Hong Kong experienced a financial crisis. The apparent cause was fluctuations in the international situation, which led to a slump in the stock market across Hong Kong. Many families were affected to varying degrees, and even one or two once-prominent families were removed from Hong Kong's upper echelons after the crisis.

Later, the major families suddenly joined forces and used various means to save the market, successfully resolving the crisis. For this, the leaders of the major families were even commended by the government.

However, there is a very strange thing about this matter.

Those were the companies that joined forces. They had all sorts of complicated grudges and entanglements with each other, but at that time, the whole process of putting aside their grudges and joining hands took only a few days. To this day, no one knows how they managed to unite so efficiently.

Zhou Wang tapped his fingers on the car window, intuitively feeling that this story might be related to "himself," and was also the fundamental reason why the major families respected him so much.

Another event confirmed his conjecture: Tyrant Security was registered in Hong Kong around that time, and many companies associated with the Fok, Lai, and Wong families were Tyrant Security's first clients.

Suddenly, Zhou Wang remembered another item in his warehouse that he hadn't used yet.

【Kieran's Time Gear (Number 009)】

However, looking at its timeline, it tells a story set in early 2024, which is quite far in the future and shouldn't be related to the story in Hong Kong.

With nothing else to do at the moment, Zhou Wang told Xiao Lai not to disturb him and then activated the Time Gear.

……

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Zhou Wang woke up from his "drowsy" state, he was already in a street lined with tall buildings.

The bustling atmosphere amidst the crowds, along with the ubiquitous Cantonese signs, reminded Zhou Wang that they had entered the urban area of ​​Hong Kong Island.

"How long have I slept?"

Seeing the Bentley parked on the side of the road, Zhou Wang patted his still slightly dizzy head and asked.

"About forty minutes."

Lai Yuanbao, who had been sitting still in the passenger seat, immediately turned around and answered when he heard Zhou Wang's voice.

Forty minutes?
Zhou Wang thought about it for a moment and felt it was about the same.

When he first activated the Time Gear, he was "asleep" for nearly three hours. This was partly because he wasn't used to it, and partly because the time frame captured that time was a full 20 days.

However, this Time Gear, numbered 009, only lasts for 7 days, making it the shortest of the three Time Gears.

The story he told was quite interesting. Zhou Wang hadn't expected that he hadn't been idle after returning to China, and had quietly accomplished quite a lot...

However, it did connect with some things he couldn't understand before.

Where are my girlfriends?

At this moment, Zhou Wang saw the convoy parked by the roadside, but Su Yajing and the others were nowhere to be seen, so he asked a question.

"They went to buy milk tea and take photos... Should I call them back?"

"Oh, no need, let them take more pictures."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wang waved his hand dismissively.

Girls always seem to have endless energy when it comes to traveling. Just moments ago, Zhou Wang overheard them complaining about not getting enough sleep last night...

After waiting for about twenty minutes, the four girls finally returned with milk tea and a few small shopping bags. Zhou Wang then posted the WeChat Moments he had just edited.

He's usually too lazy to post travel photos, but it's still necessary to occasionally make his presence felt on social media.

After all, a simple location post can garner a couple hundred likes, a privilege that was unheard of before... Everyone has vanity, and Zhou Wang is no exception.

"Mr. Zhou, shall we go to the hotel now?"

"Let's go."

The first thing to do upon arriving in Hong Kong Island was to settle in. Zhou Wang didn't have much stuff, but the four girls had a whopping nine suitcases, and now they had to add a few more shopping bags, which was quite a sight.

"Mr. Zhou, this area is the busiest district on Hong Kong Island, Yau Tsim Mong, and just ahead is the famous Tsim Sha Tsui..."

Tsim Sha Tsui? Upon hearing these three words, Zhou Wang looked out the car window.

He first heard those three words when he was a child.

In a certain popular movie series, landmarks such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Tuen Mun, and Causeway Bay appear frequently. It is estimated that many people, like him, are already familiar with these place names even though they have never been to Hong Kong Island.

During our teenage years, who didn't want to be the "boss" of their school? Unfortunately, it's only when we grow up that we realize that being good at fighting is the most useless skill in the world.

Zhou Wangyi was also attracted by the unusual prosperity of Tsim Sha Tsui. The so-called "Tsim Sha Tsui" actually refers to a business district in Yau Tsim Mong District. It is close to Victoria Harbour and the Avenue of Stars, and can be called the tourism heart and urban vitality center of Hong Kong Island. It is one of the most core and charming areas of Hong Kong Island.

"We live in Tsim Sha Tsui?"

Seeing the convoy heading straight for Victoria Harbour, Zhou asked.

"Yes, Mr. Zhou, we are staying at the Rosewood Hong Kong Island Hotel. Have you heard of it?"

"Oh, I actually know that."

Zhou Wang smiled and nodded. "So you're known as number one in Asia and number two in the world, right?"

"According to the list of the world's 50 best hotels, it was indeed ranked second in the world last year, but it has slipped one place this year and should now be considered third in the world..."

Zhou Wang nodded. There are many luxury hotels on Hong Kong Island, but Rosewood Hotel, in terms of reputation and other aspects, may be an exaggeration to say that it is "far ahead", but it is certainly worthy of being called "unrivaled".

Before long, the convoy arrived at 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. The car turned into the internal parking lot. After getting out, Zhou Wang looked up at the 57-story building standing on the Victoria Harbour waterfront and exclaimed in admiration:
"As expected of a masterpiece by a master, the design of this commercial building is truly ingenious."

The building in front of you is called "Victoria Dockside". It was formerly the historic New World Centre and was rebuilt into a comprehensive landmark. The Rosewood Hotel is known as the crown jewel of the building and is called a "vertical manor".

When the group arrived at the hotel lobby, a woman with an excellent figure, wearing a black stockings business suit and black-rimmed glasses, was already waiting there with a team of hotel staff.

Her temperament is quite similar to that of Jessie from the Huo family. I don't know if it's the environment of Hong Kong that makes the elite women here different from those on the mainland. The difference is quite obvious at a glance.

"Mr. Zhou, hello, I'm Sona, your personal butler during your stay at the Rosewood Hotel. Welcome..."

Zhou Wang naturally stayed in the best room type in the entire Rosewood Hotel, the Presidential Suite, so it was not surprising that he had a private butler.

All four girls had actually stayed in presidential suites. Except for Su Yajing, the other three had also visited Zhou Wang's suite at Wanda Plaza when they were in Mingcheng, but…

The presidential suite at the most luxurious hotel on Hong Kong Island is clearly a different concept altogether.

After checking in at the VIP room, as we rode the private elevator up, the butler began to introduce the hotel's various facilities.

Zhou Wang was interested in the more than 1,000 pieces of art displayed in the Rosewood Hotel, while the four girls were most looking forward to the rooftop swimming pool that offered a 180-degree panoramic view of Victoria Harbour.

(Rosewood Hotel - Sky infinity pool overlooking Victoria Harbour)

The presidential suite is located on the top floor of the building and features a terrace and a small private pool. After looking around, I felt that the room's decoration style was indeed very stylish, with a strong modern feel in every area.

For example, the "internet celebrity bathroom" that had four girls taking pictures non-stop, which is said to be very popular online...

(Hotel suite - black and white checkered bathroom trendy)
However, Zhou Wang had stayed in too many luxurious rooms and was somewhat desensitized to this kind of thing, so after a brief look around, he went to the living room and dialed Qi Jiayi's number.

……

A moment later, the butler Sona led in Qi Jiayi, who looked travel-worn but in relatively good spirits.

As she took her leave, Sona glanced at Zhou Wang discreetly, a hint of regret flashing in her bright eyes behind her thin-rimmed glasses.

She is considered part of the elite in Hong Kong Island, earning a six-figure income each month. But the more she lives in such a city, the more she realizes how beautiful the view from the top of the mountain is.

In her view, a young, promising, and talented man like Zhou Wang was the ideal choice for getting out of poverty.

Although Zhou Wang brought four girls, Sona felt that those college-aged girls had no advantages other than being young and beautiful. She, a capable, mature woman, wouldn't have any conflicting tastes with them, so she still had a chance…

But after meeting Qi Jiayi, Sona realized how unrealistic her ideas were.

Her so-called unique advantages were utterly insignificant compared to this woman with an extremely strong presence and stunning beauty.

"Mr. Zhou..."

Qi Jiayi arrived in Hong Kong Island a few days before Zhou Wang. When she saw Zhou Wang, she nodded and a smile had just appeared on her face when she heard a chattering sound coming from the direction of the bathroom.

Qi Jiayi was stunned for a moment, then frowned and looked at Zhou Wang.

"Are you sure you've brought those two girls, Sun Xi Ningning and Lisa, with you?"

"Uh, no..."

Zhou Wang looked somewhat embarrassed.

Qi Jiayi had no idea that he had brought four girls on a trip south; his official reason was to investigate business...

No?

Qi Jiayi's beautiful eyes widened slightly. Then, hearing more sounds, she asked in a daze:

"It seems...there are more than two?"

"Well, to be precise, there are four, but don't get me wrong, they are actually..."

"Zhou Wang!"

Qi Jiayi wouldn't listen to Zhou Wang's explanation; she was so angry her chest felt like it was going to explode, and she couldn't help but let out a sharp cry.

Zhou Wang saw several gossipy heads peeking over from the bathroom, which made him even more embarrassed. For a moment, he really didn't know how to appease Qi Jiayi.

Fortunately, he was always a clever little devil. He quickly turned his attention to Qi Jiayi with suspicion.

"Wait, something's not right..."

"What's wrong!"

Still angry, Qi Jiayi immediately retorted.

"I just want to ask, what does it matter to you how many girls are in the restroom?"

"I……"

Qi Jiayi was speechless for a moment, her brain went blank.

(End of this chapter)