Lord of the Great Dream

"How about we go check out the houses first?" Li Xuan suggested.

He appeared genuinely interested, but didn't give an immediate answer. No matter which option he chose, it seemed Zhao Dahai and Zhao Jianguo would make a substantial profit, possibly more than ten million. But Li Xuan wasn't concerned. To him, the so-called rare treasure was just a bracelet. The key was turning it into cash as quickly as possible—after all, in the apocalyptic world, something like this would be left on the ground without a second thought. It wasn't anything special.

"Alright, let's go check the house now!" Zhao Dahai responded quickly.

Soon, Zhao Dahai drove Li Xuan to the Wanding Academy residential complex.

Li Xuan had heard of Wanding Academy before; it was a high-end villa community that Feng Zixuan longed to live in. The residents there were all wealthy and influential. He'd heard that the price per square meter for the garden villas was above 150,000 yuan, which was ridiculously expensive—each square meter was practically gold.

"We're here, this is the place, WD8 Garden Villa!"

"This villa belongs to my second uncle, and it was just renovated three months ago with the latest fingerprint lock system!" Zhao Dahai explained. "The villa has three floors, covering 335 square meters. It has five guest rooms, two master bedrooms, two walk-in closets, two storage rooms, three bathrooms, two open-plan kitchens, a study, a swimming pool, a home theater, a meeting room, a basement with two garages, and a garden!"

"Honestly, even though the villa market has cooled recently, this house cost over five million just to renovate! The market value is definitely around fifty million!"

When Li Xuan entered the villa, he was amazed by the luxury and spaciousness. It was easily a hundred times better than his current two-bedroom apartment. By market standards, the villa was indeed worth fifty million, despite the current downtrend in the market.

"Nice!" Li Xuan gave a relatively satisfied evaluation. On the surface, he seemed just content, but in reality, he was very impressed.

"Alright, let's go. I'll take you to my big flat now!" Zhao Dahai continued.

Fifteen minutes later...

Zhao Dahai drove Li Xuan to the "Wanjing Yipin" residential complex.

Wanjing Yipin was also located in a prime area of the city center, surrounded by both convenient transportation and the prestigious Jiangdu Music Academy, a hub for beautiful women. The location offered an unparalleled view of the river, making it one of the most sought-after places to live.

To cater to high-end residents, the apartments in this complex were designed with one unit per floor, ensuring both privacy and exclusivity. On the same floor, there were only two units.

Zhao Dahai's apartment was on the 28th floor, unit 2802. The apartment spanned 280 square meters, with five bedrooms, two living rooms, one kitchen, and two bathrooms.

Compared to the villa's serene elegance, the apartment's view was even more spectacular.

"When I renovated this place, it cost me over two million," Zhao Dahai said. "But what I love the most is the view from the balcony. The balcony is huge—about twelve meters long. When I have free time, I just sit out there, drink tea, soak in the sun—it's pure enjoyment!"

"Currently, the price per square meter in the Wanjing Yipin complex is around 110,000 yuan. The fluctuation is not too large, so you can check the market value for yourself. I'm offering my apartment for 30 million yuan, and I'm sure someone will buy it at that price!"

Li Xuan nodded. He didn't show much satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

"Zhao Ge, I'm curious, how many properties do you actually own?"

"Not too many, just over fifty sets," Zhao Dahai replied casually.

"Over fifty?! Just fifty?? Zhao Ge, you're amazing! This really blows my mind!" Li Xuan was dumbfounded. The difference between people could be so vast!

"Ah... it's a long story, full of tears. People think I'm doing well, owning more than fifty properties, plus my own jade shop and commercial spaces. But in reality, I'm drowning in debt and barely holding on!" Zhao Dahai sighed deeply.

"I used to have several demolition houses, and my family's business was doing okay. But then I got into property speculation. A few years ago, I bought a lot of properties when the prices were high, but now the market's plummeting. I took out mortgages and low-down-payment loans to buy all these properties, but now, with the prices falling, I've lost everything. I'm paying over a million a month just in interest, and I can't sell any of these houses. The bank loans are overdue, and they're about to foreclose!"

"These houses are no longer assets; they're liabilities. Anyone who wants to pay off my loans can have these houses for free!"

"Zhao Ge, is this for real?"

"Li Xuan, do you really want them?"

"It's not impossible!"

Zhao Dahai shrugged and smiled bitterly. Although the Imperial Green jade bracelet was valuable, just one bracelet couldn't cover his debts.

Back at the Jade Pavilion, Zhao Jianguo had already prepared two contracts.

"Mr. Li, did you like the houses? You can choose one of these two options."

Zhao Jianguo asked politely.

"No need to choose, I want both options!" Li Xuan replied with a calm smile.

Only a child would make a choice—adults take both!

After speaking, Li Xuan casually took out two Imperial Green jade bracelets.

In fact, these were a matching pair. Both were of similar quality.

"Th-th-these… two Imperial Green jade bracelets?" Zhao Dahai was stunned.

After examination, both bracelets were confirmed to be authentic. Their quality was exceptional. One was worth around 80 million yuan, and together, the two were worth 160 million.

Zhao Dahai was stunned, almost gasping.

"Zhao Ge, your fifty properties—do these two bracelets cover the debt?"

"Well... almost... not quite!"

"How about if I add this necklace?"

Li Xuan casually took out a diamond-studded necklace. The most eye-catching part of the necklace was the central sky-blue diamond, which was as big as a pigeon's egg.

Zhao Jianguo froze, his eyes widening.

"Is this... Sky Blue?"

"No, wait, this is even bigger than the Sky Blue diamond that auctioned for 370 million two years ago!"

"If it's a genuine natural blue diamond, it's worth at least 350 million!"

"My God!"

Zhao Jianguo hurriedly took out his professional instruments to test it.

The results made his fingers tremble.

"It's real! It's a top-tier natural blue diamond!"

"Mr. Li, are you sure you want to sell these two Imperial Green jade bracelets and the Sky Blue diamond?" Zhao Jianguo asked once again, more cautiously.

"Yes!" Li Xuan nodded.

"Let's stick to the previous agreement: one bracelet for the house, and I'll sell the other bracelet and the necklace through Jade Pavilion, with you taking a 10% commission!"

Li Xuan was calm and collected, without a hint of hesitation.

It seemed as if the jade bracelets and diamond necklace meant little to him. His confidence seemed out of place for an ordinary college student. He almost resembled a young heir from a distinguished family, with deep background and resources.

"Could this Li Xuan really come from an extraordinary background?"

"The confidence he carries isn't something an ordinary college student can fake!"

Zhao Jianguo, who had met many people in his life, could immediately tell that this young man wasn't pretending.

At first, he had considered whether to take advantage of the situation, but now he wasn't so sure. If this young man had a powerful background, it would be better not to cause any trouble. He decided to focus on doing business properly and maybe even make an influential connection—after all, this was someone who could take out hundreds of millions in jewels.

"Alright, Mr. Li, we can go ahead and transfer the property now!"

"By the way, there's another thing. It's not just my nephew who has lost money from property speculation. I, too, have lost a lot over the past few years. I'm stuck with more than seventy properties, and if I hadn't sold the villa, I wouldn't need to do this!"

"If you're interested in investing in real estate, I can sell you all these properties at 80% of the market price."

"120 properties? How much would that come to?"

Zhao Jianguo pulled out a calculator and spent half an hour calculating.

"Our real estate investments are mostly regular apartments and shops near Jiang University. They are all in prime locations. In total, there are 126 properties, with an estimated value of 280 million yuan. Adding the two core-area villas and the riverside flat, the total comes to about 360 million yuan!"

"Let's go take a look!"

To expedite things, Zhao Jianguo closed the Jade Pavilion shop and took Li Xuan directly to see the properties.

Fortunately, most of these properties were concentrated in two nearby residential complexes around Jiang University, so they weren't too spread out. Otherwise, the sight-seeing alone would have made Li Xuan want to throw up.

After about seven days, they finally completed the transfer of 128 properties.

Meanwhile, the two Imperial Green jade bracelets and the Hao Yu Blue diamond were sold for a staggering 560 million yuan, purchased by two wealthy Hong Kong tycoons. It caused quite a stir in the city. The news spread quickly, and the entire city's rich elite flocked to the event. The sale even made it to the top of the news.

The reputation of the entire Jade Pavilion skyrocketed.

Li Xuan ended up with a net profit of 180 million yuan, plus 128 properties.

Zhao Dahai treated Li Xuan to a celebratory meal. From calling him "Xiao Li" at the beginning, Zhao Dahai almost changed his address to "Li Ge" (Brother Li). After all, Li Xuan was now worth billions.

"Zhao Ge, I won't be able to live in all 128 of these properties. I'm thinking of renting them out. Do you know any reliable agents?" Li Xuan asked.

"Don't worry, this is my area of expertise. Every year, many students from Jiang University come to rent houses. These properties will rent out just fine!" Zhao Dahai replied confidently. "I'll introduce you to a professional agent to manage them. The monthly rent should easily exceed 500,000 yuan!"

Li Xuan had a surreal feeling. In just one week, he had become a property mogul with a monthly rent income of 500,000 yuan, owning 128 properties, all paid in full.

His cash balance? A hefty 180 million yuan.

During this seven-day period, Li Xuan, in his post-apocalyptic world, had never left his home. With a constant supply of food, he focused intensely on physical training.

His body began to transform rapidly. Where he had once been thin and frail, he now looked fuller, with all his physical metrics improving drastically.