Chapter 591: It's Really Nothing Special!
A Cold Warning
"Since you consider him your son, then raise him well!"
"Just make sure you don't raise a demon."
Luke scoffed, turned, and walked out of the room. He ran right into a suspiciously loitering Zatanna, who mumbled awkwardly,
"I wasn't eavesdropping. I was just curious."
"Don't ask what you shouldn't, and don't listen to what you shouldn't. And you..." His gaze shifted to a grubby Constantine. "That lizard demon was summoned by you, wasn't it?"
"..."
"If you don't want to die a senseless death, forget everything that happened last night. If either of you dares to leak a single word..."
He raised his hand. A crack of thunder shot down from the sky, piercing the roof and blasting a crater several meters wide in the ground.
"That's what will happen."
The two stood rooted to the spot, too stunned to speak.
Luke strode past them, stirring up a gust of wind, and sped away into the distance.
John swallowed hard. "Are you sure that was Luke Shaw?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
"I thought you said he was easy to talk to."
"I don't know either. He used to be so friendly. How did he become like this?"
John rubbed his chin, giving the bedroom a thoughtful look. Zatanna realized too.
"Could it be because of..."
"Very likely."
John said gravely, "That kind of monster shouldn't have been born."
Thud!
Zatanna kicked him. "He's not your child, so you don't care! A talented child needs more careful guidance. If taught properly, he could become a Superman, understand?"
"And if he's not taught properly?"
Zatanna: "..."
Life Resumes
The incident from last night didn't cause a major stir. Wuyue personally handled it, using some less-than-clean methods to "pacify" the families of the doctors and nurses. As for the Secret Service team, the official story was that they were killed in the line of duty.
As for the child, to ensure he could grow up healthily, the power-hungry First Lady actually gave up her high position, choosing to settle in a sparsely populated small town.
Luke didn't know what they were thinking. That child was born with the ability to control the dead, and small towns are often hotspots for supernatural events. The combination was going to be intensely problematic.
Three days after the child's birth, the Twelve Apostles all sent gifts. Number Seven, Number Nine, and Old Eleven even went to visit, speaking with joy as if they were seeing their own child.
Luke didn't understand their reasoning. With no blood relation at all, why were they so excited?
After this episode concluded, life returned to normal.
Luke shed his "Mister Mystery" persona, clocking in for work on time every day, focusing all his energy on developing his two companies.
Entering the new century, with the popularization of laptops, ShowMe's growth accelerated. It captured 70% of the domestic market, and its international user base surpassed 800 million. Including China, the total user count reached 1.2 billion.
For a social platform, users are the market value. In contrast, Tesla's development wasn't as fortunate.
Thanks to Lex Luthor's reckless maneuvers, powered armor became a sensitive social topic. The middle class and above were very interested, but the lower classes deeply resented it. Protests were heard from citizens every so often.
Developing powered armor in this climate was clearly inappropriate.
Luke reluctantly made a tough decision, spinning off the powered armor division to focus entirely on the new energy business.
The Youngest Billionaire
Time advanced to July 2007, when a bombshell suddenly hit the calm financial world.
ShowMe, the burgeoning tech company focused on social networking, founded just four years ago, was preparing to go public.
The news caused a huge sensation and intense debate online. There were many optimists, but skeptics were numerous. Unlike traditional enterprises, ShowMe operated on a completely new business model: no physical product, only resources. Its 1.2 billion users were its sole capital.
This model was uncharted territory. No one knew how far it could go. The risk was perceived as too high, leading many financial institutions to be doubtful.
"Friends in the industry" and "experts" in finance strongly advised against it. Luke, however, was unfazed. After releasing a nearly perfect financial statement, he rang the bell at the ShowMe headquarters in Metropolis, announcing an event that shocked the world.
For the company's veterans, going public was the process of a carp leaping over the dragon gate. Succeeding meant soaring to the heavens, free to roam the sky. Failing meant continuing to struggle in a shallow pond.
Senior executives like Charlie Will, Zacks Borg, Robert Downs, Phillip Arthur, and Cindy, who held substantial shares, stared intently at the stock market trends, practically willing their eyes onto the screen.
Luke, in contrast, was perfectly calm, pouring himself a glass of 30-year-old vintage wine and savoring it slowly.
ShowMe's stock was issued at $47 per share, with 330 million shares released. It then skyrocketed, with the opening price finally settling at $57.20. The company raised $33 billion in funding, and its total market capitalization reached nearly $190 billion.
The headquarters building erupted in cheers, the shouts and screams almost lifting the roof off.
This figure stunned the entire world. A company founded four years ago reaching a valuation of nearly $200 billion upon listing was unthinkable. There was no precedent for this.
The stock's performance slapped countless experts across the face and left many financial institutions speechless.
Overnight, the world looked different. It gained a new super-tech company and a new, incredibly young world's richest person.
A 21-year-old youth with a net worth of hundreds of billions of dollars.
His emergence drew the attention of the entire globe. Media outlets, radio stations, and magazines across all countries reported the news feverishly, wanting to broadcast it 24/7.
The internet was similarly abuzz. Everyone was shocked. Just four years ago, Luke was an obscure figure; the name "Young Master Shaw" was only known on the West Coast. Who in Metropolis knew him? Yet, in just four years, he had achieved what others couldn't in ten lifetimes.
From 17 to 21, from zero to a hundred billion!
This simple change in numbers forged a legendary history that would be recorded in the annals of time. Luke had become the embodiment of a dream—no, he had gone beyond the dream itself, reaching a higher realm.
After the news was announced, the Shaw Estate and the entire Chinatown district were jubilant. Family and friends sent congratulatory messages instantly, and the Young Master's gang paraded through the streets with gongs and drums.
Major media outlets and radio stations sent invitations, hoping for a global interview.
Luke naturally declined. He didn't need the power of traditional media now. If he were to give an interview, it would be on the official ShowMe website.
That evening, a grand celebration party was held at the headquarters building. Employees sang and danced, venting their excitement with music and fine wine. The banquet lasted until 1 a.m.
The night was deep. Luke didn't go home. Fueled by the residual alcohol, he crossed the Pacific, arriving at a remote forest in China's Hu Province.
The Aixa Village of his memory was gone, replaced by a hillside overgrown with weeds.
A dream of a thousand years, and everything had changed.
Luke opened a bottle of 50-year-old aged liquor and slowly poured it onto the ground.
"In my last life, you said you wanted to achieve greatness and be known to thousands, yet you were felled by sickness."
"You were unwilling, deeply resenting your unjust fate. Fortunately, fate was kind and granted a second chance."
"Now, I've done it for you."
"Being the world's richest person... it's really nothing special."
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