You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

Chapter 498 Tang Ping finally reached the pinnacle of life
Tang Ping pushed open the palace gates, and a magnificent hall came into view. The hall was richly furnished, with intricately carved dragon pillars on either side and a vivid Nine Heavens Dragon painted on the dome. However, Tang Ping had no time to admire these things at the moment; his eyes were fixed on the tall figure in the center of the hall.

"Your Mafa Supreme, I have been waiting for you for a long time." A low and magnetic voice sounded.

Standing in the center of the hall was a middle-aged man in a black robe with dragon patterns. His ID was "Long Aotian," the president of Pawnshop No. 9. He held a longsword engraved with dragon patterns, and a faint dragon's roar emanated from the blade.

Tang Ping walked forward slowly, the Blade of Heavenly Punishment spinning gently in his hand. "President Long, I have long heard of your great name. Seeing you today, I can see that your reputation is truly well-deserved."

Long Aotian smiled slightly, "Same here. Your strength is truly astonishing to be able to defeat all five of my cadres. However..." His eyes suddenly became sharp, "Today, your journey ends here!"

Before he could finish his words, Long Aotian had already rushed towards Tang Ping like an arrow from a bow. His dragon-patterned sword sliced ​​through the air, emitting a sharp whistling sound. Tang Ping hurriedly raised his sword to meet the blow. There was a loud "clang" sound, and sparks flew everywhere.

The two figures moved swiftly across the hall, their swords clashing, each strike deadly. Long Aotian's swordsmanship was fierce and ruthless, each strike imbued with astonishing power. Although Tang Ping managed to parry, he was still forced to retreat repeatedly.

"Break!" Long Aotian roared, and a golden dragon shadow suddenly appeared on the dragon-patterned sword. The sword energy was like a dragon, whistling and forcing Tang Ping to the hall door.

Tang Ping leaned against the palace door, feeling a cold touch behind him. He took a deep breath and dodged Long Aotian's fatal blow. The dragon-patterned sword pierced the palace door fiercely, sending wood chips flying.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tang Ping shifted from defense to offense. The Heavenly Punishment Blade drew a graceful arc through the air, striking directly at Long Aotian's throat. Long Aotian hurriedly retreated, but his robes were still ripped, revealing the silver armor beneath.

"As expected, your reaction is really quick." Long Aotian praised, while looking at Tang Ping warily, "But, if you want to beat me like this, you are still too naive!"

With that, Long Aotian launched another attack. This time, his speed was even faster, and his moves were even more fierce. Tang Ping focused on responding, and the two of them shuttled through the hall like two lightning bolts colliding fiercely.

The aftermath of the battle destroyed most of the furnishings within the hall. Exquisite porcelain shattered to the ground, ornate tapestries were torn apart by sword energy, and even the dragon pillars on both sides had several layers shaved off.

Suddenly, Long Aotian jumped back, creating some distance. His dragon-patterned sword suddenly erupted in flames. "Try my unique skill! Fire Dragon Sword Dance!"

Suddenly, Long Aotian split into five figures, each holding a flaming dragon-patterned sword. The five Long Aotians attacked Tang Ping simultaneously, their flaming swords crisscrossing the hall, transforming it into a sea of ​​fire.

Tang Ping was caught off guard by the sudden attack. He barely dodged several blows, but one of them still slashed his arm. The searing pain made him gasp.

"What do you think, Supreme Mafa? This is the gap between you and me!" Long Aotian said proudly.

Tang Ping didn't answer, but closed his eyes. Just when Long Aotian thought he was about to admit defeat, Tang Ping suddenly opened his eyes, with a strange light flashing in his eyes.

“Phantom clone!”

In an instant, Tang Ping's figure split into five. The five Tang Pings simultaneously raised the Blade of Heavenly Punishment, and the blade glowed with blue light.

"How is this possible?" Long Aotian looked at the scene in disbelief.

The five Tang Pings launched their attacks simultaneously, engaging Long Aotian's five clones. The hall instantly transformed into a chaotic battlefield. Flames and ice collided, sword energy clashed, and the entire hall shook violently.

Gradually, Long Aotian's clones began to disappear one by one. Tang Ping's clones also dwindled, but at a much slower rate. Finally, when the smoke and dust cleared, only the real Tang Ping and Long Aotian remained, facing each other.

Both were breathless, their bodies covered in wounds. The hall was completely shattered, with traces of battle everywhere. A large hole had been torn in the dome, and moonlight streamed through the hole.

"As expected of the Mafa Supreme, you've even learned my unique skills." Long Aotian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "But this battle isn't over yet!"

After saying this, Long Aotian suddenly plunged the dragon-patterned sword into the ground. The entire hall suddenly shook violently, the ground cracked, and a huge earth dragon soared into the sky.

"Is this... summoning a dragon?" Tang Ping looked at the scene in surprise.

Long Aotian jumped onto the earth dragon's head and looked down at Tang Ping. "That's right, this is my last trump card. Mafa Supreme, you have no way to escape!"

The earth dragon roared and charged at Tang Ping, its bloody maw wide open, ready to devour him. Tang Ping hurriedly dodged, but the narrow space restricted his movement. He was forced back, step by step, until he finally reached the edge of the hall.

"It's over!" Long Aotian shouted, and the earth dragon pounced on Tang Ping again.

At the critical moment, Tang Ping suddenly jumped up, stepping on the earth dragon's scales and climbing up. Before Long Aotian could react, Tang Ping was already in front of him.

"You're right, it's time to end it." Tang Ping said calmly.

The Blade of Heavenly Punishment suddenly lit up with a dazzling blue light, and Tang Ping struck with all his might. Long Aotian hurriedly raised his sword to block, but in the face of this tremendous force, the Dragon Patterned Sword actually broke into pieces.

"No, impossible!" Long Aotian looked at his broken sword in disbelief.

The next second, the Blade of Heavenly Punishment pierced Long Aotian's chest. The Earth Dragon lost control and collapsed. Tang Ping, holding Long Aotian, fell from the air and landed steadily on the ground.

"Why. Why can you win?" Long Aotian asked with difficulty.

Tang Ping put away the Blade of Heavenly Punishment and said softly, "Because I don't fight just to win. I have something I must protect and a mission I must complete."

When Long Aotian heard this, he suddenly laughed, "So that's how it is. It seems that my loss was not unfair." After saying that, his body turned into a white light and dissipated in the air.

Tang Ping stood in the devastated hall and exhaled deeply. Moonlight streamed through the holes in the dome, casting a silver glow over his exhausted figure. This thrilling battle had finally come to an end, but he knew greater challenges awaited him.

Soon after.

After winning the title of Imperial City Lord, Tang Ping rubbed his hands excitedly: "Can I withdraw my money now?"

At this time, the account showed that Tang Ping's equipment recovery amount had exceeded 80.

However, just as he was waiting excitedly, the game popped up a prompt:
"Dear players, equipment withdrawals require review!"

Tang Ping scratched his head. "It's understandable that such a large sum of money needs to be reviewed. But then again, why did the other players in this game disappear overnight?"

Tang Ping stood in the empty center of the Imperial City, his excitement evident. He had just defeated a formidable opponent and deserved a generous reward. However, when he saw the notice requiring review, a sense of unease crept into his heart. He looked around; the Imperial City was deserted, the silence unsettling.

The usually bustling streets were now eerily deserted, as if the entire world had been paused. The street stalls were empty, and the usual clamor of vendors had vanished without a trace.

Tang Ping tried to walk into a store. There was no one behind the counter, but the items on the shelves were still neatly arranged, as if the owner had just left temporarily.

He reached out to touch a piece of equipment, but found that his hand went straight through it. This unreal feeling made him shudder.

He left the shop and arrived at the trading square, usually the busiest place. In the past, it was always crowded with bargainers, the cries of hawkers echoing one after another. But now, the square was empty, with only gusts of cold wind blowing, picking up a few fallen leaves and swirling them on the ground.

Tang Ping tried to open his friend list, only to find everyone's profile picture had turned gray. He tried to send a message, but received no response. This feeling of isolation made him increasingly uneasy.

He looked up at the sky and found that the sun, which should have been bright, had become dim and the sky was a strange gray. The mountains in the distance were blurred and seemed to disappear in the mist at any moment.

Tang Ping tried to leave the Imperial City, but found the gates were locked and could not be opened no matter how hard he tried. He even tried to use a teleportation scroll, but all the teleportation points were invalid.

The feeling of being trapped in an empty city suffocated Tang Ping. He began to wonder if he was still in the game, or if he had fallen into some strange illusion. It was as if he was the only one left in the world, and this loneliness was more terrifying than any powerful enemy.

This sense of dissonance and strangeness made Tang Ping begin to doubt his own existence. Had he truly won, or had he fallen into some terrible trap? The entire game world seemed like a giant cage, and he was its sole prisoner.

……

Tang Ping's heart was a little trembling, but he still forced a smile and consoled himself:
"He should be going to eat, wait a little longer."

However, after waiting for a long time, no one came to the main city of the game.

"Strange, how could someone disappear overnight?"

Tang Ping thought about it, then felt relieved:

"Forget it, let's continue to get more equipment and try to get the best out of the gaming companies. Come on, let's put all our savings into the game and create some recyclable legendary equipment."

……

The intense fighting and tension in the game finally exhausted Tang Ping's energy. He leaned against the golden dragon pillar in the imperial palace and fell into a deep sleep.

Through the mist of his dream, Tang Ping saw a familiar figure—Zha Zha Hui. The NPC who had once offered him encouragement and guidance now stood before him, smiling. Tang Ping excitedly ran forward, eager to share in his victory.

"Brother, did you see me become the lord of the imperial city? I defeated them all by myself!" Tang Ping said happily, his face filled with the joy of victory.

However, Zha Zha Hui just looked at him quietly, a smile on his face, but he didn't say anything. Tang Ping was a little confused and continued, "You know what? I defeated 'Long Aotian' and the other guild members. Now the entire Imperial City is mine!"

Zha Zha Hui remained silent, only nodding slightly. His eyes seemed to hold a profound meaning, but Tang Ping couldn't grasp it for a moment. Gradually, Zha Zha Hui's figure began to blur, eventually disappearing into the mist of the dream.

Tang Ping woke from his dream and found himself in the empty Imperial Palace. He rubbed his eyes and recalled his dream. Although Zha Zha Hui didn't say anything, Tang Ping felt an inexplicable encouragement.

"Maybe this is my destiny." Tang Ping murmured to himself.

In the days that followed, Tang Ping began his new life as the Lord of the Imperial City. Although the game world was still empty, he didn't give up. He began to systematically clean up the entire Imperial City, collecting all the equipment he could find.

At first, Tang Ping simply wanted to accumulate as much wealth as possible. But over time, he found that his wealth was growing at an astonishing rate. Every piece of equipment he salvaged was instantly converted into real money and deposited directly into his bank account.

In just a few weeks, Tang Ping's assets surpassed $10 billion. This figure made him feel dizzy, but it was only the beginning. As he continued to explore every corner of the Imperial City, his wealth grew exponentially.

A month later, Tang Ping's assets exceeded $100 billion. His name began appearing in the headlines of major financial media outlets, and people speculated about the identity of this suddenly rising billionaire.

Two months later, Tang Ping's assets exceeded $1000 billion, making him one of the world's top ten richest people. Wall Street analysts began to closely monitor his every move, as his investment decisions could influence the direction of global stock markets.

Three months later, Tang Ping's assets exceeded $5000 billion, surpassing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest man. This news caused a global uproar. Governments around the world began to pay attention to this super-rich man of unknown origin, worried that he could have an unpredictable impact on the global economy.

"We are keeping a close eye on this sudden rise of wealth," the president said at a press conference. "The speed at which his wealth is growing is unprecedented, and we need to ensure that this does not have a negative impact on the economy of the United States."

However, Trump's concerns soon turned to shock. The day after his speech, Tang Ping's assets surpassed the $1 trillion mark. This figure not only set a new record for personal wealth in human history, but also far exceeded the GDP of many countries.

Trump held another press conference, and this time his tone became noticeably more cautious: "We have been in contact with this Mr. Tang. His wealth has grown at an astonishing rate, but we believe he will use it responsibly. We welcome his contribution to the great economy."

Meanwhile, major financial institutions around the world were scrambling to analyze the source of Tang Ping's wealth. However, they discovered that his wealth growth model was completely different from traditional business models. No one knew how he had accumulated such a huge fortune in such a short period of time.

Conspiracy theorists began to spread various speculations. Some said Tang Ping had discovered alchemy, turning stone into gold, some said he had acquired alien technology, and some said he had a secret weapon to manipulate the global financial market.

However, Tang Ping ignored these speculations. He continued to focus on his "game", constantly recycling equipment and converting wealth in the virtual world into real-world assets.

As Tang Ping's wealth grew, he began to exert a growing influence on the global economy. When he decided to invest in a particular industry, its stock would immediately soar. When he expressed interest in a particular currency, its exchange rate would rapidly increase.

Governments around the world are beginning to realize that Tang Ping's presence is changing the rules of the game in the global economy. They are eager for his support, but also worried about the risks he might bring. Some countries are even considering enacting new laws to deal with this unprecedented situation.

At the same time, Tang Ping began to reflect on his own responsibilities. He realized that the wealth he held was not just a number, but a force that could change the world. He began to consider how to use this wealth to benefit humanity and address global issues such as climate change, poverty, and disease.

However, just as Tang Ping was about to start his charity plan, the game world suddenly changed. Blurred figures began to appear on the originally deserted streets, as if someone was slowly returning to this world.

Tang Ping watched all this in amazement, unsure of what it all meant. His adventure had only just begun, and greater challenges awaited him. In the real world, people were still speculating about the next move of this mysterious world's richest man, wondering how he would change the world.

However, just as he was about to realize his ambition,
The alarm clock rang at an inopportune time!

(End of this chapter)