102: Chapter 103 The Unreserved Kindness of a Lucky Koi: She Traded Billions in Cash for a Moment of Tenderness

Thinking of the terrifying expenses he was about to face, Shen Du's mood, which had been exhilarated by acquiring the black technology, was instantly pulled back into the cruel reality.

Shen Du turned around and walked quickly to his desk.

His slender fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, pulling up the balance sheet for Jiyuan Technology.

Looking at the glaring red data on the screen, this business tycoon, who had just been crowned king in the trade war and could mobilize massive amounts of traffic with a snap of his fingers, furrowed his brows tighter and tighter, finally sighing helplessly.

Hardcore technology R&D is never like hosting a dinner party.

It is a super money-devouring beast built with cold, hard cash!

The system had sent these six god-tier geniuses over.

After they arrived, not only did he have to arrange absolutely secure housing for them, but he also had to build a top-tier laboratory for them within a week and procure various high-precision industrial machine tools.

"Top foreign geeks, an independent R&D team, plus heaven-defying projects like the Lithography Machine and chip architecture...

Initial equipment modification fees, consumable costs, secret base construction fees.

All told, I'll need to pour in at least a solid billion in cold, hard cash just for the first month!"

Shen Du massaged his throbbing temples.

But when his gaze fell upon the column for the company's working capital, his heart sank to the bottom.

180 million RMB.

This was all the liquid cash Jiyuan Technology had on its books that could be mobilized after going through that brutal ten-billion-level slaughter and bleeding out from crazily subsidizing users across the entire network.

For ordinary people, this is an astronomical fortune that would last a lifetime.

But for semiconductor and Lithography Machine R&D, which burns money like water, this amount isn't even enough to fill the gaps between one's teeth!

"I can't take out a bank loan."

Shen Du's eyes were cold as he directly dismissed this most conventional channel.

Bank loans not only had cumbersome approval processes that often took two or three months.

They would also subject the flow of funds and the R&D projects to a deep-digging political and commercial review.

Before he could produce physical prototypes of MR-Litho and QW-SOI.

If the banks or the outside world discovered that he was secretly developing such core technologies capable of overturning the Western order, he would be met with destructive, all-out blockades and obstruction from multinational giants.

"Although Meituan still has a few hundred million in stagnant funds.

That is life-saving money used to maintain the massive operations of Meituan's logistics and the wages of the grassroots riders.

If I were to drain the pond to catch the fish and pull all of it out now.

The entire Meituan operational system would instantly collapse; that is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, and it is absolutely not feasible."

Shen Du's gaze slowly swept over several names in his phone's contact list.

Wu Tianheng, Zhou Zhenghai, Zhu Qingshan...

These three old-money families of the Yangtze River Delta were undoubtedly powerful.

However, in the recently concluded trade war.

In order to provide a safety net for Shen Du, the three families had forcibly drained their family coffers, pouring in over 600 million USD in pure cash flow.

Right now, they were also gritting their teeth to handle the financial aftermath within their families; they hadn't even caught their breath yet.

If he were to rashly ask to borrow billions of RMB from them at this time.

It would not only look greedy and abrupt.

It might even cause a crack in the trust of the Shanghai Business Alliance that had been established with such difficulty.

"It's easy to find a thousand soldiers, but hard to find a single blade.

Holding two nuclear-level swords capable of severing the altars of the gods, yet I don't have the damn firewood to light the fire..."

Shen Du looked at the empty financial statement and self-deprecatingly sighed in helplessness.

Just as he was at a loss, the private phone in the corner of his desk, which rarely rang, suddenly lit up.

Shen Du's gaze fell onto the phone screen, and a flash of insight bolted through his mind.

His eyes instantly locked onto a special name in his contact list that he hadn't dialed in a long time.

In this brutal trade war that caused all the old-money families of the Yangtze River Delta to hemorrhage money and forced him to pour in 500 million USD himself.

Almost everyone was losing money.

But there was one exception.

Under the absolute umbrella of "zero commission and massive subsidized traffic" that Shen Du had personally opened.

She had faced the gale of capital and completed an unimaginable leap in wealth class.

That peerless koi who held over a billion in cash flow and had fallen right into a rice bin—the livestream queen, Red Phoenix.

Shen Du stared at that name for a long time, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

Finally, carrying a hint of heartache, a hint of reluctance, and deep guilt, he slowly reached out and dialed the number he hadn't proactively contacted in nearly half a year.

"Beep—beep—"

The phone only rang twice before it was instantly answered.

From the other end of the receiver came the sound of faint, rapid breathing, but no one spoke first for a long time.

Throughout this six-month-long, brutal trade war, Red Phoenix had been sensible.

As a woman who had just tasted the sweetness of love and was completely head-over-heels, she had forcibly suppressed all the longing and grievances in her heart.

In order not to disturb any of Shen Du's strategic decisions on that man-eating battlefield.

She hadn't even dared to send a single text message of concern over the past six months.

She had just been left quietly on the sidelines.

In truth, the longing and yearning in her heart had long been on the verge of bursting.

"Hello, Phoenix, are you free lately?"

Shen Du spoke softly, his deep voice carrying a hint of tenderness and deep guilt that even he hadn't realized.

Hearing this voice that haunted her dreams, Red Phoenix on the other end of the line forcibly steadied her rapidly heaving chest.

She swallowed the grievance of being neglected, her tone filled with deep attachment:

"Of course I'm free... I've been waiting for this call from you for nearly half a year."

"The trade war... is it finally over?"

"Yes, it's finally over."

Shen Du leaned back against the soft chair, a faint smile unconsciously curling the corners of his lips:

"But there are more, and more important, things to do next."

Shen Du didn't beat around the bush.

In front of this woman whom he had personally helped ascend to the altar and with whom he had shared an intimate relationship.

He frankly stated his current predicament: "My funds are very tight right now, and I urgently need your help."

There were no questions about risks, nor any commercial haggling over interest, collateral, or shares.

Red Phoenix on the other end of the line didn't even ask what kind of hole Shen Du needed to fill with this astronomical sum.

Everything she had was thanks to Shen Du.

Facing this man's plea for help, she displayed unreserved devotion, replying affectionately in a soft voice:

"Darling, I have plenty of money right now.

If the one billion in cash flow on the books isn't enough, I'll sell all the fixed assets I've bought recently; I can definitely scrape together over a billion for you."

This was the terrifying confidence of the "Livestream Queen" who had been hand-fed by Shen Du's 500 million USD protective umbrella!

"However..."

Red Phoenix's tone shifted slightly, carrying a hint of coquettishness and pleading that would make one's bones melt:

"If I give all the money to you, you have to satisfy one request of mine."

"Go ahead."

"Stay with me properly for a while... I miss you."

Listening to Red Phoenix, who was willing to exhaust her resources to help him yet only made such a humble request, a warm current suddenly flowed through the bottom of Shen Du's heart.

Since the last time they had engaged in a physical relationship, he had immediately turned and thrown himself into the meat grinder of the trade war; he had indeed neglected her for far, far too long.

Facing this heavy bond of tenderness, the coldness in Shen Du's eyes completely dissipated.

He chuckled and agreed immediately:

"Of course.

I've been keeping my nerves on edge for this entire period.

I am indeed a bit tired; it is time for me to take a good rest for a while."