213: Chapter 213 No Upper Limit

Chen Guangke's startled cry rang out from the phone.

"You went to see Chen Ling?!"

"Why did you go see her! Someone like that wretched woman deserves to die, good riddance! You must not go soft-hearted!"

Shen Yan tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, "I didn't go soft-hearted; she asked me to come over in Youyou's name."

Hearing the reply, Chen Guangke breathed a sigh of relief.

"It’s good that you didn’t go soft-hearted. That wretched woman really still has her usual style. The moment something happens, she thinks of you, and the moment she needs your help, she uses Youyou's name!"

"Forget it, I don't want to mention her. I called to tell you that I've finished everything you asked me to do."

"But... are you sure this will really work?"

Faced with Chen Guangke's suspicion, Shen Yan replied, "Whether it works or not, we have to try to know. Just do exactly as I say."

Since he put it that way, what else could Chen Guangke say?

"Fine, then I'll do as you say. Okay, hurry back. There are still many things at the company that need your attention and your stamp; don't slack off outside!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Yan chuckled lightly.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm coming back right now."

With that, he hung up the phone, tossed all the previous images out of his mind, stepped on the accelerator, and headed toward the company.

Back at the company, just as he reached his office, Chen Guangke impatiently knocked on his door.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The knocking was rapid and fierce.

Just as Shen Yan was about to say, "Come in," the person outside impatiently opened the door directly.

"Old Shen!!!"

Seeing how anxious Guangke was, Shen Yan narrowed his eyes, put down the pen in his hand, crossed his legs, and asked him leisurely, "What's wrong?"

"Slap!"

Chen Guangke slapped the stack of receipts, piled as high as a hardback edition of Harry Potter, onto Shen Yan's desk and exclaimed, "And you still have the nerve to ask what's wrong? What are these things?!"

Shen Yan knew these receipts were from Jiang Yuan's side without even looking. He cleared his throat and said to Chen Guangke, "These are all essential tools for the laboratory, and they are an indispensable part of their scientific research..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Guangke waved his hand and said, "Don't give me these fancy words. I just want to ask you, how much budget did you allocate to them?"

Shen Yan guiltily touched his nose.

"The budget, well... it's meant to be looked at. If they want something, can we really refuse to give it to them?"

Chen Guangke asked again through gritted teeth, "I'm asking you! How much budget did you allocate to them?!"

Shen Yan sighed.

"...No ceiling."

This statement nearly made Chen Guangke spit blood from anger.

He walked over, grabbed Shen Yan's collar, shook him violently, and asked, "What are you thinking about all day? Our company isn't some money tree! Where are we supposed to get that much money to cover so many expensive disposable items for their work!"

At this point, Chen Guangke was almost crying.

He released the hand holding Shen Yan's collar and pointed a trembling finger at the stack of receipts next to him, "Do you know how much these things add up to?"

Shen Yan blinked and tentatively asked, "About... twenty million?"

Chen Guangke held up a number six with his still-shaking hand.

"Sixty million! That's sixty million!"

"You tell me! Where are we supposed to conjure up that much money to fill this hole!"

Hearing the amount, Shen Yan was stunned. He hadn't expected Jiang Yuan to use that much money.

"How could it be this much?"

Hearing the question, Chen Guangke gritted his teeth, rushed to the pile of receipts, and separated them one by one in front of Shen Yan.

"Look for yourself what they bought!"

Shen Yan looked down and saw that the prices marked on these receipts were basically never below seven figures.

"Are these all research tools for the laboratory?"

Chen Guangke nodded.

"If it were just these, fine, but the key is there are also these expensive and non-durable disposable items!"

He separated the remaining receipts and placed them in front of Shen Yan again.

"Old Shen, can you please notify me before making decisions like this?"

"If Finance hadn't come to find me just now, I wouldn't have known you told them to directly approve the funding applications for the lab."

"Now, the funds on our company's books are basically depleted by them. Tell me, what are we going to do now!"

After shouting, Chen Guangke slumped onto the office chair from exhaustion.

He knew before that the Artificial Intelligence project was very costly, but he didn't expect it to burn through money this fast.

Just a few research supplies had directly burned through tens of millions for them.

Although these tools were all necessities, he couldn't help but feel the pinch.

Originally, he had hoped that the people in the laboratory would be more economical with things other than the necessary tools.

Now it seemed those researchers were incredibly extravagant!

It was bad enough that the things they bought were expensive, but the key was the sheer quantity they bought!

Seeing Chen Guangke looking utterly dejected, Shen Yan stood up, patted his shoulder, and said, "Actually, you don't need to be so desperate. Where there's life, there's hope; when the boat reaches the mountain stream..."

Before he could finish quoting the ancient poetry, Chen Guangke kicked him directly and asked, "Stop spouting all that nonsense. Just tell me directly, what exactly are we going to do next?"

Shen Yan cleared his throat and replied, "Didn't I tell you before? We can find someone to invest in our project."

Chen Guangke snorted and said, "You did mention it before, and that method is indeed feasible. The key is whether there is some idiot willing to actually invest in our project."

Shen Yan lifted his leg and sat directly on the desk.

"The banquet is the day after tomorrow. As long as my plan doesn't go wrong, we will definitely find someone willing to invest in our project."

Chen Guangke was highly skeptical of Shen Yan's so-called plan.

"Are you sure that damn plan of yours is actually useful?"

"Why does it feel so sketchy..."

Shen Yan made a "tsk" sound and said, "Don't talk nonsense, my plan is clearly excellent!"

Chen Guangke closed his mouth, but the doubt in his heart was not dispelled in the slightest.

Seeing that he was still full of suspicion, Shen Yan sighed and tapped Chen Guangke with his foot, saying, "Don't worry. Even if we can't secure investment at the banquet, I have other ways to get money."

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangke immediately perked up. He asked Shen Yan excitedly, "You have another way? What way! Tell me quickly!"

Shen Yan raised his hand and pushed Chen Guangke's leaning-in head away.

"I don't want to use this method lightly unless we are at the point of complete destitution."