341: Chapter 341 The Mastermind

Just as Chen Guangke was about to press further, Shen Yan stopped him.

"Alright, no need to say more. Once they finish the resignation process, let them go."

Hearing this, Chen Guangke's eyes widened.

"Are you insane?!"

"This is the critical moment for wrapping up. If we let them go now, what about the first phase of our project?!"

Shen Yan patted Chen Guangke's shoulder.

"They have already made up their minds to leave. Forcing them to stay is useless. Hurry up and complete the procedures. We'll deal with what comes next later."

Chen Guangke had no choice but to obey Shen Yan's order.

He reluctantly helped these people process their departure paperwork.

After it was done, he threatened each of them one by one.

"It's best if I never see you again. If I do, I'll beat you up every time."

"I won't let you go until I've beaten you so badly you can't even speak!"

Because his expression was particularly fierce when making threats, those people dared not meet his gaze. They could only lower their heads, tuck their tails, and scurry out of the lab.

It wasn't until the figures of those people completely disappeared from the lab that Chen Guangke dropped the look on his face that suggested he wanted to eat them all.

"Okay, everyone is gone now. What do you say we do next?"

Hearing the question, Shen Yan pulled out a chair and sat down beside him.

"You go check what research talents are available on the market..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yuan interjected from the side, "It's impossible to recruit any good research talent at a time like this."

"Moreover, I think letting them go just like that carries a certain risk. Although those people have signed confidentiality agreements with us, what if they yield to money and leak some of the confidential data from the project?"

Shen Yan looked at Jiang Yuan with some surprise.

He never expected that Jiang Yuan, whose mind was entirely filled with Artificial Intelligence, could actually consider this matter for him.

It wasn't just him who had this thought; Chen Guangke did too. He poked Jiang Yuan's cheek with his finger, then asked him with a serious expression, "Did you secretly upgrade your brain behind our backs?"

Jiang Yuan looked utterly confused.

"What are you talking about?"

Chen Guangke laughed and replied, "Because you never considered these things before; you just buried your head in the project work."

"But what you said makes sense. I think we must take precautions and not let them leak our confidential data just for a little bit of money."

Shen Yan, however, wasn't as anxious as they were.

The first phase of the project wasn't even finished yet.

Even if they had access to some confidential data, it was all incomplete project material. Even if it leaked, it wouldn't cause any major waves.

"Don't be so anxious. They just want to earn a bit more money; they don't want to go to jail."

"The most important thing right now is to recruit people first, and then catch the person stirring up trouble behind the scenes."

Speaking of this, Shen Yan suddenly recalled the special mission the tycoon system had suddenly given him.

He knew that the tycoon system now only issued missions that were closely related to his real-life situation.

He had reason to suspect that the person stirring up trouble behind the scenes was Gu Xuantian.

Thinking this, he turned to Chen Guangke and asked, "Do you think the person stirring up trouble behind the scenes could be Gu Xuantian?"

Because the name hadn't appeared for a long time, Chen Guangke couldn't recall who this person was for a moment.

After a while, he remembered the man in his memory who was dressed like a flamingo in the company lobby.

"You mean that man covered in bright colors?!"

Hearing the question, Shen Yan stifled a laugh and nodded.

"That's right, him. Do you think he could have done it?"

The young man looked completely bewildered. He didn't know how this matter became linked to Gu Xuantian.

However, he felt that what Shen Yan said wasn't entirely unreasonable.

After all, Gu Xuantian had made threats against them before he left.

Although if it were him, the time elapsed was a bit too long, the possibility that the other party was behind the scheme couldn't be ruled out.

"It's possible, but we might need to first go and gauge the sentiment among those labs."

Shen Yan nodded in agreement.

Since most of the people in Jiang Yuan's team had left, the project progress was severely delayed.

Shen Yan and Chen Guangke didn't want to stay in the lab and be an eyesore.

So, they left the lab not long after.

After leaving the lab, Chen Guangke immediately started calling people he knew, asking them to inquire about the sentiment in those labs.

"What? You didn't find out anything?"

"Fine, fine, I get it. Thanks!"

After making several calls in a row, Chen Guangke hit a dead end every time.

He said dejectedly to Shen Yan, "I can't find anything out. What should we do?"

Compared to Chen Guangke, Shen Yan's mood was remarkably calm. He replied to Chen Guangke, "It's fine. The more you can't find out, the more it proves that this matter is inseparable from Gu Corporation."

Chen Guangke tilted his head.

"You mean this was done by Gu Hui?"

Shen Yan shook his head.

"I just said this matter is inseparable from Gu Corporation; I didn't say who did it. However... if this matter was truly done by Gu Xuantian, then it's also inseparable from Gu Hui."

Chen Guangke felt a little dizzy from being led around by him.

"Wait, I don't quite understand what you mean."

Shen Yan patiently analyzed it for him step by step.

"Didn't I refuse Gu Hui's cooperation request a couple of days ago?"

"I think it's very possible he's retaliating against us because of this matter."

Chen Guangke nodded in agreement.

"That's right. With Gu Corporation's power, it's definitely possible for them to mobilize several labs simultaneously to poach our people."

"So what do we do now? Are we just supposed to silently swallow this loss?"

Shen Yan chuckled.

"You haven't even heard me finish my analysis yet."

"What I mean is, Gu Hui might be retaliating against us for this, but I didn't say he definitely did it."

"Although I already rejected the cooperation request Gu Hui put forward, I don't think he would give up so easily."

"Didn't we offend Gu Xuantian before?"

"If Gu Xuantian approached him at this time and said he could help teach us a lesson, what would Gu Hui's attitude be?"

Chen Guangke thought seriously for a moment and replied, "Well, he'd certainly be delighted! If someone helps him teach us a lesson, he'd be happy enough!"

Shen Yan nodded and continued, "Then, if he still holds out hope and wants to resume cooperation talks with us, how would he speak to Gu Xuantian?"