511: Chapter 56 gave me a huge surprise.

Shen Yan's company.

One week after the Vision Dynamics press conference, they quietly launched their artificial intelligence project—janus.

There was no grand launch event.

No overwhelming publicity.

Just a simple official webpage and a two-hundred-page technical white paper, freely available to industry insiders.

At first, no one took it seriously.

That is, until the country's largest financial data service provider, 'Bluebell,' announced a deep cooperation with 'janus.'

Immediately following that, the nation's top biopharmaceutical laboratory announced the adoption of the 'janus' system to assist in new drug R&D data modeling.

Then came the National Meteorological Center, the urban intelligent traffic dispatch system, the supply chain management for leading e-commerce platforms...

One heavyweight application scenario after another was disclosed.

The entire industry was shaken.

'janus' demonstrated a fundamental logical architecture never seen before.

It was unlike any mainstream Artificial Intelligence on the market.

It was more like a nascent brain with infinite potential, capable of ultra-high-speed self-learning and evolution based on the knowledge bases of different fields.

It wasn't breaking a single technological barrier.

It was shattering people's traditional perception of the concept of Artificial Intelligence.

This was a truly epoch-making product.

The tycoons of the industry began frantically investigating the background of this obscure company.

They investigated the man named Shen Yan.

Legends about him began circulating in various private cocktail parties and forums.

Some said he had powerful backing.

Some said he received technical support from a mysterious overseas laboratory.

Even more claimed he was simply not a normal person.

And as the sole angel investor in the 'janus' project, An Ran and her venture capital firm achieved instant legendary status.

Even though the contract stipulated she only received forty percent of the project's profit dividends.

The first quarter's earnings that hit her account—that nine-figure sum—was enough to make the financial magnates of S City green with envy.

An Ran sat in her office, looking at the long string of zeros that had appeared in her account, feeling what it meant to have difficulty breathing for the first time.

She dialed Shen Yan's number.

"Mr. Shen, janus... is terrifying."

"You truly gave me such a big surprise."

On the other end of the line, Shen Yan's voice was as calm as ever.

"This is just the beginning."

Shen Yan himself had no interest in the external praise and legends.

He was currently on a high-speed train heading to T City.

The scenery outside the window rushed backward.

His fingers tapped out lines of new code on his laptop keyboard.

On the screen was the sketch for the core architecture of 'janus' Generation Two.

He was going to T City to check on the renovation progress of the new office building.

That was the new home he had prepared for the 'janus' project team.

An entire large flat-floor unit located in the core area of T City's High-tech Development Zone.

He planned to spin off the artificial intelligence project entirely, establishing a Branch Company specializing in this field.

T City was the starting point he had chosen.

An hour later, the high-speed train arrived at the station.

Shen Yan stepped out of the station, and a black mercedes-benz commercial van was already waiting by the roadside.

The driver was the CEO of the decoration company, Feng Yuanshan.

The very Feng Yuanshan from Yuanshan Heavy Industry.

Since the last financing incident, Feng Yuanshan had regarded Shen Yan as a savior, like a reborn parent.

He personally oversaw all infrastructure and decoration work for Shen Yan's company.

"Mr. Shen, you've arrived."

Feng Yuanshan opened the car door, but his face showed unconcealed worry.

"Mm."

Shen Yan nodded, got in, and asked, "Has the progress slowed down?"

Feng Yuanshan started the car and sighed.

"Mr. Shen, I apologize. It's my fault."

"Speak."

Shen Yan was concise.

"We ran into some trouble during the renovation..."

Feng Yuanshan gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"In that building, there is a local thug named Brother Bao who keeps bringing people around to cause trouble."

"One day he says we are disturbing the peace with noise, the next day he says our construction is blocking the road, and the day after that he claims some of our workers aren't locals and demands to check their temporary residence permits."

"He has forced us to stop work seven or eight times using various excuses."

"I've given him money, I've called in favors, but nothing works. He's determined not to let us work smoothly."

Feng Yuanshan's tone was filled with helplessness and frustration.

"What does he want?"

Shen Yan asked.

"He wants his construction team to take over all our auxiliary material supply and earthwork contracts. That's outright robbery, Mr. Shen! Their materials wouldn't even pass quality inspection. How dare I use them on your project?"

Shen Yan said nothing more, merely leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes.

The atmosphere in the car became somewhat oppressive.

Feng Yuanshan secretly glanced at Shen Yan in the rearview mirror, feeling uneasy.

He knew this Mr. Shen had great influence, but a powerful dragon often struggles against local snakes.

T City wasn't a metropolis; these local ruffians were the most troublesome kind.

The car soon arrived at the construction site.

The vast space on the top floor of 'T City Cloud Valley Center' was still just a bare shell.

Several workers were squatting in a corner, smoking, their faces showing the frustration of idleness.

When they saw Feng Yuanshan and Shen Yan enter, they merely lifted their eyelids.

Shen Yan walked around the construction site.

There weren't many building materials piled on the ground.

Many large pieces of equipment were covered in dust sheets, clearly having been idle for some time.

"Where are Brother Bao's men?"

Feng Yuanshan pointed downstairs.

"They are in the teahouse across the street, watching us every day."

Shen Yan walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked down.

Sure enough, in an open-air teahouse across the street, sat several men with buzz cuts and visible tattoos.

The leader, wearing a thick gold chain around his neck, was lounging with one leg crossed over the other, bragging to the man beside him.

That was Brother Bao.

Shen Yan took out his phone.

He didn't call the police.

Nor did he call someone for backup.

He simply scrolled to Ning Ke's number and dialed.

The phone rang once before being picked up.

"Mr. Shen, a rare visitor. "

Ning Ke's voice carried a hint of lazy amusement.

"T City, Cloud Valley Center."

Shen Yan stated the address directly.

"Oh? Is Mr. Shen developing in T City?"

"There's a guy downstairs named Brother Bao. Do you know him?"

Shen Yan's tone betrayed no emotion.

Ning Ke on the other end was silent for two seconds.

"Brother Bao... a rather unremarkable underling of Mei Jinning."

Ning Ke's reply confirmed Shen Yan's suspicion.

It was Chen Wu again.

It seemed the other party was still not giving up on the land they had fought for at the auction.

"Make him disappear."

Shen Yan only said four words.

"Disappear from your construction site, or... disappear from T City?"

Ning Ke's tone became playful.

"You decide."

"I recently acquired another excellent piece of calligraphy and painting. I'll send it over when I have time."

"If something Mr. Shen calls an excellent piece of calligraphy and painting, I trust it must be extraordinary. Thank you in advance."