538: Chapter 533 Working for Dreams

Third floor, VIP lounge.

Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows lay the evening skyline of St. Lo.

After the waiter served the coffee, Shen Yan waved him away.

The soundproof door closed, shutting out all the noise from outside.

Only the faint sound of the coffee machine remained in the room.

Evelyn, Fang Zhizhuo, and Arthur Vance seemed somewhat constrained; they were pure researchers, rarely involved in business negotiations that decided their fate.

Arthur clenched his fists tightly, his insides churning like boiling water.

He held onto a sliver of faint hope, yet feared that this hope would turn into even greater disappointment.

Shen Yan dispensed with any pleasantries.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the setting sun in the distance, speaking as if to himself, yet also posing a question to Arthur.

"Vance Group, founded by your great-grandfather, Old Vance, who made his fortune through post-war infrastructure."

"In your grandfather's generation, the company transitioned into energy and heavy industry, establishing the family's foundation."

"After your father took over, the group's business began to diversify, venturing into finance and real estate, but the core energy sector has been on the decline for the past five years."

With every sentence Shen Yan spoke, Arthur's face grew paler.

None of this was a secret; it could be discovered with a little money.

But what Shen Yan said next made Arthur feel as if he had plunged into an ice cellar.

"There are currently three factions within the Board of Directors."

"The conservative faction, led by your father, advocates for contracting operations and stabilizing the core energy business."

"The radical faction, led by your uncle, Robert Vance, proposes completely divesting from outdated energy assets to fully commit to internet finance."

"And there is a third faction, the old guard; they support neither side, only caring about who can bring the Group higher profits."

Arthur's breathing hitched.

Uncle Robert's ambition was an open secret within the family, but no one had ever dared to speak of it publicly.

Yet Shen Yan had said it.

And he had said it so casually.

"Your father's health is not good. He underwent bypass surgery in Switzerland last year, claiming it was a vacation."

"Robert has been secretly contacting those old guard members, promising that once he takes charge, he will use the profits from internet finance to swap out the depreciating energy stocks they hold."

"And you, the sole legal heir, are completely devoted to what they consider 'clever tricks and strange skills'."

Shen Yan turned around, looking at Arthur, who was too shocked to speak.

"In their eyes, you are not the heir."

"You are an unstable asset that needs to be dealt with."

"They sent you to MIT not to fulfill your dreams."

"It was only to keep you far away from the center of power, making it convenient for Robert to consolidate resources."

"When you've had your fill of playing, they will drag you back, arrange a strategic marriage, and squeeze out your last bit of value."

"Then, they will completely marginalize you."

Evelyn and the other two listened, hearts pounding with fear.

The coldness and cruelty revealed in these words were from a world they had never encountered.

Arthur's body began to tremble slightly.

He always knew the infighting in the family was fierce, but he never imagined that he had been a pawn from the very beginning.

He thought his resistance was a cry for freedom.

It turned out to be just the self-important fluttering of a caged bird.

"You... how do you know all this?"

Arthur's voice trembled.

Some of this intelligence he had only vaguely sensed himself, but it had never been confirmed.

Yet Shen Yan, a Chinese man thousands of miles away, knew the internal affairs of the Vance family like the back of his hand.

"How I know is not important."

Shen Yan walked over and sat opposite him, pouring himself a glass of water.

"What is important is that based on this intelligence, we have a perfect plan to break the stalemate."

He looked into Arthur's eyes.

"A plan that you, and they, cannot refuse."

Arthur suddenly looked up, a spark reigniting in his eyes.

"What plan?"

"Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell."

Shen Yan uttered four words.

"You cannot fight them, because you are their son, the heir. Your resistance is seen as rebellion in their eyes."

"But what if your research is no longer just your personal interest, but a strategic investment for the Vance Group?"

Arthur froze.

"Strategic investment?"

"Exactly."

Shen Yan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, as if tapping out the destiny of a colossal family.

"The Vance Group's predicament is the twilight of the traditional energy industry; they urgently need a new growth point."

"Robert has his eye on internet finance, but that is already a red ocean; if he enters, he will only be a small fish."

"And what does 'Dawn Laboratory' that we developed do?"

"Quantum Chips, the core of the next generation of Artificial Intelligence."

"This is the technological high ground for the next ten, twenty, even fifty years. It is a true blue ocean."

Evelyn's eyes lit up.

She instantly understood Shen Yan's thinking.

"You mean we package 'Dawn Laboratory' as an investment project and sell it to the Vance Group?"

"Not selling."

Shen Yan corrected.

"Cooperation."

"I will prepare a detailed business plan and a technical outlook report."

"The report will clearly state that Quantum Chips will completely overturn all existing industries in the future, including the energy dispatch and financial models that the Vance Group relies on for survival."

"Whoever controls it controls the future."

"Then, the Vance Group, as a strategic investor, will make a symbolic capital injection into 'Dawn Laboratory'."

He held up one finger.

"For example, one hundred million US dollars."

"Using this hundred million to acquire five percent of the non-decision-making equity in the lab."

Arthur's mind raced.

"One hundred million is a drop in the bucket for the entire project, but for the family, this is a tangible investment..."

"Correct."

Shen Yan gave him an approving look.

"This investment means little to us, but it is extraordinarily significant for the Vance Group."

"First, it solves your father's dilemma. Facing Robert's constant pressure, he can present a future industry with more imagination than internet finance, silencing the mouths of the Board of Directors' old guard."

"Second, it addresses Robert's ambition. He can continue with his finance ventures, while your father opens up a new track, creating a temporary balance of power between the two sides."

"The most important point."

Shen Yan looked at Arthur.

"It solves your problem."

"You are no longer the unfilial son who ran away from home."

"You are the representative dispatched by the Vance Group to 'Dawn Laboratory,' the vanguard of the family's foresight in planning for the future."

"Your identity changes from rebel to pioneer."

"Your trip to Country H isn't for your own interests."

"It is to expand territory for the family."

"Not only will they not stop you, but they will even provide you with the best resources, publicly advertising this as an important step for the Vance Group moving toward the future."

"And you will have absolute research freedom within the laboratory."

"In name, you work for the family."

"In reality, you work for your dream."