562: Chapter 557 The Long-Awaited Warmth of Home

Xia Xue quickly replied, "Reporting, President Shen, to handle emergencies, we have always reserved thirty percent of our backup computing power, which can be called upon at any time."

Shen Yan gave a hum of acknowledgment.

Everyone thought he was finished with his questions.

That he would choose between these two proposals.

However, Shen Yan leaned forward slightly.

He looked at this group of top-tier minds who were almost at each other's throats and asked one final question that seemed completely irrelevant to everything else.

"When was the last time you all ate a meal together?"

The entire laboratory fell into a deathly silence.

This question was like a stone thrown into a deep pond; it didn't create a splash, only leaving behind ripples of silence.

Dead silence.

A silence even more terrifying than during the confrontation just now.

Engineer He’s mouth hung half-open, as if he were seeing this young man for the first time.

The arrogance on Ben's face completely froze, then turned into a look of absurd bewilderment.

"Are you joking?"

He blurted out almost instinctively.

"President Shen, we are currently discussing a project worth billions, a technical route that concerns the future of the company..."

In the lab, all the researchers looked at each other, their minds filled with question marks.

Eating?

What does this have to do with eating?

Only Chen Guangke, standing behind Shen Yan, seemed to have a faint, almost imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth.

He knew the real show was about to begin.

Xia Xue was also stunned by the sudden question, but she instinctively flipped through her work logs.

Her voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

"Reporting, President Shen... The last time was three months ago, at the welcome dinner when Ben and the other three first joined."

Three months.

A welcome dinner.

These two phrases were like two silent slaps across the faces of Engineer He and Ben.

Shen Yan finally retracted his fingers from tapping the table.

He stood up and looked around at this group of geniuses with superior IQs but questionable EQs.

"You think I'm joking with you?"

His voice was calm, yet it made Ben instinctively shut his mouth.

"Engineer He, your proposal requires seventy percent of the computing power and runs for seventy-two hours."

"Ben, your proposal requires one hundred percent of the computing power and runs for four hours at a time."

"Our backup computing power is thirty percent."

Shen Yan's gaze moved back and forth between the two.

"I'm asking you, if Engineer He's plan hits a theoretical wall at the seventieth hour and the data model completely collapses—could you, Ben, and the team in your hands, use your radical algorithm to salvage even a bit of useful data from the ruins in the remaining two hours?"

Ben's face turned pale.

Shen Yan didn't stop; he turned to Engineer He.

"Similarly, if Ben's algorithm causes a server crash and system overload in the first cycle—could you, Engineer He, and the team behind you, rely on your rich experience to build a temporary security channel within twenty-four hours and fish out the core data?"

Engineer He's lips began to tremble.

Shen Yan's voice suddenly grew cold.

"You're all only thinking about proving yourselves right and the other party wrong."

"But you've never considered that your biggest trump card isn't that thirty percent backup computing power in the servers."

"It's the colleague standing right across from you, the one you'd love to kick out!"

"If a team can't even share a meal together, how would I dare bet the company's future on any one of you?"

"One of your proposals is like driving a car at 180 miles per hour, and the other is like pushing it along cautiously. But you've both forgotten to ask how much gas is in the tank, how thick the brake pads are, and whether the other driver can take over for you when you're driving tired!"

"I invested billions not for you to play office politics in my lab, nor to draw lines in the sand!"

"Your enemies are in Boston, in Silicon Valley, in Tel Aviv! They're just waiting for us to consume ourselves in internal strife, wishing we'd argue even more fiercely!"

"Instead of standing here like fools, pointing fingers at your own comrades!"

His words were like knives, each sentence cutting to the heart.

The entire lab was so quiet a pin drop could be heard.

The two groups that had been at each other's throats just moments ago now lowered their heads.

Their faces burned with heat.

It was a sense of shame, a feeling of utter humiliation from being completely woken up to the reality.

Indeed.

They were arguing over whose weapon was better, forgetting they were soldiers in the same trench.

Engineer He was the first to break the silence.

The stubborn old man bowed deeply toward Ben.

"I'm sorry."

His voice was hoarse and trembling.

"It was my stubbornness and my arrogance as a senior that caused today's situation. I... I apologize to you."

Ben was jolted.

He looked at the white-haired old man before him, and the previous contempt and disdain were gone.

The pride on his face was replaced by a more complex emotion.

He also bowed awkwardly to Engineer He.

"No... it's my fault. I was too young, too arrogant, and didn't respect your experience... I'm sorry, Engineer He."

Two hands met in mid-air; it was a bit awkward, but they finally shook.

The surrounding researchers, both middle-aged and young, felt a surge of warmth in their eyes.

Shen Yan watching this, the frost on his face finally melted a little.

He suddenly smiled.

"It seems I not only have to pay your salaries but also have to teach you how to eat together."

This joke caused the tense atmosphere to relax instantly.

Many people let out good-natured laughs.

"Alright."

Shen Yan clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Look at you all, your nerves are wound as tight as piano strings; they'll snap sooner or later."

"Pass the word: everyone who doesn't have an urgent task on hand is off duty now."

"In half an hour, at 'Hanhai Restaurant' downstairs, it's my treat."

"Everyone go."

Having said that, he didn't look back and turned around.

"Guang Ke, let's go."

Chen Guangke followed with a smile, and the two entered that exclusive elevator once again.

The elevator doors closed slowly.

In the lab, the invisible wall from before had vanished into thin air.

Some began picking up blueprints from the floor, while others silently plugged the power cord back in.

Ben walked over to Engineer He and spoke somewhat sheepishly.

"Engineer He, regarding the reverse calculation of that 'Quantum State Spin Conjugation,' I think my Tide Algorithm might be able to serve as an auxiliary module, compressing the calculation time by twenty percent without increasing risk..."

Engineer He's eyes lit up.

"Oh? Let's hear it..."

Half an hour later.

The largest private room in Hanhai Restaurant was brightly lit.

Dozens of top-tier minds sat around a huge circular table for the first time, like a family.

At the table, glasses clinked and laughter filled the air.

That long-awaited sense of liveliness belonging to the Research Team had returned.