602: Chapter 597 A Man Who Creates Miracles

Old Zhou turned around.

His face was etched with the ravages of time.

But those eyes were still sharp.

Like an eagle's.

"China Mining Group organized expert teams to enter Xilikeke three times."

"The first time, they went and never returned."

"The second time, more than half were lost, and they returned empty-handed."

"The third time, even with military escort, they only dared to circle the periphery."

"In that place, there is nothing but ice, rock, and wind that can crack steel."

Old Zhou walked behind his desk and sat down.

He pointed to the chair opposite him.

"Sit down."

Shen Yan sat down.

"Now, tell me, why do you want to go?"

Old Zhou looked at him.

"You're a high-tech guy. Instead of staying in your office building typing code, why are you running off to a place like that? What are you after?"

Shen Yan did not answer.

He took out a tablet computer from his briefcase.

And pushed it toward Old Zhou.

He opened a program.

On the screen, a complex three-dimensional geological model appeared.

The terrain of the model was precisely the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Xilikeke no-man's-land.

"This is an Artificial Intelligence system developed by my company."

Shen Yan's voice was very calm.

"I call it 'shanhe system'."

"Over the past three months, 'pangu' has integrated all public data regarding that area from the last thirty years, compiled by China's meteorological, geological, and remote sensing departments."

"This includes records of every seismic wave, every satellite cloud image, and every electromagnetic spectrum analysis report."

Old Zhou's expression changed for the first time.

It was no longer scrutiny.

It was curiosity.

Shen Yan's fingers swept across the screen.

The three-dimensional model began to rotate and zoom in.

The surface was peeled away layer by layer,

Revealing the geological structure beneath.

"'shanhe system', through deep learning and cross-referencing, has eliminated ninety-nine point nine percent of the interference information."

"Finally, it discovered an unexplainable gravitational anomaly point deep within the Lun Kun mountain range, at coordinates East XX, North XX."

The model finally locked in place.

A red dot flickered deep within the Earth's crust.

"According to the model's preliminary calculation, this anomaly point has a seventy-three percent probability of being a super-large metallic ore deposit."

Old Zhou remained silent.

He just stared at the red dot.

The office fell into a long silence.

Only the faint whirring sound of the computer's cooling fan could be heard.

After a long while,

Old Zhou finally looked up.

"This is just a conjecture made by your Artificial Intelligence."

"Correct."

"You must understand that approving a team to enter a life-prohibited zone based only on a conjecture requires bearing enormous risk."

"I understand."

Shen Yan nodded.

"Therefore, all expenses and all risks for this exploration will be borne by me personally."

"All geological data obtained from the exploration will be shared completely and free of charge with the National Strategic Resource Database."

"I do not require a single penny of investment from the state, nor the support of a single person."

"I only need one exploration permit."

Shen Yan looked at Old Zhou.

"If there really is an ore deposit there,"

"I want the exclusive mining rights for that area for the next twenty years."

Old Zhou laughed.

He laughed heartily.

"Quite the appetite."

He took out a document from his drawer.

And threw it onto the desk.

"This is the fourth exploration proposal for the Xilikeke area from China Mining Group."

"They also discovered that gravitational anomaly point."

"Their plan is for the state to take the lead, uniting ten major state-owned enterprises, investing one hundred billion yuan, and conducting a comprehensive sweep exploration over five years."

Old Zhou leaned back in his chair.

"Now, tell me, why should I reject them and give this opportunity to you, a private entrepreneur?"

Shen Yan did not look at the proposal.

His expression did not change at all.

It was as if what Old Zhou said was something irrelevant to him.

"Because they need five years."

"And I only need thirty days."

"They need one hundred billion yuan."

"And I only need a single piece of paper."

"Most importantly,"

Shen Yan paused.

"What they explore belongs to the state."

"And what I explore also belongs to the state."

He turned the tablet computer towards Old Zhou.

On the screen was a new document.

["Letter of Intent for Cooperation on Establishing 'China Strategic Resource Development (Qinghai-Tibet) Joint Venture Co., Ltd.'"]

The content of the letter of intent was very simple.

Shen Yan provided the technology, the capital, the personnel, and assumed all the risk.

If the exploration was successful,

The newly established joint venture company would have the state contribute technology as equity, holding a fifty-one percent non-dilutive stake.

And he would only hold forty-nine percent,

While retaining management rights for the first twenty years.

Old Zhou looked at this letter of intent.

The smile on his face slowly disappeared.

He re-examined the young man before him.

He had initially thought,

This was a capitalist full of ambition and drive.

Now he realized.

He was wrong.

This was a strategist who understood sharing and who understood reverence.

He wasn't aiming for a monopoly.

He was aiming for an alliance.

He wanted to firmly tie his chariot to the most powerful machine: the state.

Old Zhou picked up the red phone on his desk.

He dialed a number.

"Please invite General Manager Liu of China Mining to my office."

Ten minutes later,

A portly man pushed open the door.

It was General Manager Liu, the person in charge of China Mining.

He saw Shen Yan and froze for a moment.

Immediately after, a trace of disdain appeared on his face.

Old Zhou pushed Shen Yan's letter of intent over.

"General Manager Liu, take a look."

General Manager Liu picked up the letter of intent.

He only glanced at it twice.

His expression changed.

From disdain to shock.

And then, to anger.

"Old Zhou! This is nonsense!"

"You're handing over state strategic resource development to a private enterprise? And one dealing in the internet?"

"Do they know anything about exploration? About mining?"

"This is trifling with the future of the country!"

General Manager Liu's voice was loud.

Echoing in the empty office.

Shen Yan never looked at him once.

Old Zhou also remained silent.

He just watched General Manager Liu.

Quietly watching.

General Manager Liu's voice gradually quieted down.

He felt pressure.

An invisible, immense pressure.

"Old Zhou, what I mean is... this matter requires long-term consideration."

Old Zhou picked up a pen.

And signed his name on the exploration application Shen Yan had brought.

Then,

He took out a heavy seal engraved with the national emblem from his drawer.

And stamped it down forcefully.

The red ink pad landed on the white paper.

As vivid as blood.

"No need."

Old Zhou pushed the document toward Shen Yan.

"Thirty days from now,"

"I expect to see your report."

Shen Yan picked up the document.

And stood up.

He nodded slightly towards Old Zhou.

Then he turned and left.

From beginning to end,

He didn't look at General Manager Liu again.

As if this person simply did not exist.

The door closed again.

Only Old Zhou and the ashen-faced General Manager Liu remained in the office.

General Manager Liu did not understand.

He could not figure it out.

"Why?"

Old Zhou stood up and walked back to the map.

His finger pointed to the location of Hong Kong City.

"A month ago, Ocean Shipping changed ownership."

He then pointed to a spot in the Central China region.

"Half a month ago, Huafang Group, which had been losing money for three consecutive years, received the largest technology investment in history, at zero cost."

His finger finally landed on the capital.

"Just yesterday, Phantom Feather Studio, a gaming team on the verge of bankruptcy, announced it was wholly acquired and would reconstruct its dream using a brand-new Artificial Intelligence engine."

Old Zhou turned back and looked at General Manager Liu.

"These three incidents are all related to the young man who just left."

"General Manager Liu, the times have changed."

"Sometimes, what we need is not a foolproof plan."

"But a person who can create miracles."