634: Chapter 629 Losing even one person will have endless consequences

Ning Ke screened out dozens of potential locations.

An abandoned fishing port? Too easy to infiltrate.

A derelict seaside property? Complicated ownership and too many prying eyes.

A deserted island? Logistics and supply would be a monumental challenge.

It wasn't until the deep night of the seventh day that he heard a name from a friend who specialized in bankruptcy liquidations.

"Jingluo Bay."

A name that sounded somewhat artistic but was filled with an ominous aura.

The very next morning, Ning Ke drove over.

The location was on the southeast corner of T City's coastline, a protrusion on the map, surrounded by the sea on three sides.

After driving off the national highway, the car bounced along nearly ten kilometers of dirt road before they saw a stretch of rusty barbed wire fencing.

On the large stone at the entrance, the remnants of the gilded characters "Jingluo Bay International Resort Center" could still be vaguely seen.

Ning Ke got out of the car.

The sea wind howled, carrying the scent of salt and decay.

Everything before him resembled the ruins of modern civilization.

Ten years ago, an out-of-town real estate tycoon had splurged billions to build a top-tier private resort here.

Hotels, villas, a yacht marina, a golf course... the plans were painted as wonderfully as possible.

In the end, the project stalled halfway through when the capital chain broke, the tycoon jumped to his death, and the site was completely abandoned.

The Bank took over the assets, but because the subsequent investment required was too large, coupled with the remote location, no one had shown interest for ten years.

This place had truly become a corner forgotten by the world.

Ning Ke cut the chain lock and walked in.

What greeted his eyes was the main hotel building, thirty stories high, topped out but without glass curtain walls installed.

The gray concrete skeleton stood like a silent behemoth by the sea, its countless empty windows resembling its pitch-black eyes.

Walking further in were over a dozen partially built detached villas, their exposed steel and cement heavily corroded by the sea air.

But Ning Ke's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He walked through the overgrown construction site until he reached the edge of the cliff.

Below him was a sheer drop of several dozen meters.

Waves crashed against the reefs, producing a thunderous roar.

Wasn't this sound exactly the "Sound of Tides" that Fang Zhizhuo wanted?

He looked down and saw a naturally formed, crescent-shaped bay.

The water inside the bay was calm, and a yacht marina, whose framework was already complete, extended forlornly into the sea.

Concealed.

It was too concealed.

Viewed from the sea, the area was perfectly shielded by cliffs and reefs.

Viewed from the land, there was only one rugged dirt road for access.

It was practically a fortress tailor-made for the Spark Laboratory.

The more Ning Ke looked, the more excited he became.

He took out the drone he had prepared long ago and began aerial surveying and mapping of the entire area.

The main hotel building could be converted into researchers' dormitories and offices.

Those derelict villas could serve as independent studios for project teams.

The most crucial part was the massive, three-story underground parking lot beneath the hotel.

Its structure was designed according to the standards for wartime civil defense projects, with wall thicknesses exceeding two meters.

With minor modifications, it would become the world's top, fully enclosed underground laboratory!

As for energy...

Ning Ke's gaze turned to the tireless, surging ocean.

Wasn't Fang Zhizhuo's "Resonant Tidal Energy Matrix" meant to be built in a place just like this?

A perfect site!

However, after the initial excitement, the now-calm Ning Ke also spotted problems.

This land was too "dirty."

He spent an entire afternoon in his car reading all the documents his friend had sent over.

The ownership of the "Jingluo Bay" project was a tangled mess.

The largest creditors were three inter-provincial Banks.

Below them were hundreds of material suppliers and engineering teams, large and small, with outstanding debts.

What was even more troublesome was that the local strongman, Qin Wuwei, had also sunk his claws into this deal.

When the project failed, Qin Wuwei used violent means to 'acquire' the debt claims of several engineering teams at a low price.

Now, he acted as if he were half the owner of this land, treating it as his private warehouse to stash some illicit goods.

To secure this land, they would have to settle all these complex debts in one go.

Missing even one would lead to endless trouble.

It was already deep into the night when Ning Ke returned to Shen Yan's office.

His eye sockets were sunken and bloodshot, but his eyes held a light that bordered on frenzy.

He slammed a thick stack of documents onto Shen Yan's desk.

"I found it."

His voice was hoarse, as if ground by sandpaper.

"Jingluo Bay."

"A fortress tailor-made for you and Professor Fang, but also a quagmire that could drag all of us into hell."

Shen Yan looked up and motioned for him to sit.

Chen Guangke, Shen Yan's childhood friend and right-hand man, silently poured Ning Ke a cup of hot water.

Chen Guangke had come to T City a while ago after learning Shen Yan was coming. Wu Ya was busy, leaving him as the only one with free time.

Ning Ke didn't touch the water; he immediately spread out the aerial photos and structural diagrams of Jingluo Bay.

"I won't elaborate on the advantages; you'll know when you see them."

His finger traced across the blueprints.

"Three sides surrounded by the sea, natural cliff defenses, only one entrance—easy to defend and hard to attack."

"The derelict main building and villa clusters save us a huge amount of preliminary infrastructure work."

"The most crucial part is this."

His finger heavily tapped the cross-section diagram of the underground parking lot.

"A three-story underground structure built to wartime civil defense standards, with two-meter-thick reinforced concrete walls. Once the entrances are sealed, even if the outside is carpet-bombed, the people inside can calmly drink coffee."

"The natural crescent bay provides convenient access for secretly transporting materials and large equipment by sea."

"The surging tides are practically a natural testing ground prepared for Professor Fang's energy matrix."

Ning Ke looked up, staring intently at Shen Yan.

"A perfect, forgotten corner of the world."

"Now, let's talk about the disadvantages."

His tone suddenly became grave.

"Or rather, the troubles."

"First, the ownership."

Ning Ke pulled out three documents and threw them on the desk.

"The three major Banks: Shengtong, Huaye, and Xingtai—all inter-provincial. They are the biggest creditors, holding ninety percent of Jingluo Bay's debt claims. The procedures are complex, the process is long, and dealing with them, you won't even meet a decision-maker for a year or a year and a half."

"Second, the small shareholders."

He threw down another thick stack of names.

"One hundred and seventeen material suppliers and engineering teams. They lost everything when the project failed. For the past decade, they’ve been like sharks smelling blood. The moment Jingluo Bay shows any sign of life, they will swarm in and tear us to shreds. If one is handled improperly, it becomes a mass incident, exposed by the media. By then, the Yongsheng Group won't even need to act; public opinion alone can crush us."