637: Is Chapter 632 really over?

A cold glint flashed in Shen Yan's eyes.

The System's intelligence was even more fatal than he had anticipated.

A few minutes later, Wu Ya called back, her voice laced with excitement and shock.

"Boss, we struck gold! I briefly hacked into Jingluo Bay's internal surveillance system by tracking one of his subordinate's phone signals. I discovered that the C Zone on the third underground level has its signals physically shielded and is heavily guarded. There's definitely something fishy going on!"

"Well done."

Shen Yan said.

"Compile this information, along with all of Qin Wuwei's case files over the years, into an anonymous tip."

"Send it to whom?"

"The Provincial Department, the Anti-Gang Task Force, Director Wang Zhenhua."

"Director Wang?" Wu Ya hesitated slightly, "He is notoriously incorruptible, but without a solid chain of definitive evidence, he won't make a move easily."

"I will deliver the evidence to him."

Shen Yan hung up the phone and glanced at Chen Guangke beside him.

"Guang Ke, dare to accompany me back to Jingluo Bay one more time?"

Chen Guangke grinned.

"Through fire and sword, just say the word."

That night, the moon was hidden and the wind was high.

Two dark figures slipped silently into the deathly quiet Jingluo Bay like leopards.

Guided by the map provided by the System and the surveillance blind spots mapped out by Wu Ya, Shen Yan and Chen Guangke easily bypassed all visible and hidden sentries, arriving at the entrance to Zone C in the third underground parking level.

A thick steel gate blocked their path.

"My turn."

Chen Guangke took out a professional set of lock-picking tools from his backpack.

But Shen Yan simply walked over to a nearby fire hose cabinet, opened it, and retrieved a fire axe from inside.

"No need for all that trouble."

He weighed the axe in his hand and brought it down hard onto the electronic control panel next to the door lock!

A harsh alarm instantly echoed throughout the entire underground space.

"Go!"

Shen Yan kicked open the now-disabled electronic door, and the two flashed inside.

Countless footsteps and angry roars came from all directions.

They didn't linger to fight, heading straight for Storage Room 37.

Along the way, every thug who tried to block them was taken down by Chen Guangke in the most concise and efficient manner.

Kicking open the door to 37, a massive safe appeared before them.

Shen Yan quickly entered the password and opened the door. A black laptop lay quietly inside.

He didn't have time to power it on and verify it.

"Guang Ke, cover me!"

Shen Yan snatched the computer and turned to run.

At this moment, the entire C Zone had descended into chaos.

Dozens of thugs armed with clubs and machetes surrounded them.

"Shen Yan, you're courting death!"

A heavily built man with a brutish face roared and charged over.

Shen Yan's gaze turned cold; instead of retreating, he advanced, sidestepping the incoming machete slash and delivering a crisp elbow strike directly to the opponent's throat.

The man collapsed limply without even letting out a scream.

"Go!"

The two fought back-to-back, carving a bloody path out of the underground garage.

Behind them were the frantic roars of Qin Wuwei's subordinates.

An SUV that had been waiting outside flashed its headlights.

Wu Ya was in the driver's seat.

"Boss, get in!"

The car engine roared, and they sped away, leaving dust in their wake.

The next morning.

While the citizens of T City were still asleep, dozens of police cars roared in, surrounding the entire Jingluo Bay.

SWAT officers, heavily armed, descended from above.

Qin Wuwei, who was throwing a tantrum in his office, was tightly restrained by a pair of cold handcuffs.

Even in death, he couldn't understand why the underground empire he had managed for ten years had collapsed overnight.

And the trigger for all this was just that laptop, which he considered the safest and most secret item.

That evening's T City news broadcast featured the downfall of the largest organized crime syndicate in recent years as its top story.

Shen Yan sat in his office, calmly finishing the tea in his cup while watching the footage on television of Qin Wuwei being escorted into the police car.

On his desk, the project proposal for Jingluo Bay was already spread out.

The foundation for the Spark Laboratory had been laid.

On the television screen, the female anchor of T City Evening News was reporting on the lightning raid from the early morning with perfect diction.

In the footage, Qin Wuwei was escorted by two SWAT officers, his once fierce face etched with bewilderment and confusion.

Shen Yan turned off the television.

The office returned to silence, leaving only him and Chen Guangke.

The air seemed to still carry the faint smell of gunpowder from last night's infiltration.

Chen Guangke gulped down a large mouthful of water, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Just like that... it's over?"

He still felt it was somewhat unreal.

The underground emperor who had dominated T City for ten years, vexing countless developers, had been uprooted overnight with just a few documents and one laptop.

Shen Yan drained the remaining tea in his cup.

"This is just the beginning."

He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, towards the direction of Jingluo Bay, the dawn's first light was piercing through the clouds.

"We have to clean up the ground before we can build our own house."

Three days later, the dust settled over Jingluo Bay.

All legal documents and property transfers had been finalized.

This land, which had been dormant for ten years, finally welcomed its new owner.

Shen Yan arranged a meeting with one person.

Feng Yuanshan, a maverick genius in the domestic architectural design field.

The buildings he designed either won international awards or were viciously criticized; there was no middle ground.

The meeting place was the rooftop of the unfinished hotel at Jingluo Bay.

The sea breeze howled, whipping at everyone's coat hems.

Feng Yuanshan, in his early forties, had shoulder-length hair and wore a ripped denim jacket, looking more like a rock musician than an architect.

He walked a circle around the rooftop, looking down at the massive construction site below.

"Quite the undertaking, President Shen."

Feng Yuanshan exhaled a smoke ring, which was instantly scattered by the sea breeze.

"You even managed to put Qin Wuwei away. You've certainly stirred up the waters in T City."

Shen Yan did not take the bait.

"Engineer Feng, I need you to transform this place into the world's most top-tier laboratory, incorporating residential, research, and the highest level of defensive capabilities."

"Money is not an issue."

Feng Yuanshan chuckled upon hearing this.

He flicked the ash off his cigarette, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"'Money is not an issue'—I've heard that phrase too many times."

"But usually, the people who say that start having problems when I present them with the budget."

Shen Yan did not smile.

He simply looked calmly at Feng Yuanshan.

"I don't have a budget."

Feng Yuanshan's hand, holding the cigarette, paused mid-air.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't care how much money you spend, what materials you use, or which team you hire."

Shen Yan pointed to the entire Jingluo Bay beneath his feet.

"I only care about the result."

"I want this place to be impregnable. I want its energy system to be independent of the global power grid. I want its computing center to handle the highest intensity computational demands for the next decade."

"And most importantly, I want it to be sufficiently covert."