648: Chapter 643 A savvy sucker

"In G Valley, I will build a brand-new 'icarus' laboratory for you. Top specifications, the best equipment for everything, and an unlimited budget."

"You can recruit anyone you want, including those old colleagues who were previously laid off."

"I won't interfere with any of your research directions, I won't give you any KPI evaluations, and I won't pressure you to produce any commercialized products."

Every word Shen Yan spoke caused Dr. Hoffmann's breathing to quicken.

These were the conditions every researcher dreamed of!

"Why?" Dr. Hoffmann asked hoarsely.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Of course."

Shen Yan admitted frankly.

"I only want one result."

"I want you to push 'low-temperature plasma bonding' technology to its theoretical limit."

"I want you to use this technology to create the world's most perfect chip packaging process for me. Not to sell to Aegis, but for ourselves."

"Ourselves?" Dr. Hoffmann keenly caught the keyword.

"Yes."

Shen Yan's gaze became profound.

"Sirius Semiconductor is dead. I will dismantle it completely and sell it off."

"But its soul, which is icarus, will be reborn in your hands."

"I'm not here to fix Marcus's leaking wreck of a ship."

Shen Yan's voice was full of power.

"I'm here to invite you to build a brand-new ship with me."

"A ship that can sail toward the sea of stars."

The sea of stars!

These words made Dr. Hoffmann's aging body tremble slightly.

It had been too long since he had heard words so full of ambition and dreams.

At Sirius, all he ever heard were terms like "cost," "profit," and "market share."

He looked at Shen Yan's young and calm face.

On this face, there was no merchant's greed, no politician's hypocrisy.

There was only a near-obsessive certainty about the future.

He suddenly understood.

This young man, buying Sirius, squeezing Aegis dry—everything he did wasn't for money.

Money, to him, was just a tool.

Just like the welding torch in his own hand.

He had a much larger goal.

And icarus was an indispensable cornerstone for him to achieve that goal.

"What do you want to do?" Dr. Hoffmann couldn't help but ask.

"I want to do something that might change the world."

Shen Yan didn't state it explicitly.

But Hoffmann understood the light in his eyes.

It was the exact same light he had in his own eyes when he was young and first verified a physical conjecture in the laboratory.

It was the light of a creator.

"Why should I believe you?" Hoffmann made a final struggle.

"Because I know that 1.8 kilowatts is the optimal solution."

Shen Yan's answer was simple and direct.

"And because I'm willing to bet unlimited funds on your dream."

"And even more so, because I understand you."

I understand you.

Those three words completely shattered the last line of defense in Dr. Hoffmann's heart.

He fell silent.

In the garage, only the sound of the old fan turning remained.

After a long time.

Dr. Hoffmann looked up, the fire reigniting in his bloodshot eyes.

"I need a list."

"All the equipment and materials I need, along with a list of my former team members."

Shen Yan smiled.

"Isabella will handle everything."

"Good."

Dr. Hoffmann extended his grease-stained yet incredibly powerful hand.

"A pleasure working with you, Boss."

Shen Yan shook his hand.

"Welcome back to the team, Doctor."

Shen Yan's palm was warm and dry, filled with unquestionable strength.

Dr. Hoffmann let go, as if completing a handover ceremony that spanned eras.

The fire in his chest that had long been extinguished was now burning anew like a prairie fire.

"The list."

Shen Yan was concise.

Dr. Hoffmann turned and began rummaging through a box filled with old circuit boards.

He pulled out a grease-covered notebook, flipped to a certain page, and handed it to Shen Yan.

The handwriting was messy, yet filled with the rigor characteristic of an Engineer.

It listed a long string of equipment and material names, from the latest electron beam lithography machines by Zeiss in Germany to special inert gas formulas that only appeared in research papers.

At the very bottom were three names.

Leo Garcia.

Ava Chen.

Marcus Rodriguez.

"My team."

There was a hint of nostalgia in Dr. Hoffmann's voice.

"The only people in this world who can keep up with my train of thought."

Shen Yan took a photo of that page and sent it directly to Isabella.

The accompanying instruction was just one sentence.

"Buy according to this list. Find the people on this list."

He looked at Dr. Hoffmann.

"Now, they belong to you."

Dr. Hoffmann nodded and picked up the dusty, old-fashioned telephone on the desk.

He blew on the receiver and dialed the first number.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Who is this?"

A tired and impatient male voice came through, with keyboard typing and office noise in the background.

"Leo, it's me, Abel."

There was silence on the other end.

The noisy background sound seemed to be instantly stripped away.

"...Abel?" Leo Garcia's voice was full of disbelief.

"You're still alive?"

"Very much so," Dr. Hoffmann said concisely.

"I need you to come back."

A bitter laugh came from the other end.

"Back? Back where? Sirius is gone, Abel. I'm currently writing code at 'Quantum Leap Analysis Company,' having meetings with a bunch of idiots every day, optimizing their nonsensical ad-pushing algorithms."

His voice was full of self-deprecation.

"Do you know what I did yesterday? I spent the whole day changing a button's color from 'cobalt blue' to 'ultramarine,' just because some idiot in marketing thought it would increase the click-through rate by 0.01%."

"I've had enough, Abel. I don't want to touch that stuff ever again."

"icarus is restarting," Dr. Hoffmann interrupted him.

Leo fell silent again.

"Stop joking, that project is dead. That bastard Marcus sold it, didn't he?"

"It was sold. For five hundred million USD."

"How much?!" Leo's voice suddenly rose, causing his colleagues around him to look over.

"Five hundred million. Cash."

Dr. Hoffmann's tone was flat.

"Now, the new boss who bought it gave me a laboratory with an unlimited budget in G Valley. He wants us to push icarus to the end of its theory."

Leo's breathing became heavy over the phone.

"Abel, you're not joking with me, are you? What kind of sucker would do that?"

"An expert sucker," Hoffmann glanced at Shen Yan beside him.

"He knows the difference between 1.8 kilowatts and 2.0 kilowatts."

These words were like a thunderclap striking Leo's mind.

That parameter was their team's core secret, the ultimate code that distinguished an amateur from an expert.

"What did he say?" Leo's voice began to tremble.

"He said no KPIs, no commercial pressure, and no interference with the research direction."

Hoffmann repeated word for word.

"He only wants one result."