651: Chapter 646 I said, this is the end.

He turned toward the whiteboard and pointed to an almost negligible, tiny jitter at the end of the curve.

"Look here. There's a 0.003 overflow of energy in the final stage. This means the molecular structure of the bonding layer isn't stable enough yet."

A fanatical glint shimmered in his eyes.

"If we redesign the winding method of the magnetic confinement coils and introduce Eva's micro-channel cooling model, theoretically, we can suppress this overflow by another order of magnitude!"

The team's excitement was instantly reignited.

To them, 99.99% and 99.999% were two entirely different worlds.

"I'll run a new simulation right away!" Leo Garcia sat up straight.

"I need a new formula for the superconducting material," Eva said.

"The reaction chamber needs to be redone. Give me a day," Marcus said, clenching his fists.

Just as this feverish atmosphere reached its peak...

...a calm voice interrupted them.

"Stop."

Shen Yan stepped out from the shadows.

That single word was like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads.

The frenetic air in the laboratory instantly froze.

Dr. Hoffmann spun around, staring at Shen Yan in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

"I said, this is far enough."

Shen Yan repeated himself, his tone devoid of any emotion.

"This technology is good enough for now."

"Good enough?"

Hoffmann looked as if he had just heard the world's biggest joke.

He stepped forward, staring intently at Shen Yan.

"Mr. Shen, you promised us an unlimited budget and no interference in our research direction. You told us to push icarus to its theoretical limit!"

His voice trembled slightly with agitation.

"Now, we're only one step away from that limit, and you're telling us to stop?!"

Leo Garcia also stood up, his face a mask of disappointment and anger.

"It's happening again, isn't it? You businessmen! The moment you see something profitable, you can't wait to cash it out!"

He recalled the days when he optimized button colors for advertising algorithms, and a wave of nausea washed over him.

"This achievement is enough to put any semiconductor company five years ahead of the industry! But it's not the limit! It's not what icarus is truly meant to be!"

Marcus's expression was terrifyingly dark. He approached step by step, his massive shadow looming over Shen Yan.

"I should have known."

His voice sounded as if it were being squeezed out of his chest.

"You bankrupted that bastard surnamed Marcus just so you could become him."

"You treat us like hens. Once we lay a golden egg, you want to kill the hen to get the rest."

Eva said nothing, but she crossed her arms and looked at Shen Yan with cold eyes. She had already retreated to her workstation, her fingers flying across the keyboard as if backing up data, preparing to exercise the exit clause in her contract.

A sense of betrayal.

A thick sense of betrayal permeated the entire laboratory.

They thought they had found an idealist who understood them.

As it turned out, he was just a shrewder capitalist.

Shen Yan looked around at the three faces full of anger and disappointment, finally letting his gaze rest on Hoffmann.

He wasn't angry; he didn't even try to defend himself.

He simply asked a question calmly.

"Doctor, can this technology be mass-produced right now?"

Hoffmann was taken aback and answered subconsciously.

"Of course! Its stability already surpasses all bonding technologies on the market! The yield rate can reach an unprecedented 99%!"

"Good."

Shen Yan nodded.

He walked to the main screen and pointed at the perfect curve.

"Because 'perfect' is the enemy of 'good enough'."

Several of them were stunned, not understanding what he meant.

Shen Yan turned around to face them.

"Do you think I spent billions of dollars rebuilding icarus just to publish a paper in a top journal or to make a chip with slightly better performance?"

His voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"I am forging a sword."

"A sword that can be used to wage war."

"War?"

The word left the tech enthusiasts in the laboratory feeling bewildered.

"What you pursue is that 100% perfection, the theoretical limit. I promised you that I would support you to the end."

Shen Yan's gaze swept across each of them.

"Therefore, this laboratory will continue to exist as the 'icarus A' project team. Your mission remains unchanged: continue to push toward that theoretical limit. There is still no cap on the budget."

He paused, then changed the subject.

"However, at this very moment, I am launching 'Project icarus B'."

"I will take your 'good enough' 99% version and establish a complete production line at another secret location."

"It will be like a money-printing machine, starting mass production of our own chips. It will storm the market, crushing all competitors."

"And while I'm at it, I'll deliver this technology to Robert Vance of Aegis Dynamics ahead of the market."

"Don't forget, he did purchase the licensing rights for this technology."

"But we can't let them completely monopolize the market; that would disrupt the balance. So, we don't need to deliver the perfect technology to him."

There was a sharpness in Shen Yan's eyes that made even these geniuses feel a sense of trepidation.

"You pursue the ultimate artistic expression in your ivory tower. I, however, will take your artwork and carry out a massacre in the market."

"Doctor, while you are still modifying coils for that final 0.001% improvement, our enemies might have already reverse-engineered 90% of our technology. I cannot give them that time."

"Project A is our future, our technological barrier. Project B is our weapon for the present, providing the funding and secure environment necessary for Project A."

"I'm not trying to stop your research."

"I want your research to have two armies."

"One will charge into the unknown realms of humanity."

"The other will clear all obstacles for you in the real world."

The laboratory fell into a deathly silence.

Leo Garcia's mouth hung open as his brain worked rapidly to process this grand strategic layout.

Eva's hands stopped on the keyboard. She looked at Shen Yan as if she were looking at a monster.

The anger on Marcus's face had long since vanished, replaced by a sense of profound shock.

Dr. Hoffmann looked at Shen Yan. In his cloudy eyes, that flame was reignited, burning even more fiercely than before.

He finally understood.

Shen Yan wasn't a capitalist.

Nor was he just an idealistic patron.

He was a player who viewed science, technology, commerce, and even war as a chessboard.

And they, the icarus team, were not caged canaries.

They were the sharpest weapons in his hands.

"The world is not a quiet laboratory, Doctor,"

Shen Yan said finally.

"It is a colosseum."

"We have just built the fastest chariot in history."

"Now, it's time to drive it in."