655: Chapter 65 The Heartbeat of the New World

Shen Yan picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, and handed it to him.

"It used to be."

"But now, there is a group of people who can move mountains with me."

Chen Guangke took the water and took a large gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"These scientists—no, these lunatics—how did you find them?"

"What kind of bewitching soup did you feed them?"

"I just gave them a big enough battlefield," Shen Yan's tone was flat.

Chen Guangke shook his head with a bitter smile; he knew that only a grander dream itself could make these geniuses, who stood at the pinnacle of human intelligence, revere someone like a god.

And Shen Yan happened to be the one who could create dreams and let them shine into reality.

"Let's not talk about that," Shen Yan changed the subject.

"How are things on Old Fang's side?"

At the mention of Fang Zhizhuo, Chen Guangke's expression also became solemn.

"Very well."

"That medical team is simply miraculous."

"That new Bionic Prosthetic limb has a terrifyingly high degree of compatibility with his severed nerve endings."

"Yesterday afternoon, when I went to see him, he could already walk slowly for several hundred meters in the laboratory with a specially made Smart Cane."

There was a hint of wonder in Chen Guangke's tone.

"How long has it been? It's simply a medical miracle."

Shen Yan nodded.

That leg cost enough to buy a small listed company.

But to be able to get a Fang Zhizhuo back, it was well worth it.

"I'll go see him."

"I'll go with you."

The base at Jingluo Bay was very large; the dock area where the icarus laboratory was located and the Spark Laboratory rebuilt by Fang Zhizhuo were separated by a small grove of salt-tolerant plants.

Shen Yan deliberately separated the two laboratories to give Fang Zhizhuo an absolutely quiet environment.

But as they approached that simple-looking two-story building, they could clearly hear the low roar of high-speed equipment coming from the direction of the neighboring dock.

The sound traveled through the woods and over the walls, like the steady heartbeat of a giant beast.

Chen Guangke scratched his head.

"This... seems a bit noisy."

Shen Yan didn't speak and pushed open the door to the Spark Laboratory.

There weren't the various precision instruments one might imagine; the first-floor hall appeared somewhat empty.

Only a few of the latest servers were running quietly in the corner, and several huge whiteboards hung on the walls, covered with dense physical formulas that Shen Yan couldn't understand at all.

The air was filled with a faint scent of pine mixed with solder.

An old but upright figure was standing in front of a workbench in the center of the hall.

Fang Zhizhuo was wearing a clean white lab coat and reading glasses, looking down as he studied a complex structural diagram.

His left leg was a Bionic Prosthetic shimmering with a metallic luster, full of cyberpunk aesthetic.

Beside him stood a black Smart Cane quietly.

He didn't rely on any external objects, standing there steadily.

It was as if the high-spirited physics genius of fifteen years ago had returned.

Hearing the door open, Fang Zhizhuo looked up.

He glanced at Shen Yan, then at Chen Guangke beside him, his clouded but sharp gaze finally landing on Shen Yan's face.

"You've made quite a stir."

His voice was somewhat raspy, yet full of vigor.

Shen Yan stepped forward, his gaze falling on the Bionic Prosthetic.

"Old Fang, how are you feeling?"

"Better than my original one," Fang Zhizhuo moved his ankle, the metal joints making a slight mechanical sound. "At least, it won't hurt anymore on rainy days."

He took off his reading glasses and slowly wiped them on the workbench.

"Hoffmann was just here."

He said it out of the blue.

Shen Yan understood.

"He told you everything?"

"Mm," Fang Zhizhuo grunted in response, putting his glasses back on, but his gaze was not on the blueprints; instead, he looked directly at Shen Yan.

"Overturn the table, set the rules."

"A completely closed monopoly from software to ecosystem."

"Carve out a new continent on the map of Silicon-based Civilization."

He repeated word for word, and with every sentence, the light in his eyes grew brighter.

Chen Guangke listened from the side, his heart racing with fear.

He hadn't expected Dr. Hoffmann to pass on Shen Yan's "crazy talk" to Old Fang so quickly.

With Old Fang's experience and steadiness, how would he view this nearly arrogant plan?

Would he think Shen Yan was overestimating himself, or think he was crazy?

Fang Zhizhuo was silent for a long time.

So long that even Chen Guangke felt a bit oppressed.

Finally, the old man suddenly smiled and shook his head.

"In my life, I've seen those who want to make money, those who want to become famous, and those who want to be industry overlords."

"I've also seen people like Mei Hongyuan, who want to block everyone else's path to ensure their own dominance."

Fang Zhizhuo's tone was very calm, as if he were recounting a history that had nothing to do with him.

"But you're different from them."

He looked at Shen Yan, his eyes carrying the vicissitudes of someone who had seen through the world.

"You don't want to block others' paths."

"You want all the future paths in this world to start from beneath your feet."

"Your ambition can no longer be described by its size."

The old man paused and spat out two words.

"It's poison."

"The kind of lethal poison that can change the color of the entire world and reshape all rules."

Shen Yan neither denied nor admitted it.

He just looked at Fang Zhizhuo calmly and then spoke with a hint of apology.

"Old Fang, there's one more thing."

"I built the icarus laboratory right next door to you."

"Work is going on there day and night, and the sounds of various large-scale equipment being tuned will not stop."

"I took the liberty of doing so without your consent."

"I was worried it would disturb your peace."

This sudden apology made even Chen Guangke dazed for a moment.

In the face of a plan so grand it was terrifying, was this small matter worth a special apology?

Fang Zhizhuo also fell silent.

He turned around and walked slowly to the window, looking at the brightly lit dock next door.

Huge cranes were hoisting new equipment, and the lights of construction vehicles drew trails of light in the night.

That dull and rhythmic roar was even clearer now.

"Peace?"

Fang Zhizhuo softly repeated the word, a self-deprecating curve hooking the corner of his mouth.

"Shen Yan, do you know?"

"My spirit has been dead for a full fifteen years."

"For fifteen years, all I heard every day was the sound of my own breathing, relying on alcohol every day to numb my nerves."

"That death-like silence is the most agonizing thing."

He reached out his wrinkled hand and pressed it gently against the cold glass window.

As if he could feel the scorching, vigorous vitality coming from next door.

"You don't need to apologize."

"These noises from next door are the most beautiful symphony I've heard in these fifteen years."

The old man slowly turned around, a brilliant smile blossoming on his aged face.

"Because I can hear it."

"It's the heartbeat of a new world."