663: Chapter 658 We are one

This is simply a miracle.

That evening, the A-level banquet hall in the internal restaurant of Jingluo Bay was brilliantly lit.

Two completely different teams sat at the long dining table.

On one side were the core members of the "Spark Laboratory," led by Fang Zhizhuo.

Having just reunited, the atmosphere was filled with the excitement and solemnity of surviving a disaster.

On the other side was the "icarus" project team, led by Dr. Hoffmann.

These international elites, poached from Aegis Dynamics, were all dressed in suits, with blonde hair and blue eyes, appearing much more relaxed and commercialized.

They held wine glasses, conversing softly in English and German, curiously observing the group of Chinese colleagues across from them who looked somewhat "unsophisticated."

Chen Guangke sat next to Shen Yan and quietly nudged his arm.

"Yan Zi, one side of you is the 'Pillar of the Nation,' and the other is a bunch of old stubborn engineers dug up from abroad. Can you really put them together for a meal?"

Shen Yan smiled but didn't speak.

He knew that these two teams represented the core of his 'Two-Step Strategy.'

Spark Laboratory was his ideal, the spear aimed at the future.

The icarus project team was his cash flow, the shield protecting his ideal.

The spear and the shield were indispensable.

Fang Zhizhuo's leg had recovered very well; with advanced medical technology and ample financial support, he could already stand for short periods without a wheelchair.

At this moment, he raised his wine glass and stood up.

"This old body of mine toasts President Shen."

"Without you, all of us might have remained brittle bones rotting in the mud for our entire lives."

"And Spark would forever be just a wisp of smoke no one remembers."

Everyone quieted down.

Dr. Hoffmann also stopped talking with his subordinates and looked at Shen Yan with interest.

He admitted that Shen Yan was a generous boss with sharp judgment.

But he was more curious: how could this young Easterner make a top-tier physicist like Fang Zhizhuo so utterly devoted to him?

Shen Yan stood up and raised his wine glass.

"Teacher Fang, you flatter me."

"I am not giving charity; I am investing."

"What I invest in is all of your talents, and the fire in your hearts that has never been extinguished."

He scanned the room, his gaze sweeping from Fang Zhizhuo and Su Mei to Hoffmann and Leo Garcia.

"I know that everyone present has different backgrounds, different experiences, and even different pursuits."

"Dr. Hoffmann's team, what you want is the most top-tier equipment, the freest environment, and compensation sufficient to achieve your financial freedom."

"And Teacher Fang's team, what you want is to complete the undertaking left unfinished fifteen years ago, to demand justice from those who ruined your lives."

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

The banquet hall fell silent.

"Many people might think we are people from two different worlds, doing two unrelated things."

"But today, I want to tell all of you."

"You are one entity."

Shen Yan raised his wine glass and pointed toward Dr. Hoffmann.

"Dr. Hoffmann, the mass production of the 'Cryogenic Plasma Bonding' technology, which your team is responsible for in Plan B, will bring us massive cash flow in the shortest possible time."

"Every technical breakthrough you make, every successful delivery, is reinforcing the world's hardest shield for us."

"This shield can fend off malicious capital acquisitions, block the off-the-books maneuvers of commercial rivals, and buy us the most precious time and space!"

He then pointed his wine glass toward Fang Zhizhuo.

"And Teacher Fang, the 'Tidal Energy Matrix' that you are responsible for in Plan A is our spear."

"When the shield is sturdy enough, we must reveal this spear."

"It will pierce the barriers of old energy and rewrite the structure of global energy."

"It will tell Yongsheng Group, and everyone standing in our way—"

"The era where you used despicable means to steal and bury the truth is over."

"We will personally usher in a new era!"

Shen Yan's words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

A flicker of shock crossed Dr. Hoffmann's eyes.

He had thought this was just a commercial project, but now he realized he seemed to have joined a much grander, and more dangerous, war.

But for some reason, far from feeling fear, he felt a long-lost excitement, a boiling of his blood.

As for Fang Zhizhuo, Su Mei, and the others, they were too excited to control themselves.

Revenge.

Justice.

These were words they only dared to think of in their midnight dreams, but now Shen Yan placed them on the table so clearly and firmly.

"So, do not separate into Plan A and Plan B."

"We only have one plan."

"Every block the shield makes is for the next thrust of the spear."

"Every sharpness of the spear protects the integrity of the shield."

"We are one."

Shen Yan raised his glass high.

"This first glass of wine,"

"Is a toast to Jingluo Bay beneath our feet, and to the rekindling of the Spark!"

"Cheers!"

Chen Guangke was the first to roar, tilting his neck back and draining his glass.

"Cheers!"

The two teams, regardless of nationality or background, all stood up at that moment, raising their wine glasses.

The sound of clinking glasses was crisp and loud.

All barriers vanished into smoke at that instant.

Su Mei looked at Shen Yan, standing confidently in the center of the crowd, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

She suddenly understood why geniuses as proud as Teacher Fang and Wei Zhengxun were willing to follow him.

This man gave them more than just money or a safe haven.

What he gave was hope.

A shared dream worthy of setting everyone alight.

"Second glass!"

Shen Yan's voice sounded again.

"A toast to the past!"

"To those who died, who were buried, who were forgotten!"

"We will become their memory!"

"Cheers!"

"Third glass!"

Shen Yan's voice now carried a resounding firmness.

"A toast to the future!"

"From this day forward, the Spark will spread, and the dawn will arrive!"

"Cheers!"

After three glasses, the atmosphere in the entire banquet hall was completely ignited.

This was a brand new beginning.

Under Shen Yan's personal forging, a super fleet capable of shaking the world's technological landscape officially set sail in Jingluo Bay.

The clamor of Jingluo Bay gradually subsided.

Those three glasses of wine, like three balls of fierce fire, completely fused the two teams together.

Dr. Hoffmann and his "icarus" team were no longer mercenaries paid for their work; a light called "career" began to shine in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the hatred and sorrow in the hearts of Fang Zhizhuo, Su Mei, and the others finally found an outlet for expression and sublimation.

The next morning, the entire base operated at high speed, like a precision machine whose mainspring had just been tightened.