674: Chapter 669 Rejecting the First Offer

Every single question was like a sharp knife stabbing into Viktor's heart.

Surrounded by the crowd, blinded by the flashing lights, his mind went blank.

He was finished.

He knew it.

He was completely finished.

And outside the chaotic venue.

In the presidential suite of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Shen Yan handed a tablet computer to Evelyn Reed.

On the screen was the live broadcast of Viktor Croft's miserable state from the venue.

Evelyn looked at the man who was once high and mighty, who had stepped on her and mocked her at will, now looking like a stray dog pinned to the pillar of shame.

Her hands were trembling slightly.

But her eyes were unusually calm.

There was no ecstatic joy of great revenge achieved, only a sense of relief like a great weight lifted.

It was like a massive boulder that had been pressing on her heart for many years had finally been moved.

Meanwhile.

Chen Guangke's phone rang.

"Mr. Shen."

On the other end was the managing partner of the Kirkland & Ellis law firm.

"The stock price of Quantum Leap Dynamics Company has plummeted by 73% in fifteen minutes and has already triggered three circuit breakers."

"The Board of Directors is holding an emergency meeting to prepare to strip Viktor Croft of all his positions."

"Now is the best time to acquire."

Chen Guangke looked towards Shen Yan, awaiting his instructions.

Shen Yan's gaze, however, was fixed on Evelyn.

"You decide,"

he said.

"Whether to let it go bankrupt and disappear completely,"

"Or to take it back and make it the first cornerstone of your new 'chimera'."

Evelyn looked up.

She looked at Shen Yan, and in those blue eyes, the long-extinguished flame completely reignited, burning fiercely, bright as the stars.

She uttered two words.

"Take it back."

Shen Yan smiled.

He gave Chen Guangke on the other end of the line his final instruction.

"Guang Ke, notify the legal team."

"Start the whale hunt."

Evelyn Reed looked at Shen Yan. The man hadn't even stood up; he was just sitting there calmly, as if he hadn't just issued an order to stir up the winds and clouds on Wall Street, but had merely ordered room service for dinner.

She had expected revenge to be a long and painful tug-of-war.

Legal battles, public opinion warfare, capital games.

It might take years, perhaps even a decade.

But for Shen Yan, revenge seemed to be just a start button.

Once pressed, everything operated automatically, precisely, efficiently, and lethally.

On the other end of the line, in Chicago, at the headquarters of the Kirkland & Ellis law firm.

A conference room known as 'The Abyss' was brightly lit.

This was the war command center where this top global law firm handled its highest-level mergers and hostile takeovers.

Chen Guangke's voice was transmitted through an encrypted line, concise and powerful.

"Mr. Shen's order: Whale hunt."

"Target: Quantum Leap Dynamics."

"Requirement: Obtain absolute controlling interest within twenty-four hours."

Inside the conference room, nearly thirty elites in suits instantly transformed from stillness into high-speed machinery.

The managing partner, a lawyer named David Finch, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Activate the 'Trident' plan."

"Team A, immediately submit a report to the SEC regarding internal trading and financial fraud at Quantum Leap Dynamics, and apply for an emergency trading halt."

"Team B, contact our channels at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, and short all derivatives of Quantum Leap at the highest leverage ratio, with no upper limit."

"Team C, draft a collective lawsuit against all members of the Board of Directors, citing failure in oversight and damage to shareholder interests."

"Team D, prepare a Letter of Intent for acquisition. Price it at thirty percent of the stock price before the trading halt."

A young lawyer couldn't help but ask.

"Thirty percent? Sir, that's practically robbery."

Finch gave him a cold look.

"No, this isn't robbery."

"This is throwing a leaky life raft to a sinking ship."

"They will jump at the chance."

Quantum Leap Dynamics Headquarters.

The emergency board meeting had devolved into a marketplace brawl.

Viktor Croft was 'escorted' out of the building by security. The shares he held had become worthless under the expectation of panic selling.

"Damn it! Our stock value evaporated by thirty billion!"

"The SEC has blown up my phone!"

"Those media outlets are like mad dogs!"

A corpulent director, who usually called Viktor 'brother,' was the first to jump out and distance himself.

"We must immediately impeach Viktor! Cut ties with him!"

"That's right! He is the company's disgrace!"

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open.

The Chief Legal Officer walked in, his face pale.

"Everyone, the Kirkland & Ellis law firm... on behalf of an investor called Shenyan Group, has sent over a Letter of Intent for acquisition."

All arguments abruptly stopped.

An old director named Marcus Thorne, one of the company's earliest angel investors, frowned.

"Shenyan Group?"

"The one with the five-billion AI fund?"

"How much are they offering?"

The Legal Officer's voice trembled.

"Thirty percent of the stock price before the trading halt, all-cash acquisition."

"What?!"

"F*ck! Why don't they just die!"

"This is humiliation! Naked humiliation!"

Marcus Thorne, however, became unusually calm.

He glanced out the window, where reporters were still lingering.

He knew Quantum Leap was no longer a tech company.

It had become a corpse.

And Shenyan Group was the shark that smelled the blood first.

"Tell them we refuse,"

Marcus said in a deep voice.

This was the last shred of dignity he held as an old-school capitalist.

However, the Legal Officer's next sentence shattered all his illusions.

"They also filed a collective lawsuit against all of us directors."

"Accusing us of dereliction of duty, causing huge losses to shareholders."

"Furthermore, they have already reported to the SEC that all our stock option incentive plans over the past two years may involve irregular operations."

In the conference room, you could hear a pin drop.

If the acquisition offer was humiliation, then this lawsuit was a knife placed directly against their throats.

If they lost the case, they would not only lose all their money but might even face imprisonment.

That Easterner named Shen Yan—when he doesn't act, he doesn't act. But when he does, it's a kill shot.

He never intended to negotiate.

He was informing them that the game was over.

Boston, Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Wu Ya walked onto the terrace carrying two cups of coffee.

Shen Yan and Evelyn were standing side by side, overlooking the city's night view.

"Marcus Thorne, a director of Quantum Leap, is requesting a video call with us."

Wu Ya reported softly.

"He rejected the first offer."

Shen Yan took the coffee and took a sip, seemingly unsurprised.

"Mm,"

He just responded lightly.