708: Chapter 73 Prometheus

Sato fell silent.

He was just a representative; he couldn't make such a significant decision.

He immediately stood up.

"Mr. Shen, please allow me to consult with the Chairman."

He walked outside the private room and made an encrypted call.

Wu Ya could hear him speaking in a low voice, reporting at an extremely fast pace, his tone filled with excitement and disbelief.

Five minutes later, Sato returned.

His face held a complex expression mixed with awe and excitement.

"Mr. Shen, the Chairman has agreed."

"He said he is very much looking forward to cooperating with you. Furthermore, to show his sincerity, this control unit will be a gift from him to you."

"You can name your price for the blueprints of 'Lunokhod-3' at any time."

Shen Yan waved his hand.

"No, a deal is a deal. I will send the blueprints over, and I will accept the control unit. Between us, we only abide by rules, not personal favors."

This statement only made Sato respect him even more.

A person who is not swayed by small gains and only establishes rules is the most formidable and worthy opponent for cooperation.

The transaction was complete.

Walking out of the teahouse, Wu Ya looked at Shen Yan, feeling as if she were attending a worldview-shattering lesson.

If the first deal was Shen Yan buying the future of 'soft power,'

then this second deal was him forging a secret supply line of 'hard power' for himself.

So, what about the third?

What did Shen Yan intend to gain from the most mysterious 'Cyber Blacksmith Laboratory'?

There was no location, no video.

The third meeting took place in a server room deep within the Phantom Dynamics Studio.

This area was physically isolated from the outside world, connected only by a triple-encrypted quantum communication line.

Wu Ya stood behind Shen Yan, watching him sit in front of a terminal.

On the screen, there was only continuously flickering green code.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet.

Chen Guangke guarded the doorway, his expression serious, forbidding anyone from approaching.

When the agreed-upon time arrived, the code on the screen instantly vanished, replaced by a concise line of English.

It meant: We have arrived.

Immediately following this, a processed electronic synthesized voice, devoid of any recognizable gender or emotion, came from the speakers.

"'Yan,' we were impressed by your bounty. One hundred million US dollars for the solution to a 'toy'—that is quite interesting."

Shen Yan's fingers tapped on the keyboard.

"That is not a toy; it is a key."

"A key to where?"

"A door to converse with you."

The electronic voice was silent for a few seconds, seemingly processing the meaning of Shen Yan's words.

"Your objective is more than just repairing a twenty-year-old printer."

"Of course not," Shen Yan leaned back in his chair. "I am not interested in the soul of that machine. What interests me are you 'blacksmiths' who can inject souls into machines."

Wu Ya's heart leaped into her throat.

She knew the main event was about to begin.

"You want to hire us?" the electronic voice asked.

"No," Shen Yan's reply once again exceeded Wu Ya's expectations. "I never hire artists. I invite artists to become partners."

A question mark appeared on the screen.

"?"

"I am establishing a new department, or rather, a new company, dedicated entirely to research on the application of strong Artificial Intelligence in extreme industrial environments."

"For example, deep-sea operation robots, high-risk environment rescue robots, and outer space exploration robots."

"Your technology should not be wasted on trivial matters like performing a 'soul transplant' on an old printer. You should be creating truly autonomous, thinking, and operational 'bodies of steel.'"

"I provide the funding, the application scenarios, and an unlimited experimental platform and data support."

"You provide your minds and the technology capable of overturning the world."

"I don't want you to work for me. I want you to create a new species together with me."

Every word Shen Yan spoke was like a bomb dropped into the deep sea, stirring up colossal waves in Wu Ya's mind.

She finally, thoroughly understood.

Fixing the printer was a fake! All of it—the cello, the space shuttle, the quantum encryption—it was all just a prelude!

A prelude to an incomparably grand and insane plan!

Shen Yan's true goal, from the very beginning, was Artificial Intelligence!

He lacked neither money nor connections; what he lacked was the top-tier core technical team capable of realizing his vision.

And this 'Cyber Blacksmith Laboratory,' hidden deep within the network, whose name was unknown to anyone, was the target he had chosen!

That one-hundred-million-dollar bounty wasn't a reward; it was a qualification exam!

An exam only the world's smartest minds were qualified to take, and the prize was the entry ticket to cooperate with Shen Yan!

It was too insane!

This was practically a massive gamble!

The electronic voice fell into a long silence.

Wu Ya could even sense the intense thought and weighing happening behind that cold stream of data.

After a long while, the voice sounded again.

"Your plan sounds much more interesting than cracking the 'Nine Palaces Puzzle.'"

"What is the name of this new company?"

A slight curve finally appeared at the corner of Shen Yan's mouth.

"prometheus."

The electronic voice repeated the name.

"Stealing the fire seed and gifting it to mortals."

"A dangerous name."

"I never fear danger," Shen Yan said.

"Neither do we."

"Send the cooperation details to this port."

"Also, we will accept that one hundred million US dollars."

"Not as payment, but as the first round of R&D funding for the 'prometheus' Project.'"

"From now on, the Cyber Blacksmith Laboratory belongs to you.'"

The communication cut off.

The screen returned to stillness, as if nothing had happened.

In the server room, only the humming of the server fans remained.

Wu Ya stood there, motionless, as if all her strength had been drained away.

She looked at Shen Yan's profile. This man, whom she thought she knew well enough, had completely overturned her perception of him today through three meetings.

He was not a businessman, nor an entrepreneur.

He was a strategist.

A monster who used the world's resources as chess pieces and Future Technology as the board to play an astonishing game no one could comprehend.

And she was fortunate enough to stand beside this monster and witness it all firsthand.

Wu Ya took a deep breath. What surged in her chest was no longer shock and confusion.

But an ineffable, burning fervor.

Shen Yan stood up and stretched his shoulders. The imposing aura that seemed capable of crushing the entire room instantly dissipated.

He turned around, his face even showing a hint of relaxation after fatigue.

"Alright, done."

He smiled at Wu Ya and Chen Guangke, who was guarding the door, as if the calculating, world-devouring entity from moments ago had been an illusion.

Chen Guangke walked in, undisguised adoration in his eyes.

"Yan Zi, you..."

He searched for a suitable word for a long time.

"Damn it, this is simply not something a human should be able to do."