823: How much money can I get Chapter 818?

And, that car...

That unique emblem, and that imposing front end.

Although Yellow Hair was a thug, he wasn't blind.

That was a rolls-royce Cullinan.

People who could drive such a car could crush them like squashing an ant.

The few men who were just about to make a move instantly looked like chickens whose necks had been grabbed; their arrogance completely vanished.

Yellow Hair swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his previous swagger completely gone.

"Uh... Big Brother, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

"He bit me first, we were just trying to scare him a little."

Shen Yan didn't even give them a direct look.

"Scram."

Just one word.

Simple, decisive.

Yellow Hair and his group acted as if they had received amnesty. They scrambled away, riding their motorcycles and revving the throttle as if fleeing for their lives.

They didn't even dare to leave behind any harsh words.

This was the gap in strength.

No need to fight; just standing there was a form of deterrence.

The alley quieted down again.

Shen Yan walked to the homeless man and slowly squatted down.

The black umbrella tilted, shielding the rain falling on the homeless man, but exposing half of Shen Yan's shoulder.

The homeless man flinched and watched Shen Yan warily, shifting his body backward.

"Don't be afraid."

Shen Yan took out a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed it over.

"They're gone."

The homeless man didn't take the tissues. His cloudy eyes stared fixedly at Shen Yan, and a guttural sound came from his throat.

"Don't... don't take my blueprints..."

Blueprints?

Shen Yan's heart stirred.

It seemed the plastic bag held the last vestiges of this fallen expert's life's work.

"I won't take your blueprints."

Shen Yan's voice was very soft, as if afraid of startling an injured wild animal.

"I run a technology company. My name is Shen Yan."

"Perhaps you can understand the term 'graphene superconductivity'?"

Upon hearing those words, a flash of light suddenly appeared in the homeless man's cloudy eyes.

It was an instinctive reaction etched into his very bones.

He stopped trembling and looked at Shen Yan hesitantly.

"Graph... ene?"

"Yes, but I'm running into some trouble right now."

Shen Yan did not use a tone of charity, but rather spoke as if exchanging views with an equal peer.

"We are refining high-purity silicon wafers, but the yield rate is stuck at 92%. I wanted to ask, if it were you, how would you solve it?"

This was an extremely professional question.

An ordinary person would only look utterly bewildered upon hearing it.

But the homeless man suddenly sat up straight.

His hands, covered in grime, gestured in the air, and he muttered to himself.

"The temperature... the gradient cooling is wrong..."

"Need to add germanium... zero point three percent germanium... as a catalyst..."

Although his words were disjointed, every single term hit the crucial point.

Shen Yan's lips curved slightly upward.

He struck gold.

The Host hadn't lied.

This man not only understood, but possessed a master-level proficiency.

"Thank you for your guidance."

Shen Yan took out a business card from his embrace. This was a blank card he had specifically asked Old Zhang to find in the car; he had only written a phone number on it.

He placed the card and the pack of tissues into the homeless man's hand.

"I am short of a Chief Materials Consultant. The salary is five million a year, plus technical equity."

"If you think it over, or if you just want to find a place to take a hot shower and eat a full meal, call this number anytime."

After speaking, Shen Yan didn't say anything more, nor did he forcibly try to take the man away.

For a genius who had suffered a severe blow, dignity was more important than life.

Forcing charity upon him would only make him run farther away.

Shen Yan stood up, leaving the black umbrella next to the homeless man, and walked back to the car alone in the rain.

The car door closed.

Shen Yan took the towel handed over by Liu Hui and wiped his damp shoulder.

"Who was that?" Liu Hui asked curiously, "I saw you talking to him for quite a while."

"A senior who got lost."

Shen Yan smiled and started the car.

"In a couple of days, he will come looking for us."

The moment the car started, the system's notification sound rang out again.

[Mission Complete: The Lost Pearl.]

[Congratulations to the Host for receiving the reward.]

[Reward One: advanced wealth intelligence—'Exploration Map of Rare Metal Ore Veins in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa'. Note: This vein contains a massive amount of 'Rhenium' element, a key material for manufacturing single-crystal turbine blades for aircraft engines. Currently, this area is misjudged as a depleted mine and is about to be auctioned off at a low price.]

[Reward Two: Talent Network Unlocked—Target Individual: Wei Jianguo, former Director of the National Microelectronics Research Institute. The homeless man the Host just saved is his direct disciple and only inheritor. Through this homeless man, the Host can directly gain the trust and support of Wei Jianguo's team.]

Shen Yan lightly tapped the steering wheel twice with his fingers.

Rhenium ore.

Aircraft engines.

This was a field often called the 'Jewel in the Crown of Industry'.

With this intelligence, the company's scope would no longer be limited to consumer electronics.

It could even venture into military and aerospace sectors.

As for Wei Jianguo, Shen Yan searched the name in his mind.

In his previous life, this man was a towering figure, but due to his strong character, he had retired early. He never expected to make a connection in this manner.

The system's interlocking arrangement was simply exquisite.

"Husband, what are you thinking about? Why are you smiling so... slyly?"

Liu Hui looked at the curve of Shen Yan's mouth and couldn't help but tease him.

Shen Yan snapped back to reality, turned his head to glance at his wife.

"I'm thinking that our company might need to expand again."

"Expand again?" Liu Hui's eyes widened, "The current office building isn't even full yet."

"Don't worry."

Shen Yan reached out and gently pinched his sleeping son's little cheek.

"The world is changing too fast. We have to run even faster, or we'll be left behind."

Outside the car window, the rain gradually stopped.

The dark clouds dispersed, and a pale moon hung in the sky.

The homeless man under the streetlamp was still sitting there.

But he was no longer huddled up.

He tightly clutched the card with the phone number written on it, his gaze fixed on the Cullinan driving away.

In those cloudy eyes, something seemed to be reigniting.

It was the spark of hope.

The next morning.

As soon as Shen Yan arrived at the company, Chen Guangke rushed into the office in a flurry.

"Brother Yan! You're a genius! Truly a genius!"

Chen Guangke waved a document in his hand, his face flushed with excitement.

"The Tianhai Group hardware factory you asked me to watch experienced a limit down opening this morning!"

"And some rumor is spreading that their production line doesn't meet environmental standards and is going to be shut down!"

"Now all those shareholders are selling off, and the price has been smashed down to the floor!"

Shen Yan sat in his spacious executive chair, holding a cup of freshly ground black coffee.

He had anticipated this.

Tian Shu could not only check code but also many things that shouldn't see the light of day.

The anonymous tip he casually sent to the Environmental Protection Bureau last night was just the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"How much to take it down?"