824: Chapter 819 Not only do we need people, we also need to win their hearts.

Shen Yan took a sip of coffee, the bitter aroma spreading in his mouth.

"About three hundred million! This is practically giving it away! That piece of land alone is worth more than that!"

Chen Guangke rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Then buy it."

Shen Yan put down his cup and took out a map from the drawer.

It was a map of North Africa.

His finger tapped a nondescript small dot on the Atlas Mountains.

"Guang Ke, after this matter is settled, you need to take a trip."

"Where to?" Chen Guangke leaned closer.

"North Africa. Go buy me a 'spent mine'."

Chen Guangke froze for a moment, then scratched the back of his head.

"Brother Yan, we are in the technology business. Why buy a mine? And a spent one at that?"

Shen Yan looked up, his gaze deep.

"Because what is buried there is the ticket for us to enter the next era."

Just then, the intercom on the front desk rang.

Shen Yan pressed the speaker button.

"Mr. Shen, there is an... well, a rather strange old gentleman downstairs looking for you."

"He says he doesn't have an appointment, but he has a card with your phone number on it."

A smile curved the corner of Shen Yan's mouth.

They arrived even faster than expected.

"Please have him come up, use the CEO's private elevator."

"Also, notify the HR Staff department to prepare the highest-specification employment contract."

Hanging up the phone, Shen Yan stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Below him, the traffic in Jinghai City flowed ceaselessly, resembling a giant steel dragon.

Since he was reborn once, and with the System's blessing,

The head of this dragon should change hands.

Chen Guangke was still studying the map, muttering to himself.

"North Africa... that place is desolate... but if Brother Yan says there's a ticket, there must be gold..."

The door to the CEO's office was pushed open.

The young receptionist stood nervously at the doorway, followed by two people who seemed completely out of place in the modern office building.

One was the ragged homeless man from last night. Although he had bathed and changed into clean gray sportswear, his eyes were still unfocused, and he was mumbling incomprehensible chemical formulas.

The other was an old man with white hair but a ramrod-straight back, wearing a faded Zhongshan suit and tightly clutching a cane. His gaze toward Shen Yan held a measure of scrutiny and vigilance.

Chen Guangke, showing good sense, waved the receptionist away and poured two cups of warm water for the two visitors.

"I am Wei Jianguo."

The old man's voice was hoarse, as if polished by sandpaper, carrying an air of stubbornness.

He slapped the crumpled business card onto the mahogany desk.

"My younger brother's mind is unwell, and he was deceived for half his life. I cannot watch him jump from the wolf's den into the tiger's mouth."

Shen Yan sat in the executive chair, showing no displeasure at the other party's attitude.

He glanced at the homeless man sitting in the corner of the sofa, fiddling with his fingers. The information provided by the System flashed through his mind.

Lin Zhendong, Wei Jianguo's apprentice. A genius twenty years ago, he suffered a mental breakdown after his paper on 'Low-Temperature Superconductivity' was stolen by a close friend, leading him to become homeless.

And Wei Jianguo, to take care of this junior apprentice, gave up his high-paying position at the research institute and lived anonymously in Jinghai City collecting scrap metal for over a decade.

This loyalty was worth more than any mountain of gold.

"Mr. Wei, you think I am a tiger?"

Shen Yan leaned slightly forward, interlocking his fingers on the desk.

Wei Jianguo snorted coldly and stomped his cane heavily on the floor.

"Which businessman nowadays doesn't devour people without spitting out the bones?"

"Even though Zhendong is confused, the knowledge in his head hasn't been lost."

"What you covet is nothing more than his technology. Once you squeeze out all his value, will you still care about the fate of a madman?"

"I thank you for helping him yesterday, but I cannot let you use this person."

As Wei Jianguo spoke, he moved to pull Lin Zhendong, his attitude as firm as a rock.

Lin Zhendong staggered from being pulled, letting out a frightened whimper, clutching the black plastic bag in his arms tightly, refusing to let go.

Shen Yan did not move.

He merely tapped the desk lightly, and the computer screen, which had been in standby mode, suddenly lit up.

It was not a normal desktop, but a rotating, extremely complex molecular structure model.

"Tianshu, run simulation scheme number three for mesaichi-7."

Shen Yan commanded softly into the air.

A soft electronic voice sounded in the office.

"Understood, Father."

The molecular structure on the screen began to reorganize frantically, and countless streams of data poured down like a waterfall.

Lin Zhendong, who had been struggling, suddenly stopped moving.

His eyes were fixed intently on the screen, his cloudy pupils contracting sharply.

That was the image that had appeared countless times in his dreams.

Wei Jianguo was also stunned. He was an expert; although he had been away from frontline scientific research for many years, he still possessed basic discernment.

What was being demonstrated on the screen was the breakthrough demonstration for the critical value of room-temperature superconductivity that had plagued the academic world for years.

"This... this is..."

Wei Jianguo's hand trembled slightly.

"Mr. Wei, Rock Technology does not lack money, nor does it lack so-called commercial secrets."

Shen Yan stood up, walked around the desk, and approached Lin Zhendong.

He did not look at Wei Jianguo, but at the man called a madman.

"What I want to do is not to make money, but to push open the door to that new world."

"In this world, only I know what he is saying, and only I can give him the best laboratory so he can turn what's in his head into reality."

"If you take him back, he can only be a madman collecting scrap metal."

"If he stays here, he is the key to unlocking the future."

Shen Yan's voice was not loud, but every word struck the core of Wei Jianguo's heart.

Wei Jianguo looked at the perfect data model on the screen, then looked at his junior apprentice, who had unknowingly walked up to the screen, reaching out a hand as if to touch the flickering molecules.

The dullness on Lin Zhendong's face was gone, replaced by a fervor and happiness akin to pilgrimage.

That was an expression Wei Jianguo had not seen in over ten years.

"Is there... is there Germanium here?"

Lin Zhendong suddenly turned his head and asked Shen Yan a seemingly random question.

Shen Yan smiled.

"We have plenty."

Those two simple words shattered Wei Jianguo's last line of defense.

The old man sighed deeply, as if shedding a thousand-pound burden, his entire frame seeming to stoop slightly.

"Mr. Shen, let's be clear about the ugly part first."

"If I ever discover you mistreat him, I will risk this old body and smash your company to pieces."

Shen Yan extended his hand and grasped the old man's rough palm.

"Rest assured."

"Furthermore, the company also needs a logistics supervisor, specifically responsible for laboratory safety and material management."

"The monthly salary is one hundred thousand, with room and board included. I wonder if Mr. Wei is interested?"

Wei Jianguo froze for a moment, looking into Shen Yan's calm, deep eyes.

This young man not only wanted his man, but he also wanted to capture his heart.

But he did not refuse.

For his apprentice, and for that bit of undying passion.