872: Chapter 867 The Fox with Its Teeth Pulled

The early morning in Jinghai always carried a chill, a scent of raw concrete, and even the priceless West Mountain Estate was no exception.

Last night's cozy picnic felt like a brief phantom dream, washed clean by the torrent of reality as the sun rose.

When Shen Yan opened his eyes, the wall clock pointed exactly to seven in the morning.

Liu Hui beside him was still fast asleep, breathing long and steady, a few strands of hair stuck to her cheek, making her look exceptionally tranquil.

Shen Yan quietly lifted the quilt and got out of bed without disturbing anyone.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, habitually taking out a cigarette. Before he could light it, a semi-transparent panel, visible only to him, popped up in his sight.

It was the tycoon system's daily, unmissable intelligence push.

Usually, the push at this hour contained trivial gossip, at most, which stock would rise three points in the afternoon.

But today, the panel's border glowed with a faint golden light.

This was the marker for 'High-Level Intelligence'.

Shen Yan's fingers holding the cigarette paused slightly, his gaze focusing on those few lines of Song typeface.

[Today's High-Level Intelligence: The bankrupt former chief architect of 'Nordic Brain,' Hans, will be transferring at Terminal T3 of Changi Airport in Singapore at 4 PM today.]

[Intelligence Details: Hans is carrying a solid-state drive disguised as a lighter, which stores the complete source code of 'Nordic Brain's' unreleased 'Neural Network Compression Algorithm'.]

[Current Analysis: Hans owes massive usurious loans due to participation in underground gambling and is desperate to flee to South America.]

[Recommended Action: Intercept.]

[Estimated Gain: Mastering this algorithm can increase the computational efficiency of deep blue heart by 40%, directly leapfrogging two generations of technological barriers.]

Shen Yan stared at the number '40%' and broke the cigarette in his hand.

This was hardly intelligence; it was clearly delivering a nuclear reactor to his nascent AI empire.

Just yesterday he was pondering how to poach technical backbones from Tiannuo Biology, and today the system was feeding the meal directly to his mouth.

"Why are you up so early?"

Liu Hui's groggy voice came from behind him.

Shen Yan turned back, his sternness instantly receding, replaced by a gentle expression.

"There's an urgent matter at the company; I have to go on a business trip today."

Liu Hui propped herself up and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She didn't complain, just asked out of habit:

"Where are you going? Should I call Old Chen to pick you up?"

In her memory, whenever Shen Yan traveled far, Chen Guangke accompanied him.

Although that big guy was boisterous, as long as he was there, Liu Hui felt Shen Yan was safe.

Shen Yan walked to the bedside, tucked the corner of the quilt for her, and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"I'm not taking Old Chen this time."

"I'm going to Singapore to discuss a technical deal; I need someone quick-witted."

Liu Hui paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Then take your stomach medicine, don't just focus on drinking."

At nine in the morning, the top floor of Shenyan Building.

Chen Guangke, half a meat bun dangling from his mouth, burst through the door of the CEO's office.

"Old Shen! I heard you're going to Singapore? I told my secretary to book the tickets. What time are we leaving?"

As he spoke, he placed his soy milk onto the priceless Huanghuali wood desk.

Shen Yan was sitting in the large leather chair, reviewing documents, without even raising his head.

"You are not going."

Chen Guangke's chewing motion stopped, his cheeks puffed out like a wronged hamster.

"I'm not going? If you go abroad and I don't follow, what if someone kidnaps you?"

"The people who want to kidnap you now could line up from Jinghai all the way to Paris; don't you realize that?"

Shen Yan closed the document and looked up at the brother he had grown up with, sharing everything.

"This time, it's not about fighting; it's about tricking someone."

"Your face screams two extreme emotions: 'I'm an honest person' and 'I'm going to kill you.' It's not suitable for this kind of occasion."

Chen Guangke laboriously swallowed the bun in his mouth, feeling a bit resentful.

"Then who are you taking? Wu Ya? Her temper is even worse than mine."

Shen Yan stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze drifting toward the unmarked office next door.

"I'm taking Pei Jue."

Chen Guangke nearly choked to death on his saliva.

"Who? Pei Jue? That insidious scoundrel?"

"Old Shen, have you gone mad? That bastard wishes he could grind you into dust, and you're taking him abroad? Aren't you afraid he'll poison you on the plane?"

Shen Yan turned around, straightened his cuffs, and spoke with a tone as casual as if discussing the weather.

"He wouldn't dare."

"Besides, to deal with a gambler and a swindler, no one is more suitable than a fox whose fangs have been drawn."

"You stay home and monitor the launch ceremony for deep blue heart. That's our trump card. Besides you, I trust no one else."

This sentence instantly smoothed out Chen Guangke's ruffled feathers.

He scratched his messy hair and chuckled foolishly twice.

"Fine then, keep an eye on that kid and don't let him run off."

...

The office next door.

There was no nameplate here, only a thick soundproof door.

Pei Jue was hunched over his desk, furiously hammering away at the code on the computer screen.

From the air conditioning vent in the room, a very low-frequency humming sound could faintly be heard.

That was infrasound at 18.9 Hz.

This sound was inaudible but could induce inexplicable anxiety, irritability, and physical discomfort.

This was the 'special treatment' Shen Yan had arranged for him.

Pei Jue's face was pale, his eye sockets sunken. The once spirited new tech mogul now looked like an addict just released from rehab.

But he dared not stop.

As soon as the keyboard tapping frequency dropped below a certain level, the maddening low-frequency noise would automatically increase its power.

The door was pushed open.

Shen Yan walked in, and the secretary behind him casually turned off the tormenting noise generator.

The world instantly fell silent.

Pei Jue gasped for air like a drowning man suddenly surfacing, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

He raised his head, his eyes filled with bone-deep hatred, but even more so, a fear born from having his spine broken.

"CEO Shen... I have completed today's task quota..."

Pei Jue's voice was hoarse, as if ground by sandpaper.

Shen Yan pulled over a chair, sat down, crossed his legs, and looked down at this fox who had once nearly bitten him to death.

"Pack up, you're coming on a business trip with me."

Pei Jue froze, even suspecting he was hallucinating.

"A... a business trip?"

"To Singapore. The plane leaves in two hours."

Shen Yan pulled a photograph from his pocket and tossed it onto Pei Jue's ash-covered keyboard.

The photo showed a stubbled white fat man with a look of panic.

"This man is Hans. He has something I want."

"He's a gambling addict who is desperate to flee."

"I want you to get what he has in the shortest time and with the least amount of money."