888: Chapter 883 Deep Sea Siren

It wasn't until eleven fifty-five.

The nickel price had already been hammered down to the limit.

Shen Yan finally waved his hand.

"Close the positions."

As the final click of the keyboard sounded, the heart-pounding hunt was declared over.

Chen Guangke looked at the final settlement page, swallowed hard, and reported the figure in a hoarse voice.

"Net profit... twelve point eight billion."

The entire trading room fell silent as if dead.

Wu Ya covered her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes.

Li Guofu slumped in his chair, as if his spine had been removed.

Twelve point eight billion.

In just one morning.

This was the bloodiness and the allure of the capital market.

Shen Yan turned around, picked up the contract from the floor, lightly dusted it off, and threw it into Li Guofu's arms.

"Chairman Li, according to yesterday's agreement, a ten percent premium."

"I will give you every cent owed."

"Now, sign."

Li Guofu picked up the pen with a trembling hand, looking at Shen Yan's young yet unfathomably deep face, and a profound chill welled up in his heart.

He knew that starting today, the Shenyan Group, and even the entire Donghai business community, was about to change.

This man was a monster wearing human skin.

After signing, Li Guofu looked as if he had aged ten years, and was helped out of the conference room by others.

He had lost, lost completely and utterly.

The shares he held were originally his retirement capital. Although they were now cashed out, he had lost the opportunity to board the Shen An aircraft carrier.

No matter how high Shen An flew in the future, it would have nothing to do with him.

Shen Yan looked at the empty doorway and let out a long breath.

The sense of suffocation that had been pressing on his chest finally dissipated a little.

"Brother Yan, we... we succeeded!"

Chen Guangke rushed over, wanting to hug Shen Yan but hesitating, finally just clenching his fist tightly.

"Repay the money borrowed from An Ran, principal plus interest,"

Shen Yan instructed, his tone returning to its usual calmness.

"Additionally, give every trader a ten million bonus, sign a higher-level non-compete agreement, and make sure they keep their mouths shut."

"The remaining money, transfer it all to the R&D department's independent account."

"Tell Elder Mo that the S-class laboratory he requested can start construction."

Wu Ya quickly took notes on the side, her hands trembling with excitement.

With this money, the Shenlan Group's layout in the field of Artificial Intelligence would no longer be constrained by funding.

Shen Yan walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the city below.

It was noon, and the sunshine was brilliant.

"Guang Ke."

Shen Yan called out without turning his head.

"Here."

"Go book me a spot. I'm treating Elder Mo to hot pot tonight."

"Okay, which place?"

"Just a roadside stall. He likes that kind of down-to-earth atmosphere."

Shen Yan turned around, the sunlight spilling onto his back, stretching his shadow long, long behind him.

That meal of copper-pot mutton at the roadside stall was savored deeply. The mutton's gamey smell mixed with the charcoal smoke seemed to fumigate away the bloodless slaughter from the financial markets that day.

Shen Yan returned home late, already at eleven at night.

An orange floor lamp was left on in the living room, its warm halo bringing a sense of peace.

Liu Hui was leaning against the sofa wearing a beige knit cardigan. The book in her hand had slipped onto the carpet, and her breathing was long and steady.

Shen Yan eased his steps, just about to carry his wife to the bedroom, when his coat corner was gently tugged by a small hand.

Shen An, wearing dinosaur-patterned pajamas, was sprawled on the carpet on the other side, surrounded by a pile of complex blueprints and several dismantled electronic components.

"Dad, Old Man Mo's thinking has hit a dead end."

The three-and-a-half-year-old child lowered his voice, pointing to a dense formula on the blueprint. A certain fanaticism flickered in his large eyes.

"He wants to use traditional Kalman filtering to correct the mechanical arm's jitter, but that's completely unworkable with nanosecond-level latency."

Shen Yan squatted down and rubbed his son's messy hair. That touch completely relaxed his tense nerves.

"Then what do you think should be done?"

"Rewrite the underlying driver directly. I tried running a simulation with a biomimetic neural network tonight, and the accuracy improved by two orders of magnitude."

Shen An handed over a tablet computer, the green data stream flickering on the screen like living vines.

"Show it to Old Man Mo tomorrow; it'll definitely scare his dentures out."

Shen Yan smiled, the smile reaching his eyes. This was the meaning behind him working so hard to earn money.

After settling his wife and son, Shen Yan went to the study alone.

The city outside the window had already fallen asleep. Only the occasional passing car headlights on the distant overpass resembled flowing blood vessels.

He lit a cigarette but didn't smoke it; he just watched the spark flicker on and off.

Twelve point eight billion.

This amount was enough for an ordinary person to squander for several lifetimes, but in Shen Yan's eyes, it was merely a ticket for the Shenlan Group to sail into the deep sea.

The system interface, which had been silent all day, suddenly popped up without warning.

The bright red exclamation mark was more dazzling than any previous time.

[Detected Host assets exceeding the ten-billion level, triggering area unlock.]

[Refreshing advanced wealth intelligence (Rare): Q Country, Kabala Free Port, codenamed "Leviathan".]

[Intelligence Details: The prototype of the former Soviet Union's residual "Deep Sea Siren" underwater communication protocol and the complete source code will appear at a private auction in Kabala in 48 hours.]

[Potential Value: Incalculable (Involves not only commercial monopoly but also national maritime defense security).]

[System Suggestion: The Host's current net worth has attracted the covetous eyes of multiple parties. Mere money cannot serve as a moat; you need a shield bearing the national insignia.]

Shen Yan's fingers tightened abruptly. The unburnt cigarette end burned his fingertip, but he didn't notice at all.

Underwater communication protocol.

This was currently the Holy Grail of global marine technology. Whoever controlled this technology could make submarines communicate instantly in the deep sea as if they were in their own bathtub.

And Q Country was notoriously chaotic, riddled with warlords and rampant black markets.

But the system was right; twelve point eight billion was a huge piece of meat. Without sufficient military strength or national endorsement, he was just a whale waiting to be slaughtered.

He had to obtain this technology, and it absolutely could not remain in the hands of the Shenlan Group.

It must be handed over.

He would use this priceless treasure to exchange for an entry ticket to the national team, to exchange for a hundred years of stability for the Shenlan Group.

Shen Yan crushed the cigarette butt and picked up the satellite phone on the desk, dialing a number.

"Guang Ke, help me book the fastest flight ticket to Q Country."

"Q Country? Brother Yan, they are still fighting over there! What are you going to that godforsaken place for?"

Chen Guangke's voice, just woken up, was filled with terror.

"To restock."

Shen Yan's voice was as calm as if he were discussing tomorrow's weather.

"You and Wu Ya keep an eye on the company. Not a single cent less for Elder Mo's laboratory funding. Tell outsiders I'm going to O-Continent to inspect server suppliers."

"But..."

"No buts. No one needs to follow me this time. I'm going alone."