891: Chapter 886 All Personnel Shut Down

Smith spoke with heavily accented Chinese, his smile as fake as a plastic mask.

“I heard Shenlan Group is doing very well in this industry lately. titan Headquarters is very interested in establishing a strategic partnership with you.”

Shen Yan leaned back in his chair, looking at him with a half-smile.

“Oh? I recall Mr. Smith saying that Shenlan Group's technology reserves are still stuck in the Stone Age?”

Smith's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered his businessman's thick skin.

“That was a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding.”

He took out a draft contract entirely in English from his briefcase.

“To show our sincerity, titan is willing to offer the latest model of AI computing servers to Shenlan at 80% of the market price.”

“We don't ask for much, we just want Shenlan Group to give us the European agency rights for that... underwater communication protocol.”

Shen Yan looked at the contract and suddenly laughed.

His laugh was light, but it sounded exceptionally jarring in the quiet office.

He picked up the contract, didn't even glance at it, and threw it directly into the shredder by his feet.

Amidst the sizzling sound of electricity, Smith’s face turned ashen.

“Mr. Shen, what is the meaning of this? Do you know the consequences of rejecting titan?”

“Consequences?”

Shen Yan stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the bustling traffic of Shenzhen below.

“Smith, the times have changed.”

“Before, you choked our necks. Now, I’m going to spit in your bowl.”

Shen Yan turned around, his voice not loud, but every word was like a knife.

“Go back and tell your headquarters, cooperation is possible, under these conditions.”

“First, I want the servers at a 50% discount.”

“Second, I want 3% of the shares in titan Data’s data center in Eastern Europe.”

“Third, agency rights? Dream on.”

Smith trembled with anger, his finger pointing at Shen Yan was also shaking.

“This is extortion! This is gangster logic!”

“No, this is business.”

Shen Yan pressed the call button on his desk.

“Show the guest out.”

Several security guards in black suits pushed the door open and politely but firmly escorted the still-roaring Smith out.

Chen Guangke happened to witness this scene. Looking at Smith’s wretched retreating back, he grinned so wide his gums showed.

“Brother Yan, awesome! When this foreigner used to come to our company, he looked down on everyone.”

“This is nothing.”

Shen Yan sat back in his chair, fiddling with the titanium alloy badge he brought back from Country Q.

“Things like this will be the norm from now on. We have to get used to earning money while standing tall.”

For the next half a month, the Shenlan Group building was lit up all night.

Shen Yan was like a tireless, precision machine, working non-stop to handle various negotiations and decisions.

He signed a joint development agreement for autonomous driving algorithms with the largest new energy vehicle manufacturer in the country.

Through channels introduced by An Ran, he acquired a unicorn company specializing in visual recognition in Silicon Valley.

He even took time to visit Mo Weiming's laboratory and approved an additional research and development budget of five billion.

Everyone in the company, from the front desk staff to the core executives, felt as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

Before, they felt they followed Shen Yan for money; now they felt they were creating history.

Until one late night, Shen Yan finished signing the last project proposal for the “Shenlan Brain” cloud platform, his wrist ached so much he could barely hold the pen.

The office door was gently pushed open.

Liu Hui walked in carrying a thermos.

She was wearing simple casual clothes, her hair loosely pinned up, looking gentle and serene.

“Why aren't you asleep yet?”

Shen Yan glanced at the clock on the wall—two in the morning.

“You know it’s two o’clock?”

Liu Hui gave him a playful glare and poured out the chicken soup from the thermos.

“Grandma Liu stewed this. She said it’s to nourish your brain. She’s been worrying sick after seeing you become such a busy person in the news these days.”

Shen Yan took the bowl and took a sip. The warmth slid down his esophagus into his stomach, dispelling the fatigue of the past few days.

“Where are Youyou and Anan?”

“They went to bed early.”

Liu Hui walked behind Shen Yan and began massaging his stiff shoulders.

“That kid Anan has been obsessed lately too, spending all day at Old Mo’s lab. He doesn't even want to go to kindergarten.”

“He said Old Mo promised to let him participate in the architecture design for the next generation of neural networks.”

Shen Yan smiled. This was the power of genes.

“Huihui, I’ve put you through so much,”

He turned and held his wife’s warm hand.

“I’ve been too busy during this time. The home has relied entirely on you to hold things together.”

“Don’t say silly things.”

Liu Hui gently flicked his forehead.

“When a man is fighting battles outside, someone has to guard the home.”

“However...”

Liu Hui hesitated.

“I saw Guang Ke and Wu Ya, they all look exhausted too. I saw Guang Ke nearly fall asleep standing up in the elevator the other day.”

Shen Yan paused for a moment, then a wave of guilt washed over him.

That’s right, these brothers followed him through life and death, and he had certainly worked them like beasts during this period.

Since the general situation was settled, it was time to relax the strings.

The next morning, all Employees of Shenyan Group received a mass email from the Chairman’s Office.

The email title had only four words: Company-wide Shutdown.

The body of the email was simple and direct:

“Given everyone’s recent outstanding performance, the company’s speed of making money has surpassed my speed of spending it.”

“To balance income and expenditure, we have decided to hold a seven-day team-building event next week.”

“Location: A private island in the Pacific.”

“Transportation: Chartered flight.”

“All expenses covered by the company. Bring family, bring pets—anyone who is alive can come.”

“Note: During these seven days, anyone who dares to talk about work will have their year-end bonus deducted.”

The entire Shenlan building instantly erupted.

The cheers almost blew the ceiling off.

Chen Guangke rushed into the office, still holding a half-eaten steamed bun.

“Brother Yan! Are you crazy? That’s a private island! How much money will this trip burn?”

“Isn’t the point of earning so much money to spend it?”

Shen Yan leaned back in his chair, looking at the bright sunshine outside the window.

The system panel flickered faintly in his mind, displaying that astonishing wealth figure.

But what he looked forward to more now was seeing his daughter running on the beach, and seeing his brothers bragging while holding beer bottles.

“Hurry up and get ready. Notify everyone to hand over the work they have on hand.”

“Also, send an invitation to Old Mo. Tell him the island has the best deep-sea fishing spot in the world.”

“That old man will definitely come.”

Chen Guangke swallowed his bun and chuckled.

“What about An Ran and Ning Ke? They are shareholders.”

“Call them, call everyone.”

Shen Yan stood up and stretched widely, his joints cracking audibly.

“This time, we’re not just going to play, we’re going to play earth-shatteringly.”

“After all, the journey of Shenyan Group has only just begun.”

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling window onto Shen Yan’s face, outlining his sharply defined profile.