899: Chapter 894 Pleasant Cooperation

Speaking of this, a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes, as if he felt he had regained a bit of the initiative.

Shen Yan merely gave him a cool glance, his lips parting slightly as he recited a string of insanely complex hexadecimal code.

“A7-B9-C4-D2-Titan-Omega.”

Dead silence.

The entire antique shop fell into an absolute dead silence; even the sound of police sirens on the street outside seemed to grow distant.

Guo Zhendong looked at Shen Yan as if he had seen a ghost, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a lightbulb.

This was the highest authority root key.

In this world, absolutely no more than three people knew this string of code, and those other two should have been dead long ago.

“You...”

“I said, I'm here to do business.”

Shen Yan interrupted his shock, his slender fingers pressing down on the check as he slowly pushed it in front of Guo Zhendong.

“Now, can we do this business?”

With trembling hands, Guo Zhendong picked up the check.

He looked at Shen Yan as if he were looking at a monster that had crawled out of the abyss—powerful, mysterious, and irresistible.

“We can... we definitely can.”

“Boss, the warehouse is in the backyard. This way, please.”

Guo Zhendong's attitude did a complete one-eighty. He didn't even bother to put his shoes on properly, shuffling in his cloth shoes as he ran to open the back door.

Chen Guangke leaned in toward Shen Yan's ear and asked in a low voice, “Brother Yan, what was that incantation you just recited? Why did that fat guy act like he was possessed?”

“The WiFi password.”

Shen Yan bullshitted a response and stepped toward the backyard.

Chen Guangke rolled his eyes, obviously not believing him, but he was used to the sense of mystery that Shen Yan occasionally exuded.

The backyard was a massive tin warehouse with a rusty lock.

It took Guo Zhendong quite an effort to open the door, and a musty smell mixed with the distinct odor of oxidized metal wafted toward them.

Under the dim lighting, mountains of black computer chassis lay there quietly, like a silent tomb.

But in Shen Yan's eyes, this wasn't a tomb; it was a gold mine waiting to be excavated.

The data on the system panel flickered wildly, indicating the immense value contained within these seemingly dilapidated pieces of equipment.

[Detected “titan one” prototype components, 67% integrity. Repair requires 200,000 Wealth Points.]

[Detected fragments of an unfinished “Neural Network Self-Evolution Algorithm,” mergeable with Host's existing AI project.]

Shen Yan's fingers gently brushed over a dust-covered server chassis, the cold sensation making the blood in his body begin to boil.

With these, the Shenyan Group's AI project would directly leapfrog a ten-year research cycle and stand at the pinnacle of the world.

“Boss Guo, there's another small favor I need from you.”

Shen Yan turned around and looked at the uneasy Guo Zhendong standing at the door.

“Shipping these things back home is too much trouble. I need to find a hidden place locally to assemble them first.”

“Since you are an original researcher, I think no one understands better than you how to get these old guys running again.”

Guo Zhendong was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood Shen Yan's meaning.

He was being recruited.

If it had been half an hour ago, he would have refused without hesitation and run away with the money.

But now, looking at the young man standing in the center of the ruins with a back like a mountain, the fire in Guo Zhendong's heart that had been extinguished for twenty years seemed to be reignited by a small spark.

It was a thirst for technology and an unwillingness to let go of an unfinished dream.

“I have a few old buddies who are all scraping by around here. Some are fixing cars, some are washing dishes.”

Guo Zhendong gritted his teeth, his gaze gradually becoming focused.

“As long as the money is right, within three days, I can turn this warehouse into the most powerful computing power center on the West Coast.”

“Money is no object.”

Shen Yan pulled the black card from his pocket and casually tossed it to Chen Guangke.

“Guang Ke, you stay here for the next few days. You're responsible for all expenses. Also, get the brothers some equipment.”

“This place isn't peaceful. I don't want to see anyone who shouldn't be here disturbing Boss Guo's work.”

Chen Guangke caught the black card and whistled, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.

“Don't worry, Brother Yan. As long as the money is sufficient, I can fortify this place like the White House.”

Shen Yan nodded, his gaze passing through the dilapidated warehouse roof as if seeing into the distant future.

This trip to the USA had not only scored him priceless hardware, but more importantly, he had recruited a top-tier technical team that the world had forgotten.

That mastermind who once caused his family's ruin, that behemoth hiding in the shadows—if they knew what cards Shen Yan was holding now, they would probably regret not taking his life back then.

“Then, pleasure doing business.”

Shen Yan reached out his hand.

Guo Zhendong looked at that clean, slender, yet powerful hand. He took a deep breath, wiped his palms hard on his grease-stained pants, and then shook it firmly.

“Pleasure doing business... Boss.”

The moment their hands met, the system notification sound rang clearly in Shen Yan's mind.

[Mission Complete: Recruit Core Technical Talent.]

[Reward Issued: Advanced AI Logic Lock (Unlocked), one random drop of special intelligence.]

The corners of Shen Yan's mouth curled up slightly.

This trip was a massive profit.

But before he could celebrate, the satellite phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

It was a domestic call.

Wu Ya's name flickered on the screen.

Calling transoceanically at this hour was definitely not just to say hello.

Shen Yan answered the phone, his tone instantly returning to that reassuring calmness.

“Speak.”

Wu Ya's somewhat hurried voice came from the other end, with the noisy background sound of furious keyboard typing.

“President Shen, something's happened.”

“That mysterious capital that has been secretly acquiring our retail shares has made its move. Just now, they suddenly dumped all their holdings. Not only that, but a massive amount of dirt regarding our financial fraud was leaked online simultaneously.”

“Shenyan Group's stock price hit the limit down within ten minutes of the opening bell.”

The hand Shen Yan used to hold the phone didn't tremble in the slightest, and there wasn't even a flicker in his gaze.

It was as if all of this was within his expectations.

Or rather, to the current him, an attack of this level was as childish as kids playing house.

“Don't panic.”

Shen Yan calmly uttered two words, his gaze sweeping over the black chassis being moved in the warehouse.

“Let them smash the price.”

“When they've run out of ammunition, that's when we'll pull in the net.”

He hung up the phone and turned to look at Guo Zhendong, who was directing the workers.

“Old Guo, move faster.”

“Some people back home can't wait to seek their deaths. I need to prepare a big gift for them.”

The night in San Francisco was thicker than ink, yet that inconspicuous, abandoned tin warehouse was as bright as day.