901: Chapter 896 They Deserved It

Everyone was startled, and the pen in Zhao De's hand fell onto the table with a clatter.

"What's going on? Who's playing tricks? Security! Security!"

No one responded to him.

The images on the large screen began to change rapidly.

Countless streams of data poured down like a waterfall, and the red curves that were originally falling suddenly seemed to have been hit by a pause button.

Immediately after, a familiar figure appeared in the center of the screen.

Shen Yan was wearing that black trench coat, with a background of dim industrial ruins, but as he sat there, his presence was even more powerful than a monarch sitting on a throne.

"I heard someone wants to sell my company?"

Shen Yan's voice spread throughout the conference room via the speakers.

That calm tone with a hint of playfulness made the hair on Zhao De's body stand on end.

"Shen... Shen Yan? You... where are you?"

Zhao De asked stutteringly.

"Where I am isn't important."

Shen Yan leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

"What's important is, Uncle Zhao, did you just say you were going to sell the company to Tianqiong Capital?"

"I... I'm doing this for everyone's good! With the company in its current state, only Tianqiong Capital is willing to take over..."

"Take over?"

Shen Yan smiled, a smile that made Zhao De feel as if he were being watched by a venomous snake.

"Since they want it so badly, I'll give them a grand gift."

Shen Yan turned to look off-camera.

"Do it."

As soon as those two words were spoken, the image on the large screen changed again.

This time, what was displayed was no longer the data of Shenyan Group, but a complex network topology diagram.

That synthesized electronic voice rang out again.

"Target locked: Tianqiong Capital core database."

"Brute-force cracking in progress."

"Cracking progress: 3%... 60%... 100%."

"Firewall destroyed."

The shareholders in the conference room watched, dumbfounded.

Although they didn't understand technology, they could tell that this was a hacking attack.

And it was the kind of crushing, dimension-reducing strike.

"Shen Yan! You're crazy! This is illegal! You're attacking Tianqiong Capital!"

Zhao De screamed, his face as pale as paper.

Shen Yan didn't even bother to acknowledge him.

A large number of files and chat records began scrolling across the large screen.

[Tianqiong Capital Internal Email: Operational Plan for Shorting Shenyan Group.]

[Transfer Record: Payment of 500,000 yuan in rumor-mongering fees to the "Head of Internet Trolls."]

[Private Chat: Conversation between Zhao De and the CEO of Tianqiong Capital— "As long as we take down Shen Yan, the vice president position is yours."]

At this moment, there was a deathly silence in the conference room.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Zhao De.

Those gazes were filled with shock, anger, and contempt.

Zhao De's legs went weak, and he slumped into his chair, his lips trembling, unable to say a single word.

But this was only the beginning.

Shenyan Group's official Weibo, official website, and the advertising slots of major mainstream media were all forcibly pinned with this data stream at the same time.

It wasn't just the exposure of evidence.

The titan one awakened by Guo Zhendong was showing the whole world what true computing power hegemony was.

It followed the network cables and found every IP address that had posted rumors online.

Ten minutes later, a real-name list containing 13,000 rumor-mongering accounts was posted online.

Even selfies of those troll leaders in front of their computers were hacked and leaked.

The internet was in an uproar.

The public opinion that had been overwhelmingly criticizing Shenyan Group reversed in an instant.

[Holy crap! What technology is this? Punching people through the network cable?]

[Tianqiong Capital is too dirty; to resort to such low tactics for an acquisition!]

[Who is that Zhao De? A backstabbing dog!]

[Is this the strength of Shenyan Group? I was stunned by that Artificial Intelligence computing power display just now; this is even more impressive than top foreign technology!]

Shenyan Group's stock price, after struggling for a few moments at the limit-down line, suddenly shot up like a cloud-piercing arrow in a straight line.

It took less than five minutes to go from limit-down to limit-up.

This was the crushing weight of absolute strength.

In the face of true technology, all conspiracies and schemes appeared so ridiculous.

Inside an abandoned warehouse in Country M.

Guo Zhendong looked at the sea of red on the screen, trembling all over with excitement.

His chubby hands typed the final command on the keyboard.

"Alright, the final blow."

Following his action, Tianqiong Capital's servers were completely paralyzed.

All data was encrypted and locked, leaving only one line on the screen:

[Want to unlock it? Come beg me. — Shen Yan]

Shen Yan watched this scene and gently closed his laptop.

He stood up, walked to the warehouse door, and watched the sky gradually brighten outside.

"Guang Ke."

"Here, Brother Yan."

Chen Guangke's gaze at Shen Yan right now was practically like looking at God.

"Pack up, we're going home."

Shen Yan straightened his collar, his tone as calm as if he had just finished grocery shopping at the market.

"There's still someone at home waiting for me to come back for dinner."

Three days later, Jinghai City Airport.

As soon as Shen Yan stepped out of the VIP passage, he was almost blinded by the flashes of cameras.

Hundreds of media outlets crowded the exit, making it impassable.

"President Shen! May I ask how you managed to pull off such a counterattack?"

"Does the Artificial Intelligence technology displayed by Shenyan Group mean that our country has surpassed the West in the AI field?"

"Tianqiong Capital announced bankruptcy liquidation yesterday, and Zhao De was taken away by the police for investigation. What are your thoughts on this?"

The bodyguards struggled to clear a path through the crowd.

Shen Yan stopped and took off his sunglasses.

He looked at those lenses; there was no ecstasy or arrogance on his face.

"I just did what a businessman should do."

He paused, his gaze passing through the crowd to see the familiar business van parked in the distance.

The car window rolled down, and Liu Hui, holding the child, was smiling at him.

That was his strongest armor in this world.

"As for Tianqiong Capital."

Shen Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached every microphone.

"It's what they deserve."

Having said that, he got into the car without looking back.

Shen Yan closed his eyes and leaned against the backrest.

The car started and smoothly merged into the traffic.

Chen Guangke was driving in the front, humming an unknown little tune.

Wu Ya sat in the passenger seat, still holding her tablet, but her expression was much more relaxed.

"Brother Yan, did we play it a bit too big this time?"

Chen Guangke glanced at the rearview mirror and asked with a smile.

"Was it big?" Shen Yan opened his eyes. "This is only the beginning."

The Shenyan Group building stood tall in the distance, its giant logo shining brightly in the sunlight.

And that behemoth that wanted to devour Shen Yan out of greed had now turned into a pile of rubble.

That once-arrogant CEO of Tianqiong Capital was now sitting in an interrogation room, completely collapsing when faced with a chain of evidence so detailed it even clearly showed where his secret stash of money was hidden.