905: Chapter 90 Of course, a background check needs to be done.

The truly core algorithm, the key that grants the AI 'self-awareness,' was not here.

He clicked on the intelligence details.

A familiar yet strange place name popped up.

[Coordinates: Arctic Circle, Kola Superdeep Borehole Laboratory Ruins.]

Shen Yan looked at the coordinates and suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.

What were those madmen trying to do twenty years ago?

They didn't just want to create a god.

They seemed to want to hide that god at the entrance to hell.

"Boss, what's wrong?"

Wu Ya, standing nearby, noticed Shen Yan's expression was off.

"It's nothing."

Shen Yan closed the system panel, regaining his usual calm demeanor.

"Get ready."

"After our domestic arrangements stabilize, we might have to take a long trip."

"Where to?"

"To the ends of the earth, to dig something up."

Shen Yan walked to the window and looked at the surging dark clouds on the distant horizon.

It was the precursor to a storm.

Since he had already muddied the waters, he might as well stir them up even more.

Those things hidden at the bottom of the deep water would surface sooner or later.

And he would be the sole angler.

The fierce wind howled tirelessly across the Arctic ice fields like a ravenous Siberian wolf.

This was north of Murmansk, where the extreme cold stripped human civilization down to the most primitive survival instincts at this latitude.

A convoy composed of four heavily modified DT-3 'Knight' all-terrain tracked vehicles was brutally crushing the half-meter-thick snow.

This steel behemoth left over from the Soviet era burned enough diesel in one press of the accelerator to last an ordinary family a week.

But in Shen Yan's eyes, this was merely the cost of his breakfast in Jinghai City.

The world outside the window was a despairing white, devoid of any sign of life.

However, the temperature inside the cabin was locked by the constant temperature system at the most comfortable twenty-four degrees Celsius.

Shen Yan was wearing a custom-made arctic cold-weather suit, holding a cup of top-grade Da Hong Pao that was still steaming.

The aroma of tea filled the enclosed cabin, creating a sharply ironic contrast with the minus forty degrees Celsius hell outside.

Chen Guangke had wrapped himself up like a zongzi; even though the vehicle was warm, he still felt a chill creeping up from his tailbone.

"Brother Yan, are we really risking our lives to come to this godforsaken place for that damned code?"

Chen Guangke sniffled, looking out at the blizzard that could almost freeze a person's soul.

"Even a polar bear would curse a few times before leaving this place."

Shen Yan took a sip of tea, his expression as placid as if he were strolling in his own backyard.

"Some things are more precious than gold, especially when they can make your commercial empire impregnable."

Liu Xing, sitting in the corner, clutched the laptop in his arms as if it were his life source.

This biology genius, who usually stuttered even when speaking, now had his eyes shining with an almost fanatical light.

"The... the Boss is right. That... that is the soul of a titan."

Liu Xing’s voice trembled with excitement.

"As long as we... as long as we get the core algorithm, we can create a true... god."

Shen Yan set down his teacup and looked toward the hazy skyline in the distance.

The coordinates provided by the system were right there.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole, once known as the 'Gate of Hell.'

In the 1970s, the Soviets dug down 12,262 meters here.

The official story was that they stopped due to insufficient funding and technical bottlenecks.

Rumor had it they drilled into hell and recorded the screams of millions of the damned.

But only Shen Yan knew the truth.

They dug up something they shouldn't have, and they hid something they shouldn't have.

"Boss, we have a situation ahead."

The rough voice of the security captain, 'Old K,' came through the walkie-talkie.

This was a top mercenary poached from Blackwater Company, with a scar running across half his throat.

The convoy slowed to a halt.

In the swirling snowstorm, over a dozen snowmobiles blocked the only path forward.

A group of large men from Country E, wearing heavy furs and holding AK-47s, stared at them menacingly.

The leader was a giant nearly two meters tall, his large beard covered in ice shards.

"They are 'scavengers' from this area, or rather, local bandits collecting tolls."

Old K's voice betrayed no emotion, as if he were merely talking about a few stray dogs blocking the road.

"Do you need me to clear them out? Give me three minutes."

Chen Guangke turned pale with fright and shrank behind Shen Yan, trembling.

"Holy crap, they actually have AKs? We're here for IT work, not Counter-Strike!"

Shen Yan, however, casually adjusted his cuff.

"No need for such trouble."

He opened the system panel visible only to him.

[Today's intelligence has been refreshed.]

[Target: Ivan Novikov (Nickname: 'The Polar Bear').]

[Intelligence Details: Illegal armed leader in this region, controls the resale of supplies from surrounding abandoned military bases. His son and daughter are currently attending a private noble school in Moscow, but he owes a large sum of high-interest debt to the local gang 'Tomahawk.' If the money isn't repaid within three days, his children will be in danger.]

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

In this world, as long as someone is human, they have a weakness.

As long as there is a weakness, there is a price.

"Old K, turn on the loudspeaker."

Shen Yan took the vehicle's microphone, and fluent Country E language poured out.

"Mr. Ivan, instead of robbing a few passersby who might not even have much money, why not think about how to repay your debt to 'Tomahawk'?"

In the snowstorm, the leading giant clearly froze for a moment.

The hand holding the gun became somewhat stiff.

"Your son is in the ninth grade at a private middle school in Moscow, and your daughter studies ballet."

Shen Yan's voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, echoed across the empty snowfield like a judgment from God.

"If I were you, I would take this check and hurry to Moscow to bring them home."

A narrow gap opened in the car window.

A pre-filled check was held between Shen Yan's fingers and drifted out into the wind.

The amount on it was enough for Ivan to clear his debt and still buy a sea-view apartment in Sochi.

Ivan picked up the check that was fluttering wildly in the wind.

He looked at the number, then looked back at the dark steel behemoth with terror.

He didn't know who was sitting in the vehicle.

But he knew this person was more terrifying than the ice field itself.

A few seconds later, Ivan waved his hand.

The snowmobiles quickly dispersed to the sides, clearing a wide passage.

Ivan even took off his hat and bowed deeply toward the convoy.

"Let's go."

Shen Yan closed the window and picked up his teacup again.

Chen Guangke watched, dumbfounded, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"Brother Yan, when... when did you learn Country E? And how did you know he was in debt?"

"A businessman has to do some background checks."