927: Chapter 922 Can We Wait?

The moment the TOP 50 list was refreshed, the entire tech circle felt as if a depth charge had been dropped.

It wasn't as clamorous as the outside world expected; true tremors are often silent.

The phone lines at the Shenyan Building were indeed cut, physically blown apart by the sheer volume of calls.

But at this moment, in the Third Thermal Power Plant in the northern suburbs of Jinghai—now known as the 'pangu' Supercomputing Center—the usually deserted cinder road outside was packed with luxury cars typically only seen on the covers of financial magazines.

Snow continued to fall, landing on the emblems of those rolls-royces and Bentleys, quickly melting into water.

This was because the once-abandoned factory was currently radiating astonishing heat.

That was the residual warmth that even the liquid cooling system couldn't suppress when 120,000 top-tier computing cards were running at full load.

Shen Yan sat in the reception room, which had been converted from the old control room.

He held an enamel mug, the kind only seen in the 1980s, with a chip of paint missing from the rim, and steaming hot, high-grade tea leaves were steeping inside.

An Ran sat opposite him, her legs propped up on the table, wearing an expression that clearly said, 'I knew this was coming,' even though just three months ago, she had nearly fought Shen Yan to the death over a three-billion budget.

"There are already six groups of people waiting outside."

An Ran flipped through the appointment book in her hand, her tone unable to hide its smugness.

"The first one is Zhao Changhe from Aurora Automotive. He was originally scheduled to fly to Silicon Valley next week for cooperation talks, but he turned his private jet around immediately after seeing the list."

"The second is Sun Lan, CTO of Huamei Bio, who brought her entire R&D team. I heard their targeted drug research was stuck on protein folding simulation—only we can save them."

"And Old Wang from Jinshi Capital..."

Shen Yan blew away a tea stem floating on the surface of the water.

"Make them wait."

He didn't look up, his gaze fixed on the system interface that had just popped up in the lower-left corner of his vision.

[Today's Intel: Aurora Automotive's L4 autonomous driving test data is severely falsified. The recognition rate of its core algorithm under complex road conditions is less than 7%. The Board of Directors has issued an ultimatum: if verifiable test data meeting national standards cannot be produced within three months, Zhao Changhe will be ousted.]

A subtle curve lifted the corner of Shen Yan's mouth.

This wasn't negotiation; this was a hunt.

"Let Zhao Changhe in."

Three minutes later.

Zhao Changhe, the founder of Aurora Automotive worth tens of billions, pushed open the door and walked in.

This entrepreneur, always known for his elegance in front of the media cameras, now had fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

The heating in the room wasn't turned up that high.

"CEO Shen, I've long admired you."

Zhao Changhe adopted a very humble posture, even proactively extending both hands.

Shen Yan set down the enamel mug and did not stand up, only offering a perfunctory handshake.

"Mr. Zhao's time is precious, so I won't beat around the bush."

Shen Yan pointed to a hard wooden bench beside him.

"Sit."

Zhao Changhe had barely sat down halfway before he eagerly spoke.

"CEO Shen, I saw the list. pangu's FP16 half-precision computing power is simply a miracle. Aurora Automotive hopes to rent 2% of your computing nodes. Name your price; we are willing to pay a 30% premium."

This was a tempting offer.

If it were any other boss, they would probably have already called someone to bring out champagne.

But Shen Yan just shook his head.

"No rental."

Zhao Changhe froze for a moment.

"CEO Shen, we can sign a long-term contract—five years, no, ten years! I can transfer a deposit of one billion RMB right now!"

"Mr. Zhao hasn't understood what I meant."

Shen Yan leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop, producing a disconcerting 'thud-thud' sound.

"pangu's computing power is not leased externally; we only accept technology-for-equity investment."

Zhao Changhe's expression changed.

Technology-for-equity meant Shenyan Group would directly insert its hand into Aurora Automotive's equity structure, a bottom line any founder could not tolerate.

"CEO Shen, this appetite is a bit too large."

Zhao Changhe's voice deepened, and a crack appeared in his elegant mask.

"You aren't the only ones in the country with supercomputers. Although you rank third, the national teams ahead of you are not impossible to negotiate with."

Shen Yan laughed.

He laughed like a gambler who had seen through his opponent's hand.

"The national teams' schedules are booked until June next year. Mr. Zhao, can you afford to wait?"

Shen Yan leaned slightly forward, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret.

"Or perhaps, the Aurora Automotive Board of Directors is still willing to give you until next year?"

Zhao Changhe's pupils contracted sharply, as if his throat had been seized.

"You... how do you know?"

Shen Yan certainly wouldn't tell him this was intelligence from the system.

He simply pulled out a pre-drafted contract from the drawer and slid it across the table toward Zhao Changhe.

"Three months."

Shen Yan held up three fingers.

"Connect all your road test raw data to pangu, and Lin Dong's algorithm team will help you reconstruct the neural network model."

"In just three months, Aurora Automotive can obtain the genuine L4 autonomous driving license."

"I want 5% of Aurora Automotive's sweat equity, and the right to share data from your future in-car systems."

Zhao Changhe stared fixedly at the contract, his breathing ragged like a bellows.

He had no retreat.

That was the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head from the Board of Directors.

Shen Yan did not rush him, merely picked up the enamel mug and took another sip of tea.

"Mr. Zhao can take his time to consider, but Dr. Sun Lan outside seems quite anxious."

"Sign!"

Zhao Changhe abruptly pulled out the fountain pen from his chest pocket with such force that the paper almost tore.

"But I have one condition: computing power priority must be ranked first."

"Deal."

Shen Yan put away the contract without even glancing at the signature on it.

After sending off Zhao Changhe, who looked pained but relieved, An Ran walked in, her gait slightly uneven.

"5% sweat equity? Aurora Automotive is valued at two hundred billion now; you just got ten billion by opening your mouth?"

An Ran looked at Shen Yan as if gazing upon a golden Buddha statue.

"What is this?"

Shen Yan refilled his teapot with fresh tea.

"Next."

Sun Lan from Huamei Bio came running in.

This female doctor in her forties didn't possess Zhao Changhe's composure; the anxiety on her face was almost overflowing.

"CEO Shen, save Huamei."

Her first words were laced with a sob.

[Branch Mission Triggered: The Achilles' Heel of a Pharmaceutical Giant.]

[Instant Intel: Huamei Bio's competitor, 'Reik Pharmaceutical,' stole a set of key data from their lab and preemptively registered the patent. Huamei Bio must calculate an entirely new molecular structure within two weeks to bypass the patent barrier.]

Shen Yan looked at the slightly disheveled woman before him, calculating the price in his mind.

The pharmaceutical industry was where the real exorbitant profits lay.

"Dr. Sun, have some water."

Shen Yan personally poured her a cup of warm water.

Sun Lan had no mind for drinking water; she opened the laptop she carried, and the screen displayed a chaotic tangle of protein molecular chains.