142: Chapter 142 Trying to control me this way?

On Wednesday morning, in the president's office of Yunqi Technology, the bustling scene of Jiangcheng's CBD lay outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, but Lu Qingping had no heart to appreciate it. He sat in his leather chair, his fingertips repeatedly stroking the photo of Lin Wanyi on his phone screen.

It was a photo he had secretly taken downstairs from her rental apartment yesterday. In the photo, his sister was holding a guitar, her profile looking exceptionally gentle in the morning light. But the moment he thought of the image of her standing together with Zhang Fan, it felt like a thorn in his heart, leaving him restless.

"President, this is the list of core personnel from the Technology Department of Singularity Technology, with their salaries and assigned modules marked," the assistant said, handing over a file with a cautious tone. "Three of the engineers responsible for server maintenance have recently updated their resumes on recruitment platforms, and it looks like they have the intention to jump ship."

Lu Qingping took the file, his gaze quickly scanning the list. His finger stopped on the three names: "Li Zhe," "Wang Hao," and "Zhao Yang." These three were responsible for the overseas server adaptation of "star path: reboot" and held some basic code access permissions.

His eyes darkened, and his tone carried an unquestionable determination. "Have HR contact these three people immediately. Offer them triple their salary, plus a signing bonus. As long as they are willing to come to Yunqi Technology, they can choose any position they want."

"Triple salary?" The assistant was stunned for a moment. "President, wouldn't that be too high? Besides, we are poaching people from Singularity. If it causes dissatisfaction and affects subsequent..."

"Money is not the issue!" Lu Qingping interrupted him, his voice tinged with impatience. "I need to know what kind of tricks Zhang Fan's Star Core Engine has, and I must ensure he won't use Wanyi to make a move."

"These three people hold Singularity's server data. Poaching them will allow me to figure out the other side's bottom line and also serve as a warning to Zhang Fan. Don't think that just because the Song family is backing him, he can just approach my sister whenever he wants!"

He was calculating in his heart: as long as he poached these three technicians, Singularity's overseas server operations would definitely run into problems, the operation of "star path: reboot" would be affected, and Lin Wanyi's endorsement collaboration would naturally be discounted as well.

Then he could appear with the excuse of "helping my sister solve trouble," which might allow Lin Wanyi to trust him again.

The assistant dared not say any more and left with the list. Lu Qingping leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The scenes of Lin Wanyi being used and dying miserably in his previous life flooded his mind again.

He clenched his fists and silently vowed, "Wanyi, in this life, your brother will never let you suffer grievances again. Even if the methods are a bit extreme, I must protect you completely."

Meanwhile, in the Technology Department office of Singularity Technology, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle. Li Zhe stared at the chat window on his computer screen, the corners of his mouth curling up uncontrollably.

The offer just sent by Yunqi Technology's HR had tripled his salary and promised him the position of "Senior Operations Engineer," which was faster than the promotion he had earned after working at Singularity for three years.

"Brother Zhe, are you really planning to leave?" Wang Hao, sitting next to him, leaned over, his tone filled with envy. "The offer Yunqi Technology gave me isn't bad either; the signing bonus alone is 100,000. I'm a bit tempted."

Zhao Yang also put down his work and frowned, saying, "I'm a bit hesitant. President Zhang hasn't treated us poorly. When the Star Core Engine was being developed, he even stayed up late with us to fix bugs. But the conditions Yunqi Technology offered are just too tempting, and my family is waiting for money to buy a house..."

As the three were discussing, Liu Ruyan walked in carrying a file folder. She saw at a glance that the three were distracted, especially the offer email that Li Zhe hadn't managed to close on his screen, which made her heart sink.

She didn't call them out on the spot but just put down the folder and said in a calm tone, "President Zhang asked me to inform everyone that there will be a Technology Department meeting at 3:00 PM to focus on discussing the expansion plan for the overseas servers. Everyone must attend."

After Liu Ruyan left, Li Zhe quickly closed the email and lowered his voice, saying, "Don't make a scene yet. Wait until the meeting is over this afternoon, then we'll give Yunqi Technology our answer. If Zhang Fan notices anything, he might block our resignation process."

But they didn't expect that Liu Ruyan had already noticed the clues. She returned to her office and immediately called Zhang Fan, her tone carrying a touch of gravity. "President Zhang, it seems like Li Zhe, Wang Hao, and Zhao Yang from the Technology Department have been poached by Yunqi Technology. I just saw an offer email from Yunqi Technology on Li Zhe's computer, and the salary offered is very high."

On the other end of the phone, Zhang Fan was looking at the overseas revenue report for "star path: reboot." Hearing this, he didn't show the slightest panic; instead, he smiled. "I know. Don't worry."

"Although these three are responsible for server maintenance, only you, Old Gu, Wang Chengsi, and I have access to the core Star Core Engine code. What they hold is only the basic maintenance code. Even if they leave, it won't affect the big picture."

"But if they leave, there won't be enough manpower for overseas server operations!" Liu Ruyan said anxiously.

"It's just the right opportunity to clean out unstable factors." Zhang Fan's tone was composed. "These three have long been dissatisfied due to salary issues. Previously, Wang Chengsi mentioned giving them a raise, but they still complained it wasn't enough. Now that they are leaving as soon as Yunqi Technology poaches them, it shows their hearts aren't in the company at all. Keeping them might actually cause problems later. Have HR prepare for recruitment, hire a few reliable and solid people, and by the way, optimize the server maintenance module. In the future, separate the basic permissions and core permissions completely to avoid this situation from happening again."

Liu Ruyan finally breathed a sigh of relief. After hanging up, she immediately arranged for the recruitment. Meanwhile, Lin Wanyi had just finished the rehearsal for "Chinas Good Voice" when she heard about Yunqi Technology poaching people from her temporary assistant. Since she had chosen to cooperate with Singularity Technology, she was now very concerned about matters regarding Singularity.

"What did you say? Yunqi Technology poached Singularity's technicians? And it was arranged by my older brother?" The guitar pick in Lin Wanyi's hand "clattered" to the ground, and her eyes instantly turned cold.

She didn't expect that Lu Qingping would use such methods. On the surface, he claimed to be protecting her, but in reality, he was undermining her collaboration. How was this any different from the underhanded tricks Lu Xiaoxiao played behind her back in her previous life?

She picked up her phone and dialed Lu Qingping's number without hesitation. The phone was answered after three rings, and Lu Qingping's voice carried a hint of deliberate gentleness. "Wanyi, why are you calling your brother all of a sudden? Have you been wronged at Singularity?"

"Lu Qingping, why did you let Yunqi Technology poach people from Singularity?" Lin Wanyi's voice carried suppressed anger. "My collaboration with Singularity is voluntary, and Zhang Fan hasn't done anything to me. Why are you pulling these underhanded tricks?"

On the other end of the line, Lu Qingping was stunned for a moment, then defended himself. "Wanyi, your brother is worried that you've been deceived by Zhang Fan! Poaching his people is just to see how reliable his company really is. What if it's just a hollow shell? Wouldn't you be at a disadvantage after signing the collaboration?"

"Whether I'm at a disadvantage or not, I can judge for myself!" Lin Wanyi interrupted him, her voice full of disappointment. "I have said that I have no relationship with your Lu family. I don't need you to interfere in my affairs in the name of 'protection,' and I certainly don't need you to sabotage my collaboration!"

Her words were like a hammer, smashing hard into Lu Qingping's heart.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but found he couldn't say anything at all. Yes, with the memories of his previous life, he had indeed lost his sense of proportion because of his worry and hadn't considered Lin Wanyi's feelings.

Just then, Lu Qingping's other phone rang; it was Lu Qingyan calling.

He quickly said to Lin Wanyi, "Wanyi, don't be angry yet. Your brother knows he was wrong. I will have HR stop the poaching immediately. Let's talk about it slowly, okay?"

After hanging up on Lin Wanyi, he answered Lu Qingyan's call, his tone still carrying a bit of panic. "Qingyan, what's wrong?"

"Big brother, did you have HR poach people from Singularity?" Lu Qingyan's voice carried a hint of seriousness. "I just found out that Polaris Capital has been frequently contacting our operations department recently, and they seem very interested in Singularity's server data. If you poach Singularity's people now, you will very likely be used by Polaris Capital to get things they shouldn't have!"

Lu Qingping's heart skipped a beat, and he finally realized how big of a mistake he had made. He had only thought about protecting Lin Wanyi, but forgot that Yunqi Technology still had cooperation with Polaris Capital. If the poached technicians were used by Polaris, it would not only harm Singularity but also drag Yunqi Technology into the abyss.

"I understand. I will immediately have HR stop the poaching and blacklist the contact information of those three technicians!" Lu Qingping said quickly, his tone full of lingering fear.

After hanging up, he leaned back in his chair, feeling both regretful and ashamed. He wanted to protect his sister but had almost caused a major disaster because of his recklessness; he wanted to figure out Zhang Fan's background but had almost let foreign capital take advantage of the loophole.

He realized for the first time that "protecting" someone is not about power and toughness, but about respecting the other person's choices and trusting their judgment.

Meanwhile, at Singularity Technology, Zhang Fan was discussing the adjustment plan for the Technology Department with Liu Ruyan. "Freeze the permissions of Li Zhe and the other two first. When they submit their resignations, just follow the normal process; don't make things difficult for them." Zhang Fan's tone was calm. "Also, have Wang Chengsi encrypt the core code of the Star Core Engine again, using multi-person biometric authentication to ensure everything is foolproof."

"Okay, I'll go arrange that right away." Liu Ruyan nodded and turned to leave.

Zhang Fan looked out the window, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.

Lu Qingping's poaching plan, while causing a bit of a disturbance, had helped him clean out unstable factors in the Technology Department and also made Lin Wanyi see the true nature of Lu Qingping's "protection," which instead brought his cooperative trust with Lin Wanyi even closer.

But he knew clearly in his heart that this was just the beginning. Polaris Capital's "Singularity Collapse" plan was still advancing, and Lu Qingyan's investigation had just started. The coming battles would only be more intense.