130: Chapter 130 Checkbook Diplomacy! The Barrier to the Internet Age!

Qin Yue's team operated with startling efficiency.

Negotiations between these six African nations and the Cyber Freedom Republic were already nearing their end, having only been paused due to pressure from the United States. Now that the obstacles were removed, the negotiation process progressed at a breakneck speed.

The other side's demands were clear: economic aid.

In this world, there is no love without cause; "friendship" between nations is even more so a naked exchange of interests.

A week later, Qin Yue walked into Lin Zhou's office once again, holding six newly signed communiqués on the establishment of diplomatic relations.

"Head of State, I have fortunately fulfilled my mission." Though she looked weary, her eyes were bright, and her tone betrayed her excitement.

Mauritius: thirty million US dollars in aid.

Equatorial Guinea: forty-five million US dollars in aid.

Rwanda: fifty million US dollars in aid.

Malawi: thirty-eight million US dollars in aid.

Uganda: forty-two million US dollars in aid.

Zimbabwe: sixty-two million US dollars in aid.

For these six countries, a "Package Plan for Economic Cooperation and Development Aid" totaling 267 million US dollars had secured six precious tickets into the international community.

To date, the number of sovereign nations recognizing the Cyber Freedom Republic had reached twenty.

"Well done." Lin Zhou's gaze fell upon the six new small national flags on his desk. He reached out to straighten them one by one before nodding.

"Have the payments been made on Elder Chen's end?"

"Everything has been settled," Qin Yue said. "Elder Chen asked me to inform you that the available funds in the national treasury now stand at only a little over 643 million US dollars."

Lin Zhou's fingers, which had been fiddling with the flags, came to a halt.

This figure instantly washed away the sense of exhilaration brought by the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Six hundred million might sound like a lot, but for a nation in its infancy with everything waiting to be built, it was truly a shoestring budget.

Just maintaining the current team and the operations of the Bir Tawil base cost an astronomical sum every month. Not to mention the upcoming large-scale recruitment of negotiation experts and the advancement of the immensely expensive internet access project.

"I understand." Lin Zhou waved his hand. "Go and get some rest. You've worked hard during this time."

After Qin Yue left, Lin Zhou sat alone in his office, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the desk in silence.

*Beep beep.*

The internal communicator on the desk rang; it was Chen Yuan.

"Head of State, I'm coming over for a moment," Chen Yuan's voice came through the communicator, his tone solemn.

"Come in, Elder Chen."

Soon, Chen Yuan pushed the door open and entered, holding a tablet computer.

He didn't sit down, but walked straight to Lin Zhou's desk, placed the tablet on it, and opened a file.

"Head of State, the first billion dollars from Blackstone has been remitted through our newly registered sovereign wealth fund account. Everything is running normally with the trial of the CIPS system."

"That's good news," Lin Zhou said.

"But as you know, this money is earmarked for specific purposes; not a single cent can be diverted," Chen Yuan's expression didn't lighten in the slightest. "I just had the team do a preliminary calculation regarding the energy infrastructure for the data center."

He swiped across the screen, presenting rows of data and charts before Lin Zhou.

"If we calculate based on the standard model of a large domestic data center, which is a 100-megawatt load, ensuring it runs twenty-four hours a day would require a total investment of at least 30 billion RMB for the supporting photovoltaic panels and energy storage facilities alone, based on current market prices."

Thirty billion!

Even though Lin Zhou had been prepared, his mind went momentarily blank upon hearing this figure.

That was equivalent to 4.2 billion US dollars. The amount Blackstone invested wasn't even enough to cover the change.

"And that's not even counting the ultra-high voltage transmission lines, cooling systems, and the future procurement and construction costs of the servers for the data center itself." Chen Yuan pushed up his glasses, stating the facts in a tone devoid of emotion. "Head of State, our financial situation no longer allows us to continue painting such an unreachable pie in the sky."

"Then, what is your suggestion, Elder Chen?"

"Shrink the front line and be more pragmatic," Chen Yuan said, hitting the nail on the head. "My suggestion is to first abandon that unrealistic goal of being the 'world's largest.' Let's build a medium or even small-sized one first. Keep the scale under 10 megawatts, with an initial investment of two to three hundred million dollars, just to get the entire business logic running."

"Most importantly," Chen Yuan's voice grew heavy, "during this window of opportunity after the US lifted the ban, we must connect to the physical and logical layers of the global internet at the fastest speed possible. We need to secure our own IP address blocks, international domain names, and establish network channels through various international exchange centers. This is the foundation of our 'digital switzerland' plan! Without internet access, our data center is just a pile of expensive scrap metal!"

Lin Zhou fell silent.

Chen Yuan's words, though harsh, were entirely logical.

He had indeed been a bit too eager for success. The rise of a new nation could not happen overnight. One must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

"I agree," Lin Zhou finally spoke. "We'll do as you say. You will be in full charge of the data center project. The goal is to use the least amount of money to get the framework set up first."

"Then... what about the negotiations for internet access?" Chen Yuan asked.

"I'll find a way." Lin Zhou stood up and paced back and forth in his office.

ICANN, ITU, IETF... This string of names represented international organizations with extremely high professional barriers. Negotiations with each organization required a team composed of top-tier technical, legal, and diplomatic experts to conquer.

And right now, he was severely short-staffed.

"Head of State," Chen Yuan watched Lin Zhou's pacing back, his lips twitching before he finally spoke his mind. "Forgive my bluntness, but our biggest problem right now isn't money; it's people. A modern nation cannot be run by just a Head of State and a few ministers. We need a massive, professional bureaucratic and technical team."

"I know." Lin Zhou stopped, turned to look at Chen Yuan with a grave expression. "Therefore, I can only spare no expense to... continue poaching people from all over the world!"

He returned to his desk, picked up the phone, and called the head of the human resources department.

"Launch the second round of the global recruitment plan immediately!"

"The salary standards will be increased by another thirty percent on top of the existing ones!"

"Target: Top experts in the fields of international law, telecommunications technology, network security, and international finance!"

"Tell them that the Cyber Freedom Republic lacks many things, but it does not lack dollars or opportunities!"

Hanging up the phone, Lin Zhou leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. As the excitement of issuing orders faded, a wave of exhaustion, brought on by the crushing weight of reality, surged over him.

Everything he was doing now was simply placing borrowed chips onto the gambling table, betting on a nebulous tomorrow.