183: Chapter 183 (All Packaged Up)! Target: Cyber ​​Research Institute!

The dozen or so young people in the lobby were still in a state of semi-daze.

Lin Zhou's words just now sounded both like an unrealistic pyramid scheme slogan and an invitation from hell.

"Lin... President Lin."

A skinny boy wearing thick, bottle-bottom glasses stood up, his voice trembling; he was the technical team leader of Changlong Technology, named Li Xiang.

"Is what you said about... the salary, serious? Also, is going to Africa really not illegal? What about our families..."

Lin Zhou glanced at him indifferently, tapping his fingers on the laptop that was still open.

"As long as you obtain the employment permit from the Cyber Freedom Republic, you are an expatriate technical expert. Salaries are paid in US dollars and remitted to your designated overseas accounts or the accounts of your immediate family members back home. As for being illegal? On my territory, my word is law."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of temptation.

"Li Xiang, I've seen the logic patch you wrote just now; it's messy, but you used three layers of nested encryption to protect that self-learning kernel. This shows you haven't been led astray by the assembly-line work of big tech companies. Don't you want to see how far it can evolve if you give this kernel unlimited computing power and global intelligence interfaces?"

This sentence hit Li Xiang like a heavy hammer, striking deep into his heart.

Programmers are terrifyingly pure creatures at times. As long as they are given enough bandwidth, computing power, and room to tinker, they might even risk their lives for it.

Li Xiang looked back at his companions.

Their eyes no longer held the gray despair of waiting for death, but a near-pathological fanaticism.

"I'll sign!"

Li Xiang was the first to step forward, gritting his teeth as he signed his name on the agreement Lin Zhou had brought.

Once someone took the lead, the rest were like water bursting through a sluice gate, crowding forward one after another.

In this dilapidated office, there were no flowers or applause, only the friction of ballpoint pen tips scratching across paper.

To Lin Zhou, this sound was incredibly pleasant.

It was the sound of his intelligence system's cornerstone being laid.

"Very good."

Lin Zhou looked at the stack of signed agreements, his expression becoming serious and formal. He surveyed the young people and spoke slowly:

"From this moment on, your identities have changed. You are no longer corporate slaves in an office building, but the first founding members of the Cyber Freedom Republic 'National Research Institute'. Although the territory is still under construction and you will need to work at the 'Oasis One' data center initially, please remember that once the main building of the National Research Institute is completed, that will be your true battlefield."

Lin Zhou walked up to them and threw out his final trump card: "I give you a promise here: you are the cornerstone, the pioneers. In the future, when the Republic selects academicians, you will be considered first among this first batch of members. In this country, an 'Academician' is not just an honor; it is the group of people with the highest status, second only to me."

"Academician..." Li Xiang murmured the word, his eyes instantly becoming incredibly fervent.

"Old He, contact Qin Yue, book the fastest flights to Egypt for them, and then transfer to a chartered plane back to the territory. Their identity information will be processed directly through special channels by our embassy. Also, call for two large trucks."

He turned his head to look at Wang Changlong.

"President Wang, those ancient servers may be slow, but they are the 'breeding ground' for your team. Take them all apart and pack them up; don't leave even a single screw for the property management. From now on, Changlong Technology will disappear from Shanghai. It will be reborn in Bir Tawil."

At this moment, Wang Changlong could no longer care about his old computers; he was more concerned about the five million US dollars Lin Zhou had promised.

Just a moment ago, his phone screen had lit up.

It was a notification from an offshore bank confirming the deposit.

The long string of zeros made him dizzy and completely dispelled the exhaustion forced upon him by his creditors.

"Lin Zhou, I..."

Wang Changlong was at a loss for words; he wanted to say something grateful, but felt it would be too pretentious.

"Keep the money safe. If you feel bored in the second half of your life, you can come to my place to be an honorary consultant; I'll save a laboratory for you."

Lin Zhou patted his shoulder, then restrained his smile.

"Now, take me to get that backup. I need to handle this personally."

Wang Changlong nodded heavily and led Lin Zhou into a hidden cubicle at the back of the office.

It was piled with old newspapers and miscellaneous items. Inside a rusty safe, Wang Changlong carefully took out a black-boxed hard drive sealed in an anti-static bag.

The hard drive felt heavy and looked unremarkable, but in Lin Zhou's eyes, it was more precious than its weight in gold.

An hour later, the Changlong Technology office was empty.

The moving company workers were roughly dismantling the workstations, and the old keyboards that once carried countless lines of code were casually thrown into cardboard boxes.

As for the group of young people, they had already shouldered their backpacks and, under He Jun's guidance, silently walked out of the building.

They looked back at this bustling yet indifferent city, then boarded the business van heading to the airport without hesitation.

Lin Zhou stood on the rooftop of the office building; the wind was strong, blowing his hair into a mess.

He took out his phone from his chest pocket and connected to a video call with Jack, who was far away in Cairo.

"Jack, I've taken the people, and I've got the seeds."

On the screen, Jack's single eye narrowed, and a stiff curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"You're faster than I expected, My Lord. Those young people need a resounding codename. Our 'eyes' can't just be called AI forever, right?"

Lin Zhou looked at the sliver of sunlight piercing through the clouds in the distance and pondered for a moment.

"Let's call it 'heimdall'. In mythology, he is the watchman of the gods, possessing eyes that can hear the growth of vegetation and see the veins of all things. I want this group of people in that desert to watch every shadowy corner of the world for me."

"Understood."

Jack's voice was steady. "The 'Oasis One' data center has been cleared, and its liquid cooling system is waiting for these servers to move in. When they arrive, it will be the moment this plan awakens."

Hanging up the phone, Lin Zhou took a deep breath.

The salty, fishy smell of the sea breeze in the air let him know that his business in Shanghai was finished.

The challenges ahead would no longer be about code and verbal sparring, but a real battle of technology and intelligence.

Back in the car, Li Xiang was curled up in the last row, carefully tapping away on his broken computer.

"Lin... Lord Lin, I just looked at the backend of that website; is the design plan for our 'National Research Institute'... really going to build a water town there?"

Lin Zhou looked at him through the rearview mirror and smiled.

"Of course. Those water towns will become the cooling core of the data center. If your code efficiency isn't high enough and the servers overheat, the lotus flowers in that pond will all be scalded to death. So, for the sake of that bit of romance, you'll have to give it your all."

Li Xiang froze for a moment, then chuckled, the silliness of youth finally appearing on his face.

Meanwhile, that Xiao Li who "submitted the wrong" design draft had already received an invitation from the Cyber Freedom Republic embassy and was preparing his visa in a daze.

Everything was like a crazy puzzle, fitting together piece by piece in Lin Zhou's hands.