201: Chapter 201 The Data Ark is Blown Up!

As the first batch of top scientists boarded flights to the African desert with mixed emotions, another heart project of the Cyber Freedom Republic finally emitted its dull and continuous roar.

The "Oasis One" data center.

The "Jiangnan Water Town" construction area of the National Research Institute had completely changed its appearance.

Dozens of man-made waterways crisscrossed the area, with clear water flowing slowly through them.

This water all came from the day-and-night hard work of those "Atmospheric Water Generators" not far away.

The water wound its way through scattered, well-arranged antique-style buildings before finally flowing into a massive underground circulation system.

This place wasn't just for the scenery; it was to provide a continuous supply of free cooling for the "Oasis One" data center just a wall away!

As the circulating water flowed through rows of server racks, carrying away the terrifying heat, the high temperatures inside the server room—previously hot enough to cook an egg—quickly receded.

The final shackle on full-load operation was completely unlocked!

The news reached Blackstone Group on the other side of the ocean immediately.

Davis's phone rang.

"What?! The data center can run at full power now?!"

On the other end of the line, Davis's volume spiked, and he nearly jumped out of his chair.

"Yes, Mr. Davis." Chen Yuan's voice remained steady, but the rising tone at the end of his words couldn't hide his smile. "The cooling system is running perfectly. Now, 'Oasis One' can accept customers of any scale."

"Hahahaha! Fantastic! Chen! You group of lunatics really did it! Building a water-cooled data center in the desert! My God!" Davis let out a wild laugh, his eyes filled with visions of flying green dollar bills.

"Wait for my good news! That client list in my hand has been starving for a long time!"

Hanging up the phone, the laughter in Davis's eyes vanished, replaced by the aura of a top Wall Street predator.

People like him knew better than anyone how many shady businesses were hidden in this world.

Laws? Ethics? Confidentiality?

These things were worthless in the face of massive profits!

And the Cyber Freedom Republic was an extrajudicial paradise tailor-made for these "gray businesses"!

Sovereign independence! Not subject to any country's judicial jurisdiction—even the FBI would have to get lost!

Geographically remote! Physically isolated, absolutely secure—who could send an army into the heart of the desert?

It was simply... perfect!

Davis's first call went directly to the CEO of the world's largest digital currency trading platform, a poor soul who kept his servers hidden around the world, constantly worrying about being raided.

"Hey, John, still living in fear of the FBI kicking down your server doors at any moment?"

"Davis? What do you mean?"

"I've found a new home for you." Davis's voice was very low and highly seductive. "A place that's safe, untraceable, and completely free from regulation. Think of it as a digital switzerland, but a hundred times safer!"

The other end of the line fell silent.

Davis threw out his final trump card: "And, I'll give you fifty percent off the server rental for the first year."

"...Deal!"

Without hesitation, the other party immediately agreed. Freedom and security were everything to them!

Davis's second call was to a biotech company in Switzerland conducting cutting-edge "brain-machine interface" research.

This company's project had been completely halted and all data sealed because it involved human experimentation so radical it had sparked massive ethical controversies across Europe.

"Doctor, I heard your research has run into a bit of trouble?" Davis got straight to the point.

The breathing on the other end was heavy.

"Want to move to a new place?" Davis lowered his voice further, each word striking the other party's most vulnerable nerve. "A place where no ethics committee will tell you what to do. An ultimate laboratory where you can explore the mysteries of life as you please."

"We will provide you with world-class computing power; you just need to focus on your research. All data will receive the highest level of protection from a sovereign state—no one will ever criticize your results again!"

"...I need to think about it." There was struggle in the other person's voice.

"I'll give you ten minutes." Davis coldly hung up the phone.

He didn't need them to think; he just needed a result.

Ten minutes later, the call came back on time.

"I agree. We will migrate all our data backends to 'Oasis One'!"

Done!

Over the next month, Davis turned completely into a telemarketer.

Using the network he had built over decades on Wall Street, he became a master fisherman, casting bait into every gray area around the globe.

There were hedge funds that needed to run massive financial model simulations but didn't want to be watched by the SEC.

There were geek teams developing new encryption algorithms that required a confidential environment.

There were even mysterious organizations that refused to reveal their identities, contacting him only through layers of proxies and demanding the highest level of confidentiality.

These massive commercial entities that couldn't survive in the sunlight flocked to "Oasis One" like they had caught the scent of blood.

In just one month!

All the server cabinets in this mid-sized data center, "Oasis One," were completely full!

Orders were even backed up until next year!

In the office of the Minister of Revenue, Chen Yuan.

The old man in charge of the country's purse strings was wearing reading glasses and holding a report, his fingertips trembling.

He checked the numbers on it over and over again, his wrinkles bunching together and his lips quivering.

"Lord! Look! Look at this!"

Chen Yuan almost "slammed" the report onto Lin Zhou's desk, his voice cracking with excitement.

"It's only been a month! Just one month!"

He extended a finger and poked hard at a line of numbers on the report.

"Just from data center rentals and computing power service fees, our account has... added..."

Chen Yuan held his breath and shouted with all his might.

"A full one point eight million US dollars in... net profit!!"

One point eight million US dollars!

This proved that the "African Data Ark" plan Lin Zhou had personally mapped out was completely feasible!

By selling "security" and "regulatory immunity"—two unique and scarce resources in the world—the Cyber Freedom Republic finally had its first super engine capable of continuous, stable, and large-scale wealth generation!

"And this is just the beginning!" Chen Yuan's excitement hadn't faded; he waved his arms, spit flying. "According to that vampire Davis, this is just an appetizer! Once our reputation is established, we can start Phase Two next year and build a mega data center ten times this size!"

"By then, money... money will be like tap water, gushing into our national treasury!"

Lin Zhou looked at the red-faced, agitated Chen Yuan and nodded with satisfaction.

It was just a mid-sized data center now; what about the future?

If there were several more large or mega data centers, wouldn't the monthly income increase tenfold or a hundredfold?

By then, would he still need to worry about money?

"Money won't be an issue anymore."

Lin Zhou looked at Chen Yuan and made a decision.

"Since the data center is so profitable, prepare to continue expanding. Get in touch with Blackstone and have them prepare the funds. As long as 'Oasis One' runs stably for a while without any issues, we'll start Phase Two construction immediately!"

"Yes, Lord!" Chen Yuan straightened his back and answered loudly.

"By the way," Lin Zhou leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the table, "look for a good piece of land. We need to start building government institutions and the royal residence."

He glanced out the window at this futuristic but still somewhat empty desert oasis.

"We can't really keep 'working remotely' from Beijing forever."

Chen Yuan was already mentally prepared for this and nodded immediately. "Understood, I'll have someone scout for a location right away. Lord, this time... are we still doing a crowdsourced design from the internet?"

At the mention of this, Lin Zhou's cheek muscle twitched.

Thinking of the "Jiangnan Water Town" design that had been ruined by netizens, he felt a headache coming on.

"We have no choice," he sighed, his tone full of helplessness. "It might look a bit abstract, but this kind of thing that earns international prestige for free has to continue."

"With this cloak of 'global attention,' if we make any big moves in diplomacy later, the media won't be able to shut us up even if they want to."

Chen Yuan nodded in agreement. "That's true. I'll have someone fix the location first."

With that, the old man leaned in and lowered his voice mysteriously.

"Lord, how about... when the time comes, we invite a few Feng Shui masters to take a look? We'll pick a dragon vein treasure site to ensure the Cyber Freedom Republic's prosperity!"

Lin Zhou didn't know what expression to make after hearing that.

He looked at the serious Chen Yuan, and it took a few seconds for him to react, caught between laughter and tears.

"Old Chen, are you serious? We are a country playing with cyberpunk and future technology, and you're talking to me about feudal superstition?"

"Ahem," Chen Yuan's old face turned red as he coughed twice, forcing an explanation. "When in Rome! We've been in China for so long, it's just for good luck, just for good luck!"