62: Chapter 62 Enemies Meet Again? No, This is an Offer of Amnesty!

Late night in Haicheng, the rain poured down like a deluge.

Shanyue Technology Headquarters Building, top-floor CEO office.

Wang Dong slumped in his leather swivel chair.

The ashtray was stuffed full of cigarette butts.

On the desk lay an ultimatum from Wall Street capital: a mandatory spin-off and liquidation agreement.

The once high-spirited dark horse of e-commerce was now nothing but an empty shell.

His phone vibrated frantically on the desk.

Wang Dong glanced at it.

It was a string of numbers he had never seen before.

The caller ID location showed: Cyber Freedom Republic.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Are scammers these days even making up such ridiculous country names?"

He pressed the answer button.

"Wang Dong."

On the other end of the line, the voice was as steady as a sheet of ice.

Wang Dong's whole body stiffened.

He wouldn't forget this voice even if he died.

Lin Zhou.

The young man he had humiliated to no end at the annual meeting, who then sent him falling into the abyss with just a single look.

"Lin... Lin Zhou?"

Wang Dong's voice was trembling.

Countless images flashed through his mind.

Was Lin Zhou here to kick him while he was down?

Or was he going to trample the last bit of his dignity into the mud?

"You should call me Head of State, or, Boss."

Lin Zhou sat in the Head of State's office on Cyber Island.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, countless robotic arms were welding the harbor in the night.

Sparks flew everywhere.

"You want to see me make a fool of myself?"

Wang Dong gritted his teeth.

"I'm not that bored."

Lin Zhou flipped through the resume in his hand.

"The architecture of Shanyue Technology is very interesting."

"To survive until an IPO amidst the encirclement and suppression of capital, you are a genius."

Wang Dong was stunned.

He had imagined countless opening lines, but praise was the last thing he expected.

"I need a madman."

Lin Zhou's voice carried an unquestionable authority.

"A madman who can build a global e-commerce platform for the Cyber Freedom Republic."

"Do you want to come work for me?"

Wang Dong's breathing instantly stalled.

Work for Lin Zhou?

Build an official e-commerce platform for a newborn country that hadn't even been fully recognized yet?

The political resources and commercial blueprint behind this were so massive they made his scalp tingle.

As long as he nodded, those Wall Street wolves would immediately turn into obedient lapdogs.

"Why me?"

Wang Dong's voice was hoarse.

"Between us... I treated you like that back then..."

Lin Zhou gave a light chuckle.

There was no emotion in that laughter, only the indifference of someone in a high position.

"Wang Dong, you think too highly of yourself."

"That little provocation of yours was, to me, like a stray dog barking on the side of the road."

"When I employ people, I only look at whether they can create value for me."

"Personal relationships? What are those?"

Wang Dong's hand holding the phone broke into a sweat.

He felt like a frog pinned to an anatomical table.

And Lin Zhou was the god holding the scalpel.

"This is your only chance."

"Ten minutes."

"If you don't call back, I'll assume you've chosen to be buried with your company."

Beep—

The call disconnected.

Wang Dong looked at the rainstorm outside the window.

Did he even have a choice?

Three minutes later.

Lin Zhou's phone lit up again.

"Your Excellency, Head of State."

Wang Dong's voice had become incredibly humble, even carrying a hint of fawning after a narrow escape.

"I am willing to serve you."

"Even if it's to go to that deserted island to carry bricks, I'll do it."

Lin Zhou turned off the speakerphone.

"Tomorrow morning at nine, come to my office to sign the contract."

"In the meantime, organize the controlling interest of Shanyue Technology."

"My Minister of Finance will acquire it at a 'reasonable' price."

"From tomorrow on, it will be state-owned property of the Cyber Freedom Republic."

He hung up the phone.

Lin Zhou looked at the mechanical forest outside the window, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

Another chess piece had fallen into place.

The door opened.

Chen Yuan walked in holding a stack of encrypted documents.

He had clearly heard the conversation just now.

"Head of State, your magnanimity is so vast it scares me."

Old Chen sat down of his own accord and lit a specially supplied cigarette.

"A person like Wang Dong is fickle. Aren't you afraid he'll bite the hand that feeds him?"

Lin Zhou turned around.

"Old Chen, water that is too clear has no fish."

"As long as Cyber Island is still expanding, as long as I can give him the power he wants, he will be my most loyal dog."

"Furthermore, a person with a blemish is easier to control."

Chen Yuan took a deep look at Lin Zhou.

This young man was growing too fast.

So fast that even he, a veteran of the political arena, felt a chill.

"Fine, you're the Head of State, you call the shots."

Chen Yuan exhaled a smoke ring.

"Let's talk business. The itinerary for Vatican City has been finalized."

"This is our first state visit after the founding of our country; the whole world is watching."

Lin Zhou nodded and took the list.

"Qin Yue definitely has to go."

"If the Minister of Foreign Affairs doesn't show her face, people will think we're a nest of bandits."

"Bring Zhang Zhe along too."

"Having the Chief Justice go and spar with those legal experts will be beneficial for our future code of law construction."

Lin Zhou's pen tip moved across the list.

Finally, he looked at Chen Yuan.

"Old Chen, you'll have to take a hard trip too."

Chen Yuan flicked his cigarette ash.

"What would I go for? To teach those religious fanatics how to balance books?"

"Vatican City doesn't even have a vegetable market, where would fiscal needs come from?"

Lin Zhou smiled.

That smile hid a fox-like cunning.

"Old Chen, you're underestimating those men in black robes."

"The Vatican Bank is the world's most mysterious money-laun... oh no, financial institution."

"They hold the wealth accumulated by the Holy See over thousands of years, trillions of dollars in invisible assets."

"I need you, the 'Iron Abacus,' to go and pry open a crack in their safe."

"See if our newborn Central Bank can establish some connection with God's purse."

Chen Yuan's eyes lit up.

It was the look of a gourmet seeing a peerless delicacy.

"Doing business with God?"

"Interesting."

"Fine, for these old bones, I'll accompany you on this one toss."

Lin Zhou was about to put pen to paper when he suddenly paused.

"There's one more slot, I'd like to hear your suggestion."

"Chen Fan."

Chen Yuan's originally relaxed expression instantly turned serious.

He put down his pipe and tapped the table.

"Inappropriate."

"Absolutely inappropriate."

Lin Zhou raised an eyebrow.

"Reason?"

"Chen Fan was deeply involved in the development of the core materials for the Water Collection Technology."

Chen Yuan lowered his voice.

"Your trip to Vatican City might seem like diplomacy, but in reality, you're putting yourself on the fire to be roasted."

"Agents from all over the world—the CIA, Mossad, MI6—are all staring at Cyber Island right now."

"Bringing Chen Fan out is equivalent to throwing a piece of fat meat into a pack of wolves."

"Besides, Chen Fan hasn't officially joined yet; he's just a 'collaborator'."

Lin Zhou fell silent.

He had indeed been a bit too hasty.

He wanted to show the best things to the world, but forgot that these things would also attract covetous eyes.

"It was a lapse in my consideration."

Lin Zhou withdrew his pen.

"But for exchanges at the technological level, someone has to go and interface."

Chen Yuan smiled.

He pointed at Lin Zhou.

"Your Excellency Head of State, have you forgotten?"

"In this world right now, besides Chen Fan, who else understands those 'future technologies' better than you?"

"Some trump cards, you have to reveal yourself."

Lin Zhou laughed in spite of himself.

True.

As the owner of the system, he was the biggest technological black box.

"Fine."

Lin Zhou stood up and straightened his collar.

"Then for the technology part, I, as the Head of State, will personally go and meet those religious fanatics."

"Let's see if God's gospel can be exchanged for our Water Collectors."

Outside the window, thunder rolled.

A global financial and diplomatic storm was brewing from within this small office.