98: The Legend of the Raven

"Tell me, what are your thoughts?" Chen Feng looked around at everyone in the conference room, breaking the heavy silence.

Reno was the first to speak, his voice still carrying a hint of gunpowder: "The idea is simple! Let's pull a job! We'll attack those isolated small merchant fleets and seize their technical data and equipment!"

"I object." Su Li stood up immediately, bluntly pulling up a data model. "The risk assessment for an attack is 'extremely high.' The risk of exposure is completely disproportionate to the potential gains from second-rate technology that has long been obsolete. This is a losing proposition."

Reno was choked up by the data and sat back down gloomily.

"Boss," Lao Mo's weak voice came through the communicator; he was participating in the meeting via remote video. "We could try buying some scrap equipment and performing reverse engineering. Given enough time and parts..."

"By the time you figure it out, interstellar technology might have already moved on to the next generation." Su Li interrupted calmly again. Though her tone was flat, the facts she pointed out were incredibly sharp. "We don't have that much time."

The conference room fell into a dead silence once more. All internal proposals had hit a dead end in the face of harsh reality.

"Since internal options aren't working," Chen Feng's voice rang out slowly, drawing everyone's attention, "then we seek help from the outside."

"Boss, you mean..." Reno was somewhat puzzled.

"You only know the Interstellar Exchange as a platform for buying and selling goods," Chen Feng's gaze swept across everyone. "But you don't know that beneath the Exchange's polished surface network, there is a deeper 'Dark Web.' A special group of entities resides there—Information Brokers."

He paused and emphasized his tone: "And among all the Information Brokers, there is one who is the most legendary and the most expensive. Code name—'Raven'."

"Raven?" A glint of light flashed across Su Li's glasses. "I've heard some legends about him."

"Oh?"

"Supposedly, he once sold the complete blueprints of an enemy empire's flagship jump engine to a civilization on the brink of extinction, and it only took him a single day." Su Li's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

"That's him." Chen Feng nodded. "My plan is to contact Raven."

"No!" Su Li stood up almost immediately, her reaction more intense than ever before.

She projected the company's real-time financial statements onto the main screen, where a red bar chart was strikingly alarming.

"Look closely, everyone. Just paying the 'Credit Deposit' required to initiate contact will exhaust more than half of our liquid capital! And mind you, that's just the 'entry fee'!"

She stared at Chen Feng and said word by word, "Boss, this isn't an investment. This is a gamble that could bankrupt all of us on the spot!"

The atmosphere in the conference room instantly dropped to freezing point.

However, to everyone's surprise, Reno, who always prioritized stability and safety, suddenly slammed the table and stood up.

"I agree with the Boss's plan!"

Su Li looked at him in disbelief.

"Director Su Li, your data isn't wrong." Reno's eyes were firmer than ever. "But there are some things data can't calculate! Without technology, even if we're sitting on a gold mine, we're just fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered! I'd rather die on my feet than die on my knees like before! I'm willing to bet everything!"

"I agree too!" Lao Mo's voice came through the communicator, carrying an irrepressible excitement. "A single piece of correct information is worth far more than that cold capital!"

The meeting was temporarily adjourned.

In Chen Feng's office, there were only he and Su Li.

"Are you still worried?" Chen Feng asked.

"I'm not worried; I'm fulfilling my duty," Su Li replied calmly. "My duty is to prevent the company from being destroyed by a single moment of madness."

"This isn't madness." Chen Feng walked up to her and looked into her eyes. "This is an investment in 'Information Leverage.' We are using limited capital to move a fulcrum that offers infinite possibilities. I admit, it's a gamble."

"Then what are you betting on?"

"I'm betting on my judgment."

Su Li fell silent. She rapidly performed risk assessment calculations on her terminal, countless streams of data flashing across her retinas. Finally, she looked up and took a deep breath.

"Fine, I agree."

"But," she pushed up her glasses, her gaze sharp, "I have one condition. All fund transfers and the sending of contact requests must be handled by me personally. Every process, every byte, must be under my supervision to ensure absolute security."

"Deal." Chen Feng smiled.

When the two returned to the conference room and announced the decision, no one had any further objections.

"Let's vote," Chen Feng said.

One hand after another was raised firmly.

Passed unanimously.

The greatest gamble in the history of Hanhai Trade was officially finalized at this moment.