23: Chapter 23: Grand Ambitions Unfold Again

The halo of a 100-billion-market-value had not yet faded, but Su Chen already viewed this crown as the war drum for expanding into the next frontier.

Standing at a new height, what he saw was not only glory, but also lurking crises and opportunities waiting to be seized.

Zhou Tianyu and his Tianqiong Capital were like maggots on the bone; although temporarily set back by the espionage case, that 5% share was still a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

Meanwhile, the market demand ignited by "spark super energy" batteries, as well as the industrial machine tool technology waiting to be transformed in his mind, all made almost greedy demands for capital and resources.

It was time to take the initiative and play a bigger game.

In the top-floor conference room, the atmosphere was heavier than usual.

Su Chen, Shen Nanpeng, and Liang Zhen sat around the table, the air permeated with a sense of grimness before a great battle.

"Although Zhou Tianyu is temporarily quiet, as long as he holds shares, he could use his status as a shareholder to stir up trouble at any time. We must completely resolve this hidden danger, while simultaneously reserving enough ammunition for the next step of explosive growth," Su Chen said straight to the point, his gaze sharp.

Shen Nanpeng pushed up his glasses and slid a meticulously calculated proposal to Su Chen: "Mr. Su, based on our current momentum and future expectations, I suggest launching a second round of financing. The scale is 10 billion. We will offer 5% of shares, with a pre-money valuation of 190 billion for the company."

This number was enough to make anyone who didn't understand Spark Technology dumbfounded, but after experiencing the 100-billion miracle, Shen Nanpeng presented it with unquestionable confidence.

"190 billion..." Su Chen pondered, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table. "This valuation requires enough confidence to support it. What we need are true strategic partners, not wavering financial investors."

A flash of determination crossed his eyes. "Set a valuation adjustment clause. We promise that the net profit for the entire year of 2016 will reach 20 billion. If we fail to reach it, we will compensate with an additional 5% of shares."

20 billion in net profit! This meant achieving nearly a sevenfold growth on the basis of last year's 2.7 billion!

This was an extremely bold, even arrogant goal.

But neither Shen Nanpeng nor Liang Zhen raised any objections; they saw in Su Chen's eyes that familiar certainty of turning the impossible into the possible.

"As for Tianqiong Capital..." Liang Zhen spoke up at the right moment, his voice cold. "Regarding the Li Mengqi case, we have already obtained a chain of evidence pointing to the mastermind behind Tianqiong Capital."

"Although it is not enough to directly convict them, it is enough to support us in filing a civil lawsuit with the court, accusing Tianqiong Capital of abusing shareholder rights, interfering with the company's normal operations through illegal means, stealing trade secrets, and seriously damaging the company's interests."

"Our litigation request is to restrict their shareholder rights, especially voting rights and the right to nominate directors, until they no longer pose a threat."

"Good!" Su Chen decided. "The financing and the legal action against Tianqiong will proceed simultaneously!"

Once the news was released, the entire capital circle was shaken.

The 190-billion valuation and the 20-billion bet were like two high thresholds, filtering out the true "warriors."

Countless capital firms moved at the news, but in the end, only two strategic investors, with their unique resources and courage, won Su Chen's approval.

One was, naturally, the deeply bound Huawei.

Its representative was straightforward at the negotiating table: "Mr. Su, 4 billion in funds are ready. We don't want short-term returns, but rather priority supply rights and joint development rights for Spark Technology batteries over the next five to ten years. We believe in the future of Spark Technology and dare to accept this bet."

Huawei's investment meant that the supply chain integration in the consumer electronics sector had gone deep into the bone.

The other was the Shencheng Metro Group, which had a strong state-owned background.

Its representative was calm and magnanimous: "Mr. Su, Shencheng Metro Group is optimistic about the strategic value of Spark Technology in the fields of new energy and new materials, which is highly consistent with the industrial upgrading direction of our city."

"We are investing 6 billion, not just as a financial consideration, but as a strategic layout. We hope that Spark Technology's next-generation battery technology can be prioritized for application in our city's rail transit, new energy buses, and other public sectors. At the same time, we will provide full support in terms of land, policies, talent introduction, and so on."

The entry of Shencheng Metro Group covered Spark Technology in a solid "policy armor" and "resource shield."

The financing agreement was officially signed under the gaze of countless eyes.

Spark Technology successfully raised 10 billion at the cost of giving up 5% of its shares! After the financing, the total share capital increased by 50 million shares.

After the financing was completed, the total share capital was slightly diluted, and the new equity structure emerged:

Su Chen: 71.25% (Absolute Controlling Stake)

Zhao Feng (Dingfeng Investment): 4.75%

Zhou Tianyu (Tianqiong Capital): 4.75% (Rights Restricted)

Huawei Investment: 2%

Shencheng Metro Group: 3%

Market Circulating Shares: 14.25%

At almost the same time, the legal action led by Liang Zhen also achieved a key victory.

Based on the preliminary evidence provided by Spark Technology, the court issued a ruling on behavioral preservation, temporarily freezing the core shareholder rights of Tianqiong Capital's shares—such as voting rights, director nomination rights, and proposal rights—until the relevant litigation was concluded, and restricted their access to the company's undisclosed sensitive information.

This meant that although Zhou Tianyu nominally still held Spark Technology shares worth nearly 10 billion, he had lost the right to speak at board meetings, participate in company decision-making, and even access core secrets.

He had become a "mute" shareholder locked outside a glass wall, only able to watch as the wealth express train of Spark Technology sped away, unable to exert any influence or obtain any strategic intelligence from it.

When the news reached Zhou Tianyu, he was tasting wine in his private club.

The veins on the back of his hand holding the wine glass bulged, his knuckles turned white from force, and the expensive red wine sloshed violently in the glass.

He did not roar, nor did he throw anything; he just slowly poured the entire glass of wine onto the expensive carpet, not leaving a drop.

The gloom and resentment in his eyes were so intense they almost became tangible.

"Su Chen... good tactics," he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse. "Cutting off my eyes and ears, locking my throat and tongue... I have recorded this debt."

He knew that he was completely out inside Spark Technology.

But this also made him more unscrupulous; an enemy in the dark, harboring great hatred and capital, was often more dangerous.

Having cleared away the biggest internal destabilizing factor and holding 10 billion in funds, Su Chen began a grand strategic layout.

At the board meeting, he announced an exciting capital allocation plan:

Establish the [Spark Materials] subsidiary, with a capital injection of 2 billion! With Wu Hao as the core, not only to expand the mass production of low-cost graphene, but also to establish a top-tier materials research institute, advancing into more cutting-edge basic material fields such as special metals and composite materials.

Inject 4 billion into the [Spark Power] subsidiary! Plan a brand-new new energy industrial park on the outskirts of Shenzhen, fully produce "spark super energy" batteries to meet the explosive market demand, and simultaneously assemble a top-tier team to officially launch pre-research on next-generation lithium-sulfur batteries and solid-state batteries, aiming at the ultimate battlefield of power batteries.

Inject 1 billion into the [Spark Industry] subsidiary! Used for the R&D of next-generation drones, robots, and precision structural parts, laying the foundation for future intelligent products.

Inject 2 billion into the [Spark Communications] subsidiary! Fully tackle the self-development of drone image transmission chips and flight control main chips, vowing to completely master the "heart" and "nerves" in his own hands.

The remaining 1 billion in funds will be fully invested in the company's central laboratory as a research and development reserve fund for exploratory and disruptive technologies, especially to prepare for the upcoming digestion and transformation of "industrial machine tool" technology.

A massive blueprint for a technology empire, with technology as its root, capital as its lifeblood, and spanning materials, energy, precision manufacturing, and chip design, unfolded clearly in Su Chen's hands.

Through this series of thunderous capital operations and strategic layouts, Su Chen not only cleverly cleared out the internal tumor and obtained the huge funds sufficient to support his grand ambition, but also introduced two powerful strategic allies, Huawei and Shencheng Metro Group, building a four-in-one "technology + market + capital + policy" impregnable fortress for the company.

The giant ship of Spark Technology, having replaced its engine with a more powerful one, cleared the barnacles from its hull, and received official escort, was now sailing toward the deeper and broader starry sea with a more steady and unstoppable posture.

And the storm hidden in the dark was also brewing the next, even more frantic, impact.