25: Chapter 25: The Wind Rises on the Green Grass

Time quietly slipped into the midsummer of June 2016. After experiencing the brilliance of the press conference, the feast of capital, and the warm internal cohesion, Spark Technology entered a period that was relatively stable, yet filled with increasingly turbulent undercurrents.

In June, Spark Technology officially announced the details of the "Spark Housing Security Plan," dropping a depth charge into the already heated public opinion arena.

The reaction was polarized, and the intensity exceeded all expectations.

On the internet, the wave of support from countless ordinary employees was almost overwhelming:

"This is what a dream company looks like! Su Chen is the GOAT!"

"Asking for a friend, is Spark still hiring a cleaning monk? I'm a 985 graduate and I can sweep floors!"

"Look at them, a hundred-billion-dollar market cap and they don't forget their roots! Some companies that only know how to draw blueprints and exploit people should learn from this!"

"This is the vision and warmth a technology company should have!"

However, in entrepreneurial circles and some industry forums, it was a different scene. Many entrepreneurs, especially those who were also bosses in the technology and manufacturing sectors, expressed strong dissatisfaction publicly or privately.

A boss of a medium-sized manufacturing enterprise complained at a business forum: "Spark is breaking market rules! They are using these nearly free houses to tie down talent. How are we, these small and medium-sized enterprises, supposed to survive? We simply can't afford that kind of treatment, and all the talent is being sucked away by them! This is malicious inflation of labor costs!"

Another investor also wrote an article in a column, cryptically criticizing: "Excessive benefits will erode corporate profits and weaken market competitiveness. This move by Spark Technology is suspected of using capital advantages to engage in unfair competition, and I call on regulatory departments to pay attention."

These controversies inevitably triggered some chain reactions. Because of the launch of the Housing Security Plan, netizen support was very strong, and sales of the xinghuo no. 2 drone and the "Lingmou 1" panoramic camera in the second quarter rose slightly, with an increase between 5% and 8%. The market did not show much fluctuation, and sales remained strong. Spark Technology was defining a new, more humanistic development model for technology enterprises in its own way.

One evening when the city lights were just coming on, Su Chen invited Lin Wan again. The location was not the top-tier restaurant overlooking the city from last time, but a private kitchen restaurant hidden deep in an old alley with a quiet and private atmosphere. The style was elegant, more like a small gathering of friends. After the noise dissipated, Su Chen and Lin Wan stood side by side on the rooftop of the headquarters building. The cool summer night breeze blew, and beneath their feet were the city lights as brilliant as a galaxy.

"Today's reaction was even more intense than imagined," Lin Wan said softly, smoothing her hair that had been blown messy by the wind.

"Expected," Su Chen said, his gaze distant. "Touching upon interests is often harder than touching upon the soul. But the path we are taking is not wrong." He paused, his voice dropping a few degrees. "Lin Wan, the future of Spark Technology is by no means limited to drones and batteries."

Lin Wan turned her head to look at him, waiting for what he would say next.

"I have been thinking about more fundamental things recently," Su Chen's voice carried a solemnity of exploring the unknown. "Our ability to produce leading products now relies to a large extent on... some technical concepts that transcend the current era." He cleverly avoided the system core. "But to perfectly realize these concepts, and even achieve greater goals in the future, we lack the most basic tool—an industrial machine tool capable of processing extremely precise parts."

"Industrial machine tool?" Lin Wan felt a little unfamiliar with this term, but she could feel its weight from Su Chen's tone.

"Yes, it's the machine that makes machines. It's the cornerstone of the industrial system," Su Chen explained. "I have a preliminary plan. In the future, I will independently fund the establishment of a new company, perhaps to be named—Xingchen Heavy Industry. It will not be affiliated with the Spark Technology Group; it will be wholly owned by me, focusing on the research and development and manufacturing of the highest-end machine tools. The registered capital... is three billion."

Three billion! Lin Wan's heart shook; this was almost the entire net worth of a large group. But she did not ask about the source of the funds, just looked at him firmly: "No matter what decision you make, no matter what lies ahead, I will be by your side and support you to the best of my ability." Her promise was simple, but weighed more than a thousand jun.

On the last weekend of June, the sun was bright and the breeze was gentle. Su Chen rarely put down all his work and invited Lin Wan for a relaxing hike in the suburbs. Walking through the forest paths, with babbling streams and crisp birdsong, they were completely far away from the smoke of the business world and the noise of the city.

The two chatted about light topics, occasionally cracking harmless little jokes. Su Chen discovered that Lin Wan, without her professional attire, had a different kind of liveliness and tenderness than she did in the workplace. And in Lin Wan's eyes, Su Chen at this moment had finally temporarily unloaded the burden of being the helmsman of a hundred-billion-dollar giant, revealing the bit of relaxation and sunshine that should belong to someone of his age.

On an open hillside, they stopped to rest, overlooking the distant, layered mountain scenery.

"I haven't been this relaxed in a long time," Su Chen said, taking a deep breath of fresh air with emotion.

"Yeah," Lin Wan smiled at him, "Seeing you so busy all the time, I'm really worried that you're stretching yourself too thin."

Su Chen turned his head, his gaze falling earnestly on Lin Wan's face: "I used to feel that there was never enough time, with endless things to do and endless challenges to deal with. But now I feel that if I can face it with the right person, no matter how big the wind and waves are, they don't seem so scary anymore."

His words carried an unprecedented implication. Lin Wan's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and her cheeks flushed slightly. She did not avoid his gaze, just gently placed her hand on the back of his hand.

Everything was understood without words. The mountain breeze blew past, taking away the heat of the summer, and also witnessed the last layer of the window paper between the two being completely broken. A clear and sweet relationship was quietly established among these green mountains and waters.

However, on the other side of the world, dark clouds were gathering.

Inside a secret manor located on an overseas offshore island, Zhou Tianyu restrained all the arrogance he had while in the country, his posture even carrying a hint of respect, as he sat opposite a middle-aged foreign man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a cold temperament. The man's name was Alexander Rogers, and on his chest was pinned an inconspicuous badge that represented endless power—Global Capital. And those in the industry knew well that "Global Capital" was merely one of the "white gloves" used by the true giant that perched at the top of the global financial system—Goldman Sachs—to handle certain "special affairs."

"Mr. Rogers," Zhou Tianyu said in fluent English, his tone grave, "The situation with Spark Technology is even more tricky than I previously reported. They not only solved their internal spy problems but also firmly bound their core talent with a kind of 'benefit trap.' More importantly, the low-cost graphene preparation technology they have mastered and that 'spark super energy' battery are no longer just commercial products; they represent a... potential force capable of changing the existing industrial landscape and even threatening our technological dominance."

He pushed a thick stack of documents over: "I believe that Spark Technology is no longer just a target worth investing in. It is a 'Huaxia technological threat' that must be brought under control, or... completely destroyed before its wings are fully fledged."

Alexander Rogers flipped through the documents expressionlessly. When he saw those performance parameters and market analyses, his eyes narrowed slightly, like a viper locking onto its prey.

"Has the source of the technology been found out?" His voice was low and carried a metallic texture.

"Not yet, it is exceptionally mysterious. But it can be confirmed that its leader, Su Chen, is the key," Zhou Tianyu replied.

Rogers closed the documents, leaned back into the expensive leather sofa, and cast his gaze toward the boundless sea outside the window, as if examining the chessboard of the future.

"I see. The gentlemen at Goldman Sachs will be interested in this 'threat'," he said lightly, but his words contained a chilling, cold will.

The wind rises from the duckweed. Spark Technology's brilliance in the country seemed to have reached a peak, and Su Chen had also harvested the long-awaited love. But he did not know that a more treacherous and unpredictable global game, led by the most powerful and ruthless financial capital giant on this planet, had already quietly kicked off. A new epic was turning the page toward the unknown and challenges.