48: Chapter 48: The Night Before the Brilliance

News of the Spark Group annual meeting was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, already causing ripples in the public eye.

However, when these ripples suddenly transformed into a tsunami sweeping across the entire internet three days before the meeting, people truly realized that this would not just be an internal corporate celebration, but a grand spectacle worthy of being recorded in the annals of business and culture.

The trigger for everything stemmed from an 'internal leak post' that suddenly appeared on a well-known entertainment gossip forum in the dead of night.

The title of the post was extremely sensational: [First exposure on the whole network! The guest lineup for the Spark Group annual meeting will blind your titanium alloy dog eyes!].

There wasn't much text in the post, just a long list of names.

At first, netizens thought it was a prank for attention.

But as one familiar name after another came into view, the skepticism was quickly drowned in an overwhelming wave of shock.

The list clearly read:

**Mandopop scene: Xue Zhiqian, Zhang Liangying, Dao Lang, Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai...**

This included almost all the top singers with the most influence and market appeal in the Mandopop scene, a collective mobilization of 'half the industry'!

However, what made the whole internet even more frantic was the international list that followed:

**Adele, Justin Bieber, Drake, Hikaru Utada.**

Four superstars with phenomenal influence on a global scale!

'I... am I dreaming? Adele and Bieber on the same stage? And at a company's annual meeting?'

'This lineup, the Olympic opening ceremony would be silent, and the Grammy Awards would be in tears!'

'How much money did Spark Group spend?! Did Su Chen take all the profits earned over the past year just to hire celebrities?!'

'@Spark Technology, are you still hiring cleaners? The kind that can shout 'Encore'!'

'As a Spark Group employee, I'm so excited I can't sleep! This life is worth it!'

The entry 'Spark Group annual meeting lineup' plummeted to the top of the Chinese microblogging platform hot search list with rocket-like speed, followed by a bright red 'Explosive' character.

Major social media platforms and short video sites were almost flooded with related content.

Entertainment media, financial media, and even current affairs media all jumped in to report, trying to interpret the significance behind this phenomenon.

A veteran music critic wrote in a column: 'This has far exceeded the scope of commercial sponsorship. It sends a strong signal: Spark Technology possesses not only astonishing financial resources but also an intangible 'field' that can attract the world's top cultural symbols to its side. This is a more intuitive declaration of the true rise of a business empire than any financial statement.'

An internal corporate annual meeting was forcibly elevated by Spark Technology to the height of a cultural event of national concern.

It was a sensation before it even began; the momentum was already established.

Just as the internet was boiling over the celebrity lineup, another more weighty list was quietly circulating within specific circles.

At the headquarters of Huawei, Mr. Ren looked at the elegantly designed invitation, signed by Su Chen and Lin Wan like a work of art, on his desk and smiled at Yu Chengdong beside him: 'This Su Chen, the commotion he creates gets bigger every time. Send a reply; we will definitely attend on time.'

At Geely, Chairman Li Fu stroked the embossed Spark Group logo on the invitation and instructed his secretary: 'Cancel all schedules for that day. We must give Su Chen face. Besides, I heard that several people from Changan and Great Wall will also go, so it's a good time to chat.'

Shenzhen Metro, Xiaomi, OP Electronics, VI Group... almost all the helmsmen of business giants with deep cooperation or potential for cooperation with Spark Group received this heavy invitation.

This was no longer just about watching a show; it was more like an informal summit of China's top business leaders.

Between the clinking of glasses and wonderful performances lay the opportunities for strategic cooperation and industry integration that could be worth hundreds of billions in the future.

All the bigwigs who received the invitation confirmed their attendance without exception.

This was not only a sign of respect for Su Chen personally but also the greatest recognition of the future power represented by Spark Technology.

The media keenly captured this trend, and analytical articles in financial sections began to predict that after this annual meeting, the business landscape of Huaxia might welcome a new change.

In stark contrast to the noise outside was a highly guarded secret test flight field in the far suburbs of Shenzhen.

Here, the final sprint was underway for the most core and confidential part of the annual meeting.

Under the cover of night, thousands of specially modified drones sat quietly on the ground, flashing cold indicator lights.

Their outlines vaguely showed the shadow of the 'Wasp M1' intelligent attack drone, but they were more lightweight, with the warheads removed and high-brightness full-color LED light groups added.

The technical director, a swarm algorithm expert temporarily transferred from the Spark-Arab Defense Company, was standing in the mobile command vehicle, reporting to Su Chen, who had arrived quietly.

'Mr. Su, we have used the simplified platform of the 'Wasp M1' and enabled some military-grade encryption communication and relay technologies.' He pointed to the complex signal topology map on the screen, 'It can ensure that during the performance, even in an urban environment with strong electromagnetic interference, the command transmission for up to 30,000 drones can achieve millisecond-level latency, with formation precision errors of no more than ten centimeters.'

Su Chen watched the drone swarm taking off again outside the window.

They were like elves controlled by an invisible hand in the night sky, precisely changing complex three-dimensional formations, and nodded silently.

The technical director pulled up a holographic projection, showcasing the design plan for the core program 'Spark · Epic': 'Look, the opening will be a faint spark lighting up in the darkness, symbolizing the startup of the company. Then, the drone swarm will sequentially evolve into the outline of the xinghuo no. 1 drone, the molecular structure of the battery, the circuit diagram of the chip, the 3D model of the five-axis machine tool... Finally, all these elements will converge and fuse to construct a huge, slowly rotating 'Spark Empire' 3D logo in the air, lasting for about eight minutes.'

The visuals had great impact and narrative sense.

A flash of appreciation crossed Su Chen's eyes, and he patted the director on the shoulder: 'Very good. On the day of the annual meeting, let the whole world see what true 'fusion of technology and art' is.'

Leaving the tense and busy test flight field and sitting back in the car, Su Chen watched the city neon lights flashing by outside the window and suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion.

He rubbed his brow and said to the assistant in the front row: 'Don't go back to the company. Go pick up Lin Wan, and tell her... I'm taking her to see a movie.'

When Su Chen pushed open the door to Lin Wan's office, she was buried in a pile of annual meeting process documents and seating charts.

'Busy for so long, want to steal some leisure time with me?' Su Chen leaned against the doorframe, his tone relaxed.

Lin Wan looked up, her slightly tired face showing surprise first, then blooming into a warm smile without a moment's hesitation: 'Okay.'

They didn't bring any attendants or bodyguards, like the most ordinary couple, blending into the bustling crowd on a weekend night.

They watched a lighthearted and funny movie and wandered aimlessly in the mall after the show.

Su Chen even stopped when passing an ice cream shop and bought a matcha cone for Lin Wan—he was not very skilled at operating mobile payments, and it was Lin Wan who helped him complete the scan with a smile.

The two stood in front of a luxury store window, looking at the dazzling jewelry displayed inside, but their discussion had nothing to do with jewelry.

'Do you think Old Zhao (Zhao Tiezhu) will come wearing his work clothes again that day?' Lin Wan asked with a smile.

'Very likely, he probably thinks that's his coolest battle armor.' Su Chen also laughed.

'I heard that Zhang Zhen secretly lost ten pounds to get on stage to receive the award?'

'Really? It seems the incentive effect of the 'Spark Light' plan is greater than imagined.'

These trivial and relaxed conversations dispelled the tension and exhaustion of the past few days.

In the car home, Lin Wan leaned gently on Su Chen's shoulder, watching the flowing lights outside the window, and whispered: 'Watching the annual meeting step by step from a plan on paper to the tangible reality it is now feels so magical. It's like... like watching our child grow up bit by bit, finally about to step onto his own stage.'

Su Chen held her hand tightly, feeling the temperature from her palm, his voice low and firm: 'This is just a beginning. In the future, we will witness and share all the glorious moments that belong to Spark Group together.'

The car stopped slowly downstairs at Lin Wan's apartment.

When parting, the night wind was cool.

Su Chen straightened the hair blown by the wind for Lin Wan, looking into her eyes, his tone carrying a trace of imperceptible solemnity:

'At the annual meeting, I have something to tell you.'

Lin Wan's heart moved slightly, reading some unusual meaning from his eyes.

She didn't ask further, just smiled and nodded, her cheeks flushing with a faint blush under the streetlights: 'Okay, I'll wait.'

On the eve of brilliance, the starlight had already quietly gathered above the dome.

The iron-blooded nature of technology, the game of business, and the warmth of human life were intertwined and fermenting in this city that never sleeps, just waiting for the grand blooming that would surely shock the world tomorrow.