Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Time goes back to that day, Sam…

Let's go back to the day Sam arrived at the Shanghai Tower a few hours earlier.

The fish tank in Speed ​​Technology's conference room now has several goldfish of different colors. They don't seem to be lost in unfamiliar territory at all; instead, they swim around freely.

Huang Shiyu took the merger and acquisition contract from Silas, and after carefully reviewing it, asked in confusion, "Didn't Black Tower Group send an investment manager to discuss the merger and acquisition a few days ago? What does this mean?"

“I suppose Mr. Huang doesn’t know this yet,” Slias smiled. “Sam is just an investment manager at Youshe, a subsidiary of the Black Tower Group. She represents the subsidiary, while I represent the Black Tower Group.”

Huang Shiyu looked at the other party, put down the contract in his hand, and blurted out his thoughts, "So this is a case of the parent company stealing a subsidiary's project?"

“You can understand it that way,” Silas replied vaguely.

Huang Shiyu had long heard that the current chairman of the Black Tower Group had a son and a daughter, as well as an illegitimate son who had recently been recognized by his father. The chairman was seriously ill, and the family business projects were basically distributed to his children. It was inevitable that rumors would circulate that the illegitimate son's return to the family was a ploy to seize the family property.

The fact that Black Tower has sent people to negotiate again proves that the rumors are not unfounded. The seeds of a power struggle within the Black Tower Group have been sown for a long time, but they have not dared to let the outside world know.

After all, for listed companies, stock prices are their primary concern. Shareholders don't care who ends up in power; they just want the stock price to stay above all else.

"It's really kind of you to have people from the Black Tower Group headquarters come all the way from Japan."

Huang Shiyu didn't really want to get involved in this power struggle; she was just a businesswoman who loved making money and doing business.

Silas ignored Huang Shiyu's insincere flattery and cut straight to the point: "Your company's development history is well-known in the industry. However, Black Tower has also heard that your company's profits have not been very optimistic in the past year."

Although Speedtech is not a publicly listed company and there are no publicly available annual reports on its revenue, we can roughly deduce its financial situation by looking at the daily active user revenue of its game software.

"Furthermore, I've heard that Mr. Huang is currently more focused on researching artificial intelligence projects, but relying on the performance of Speed ​​Technology Games is probably not enough to sustain it, and the financing will not be very substantial. Otherwise, Mr. Huang wouldn't have allowed Sam and the others to come and visit. Am I right?"

Huang Shiyu had initially treated this unexpected visitor the same way he would any other customer. But after hearing his words, Huang Shiyu began to re-evaluate the man, now with a hint of curiosity.

Unlike Sam, who uses a different negotiation strategy, this man is more like an orca, good at attacking rather than patiently waiting for his prey to fall into the trap.

Huang Shiyu reopened the contract, turned to page five, pointed to a condition that was almost buried under the other text, and asked without further ado, "Can the Black Tower Group headquarters really deliver on this?"

Silas nodded: "Of course, the merger and acquisition proposal I brought today is a fundamental solution that can completely resolve your company's current serious operating losses, and it is also a solution that will benefit Mr. Huang."

The advantageous solution is to spin off the artificial intelligence group; this part will be separated and Black Tower will not acquire it.

Black Tower's original goal was to create a speed-based technology game, which Huang Shiyu understood and didn't care about.

Huang Shiyu was already looking for other new projects. She wasn't as passionate about game development as Song Chaoye; she just wanted to make money first. If she had money, she would naturally be willing to continue. In her worldview, income was the only thing that mattered.

Later, in Alibaba's AI project "Tao Cafe", she sensed the hidden trend of artificial intelligence and saw its prominent features.

However, like most businessmen, Song Chaoye did not want to get involved with artificial intelligence, even though he was interested in computers. He believed that computers were more practical, and the artificial intelligence products flooding the market were diverse and quickly becoming obsolete.

They felt that the initial investment costs were too high and the rate of return was not high.

Huang Shiyu said she understood, so she started a new research project on her own, focusing on artificial intelligence.

For example, the application of artificial intelligence in the medical industry will be a major trend in the future world.

"Then what should I do?" Huang Shiyu was very satisfied with the plan.

Silas stood up. "You just need to think." Still smiling, she added, "Sam will be here soon, Mr. Huang, I'll take my leave now."

Let's go back to the present.

Song Chaoye's silent, provocative smile perfectly illustrated that the formal signing of the contract with the Black Tower Group a few days ago, and the joint press conference just now, were exactly what Song Chaoye wanted.

Taking advantage of her eagerness to avoid having her AI project acquired along with her, Song Chaoye conspired with the Black Tower Group's parent company and subsidiaries to set a trap for her.

If she wasn't mistaken, Song Chaoye had probably already started this scheme before he broke up with her, and she was just following his lead.

Huang Shiyu also laughed, but it was a helpless laugh. She thought to herself: Is it necessary? She wasn't interested in developing games to begin with. If Song Chaoye had just talked to her properly, would she have refused? Why go through all this trouble with her?

On the surface, they seem like the best business partner, but behind your back, they're scheming against you.

She felt that all the terrible actors in the entertainment industry could learn from Song Chaoye, and if there were a Best Actor award this year, she would definitely vote for Song Chaoye.

Song Chaoye hadn't turned his face away yet; he was still looking at her, the smile still on his lips, as if waiting for her response.

Huang Shiyu thought to himself: Okay, you're going to respond, right?

He also mouthed "fku" silently.

An inexpressible anger, and the embarrassment of being tricked—a short sentence encapsulates a myriad of emotions.

As soon as the joint press conference ended, Huang Shiyu left by subway without waiting for the subsequent interview. After all, she had signed the contract, and the die was cast, but it didn't cause her any loss.

I was just quite annoyed, because Song Chaoye had tricked me.

The breath she was holding only dissipated somewhat once she reached her residential community.

A few stools were placed under the red brick wall of the old alley, and several elderly people sat facing the wall chatting. When they saw her coming, they asked with kind eyes, "Xiaoyu, you got off work so early today?"

Huang Shiyu smiled and said, "I'm not too busy today, Grandma, I'll go upstairs first."

"Xiaoyu, take this." The old man took a box of unopened strawberries from another stool and handed it to her. "It's a waste if you can't finish these given by your daughter. Take them home and eat them."

Huang Shiyu looked at the strawberries in her hand. The packaging was exquisite. She had seen them in fruit shops, where a box of white strawberries cost ninety-eight yuan.

Her eyes crinkled into a smile, she sweetly thanked them, and turned to walk through the wooden door of the old wooden hall.

This is a historic old alleyway neighborhood, surrounded by migrant workers who have come to Shanghai to work, as well as some original residents. These elderly people have a good relationship with her and feel that seeing her is like seeing their granddaughter.

The old alleyways had wooden doors and wooden stairs, and clothes were hung in the center of the alleyway where they could see the sunlight.

Sunlight in this city costs money.

As Huang Shiyu stepped onto the wooden stairs, the creaking sound of each step was constant and irritating, making her feel numb.

When she reached the fourth floor, she was taking her keys out of her bag. Her apartment was on the floor above, and each floor had two apartments facing each other.

Suddenly, she heard noises upstairs, several different men's voices. The accents didn't sound like locals, nor did they sound like the office workers living across the street from her.

Her hand paused as she reached for her keys, and the motion-sensor lights in the hallway flickered, casting a distorted shadow of herself.

Huang Shiyu was standing right at the corner. When she looked up, the motion-sensor light above her was about to break, and the light was swaying. She felt her eyes were being shaken, and the men upstairs were also shaking.

Huang Shiyu saw a series of overlapping stairs ahead. Afraid of being caught up by the men behind her, she threw her bag behind her, not knowing if it hit anything. She then ran downstairs while holding onto the stairs with both hands.

She now knows who those men pursuing her are. Her father became addicted to gambling a few years ago. At first, he only gambled a little, but later, seeing that he had won a lot, he got a taste of success and couldn't stop. He even borrowed money from loan sharks.

They actually put her phone number on the form, and those loan sharks started calling her directly. She initially wanted to just let them die, but then her father promised he wouldn't gamble anymore, and she softened and paid him back once.

Because of this one instance of being soft-hearted, she got entangled with them, and this time they even found her address.

As Huang Shiyu ran downstairs, she felt a pang of regret, regretting her past soft-heartedness.

But then she thought: if she could do it all over again, she would still do the same thing. After all, he was still her father, and blood is thicker than water. She wasn't so heartless as to stand by and watch someone die.

Although she wasn't kind enough, she couldn't sever the innate family ties, just like some people are born with a longing to be loved.

"Stop running!"

"Your father owes you money, you have to pay it today! Don't you dare run away!"

The man's increasingly loud voice was like a large net spreading out behind her, as if to leave her nowhere to hide.

Huang Shiyu wanted to call the police, but she was afraid that if she stopped, she would be caught. So she could only run outside to a crowded place. She knew that the Bund was right across from the old alley.

All you have to do is get out.

In order to run faster, she quickly took off her high heels and threw them behind her.

"That bitch actually used a hidden weapon!"

Ignoring the sounds behind her, Huang Shiyu made her way into the alley opposite. Having lived here for so long, no one knew the terrain better than her.

Between the alleys, there was little sunlight, and it was quite dark. Just as Huang Shiyu turned right, she saw Li Xingzhou standing at the alley entrance, looking down at his phone. His perfectly curved peach blossom eyes were obscured along with the sunlight in the alley.

Huang Shiyu's gaze faltered, and his physical reactions became somewhat sluggish, causing him to slow down.

Hearing the noise, Li Xingzhou slowly raised his eyes, and the two met eyes, but neither of them spoke.

A few seconds later, Huang Shiyu heard footsteps behind him. Just as he was about to speak, Li Xingzhou's words flashed through his mind.

"Come find me again if things don't go your way in the future."

Huang Shiyu took a deep breath, enduring the pain in the soles of her feet, and planned to cross the alleyway next to her.

Li Xingzhou's indifferent gaze fell on her bare feet, and he called out to her, seemingly casually, "Come here, don't be stubborn."