Chapter 334 - 191: Never Mind the Money, You’re Sending Top-Tier Talent Too?

Chapter 334: Chapter 191: Never Mind the Money, You’re Sending Top-Tier Talent Too?

「Evening.」

At his hillside mansion, Su Chen was enjoying a leisurely swim in the rooftop pool.

"Sir, Mr. Mark from Longteng Technology is here," Jiang Hui said respectfully, standing by the edge of the pool.

Su Chen, surfacing from the water, was taken aback for a moment. He looked at Jiang Hui beside him and asked in confusion, "You’re saying Mark is looking for me?"

Jiang Hui carefully recalled their arrival before responding, "Yes, sir. There are two others with him, but it’s not Mr. Bird who came last time."

"They were also carrying a small black case, though I don’t know what’s inside."

Hearing Jiang Hui’s description, Su Chen’s interest was piqued. He climbed out of the pool and took the towel Jiang Hui offered, drying himself off. After downing more than half of a cold drink, he looked at Jiang Hui and said, "Bring them all up."

With that, Su Chen lay back on a lounge chair, leisurely admiring the city lights of the entire bay area as he awaited Mark’s arrival.

After taking the elevator down to the first floor, however, Jiang Hui didn’t go directly to Mark. Instead, he called Chen Fei over.

Chen Fei, who had been chatting with Raymond, came over at once without any delay. He knew Steward Jiang wouldn’t call for him unless it was important.

"Steward Jiang, what do you need?"

Jiang Hui glanced over at Mark and his companions, who were sitting on a sofa not far away. "I need you to come with me in a moment," he said quietly.

Chen Fei was momentarily confused, but he nodded in understanding, even though he didn’t know what was happening.

Jiang Hui then led Chen Fei toward Mark and the others.

Seeing Jiang Hui approach, an anxious Mark immediately rose from the sofa. "Steward Jiang, will Mr. Su see me?" he asked.

Jiang Hui gave a slight nod. "Sir has agreed. However... Mr. Mark, we’ll need you to cooperate with a few standard procedures."

Mark nodded. He knew exactly what "cooperation" entailed. He immediately took a step toward Chen Fei and spread his arms.

Chen Fei paused for a second before he realized what was happening. ’A pat-down.’ After all, this was the US, not China; weapons were everywhere.

Even though Jiang Hui knew Mark meant Mr. Su no harm, it was their duty as subordinates to account for every possibility.

Mark and his two companions were all in suits, so the search was over quickly. The only thing left was the small black briefcase in Mark’s hand.

"Mr. Mark, please open it," Chen Fei said, his gaze fixed sharply on Mark.

Mark hesitated for a moment before unlocking the small briefcase with his fingerprint.

The briefcase’s interior was very simple, containing only two items that looked like USB drives. Seeing this, both Chen Fei and Jiang Hui nodded, signaling for Mark to close it.

"Mr. Mark, this way, please," Jiang Hui said, a professional steward’s smile returning to his face.

The group of five walked toward the elevator. As they passed Raymond, Wang Gang, and the others, the men looked at them questioningly, as if asking whether they should accompany them upstairs.

Chen Fei gave a subtle gesture to indicate it wasn’t necessary, then followed Jiang Hui and the others into the elevator.

"Mr. Su!" The moment they arrived on the top floor, Mark hurried over to Su Chen’s side, calling out respectfully.

Su Chen sat up on his lounge chair and gestured for Mark to take a seat.

"Mr. Mark, didn’t we just see each other this afternoon?" Su Chen asked with a faint smile. "What brings you here again? Is there something you need?"

At Su Chen’s question, a wry smile appeared on Mark’s face. He didn’t say a word, instead opening the small briefcase and presenting it to Su Chen.

When Su Chen saw the two custom USB drives inside the briefcase, he already had a good idea of what they were.

He took one of the USB drives from the briefcase, weighed it in his hand, and said teasingly, "Mr. Mark, don’t tell me this is the company’s latest R&D breakthrough."

Mark nodded. He took a deep breath before speaking. "You’re right, Mr. Su. These two drives contain all the data on the new technology, including the source code."

"You’ve got some nerve, Mr. Mark," Su Chen murmured in admiration.

Technology like this usually has no backups. Whoever held these two USB drives effectively possessed the latest in weak artificial intelligence.

"Heh... To be frank, Mr. Su, if it weren’t for what you said, I still wouldn’t have seen Bird’s true colors. I always thought he was acting in the company’s best interests, like a true steward of its assets. I never imagined he was just another one of the hunters circling overhead."

"Thinking about everything that’s happened recently... it’s truly ironic."

After that brief moment of reflection, Mark’s expression turned serious.

"Mr. Su, to be honest, I have my own reasons for giving this to you. I can’t afford to provoke giants like Morgan and BlackRock. If the new technology stays with me, I’m afraid some ’accident’ is bound to happen."

Mark’s biggest fear was that Morgan and BlackRock would use some means to target his forty-nine percent stake. It was even more likely they’d just bribe someone close to him to get their hands on the weak AI technology.

If that happened, he’d be left with nothing. Of course, Mr. Su’s interests would remain untouched. Mark was certain that neither Morgan nor BlackRock would dare to make a move against him.

So, to protect his own interests, Mark was making a desperate gambit: handing Longteng’s new tech directly to Su Chen. He was betting on Mr. Su’s character.