Chapter 497 - 299: A Fish Enters the Sea, Growing Bigger and Stronger

Chapter 497: Chapter 299: A Fish Enters the Sea, Growing Bigger and Stronger

Rashid called out to him. It seemed the party inside was officially starting. Lin Chu temporarily ended his group chat and spoke casually.

Rashid looked a little stunned when he heard this and scratched his head.

"You..."

This castle originally belonged to an "elder." Later, the elder was shuffled out in a power struggle, and the new king gave it to his brother, Sayed.

’I don’t even have a one-of-a-kind place like this!’

He shrugged helplessly. "This one’s not available, but you could buy some land and build your own."

’With money, what can’t you buy?’

"Alright, then I’ll apply to buy a piece of land the size of an airport and build a super-luxurious base. What do you think?"

Lin Chu said with a half-smile.

’To be honest, this place really is great.’

’It’s an absolute paradise for capital.’

’And it’s friendly toward China.’

’It’s also centrally located, making it easy to travel anywhere and perfect for deploying resources.’

’If the security company stations more people here, and we add an information data center—our intelligence division—it would be like a state within a state, to put it dramatically.’

"Yeah, no problem, build it!"

Rashid said in an encouraging tone.

’How is this not a form of attracting foreign investment?’

Lin Chu patted his shoulder. "Alright, then it’s settled."

’I still don’t know what to make of that Liszt character. He might not have any ill intentions, but this whole thing is a wake-up call for me.’

’This isn’t home anymore.’

’The world out here is exciting, but it’s also dangerous.’

...

The party inside was a typical Western-style cocktail party with a cold buffet.

In the splendidly decorated living room, everyone was dressed to the nines, and the atmosphere was pleasant and elegant.

In the middle of the hall was a majestic male lion, but it was currently dressed up like a little birthday boy, wearing glittering gold clothes, with a crown on its head and a huge "birthday cake" beside it.

"What is this?"

Lin Chu was a bit dumbfounded.

Rashid smiled and explained, "It’s Qianqian’s birthday. The party today is officially for her birthday banquet. She’s four years old."

Lin Chu: ...

’Unbelievable.’

’I feel so out of place with you all because my life isn’t nearly this extravagant.’

’No wonder they say it takes three generations to make a nobleman.’

’But both then and now, I’ve always been deeply disdainful of so-called aristocrats.’

’Go back a few hundred years, or even a thousand—whose family wasn’t nobility at some point?’

’Looking at this scene...’

An idea quietly resurfaced in Lin Chu’s mind.

’It seemed completely unrelated, but the idea just popped into my head.’

"Old Gao, I have an idea."

"It’s a charity project. We’d go to war-torn regions, rescue some children, and give them professional training. What do you think?"

"We’ll take both boys and girls."

"I also happen to have an island in the Philippines. A place like that, a regular paradise, would be perfect for a training base."

Gao Haitao still hadn’t replied—he probably hadn’t finished his search yet—when he received another message from Lin Chu.

Reading the message, he was completely stunned.

’Holy shit!’

’What is he planning to do?’

Swallowing hard, Gao Haitao vaguely grasped the thread of logic behind Lin Chu’s idea, but he didn’t dare to ask directly.

He chose his words carefully. "We can do that, but... how many children are you planning on rescuing?"

"In the initial phase, not too many. A hundred. Fifty boys, fifty girls."

"I need to get the island’s facilities in order first. There’s no rush. You can start thinking about how to execute this."

Lin Chu didn’t spell it out.

For this kind of thing, some things were better left unsaid.

"Understood."

"I have no problem with it."

"The hackers still need a little more time. I’ll get back to you in a bit."

Gao Haitao replied.

’If it’s only a hundred people, it’s not that crazy. It’s acceptable.’

’Might as well do it...’

’From a cost perspective, this would even be cheaper than recruiting people ourselves.’

’And there would be absolutely no question about their loyalty.’

Gao Haitao’s own heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster at that moment.

’Looks like Brother Chu is getting serious this time.’

’This is such a huge leap, all of a sudden!’

’It feels like he’s just acting on a whim.’

’But if I’m being honest with myself, I’d probably be just as pissed if this happened to me. And all that anger comes from a lack of firepower.’

’This security company, plus an intelligence division, plus a group of people we train ourselves... Gao Haitao’s mind reeled just thinking about what that would become.’

’But since it’s all happening outside the country, it’s not that big of a deal.’

Just then, Gao Haitao received a reply.

The dark web hacker organization was named "GOD."

Gao Haitao had no idea who was behind them; they were impossible to trace. They just took money for jobs, used Bitcoin for transactions, and were extremely secretive.

The person who contacted him was codenamed "Ace of Diamonds."

The other party sent over a text file.

Gao Haitao opened it, read through it in detail, then converted the format and forwarded it to Lin Chu.

The chat window wasn’t closed. Gao Haitao quickly typed, "Our big boss wants to acquire your studio. Is that a possibility? If so, name your price?"

He was mentally prepared.

’This won’t be easy. Buying data is simple, but an acquisition... that’s a different story.’

’After all, they chose to become hackers to make a quiet fortune.’

’For them, breaking the barrier between the real and virtual worlds meant... danger.’

"Hm?"

The other party sent back a terse reply.

’They’re still willing to talk.’ Gao Haitao thought for a moment before quickly typing, "We’re a security company that’s currently expanding globally, and we need intelligence across various fields. If it’s possible, would you consider our offer?"

The other party: "Not interested. Bye."

Gao Haitao: ...

Looking at the now-closed dialog box, he felt a bit helpless.

’Looks like this channel is a dead end.’

’It might actually be easier to look through legitimate channels.’

’It’s not like there aren’t any top-tier white-hats back home.’

’Since Brother Chu is determined, I’ll find them.’

...

「Meanwhile.」

Lin Chu received the file on Liszt.

He casually grabbed a glass of champagne, sat in a corner, opened the document, and began reading as if nothing was wrong.

The density of information obtained through a secret channel like this was on a completely different level from what you could find online.

’Just how powerful are these hackers?’

Lin Chu’s current mood was a bit strange, like a fish from a tank being released into the ocean.

This meant more space and freedom, but it also meant more unknowns and challenges.

With that, he turned his attention back to the file.

The file wasn’t exhaustive, but it contained far more information than he had found online.

Liszt, 55 years old, currently the de facto controller behind the ONE Fund. The fund is not open to external investors, operates on an invitation-only basis, and is worth nearly five trillion US dollars.

Before the age of thirty, he was a futures trader. He made his name in a financial crisis as a major short-seller, profiting 4.2 billion US dollars.

From thirty to forty, he acted as an angel investor, investing in many well-known tech companies around the world, including Google, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Konsterna Media Group, and others.

His public persona is that of a world-renowned art investor who serves as a director for several museums.

He also founded the Genius Club, whose members are all newly minted global tycoons.

This person can be regarded as one of the financial backers behind Ang Capital, but his style is extremely low-key. He rarely appears in the public sphere and has recruited countless top talents over the years.

Ugh.

Lin Chu couldn’t help but light a cigarette. It was like he had just seen another tentacled monster, and a very old, very powerful one at that.

’Finance, tech, media... he has it all covered.’

Tsk.

’A major backer of Ang Capital.’

To put it simply, Ang Capital and the BlackRock Group were like fire and water. Theirs was an internal American conflict, with each carving out its own sphere of influence and constantly jockeying for position.

’Liszt... his life can’t be all that easy, either.’

’Internal worries and external threats.’

Thinking about this, Liszt seemed far less mysterious to Lin Chu.

’Damn. He just got an earlier start, that’s all.’

"Hello, excuse me, may I have this dance?"

Just as he was thinking about this, Lin Chu suddenly saw a woman in a white dress sitting gracefully across from him, raising her wine glass with a bright smile.

Not far away, Rashid was winking suggestively.

Lin Chu nodded and smiled, at a loss for words. ’This Little Prince is surprisingly thoughtful.’

’He probably couldn’t stand seeing me sitting here all alone playing on my phone, so he actually sent a girl over.’

...

...