He was outscored after scoring 520 points, but his status as a prodigy can't be hidden.

Wang Lei, listening intently, was incredibly excited, his chopsticks gripping tightly in his hand. The Vice President of Tencent! He called personally!

"Lin, are you free right now? I'm right at the south gate of Peking University, and I'd like to invite you and your team for coffee to discuss the possibility of a deeper strategic partnership! Tencent is willing to open up all our traffic, data, and platform resources to empower the growth of your Singularity Algorithm!"

Empowerment, ecosystem, and win-win cooperation.

One after another, beautifully packaged vocabulary words came from the other end of the phone.

Lin Yu's lips curled into a very faint smile, but his eyes were icy cold.

coming.

The big fish he was waiting for was even more impatient than he had anticipated.

"Can."

Lin Yu replied calmly, "But we just finished eating and we're a bit full. Let's skip the coffee. Why don't you come directly to our company to talk?"

"A company? Haha, great! Singularity Algorithm already has an office address? That's wonderful! Send me the address, I'll come visit right away!"

Ma Huayun's laughter sounded even more hearty.

Lin Yu hung up the phone and gave Xia Zijing a look.

Xia Zijing understood and typed an address on her phone and sent it over.

Wang Lei stared at the address, stunned: "Lin Shen, isn't that our rented office? That's that abandoned warehouse next to the school that's slated for demolition!"

"I know."

Lin Yu stood up, took the bill to the front desk, and said, "Let's go meet this famous vice president of Tencent. And while we're at it, let him check the goods for us."

To the west of Jinghua University lies an undeveloped urban village.

At the end of the dusty, narrow alley stood a solitary two-story red brick warehouse, with large sections of plaster peeling off the walls and half of the windowpanes shattered, revealing dark, gaping holes.

A black Maybach worth millions stands out starkly against its dilapidated surroundings.

The car door opened, and a slightly overweight middle-aged man wearing a custom-made suit stepped out.

Ma Huayun.

The second-in-command of Tencent, he is known in the internet world for his cunning and scorched-earth strategy of imitation, surpassing, and destruction.

He looked up at the office building in front of him, which was even more dilapidated than his company's restroom, and a barely perceptible hint of disdain flashed in his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

[Still a student, thinking he can become a millionaire overnight after getting some technical skills. Can't even afford a decent office.]

He straightened his tie, a warm smile returned to his face, and pushed open the creaking iron gate.

The warehouse was extremely spacious, but completely empty.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, with only a small area in the middle that had been cleaned.

Three folding chairs salvaged from the neighboring junkyard, and a school desk with a missing corner.

Lin Yu sat in the middle, with Xia Zijin and Wang Lei on either side.

This scene doesn't look like a business meeting; it looks more like the interrogation of a traitor in a gangster movie.

"Oh my! Lin! You guys are really living a frugal and simple life!"

Ma Huayun laughed heartily, seemingly oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation. He casually pulled up a chair and sat down, saying, "Back when Tencent was starting out, we were also coding day and night in those dark rooms. A hero's origins don't matter!"

Wang Lei was charmed by his affability and stood up somewhat awkwardly: "Hello, Mr. Ma..."

"Sit down, everyone, sit down!"

Ma Huayun waved his hand, his gaze falling on Lin Yu with the appreciation of an elder looking at a genius junior. "Lin Yu, let's get straight to the point. I'm here on behalf of Penguin, with the utmost sincerity."

He took a beautifully bound letter of intent for cooperation from his briefcase and placed it on the table.

"We're not going to mince words. First, Tencent's strategic investment department is preparing to make an exclusive Series A investment of 100 million RMB in Singularity Algorithm. Second, all of Tencent's product lines, including Tencent Video, Tencent Music, and Tencent Live, will use your compression algorithm as their exclusive technology supplier. Third, we will establish a joint laboratory, headed by you, with 200 senior engineers from Tencent fully supporting your subsequent iterations and optimizations of the algorithm!"

One hundred million in cash.

Orders worth at least several billion dollars every year.

There is also a top-notch engineering team of two hundred people.

These conditions are so attractive that even a startup student team, let alone any unicorn company, would find it hard to refuse.

Wang Lei's breathing had completely stopped, and his mind was blank.

He felt like he was dreaming. Yesterday they were just a makeshift team that couldn't even write a decent interface, and today, internet giants are coming to their door with mountains of gold and silver.

Ma Huayun watched Wang Lei's reaction with satisfaction; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

He believed that no young person could resist such a temptation.

He looked at Lin Yu, ready to receive the other's excited and grateful handshake.

However, Lin Yu's reaction was beyond his expectations.

Lin Yu didn't even glance at the glittering letter of intent, not even lifting his eyelids.

He simply extended two fingers and tapped them lightly on the table.

"Mr. Ma."

Lin Yu spoke, his voice as calm as still water, "I see your sincerity. But before we cooperate, I'd like to confirm one thing."

"you say!"

Ma Huayun laughed.

"I've heard that Gu Changming from the Gu family has some influence in the Ministry of Commerce."

Lin Yu slowly raised his head, his gaze landing precisely on Ma Huayun's face like a surgical scalpel. "Yesterday afternoon, did he call you?"

For the first time, the smile on Ma Huayun's face froze.

The air in the warehouse seemed to have been sucked out at that moment.

Wang Lei was dumbfounded; he never expected Lin Yu to suddenly bring this up.

Xia Zijing pushed up her non-existent glasses, a very subtle smile curving her lips.

coming.

Lin Yu's counterattack began from the very first second.

Who is Ma Huayun? A cunning old fox who has been navigating the business world for twenty years. He only paused for a second before regaining his smile and chuckling, "Lin, you're really joking. I know Minister Gu, but we talked about the national macroeconomy, which has nothing to do with your project."

"Yeah?"

Lin Yu leaned forward slightly. "Let me guess. Did Minister Gu say on the phone that Tencent could get my core algorithm without spending a penny? And after it's done, he'll use his connections with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to help you suppress all competitors and let Tencent monopolize the entire streaming media market?"

Ma Huayun's pupils suddenly contracted.

The smile on his face finally disappeared, replaced by a gloomy look as if his cards had been seen through.

He stared intently at Lin Yu, feeling for the first time that he wasn't facing an eighteen-year-old student, but a monster far more cunning and shrewd than himself.

These were indeed promises made by Gu Changming over the phone.

But how did he know?

"Lin, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."