This is not how you drive a machine!

Chapter 285 There is no return
Time flows on relentlessly, and the Light-Year Base shimmers with a faint glow under the sunlight.

Jiang Wuyang gave a wry smile upon seeing the apologetic message from Zhou Yun.

He ate too much yesterday, and his stomach is upset. Who said they wanted to have a spicy food eating contest last night? Do they know that's too stimulating for an elderly person?
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he took the report from his subordinate and frowned.

"Tell Qingluan to stop bragging to those old men and women at the alley entrance and come help her right now! Wait a minute, I'm going to the restroom. What kind of place did Xiyue choose..."

After a while, Jiang Wuyang hurriedly ran back.

He looked at Qingluan, who was fast asleep on his desk, kicked the chair helplessly, then sat down on the desk and started reading the new report.

“You’re right. With increased cash flow, the drifting training industrial park can also be further expanded.”

“We can use this place as a dual base: the headquarters of the Yunyi Racing Team in Cainan Province, to develop high-level racing-specific technologies and systems, and to research technologies for S-level racing.”

"The training industrial park in Kyoto is responsible for developing general-purpose technologies and expanding the research and development of drifting techniques for low-level races, making drifting more versatile, which is equivalent to a 'drifting university'..."

"Moreover, this place is right next to the racing city, so we have many advantages that we can take advantage of..."

"Hey, what do you think? Should we just start a university...? Um, it's a bit complicated in terms of procedures, but if we set up a professional mecha girl university, wouldn't WMC streamline the process...?"

"Those mecha girls are just sitting around doing nothing anyway, let's send them all to school!"

Amidst the trembling snores of the Azure Phoenix, his heart began to stir with barely suppressed excitement.

Now that he's in charge, many ideas that he couldn't implement before in the Light Wheel can now be fully realized!
For a moment, the youthful passion in his heart began to boil.

“We could easily establish special departments specifically for drift trainees to participate in various competitions or assist in street raids by mounted police…”

"Indeed, there are too few drift drivers now, so it's a bit too far off to talk about that."

"However, we can train them in batches. Our first batch of drivers will have very high recruitment standards. We will train them in the direction of 'drift instructors'."

"The specific teaching methods will need to be discussed again when Zhou Yun returns..."

However, before he could finish speaking, another staff member barged in.

"President Jiang, the original shareholders of the Lightyear Project have called again, claiming they want to invest more than three times the amount!"

"Furthermore, they said they have found more investment channels, and the final amount could be more than 12 times the current size of the funds!"

"They've already assembled their team and are ready to connect with our project team at 5 PM this afternoon..."

This shocking news, like a depth charge, jolted the minds of all the staff present.

Jiang Wuyang's pupils twitched.

"When did Kyoto get such a foolish and rich person?"

No, before the cooperative competition, weren't these money-grubbing bastards all like that?
Even if someone is a complete fickle person, they shouldn't be spending money on a wife!

While investment windows are limited and people may act recklessly under the influence of scarcity marketing, ...

Thinking about this, even if he was slow to grasp business matters, he realized it at this moment.

It's a scam!

"Marketing Manager, let's go check this out quickly, wait... call Manager Ye over too, let's see what they're up to!"

"Qingluan, wake up! Go check the project team's cash flow and equity structure."

Cold sweat trickled down his clothes.

The entire racing industry is about to undergo reform, and these bastards... damn it!

The sun gradually sets, and time passes little by little.

After looking at the contract for the Glorious Evolution project team, Manager Ye took off his glasses, his voice trembling slightly.

"Equity dilution".

"They want to take over the entire Glorious Evolution project team."

He put on his glasses, took a deep breath, and pulled out a contract from a pile of documents, placing it in front of Jiang Wuyang.

He then began to explain rapidly.

"Before the collaborative competition, in order to get the Glorious Evolution project team up as soon as possible, the project was affiliated with the 'Light-Year Project' company. It was for this reason that we converted the investment from the original shareholders of the Light-Year Project company into the start-up capital for Glorious Evolution..."

"But in doing so, we have left behind a historical problem."

"When the Light-Year Project attracted investment, there was an anti-dilution clause to protect the interests of investors..."

"The terms stipulate that if an external investor's equity exceeds that of the original shareholders when additional investment is made, you, as the major shareholder, are required to compensate these original shareholders based on the increased value..."

As Manager Ye explained his mind-boggling logic, the atmosphere in the conference room gradually became oppressive.

Jiang Wuyang lit a cigarette and listened quietly.

"Although the Glorious Evolution project team has equity protection clauses, the fact that the 'Drift Stream Training Industry Base' project is a product of the Light Year Project creates a loophole for them to invoke these clauses..."

"According to the agreement, we can't refuse this investment project..."

"So now all they need to do is continue to invest aggressively, and we have to keep transferring our shares to them, otherwise there will be legal risks..."

After summarizing, Manager Ye looked up at the sky and felt a little out of breath.

"With such a huge amount of money, they must have used a bunch of shell companies to avoid risks and agreed on profit sharing..."

"By 5 p.m., what will arrive is definitely not the investment evaluation team, but the team that will negotiate and seize power."

"We're going to be kicked out."

After finishing his story, Jiang Wuyang took a deep breath, threw down his cigarette butt in a state of agitation, then lit another one, finally managing to sort out his thoughts.

At that moment, his ears were ringing.

The ultimatum is at 5 PM. What can we do now?
What should I do?
If the Glorious Evolution project team is taken away, what will happen to the Yunyi Racing Team's subsequent R&D funding?
How should we play in the S-series?
Jiang Wuyang's chaotic thoughts were like a dense, runaway flywheel, turning his brain into a complete mess.

"Manager Ye, what are we doing now..."

Manager Ye lowered his head and rubbed his temples with his hands.

Too fast, too accurate, too ruthless.

Those gods in Kyoto are much harder to beat than those in Sainan Province.

After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice.

"Be prepared, time is too tight. There's no way to transfer all of Glorious Evolution's assets in such a short time."

"President Jiang, please decide as soon as possible what you're willing to give up."

"Only by being willing to sacrifice enough can we choke these greedy wolves and protect what is most important."

Jiang Wuyang dropped the cigarette butt from his hand onto the ground.

He stared at the conference room table, the details of the Light-Year Project and everything that had happened so far buzzing and swirling in his mind, constantly disrupting everything he had ever dreamed of.

The hour hand on the clock moves downward step by step, and all the words in the world are reduced to a single sentence.

Jiang Wuyang, hold on.

You can't keep everything.

You need to make a decision.

Time is running out!

His throat bobbed laboriously, as if he wanted to give up something.

But his brain, like the force of someone clutching a straw on the edge of a cliff, desperately held onto his throat, as if activating a protective mode to prevent him from falling into shock.

"I know……"

"I……"

Just as I was gritting my teeth, about to say my decision, my phone rang inappropriately.

Looking at the unfamiliar caller ID on the screen, Jiang Wuyang's fingers stiffly hovered over the answer button.

Is this negotiation before an ultimatum?
They advised me not to resist?
He wanted to hang up, but his finger slowly slid across the answer button.

Perhaps this is an opportunity. He turned his head, exchanged a glance with Ye Qing, confirmed the key point, turned on speakerphone, and answered the call.

"I am Jiang Wuyang."

"..."

"..."

After a long silence on the other end of the phone, Chen Shuo's voice came through.

"Hahaha, Wu Yang, you've fallen into the pit!"

"How can you know what it's like outside the track if I don't let you take a walk around it?"

"Hmm? Do you miss me a lot right now?"

Snap!

Jiang Wuyang's phone fell heavily to the ground, shattering the screen.

However, Chen Shuo's voice continued to come from the phone.

"Wu Yang, when are you going to change your temper? Why did you throw your phone? I only made a few jokes at you!"

"Wait...don't hang up! Please don't hang up! I'm not kidding!"

"The current situation is that you need some shell companies specifically for asset transfer and equity restructuring, so that the Glory Project team can substitute one for another. I happen to have some."

"They wanted to steal your things, did they get my permission? Ha."

"Consider this my compensation to Xiyue. Over the years, I've felt really bad for this child..."

Listening to the constant sounds coming from his phone, Jiang Wuyang was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, unsure of how to react.

After a while, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This tone, this mindset—this is the Chen Shuo he first met.

So many years have passed...

The voice on the phone continued to ring.

"Alright, let's not talk about it over the phone anymore. I'll come over there right now and get everything sorted out."

"The negotiation time is 5 o'clock, right? We need to hurry up. With your temper, you get angry as soon as you're provoked. How can you possibly reach an agreement? I'll help you. It's settled then."

"wait for me!"

Jiang Wuyang picked up his phone and laughed.

"Ok, I will wait for you."

"By the way, since you've been prepared for this all this time, why haven't you directly restructured Guanglun's shareholding structure all these years..."

His response was the beeping sound of the phone being hung up.

In that instant, he suddenly felt that his question was somewhat unnecessary.

Even during the most intense debate before the Lightyear Project faced restructuring, Shuozi only stripped him of his authority, not his shares.

"beep."

"beep."

"beep……"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shuo's breathing was slightly disordered. Looking at his phone screen, which hadn't been repaired since Ye Qing broke it last time, he couldn't help but smile.

Having worn the mask of 'President Chen' for so many years, he had forgotten what 'Chen Shuo' was really like.

A puzzled voice came from behind.

"President Chen, these are our only way out, and they contain Guanglun's assets... Are you really going to just give them away like this?"

"President Jiang has already left Guanglun, so we don't need to give them a way out."

What if things turn out badly next?

Hearing these words, Chen Shuo did not reply. Instead, he stood up, grabbed his coat from his desk, and looked down at the racetrack outside the window.

Staff are busy sorting and counting materials in the workshop next to the track, and throwing waste to the edge of the track.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing and Jian Xue, along with the other racers and mecha girls from Team 1, were weaving through the dust-covered Light Wheel LOGO and heading towards the truck next to the modification workshop.

What is the most important asset of the Nimbus?
Wasn't it always in his hands?

Now that the decision has been made, why leave yourself an escape route to distract yourself?
I, Chen Shuo, am not a coward.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He had always looked down on Jiang Wuyang's stubbornness, but he never expected that he and Jiang Wuyang were the same kind of people at heart.

Indeed, birds of a feather flock together.

If they're not the same kind of people, how could they possibly come together?

He straightened his collar and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"The situation is unfavorable? Since we're already at the bottom, why can't we go uphill?"

"There will be bread."

"There will be a bicycle."

"Mecha girls, there will be."

"You will achieve good results."

"The light wheel... will also be there."

He hummed a little tune as he leisurely walked towards the door of the president's office. After walking out of the corridor, looking at the infinitely deep blue sky above Kyoto, he felt extremely relaxed.

"Huh? Where are my car keys? Kiki, do you remember where I put them?"

"Mr. Chen, you sold the car in the middle of the night yesterday, have you forgotten?"

"..."

As the time drew ever closer to four in the afternoon, the sunlight took on a lazy hue.

Jiang Wuyang held the documents from the Glorious Evolution project team, watching the traffic outside the Lightyear Project base, waiting impatiently.

Shuozi, you're not messing with me, are you?!
Why haven't you come yet?
It's not far from here to the Nimbus...

As he was pondering, he suddenly heard a series of clanging and banging sounds.

At the edge of their field of vision, a shared bicycle drifted into a bend, and Chen Shuo's disheveled appearance slowly magnified in their eyes.

"I haven't ridden a bicycle in so long, I just accidentally fell into a ditch."

"Have you been waiting long, Wu Yang?"

"Haha, don't rush, there's still time, enough for us to take a bath."

As he spoke, he took the documents from the back seat of the shared bicycle and opened his mouth with a smile.

"I did a quick look-up and I already knew what they were up to. How about that? Did you learn something new?"

"Consider this my parting gift to you."

He patted Jiang Wuyang, who was still in a daze, and looked at the racing city across the street with a smile.

“Since they’ve played this game of sacrificing a child for a tiger and invested so much more, let’s just let them pay up…”

"They went and never returned."

At this moment, Jiang Wuyang suddenly felt like he was back in Season 3.

"Yes, there's no coming back."

(End of this chapter)