The Nerd Who Conquered The World

Chapter 12

Dongfang Mingyu stayed seated. She looked at the screen for another moment, then looked at Lin Chen. "You built this specifically to be beyond what the basic version can do."

"Yes."

"How advanced is it?"

"Far enough that they're not the same category of tool."

She looked at him steadily. "May I?" She gestured toward the laptop. He turned it to face her and she spent ninety seconds going through it in silence. Then she turned it back without comment.

The two men returned to the table almost simultaneously, both of them carrying renewed confidence.

Ren Bojun sat down and straightened his jacket. "Mr. Lin, Sunrise Tech is prepared to purchase ClearShield Advanced outright. We'll double the salary offer and add five percent equity."

Fang Dehua nodded. "Fenglin matches that with five percent equity and we'll add a dedicated research budget for whatever your next project is no questions asked about what you're working on."

Lin Chen looked at both of them. "I'm not working for anyone." He let that sit for a moment. "But I can license ClearShield Advanced to each of you. Two million yuan per year, non -exclusive.".

Ren Bojun leaned back. "Two million per year for a license."

"Per year. Non-exclusive, meaning I retain the right to license to others."

"And development rights? If we want to build on the architecture"

"Not included."

Ren Bojun was quiet for a moment. Then he reached for his contract folder and started writing revised terms. Fang Dehua did the same. They signed within five minutes of each other and stood to leave, both of them shaking Lin Chen's hand.

"Mr. Lin Chen," Ren Bojun said, buttoning his jacket. "You negotiate like someone who has been doing this for twenty years."

"Thanks for the compliment." Lin Chen said.

They left but Dongfang Mingyu had not moved.

She waited until the door closed behind both men. Then she opened her own folder.

"Our CEO asked me to extend a personal offer," she said. "Ten million yuan per year. Ten percent equity in Supreme Cybersecurity." She placed the contract on the table. "I'm sure you know who we are. The other two combined don't come close to us in market position or research capability."

"I know exactly who you are," Lin Chen said.

"Then you understand what ten percent of Supreme means long term."

"The answer is still no."

Dongfang Mingyu looked at him for a moment. Then and this was what distinguished her from the other two as she smiled, not with surprise but recognition.

"I already told her you'd say that." She reached into the folder and placed a second contract on the table. "So she asked me to bring this as well."

Lin Chen looked at it. A source code purchase agreement not for ClearShield itself but for a license to build an entirely new product using the same underlying architecture. Completely distinct from ClearShield. Supreme's own product, built from his foundations.

"How much?" he said.

"Twenty million yuan."

Lin Chen looked at the contract, narrowed his eyes and said. "Fifty."

Dongfang Mingyu's composure held but her eyes sharpened slightly. "Mr. Lin, the source code for a foundational architecture even one this sophisticated "

"Fifty."

"Twenty-five."

"Forty."

She set her pen down. "Thirty. And that is the absolute ceiling my CEO authorized me to go to."

Lin Chen paused. He looked at the contract. He looked at her.

Thirty million. Exactly where I needed this to land.

"Thirty million," he said. "Send the final contract to my email by the end of the day."

Dong Fang Mingyu picked up her pen and signed her copy with the clean efficiency of someone closing a deal they had mentally already closed. As she gathered her things she looked at him one final time.

"Mr. Lin. I've been in negotiations for eight years. I know when I've been played." A brief pause. "Thirty million was your number from the beginning, wasn't it."

Lin Chen said nothing as he sipped his coffee.

She nodded slowly. Something in her expression shifted, something closer to respect. "We'll be in touch. I have a feeling Supreme will be hearing a lot more from you."

"You will," he said.

She left.

Lin Chen sat alone at the corner table with his coffee going cold in front of him. Thirty million yuan. A week ago he wouldn't have even dreamt of earning that amount but now he earned it in the time it took to brew tea.

Sighing, he picked up his phone and texted Wang Hao.

I'm at Chenglin Coffee on East Campus Road. Come now.

Then he ordered a fresh cup and waited.