Macau and a Hidden Opportunity

Over the next few days, Lin Chen was both excited and anxious.

He was excited because the private meeting in Macau was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity.

It brought together collectors and all manner of strange and unusual things from around the world. The waters ran deeper there, but there were also more opportunities, making it the ideal stage for Golden Eye to shine.

Perhaps he could find a chance there to complete the daunting million-yuan profit task.

He was anxious because Yan Qingyue seemed to be paying more and more attention to his "little moves."

Although she no longer mentioned the night she had gotten drunk, she occasionally cast him probing glances and seemingly asked in passing for his "opinion" on certain works of art or investment projects.

All of it left Lin Chen walking on thin ice, afraid that one careless move would expose the system's secret.

He had to plan carefully, making use of this opportunity while ensuring he acted entirely on his own, without drawing on any of Yan Qingyue's resources.

On the eve of their departure, Lin Chen made extensive preparations.

He crammed basic knowledge about modern and contemporary Asian art and Western antiques. He was clutching at Buddha's feet at the last minute, but it was better than knowing nothing at all.

He carefully counted up all his assets—the money he had earned from Kexiang Technology plus his existing savings—and found he had less than 200,000 yuan in total.

At an event like that, this little money might not even buy a decent vase, much less let him pick up a bargain.

Money is a big problem...

He wore a troubled frown. Do I have to give up this opportunity?

Just then, the system interface suddenly flickered, and a notification appeared:

[Host funds detected to be insufficient. Conditions for temporary borrowing met.]

[Short-term interest-free loan available: up to 500,000 yuan.

Term: 30 days. Failure to repay on time will incur a substantial late fee and affect subsequent tasks and rewards.]

[Apply?]

Lin Chen's eyes lit up!

It can do that too?! System, you finally did something decent for once!

Although there were interest and penalty clauses, it was undoubtedly like receiving charcoal in the snow! He applied without hesitation.

[Ding—500,000 yuan has been deposited into the host's linked account.

Please plan your use of the funds responsibly and repay on time.]

Seeing the huge sum added to his mobile banking account, Lin Chen immediately felt much more confident.

With 700,000 yuan at his disposal, he had far more room to maneuver!

The next day, Lin Chen and Yan Qingyue took an early flight to Macau.

On the plane, Yan Qingyue was dressed casually, with sunglasses covering most of her face. Her cool, aloof bearing was as striking as ever.

Lin Chen sat beside her, a little excited and nervous.

Macau... My first time going... And with President Yan, too... Does this count as a trip on the company's dime?

No, the important thing is the private meeting! My million-yuan task!

Yan Qingyue appeared to be resting with her eyes closed, but in fact she heard every bit of his internal muttering about a "million-yuan task."

A million-yuan task?

He really was planning something.

And it seemed he needed a considerable sum of money?

Her curiosity grew.

They arrived in Macau and checked into the five-star hotel they had booked.

Yan Qingyue naturally booked just one suite, which had a living room and two bedrooms.

Looking at the luxurious suite, Lin Chen felt a little uneasy.

J-just one room? Even if the bedrooms are separate... Isn't this a bit...

*Did President Yan forget I'm a man?

Or does she think I don't count as a man at all?*

Yan Qingyue took off her sunglasses and gave him a cool glance.

"It'll be convenient for discussing work. Don't overthink it."

Lin Chen: "..."

She definitely knew what I was thinking again! That proves she can read minds!

After they settled in, there was still half a day before the private meeting began.

Yan Qingyue seemed to have arranged to meet someone to discuss something, so she told Lin Chen he was free to do as he pleased.

"Meet in the hotel lobby at three this afternoon."

After giving him that instruction, she left first.

Lin Chen was secretly delighted.

Heaven is helping me! I was just worried I wouldn't get a chance to act alone!

He immediately took out his phone and searched for local antique markets and secondhand streets in Macau.

Since the private meeting had a high barrier to entry and fierce competition, he might as well try his luck at these places first. Perhaps he could find something good that had been undervalued.

His first stop was an old street near the famous Ruins of St. Paul's. It was lined with small shops selling antiques whose authenticity was hard to judge, old furniture, and other old objects.

Lin Chen activated Golden Eye and scanned one shop after another.

Most things gave no reaction at all in his eyes. A few occasionally glimmered faintly, but on closer inspection, their price tags were outrageously high. Clearly, the shopkeepers were no fools either.

After browsing for over an hour without finding anything, Lin Chen felt somewhat discouraged.

Looks like picking up bargains isn't that easy...

Just as he was about to give up and find somewhere to eat, his attention was caught by an inconspicuous little street stall on the corner.

The stallholder was a scruffy old man with graying hair, dozing with his eyes narrowed.

All sorts of things were laid out haphazardly on the stall: rust-covered bronze objects, damaged porcelain, old books and newspapers, and assorted odds and ends.

Lin Chen had already walked past, but Golden Eye suddenly gave an extremely faint throb!

He stopped, went back to the stall, and focused his gaze.

The throb came from a blackened metal box in the corner of the stall, covered in grease. It looked like an old toolbox or biscuit tin and was utterly unremarkable.

Perception: special alloy... Complex internal structure... Weak energy reaction... Value... Unknown?...

The information was extremely vague; it couldn't even determine the value.

But the words "special alloy" and "energy reaction" caught Lin Chen's attention.

This was unlike anything he had sensed before.

He crouched down and picked up the heavy metal box. It felt icy cold in his hands.

"Sir, how much for this?" he asked, feigning casual interest.

The old man opened his eyes, glanced at it, and lazily held up five fingers.

"Fifty?" Lin Chen ventured.

"Five hundred! Macanese patacas!"

The old man said irritably, "This is an old thing. I got it from an old repair shop. They say it's been around for quite a few years."

Five hundred patacas came to more than 400 yuan. For a filthy iron box of unknown origin, that wasn't cheap.

Lin Chen hesitated.

The information was too vague. What if it was just a piece of junk?

But Golden Eye's faint reaction and the keyword "energy" gave him a hunch—there might be more to this thing than met the eye.

Take a gamble!

He gritted his teeth and began to haggle.

"Sir, look how filthy it is, and it's rusty too. How about a hundred?"

In the end, the two settled on 300 patacas, about 250 yuan.

Cradling the filthy iron box as if it were a treasure, Lin Chen returned to the hotel.

He avoided the crowds and slipped quietly back to his room, unable to wait to examine it.

It took him considerable effort to get the box open.

There was no stunning treasure inside, only some old, rusty precision gears and springs, along with circuit boards and coils he couldn't make sense of. They were stuffed together in a jumble, looking like a pile of scrapped mechanical parts.

A loss?

Lin Chen's heart sank. Could Golden Eye have made a mistake? Is this just a pile of scrap metal?

Unwilling to accept it, he picked up the parts and examined them carefully, concentrating as he activated Golden Eye once more.

This time, when his fingers touched a dark blue chip-like object no bigger than a fingernail and covered in grease, a distinct burning sensation suddenly flared in his eyes!

It was far stronger than before!

Perception: high-density information storage unit?... Special structure... Technological level... Far beyond the present... Value... Immeasurable?!...

Far beyond the current technological level? Immeasurable?!

Lin Chen's heart began to pound!

Even his breathing quickened!

He carefully used a tissue to wipe the grease from the chip's surface, revealing an incredibly intricate structure and a dark blue material he did not recognize beneath it.

Although he had no idea what it was, the system's notification and Golden Eye's strong reaction told him that he might have stumbled on the bargain of a lifetime!

This thing was definitely worth far, far more than 250 yuan!

It might even... be beyond the measure of money?

Just as he was struggling to contain his excitement, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Yan Qingyue's cool voice.

"Lin Chen? Are you there? Get ready. It's time to leave for the private meeting."