Early in the morning, Ning Yifan got up right on time, before dawn had broken, changed into his running shoes and workout clothes, and went out for a run.
The weather wasn't very good today. It looked like it might rain, and with no sunrise to watch, Ning Yifan headed back early.
As the sky gradually brightened, the breakfast stalls in the industrial park were still bustling. Workers finishing the night shift and those getting ready for work sat eating their breakfasts.
Ning Yifan had porridge, steamed buns, and pickles for breakfast. The appetizing pickles went so well with the porridge that he downed three bowls and ate several buns.
After breakfast, Ning Yifan headed back to his factory, wondering what he should do today.
The improvements to the Phantom Projector production line were complete. On the third floor, all the equipment in the workshop had either been upgraded or newly manufactured.
Perhaps it was time to make another new product?
Now that he had money, Ning Yifan could do much more.
Shenma Technology Company's first product had been limited by its production tools, Ning Yifan's lack of funds, and other constraints. He'd had no choice but to order equipment parts online and assemble the product.
Despite that, thanks to its technology, it still had a significant edge over most projectors on the market. But it wasn't the kind of high-tech product Ning Yifan wanted to make.
He wanted to create products that could bring about great changes for humanity, make people's lives happier and more convenient, and transform society.
Now that he had built up his initial capital, Ning Yifan planned to manufacture all the equipment and components for his next product in his own factory. It had to be capable of crushing anything comparable on the market.
The Phantom Projector was good, but projector manufacturers could make models that were even better, costing hundreds of thousands or even over a million yuan apiece.
As Ning Yifan thought about the future of the company, he made his way back.
Just then, his phone rang in his pocket.
Ning Yifan took it out and saw an unfamiliar number. Frowning, he answered.
A very polite voice came through the phone. "Hello, is this Ning Yifan from Shenma Technology Company?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"I'm calling from Hisense Electric Company—"
"Sorry, Shenma Technology Company isn't interested in business partnerships or financing, and we have no intention of selling the company. Goodbye!"
Ning Yifan hung up and sighed helplessly. Over the past few days, he'd received dozens, even hundreds, of calls like this from appliance manufacturers.
They wanted to know if he was willing to sell Shenma Technology Company, or if he'd sell them shares or accept investment. Some even wanted to buy the technology patents for the Phantom Projector.
At first, Ning Yifan had listened to them and politely declined.
But as the calls kept coming, he lost the patience to explain. Every time he did, he grew more irritated. Eventually, he started hanging up like he had just now.
Less than ten seconds after the call ended, his phone rang again.
Ning Yifan was speechless.
"It's only seven in the morning. These people are certainly diligent."
"I wonder what I was thinking when I put my personal number on the Enterprise Information Network. Maybe I should get another SIM card?"
"Forget it. Too much trouble. I'll just block all unknown numbers."
Helpless, Ning Yifan changed his phone settings to block calls from unknown numbers.
While Ning Yifan was blocking their calls, a salesperson at an appliance company looked helplessly at the senior executives gathered around him first thing in the morning.
They'd known this might happen. Every day, they called with little more than the hope that they might get lucky, but the executives were still disappointed and frustrated.
"We can't get through anymore, even from another number. He must have blocked all unknown callers."
"He has absolutely no interest in selling Shenma Technology Company. He turns us down without hesitation every time."
"Another failure. He has no intention of selling the company."
"A couple of days ago, when we could still reach him, he rejected us without a second thought even when we offered fifty billion."
"He wouldn't even sell the production technology for the Phantom Projector for fifty billion."
"He wouldn't even agree to sell us ten percent of Shenma Technology Company for ten billion!"
"He won't budge. There's nothing we can do now but wait and see if the headhunting company can poach a technical engineer from Shenma Technology Company. Hopefully, they'll get somewhere."
Jiang Xuwei was a star recruiter at Qiangren Headhunting Company. He'd earned that standing at a world-renowned headhunting firm for good reason.
The previous evening, his company had landed a major assignment and handed it to him. If he completed the job and the client was satisfied, he'd earn ten million yuan in commission alone!
It was an unprecedented fee for the company. If he pulled it off, he'd gain a stellar reputation in the industry as well as the money. The prospect had Jiang Xuwei excited.
As soon as he received the target company's information, Jiang Xuwei set off without delay, traveling through the night. His first destination was a small city in Xichuan Province, where Shenma Technology Company had registered its address.
Although Shenma Technology Company had since moved, Jiang Xuwei was an excellent recruiter and wasn't about to pass up any chance to gather information.
But after spending two days asking around at the company's old address, he had little to show for it. In fact, he'd found no leads at all.
He'd spent money on the investigation, but the neighbors couldn't tell him anything about the team that had founded Shenma Technology Company. Many didn't even know that a company had once operated there!
The only thing the neighbors could recall about the people who'd rented the place was a very handsome young man. For a while, he'd received a lot of deliveries. Aside from that, nothing unusual had happened.
From his own observations, Jiang Xuwei hadn't seen any sign that they were lying. What's more, he'd questioned several different people to verify the information and rule out the possibility that anyone was making things up.
He hadn't found any information about the company's technical staff. Even after contacting local SF Express couriers, he came up empty.
Only the handsome young man had sent or received packages. Even when the couriers helped carry deliveries inside, they'd never seen anyone else.
This assignment looked difficult.
But with ten million yuan on the line, Jiang Xuwei wasn't giving up.
Since he couldn't find anything at the company's old address, he had to go to Shenma Technology Company's current factory.
Using delivery information for Phantom Projectors that people had posted online, Jiang Xuwei quickly pinpointed the company's current location.
Dujiangyan Industrial Park.
He spent half a day wandering around the industrial park and asking taxi drivers and long-time workers, but none of them could point him to Shenma Technology Company!
In the end, it took money to get anywhere. Jiang Xuwei paid a SF Express courier ten thousand yuan to learn the company's exact location!
It was a factory with no company sign at the entrance!
It looked as if no one lived there. No one had come or gone for hours, there was no security guard at the entrance, and the gate was shut tight.
If he hadn't seen a courier come out with a whole truckload of Phantom Projectors, Jiang Xuwei might have thought the factory had gone out of business!
Now that he'd found his target, all he could do was wait for his quarry to show up.
But Jiang Xuwei waited outside Shenma Technology Company for two whole days without seeing a single employee come or go!
The only person he saw was a handsome young man, probably the factory owner listed on the Enterprise Information Network. His name was Ning Yifan, and he'd graduated from university just a year ago. Every morning, before dawn, he came out of the company. Sometimes he went shopping for groceries or ordered takeout. From the portions of food Jiang Xuwei observed, there was only enough for one or two people.
Jiang Xuwei naturally wouldn't approach the company's owner. He wasn't the target of the assignment. There was no way he could poach the company's chairman.
Yet after waiting outside for two days, Jiang Xuwei hadn't seen a single target show up—not even someone to clean the place!
What kind of company was this? Didn't it have any employees?
Did they never leave work?
That was the only entrance and exit to the whole company!
His targets hadn't appeared, and Jiang Xuwei was ready to curse. How was he supposed to work his silver tongue when he couldn't even find anyone who knew what was going on inside Shenma Technology Company?
The more he observed, the more confused Jiang Xuwei became. Where were the technical staff in their sixties and seventies, with graying hair? Even if there weren't any older technicians, surely there should be some engineers in their forties or fifties. How had the company managed without any?
After two days of searching without finding his targets, Jiang Xuwei grew frustrated and finally decided to get inside the factory and take a look.
Money opened doors again. After paying a full twenty thousand yuan, Jiang Xuwei got in touch with the SF Express courier who came and went from Shenma Technology Company to pick up packages. He planned to sneak into the factory aboard the courier's van.
Inside a large delivery truck, Jiang Xuwei wore a SF Express uniform and listened as the driver, who'd taken his money, told him about Shenma Technology Company.
"This factory is really strange. At first, that handsome young guy would meet me to hand over the packages. Later on, we just drove straight into the factory's warehouse to pick up the shipments.
"There's no one there to hand anything over. They pay the delivery fees by WeChat transfer straight to the company owner.
"I've been picking up shipments from this company for a month or two, and I haven't seen another employee inside.
"Do you think they've got dozens of zombies working for them, like in the novels—ones that don't need to eat or use the bathroom, and make Phantom Projectors for the company?"
Jiang Xuwei sat in the delivery truck as the courier rattled on about Shenma Technology Company, even offering his own guess.
You've been reading too many novels! Jiang Xuwei thought, but kept it off his face.
"That really is a strange factory. Maybe they're not zombies, though. Maybe they're products grown in the ground. Ha ha!"
The courier said anxiously, "Just don't do anything reckless, or I might lose my job!"
"Don't worry. It's just a courier job. If you lose it, I promise I'll find you something better," Jiang Xuwei reassured him.
"Ever heard of a headhunting company? That's what I do. To be honest, I've been hired to poach Shenma Technology Company's technical staff. If I pull it off, I'll give you another twenty thousand yuan as a thank-you!"
"Well, do what you have to do." Dazed by the money, the courier even hoped Jiang Xuwei would succeed. Any damage to Shenma Technology Company wasn't his problem!
The truck slowly approached Shenma Technology Company, and the factory's gate opened automatically.
As they were about to enter, the courier gave Jiang Xuwei one last warning. "It'll take about ten minutes to load the packages. Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly. And I'm saying this one last time: don't do anything reckless. You can look for an engineer, that's fine, but don't break the law. If you do anything criminal, I won't cover for you. I want to go home to my wife and kids."
Jiang Xuwei checked the concealed recording devices on his body and waved a hand. "Relax. I just want to take a look. If I can get an engineer's contact information, that's all I need. I don't want to go any farther inside."
"Good."
The courier expertly drove the truck into the warehouse area on the factory's first floor. Stacks of boxed Phantom Projectors were waiting there.
As soon as the SF Express truck parked in the designated spot, machinery began moving above the factory floor.
A hook traveled along a rail on the ceiling, caught a stack of one hundred boxed Phantom Projectors, and began loading it onto the truck. The courier only needed to watch.
Jiang Xuwei climbed out and saw it all for himself.
It was automated, just as the courier had said. There wasn't a single person in the entire first-floor factory area!
He hadn't found his target on the first floor. He'd have to check the floors above.
But this floor was probably just a warehouse for products and raw materials. His eyes swept around, and he spotted an elevator in the middle of the room. Looking closely, he couldn't find any buttons.
He only had ten minutes. After nodding to the SF Express courier, Jiang Xuwei clutched his stomach and headed deeper into the factory. In the middle of the piled-up cargo, he soon found a staircase leading to the second floor.
Thank goodness—there was more than one way between floors besides the elevator!
After looking around to make sure no one was nearby, Jiang Xuwei hurried up the stairs. The factory had an eight-meter ceiling, the height of two or three ordinary residential floors. After turning three corners on the staircase, he could see the second floor.
But his expression darkened. A huge metal door blocked the way.
Jiang Xuwei gently pushed it, but it didn't budge.
Was he really going to leave empty-handed?
He looked at the gap above the metal door, took out his phone, opened the camera, and raised it to record what was inside.
But just then, the metal door slowly opened, revealing the scene inside.
Dozens of production lines stretched across the floor, each lined with dozens of quick, agile robotic arms. There wasn't a single person anywhere in the production area, yet products were being manufactured one after another!
No workers!
No wonder he'd kept watch for days without seeing anyone come or go!
Perhaps the handsome company owner was the only person in the entire factory!
How was any of this possible?
How was he supposed to complete the assignment?
Jiang Xuwei's mind raced through one possibility after another, but there wasn't time to think through a plan.
As the door opened, a voice sounded in his ears.
"Warning: unauthorized entry into the factory is strictly prohibited. Leave immediately, or the company will contact the police. The factory is equipped with numerous surveillance devices, and your every move is being monitored. Leave immediately. Leave immediately!"
A vehicle with four wheels and two robotic arms mounted on its flatbed slowly drove up to Jiang Xuwei and blocked his way.
Had it been converted from a Wuling Hongguang Mini?
The lower half of the vehicle looked very familiar to Jiang Xuwei!
Jiang Xuwei clutched his stomach. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just looking for the bathroom. My stomach's upset. Could you tell me where it is?"
The vehicle's speaker kept repeating its warning, without responding to Jiang Xuwei's question.
He glanced around and discreetly spotted several cameras. There were also several mounted on the roof of the modified vehicle.
Shaking his head, Jiang Xuwei didn't say anything more. Clutching his stomach, he hurried back downstairs. "The bathroom, the bathroom—where is it?!"
Back on the first floor, Jiang Xuwei circled the warehouse again. He found no bathroom and saw no sign of anyone else.
So it really was a fully automated factory!
He was still disappointed that he hadn't found his target, but his investigation inside Shenma Technology Company should earn him a decent fee.
Shenma Technology Company had suddenly become famous online. It had been established only a few months ago, yet it was a fully automated high-tech company, more automated than many major international manufacturers!
And the factory had only one person in it: the boss!
After the truck was loaded, Jiang Xuwei left the Shenma Technology Company factory aboard the delivery vehicle. He got out partway back to the SF Express office and hurried out of town.
He hadn't poached a technician, but he had footage from the concealed cameras on his body, plus photos taken on his phone. He was sure the companies interested in Shenma Technology Company would pay for the information.
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