Gao Yunsheng laughed— again,deep, full-bodied, the kind of laugh that makes your shoulders shake.Louder now, the sound echoing lightly in the quiet office. "Now that's a name I'll remember."
Lin Feng didn't laugh with him. His eyes drifted to the window where sunlight flashed on the glass towers outside. For a moment the world outside replayed inside him-rooftops, knives, blood, the faint violet glow, the girl, the enemies.
"It's… just the beginning…" he whispered.
---
Four Hours Earlier
The girl tried to stand, her legs shaking so hard she had to catch the wall to stay upright. Her breath was unsteady, her face pale. A man in black robes materialized before her without a single sound. He stepped into her path and bowed, he kept his voice low ,yet respectful.
"Young miss… it's time."
She nodded slowly. "...Okay." Her tone was steady, but her eyes weren't—they flickered, guilty, as if hiding a truth from herself.
The robed man lifted one hand. A faint ripple passed through the air; the cuts on her skin sealed instantly, the blood vanished without a trace. She inhaled sharply—more from the sudden relief than surprise.
She straightened, expression tightening with authority.
"I want you to look into someone."
The masked man bowed deeper, silent acceptance.
Then he waited—motionless—until she gave a final nod. That was all it took. A pulse of purple light flared—silent, soft—and both vanished, leaving only a swirl of fading violet dust in the empty room.
---
Back to the Present
Gao turned toward the door as it opened. "Lin, meet Kevin Gibson. Kevin, this is Lin Feng."
Kevin grinned immediately, amused by the sight of a child in a boardroom. "Lin, it's rare I get pitched by someone who still gets school lunch. You like snacks? We've got cookies."
Lin smiled shyly, polite but not timid. "I do. Thank you sir. But I'm more interested in food markets… not food snacks."
Kevin laughed—easy, casual, slightly mocking. "I thought you were messing with us. A kid offering millions, alone? What, your school club voted on this?"
"No clubs," Lin replied softly. "I just read trends, not headlines. People chase where the light is bright… I look where no one's shining anything yet."
"Oho, poetic." Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Is this a pitch or a poem?"
Gao cut in, voice calm but edged with confidence. "He's young, Mr. Gibson, but he sees patterns we miss on our busiest days. Sometimes that's all the market needs."
Kevin waved off the praise and casually bit into a cookie. "Alright then. What's the magic? Why push so hard for a tiny food-delivery app? And why me? You could invest anywhere."
Lin's voice stayed steady, his tone cooler now. "It isn't magic. It's math. People want time, not restaurants. Delivery will explode. And why you? Because a storm's coming, Mr. Gibson… and only early movers survive storms."
Kevin leaned back, studying him. "Investors think this is a hobby business. Why push so hard?"
"People said the same about online shopping," Lin answered. "Then it grew faster than anyone expected. Delivery will too—subscriptions, cloud kitchens, instant demand. Scaling is slow only for those who notice trends last."
Kevin frowned, but not angrily—curious. "Scaling's easy with money. Getting customers to trust apps? That's the hard part."
Lin's tone softened, reassuring. "Trust comes in steps. Deliver clean. Deliver fast. Track well. The rest follows—restaurant loyalty, user retention. If you don't own the data, someone else will."
Kevin let out a quiet breath, half-amused, half-surprised.
"So you want a controlling stake? On what basis?"
"Fifty-one percent," Lin said, calm and firm. "Because slow decisions kill momentum. I'll make us first to cluster partners, first to automate busy hours, first to make routing data our advantage."
Kevin scoffed lightly, but it was playing defense now. "You're a kid pitching me the future. Sounds a bit playful, don't you think?"
Gao stepped in—gentle but serious. "Dismissing youth is how old companies die quietly. Investors laughed at ride-hailing once. Not anymore."
"They laughed at streaming too," Lin added. His voice sharpened just a notch. "Now they pay subscriptions every month."
He slid a folder across the table. A complete strategic plan lay inside—dense, clear, terrifyingly precise.
"Three phases," said Lin. "Cluster expansion. Loyalty algorithms. Direct-to-apartment pilots. Follow these, and we double users every nine months. Order times—fifteen percent faster than competitors. Cross-state rollout ready because data, not luck."
Kevin's grin slowly faded. His eyes narrowed—not with skepticism but focus.
"You… actually mapped this out,kid."
"That's why we must move now,sir." Lin said. "Before the giants copy it. Innovation premiums vanish fast."
Kevin exhaled, a small stunned laugh. "Alright. Ten million. Fifty-one percent. When do we start? Tommorow?"
"Tomorrow," Lin replied. "Delay is the only enemy."
Gao smiled. "A rare quick consensus. You chose well, Mr. Gibson."
Kevin laughed, still shaking his head, then offered Lin a real handshake. "From cookies to control, kid. Let's see if your plan tastes as good as it looks."
Lin returned the handshake. "Everything scales better with growth."
They signed and sealed the deal
---
After the Deal
Lin walked to the computer, already logged into Gao's stock account, and started typing rapidly.
Gao blinked. "W-Wait—kid, what are you doing?"
"Investing," Lin said calmly.
"Wh-where? Why? How—" Gao stuttered, words tripping over themselves.
"Relax," Lin murmured, still typing.
"Lin… this is risky, kid."
Lin finally glanced up, eyes steady. "Just trust me once."
A long beat. Then Gao nodded, nervous but surrendering. "Alright… I'll trust you."
---
Scene Shift — The Market
The street burst with noise—vendors shouting, crowds pushing, sunlight blazing between awnings. Someone stepped out of the shade, and the sudden hit of light stabbed their eyes.
"Aagh!" they hissed, stumbling back.