Chapter 248: The Biggest Suspect

"..."
Su Hao smiled and nodded, then, amidst a sea of ​​admiring gazes, turned and walked confidently out of the Netflix headquarters building.
Just as he got into his car, Liang Haiyuan's phone rang.
"Chairman Su, we have news from Musk that he has arrived at the meeting place."
"Good, we'll be there right away."
The part of this trip to California that Su Hao was most looking forward to was actually meeting Musk.
Not because the "Close AI" acquisition was particularly important, but more out of pure personal curiosity.
He really wanted to ask that guy a question, a long-circulated but never-proven legend:
"Bitcoin, did you actually create it?"
***
"Finally, I've met you, Mr. Su! I've been waiting for this for so long!"
At the agreed-upon location, a private penthouse on the top floor overlooking the entire Silicon Valley skyline, Musk greeted Su Hao warmly, striding forward to shake his hand firmly.
The atmosphere was nothing like a typical business negotiation, but rather like the reunion of long-lost friends.
"Waiting to see me?" Su Hao was a little surprised.
"Of course. You know, when a company grows big and becomes wealthy, what's the biggest advantage? It's that your information network becomes incredibly vast."
Musk's blue eyes gleamed,
"Especially at the top of the pyramid, you hear many interesting stories.
And lately, Mr. Su, I've heard far too many legends about you."
"I shouldn't be that famous, especially in America."
"How could you be?" Musk laughed.
"Not long ago, you were the one who teamed up with the White House to create a massive upheaval in the financial markets. Wasn't that you?
Not to mention, you single-handedly destroyed TSMC, the semiconductor market giant, and personally put a collar around the neck of the arrogant Nvidia.
With such achievements, to say you're not famous, Mr. Su, is far too modest."
"So I really want to ask you in person," Musk's tone was full of curiosity,
"When exactly did you start planning this earth-shattering scheme?
Honestly, to single-handedly turn around a completely unbalanced semiconductor and graphics card market—that's a feat I wouldn't even dare to dream of."
Su Hao simply offered a polite but slightly awkward smile, quietly observing the man before him.
In his vision, Musk's face was undergoing a strange change.
His entire being sometimes radiated a blinding golden light, sometimes swallowed by unfathomable blackness, and then, like a poorly tuned television screen, filled with distorted noise…
Gold, black, and noise—the three intertwined, tore apart, and reformed wildly.
This was a “type” he had never seen before.
No…this feeling…it seemed familiar.
“Looks like you’re not going to answer, so I won’t make a fool of myself.” Musk shrugged.
“I don’t want to upset you by being nosy and cause my company to suffer the same fate as those unfortunate companies that disappeared or collapsed.
So, shall we get down to business?”
“Okay.”
“A 45% stake in Close AI, valued at $200 million. I think that's a very fair price.
If it weren't for the fact that our own AI R&D project at Tesla had reached a critical stage, I would absolutely not have sold this stake.”
“Don't the other shareholders object?”
“What do they have to object to? They can't possibly come up with $200 million to buy my shares.” Musk shrugged.
“Besides, since Mr. Su has chosen this company, it means its future is limitless, right?”
“However, I still have to be frank with you,” Musk changed the subject,
“The ultimate winner of this AI war will very likely be Google.
No matter how technically skilled the people at Close AI are, they can't compete with Google's funding and resources, not to mention the massive amounts of data they've accumulated over so many years.”
“Judging from your tone, buying it doesn't seem like a good deal,” Su Hao chuckled.
Su Hao gave a wink to Liang Haiyuan and the others who had remained silent behind him.
They immediately understood and handed over the pre-prepared contract.
"Oh? You still want to buy?" Musk asked, somewhat surprised.
Su Hao shrugged. "I can't afford Google."
"Hahahaha!" Musk paused, then burst into laughter.
"Buying the most promising dark horse to challenge the dragon...
Mr. Su, I never expected you to be such a mild-mannered person, a true fighter at heart!"
Musk gestured to his team to review the contract.
This guy, though he said he didn't want to sell, his actions spoke louder than words.
As if afraid Su Hao would change his mind, he signed the contract with lightning speed.
The two exchanged signed contracts and shook hands, sealing the deal.
Everything was settled. Just before they parted ways and returned to their cars,
When all his subordinates had discreetly retreated to a distance, leaving only the two of them, Su Hao finally asked the question that had lingered in his mind for so long:
"Bitcoin... did you create it?"
Satoshi Nakamoto.
A Japanese name, but few in the world believe he's truly Japanese.
And Musk has always been one of the prime suspects in the identity of "Satoshi Nakamoto."
"My 'official' response is, 'No.'" Musk stopped, turned around, and wore his signature smile.
He had indeed publicly denied being Satoshi Nakamoto on social media.
"But..." He leaned closer, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear,
"Even if I really were Satoshi Nakamoto, I could only say 'no.'
After all, isn't leaving a mystery for the world more interesting than revealing the answer?"
An ambiguous answer.
It seems he intends to take the secret to his grave.
"Well then, I look forward to our next meeting." Musk extended his hand. "I think this shouldn't be our last interaction."
"Okay, I hope we meet again."
Su Hao shook his hand one last time.
When he touched him again, that eerie feeling returned.
He stared at the other person's face, which was still oscillating between "glowing," "darkening," and "distorting," and a long-forgotten fragment of memory suddenly surfaced.
This feeling, this form…
It was exactly the same as when he first "saw" Bitcoin.
It was a kind of madness that couldn't be bound by logic, couldn't be defined by any framework!