Chapter 468: A Smokescreen to Deceive the Whole World

Thinking this through, Su Hao no longer hesitated. His pen moved like a blur, rapidly scribbling on the list.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
A moment later, he pushed the list back.
"Buy every single company I've ticked, leave none behind!"
Liang Haiyuan took the list and gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets:
"Chairman Su…this…while these are all small companies on the verge of bankruptcy, isn't this number…aren't they a bit too exaggerated?"
"Yes, that's the number." Su Hao's tone left no room for argument.
"Use the fastest speed possible to turn them all into Fang Huan's people!
After signing the contracts, have all the technical staff report to our company immediately and get straight to work!"
"Yes! I'll get right on it!"
Liang Haiyuan dared not ask any more questions, accepting the order and leaving, his mind already in turmoil.
Chairman Su's actions were no longer a simple business acquisition; this was practically sweeping up half the market!
Then, Liu Bo strode in:
“Chairman Su, our subsidiary ‘Wildfire Security’ just sent a briefing.
They said they recently planned to establish a strategic base in Europe, but there's a lot of opposition from the EU, and things aren't going smoothly.”
The briefings from “Wildfire” always adhered to an extremely minimalist style, using as few words as possible, exuding a chilling, ruthless aura.
They usually just said things like, “Mission accomplished, several pirates eliminated,” omitting any details, such as the exact number of pirates killed, the shocking methods used, or the local situation.
They radiated a cool, aloof tone, believing that “the fewer the words, the bigger the story.”
But the version Su Hao heard from the shipping industry was much more sensational.
It was said that since “Wildfire” and the Nigerian military established a dream partnership, the pirates in that area had vanished without a trace, as if they'd seen a ghost.
No ship suffered loss under their protection again.
Since the work was done so well, what did the process matter?
Therefore, Su Hao never asked many questions.
He trusted his judgment, trusted that the group of people he had personally selected could handle everything themselves.
The reason he had chosen this group in the first place was precisely because he sensed their "reliable and ruthless" qualities.
Liu Bo continued his report:
“Recently, criminal organizations and pirate forces in Africa and Europe have been frequently collaborating, and cross-regional operations have become commonplace, often darting back and forth between Africa and Europe.
Therefore, ‘Wildfire’ urgently needs a European base as an outpost and supply base.
This way, when passing through the waters of certain countries, they can legitimately request assistance and support from the local military.”
“Isn’t this a huge boon for the Europeans?” Su Hao asked, somewhat puzzled.
“We’re paying out of our own pockets to maintain their shipping lanes, even protecting ships that aren’t from our company. What more could they want?”
“Theoretically, yes, it’s entirely beneficial to them.
But as you know, these European politicians seem extremely sensitive and averse to any organization with a ‘military’ affiliation, fearing they might invite trouble.”
Most importantly, a Greek EU Vice President named Eva Carly is leading the strong opposition to this.
Vice President, Greek.
And the location for the "Wildfire" project's base happens to be in Greece.
Now, it's like building a base right on their doorstep; no wonder she's so upset.
"What did 'Wildfire' say?"
"They only said one thing: 'We guarantee to complete the mission and plant our flag in Europe.'"
Su Hao always believed in trusting those he didn't trust.
Since they themselves had stated they "guaranteed to complete the mission," any further interference from him would seem distrustful.
Even if the project ultimately fails, the fact that "Wildfire" can now ensure the protection of Fang Huan's maritime empire is already an overachievement.
"Okay, I understand. Let them handle it themselves."
“Yes, Chairman Su.”
***
Meanwhile, on Wall Street.
In a conference room at Goldman Sachs headquarters, the atmosphere was heavy.
“You said… Fanghuan Investment acquired a bunch of dying startups?”
Manager Bell listened to his subordinate's analysis report, his brow furrowed.
“Yes, Manager.”
His subordinate, a top analyst, said,
“Right after they acquired ‘Storm Rain Entertainment’ and conducted massive, ‘massacre-like’ layoffs,
we were wondering, how can their games operate like this?”
Later, it was discovered that Fang Huan intended to use the technical elites from these startups to fill the vacancies left by layoffs.
The Wall Street giants were scrutinizing every move Fang Huan made with the most powerful microscopes.
They simply couldn't understand why this dragon from the East would suddenly become interested in a half-dead game company.
What earth-shattering conspiracy lay hidden behind their sinister fangs, preparing to once again stir up a bloodbath in the global financial markets?
For a moment, everyone on Wall Street was on edge.
"They...are they really planning to assemble a ragtag bunch to honestly develop games?" Bell was utterly perplexed.
"Yes, manager. That's what we initially thought too.
On the surface, they want to utilize the technical talent of these startups.
After all, Fang Huan is currently promoting GPT technology and their Fang Huan coin, wanting to integrate these two things into the game to create a completely new ecosystem.
It seems logical."
“That settles it, right? Recruiting for development is normal.”
“No!” The analyst’s face was so grave it could drip water.
“Manager, this is just a smokescreen! A decoy to mislead the whole world!
Their real target isn’t developing a game at all, but something else…something we wouldn’t even dare to dream of!”
“Something else? Where?”
“Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)!”
“What?!” Bell nearly jumped out of his chair in shock.
Silicon Valley Bank!
That’s a behemoth with assets totaling $300 billion!
It’s the heart and lifeblood of the entire American tech industry ecosystem!
"Why it?" Bell's voice trembled.