The Favored Heiress
Chapter 617: Anyway, You’re Rich

Chapter 617: Chapter 617: Anyway, You’re Rich

Li Qiao looked at Xi Luo’s sly gaze and hooked her lips, but she did not smile or speak.

The AI under the Flame Alliance was a collaborative project with Charlman.

Similarly, it was also Xiao Yehui’s area of expertise.

Intelligent prostheses, he actually had one in his possession.

Li Qiao lowered her head to look at her nails, "Get me an invitation to the speaking engagement."

"No problem," Xi Luo said, watching her calm demeanor with a sense of anticipation for the excitement, "I can hardly wait to see if Z will be so angry that he jumps with rage after discovering your identity."

This kid wasn’t joking about destroying all of Flame Alliance and Charlman’s collaboration.

The artificial intelligence team had always been under Z’s control, and he was a bonafide businessman through and through.

Interest always came first, and if the partnership channels were truly destroyed, it would certainly be quite the drama.

Li Qiao ignored Xi Luo’s excitement and asked further, "Where is the speaking engagement being held?"

"Aida State."

...

At six o’clock after work, Li Qiao went straight to the Yan Emperor’s headquarters.

At the top floor in One Zero One, she hadn’t even entered when she sensed the atmosphere in the office was rather tense.

Not only that, the office area was deserted, the receptionist was absent, and only Wang Yue and Luoyu were standing in the corridor, speaking in low voices.

"Don’t rush this matter, the boss didn’t blame you, which means it’s not your fault," said Wang Yue.

Listerning to Wang Yue’s consolation, Luoyu’s rigid expression remained tight, "That’s not how it is. If the boss doesn’t blame me, it’s because he’s magnanimous, but the sudden defection of the AI engineering group is a sign of my inadequate management."

Wang Yue opened his mouth, but for a moment couldn’t find an appropriate excuse to rebut.

The intelligence team under Yan Emperor was indeed Luoyu’s responsibility.

For instance, Qingyu, who had died tragically, was the team leader of the engineering group.

The core technology of the intelligence team was in the hands of these people; the engineering and development were in Parma, but this morning, more than a dozen outstanding AI engineers had submitted their resignations simultaneously.

However, when the boss found out, he didn’t get angry, he was unusually calm.

Just a few hours later, they received a formal letter.

It was from the company that had poached the Yan Emperor’s intelligence team, with the rough content being that they took the people and were open to any amount for the breach of contract fee.

It was quite arrogant indeed.

At this moment, Li Qiao was standing behind them, with an indifferent curl of her lips.

The AI engineers who could be poached must not have been important.

The real AI team Shang Yu had must be in the Secret Hall.

However...

Who had poached them?

Li Qiao glanced at Luoyu, who was annoyed with herself, and without making a sound, slowly meandered into Shang Yu’s office.

Hmm, he was not there.

Li Qiao looked to the left, it was her former desk.

Seizing the opportunity, she went over, turned on the computer, and logged into the system.

Upon reflection, the industries that Yan Emperor had in Parma, apart from the military factory, the others shouldn’t be so important.

After all, he rarely returned to Parma, and he had previously recalled the main person in charge, Luoyu, back to South Sea.

Li Qiao vaguely felt that the artificial intelligence project in Parma was likely just a decoy.

The depth of the forces behind Shang Yu was still unclear to her; a few AI engineers from Parma projects defecting shouldn’t be enough to affect the overall situation.

If he truly cared, he would never have given anyone the opportunity to poach his staff.

So, Li Qiao couldn’t be bothered to check manually. After thinking it over, she decided to log directly into the hacker system.

A few minutes later, they saw a brief on the Parma AI industry, along with an official communication that had been received at three o’clock in the afternoon.

The opposing company: Qianmu Group.

Li Qiao’s fingers paused on the mouse, her eyes fixed on those four characters, her lips slightly curving upward.

Oh, what a coincidence, the industry of Flame Alliance Z.

Rounded up, it could be put on Xiao Yehui’s head.

Li Qiao propped her chin and looked at the information on the computer screen, slightly furrowing her brows with a smile in her eyes.

Perhaps too focused, she didn’t notice a figure had been standing behind her for quite some time.

It wasn’t until Shang Yu’s palm landed that Li Qiao turned back in surprise, "When did you come in?"

The man, with one hand in his pocket, glanced casually over the computer screen, looking down at her, "What are you laughing at?"

Li Qiao gestured to the screen with her mouth, "Parma’s AI engineers got poached by them?"

"Yeah, thirteen of them," Shang Yu replied calmly, announcing the number and patting the top of her head, "Who told you?"

Li Qiao didn’t hide it, spinning her chair to face the man, "I overhead Luoyu and Wang Yue mention it. How much compensation do you plan to ask for?"

Training an AI engineer isn’t easy.

Qianmu Group boldly poached them and even sent an official communication in a high-profile manner, the penalty fee... couldn’t be less.

At this moment, Shang Yu leaned forward against the desk, his cool breath spilling onto Li Qiao’s face, lifting his lips to counter question, "How much do you think is appropriate?"

Li Qiao pretended to contemplate for three seconds, "The more, the better."

The man’s thin lips curved into a smile, gently shaking her chin, "Good, as you wish."

The two shared a smile, and far away in Aida State, Flame Alliance Z sneezed unexpectedly, feeling a chill at the back of their neck. Was this a cold coming on?

...

That evening, Li Qiao and Shang Yu had dinner and then returned to the Mansion.

On the way, she withdrew her gaze from the streetscape outside the window and turned to the man beside her, "Qianmu Group has a seminar next week, are you going?"

Shang Yu lifted his eyelids to meet Li Qiao’s gaze, his expression teasing, "Since when have you been so interested in artificial intelligence?"

"Not interested, but AI technology has been hot in recent years, and catching up to the trend for a lucrative project isn’t a bad idea."

Li Qiao spoke lightly, as if she were that diligent.

No matter how profitable a project was, if she wasn’t interested, she wouldn’t even look at the real gold and silver presented right before her.

Shang Yu looked at her profoundly, his lips breaking into a thin smile, "I might go."

"Oh." Li Qiao nodded indifferently, "Then let’s go together. Xi Luo gave me an invitation. Since it’s smart prosthetics, maybe... we can pick one for Zuo Tang."

What a perfect excuse.

Speaking of Zuo Tang, Li Qiao also remembered another matter, "When is the next assessment for Secret Hall?"

At this, Shang Yu’s cold eyes narrowed, "Are you healing up nicely?"

Li Qiao casually touched her rib on her side, not painful or itchy, feeling nothing as long as there was no pressure.

But as she looked back at the man’s somewhat heavy expression, she changed the subject, pressing her lips seriously, "Then... I’ll take more time to heal."

"Hmm, we’ll talk after you’ve fully recovered."

...

Back at the Mansion, Li Qiao plunged into the lab.

She opened her computer, pondered for a moment, and then made a phone call to Bai Yan.

"What would be the impact if I stepped in to terminate some of Flame Alliance’s collaborations?"

Li Qiao got straight to the point, and Bai Yan laughed it off unconcernedly on the other end, "No impact, didn’t you say you could walk away with those industries unscathed from the partners? Even if there is an impact, it can be disregarded."

The way he spoke, it seemed Xi Luo might have already discussed her plan with him.

Li Qiao tugged at her lip, her tone somber, "What if I can’t walk away unscathed?"