Foundation Without Distance

Li Jinchuan believed that the arrogant Lu Chenyuan was digging his own grave by diverting his focus to artificial intelligence at such a critical moment.

"How much funding does your plan require?" Qin Ya asked.

"Five hundred million. Qin's New Energy will wage a price war against his suppliers."

"At the same time, we’ll poach his talent globally."

Li Jinchuan stated his price.

"Five hundred million, for a war of attrition with no technological barriers?" Qin Ya raised an eyebrow.

"Li Jinchuan, you’re using the Qin family’s money to settle your personal vendetta."

She saw right through him.

Li Jinchuan’s plan was essentially trading eight hundred losses for a thousand of the enemy’s.

The Qin and Mo families had long been sworn rivals in the traditional energy sector.

Her desire to strike at Lu Chenyuan was more about targeting the Mo family behind him.

But she refused to resort to such foolish tactics.

Li Jinchuan’s heart sank.

"Give me one compelling reason to invest in you," Qin Ya leaned back in her chair, scrutinizing him.

Li Jinchuan fell silent for a moment.

Then, he lifted his head and met her gaze squarely.

"Because I am Li Jinchuan."

"Because I am the only one who can make Lu Chenyuan and Lu Ruoxi feel both disgust and wariness at the same time."

"Because I want him dead more than anyone else."

"This hatred is my greatest value. And it’s the weapon you need most right now."

His words were brutally honest.

He presented himself as a weapon—one forged from pure hatred—and laid it before Qin Ya.

Qin Ya smiled.

"Good."

"I appreciate your candor."

She stood and walked to the liquor cabinet, pouring two glasses of red wine.

She handed one to Li Jinchuan.

"Qin’s New Energy will receive the group’s full backing. Five hundred million will be transferred to your company by Monday."

"I want you to shred Lu Chenyuan’s supply chain completely before his 'Boundless' super factory goes into production."

"Can you do it?"

Li Jinchuan took the glass and downed it in one gulp.

"Of course."

…………

Yuanlong Technology’s announcement of its foray into artificial intelligence was merely Lu Chenyuan’s first signal flare.

Three days later, an even more explosive announcement was posted on Yuanlong’s official website.

The company would invest ten billion to construct the "Boundless" super factory in the southern suburbs of Jingzhou.

The news sent shockwaves through the industry.

All eyes turned to the plot of land once owned by Li Xiujian, which Lu Chenyuan had snatched away.

Coincidentally, that same afternoon, the international giant Stellar Group also announced plans to build a factory in the southern suburbs of Jingzhou.

The two future super factories stood facing each other across a planned highway, the tension palpable from day one.

Yuanlong Technology, top-floor office.

Lin Yuan strode in, his expression grave.

"Mr. Lu, we have a problem." He placed a document on the desk. "Our project approval has been stalled at the planning bureau."

Lu Chenyuan didn’t look up, his tone calm. "Reason?"

"Environmental assessment, land planning review—all bureaucratic excuses. I made some inquiries. The Qin family is pulling strings behind the scenes."

Li Jinchuan, now CEO of Qin’s New Energy, had immediately leveraged the Qin family’s political connections to erect administrative barriers, trying to slow Lu Chenyuan’s progress with underhanded tactics.

"Should we counter them through our own connections?" Lin Yuan asked.

"No." Lu Chenyuan shook his head. "Playing these games is a waste of time—and beneath us."

He stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Li Jinchuan sees only personal connections. I intend to show them the bigger picture."

Lu Chenyuan turned to face Lin Yuan.

"Compile a brief for me on the factory’s projected industrial impact, tax contributions, job creation, and our AI lab’s research."

Though not entirely understanding, Lin Yuan nodded promptly. "Understood."

He knew Mr. Lu had a higher-level strategy in mind.

Two days later, a meeting request landed on the desk of Jingzhou’s senior municipal officials.

Applicant: Lu Chenyuan.

Meeting subject: Deputy Mayor Chen, in charge of economic affairs.

At Qin Corporation, Li Jinchuan smirked upon hearing the news.

"He’s still trying to go the top-down route," he said confidently to Qin Ya.

"It’s pointless. Deputy Mayor Chen is notoriously cautious. He’d never risk offending the Qin family for Lu Chenyuan."

Qin Ya sipped her coffee without responding.

She had a feeling things wouldn’t be so simple.

Lu Chenyuan was like the deep sea—impossible to fathom.

Jingzhou Municipal Government, meeting room.

Deputy Mayor Chen cut straight to the point. "Mr. Lu, your commercial rivalry with the Qin family is not something we can intervene in."

His stance was clear, exactly as Li Jinchuan had predicted.

Lu Chenyuan showed no surprise.

He slid a hand-bound report across the table.

"Deputy Mayor Chen, you misunderstand."

"I’m not here to complain or ask for help."

"I’m simply here as an entrepreneur to share my thoughts on Jingzhou’s future industrial development."

The opening took Deputy Mayor Chen aback.

He picked up the report. The cover bore a single line in bold:

"Proposal for Establishing Jingzhou as a Demonstration Zone for Integrated Development of Next-Gen IT and Advanced Manufacturing."

It read less like a corporate pitch and more like a policy research paper.

The moment he turned to the first page, his expression shifted.

The report never mentioned Yuanlong’s struggles. Instead, it analyzed the opportunities and challenges posed by Stellar Group’s entry from the perspective of urban development.

……

After finishing the report, Deputy Mayor Chen fell into deep thought.

Lu Chenyuan met his gaze earnestly.

"One advanced manufacturing plant, one cutting-edge algorithm lab. Together, they’ll be Jingzhou’s trump card in the global tech race."

"I’m here today to hand that card to the city."

The room fell silent.

Deputy Mayor Chen closed the report and remained quiet for a long moment.

Finally, he understood—Lu Chenyuan wasn’t here to ask for favors. He was offering a golden "political achievement."

He had seamlessly aligned his company’s growth with the city’s strategic vision.

Supporting Yuanlong meant supporting Jingzhou’s future.

This level of foresight was something Li Jinchuan, with his petty tricks, could never match.

"Mr. Lu." Deputy Mayor Chen stood and extended his hand. "Your report is insightful. Exceptionally well-written."

"Rest assured, Jingzhou will always welcome and support entrepreneurs like you."

"Expect good news soon."

The next morning.

Lin Yuan nearly burst into Lu Chenyuan’s office, his face alight with disbelief and joy.

"Mr. Lu! Approved! Every single approval has gone through!"

"The planning bureau delivered the permits personally, calling us a flagship project for the city and demanding full cooperation from all departments!"

Lu Chenyuan nodded. Everything had gone exactly as planned.

Meanwhile, at Qin’s New Energy, Li Jinchuan’s phone rang incessantly.

Officials who had pledged support just yesterday were now canceling meetings and avoiding him like the plague.

He couldn’t understand why the network of connections he had carefully built had collapsed overnight.

With a furious motion, he hurled his phone to the ground.

“How could this happen?”

Qin Ya stood nearby, handing him a news alert.

The Jingzhou Municipal Government announced the launch of the "New Generation Information Technology and High-End Manufacturing" Integrated Development Demonstration Zone, with Yuanlong Tech and Sitela Project named as the first batch of core enterprises.

“Now, do you see?” Qin Ya’s voice was devoid of emotion.

“He never intended to play the same game as you.”

“He flipped the board entirely—then rewrote the rules himself.”

Li Jinchuan stared at the news, his blood running cold as he saw the prominence given to the words “Yuanlong Tech.” For the first time, he realized how feeble his proudest tactics were against Lu Chenyuan’s unstoppable, open gambit.

He thought he was three steps ahead—only to discover Lu Chenyuan was playing from the stratosphere.

One week later.

The southern outskirts of Jingzhou were alive with fluttering banners.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Yuanlong Tech’s “Zero-Distance” Super Factory was officially underway.

On the stage, Lu Chenyuan stood alongside Deputy Mayor Chen and other city officials, shoveling the first ceremonial scoop of earth onto the foundation stone.

Amid the flash of cameras, the distant roar of excavators filled the air.

A new era for Yuanlong Tech had broken ground.

The launch of the “Zero-Distance” Super Factory also injected confidence into Yuanlong’s suppliers, sending their stocks soaring.

Li Jinchuan’s price-war strategy was dead before it could even begin.