Seeing the food on the table, Ma Da did not stand on ceremony. He found a seat, sat right down, and asked the housekeeper to bring him a set of bowls and chopsticks.
Who knew what this guy had been busy with earlier; he wolfed down his food ravenously. Fortunately, the housekeeper had cooked plenty of rice, otherwise there really would not have been enough for him.
Only when he was almost full did he grab a tissue, wipe his mouth, and say to Liu Yutong, "Miss, the key has been released through our contacts exactly as you instructed. I even made sure to have someone tamper with it."
The key Ma Da referred to was the one that matched the badge.
Liu Yutong had long known that many people overseas were looking for this item. Therefore, after extracting the contents from the badge, she had Ma Da find someone to tamper with the key. From now on, whoever tried to use this key to open the badge would not only fail to unlock it, but the key would also snap off inside.
This way, no matter who obtained the badge and the key, they would not be able to open it. Even if they forced it open violently, the useless voucher she had placed back inside would be completely destroyed and rendered unusable, naturally preventing anyone from suspecting her.
After all, if you did not even know what the item inside was supposed to be used for, how could you possibly harbor suspicions?
A few days ago, Liu Yutong had already returned the badge to Mr. Li, the man who had originally won it at auction.
"Has anyone bought the badge from Mr. Li?"
Ma Da nodded. "Yes, a foreigner named Hawke bought it."
"And the key?" Liu Yutong asked.
"The key ended up in the hands of a foreigner named Jesse," Ma Da replied again.
A peculiar expression appeared on Liu Yutong's face. "It seems they are all familiar faces."
But on second thought, Hawke, much like Jesse, seemed to have gang affiliations overseas. It made sense that they would want to track down the contents of the badge.
"Since they have both been given away, let them fight it out like dogs. We do not need to worry about it anymore."
"Yes, Miss."
Then, Ma Da pointed to the briefcase he had brought. "Miss, I had someone appraise the necklace. It is authentic. The appraisal agency even wanted to help me contact a buyer, saying it could sell for at least a hundred million dollars, but I turned them down."
Hearing this number, even the usually aloof Lan Die was somewhat moved.
A necklace, worth a hundred million? And in US dollars?
That was too exaggerated!
Internal complaints aside, such priceless jewelry held a fatal attraction for women.
Even if she did not harbor any improper thoughts about the necklace, she still wanted to catch a glimpse of its true appearance immediately.
Soon, Liu Yutong fulfilled Lan Die's wish.
She simply ordered Ma Da to open the case, and a breathtakingly vibrant red instantly caught everyone's eyes.
When Liu Yutong took the necklace in her hand, the breathing of the people around her involuntarily lightened, for fear that the slightest disturbance might startle the Miss, causing the necklace to fall to the ground and break. The loss would be catastrophic.
"Lan Die, help me put it on." Liu Yutong's voice carried a rare hint of anticipation.
"Yes, Miss."
Lan Die carefully took the priceless necklace from Liu Yutong's hands and gently fastened it around Liu Yutong's fair, slender neck.
Once the necklace was on, Liu Yutong walked straight over to the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror in the living room.
The person in the mirror had dark hair like clouds and skin as white as snow. Her already peerlessly beautiful face, accentuated by the exquisite red diamond necklace, appeared even more dazzling and incomparably luxurious.
It even gave off the feeling that amidst all the prosperity in the world, only she was worthy of such magnificence.
The usually cold and composed Lan Die rarely held her breath, her eyes full of awe.
Only by seeing it with her own eyes did she finally understand why someone would be willing to pay an astronomical price for a luxury item.
At this moment, it was no longer just a piece of jewelry; it was a symbol of power, a kind of ultimate beauty. And this beauty could only truly reflect its value when worn by the right person.
Liu Yutong gazed quietly at herself in the mirror, the corners of her lips curling into a very faint, yet breathtakingly beautiful smile.
"Not bad, I really like this necklace."
After recovering from his amazement, Ma Da slapped his thigh and started showering her with praises.
"It is absolutely stunning, Miss! This necklace is practically tailor-made for you! I, Ma Da, used to think those shiny stones were just whatever, but today my eyes have truly been opened. With this necklace on you, it is like a treasure covered in dust... wait, spit, spit, I mean, it is just too beautiful! Even the fairies in heaven must look like this!"
Liu Yutong: "..."
"If you do not know how to speak, then don't."
Ma Da scratched his head and chuckled. "Anyway, it just looks really good."
Just as he was about to continue his flattery, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He took it out, glanced at the number, gestured to Liu Yutong, and pressed the answer button.
"Hello! What is it?"
"It is that Jesse again? He got his head busted open again? This guy really has terrible luck..."
After hanging up, Ma Da reported directly to Liu Yutong, "Miss, that foreigner Jesse got cornered by a group of strangers and got his head busted open again. Should we intervene?"
Liu Yutong pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, "Ma Da, do you think this person is reliable?"
Ma Da immediately shook his head. "That guy talks absolute nonsense and is a chatterbox. I do not think he is reliable."
Liu Yutong said, "Then take some people to go take a look. Consider it doing a good deed."
Ma Da: "..."
He could not quite understand the Miss's thought process. Was her question not pointless then?
"Yes, Miss. I will take some men to check it out right now." With that, he turned and left.
Liu Yutong had her own considerations for doing this.
A few days ago, the company named Mapper that she had Su Mansu investigate turned out to be a Dutch company that manufactured lithography machines.
The company's current financial situation was not ideal; it was on the verge of bankruptcy, and she, the major shareholder of this company, was only finding out about it now.
Of course, that was just a joke, as she had only just acquired the company's bonds and equity.
Mapper primarily focused on the maskless electron-beam direct-write technology route. Compared to the optical lithography technology of the lithography giant ASML, this technology indeed had obvious flaws, mainly its low mass-production speed, making it unsuitable for large-scale standardized production, which had led to its developmental predicament.
However, even so, the value of this company was still not low. Although it could not achieve large-scale mass production, it held certain advantages in low-cost rapid prototype development and small-batch, multi-variety production.
Furthermore, Mapper had a long-term technical cooperation and supply chain relationship with an ASML subsidiary specializing in ALD technology.
The importance of ALD technology in chip manufacturing goes without saying; it is essentially a cutting-edge process capable of achieving atomic-level precision in thin-film deposition.
It was precisely because ASML made a breakthrough in ALD technology last year that it consolidated its dominant position in the high-end lithography sector.
Honestly, Liu Yutong had never thought about stepping into the fields of microchips and lithography machines. To her, these were simply too difficult; she had no technology, no talent, absolutely nothing.
Even though she was someone who had been reborn into the past, she knew her limits and felt she shouldn't touch this stuff.
However, against all expectations, and despite having no such intentions, she inexplicably found herself owning 80 percent of the equity in a company focused on the research, development, and manufacturing of lithography machines, effectively becoming its controlling shareholder.
Now that things had come to this, if she remained indifferent, wouldn't she be throwing away a golden opportunity to enter the semiconductor industry?
Although she knew absolutely nothing about chip manufacturing and lithography machines, she did know one thing: for the next ten or twenty years, the core and fiercest battlefield of global technological competition would be microchips.
In short, whoever mastered advanced chip design and manufacturing capabilities would hold the initiative in the future information age.
But for now, she needed to plan things out carefully.
For instance, she first needed to acquire the remaining 20 percent of shares in Mapper Company to complete a full privatization. Then, she would use Mapper as a technology absorption platform. By leveraging local advantages, she could legally recruit experts and former engineers from companies like ASML and Philips, rebuild a research and development team, and work toward reverse-engineering ASML's DUV lithography machines and developing key subsystems.
Later, she would find an opportunity to transfer the talent and equipment back to her home country, moving the foreign technological achievements back little by little, like ants moving house.
The only problem was the high level of difficulty. Foreign technological blockades were extremely strict, so she absolutely could not expose the fact that Mapper Company was controlled by Dragon Country capital. Otherwise, certain rogue governments would definitely force the confiscation of the company.
Therefore, she hoped to find a foreigner who wouldn't arouse suspicion to act as her proxy and carry out these tasks in secret.
That Jesse was on her shortlist, because his identity as a gang member offered far more advantages than that of an ordinary businessman.
In foreign societies, there was nothing the underworld couldn't solve.
