April, Chicago, a dark night. Mu Lin walked alone along Ogden Avenue. A cool breeze, carrying moisture from Lake Michigan, brushed across his face, giving him a refreshing feeling.
He had wanted to be alone for a while. Dealing with powerful figures all day had made him weary. There was no immediate danger at home or at the clinic, and he wanted to spend some time living independently. Even if he were surrounded by rare and priceless jewels every day, there would eventually come a day when it felt monotonous.
He had already been here for seven days. During this time, Mu Lin felt as though he had returned to the days of his travels back home—free and unrestrained, going wherever his heart desired, leaving behind all burdens and worries, which seemed to vanish with the wind.
Feeling his mindset had strengthened, Mu Lin was now ready to begin executing his plan in Chicago.
Bell Labs was jointly owned by AT&T and Western Electric, each holding 50% of the shares.
The work at Bell Labs could be roughly divided into three categories: basic research, systems engineering, and applied development. Basic research mainly focused on the fundamental theories of telecommunications technology, including mathematics, physics, materials science, behavioral science, and computer programming theory. Systems engineering focused on the highly complex systems that formed telecommunications networks. The development department was the largest at Bell Labs, responsible for designing the equipment and software that made up Bell System’s telecommunications network.
After 1984, under a U.S. government antitrust agreement, Bell Labs was split, giving rise to two companies that would continue to provide research and development services for the series of smaller Bell companies formed after the breakup.
In countries around the world, mobile communications represented a magical and emerging industry, making the Earth seem smaller and smaller.
Because Mu Lin had been dealing with powerful figures daily, some of them had even given him mobile phones. Each phone sold for more than $3,000. In 1985, $3,000 was still a considerable sum—considered a luxury. The quality of mobile phones back then wasn’t great; once a car entered a garage, especially in large corporate buildings or underground parking lots, the signal would often drop.
This year, Mu Lin had heard that the second generation of mobile phones had already been successfully developed. As analog-digital devices, second-generation phones were already quite successful compared to the first generation, despite their communication signals still not being perfect.
Combining this with human history, he believed that mobile phones, which allowed calls to be made anytime and anywhere, would have tremendous potential for development. Right now, he simply wanted to acquire this technology for himself, to generate wealth and fulfill even greater ambitions.
Tonight, he had come to one of the AT&T companies by prior arrangement to discuss purchasing this technology. After walking through several blocks, Mu Lin stood before a three-story standalone house—the residence of ATS’s CEO, Maguire.
The previous day, Mu Lin had formally requested a meeting with the CEO. What puzzled him was why the CEO had chosen to meet at night rather than during the day. In the Western world, this was considered extremely impolite.
He pressed the doorbell and stated his purpose. A servant led him into a reception room, asking him to wait while the host arrived shortly.
Sipping the coffee prepared by the servant, Mu Lin looked around the room. A large landscape oil painting on the wall caught his attention—it gave a feeling of peace and serenity. At that moment, Maguire entered the room with an expression of apology. When he saw that the guest was Asian, he hesitated slightly, but his years of experience quickly helped him regain his composure. He immediately offered his apology:
“Truly sorry! Work during the day has been overwhelming, and I couldn’t find any time to meet you. Considering that you’ve traveled far, I wanted to save your time, so I invited you here tonight. I hope you can forgive my impertinence.”
“Haha! Not at all! It should be me apologizing for taking up your rest time in the evening. I’m very sorry!” Following etiquette, Mu Lin responded smoothly with a laugh. Naturally, he had noticed Maguire’s expression but didn’t dwell on it—since arriving here, he had encountered too many similar glances.
They quickly got down to business. “I’m here to purchase the patent for your lab’s mobile analog communication technology. If your company is willing to sell, I’d like to discuss it with you.”
According to the information he had gathered, the lab was actively seeking partners to license this patent. Unfortunately, Wall Street investors showed little interest in a technology used only by the wealthy, believing it lacked significant market potential, so few responded.
“Oh! You mean that technology? Well, you know our company only holds 50% of the shares. Even if we agree, we can only make half of the decision!” Maguire laughed evasively, trying to gauge Mu Lin’s reaction through his expressions and words.
At that moment, Mu Lin sensed a slow approach of an energy force—it wasn’t aggressive, but rather resembled his own spiritual sensing energy.
Instantly, he summoned the true energy stored in his golden core, shielding his dantian, heart, and brain to prevent any probing or hidden attacks from this energy.
Confident in his abilities, Mu Lin had never encountered anyone stronger than himself. He wanted to test this energy. He allowed it to pass through his dantian, heart, and brain. Then, the energy slowly receded, clearly having found nothing.
Still, he felt curious—his arrival here should have been a secret. Who could have noticed him? Could it be the man in front of him?
When Mu Lin first saw Maguire, he had examined him carefully and found him to be just an ordinary person with no special traits. Now, it seemed he needed to reassess.
“Oh! The situation is like this—if you agree to transfer the patent, then I will naturally contact Western Electric.”
While responding to Maguire, Mu Lin expanded his spiritual sensing ability. If this probing energy had no connection with the man before him, he didn’t want to offend him. Although he possessed abilities far beyond ordinary people, he didn’t want to rely on them for everything—it would be like an adult playing against a child, stripping away the joy of earning success. Offending this person would only make his acquisition more difficult.
At the same time, his powerful spiritual sensing ability gradually enveloped the entire residence.
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