“Ha, that’s so like her.”
Shinji couldn’t help but chuckle.
As expected of the Queen, her judgment of people was spot on.
“Tell her that madmen usually change the world.
Also, have her prepare; some uninvited guests might come knocking soon.”
Shinji looked at the shareholding ratio for NVIDIA on the screen, a glint flashing in his eyes.
10% of the floating shares.
This figure was enough to rattle some people.
Three days later, Akihabara, Tokyo.
A cutting-edge summit on graphics technology was being held here.
Although it was called a summit, it was more like a gathering of geeks and hardware enthusiasts.
In the backstage lounge, a man wearing a black leather jacket with neat short hair was frowning at the PDA in his hand.
Kenta.
This future godfather of AI did not yet possess the aura of someone who could command lightning as he would twenty years later; there was even a hint of anxiety between his brows.
ATI’s Radeon series of graphics cards was closing in step by step, and although NVIDIA’s NV40 architecture had just been released, the market reaction still needed time to be verified.
The slump in the stock price added to his immense pressure.
However, just a few days ago, a mysterious fund had suddenly swept in and bought up shares, forcibly pushing NVIDIA’s stock price up by a few percentage points.
“Have you found out?
Which institution is it?”
Kenta asked his assistant in fluent English.
“Boss.”
The assistant handed over a briefing, “It’s a company registered in the Cayman Islands but operating in Tokyo, New World Holdings.
The legal representative is named Shinji Matou.
His background is very mysterious; he seems to be a descendant of some ancient Japanese family.”
“New World…”
Kenta muttered the name, “Buying 60 million USD in one go, holding nearly 10% of our floating shares.
Is this a hostile takeover attempt, or just a simple financial investment?”
During this sensitive period, any large-scale equity change would alert the management.
If the other party was a hostile acquirer sent by a competitor, it would be a disaster.
“They haven’t made any requests to join the board of directors, nor have they issued any public statements.”
The assistant added, “It’s as if they simply thought our stock was cheap and bought a bunch to just sit on it.”
“If that’s the case, then they are the allies we need most.”
Kenta pondered for a moment.
At this critical juncture, a long-term capital injection of 60 million USD was equivalent to a shot of adrenaline for the market.
It meant that someone was extremely bullish on NVIDIA’s future.
“Is that Shinji Matou in Tokyo right now?”
“Yes.
Intelligence shows their office is at Roppongi Hills.
And…”
The assistant checked the schedule, “They have replied to the invitation we sent out.”
“Oh?”
“He said he is very interested in graphics card technology and deeply agrees with your philosophy that the GPU will change the world.
If you don’t mind that he is currently in poor health, he would like to attend today’s speech.”
Kenta’s eyes lit up.
Agrees with the philosophy?
In poor health?
This sounded like the image of a genius investor with unique vision but a frail constitution.
“Arrange the best seat for him.”
Kenta adjusted his collar—his signature battle gear—and said, “I want to personally meet this friend from New World.”
Park Hyatt Hotel.
Shinji looked at himself in the mirror.
After a week of recuperation, his ghostly pale complexion had finally regained some color, but the feeling of physical weakness still remained.
Walking a few steps was still fine, though.
He put on a custom-made dark blue suit that perfectly concealed his thin frame.
To suit the occasion, he deliberately didn’t wear a tie, instead unbuttoning the first button of his shirt, making him look both formal and casual.
“Must you go?”
Sirius stood behind him, pushing the modified black wheelchair.
This wheelchair was not only lightweight but also concealed bulletproof shields and a small taser in the armrests—it was a piece of black technology from Aegis.
“Of course I have to go.”
Shinji slowly sat into the wheelchair and adjusted to a comfortable position, “This is an invitation from Master Kenta—cough—Boss Kenta.
Although NVIDIA isn’t that trillion-dollar empire yet, connecting with him is crucial for my future layout.”
More importantly, this was an excellent opportunity to make an appearance.
As the boss behind the scenes of New World Holdings, hiding in the shadows was safe, but it also made it easy for people to underestimate him.
He needed to showcase his presence in an appropriate setting.
It wasn’t just for business; it was to tell the world: The God of the Future World, Shinji Matou, has arrived.
“Besides, free advertising—it would be a waste not to take it.”
Shinji smiled, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of the wheelchair, “As long as photos of me and Kenta in the same frame get out, combined with that 60 million USD stake, the name New World Holdings will instantly make a splash in the investment circle.
By then, countless entrepreneurs looking for funding and people with more money than they know what to do with will come knocking like moths to a flame.”
That way, he wouldn’t have to go searching for the future one by one; the future would come to him.
“Let’s go, Sirius.”
Shinji raised his hand and pointed at the door, full of high spirits.
“Accompany me to witness history.”
Sirius was not impressed by his deliberate show of closeness.
Akihabara UDX Building, Conference Center.
As Tokyo’s center for subculture and technology, it was gathered with countless media personnel and tech professionals today.
When Shinji appeared at the venue entrance, it caused a small commotion.
It wasn’t because he was famous, but because his entrance was too unique.
A tall, beautiful bodyguard with a cold and elegant temperament was pushing a wheelchair, on which sat a young man who looked sickly but carried an air of arrogance and nobility between his brows.
This combination looked exactly like a villainous young master walking out of a manga.
“Who is that?”
“Don’t know, he looks very rich.”
“Could it be the son of some conglomerate?”
The whispers reached Shinji’s ears, but he ignored them, maintaining that faint smile while his gaze looked straight ahead.
Sirius pushed him, skillfully avoiding the crowd, and walked straight to the VIP seats.
That was the position right in front of the stage with the best view.
As soon as he sat down, an energetic figure walked over quickly.
“Mr.
Matou?
A pleasure to meet you!”
Kenta spoke in English with an American accent and reached out his hand enthusiastically.
At this moment, he looked much younger than the white-haired image of the future, his eyes filled with the fanaticism and shrewdness of an entrepreneur.
Shinji didn’t stand up; he apologetically pointed to his legs, then reached out to shake the other person’s hand.
“Mr.
Kenta, I’ve long admired your reputation.
Just call me Shinji.”
Shinji’s English was fluent—the foundation from his original elite education in China, combined with the enhancement of the body created by the Third Magic, made it sound authentic and confident, “I apologize for meeting you in this state; I recently encountered a little…
small accident.”
“Health comes first; you coming is giving me face.”
Kenta didn’t care about these details; his focus was more on Shinji as a person.
Young, too young.
He looked like he hadn’t even reached the legal drinking age.
Was it really this young man who splashed 60 million USD to buy his stock?
“To be honest, Shinji, when I saw that buy order backstage, I was shocked.”
Kenta went straight to the point; he was a person with a technical background and didn’t like beating around the bush, “Going heavy on NVIDIA at this time, you’ve got a lot of guts.”
“It’s not about guts; it’s about believing in the future.”
Shinji tilted his head slightly and said in a firm tone, “I have read your latest NV40 architecture white paper.
Programmable Shaders are a genius idea.
I believe that future graphics cards will not just be toys for playing games.”
He paused, then threw out a concept that was still slightly ahead of its time in this era:
“General-purpose computing.
I believe that one day, the parallel computing power of GPUs will be used for scientific simulation, financial modeling, and even…
artificial intelligence.”
Kenta’s pupils constricted sharply.
Although the concept of general-purpose computing (GPGPU) already had a prototype in academia, it was still an extremely crazy idea in the commercial field.
And yet, the young man in front of him had spoken of it so easily, and there wasn’t the slightest trace of doubt in his eyes.