Back to the Past: Breaking the Love Spell

Chapter 220 Ryan couldn’t help but take a sharp breath. He thought Carlisle was absolutely right–foreign technology was far more advanced. Most of the current local high–tech products were imported. Nokia and Motorola held nearly 60% of the global mobile phone market. If anyone else had said that, Ryan would have dismissed them as crazy. But his opinion changed since it was coming from Carlisle. After their long conversation the night before, Ryan had gained a fresh appreciation for Carlisle. His perspective had been thoroughly shaken. So, he believed that what Carlisle was suggesting was entirely possible. Ryan took a gulp of his now lukewarm tea. He cleared his throat before speaking earnestly, “But you must mentally prepare yourself. “Developing this chip will require a huge investment, and there’s no guarantee of success.” “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I believe we’ll make it! Don’t worry about the money. If we need more, just let me know anytime.” Carlisle naturally understood the difficulties of developing a chip from–scratch. And once the chip was developed, dealing with the intricacies of lithography machines would be another challenge. Orion only established their chip company that year, but it wasn’t until 2009 that they came out with their first chip. To put it into context, Orion was already achieving 15 billion in annual sales four years ago. Yet, even with that kind of success, it took them five years to develop a chip. As for the investment, it was an incomprehensible sum. But they built everything from scratch, doing it all on their own. In contrast, he was at least giving Ryan a roadmap for chip development. In fact, Carlisle had considered sharing the chip development direction with Orion. If he were to reveal the concept and functionalities of future chips to Orion, it would be like giving them a head start–they’d be able to develop it in no time. However, that also meant giving up his hold on the mobile phone market. “We’re strapped for cash at the moment. The 50 million you provided will barely cover our bank debts. I Chapter 220 want to reserve the remaining five million to bring in a few old allies…” Ryan had several friends in the chip development industry. But they were all working for a company. overseas. Carlisle figured Ryan’s contacts were probably at TI, so he grinned and said, “Sure. Once the company is officially in my name tomorrow, I’ll inject some funds into it.” It wasn’t that he doubted Ryan–after all, he had already divulged the core secrets of the chip–but it never hurt to be cautious. “Okay, it’s getting late. We’ll head to the business registration office together tomorrow,” Ryan said, his eyes betraying a hint of sadness. Having to hand over a company he’d worked hard on for over 20 years wasn’t something he’d be thrilled about. “Alright. I’ll head back to sleep,” Carlisle said. Despite picking up on Ryan’s reluctance, Carlisle needed to secure control of Xenos Factory. He felt that if Ryan performed well, he could always give him some shares later. Carlisle left Xenos Factory. He was about to call Francis when he spotted him smoking across the street. Francis looked well put together as if he’d had a haircut recently. He wore a crisp white shirt, black trousers, and polished dress shoes. Carlisle crossed the street and approached the car, smiling. “When did you get the haircut?” Francis smiled faintly. “Last night. Do I look good?” Carlisle nodded with a smile and then got into the car. Francis drove them back to Riverland. In the car, he glanced at Carlisle through the rearview mirror and asked, “Did you end up acquiring that semiconductor company too?”