C37

The following day was Saturday. Mei and Zhou Shishi had decided to visit his workshop. They had just finished their exams and had a few days off. So, they decided to visit the workshop. They would even make a trip to Cinea from there.

Everything on the third floor was automated. So, there was no one on this floor apart from Yang Li.

There was no one on the 1st and 2nd floor. Only the ground floor had a few guards by the parking lot. A few guards were present by the shooting range as well. Including everyone, there were less than 10 people in the entire workshop.

The next day Yang Li woke up early and took a trip to the nearest town which was half an hour away. He needed to get some provisions. Zhou Shishi was an excellent cook. So, he decided to buy some groceries and vegetables as well. He ordered their favorite food. After he finished shopping, he returned to the workshop.

Mei and Shishi reached the workshop at noon. Mei was driving and Shishi was riding shotgun. This was the first time they had visited his workshop after they went to Medical College.

Yang Li gave them a tour of the entire facility including the underground floor. Not only Shishi but also Mei looked impressed, which was rare. When they reached the apartment on the third floor, both Shishi and Mei felt at home. It gave them the same vibes as the penthouse in Cinea.

After they settled down and had their meal, they started planning their holiday. However, they had been very tired the past week due to the exams. So, for a couple of days, they just decided to rest and laze around the workshop.

As everything was automated, they enjoyed themselves. For these couple of days, they just ordered food or Yang Li would bring it for them. Apart from eating, they just lazed around and had plenty of sleep.

After two days they were completely recharged. On the third day, they decided to go to Cinea for shopping. Since Li was not interested, they went ahead on their own accompanied by bodyguards.

Zhou Jin reported for work at 10 a.m. Li explained to him all of his roles and responsibilities. Thereafter, Yang Li gave him the security clearance to all the floors except the underground floor.

Li also passed him a list of people he had shortlisted for the workshop. Zhou Jin had to check their backgrounds and find any irregularities. Li also informed Jin that all future hiring and firing would be his responsibility. He can do whatever he likes as long as the workshop completes its objectives effectively and efficiently.

Zhou Jin was surprised at the level of freedom that was given to him. Apart from Yang Li, he would have the highest authority. However, he also knew that there would be severe consequences in case of failure. However, he was confident in his abilities.

Finally, Li turned to him and asked, "I have an additional job for you. If you complete it successfully you will get a bonus almost equal to your annual salary."

This offer piqued Jin's interest and he asked, "What kind of job is it?"

Li explained to him about his plans to create a group of highly trained mercenaries. The primary role of this group would be to ensure the safety of his family. The group would be expanded slowly. As the no. of trained mercenaries reach a certain number, a security company would be established- from providing a simple security detail to the most complex and risky missions. It would depend on the individual's skill and aptitude.

Li said Jin's 1st task was to find suitable candidates who could be trained as mercenaries. Initially, a small group would be formed. Only after this group was successfully trained would the operation be expanded.

Zhou Jin's eyes brightened as he was very interested in this project. His contacts in his previous job would be a great asset to him. So, he agreed to the additional project.

Mei called Li and told him that they had decided to stay in Cinea for the next two days and they would directly go back to college from Cinea. Li told her to enjoy herself and to stay safe. They were going to meet a couple of months later when YLM Enterprise would be officially inaugurated.

2 months later-

It was the day when YLM Enterprise would officially become operational. Li had given Zhou Jin free reign for the past 2 months and he had not disappointed Yang Li.

Within 3 weeks he had vetted the list provided by Yang Li and recruited 15 people from different specialties. The contracts of all the existing guards were terminated.

He then hired 4 guards from a different agency. Two were responsible for guarding the shooting range and the other two for the parking lot. He had also shortlisted many ex-special ops soldiers for the mercenary program. He had decided to create a 6-member team and train them as an elite unit.

Apart from Yang Li and Zhou Jin, Yu Rumeng, Yang Mei, Zhou Shishi, and Li's employees were present. Han Kai was overseas for a case and hence could not attend. However, he did send a cringey video congratulating Yang Li.

After the ceremony was over everyone moved towards the cafeteria. The cafeteria was the latest addition to his workshop. It had only been a month since it opened. The café was the last building to be completed. All the chefs were hired by Zhou Jin. It provided 5 different types of cuisines- Saian, Indo, Cinean, Phyrgian, and Westphalian. It had 3 floors including the ground floor.

Everyone enjoyed the various delicacies which were served. By evening everyone except Li and Jin had left the premises.

One and a half years later-

Yang Li was almost 23 now. In the past year and a half, he had consolidated his foundations. YLM Enterprise had developed a couple of products that had created a buzz.

One of them was security software for financial institutions, which was a step ahead of anything available in the current market.

Secondly, YLM had created a virtual assistant compatible with all electronic devices. As compared to other assistants in the market it not only had superior features but also the AI used didn't exist anywhere in the industry. Even global companies wanted to collaborate with YLM in order to study the AI created by YLM.

These two products had made YLM Enterprise famous. They had started to gain the attention of large conglomerates.

In the past year, Jin had bought a few manufacturing units. He had also formed contracts with various manufacturing units in case there was a surge in demand. When the company's own units could not handle the demand, the production could be outsourced to these contracted units.

Yang Li had also taken several consulting jobs. At the same time, he had collaborated with the government on a defense project. The government had contracted him to create a radar system according to their specifications. Bureau 107 acted as the intermediary between the two. The project was still ongoing.

His relationship with the Bureau had improved drastically. He had gone on a few missions for them in the past year and a half. He also used his private mercenaries on these missions. This allowed the Bureau to complete their objectives without using their resources, at the same time it gave Li a good opportunity to train his mercenaries. It was a win-win for both parties. He had also become friendly with his teammates, especially with CJ and PR-they had even visited his workshop a few times.

The most impressive development was the formation of YLM Security, a subsidiary of YLM Enterprise. This was set up by Jin and he had 50% shares in this company. Currently, there were only 16 mercenaries in the company. They were divided into a 6 member and two 5 member teams.

The 6-member team was named alpha1. It had completed its training under Zhou Jin. It had also gone on Bureau missions with Li. They had passed all the tests and were ready for field action. However, Yang Li decided that alpha1 would be used to ensure the safety of his family and friends. It would also be dispatched for personal missions. Two members of alpha1 had already been dispatched to Stephens College to guard his sister. One member had been sent to Zenith Biotech. The rest of them were at the base. They would not only train by themselves but also aid in the training of the other two groups.

Jin had also been training the other two teams simultaneously. After the training, they would also undergo training missions before they are cleared for field action. Although, still in training these 2 teams could easily perform simple missions like security details.

Therefore, Jin decided to accept only simple missions like security detail, till the training of these 2 groups was complete. He was also looking to increase the number of mercenaries and create more teams. Only then would the business be viable and sustainable. However, it could not be rushed. Everything had to proceed step by step.

Li discussed with Jin the creation of an elite team. He gave it the name Grey Shadow. According to Yang Li once the security company had expanded sufficiently with an adequate number of mercenary groups, a new elite team could be formed. It would contain the top 6 members amongst all mercenaries.

This team would be led by Zhou Jin and only execute the toughest and the most complicated missions. Of course, it would also have corresponding rewards. The team would be selected on a yearly basis after which the process would be repeated and a new team would be formed. Zhou Jin agreed with this idea.