?


    Chapter 731


    "Got it. I just sent you an email. Please take a look and let me know if any changes are needed," Carlisle said.


    "Yes, Mr. Zahn," Selena replied.


    "Anything else?" Carlisle asked.


    "Yes, Xenos Factory has applied for 30 million dors in funding for research and recruiting talent," Selena said.


    "How much is left in thepany ount?" Carlisle asked.


    "If we provide the 30 million to Xenos Factory, the remaining amount will be about 98 million dors," Selena replied.


    Carlisle ended the call and sighed at the cost of chip development. That was also why he wanted to branch out into other industries.


    Ember invested nearly 1.8 billion dors just tounch its first chip, and Orion spent hundreds of billions researching it.


    Although he had set the direction for chip research, developing a chip from scratch was easier said than done.


    The next day, Carlisle attended the cocktail party hosted by Hermès. The venue brought together all of Hermès'' distributor partners, logistics partners, suppliers, advertising partners, and more.


    To Carlisle''s surprise, Hermès intended to choose either Islo Clothing or Fashion Breeze as their coboration partner at this party.


    "Isn''t it a bit tacky for an international brand to handle things this way?" Carlisle murmured as he took his seat.


    After all, both Islo Clothing and Fashion Breeze were top names in the Rivend clothing and handbag industry. Regardless of who was chosen as Hermès'' partner, the other would undoubtedly be embarrassed by the asion.


    "Mr. Zahn," Leon, dressed in a suit, greeted Carlisle as he approached with a ss of red wine.


    "Leon," Carlisle responded, smiling as he stood up with his own wine ss in hand.


    "We''ve never had the chance to toast, have we?" Leon asked, grinning.


    "Cheers!" Carlisle clinked sses with Leon and downed his drink in one go.


    Leon followed suit, finishing his ss in a single gulp.


    Carlisle asked in puzzlement, "Why is Hermès doing this?"


    Understanding what Carlisle was referring to, Leon replied seriously, "Austin probably proposed it. He''s been pretty close with Hermès'' design director, Nina,tely."


    As he spoke, Leon nced over at Nina, who was chatting heartily with Austin.


    "If they''re up to something shady, why don''t they just cut the drama and team up with


    Fashion Breeze directly?" Carlisle asked, feeling profoundly displeased by Hermès'' decision. He was tempted to instruct Sean to cancel their ad coboration with the brand.


    He finally understood why Hermès had invited him despite already inviting Sean, the CEO of Alumni Network. He figured that Austin probably wanted him to witness Lethan''s failure firsthand.


    Leon smiled.


    "You think Islo Clothing doesn''t stand a chance anymore, don''t you?"


    Carlisle was startled.


    "Is there more to this story?"


    Leon shrugged.


    "Beats me. I''m just a temporary design consultant they hired a figurehead with no real power!"


    Carlisle couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "I was expecting a twist from you. Even Lethan isn''t confident about this coboration, so how could I, an outsider, have faith in it?"


    Suddenly, Nina approached them with her ss of red wine, her face adorned with a smile. "You must be Mr. Woodsen."