Chapter 53: Open Plot

At the press conference scene, the final frame froze on the face of the Yingjiang Guo reporter, whose complexion shifted from green to white, then from white to purple.

The process was comparable to Sichuan opera face-changing.

In the capital, inside a heavily guarded office, the atmosphere was completely different from the tense situation at the press conference.

The live broadcast signal on the huge screen had just been cut off, and Luo Lao turned his head with a smile, looking at Qin Hao beside him:

"How was that, Xiao Qin? Was that slap to the face loud enough?"

Qin Hao nodded, looking at the frustrated face on the screen, and felt a sense of relief.

But soon after, a huge doubt rose in his heart.

Qin Hao hesitated a moment, then asked: "Universe One is at least a generation ahead of them, so why sell it to them?"

"Isn't that just handing over the advantage we painstakingly built? What if they dismantle and study it, learning our technology?"

This question made the relaxed atmosphere in the room slightly stiffen.

Zhang Yunfeng and Cheng Haitang exchanged a glance; this question had been discussed countless times internally, but they also wanted to hear how Luo Lao would explain this grand strategy to Qin Hao.

He did not answer immediately, but rose and walked to the huge world map, his eyes slowly moving across it, continually assessing the global situation.

"Xiao Qin, remember: technology, especially cutting-edge technology, is not merely a product or a tool; it is a power, the power to rewrite the rules."

He pointed at the Yingjiang Guo territory on the map.

"Over the past few decades, how did they secure the world's top seat? By relying on technological, financial, and military hegemony, with technology as the foundation."

"They used their technological advantage to set standards, build industrial chains, and bind everyone to their system—those who follow prosper, those who resist perish."

After saying that, he turned again, his eyes flashing with wise light:

"Now we hold a trump card capable of overturning the table. But our goal is not to flip the table and leave everyone with nothing to play."

"Rather, we want to tell everyone that from today on, we too will participate in setting the rules of this game."

"Selling is our first step in participating in rule-making. Think about it: those countries that used to follow Yingjiang Guo and acted arrogantly toward us now want to buy a 1-nanometer photolithography machine—who can they turn to? Only us."

"If they want to buy, they must show sincerity and abide by our rules—that's divide and conquer. We turn their allies into our customers, even friends."

"We are not selling a machine; we are selling a ticket to the future. And the checkpoint is in our hands."

Those words were grand in scope and extraordinary in ambition.

Qin Hao felt his blood surge, wondering if this was his layout.

At that moment, Yunfeng beside him smiled, took over the conversation, and his explanation was much more down-to-earth.

"Xiao Qin, this is from a strategic perspective; let me run the numbers for you, and you'll understand better."

"How much did it cost to build that prototype ourselves, not counting labor, just materials and various supporting R&D?"

"Over fifty billion! Now, if you copy one, what's the cost? Twenty million Energy Points, which converts to ten million. And we sell it for one hundred billion!"

His eyes gleamed with sharp light:

"With a cost of ten million and a sale price of one hundred billion, what's the profit margin? A thousandfold!"

"This isn't just a tenfold profit; it's like running a money‑printing machine to grab cash—and they're begging us to take it!"

"The first five units, after expenses, yield over forty billion in profit. What can we do with that money? Invest in the next tech upgrade, improve people's livelihoods, strengthen national defense."

"Once our photolithography machines are rolled out globally, just maintenance, upgrades, and consumables will generate a industrial chain worth tens of trillions annually."

"By then, where will the world's top capital, technology, and talent flock?"

Although no answer was spoken, the answer was self‑evident.

He added half‑jokingly:

"Before, we had to sell a hundred million shirts to trade for one of their airplanes. Now, selling one photolithography machine lets them trade their entire family fortune—is this a good deal or not?"

"Worth it! Extremely worth it!" Qin Hao replied instinctively.

He fully understood that this was not simply giving away an advantage; it was clearly laying out an open plot.

Using what the other side most desires, we conduct a full‑dimensional suppression on economic, strategic, and psychological levels.

But he still had a lingering concern: "What about technology safety? They'll definitely try every means to dismantle and study it once they buy it—what if…"

This question, Cheng Haitang had the most authority to speak on.

He cleared his throat, his face showing a nonchalant expression.

"Xiao Qin, regarding this, you can rest easy. Whatever you can think of, those old foxes naturally can too, so before we act we've already plugged every loophole."

Cheng Haitang explained:

"First, the contract—our sales agreement is arguably the most domineering clause in human history: we sell you the machine, but the core interpretation of ownership remains with us."

"We will station a dedicated technical team to handle installation, debugging, and lifelong maintenance; the contract explicitly forbids the buyer from, in any form, disassembling, scanning, or reverse‑engineering the photolithography machine,"

"even opening the casing is prohibited; once violated, not only will this machine lock up instantly into a pile of scrap iron, but the country and all related enterprises"

"will be permanently blacklisted by us and face astronomical compensation claims in the tens of trillions."

"Would they sign such a tyrant's clause?" Qin Hao said, somewhat incredulous.

"They will."

Cheng Haitang's tone was firm: "Because they have no choice—either sign, or keep using outdated photolithography machines and watch others eat meat while they can't even get soup."

"Of course, the contract is just the first line of defense; our real killer move lies in the machine itself."

Cheng Haitang lowered his voice: "Every core component of Universe One, from the light source to the lens assembly and the control chip, has our unique encrypted self‑destruct program built in."

"Any unauthorized physical contact or violent disassembly will trigger it instantly; the precision structure of the core components will suffer irreversible physical damage, and the key data on them will be erased at once."

"Even if they get their hands on it, they'll end up with nothing but worthless junk."

"Moreover, the special alloy formula for manufacturing these parts is itself a top secret. Even if they luckily obtain some fragments and wish to analyze the composition to imitate,"

"by the time they figure it out, our Universe Two and Universe Three will likely already be out."

After hearing the three explanations from different angles, all of Qin Hao's doubts vanished in an instant.

He felt a chill run down his back, then a surge of genuine admiration.

This isn't a simple sale of machines; it's clearly a coordinated combo—every part interlocks, nothing leaks.

It perfectly melds strategy, economy, technology, and law into a scheme that forces every opponent to plunge in, and once they're in they can never get out.

It turns out that real power isn't merely having sharp weapons, but having the wisdom to wield them—wisdom that can span heaven and earth.

Looking at the two, Qin Hao for the first time deeply felt that, even though he owned the system, a god‑defying cheat,

compared with them, his scope and stratagem were still as childish as a kid's.

If Yanhuang Guo can have them, why worry about not standing at the summit of the world!