Chapter 54: Seeking Cooperation Possibility

Besides lithography machines, the achievements of several other high-tech industries will also be out soon; then we'll give the whole world a heavy punch — guess what reaction the countries of the world will have?

At this moment, Old Luo looked at Qin Hao and said with a smile.

"Tsk tsk! I really wish that day would come soon."

Qin Hao heard this and also laughed.

Cheng Haitang and Old Zhang showed the same expression; for a moment, the whole room filled with laughter.

The day after the press conference ended, any company even remotely related to the lithography industry chain — from light source manufacturers to lens suppliers, to specialty materials firms — saw its stock chart affected to varying degrees.

Lanhe nation's lithography giant ASM saw its share price fall continuously in the first three minutes after market open.

Its CEO, when accepting an emergency interview, faced the camera and forcefully explained, "This is just normal market fluctuation; please don't panic."

In stark contrast, Yanhuang Guo's domestic related concept stocks all hit the one-character limit up, with buy orders for dozens of stocks filling the limit-up board; funds were so abundant that the exchange's servers briefly lagged.

……

Yingjiang Guo, Bai Gong, oval conference room.

The atmosphere was oppressive, like the sea before a storm.

President Wil, his signature blond hair somewhat disheveled.

He irritably tore open his tie and slammed a market report covered in green downward curves onto the table.

"Trash! All of you are trash!"

His roar echoed in the room.

"Decades! We united so many countries, used every means, and built a wall of sighs in technology! Now it has collapsed! It collapsed in just one night! Who can tell me why?"

In the conference room sat a group of bigwigs who could make the global tech sector tremble with just a stomp of their feet.

ASM's CEO, Zeiss Optics' chairman, Yingjiang Guo Applied Materials' president……

At this moment, they were like frost-bitten eggplants, heads lowered, not daring to make a sound.

"Speak up!"

President Wil's fist hammered heavily onto the tabletop,

"We give you so many subsidies each year, open so many policy green lights for you, and this is how you repay Yingjiang Guo?"

After a long silence, ASM's CEO finally spoke up, gritting his teeth:

"Mr. President, Yanhuang Guo is following a technological path we never anticipated. Their light source and lens system…… is something from another dimension; our accumulated technology is ineffective against it."

"I don't want to hear this! I just want to know what we should do now!"

President Wil's eyes were bloodshot.

"Since we can't stop them from producing, let's find a way to make them unable to produce, or at least only able to produce very few!"

An aide from the Intelligence Department spoke up in a gloomy tone.

"Lithography machines are a combination of precision instruments; even if they solve the core technology, they cannot get around some key upstream resources."

"For example, the special fluorides used to make high-purity quartz glass, the isotope separation equipment for refining certain rare gases…… these things, their patents and origins, are still under our control."

This proposal made the eyes of everyone present light up a bit.

Exactly, cut off the fuel source!

President Wil's complexion finally improved a little; he scanned the room full of corporate giants,

"Did you hear that? Starting today, we will tighten exports of all raw materials and equipment that could possibly be used to make lithography machines."

"Any orders related to Yanhuang Guo must be refused outright; I want them to have the blueprints but still be unable to build a complete machine!"

"Yes, Mr. President."

Everyone replied in unison, outwardly completely obedient.

The meeting's atmosphere eased slightly; President Wil picked up his coffee, took a sip, and added, "Just blocking isn't enough; I need to know all the secrets of their lithography machine."

He looked at that intelligence aide: "Activate the Hummingbird Plan; have those hidden inside their ranks bring out the technical data for me!"

"Understood!" The aide nodded.

After the meeting ended, everyone filed out in single file.

ASM's CEO had just sat down in his bulletproof car when the obedience on his face vanished instantly, replaced by anxiety and ruthlessness.

He immediately placed an encrypted call.

"It's me; you need to personally lead a team to Yanhuang Guo right now, set off immediately! Remember, don't take the company's plane, buy a commercial ticket!"

"Try to get in touch with their commerce department or whatever project team, lower your posture, and say we want to discuss purchasing the Universe One and future deep cooperation."

The person on the other end obviously froze: "But boss, we were just in Bai Gong……"

"Those idiots in Bai Gong are still living in a dream!"

The CEO muttered a curse, "Blockade? What do they have to blockade with? By the time they react, the market will have already been devoured by Yanhuang Guo!"

"What we need to do now is not wait to die alongside them, but find a way to survive! Even if we have to crawl, we must get our hands on a Universe One—hurry! If we're late, we won't even get the soup."

After hanging up, he leaned wearily back in his seat, gazing out the window.

National interests, allied friendships—none of them are worth a penny when the company's survival is at stake.

Almost at the same time, Zeiss Optics' chairman, Applied Materials' president, and the other giants who attended the meeting made nearly identical decisions.

For a while, flights to Yanhuang Guo's capital became hotly contested tickets.

Several business delegations even staged a fight at the airport over the last few first-class tickets.

On the surface they obeyed Yingjiang Guo's "blockade" plan, but behind the scenes they were like sharks scenting blood, rushing to grab the juiciest piece of meat.

Meanwhile, Yanhuang Guo had already become the focus of the world.

In the capital, diplomatic apartments and all major five-star hotels were fully booked within twenty-four hours.

Princes from Camel and other Middle Eastern countries directly booked an entire floor of a hotel, declaring that price was no issue—they wanted the first batch of goods.

The several Southern American countries that have long been sanctioned by Yingjiang Guo's technology have their ambassadors practically living outside the foreign affairs department, just hoping for a meeting.

Even the several major countries of O Province, which had previously been wavering, also dispatched high-level "economic and cultural exchange teams"; nominally they came to discuss cooperation, but in reality each person carried a prepared letter of intent to purchase.

On the streets of the capital, blond‑haired, blue‑eyed and dark‑haired, brown‑skinned foreigners could be seen everywhere, leaving many citizens dazed; those who didn't know better even thought the Olympic Games had opened again.

This scene of "all nations coming to pay tribute" made Cheng Haitang's smile impossible to hide.

"Xiao Qin, hurry and look,"

He handed Qin Hao a long list of guests, his tone full of teasing, "Anyone you pick from this list is a figure who can call the wind and summon the rain in their own country."

Now it's great— they line up one by one, wanting to see us, but it's up to our mood; this feeling is really exhilarating!

Qin Hao looked at the thunder‑famous names and companies on the list, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha! Old Cheng, this is just the beginning; the good show is still to come."

However, what the two of them didn't know was that an operation to steal technical data was underway.