Chapter 528: Let the Bullet Fly for a While

On the seventh day after the Fenghuang Fifth Generation Device launch, the public sphere exploded.

Li Yaozong sat in his office, dozens of news headlines scrolling on the tablet in front of him.

Fang Wenshan stood opposite him, expressionless, but his hand gripping the folder tightened a bit.

"Mr. Li, take a look at these."

He pushed the tablet over.

'Fenghuang Phone Accused of False Advertising, Users Test Battery Life Shrinkage'

'Keji Lao Zhang Review Video Accused of Taking Money, Netizens Went Wild'

'Fenghuang Fifth Generation Device Overheating? Multiple Users Report Issues'

'Public Intellectual Speaks Out: Domestic Phones Only Stack Components, Lacking Core Technology'

Li Yaozong read them one by one.

After reading, he set the tablet down.

"What about the data?"

Fang Wenshan pulled a report from the folder.

"Backend statistics show 237 battery‑life complaints, accounting for 0.003% of total sales; 186 overheating complaints, 0.002%. We have contacted all these users, most of whom used the phone while charging, which is normal heat,"

He paused briefly.

"But online it looks like about ten thousand people have complained."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Who is setting the narrative?"

Fang Wenshan turned to another page.

"Found them. Several IDs, IP addresses clustered in two locations: one is a Beijing PR firm serving Samsung; the other is a Shenzhen studio serving Xiaomi."

Li Yaozong smiled.

"Quite lively."

He Xiao pushed the door open and entered.

"Mr. Li, over in the automotive side people have also started shaping the narrative. They claim our intelligent driving is unsafe, that automatic braking fails, that Beidou navigation is unstable."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Is there any factual basis?"

He Xiao shook his head.

"No. All anonymous leaks, and the accompanying images are all downloaded from the internet."

Li Yaozong stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the Shenzhen sky was a dull gray, the cloud layer pressed low.

He stood for a few seconds.

Then he turned around.

"Fang Wenshan, you have three tasks."

Fang Wenshan took out his phone to note.

"First, organize the backend data—complaint rate, cause of issues, resolution—make it all public. Post it on the official website, on Fenghuang Broadcast, and on every social platform."

Fang Wenshan nodded.

"Second, have Keji Lao Zhang produce a tutorial video. Teach users how to charge correctly, how to optimise battery life, how to avoid overheating, and also present the real data."

Fang Wenshan continued writing.

"Third, do not respond to the smear campaigns. Let them talk. The more they speak, the higher the attention. Once our data is out, the truth will become clear on its own."

Fang Wenshan looked up.

"Mr. Li, is this letting the bullet fly for a while?"

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Yes. Let the bullet fly for a while."

Three days later, Keji Lao Zhang's video went live.

The title was blunt: 'Fenghuang Fifth Generation Device User Guide, and Some Truths'.

In the video, Lao Zhang sat at a workbench, holding the Fenghuang Fifth Generation.

"Everyone, lately many online are saying the Fenghuang Fifth Generation overheats and has poor battery life. I used it for two weeks and will show you the data,"

He pulled up a chart.

"This is my fourteen‑day battery‑life log. The longest day lasted nine hours, the shortest six hours, averaging 7.5 hours. The official claim of eight hours comes from lab data. See how much it differs,"

He pointed to that curve.

"A difference of 0.5 hours. Is that false advertising? I don't think so,"

He brought up another chart.

"This is the heat record. While charging, the temperature peaked at 39 °C; while watching videos, 37 °C; while gaming, 41 °C. All within normal range,"

He looked at the camera.

"Those who say it's scorching hot, you're probably gaming while charging, right? Which phone doesn't get hot under those conditions?"

He smiled.

"As for those accusing me of taking money, you can watch my video from eight years ago when I reviewed the Fenghuang First Generation. In eight years, have I ever criticized Fenghuang? Yes. I criticized the first generation's battery, the third generation's camera, and now the fifth generation is genuinely good, so I say it's good. Is that taking money?"

At the end of the video, he added a line.

"Trust the data, not the emotions,"

Views exceeded twenty million in three days.

The trend in the comment section has started to shift.

"I've been using it for a week; indeed, no problem."

"Those who say it heats up, can you post a screenshot?"

"Old Zhang's data is very objective; trust him."

"So a half‑hour difference is called false advertising? Then what do we call Samsung's one‑hour gap?"

Fang Wenshan stared at the backend data, scrolling through it line by line.

The proportion of negative comments fell from twenty‑three percent to eleven percent.

He sent a message to Li Yaozong:

"The wind is starting to turn."

Li Yaozong replied with a single character:

"Good."

At three p. m., Chen Feng knocked and came in.

He held a chip the size of a fingernail cap in his hand.

"Director Li, the New Materials Laboratory has made a breakthrough."

Li Yaozong took it to examine.

The chip is slightly smaller than a regular one, its surface glimmering with a dark‑gold sheen.

"What is this?"

Chen Feng pointed to several areas on the chip.

"This part is a gallium nitride isolation layer, eight atoms thick, embedded between twelve silicon layers. It blocks electromagnetic interference, reducing signal crosstalk by ninety‑seven percent."

He then pointed to another section.

"This is a liquid‑metal gallium‑indium alloy, filled into twelve‑nanometer self‑repairing micro‑tubes. When the chip overheats locally, the alloy automatically repairs the circuit, extending its lifespan."

Li Yaozong was momentarily stunned.

"Self‑repair?"

Chen Feng nodded.

"Yes. For small‑scale open or short circuits, it can fix itself. Laboratory tests show the chip's lifespan can be extended by thirty percent."

He continued pointing.

"This is an indium phosphide photon bus. It's an optoelectronic hybrid bus that uses light pulses instead of electrons to transmit data. Speed is 1.6 TB per second, and power consumption drops by forty‑four percent."

"What about this?" Li Yaozong asked, pointing to the bottom piece.

"Diamond composite material. Thermal conductivity is 1,500 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹, five times that of silicon. When the chip generates heat, it dissipates rapidly."

Li Yaozong stared at the tiny chip, silent for a few seconds.

"Can it be mass‑produced?"

Chen Feng thought for a moment.

"Three years. Within three years it can go onto the production line."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Keep working on it."

Liu Yang peeked in the doorway.

"Director Li, do you have a moment?"

Li Yaozong gestured for him to come in.

Liu Yang held a phone in his hand; its screen was foldable.

"Flexible screen, foldable model. The prototype is ready."

He placed the phone on the table.

When the screen folded closed, it resembled a small notebook. Opened, it revealed a 7.2‑inch large display. The fold line showed almost no crease.

Li Yaozong picked it up and folded it repeatedly a few times.

"What about its lifespan?"

"Laboratory tests show it endures two hundred thousand folds without damage. At a hundred folds per day, that's about five years of use."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"When can it be mass‑produced?"

Liu Yang thought for a moment.

"Next year, together with the Phoenix Sixth Generation."

Zhao Ming also arrived.

"Director Li, we have discussed the Sixth‑Generation aircraft plan several times. Please take a look."

He placed a document on the table.

Li Yaozong opened it.

The first page, title: "Phoenix Sixth Generation Aircraft Technical Plan."

"Flexible foldable screen, 7.2 inches, 2K resolution."

"Chip, Phoenix Core No. 6, using new material, new architecture, and new packaging. Performance is double that of the fifth generation, and power consumption drops thirty percent."

"Battery, 5,000 mAh, fast‑charge reaches eighty percent in thirty minutes."

"Camera, rear 20‑megapixel, front 8‑megapixel. Supports 8K video recording."

"Facial recognition, 0.2 seconds."

"Voice assistant, upgraded version, supports dialect recognition."

"The Internet of Things, a single phone controlling all Wanshang equipment—cars, home appliances, door locks, lights."

Li Yaozong looked through it page by page.

Seeing the end, he raised his head.

"The IoT part, who is it cooperating with?"

Zhao Ming pointed outside.

"Wang Bo is taking the lead. Cars, home appliances, live streaming—all are being connected."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Can we have a sample machine by March next year?"

Zhao Ming thought for a moment.

"Yes."

Wang Bo was the last to come in.

He was holding a long list.

"Manager Li, let me report on the progress of the IoT."

He spread out the list.

"On the car side, He Xia has already been testing. Phone‑controlled air conditioning, door locks, charging—all can be done."

"On the home appliance side, Liu Yang and his team are working on it. Phone‑controlled air conditioning on, TV off, scheduling the washing machine—it should be operational next month."

"Door locks, lights, curtains—these little things have already been available for pre‑sale on the Fenghuang Broadcast."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"Users buy it, connect it to their phone, and they can use it."

Li Yaozong looked at that list.

It listed dozens of devices, each with its progress marked.

"When can it all be fully connected?"

Wang Bo thought for a moment.

"Next year. When the Fenghuang Sixth Generation is released, it will go online simultaneously."

At seven in the evening, Li Yaozong sat alone in the office.

On the desk lay four things.

A crystal chip the size of a fingernail.

A foldable‑screen phone.

A technical plan for the sixth‑generation device.

An IoT equipment list.

He examined them one by one.

The crystal chip makes the phone faster, more power‑efficient, and more durable.

The foldable screen makes the display larger and more portable.

The sixth‑generation device can accommodate all these technologies.

The Internet of Things can make the phone the hub of all equipment.

He looked at them for a long time.

Then he stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, Shenzhen's night was deep.

In the distance, the Longgang Industrial Park was brightly lit. There, the Fenghuang Fifth Generation Device was still being produced through the night.

Farther away, the lights of the Nanshan Research and Development Center glittered like stars. Among those stars, Chen Feng stared at new materials in the lab, Liu Yang debugged the foldable screen, Zhao Ming planned the sixth‑generation device, and Wang Bo was making the IoT connect.

There were also the young people studying abroad, the newcomers studying at the Creator Academy, and the veteran workers who had spent ten years on the assembly line.

Everyone had their own responsibility.

Everyone was also contributing, making the country strong.