211: Chapter 212 The Puppet's Rebellion! Get the Samsung Chairman to come in person for an equal meeting!

The moment the private room door clicked shut, the entire world seemed to have been put on mute.

Shen Du leaned casually against the leather sofa, his eyes cold as ice, his fingertips tapping rhythmically against the armrest.

That rhythmic "tock, tock" sound was infinitely amplified in the deathly silent room.

Like a countdown from the Grim Reaper, it hammered repeatedly against Kim Cheon-sik's nerves, which were already stretched to the breaking point.

A massive sense of oppression surged forth like a tide.

It caused Kim Cheon-sik, a man who had seen his fair share of storms, to experience a momentary blankness in his mind.

He maintained his ninety-degree bow, cold sweat dripping from the tip of his nose onto the carpet.

He opened his mouth, but found his throat so dry that he couldn't make a sound.

"What's the matter? Did you go to such great lengths just to put on a show of spacing out in front of me?"

Shen Du slowly raised his wrist and glanced at his patek philippe. His tone was devoid of any ripples, yet it carried a suffocating coldness:

"Ten seconds have already passed. Mr. Kim, you have four minutes and fifty seconds left."

Hearing this countdown, which felt like a death warrant, Kim Cheon-sik shuddered, his reason instantly returning.

He knew that this man before him, who stood as high and mighty as a god, would absolutely do what he said.

Once the five minutes were up, he would be mercilessly thrown out of Yonglu, and this sole opportunity for Samsung to break the stalemate would be completely reduced to ashes!

"Mr... Mr. Shen!"

Kim Cheon-sik dared not utter another word of nonsense, skipping even the pleasantries and small talk.

He straightened up abruptly, gripping his briefcase tightly, and revealed his trump card with the fastest and most concise speed possible:

"We at Samsung Electronics have witnessed the terrifying chip technology from Jiyuan Technology that breaks conventions and can even be said to overturn the industry!"

"We didn't come here this time to act like those low-level manufacturers, buying a few pieces of equipment or trying to steal some blueprints."

A nearly insane fervor erupted in Kim Cheon-sik's eyes as he stared directly into Shen Du's:

"We are here with the will of the highest level of the entire Samsung Group, seeking the deepest strategic cooperation with Jiyuan Technology!"

The fingers Shen Du was using to tap the armrest paused slightly, a glimmer of extremely hidden sharpness flashing deep in his eyes.

He tilted his chin slightly, signaling for the other party to continue.

"Mr. Shen, currently, the only ones in the world capable of achieving this level of perfection in semiconductor underlying architecture are the impregnable Western systems. And... your Jiyuan Technology."

Kim Cheon-sik took a deep breath, making no attempt to hide Samsung's ambition and trepidation:

"The Western system is their own monopoly circle; we can't squeeze into it, and we don't want to remain their marionette any longer."

"Therefore, we hope that in the future, on this thorny path of semiconductor R&D, we can do our best to lend Jiyuan Technology a hand!"

Kim Cheon-sik gritted his teeth and threw out that final, bordering-on-insane demand:

"Not only are we willing to bear all the market risks for Jiyuan Technology as it expands overseas, we are even willing to share some of our channels."

"We only ask for one thing... When the day comes that China's semiconductor industry truly rises and completely enters the global stage, please, do not forget to bring us, Samsung, along to get a share of the pie!"

The air in the room fell into a deathly silence for over a dozen seconds due to this final, bordering-on-insane demand from Kim Cheon-sik.

Shen Du stopped tapping the sofa armrest.

His deep gaze scanned the Korean executive before him, who had veins bulging on his forehead and eyes filled with fanaticism.

In the eyes of ordinary people, Samsung Electronics is an incredibly massive multinational giant, the pride of all of Korea, and a cornerstone of the nation.

But for someone at Shen Du's level, who controls hundreds of billions in capital, he knew better than anyone the extreme, suffocating frustration hidden beneath the polished exterior of this "giant."

Korea's semiconductor industry appears developed. But in reality, more than half of the core preferred shares within Samsung Electronics, as well as the most fundamental core instruction set patents, are all tightly gripped by those vampire capitalists on Wall Street.

To put it bluntly, in the international technology camp, Samsung is nothing more than a high-end assembly line kept by Western giants in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a marionette that can be used to blockade other countries at any time, or be harvested by Wall Street at any moment!

With just a word from their Western masters, withholding authorization for underlying technologies, or imposing some random sanction in the international market, this so-called Korean behemoth would instantly plunge into an abyss from which there is no return.

Kim Cheon-sik looked at Shen Du's unmoved, indifferent face and swallowed a dry lump of saliva. He decided to simply tear away the last fig leaf of Samsung:

"Mr. Shen, our position in the international semiconductor landscape is simply too passive! As soon as those people on Wall Street are unhappy, our technological iteration is forced to stall. We are sick of this fear of having our necks choked at any moment!"

"But things are different now." Kim Cheon-sik's breathing became extremely rapid, as if he had grabbed onto a life-saving straw:

"This underlying architecture that Jiyuan Technology has suddenly unveiled completely bypasses the patent barriers of the West! If... if we can rely on China, this mountain of technology that is rapidly rising, combined with our natural geopolitical advantages, we at Samsung will have enough confidence to truly arm-wrestle with Western capital!"

This was an open conspiracy, and also the most naked, most logically sound exchange of interests.

Samsung needed Jiyuan Technology's expertise to break free from Wall Street's absolute control. And China's semiconductor industry, if it wanted to break through the West's joint blockade and go global, also needed Samsung, this "guide" with vast and mature channels overseas.

After listening to this tearful, extremely thorough strategic disclosure, Shen Du finally slowly lowered the wrist he had been using to check his watch.

The "death countdown" was officially paused at this moment.

Shen Du leaned deeply back into the leather sofa, and a cold smile finally appeared on his face, which had been like thousand-year-old ice.

"Mr. Kim, you are very smart, and very honest."

Shen Du looked at Kim Cheon-sik, who felt relieved and whose legs were almost weak, and spoke indifferently:

"What you just said truly hit the nail on the head. I admit, your Samsung's ambition to break free from Wall Street's control... has moved me."

Hearing the four words "has moved me," Kim Cheon-sik's nerves, which had been stretched to the point of snapping, suddenly relaxed, and an irrepressible ecstasy erupted in his eyes.

However, before he could even bow ninety degrees to thank him, Shen Du changed the subject, his tone instantly becoming condescending, exuding an arrogance that left no room for refutation.

"However..."

Before Kim Cheon-sik could utter his words of gratitude, Shen Du leaned forward slightly, his eyes, which had held a hint of a smile, instantly becoming as cold and bone-chilling as a bottomless abyss.

A terrifying pressure, belonging to the helmsman of a trillion-dollar empire, descended like Mount Tai, pinning Kim Cheon-sik, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, tightly back onto the sofa.

"Mr. Kim, I think you may have misunderstood one thing."

Shen Du's slender fingers tapped gently against the leather sofa's armrest, his tone indifferent and devoid of any warmth:

"Since what you at Samsung want is to break free from Wall Street's absolute control, and what you want is a 'century alliance' capable of changing the global semiconductor underlying landscape..."

He tilted his chin slightly, looking down with a cold and arrogant posture at the Korean executive before him, whose forehead was once again seeping cold sweat:

"Then a strategic finalization of this level is absolutely not something that you, a mere Technology Director for Greater China, are qualified to sit here and discuss with me."

This was said without any mercy, and could even be called naked humiliation.

But as Kim Cheon-sik heard it, he couldn't muster a single shred of anger or desire to refute.

Because what Shen Du said was the cruelest reality.

In this terrifying chess game that easily involves hundreds of billions of dollars in cash flow and concerns the technological rivalry between major powers.

Although he, Kim Cheon-sik, held the title of "Director," in the eyes of a god-level player like Shen Du, who could flip the international table at any time, he was indeed nothing more than a slightly higher-level errand boy!

Watching Kim Cheon-sik's face, which had instantly flushed red but was now clear-headed, Shen Du leaned back into his chair and laid out the threshold he had set:

"In light of your honesty today, I will give you, Samsung, one chance."

Shen Du's gaze was like a torch, and he struck the gavel with every word:

"Go back and tell your Korean headquarters, those power-holders who can actually make decisions, if they really want to get that ticket to the new era from my Jiyuan Technology..."

"Have your Samsung Group's highest helmsman—Chairman Lee—fly to Shanghai personally to see me!"

Shen Du's voice was not loud, but it carried an absolute dominance that left one unable to even muster a thought of resistance:

"I, Shen Du, never waste time with subordinates who just relay messages. For business that changes the global landscape, I only accept face-to-face 'peer-to-peer talks'!"