40: Chapter 40 "Stardust-S1" Causes Industry Shock; Li Zeyu Panicks

The next day, Lin Hao dragged along two small parcels, which were all the belongings he had in Magic City.

Chen Fan had just woken up; halfway through a stretch, his gaze became fixed on the Lingyun Orchid on the windowsill. The emerald leaves were beaded with morning dew, emitting a faint, ethereal glow. He leaned in and took a deep breath, and a cool sensation instantly coursed through his limbs and bones. The fatigue from staying up late to tune equipment last night vanished, and his mind became as clear as if it had been washed with water.

"Fan Zi, you're awake?" Lin Hao barged in boisterously, his voice loud enough to shake the dust off the roof. "Uncle Wang is a real pal; he cleared out the empty room next door. You can move right in!"

As he spoke, he dropped the parcels on the floor. The simple brick-and-tile house had been cleaned spotless by Wang Defu, with even the cobwebs in the corners cleared away.

Just then, Xiao Zhi's mechanical voice suddenly rang out: "Warning: Three new partners have been detected canceling their orders. Currently, all civilian merchants in partnership have canceled their orders."

Upon hearing this, Wang Defu, who had been smiling, immediately knit his brows into a knot. The smile on Lin Hao's face also faded, a flicker of worry flashing in his eyes. Lis Sci-Tech's tactic of cutting prices to steal customers was indeed ruthless.

"What's the panic?" Chen Fan, however, remained calm and composed. He tapped his fingertips lightly on the windowsill and said in a firm tone, "Li Zeyu is playing the game of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Customers won over by price cuts will sooner or later come back crying because of quality issues. Just wait and see; within a month, these orders will return."

His words acted like a reassuring pill. Wang Defu and Lin Hao exchanged a glance, and the weight in their hearts immediately lifted.

For breakfast, they ate two steamed buns with pickles and each drank a box of "Vigor Revitalizing Milk."

"Fan Zi, did you also infuse this milk with immortal power?" Lin Hao felt that after drinking this milk, his whole body had endless energy, and his mind was much clearer.

"You've got a sharp tongue, kid. Hurry up and take two more boxes, or some bottled water is fine too." Chen Fan told Lin Hao, "You're going to be busy lately, so make sure to nourish yourself."

Hearing it was good stuff, Lin Hao immediately picked up two bottles of water.

The three of them turned and plunged into the factory. For the next two days, they soaked in the workshop filled with the smell of engine oil, tuning equipment, planning assembly lines, and being so busy their feet barely touched the ground, all while relying on "Refreshment and Mind-Stabilizing Water" to keep them going.

In the evening, Chen Fan wiped the sweat from his forehead and tossed a document to Hao Zi: "Hao Zi, your phone is going to be ringing off the hook these next few days. I've compiled the core product data and test reports. I'm leaving the partnership negotiations entirely to you. Remember, our pricing is set at 30% of Lis Sci-Tech's!"

30%!

Lin Hao's eyes widened instantly. This wasn't just a price war; this was clearly trying to crush Lis Sci-Tech to death!

"Fan Zi, this price... isn't it a bit too ruthless?"

"Ruthless?" Chen Fan sneered. "When Li Zeyu was stealing our customers, did he ever think about showing mercy? This 30% pricing is meant to be a decisive strike, cutting off all his hopes of a comeback!"

Lin Hao slapped his thigh and gave a roguish smile: "Got it! Acting cool, bragging, and talking business—that's what I'm best at! With our product's technical dominance and rock-bottom price, those bastards at Lis Sci-Tech will have to come crawling on their knees to beg us, won't they?"

After witnessing Chen Fan's "divine skill," his trust in Chen Fan had reached its peak.

Meanwhile, at the Sheng Guo Group's Research and Development Department.

Li Yan, the person in charge, opened a package. Suspecting it might be a promotional item from some small workshop, he was still shocked when he saw the Stardust-S1 parameter sheet inside.

"Thermal conductivity exceeding 1000 W/m·K? High-temperature resistance threshold hitting 800°C? And it can resist strong electromagnetic interference?"

Li Yan's voice was trembling. When he flipped to the copy of the test report on the last page, his pupils dilated. You've got to be kidding me!

For similar products from Lis Sci-Tech, the thermal conductivity was at most 500 W/m·K, and the high-temperature resistance couldn't even withstand 300°C. This Stardust-S1 from Fanxing Technology had performance directly more than three times that of Li's!

If the data was real, this wasn't just a product; this was a damn revolution in materials science!

Li Yan immediately arranged for relevant personnel to conduct testing.

In the testing room, the hum of precision instruments running lasted for three hours.

When the final test data was printed out...

"The data matches perfectly! It's even 0.3 percentage points better than what's on the parameter sheet!"

"If this material can be mass-produced, our group's new generation of chips will be five years ahead of the industry!"

Holding the test report, Li Yan shook with excitement. He dialed Lin Hao's number, his voice trembling: "Director Lin! I'm from Sheng Guo Group. How much can you mass-produce right now? We want to make a small-batch purchase of 500 units of Stardust-S1! How is the pricing calculated?"

On the other end of the phone, Lin Hao was eating instant noodles. Hearing this, he almost spat the noodles out of his mouth.

He glanced at Chen Fan, who was leisurely drinking tea nearby, and whistled into the phone, his tone incredibly cocky: "Director Li... as for the price, that's easy to discuss—Lis Sci-Tech sells for 80 yuan per square meter; we sell for... 24 yuan!"

"24 yuan per square meter?!"

Li Yan sucked in a breath of cold air, almost dropping the phone in his hand.

This price was practically a steal!

He almost shouted: "Deal! I'll arrange for someone to sign the contract right now! Money is not an issue; as long as you can guarantee supply, we'll take all subsequent large-batch orders!"

After hanging up, Lin Hao slapped the phone onto the table and jumped three feet high in excitement: "Fan Zi! It's a success! Sheng Guo Group just dropped an order for five thousand units!"

Chen Fan put down his teacup and patted Lin Hao's shoulder. "This is just the beginning!"

Meanwhile, at the Lis Sci-Tech headquarters, Li Zeyu was sitting leisurely in his office, watching as Chen Fan's customers were all intercepted by him, swirling his red wine glass complacently.

"Chen Fan, oh Chen Fan, fighting with me? You're still a bit too green."

He picked up the wine glass and was about to take a sip when his assistant rushed in: "President Li, Sheng Guo Group just sent an email saying... saying that the contract renewal negotiations will be delayed."

"Delayed?" Li Zeyu frowned. "Didn't they say just yesterday that it would be signed next week? Delayed until when?"

"The other party didn't give a specific time, only saying that the technical department needs 'more time for technical evaluation'."

"Evaluate what? They've used our products for three years; what's left to evaluate?" Li Zeyu irritably tugged at his tie. "Call Director Wang; I'll ask him personally."

Five minutes later, the call went through. Sheng Guo Group's Procurement Director Wang Zhenhua's voice sounded somewhat distant: "President Li, it's not that we're intentionally stalling, but the technical department has some... new considerations."

"What considerations? Director Wang, we've collaborated for so many years; you can speak plainly."

"Then I'll be blunt." Wang Zhenhua paused. "Recently, the technical department received some... material samples. The performance parameters are very extreme; those guys in the technical department were wide-eyed. The board's intention is for us to reach out and make some comparisons."

Li Zeyu's heart sank: "What material? Which company?"

"Not sure. The samples were sent anonymously, and there was only a 'Stardust Technology' logo on the packaging."

"Director Wang, you should understand that the materials industry is very complex." Li Zeyu tried to keep his voice steady. "Many laboratory data look good, but they simply cannot be mass-produced. Our Lis Sci-Tech's 'Yanlong' series has been market-verified for three years..."

"I understand, I understand." Wang Zhenhua interrupted him. "That's why the board said to 'make more comparisons'. President Li, don't worry, with our years of friendship, as long as your products are competitive, the orders will definitely still be yours."

The call ended.

Li Zeyu gripped the receiver, his knuckles turning white. Although he didn't believe there could be a thermal conductive material more competitive than his own, this information was like a thorn, leaving his heart uneasy.

He immediately told his assistant to check "what exactly is the background of this Fanxing Technology."