50: Chapter 50 The Showdown at the Investment Promotion Conference! A Major Breakthrough! (Part 1)

On the eve of the investment fair, the exhibition hall was brightly lit.

Chen Fan stood in the center of the empty venue, looking up at the twenty-meter-high dome. Tomorrow, this place would determine whether Fanxing Technology could carve a path through Long Group's encirclement.

Lin Hao hurried over from backstage: "Fan Zi, I just finished the tally. The number of confirmed participating companies has dropped from 50 to 20! The media situation is even worse. Of the thirty outlets that originally agreed to come, only two local media remain!"

"Long Zaitian is trying to pull the rug out from under us." Chen Fan's expression was calm, as if he had expected this all along.

"Reporting, boss. Important information has been tracked," Xiao Zhi continued the report. "The technical parameters in that 'Superconducting New Material' preview released by Long Corporation are suspicious—they've listed the room-temperature superconducting critical temperature as 12K, which already surpasses the highest record in current public literature. The original lab data I obtained through internal channels shows their sample can only actually reach 92K, and the stability is extremely poor. There's no way to mass-produce it at present."

Chen Fan's eyes sharpened: "Fabricated data?"

"Most likely," Xiao Zhi said. "They probably used peak data measured momentarily after liquid nitrogen cooling, but the material can't maintain a superconducting state at room temperature for more than three minutes. This is typical... promotional fraud."

"Good, good, good." A cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Fan's mouth. "They want to build momentum with fake data? Then we'll give them a 'face-slapping gift.'"

---

The next day at 9 AM, at the Fanxing Technology investment fair.

The situation was even worse than expected.

The venue, originally planned for five hundred people, had only about twenty attendees scattered sparsely across the first few rows. The media area was completely empty, with only two self-media bloggers holding up their phones to film, the scene looking pitifully deserted.

Lin Hao stood behind the curtain, his palms sweaty: "Fan Zi, is it really... going to be like this?"

At the same time, the scene at Long Group's "Global New Materials Summit" was shockingly luxurious.

The main hall could accommodate a thousand people and was currently packed to capacity. The front rows held representatives from material giants in Germany, Japan, and the USA, the middle section was filled with hundreds of domestic company executives, and the back rows were lined with media equipment of all kinds.

A massive LED screen played a promotional video for Long Group on loop, while a symphony orchestra performed live warm-up music.

Long Zaitian, wearing a custom white suit, walked onto the stage under the spotlight, brimming with confidence.

"Distinguished guests, welcome to a new era of materials!" He spread his arms, his voice amplified by top-tier speakers throughout the hall. "Today, Long Group will present to the world a technology capable of changing the course of human civilization—the 'Dragon's Chant' room-temperature superconducting material!"

Technical parameters popped up on the large screen:

[Critical Superconducting Temperature: 12K (-153°C)]

[Current Carrying Density: 1×1]

[Magnetic Field Tolerance: 15T]

[Estimated Mass Production Cost: 8% of traditional superconducting materials]

Gasps erupted from the audience.

After all, the most advanced commercial superconducting materials internationally currently have a maximum critical temperature of only 77K (the liquid nitrogen temperature range), and they are extremely costly. If the 'Dragon's Chant' material could truly achieve these parameters, it would mean superconducting technology could be applied on a large scale for the first time in civilian fields like power grids, maglev trains, and medical equipment!

"We have already reached preliminary cooperation intentions with three international energy conglomerates," Long Zaitian continued to pile on the pressure. "The first batch of 'Dragon's Chant' material will enter mass production within three months and can be applied by the first half of next year..."

His words were interrupted.

Not by a person, but by the vibration of phones.

First, a few reporters in the front rows looked down at their phones. Then, like an infection, message notification sounds rippled through the entire venue. Some people whispered to each other, others widened their eyes in shock, and some simply stood up and walked out.

Long Zaitian frowned and looked at his assistant in the audience.

The assistant's face was deathly pale. He hurried to the edge of the stage and mouthed three words: "Something's happened."