Chapter 100: Forced Back to the Negotiation Table, the American Executive Lowered His Head

The busy signal in the receiver scraped against his eardrums; the "beep-beep" sound was like a night watchman summoning him to his doom.

The veins on the back of John Smith's hand pulsed rhythmically.

He gripped the plastic receiver, slick and greasy with sweat from his palm.

He turned his head and looked at the digital clock on the wall.

The red second hand ticked forward, one notch at a time; time was running out.

The people on Wall Street meant what they said; they really could stuff him in a burlap sack and sink him in the Potomac River.

John bit his lower lip, tasting the metallic sweetness of blood in his mouth.

He wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve.

He walked over to the encrypted desk phone connected to the transoceanic channel and, with trembling fingers, dialed a long string of numbers.

In Donghai City, dawn was about to break.

The air conditioner in the Xinghai Technology server room sent a chill down everyone's backs.

Chu Xuan was squatting on the floor, gnawing on a cold meat bun.

He ate too fast and choked, rolling his eyes.

"Buzz—" The dedicated line phone on the table rang without warning.

The red indicator light flashed blindingly.

Xia Weiliang's hands paused on the keyboard.

Old Zhou jumped in fright, and a few drops of warm water spilled from the tea mug he was holding.

Lu Jingming walked over and pulled up a folding chair to sit down.

The metal chair legs scraped against the anti-static floor, making a creaking sound.

He didn't rush to answer it.

He listened as the phone rang for a full dozen times.

"Answer it, Mr. Lu. If you don't, they're going to hang up," Chu Xuan muttered softly after swallowing his bun.

Lu Jingming tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing half of his white, sharp canine teeth.

"If you're begging for help, you need to have the right attitude."

He reached out and pressed the speakerphone button.

"This is the Department of Commerce of the United States. I am John Smith."

English with a bit of static came through the speaker, the voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against old tree bark.

"Mr. Lu, your cyberattack behavior has already touched upon..."

"Stop."

Lu Jingming cut him off directly.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a plastic lighter, and flicked the wheel with a "click."

A deep blue flame jumped up.

"Mr. Smith, right? Skip the official jargon; long-distance calls are expensive here."

A heavy, ragged breathing sound came from the other end.

John gripped his tie tightly, forcibly suppressing the urge to curse.

"Lu Jingming! Stop your actions on the North America backbone network and Wall Street immediately!"

His voice wavered, carrying an undisguisable sense of guilt.

"We can consider re-evaluating the assessment procedures for the Entity List. This is our biggest concession."

Lu Jingming laughed.

The laughter traveled through the submarine fiber optic cables, filled with the nonchalance of watching a circus.

"Re-evaluate? Do you think this is a vegetable market, where you can haggle over the change?"

He tossed the lighter onto the table with a dull thud.

"Listen well, I have three rules."

Lu Jingming tapped his knuckles on the table, very slowly.

"First, unconditionally revoke that bullshit Entity List; stop trying to disgust me with those scraps of paper."

"Second, within ten minutes, unlock our direct-sales stores that you've sealed overseas. If even one item is missing, I'll take your customs building as compensation."

John's head was buzzing.

"You're crazy! This is an executive order from a sovereign nation! It cannot be revoked!"

He shouted until his voice cracked, the emotion of his breakdown unable to be contained even across the ocean.

Lu Jingming ignored him and continued listing his demands.

"Third. Have your Department of Commerce post an apology letter in both Chinese and English on your official website for seven days."

He leaned forward, staring at the pitch-black desk phone.

"These three terms, not a single punctuation mark can be off."

Lu Jingming snorted coldly.

"As for the Wall Street network, you can try connecting it again in your next life."

"Fuck!"

John swept the coffee cup off the table, and porcelain shards scattered all over the floor.

"Lu Jingming! This is blackmail! We will never compromise with a hacker!"

The Cybersecurity Bureau Chief scrambled to the table, his face ashen.

"Sir, sir... the backup servers at the New York Stock Exchange have also burned out!"

The fat bureau chief wore a mournful expression, tugging at John's sleeve.

"Mr. Morgan's secretary just called and said they're sending gunmen to pick you up in two minutes!"

John went limp, collapsing into the leather chair like a piece of rotten wood.

In his ears was the ragged breathing of the Cybersecurity Bureau Chief.

On the large screen in front of him, various red error boxes were popping up frantically.

He closed his eyes, two tears of humiliation squeezed from the corners of his eyes.

The pride in his bones was crushed into dust by the cruel numbers.

"I... I agree."

John squeezed this sentence out through his teeth, as if he had been drained of all his blood.

"Yes. You win."

The call ended.

The server room was quiet for two seconds.

Then, a roar that could lift the roof erupted.

Chu Xuan jumped up and smacked his head against the edge of a server cabinet.

He held his head in pain while grinning foolishly, tears streaming down his face.

Xia Weiliang pressed the Enter key.

The command was sent, withdrawing the army of Trojan horses that had been entrenched in North America.

It was broad daylight.

On the official website of the American Department of Commerce, a notice revoking the sanctions was quietly posted.

Next to it was a dry, formal letter of apology.

In front of the sealed Xinghai Technology stores overseas, police cars drove away in defeat.

The foreigners waiting in line, cash in hand, flooded back in.

Analysts at major financial institutions had bloodshot eyes from staying up all night.

The name of Xinghai Technology rocketed to the top of the valuation list for unlisted companies.

Those big Wall Street capital sharks looked at that astronomical figure and didn't dare utter a single word of dissent.

That evening, in the top-floor private room of the highest-rated hotel in Donghai City.

The crystal chandelier was dazzling.

A few bottles of freshly opened red wine were on the table, the aroma of food mixing with the scent of wine.

Old Zhou and Old Li were walking with their arms around each other's shoulders, their faces flushed from drinking.

Old Zhou held a small wine cup, singing an off-key model opera.

Chu Xuan was playing finger-guessing games with Dazhuang; Dazhuang lost and downed a mug of draft beer in one gulp.

In the corner of the private room, by the floor-to-ceiling window.

Shen Qingqiu had taken off her suit jacket, leaving her in just a white shirt.

She held a wine glass, the red wine leaving streaks on the glass wall.

Her high heels made no sound as she stepped on the soft carpet.

She walked to Lu Jingming's side.

The glass reflected the brilliant night view of the city outside, the traffic forming lines of red and white.

Lu Jingming had one hand in his pocket, his gaze wandering aimlessly as he watched the light trails below.

"Want a drink?" Shen Qingqiu handed the wine glass to him.

Her eyes were still a bit red.

The sleepless nights and the extreme ups and downs of the past few days had left a hint of weariness in the corners of her eyes.

Lu Jingming shook his head.

Shen Qingqiu took her hand back and sipped the red wine.

The bitter taste spread on her tongue as she looked at the young man beside her.

Over these past few days, he had single-handedly shouldered the pressure of a nation.

He had poked a huge hole in the sky.

And in the end, he made the other side obediently patch the hole and even bow to him.

"Lu Jingming."

Shen Qingqiu sighed, her voice hiding an uncontrollable tremor.

"I used to think I had seen all kinds of storms on Wall Street."

She pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and turned her head to look at him.

"On this Earth... what exactly is there that you wouldn't dare to do?"

Lu Jingming turned his head.

His gaze fell on Shen Qingqiu's flushed cheeks.

He reached out and took the wine glass from her hand.

He took a sip of red wine from the spot where she had just drunk.

"A bit astringent," he smacked his lips.

Lu Jingming placed the glass on the windowsill.

The glass touched the marble with a light sound.

"Qingqiu, for the millions of mobile devices in our hands, aren't we still missing a terminal for heavy-duty work?"

Shen Qingqiu was stunned, half of her drunkenness vanishing.

"What kind of terminal? Can't phones and tablets interconnect?"

Lu Jingming pulled at the corner of his mouth, revealing half of his sharp canine teeth.

"Don't the foreigners have a guy called Microsoft, who has monopolized all the metal boxes on desks around the world?"

He tapped his knuckles on the explosion-proof glass window, making a "thud-thud" sound.

A fierce, calculating light shone in his eyes.

"Tell me, if we build a computer and flip over Gates's dining table."

Lu Jingming looked at the night sky and chuckled.

"Do you think these foreign devils will be so angry that they'll come and pull our network cable again?"