Chapter 138 Dong Mingzhu, the home appliance giant, is not convinced and challenges you to a 1 billion bet.

Shards of porcelain bounced off the floor, emitting a sharp, crisp sound.

Scalding tea splashed onto the edge of the mahogany coffee table, dripping down the table legs.

The executives in the conference room shrank their necks in fear.

The shirts on the backs of several vice presidents were instantly soaked through with cold sweat, sticking tightly to their skin.

They didn't even dare to breathe.

"Make us an OEM for assembly casings? Lu Jingming is dreaming!"

Chairwoman Dong gripped the edge of the conference table with both hands.

Her knuckles turned a deathly, pale white from the excessive force.

Her eyes, which had seen countless people, were filled with a web of red bloodshot veins.

They revealed the iron-fisted ruthlessness forged from thirty years of struggling in the industrial sector.

The vice president in charge of sales swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva.

His Adam's apple scraped painfully against his parched throat.

"Chairwoman Dong, it is said that Midea and Haier have already sent people to Donghai City to make contact."

The vice president's legs were trembling, and his voice was weak.

"Xinghai holds the traffic gateways for department stores across the country."

"If we stubbornly refuse to sign, the shelves in all the major retail outlets will soon be emptied."

"Emptied? Do common people buy air conditioners to surf the internet at home!"

Chairwoman Dong stood up abruptly.

Her sharp gaze, like two steel blades, slashed across the vice president's face.

The vice president was so scared that he hurriedly lowered his head, staring at his toes.

"That flashy, hollow internet ecosystem play is just harvesting leeks!"

Chairwoman Dong gritted her back teeth, producing a dull, grinding sound.

"What is the core of an air conditioner? It is a solid, mechanical compressor!"

"It is the condenser! It is the pure copper tubing!"

She pointed at the massive factory production lines outside the window.

"That Lu Jingming takes a few lines of code and stuffs a few lousy chips inside."

"Can that blow cold air for the common people!"

The conference room was deathly silent.

There was only the whistling sound of the air conditioning vents.

Chairwoman Dong reached out to straighten her gray professional suit.

Smoothing out the wrinkles on her collar.

"The dignity of the real economy must never be handed over to a rustic internet ecosystem player."

She turned to look at the PR department head beside her.

"Go contact the reporters from the CCTV Finance Channel. Tell them I want to give an exclusive interview."

A flash of unyielding ruthlessness shone in Chairwoman Dong's eyes.

"I want to see if this fire from Xinghai can burn through our Gree copper pipes."

The next morning.

Beijing, CCTV Finance Channel studio.

The red light on the high-definition camera lit up.

Sister Dong, wearing a sharp dark suit, sat steadily on the sofa.

Her aura was overwhelming; she was completely unfazed by the recent dimensionality-reduction attack from Xinghai Technology.

The female host opposite her smiled.

"Chairwoman Dong, Xinghai Technology recently released a white paper on smart homes."

The host got straight to the point, "Many traditional home appliance manufacturers are embracing Xinghai OS. What is your take on this?"

Sister Dong let out a cold snort.

She couldn't even be bothered with pleasantries.

"Embracing? That's just having a weak spine, rushing to be someone else's indentured servant."

The host was stunned for a moment, not expecting her to be so direct.

"Industry is the foundation of the nation."

Sister Dong looked straight into the camera, her back straight as a rod.

"Xinghai Technology is indeed impressive when it comes to mobile phones and computers, I admit that."

"But in the area of major home appliances, relying on a lousy mobile phone to connect to the internet won't fool anyone."

She folded her hands over her knees.

"Air conditioners are about cooling efficiency and energy consumption ratios."

"These hard metrics have to be painstakingly eked out by tens of thousands of engineers in the workshops."

The host's eyes lit up, sensing a bombshell.

"So, are you saying that Xinghai's cross-industry move into smart appliances is a dead end?"

"Not only is it a dead end, but I also think it is a desecration of the real economy."

Sister Dong raised her eyes, exuding an air of dominance.

"Doesn't Lu Jingming like to disrupt things?"

"Today, through your lens, I'm making a bet with him."

She held up an index finger to the camera.

"I bet one billion!"

Sister Dong enunciated every word, her voice resonating with conviction.

"I'm betting that a rustic phone maker like Lu Jingming cannot build an air conditioner that surpasses Gree in cooling efficiency and energy savings!"

The floor director in the studio gasped.

This challenge was so harsh, leaving no room for any buffer.

"A three-year term."

Sister Dong added, gritting her back teeth tightly.

"If I lose, I, Gree, will hand over one billion in cash. If Xinghai loses, they must tear up that lousy white paper!"

Once this live interview aired.

The domestic internet was like a nuclear bomb had been dropped on it.

It completely exploded.

The top three Weibo trending searches were all deep red, explosive topics.

#Dong Mingzhu Challenges Lu Jingming#

#The One Billion Shocking Bet#

#Can Chips Really Blow Cold Air#

The adrenaline of the onlookers spiked to the heavens.

Their fingers tapped on keyboards until they ached.

"Holy crap! Sister Dong is so hardcore! One billion!"

"This time I'm siding with Dong Mingzhu. Air conditioners are heavy-asset industrial products; Xinghai is just a bunch of code-writers, what the hell do they know about compressors!"

"If Boss Lu chickens out on this one, Xinghai's god-like status will be shattered to pieces."

Donghai City.

Xinghai Technology building, top-floor office.

The air cooler was huffing out white mist, and the temperature was set very low.

In the corner.

Xia Weiliang was barefoot, curled up in a large swivel chair.

The hem of her yellowing, dirty lab coat dragged on the floor, picking up a ring of dust.

Her toes were gripping the edge of the leather cushion tightly.

She had a bright red strawberry-flavored lollipop in her mouth.

"Crunch, crunch," she chewed it to pieces.

"Who is this old lady? Such a temper."

Xia Weiliang rolled her eyes dramatically and spat out the plastic stick.

The little plastic stick landed on the wool carpet.

"Does she think she's invincible just because she understands a few lousy copper pipes?"

She kicked the computer tower next to her with her toe, producing a dull "thud."

"Pandora Protocol can chew up the backbone network of The Pentagon, and it can't suppress a lousy refrigerator?"

"Bang!"

The heavy solid wood door was slammed open by a shoulder.

The door panel slammed hard against the sound-absorbing pad on the wall and bounced back half a foot.

Chu Xuan burst in, full of frantic energy.

He was wearing a large floral shirt with a yellow background and black grid pattern today, with two buttons popped open.

His tie was already pulled crookedly.

He was gripping a tablet computer tightly in his hand.

With his other hand, he dug out a crumpled tissue and wiped the greasy sweat on his forehead indiscriminately.

"Lu, Boss Lu!"

Chu Xuan gasped for air, his chest heaving violently.

He rushed to the glass coffee table in a few steps.

He shoved the tablet in his hand directly in front of Lu Jingming's face.

On the screen, the clip of Sister Dong making her billion-dollar boast was playing on a loop.

Chu Xuan swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva.

His Adam's apple moved with difficulty over his tight throat, making a "gulp" sound.

"This lady has such a fiery temper! She's dragging the entire nation's netizens to force our hand!"

Lu Jingming sat in his leather executive chair.

Under his faded black T-shirt, his muscle lines were slightly tensed.

His legs were crossed, resting casually on the edge of the desk.

He didn't even look at the video on the screen.

His right hand reached into the pocket of his worn-out jeans.

He pulled out that one-dollar green plastic lighter.

The lighter spun quickly between his calloused fingers twice.

The plastic casing made a faint clinking sound.

"Boss Lu, the media on the external network are all egging them on."

Chu Xuan's legs were trembling.

"They say Xinghai only knows how to do software ecosystems, and once it hits hard-core manufacturing, it will be exposed for what it really is."

He wiped his neck with the tattered tissue.

"One billion! Are we accepting or not?"

Lu Jingming's fingers paused.

His thumb pressed down on the metal flint wheel, rubbing it hard.

"Click."

A crisp mechanical sound echoed in the office.

A deep blue flame flared up suddenly.

Carrying the pungent smell of low-quality kerosene.

The firelight reflected on the explosion-proof glass of the floor-to-ceiling window.

It also illuminated Lu Jingming's arrogant profile.

He stared at the dancing deep blue flame.

The corner of his mouth slowly curled up.

A sharp, white canine tooth flashed in the firelight, sending a chill down anyone's spine.

"Accept. Why wouldn't I accept?"

Lu Jingming casually extinguished the flame.

The plastic cover made a sharp, crisp sound, and the light was instantly snuffed out.

He turned his head, his gaze passing over Chu Xuan.

His eyes were filled with the ferocity of someone ready to smash traditional rules to pieces.

"Someone is rushing to hand over money. It would be impolite not to accept."