Chapter 174 BBA executives held an overnight meeting; even a price reduction of 100,000 yuan didn't attract buyers.

Late at night, in the Beijing CBD.

Inside the top-floor conference room of the BBA China headquarters building, the air was thick with smoke, like a boiler room on fire.

The pungent smell of Cuban cigars, mixed with the sour sweat of the foreign executives, was incredibly stifling.

Thomas, the President of the China region, had his hands pressed firmly against the mahogany conference table.

His expensive, handmade haute couture tie had long since been pulled askew.

His golden hair was plastered to his forehead by cold sweat, and he looked like a trapped beast pushed to the edge of a cliff.

"Cut the prices! All models, whether fuel or electric!"

Thomas's eyes were bloodshot as he slammed a hand hard onto the tabletop.

The dull thud exploded in the massive conference room, making several executives shudder violently.

"An official price cut of 100,000! Spread the posters across the entire web first thing tomorrow morning!"

Vice President Müller suddenly looked up, his face as pale as if it had just been plastered with low-quality putty.

"Mr. Thomas, this is absolutely impossible!"

Müller's lips trembled, and his voice cracked.

"Our brand sells based on a premium and face. If we really cut the price by 100,000 all at once, this century-old brand will lose its last shred of dignity!"

He clutched the sales report in his hands, his hands shaking like a sieve.

"If headquarters blames us, none of us can bear the responsibility!"

"Dignity? You're still talking to me about dignity?"

Thomas grabbed Müller by the collar, spraying spit all over his face.

"Go take a look downstairs! Those big dealers are holding up banners; they're just short of using gasoline to set this building on fire!"

He abruptly let go, panting heavily like a gambler who had lost all his chips.

"That lunatic Lu Jingming from Xinghai Technology hasn't just smashed our rice bowl; he's flipped the entire table!"

Thomas turned around, staring intensely at the night view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"The Chinese value face the most, and they are also the greediest for a bargain. I don't believe that if a luxury car with our blue-and-white logo has its price slashed by 100,000, they can resist buying it."

He gritted his teeth, a hint of viciousness flashing in his eyes.

"As long as the price is low enough, those flashy, alien-like technologies of Xinghai will be thrown to the back of their minds immediately!"

The several foreign executives looked at each other, and in the end, they could only nod in despair.

This was a decision that betrayed their ancestors, but it was also the only trump card they had left.

The next morning, at nine o'clock sharp.

In the BMW China direct-operated flagship 4S dealership on the opposite street corner.

Regional Manager Zhao had changed into a brand-new dark blue suit, his hair combed so slickly that a fly would slip if it landed on it.

The entire 6,000-square-meter luxury showroom was covered in glaring red banners.

"Unprecedented! 100,000 off all models!"

"Century-old luxury, rock-bottom price carnival!"

Manager Zhao held a cup of freshly ground black coffee, stood at the main entrance, and confidently adjusted his cuffs.

"Have the security team members been called over?"

He took a sip of coffee and turned to ask the sales supervisor beside him.

"They have, Manager Zhao. We've also set up caution tape at the entrance to prevent a stampede if there are too many people later."

The sales supervisor wiped the sweat from his temples and reported quickly.

Manager Zhao sneered, his face full of that high-and-mighty arrogance.

"Lu Jingming is still too young after all. Setting up a holographic showroom is fine for fooling the youngsters, but when it comes to paying with real money, the common people still recognize our brand."

He looked up at the wall clock. Ten o'clock sharp. The mall officially opened for business.

Manager Zhao cleared his throat, holding his coffee cup, ready to welcome the tidal wave of people rushing in.

One minute passed. Ten minutes passed.

In the hall with its polished marble floor, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

On the street outside, there were plenty of people, but they were all rushing toward the mall across the street.

"What's going on? Where are the people?"

Manager Zhao's brows knitted into a tight knot, and a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in his heart.

Just then, the glass door was pushed open. An old man wearing large shorts and flip-flops walked in, swaying from side to side.

Manager Zhao's eyes lit up, and he quickly put on a professional fake smile and walked up to him.

"Sir, are you looking for a car? Today our store has a 100,000 price cut on all models. Whichever one you like, I'll handle the paperwork for you myself!"

The old man paused and looked Manager Zhao up and down.

"Look for a car? Young man, there are too many people looking at cars at Xinghai across the street; the line for the bathroom is too long."

The old man clutched his stomach, his face full of anxiety. "I see it's deserted here without a single soul, can I borrow your bathroom? I can't hold it anymore!"

The smile on Manager Zhao's face instantly froze, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

The coffee cup in his hand jerked, and the scalding brown liquid splashed directly onto his polished leather shoes.

Yet he didn't even flinch, standing rooted to the spot like a stone statue.

"M-Manager Zhao..." The sales supervisor, holding a tablet, scrambled over, his voice clearly on the verge of tears.

"The public opinion online has completely backfired! You have to see this!"

Manager Zhao snatched the tablet, his eyes bulging as he stared fixedly at the screen.

Weibo trending topic #1: #BBA All Models Plummet by 100,000#.

But clicking into the comment section, there was no buying frenzy as they had expected. Instead, it was filled with overwhelming mockery and abuse.

"100,000? Even if you cut 200,000, I won't buy your oil-leaking engine!"

"Hilarious. Before, you added 30,000 to the price and acted like you didn't care if we bought it, now you're acting like a wimp with a 100,000 price cut?"

"Industrial trash with a 100,000 price cut is still trash!"

"I'm just baffled. Why would I spend 200,000 on a broken fuel engine when I can sit on a magnetic levitation sofa and use a Solid-state Battery that doesn't lose power at minus thirty degrees?"

"Brothers, hold the line! I'd rather wait three months for the Xinghai Mecha Factory's production capacity than go and take over the inventory for these foreign masters!"

Looking at those heart-piercing comments, Manager Zhao felt as if his chest had been struck hard by a giant hammer.

His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the polished marble floor.

It's over. Completely over.

Not only did they lose the price war, but even their brand image, which they were so proud of, had been rubbed into the dirt and shattered by Xinghai.

At the same time, on the top floor of the BBA China headquarters. Thomas stared fixedly at the real-time sales screen on the wall.

The glaring "0" was like a knife, stabbing deep into his retinas.

"How is it possible... How is this possible!"

Thomas mumbled with dead eyes, his tall body seemingly drained of all strength.

With a thud, he collapsed heavily into the large executive chair.

Müller and the other executives were too terrified to even speak.

The epic price plunge of an official 100,000 cut across all models had resulted in sales that didn't move an inch!

The hearts of Chinese consumers had been completely captured by that mobile alien fortress from Xinghai Technology.

Just as the foreign giants collectively fell into the abyss of despair, the sky outside suddenly darkened.

A torrential downpour smashed into this steel forest without any warning.

The wild wind whipped up bean-sized raindrops, lashing fiercely against the city's asphalt roads.

In the curtain of rain, a motorcade—without any police escort but exuding a suffocating sense of pressure—was silently moving through the downpour.

Leading the way were three black Hongqi H9s, the bright red hood ornament on the front standing out exceptionally sharply in the rain.

Following closely behind were seven or eight million-level BYD Yangwang U8s.

This low-profile motorcade, composed entirely of domestic automotive giants, didn't head to any official venue; instead, they turned their steering wheels and headed straight for the Xinghai Technology headquarters building in the suburbs.

Xinghai Building, top-floor executive office. The lights in the room were not on.

Lu Jingming had one hand in the pocket of his faded jeans, leaning lazily in his executive chair.

With the fingertips of his right hand, he skillfully spun that green plastic lighter.

"Click." The metal lid flipped open, and his thumb struck the grinding wheel hard.

A deep blue flame flared up, illuminating the sharp, white canine tooth on the side of his face.

Not far away, in front of the computer, Xia Weiliang was barefoot, crouching on the edge of her gaming chair.

She was biting on a strawberry-flavored lollipop, "crunching" as she chewed the candy.

"Boss Lu, those bumpkins across the street are officially dead."

Xia Weiliang rolled her eyes dramatically, her fingers clattering loudly on the keyboard.

"Even with a 100,000 price cut, no one is buying it; their data has already been mocked to shreds by my AI model."

Lu Jingming curled the corner of his lips but didn't speak. He just casually snapped the flame shut, making a crisp sound.

Just then, the solid wood door of the office was slammed open with a "bang."

Chu Xuan rushed in, clutching a crumpled tissue in his hand, as if his backside were on fire.

His red-bottomed leopard-print shirt was completely soaked with sweat on the back.

"Lu, Boss Lu!" Chu Xuan gasped for air, his legs so weak they were trembling.

He didn't even have the strength to walk to the desk, pointing directly at the white curtain of rain outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

His eyes were bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, and his voice cracked like a rooster with its neck stepped on.

"Boss Lu, look down! BYD's Boss Wang, and the bosses of Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto..."

Chu Xuan swallowed hard, his whole body trembling. "These top bigwigs of the domestic automotive circle are all crowding in our lobby downstairs right now!"