Chapter 9: The first batch of 10,000 units sold out instantly, and the system rewards were enormous.

The moment the press conference ended, the makeshift customer service center on the first floor of the Xinghai Electronics Factory was completely paralyzed.

Eight ancient red landline phones were ringing so much that their cords were almost smoking from the heat.

The ringing was incessant, sounding like a symphony of death.

Former Canteen Chef Wang Chunhua had never seen such a scene in her entire life.

She held one receiver clamped between her left shoulder and ear, a ballpoint pen in her right hand frantically scribbling notes on a tattered notebook, while another receiver was wedged against her neck.

"You want three units? Sure! We can ship to Donghai City today, cash on delivery!"

"What? You're in Mohe? We'll ship to Mohe too! You'll have to cover the shipping yourself, brother!"

Former Canteen Chef Wang Chunhua yelled at the top of her lungs, sweat streaming down her chubby cheeks.

Several young female factory workers, pulled in temporarily to make up the numbers, didn't even have time to take a sip of water, their fingers clattering away on the keyboards with a "pitter-patter" sound.

"Sister Hua, the official website backend has crashed three times already! The order volume is still rising!"

A female worker stood up in a panic, staring at the data on the computer screen until she felt dizzy.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Niu Dazhuang, like a charging bull, burst through the glass door of the customer service center.

He clutched a few newly printed sales reports in his hand, his hand shaking as if he had Parkinson's.

Lu Jingming happened to stroll in from outside, picking up a bottle of mineral water and twisting it open.

"What's the panic? Is a wolf chasing you?"

Lu Jingming took a sip of water, his tone as casual as asking for the price of cabbage at the market.

Niu Dazhuang swallowed hard, his voice cracking.

"Young Master! We're sold out! Everything is f***ing sold out!"

He slammed the report onto the table, pointing at the final summary figure.

"Ten minutes! Just ten minutes! That ten thousand units of black gadgets in our warehouse, not even a single demo unit is left!"

Lu Jingming glanced at the number, completely unsurprised.

In this era where smartphones haven't become popular, a phone that is bulletproof, waterproof, has an ultra-long battery life, and can even crack walnuts, all for 998 yuan.

For the average person, this isn't buying a phone; this is stocking up on inventory.

"Where is Old Li?" Lu Jingming asked.

Just as he finished speaking, Old Li, with his balding head, came running over from the other end of the corridor, panting heavily.

His thick-rimmed glasses were crooked on his nose, and he didn't even have the time to adjust them.

"Young Master, I've calculated it! I've calculated it all!"

Old Li was incoherent with excitement, his eyes red.

"Those ten thousand units, they were all made from cheap, waste materials."

"After deducting the resin for potting and a bit of labor and utility costs, the cost per unit is at most less than one hundred yuan!"

He gripped Lu Jingming's arm tightly, his nails almost digging into the flesh.

"Selling these ten thousand units means a net profit of exactly nine million yuan!"

Nine million.

As soon as that number was announced, the entire customer service center fell into a deathly silence.

Former Canteen Chef Wang Chunhua didn't even notice the receiver in her hand drop; her mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg.

In this era where a monthly salary of two thousand yuan allows you to strut around freely, what kind of massive fortune is nine million?

It's enough to buy three buildings in Donghai City!

"Look at you all, so easily impressed."

Lu Jingming pulled Old Li's hand away and brushed the wrinkles off his clothes.

"This is just the beginning. Dazhuang, go notify Xiao Zhang from accounting, hurry to the bank and process the transfers."

After giving his instructions, he turned and walked into the empty conference room next door, locking the door behind him.

He pulled the blinds, and the light dimmed.

Lu Jingming took a deep breath, and a ghostly blue holographic screen instantly popped up before his eyes.

The numbers on the screen were scrolling frantically, like a wild slot machine.

[Ding! Self-doubt from Boss Liu of Huaqiangbei, Defense Break Value +800!]

[Ding! Despair and anger from Brother Biao, Defense Break Value +1200!]

[Ding! Online merchants facing panic over the price war, group Defense Break Value triggered a critical hit!]

The series of notification sounds made Lu Jingming feel incredibly satisfied.

That wave of anti-marketing and hardcore brick-smashing had completely shattered the mentality of these big copycat factories.

It wasn't just the bosses at the scene; as the posts on Jifeng Forum continued to ferment, peers all over the country were cursing.

In just half an hour, the total Defense Break Value on the system interface had already broken through the 200,000 mark.

"System, open the intermediate prize pool."

Lu Jingming didn't hesitate and threw the 200,000 Defense Break Value into it.

The screen shook violently, and countless lines of code flowed like a waterfall, finally converging into a blind box emitting a golden light.

The blind box slowly cracked open, and a dazzling light illuminated the entire conference room.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining cross-era core technology — "Xinghai OS Underlying Architecture Optimization Code (First Generation)"!]

Lu Jingming looked at the stream of data flickering with a blue halo in the void, his heart skipping a beat.

Good heavens, it's a total trump card!

The xinghai generation 1 was just a transitional product used to recoup funds and clear inventory; it had no technical barriers at all.

Once those old foxes in Huaqiangbei reacted, they could just slap on some thick iron casing and still manage to imitate it to a large extent.

But with this underlying system code, it's a different story.

This thing is the trump card for killing off Nokia's Symbian OS in the future and going head-to-head with Android and Apple iOS!

Lu Jingming satisfiedly closed the system panel, rubbed his stiff neck, and pushed the door open to walk out.

Outside the gate, that black Santana 2000 was parked on the side of the road.

Brother Biao was scowling, cursing as he pulled open the car door, preparing to take his people and run.

He had lost all face today, and he didn't want to stay in this crappy place for another second.

"Brother Biao, in such a rush to leave?"

Lu Jingming strolled out from the factory area slowly, his hands in his pockets.

Hearing this voice, Brother Biao shivered, turned around, and glared at him through gritted teeth.

"You Lu, don't you f***ing get too cocky!"

Brother Biao gripped the car door handle, his eyes full of unwillingness.

"Even if you sold ten thousand crappy phones today, the money won't arrive that quickly."

"I'm telling you, if you don't pay off the 2.1 million you owe me in three days, I'll still find people to shut down your factory!"

Lu Jingming laughed, a bright smile.

He pulled a cash check from his pocket that he had just had the cashier prepare, stamped with the bright red official seal.

With a casual flick of his wrist, the check fluttered through the air and landed precisely on the hood of the Santana.

"2.1 million in debt, not a penny less."

Lu Jingming looked at Brother Biao, his tone filled with a condescending chill.

"Take your money, and don't let me see your disgusting face ever again."

Brother Biao was stunned.

He glanced at Lu Jingming suspiciously, then carefully reached out to pick up the check.

He looked down.

The bank header, the bright red official seal of Xinghai Electronics Factory, and that string of very real numbers.

Brother Biao's face instantly turned from livid to pale, his hand holding the check shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"You... where did you get so much ready cash?"

His throat was dry, and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Didn't I just tell you? I plucked it from the pockets of netizens."

Lu Jingming pointed to the giant banner across the street.

"Come to think of it, I have to thank Brother Biao."

"If you hadn't cooperated so diligently with me in that double act on stage, where would I have found such great advertising results?"

This sentence was like a sharp knife, piercing straight into Brother Biao's lungs.

He felt a tightness in his chest, his vision went dark, and he almost spat a mouthful of old blood onto the car window.

After all this, he had f***ing become this kid's free stepping stone!

Not only did he fail to get the land, but he also helped him boost his reputation!

"You win! Lu Jingming, we'll meet again!"

Brother Biao's lips trembled, he glared at him fiercely, and scrambled into the car in a sorry state.

He slammed his foot on the accelerator, and the Santana sped away with a screech of burning tires, fleeing in a panic.

Watching the beat-up car disappear around the corner, Lu Jingming sneered.

He turned around and strode back into the factory courtyard.

At this moment, the factory grounds had become an ocean of joy.

Former Canteen Chef Wang Chunhua was holding a rusty megaphone, standing on the tiles of the flower bed, shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Everyone, stop what you're doing!"

"The Young Master has spoken! Accounting is going to the bank this afternoon to withdraw cash, and everyone's two months of back pay will be paid in full!"

"And everyone will get an extra five hundred yuan summer bonus!"

The dozens of workers gathered below were silent for a second, and then a cheer that could lift the roof erupted.

Several elderly workshop directors hugged each other, wiping away tears, laughing and crying at the same time.

After the old factory director fell ill, they had all prepared to pack up and go home to farm.

Who could have imagined that this usually slacker Young Master would actually turn the tide today and pull the factory back from the brink of death!

Niu Dazhuang grinned wide, his back teeth showing.

He hurried over to Lu Jingming, rubbing his rough hands desperately on his work clothes.

"Young Master, this time we've truly turned things around!"

Niu Dazhuang pointed excitedly in the direction of the warehouse.

"With so much cash on hand now, how about I take some people to Huaqiangbei and sweep up another batch of old motherboards?"

"We can speed up and open two new lines, build another fifty thousand generation 1 units, and make a killing!"

Lu Jingming didn't follow up on his suggestion.

He looked at the cheering employees, but his eyes became unusually calm and deep.

"The generation 1 can only make quick money; that trick won't last long."

Lu Jingming pulled the one-yuan lighter from his pocket and toyed with it in his hand.

"In less than two days, those bastards in Huaqiangbei will hire internet trolls to smear us."

The smile on Niu Dazhuang's face froze, and he scratched the back of his head, looking bewildered.

"Smear? What smear? Our phones are so sturdy, what can they use to blacken our name?"

Lu Jingming patted Dazhuang's broad shoulder, a meaningful arc curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Spreading rumors doesn't cost anything. Dazhuang, send a car to the airport tomorrow."

"Who are we picking up?"

"Picking up a living god of wealth who can hold down the fort." Lu Jingming narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "By the way, prepare a little surprise for those internet trolls for me."