173: Chapter 174 The Destiny Group's Plan B, codenamed 'Strangulation'!
Hidden beneath a private island in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean lay an underground base constructed entirely of alloy.
Cold white light illuminated a circular conference table, around which sat eight figures clad in black cloaks. On the back of each chair was carved a different symbol—Bishop, Knight, Priest, Hermit...
A holographic projection lit up in the center of the table, scrolling through Zhang Fan's detailed dossier: from every commercial decision he made after his rebirth to the entire process of his confrontation with Chang Yuan, Polaris, and Xiao Chen, even the network of people around him was clearly mapped out.
"The 'Dragon King Plan' has failed completely."
A hoarse male voice came from the head of the table. The person under the cloak (codenamed "Bishop") tapped his fingertips lightly on the tabletop. His tone held no anger, only cold scrutiny. "Xiao Chen has been captured, the Dragon King Hall's cover in East Asia has been exposed, the National Security Bureau has intervened in the investigation, and our moles in Jiangcheng have been forced to evacuate. We underestimated this Zhang Fan, and we underestimated China's secular legal system."
The "Knight" sitting on the right couldn't help but speak up, his voice tinged with unwillingness: "Bishop, Xiao Chen is just too pathetic! He had military-grade encryption equipment but couldn't even manage basic camouflage, and he went and made a farce of a 'son-in-law's counterattack'—he's a disgrace to Tianming! Why not let me take a team of 'Hunters' over there and wipe out Zhang Fan and his company directly to eliminate the future trouble!"
"No," Bishop immediately rejected the idea, and the projection screen switched to surveillance footage of Xiao Chen's interrogation room (filmed secretly by a mole). "Although Xiao Chen is stupid, his capture proves one thing: China's law enforcement system is tighter than we imagined, and the risk of forceful elimination is too high. Once the 'Hunters' are exposed, it will attract the attention of Interpol, which will affect our new energy layout in Europe—it's not worth the loss."
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to let Zhang Fan develop?" The "Priest" sitting on the left adjusted his glasses under his cloak, and the projection switched to Singularity Technology's financial report. "Their medical ai has already entered clinical trials, and pre-orders for 'star path: reboot' in Europe and America have exceeded 12 million. Plus, with their alliance with the Lu and Song families, in less than half a year, they will become a core force in China's tech scene. Trying to suppress them then will be as difficult as ascending to heaven!"
The conference room fell into a brief silence, with only the hum of the holographic projection echoing in the air.
Bishop's fingers finally stopped. He raised his head, his gaze beneath the cloak sweeping over everyone, his tone carrying an unquestionable decisiveness: "Conventional forces are ineffective, so let's use our most proficient method—financial strangulation."
"Financial strangulation?" The "Hermit" frowned. "Zhang Fan's company has capital support from the Song family, and the Lu family's industries can also provide cash flow. Simply shorting them likely won't work."
"It's not just simple shorting." Bishop tapped the projection, and the screen instantly switched to a complex flowchart—from Singularity's supply chain and partners to the overseas distribution channels for 'star path', and then to the patent layout of the medical ai, with every node marked with a red "attack point."
"First step: cut off their supply chain. 'Blackstone Precision', which we control, is the core parts supplier for Singularity's Star Core Engine; we will stop supply starting next week. Second step: interfere with the overseas release of 'star path', make Warner Bros. delay the offline demo event, and simultaneously buy negative reviews on Steam to lower player expectations. Third step: take action against the Song family's overseas assets, use offshore funds to short Song Capital's Hong Kong stocks, and force them to withdraw their investment in Singularity."
He paused, his tone becoming even colder: "The final step, and also the most critical one—we have the 'withdrawal recording' from Lin Wanyi's early years (unedited, can be forged with negative interpretations), as well as the 'grey capital flow' (forged) from Zhou Yurou's early startup days. When Singularity's capital chain becomes strained, release these 'black materials' to trigger public panic and make investors completely lose confidence."
"Codenamed 'Strangulation', the goal: within three months, make Singularity Technology disappear from the market. Zhang Fan's Star Core Engine and medical ai technology must either be acquired or destroyed." Bishop's voice echoed in the conference room, carrying the arrogance of someone in control of everything. "Remember, what we want is not to kill Zhang Fan, but to destroy all his reliance, making him a waste who can only depend on Tianming."
The eight cloaked figures stood up simultaneously and bowed their heads slightly: "As you command, Bishop."
The holographic projection extinguished, and the underground base fell back into a cold silence, with only the staff responsible for transmitting orders typing rapidly on keyboards, sending the details of the "Strangulation Plan" to nodes around the world.
Meanwhile, in the president's office at Singularity Technology, it was a completely different, leisurely scene. Zhang Fan leaned back in his leather executive chair, holding a cup of hot coffee, looking at the report just delivered by Liu Ruyan and Zhou Yurou.
Under Li Yong's guidance, the medical ai developed in cooperation with the Lu family had improved its bone injury diagnosis accuracy to 92%. The localization test for the European and American versions of 'star path' was complete, and word from Warner Bros. was that the offline demo event was scheduled for the middle of next month. Qin Yan had sent a message yesterday saying she was considering joining the medical ai project as a medical consultant.
"Being a boss is comfortable after all." Zhang Fan stretched, unable to help but complain inwardly: "Before, when confronting Polaris and Xiao Chen, I was on edge every day. Now I can finally catch my breath. If only I could just lie flat like this forever—no need to worry about any Tianming Group, no need to engage in any technical R&D, just drinking coffee and reading reports every day, how pleasant."
Liu Ruyan, having just tidied up the documents from the Technology Department, heard his muttering and couldn't help but smile and tease: "Mr. Zhang, you've only been idle for two days and you already want to lie flat? Yesterday, President Zhou also said that after 'star path' goes live, she wants to discuss expanding into the overseas game market with you."
"Don't, let me rest for two more days." Zhang Fan wailed. Just as he was about to say something else, a harsh buzzing sound suddenly rang in his mind—it wasn't the light blue or purple pop-up windows from the past few days, but a blood-red warning box with black thorn patterns that forcibly occupied his entire consciousness, even affecting his vision:
[Warning! Tianming Group's second wave of offensive has launched!]
[Attack Codename: Strangulation!]
[Core Methods: Supply chain disruption + financial shorting + public opinion smearing + pressure on partners!]
[Urgent Intelligence: Blackstone Precision (Singularity's Star Core Engine core supplier) has received orders from Tianming and will stop supply within 72 hours; Warner Bros.' overseas distribution team has received an anonymous tip and is verifying the "content compliance" of 'star path', the demo event may be delayed; offshore funds have begun building positions, targeting to short Song Capital's Hong Kong stocks!]
[Risk Level: S+ (Highest)! Recommendation: Immediately activate supply chain contingency plans, contact the Song family to stabilize capital, and layout public opinion defense in advance!]