217: Chapter 218 Eastern Standard! Singularity Announces Open Technology

A long queue formed in front of the signing area at the Geneva summit.

Representatives from various countries and corporate leaders held letters of intent, their faces filled with urgency, scrambling to sign contracts with the Singularity Technology team—from aerospace cooperation in Russia to new energy vehicle chip supplies in Brazil, and AI medical assistance projects in South Africa. In just two hours, the contract value exceeded $50 billion, covering 28 countries and regions worldwide.

International media lenses frantically captured the scene. Reuters' live broadcast headlines were plastered everywhere: "The Rise of Eastern Technology! Singularity Standard Rewrites the Global Landscape." AFP commented: "This summit marks the end of the era of Western technology monopoly; the Eastern Standard has won global recognition with its open stance." CCTV News even broadcast the entire signing ceremony, captioned: "Technological Self-Reliance and Strength; Chinese Enterprises Lead a New Global Order."

On the other side of the venue, Western tech giants were in a pathetic state.

Aivda CEO Mark Anderson was urgently recalled by the board of directors. Before leaving, he looked at the long line at the signing area, his eyes filled with despair—after the summit ended, Aivda's stock price had plummeted by 25%, its market value evaporated by over $30 billion, and many core clients announced the termination of their partnerships to sign with Singularity instead.

"We also apply to join the eastern technology standard system." Suddenly, a shocking voice came from the crowd.

The CEO of German semiconductor company Infineon stood out, holding a letter of intent, "We are willing to abandon our exclusive agreement with Aivda and engage in joint research and development of Photon Chips with Singularity Technology."

This caused a stir! Immediately after, many European companies, such as STMicroelectronics from Italy and Indra Group from Spain, expressed their willingness to join the Eastern Standard.

Previously, these companies had been forced to participate in the supply chain blockade against Singularity due to pressure from the Western alliance. Now, seeing Singularity's technological strength and open stance, they were no longer willing to miss the opportunity.

"Are you crazy? Have you forgotten our alliance agreement?" the CEO of Qualcomm from the United States shouted in exasperation.

The CEO of Infineon looked back at him, his tone calm but with a hint of mockery: "Alliance agreement? Between technological monopoly and common development, we choose the latter. Singularity's technology is more advanced than yours, and their attitude is more open than yours. Why should we be trapped in obsolete rules with you?"

This sentence was like a sharp knife, piercing the final disguise of the Western alliance. The blockade alliance, which had seemed solid, collapsed instantly in the face of Singularity's technological strength and open strategy.

Stubborn companies like Qualcomm and Texas Instruments watched their partners defect one after another, their faces turning livid, yet they were helpless—they knew that without the support of their allies, they could no longer stop the rise of the Eastern Standard on their own.

Zhang Fan stood in the center of the signing area, watching this scene, a gratified smile appearing on his face. He walked up to the Infineon CEO and extended his hand: "Welcome to the eastern technology standard system. We believe that open cooperation is the only way to promote technological progress; monopoly only hinders development."

"Mr. Zhang, you are right." The Infineon CEO gripped his hand tightly, "Participating in the supply chain blockade before was our mistake. We hope to work with Singularity in the future to jointly promote the development of the global semiconductor industry."

The signing ceremony continued until evening. When the last cooperation agreement was signed, Song Zhiwei walked over to Zhang Fan with a statistical report, her tone excited: "Boss, a total of 83 companies have signed, covering 32 countries and involving multiple fields such as chips, aerospace, medical, and new energy. The intended cooperation amount for the next three years exceeds $150 billion!"

Zhou Yurou also rushed over, her face wearing a tired but excited smile: "The technology licensing team is overwhelmed. Over 200 companies worldwide have applied for Photon Chip licenses, and we need to form a dedicated team to handle them as soon as possible. In addition, there is good news from the domestic autonomous supply chain: the production capacity of sensors and core components has completely met demand, and we can even begin exporting."

Zhang Fan nodded, his gaze sweeping across the still-bustling crowd in the venue. He knew clearly that the implementation of the eastern technology standard was only the first step.

He turned and said to Gu Jingshen: "After the summit ends, raise the security level to the highest. Tianming Group has suffered successive defeats and may well jump over the wall in desperation, resorting to extreme measures. Especially regarding the protection of the core team and their families, there can be no slack."

"Understood!" Gu Jingshen nodded immediately. "I have already arranged it, and the authorities have also given their promise. The families of our Singularity core team all have dedicated protection, and travel routes have been kept confidential. In addition, our overseas intelligence team has discovered that Tianming Group's funds have had abnormal flows recently and are gathering in Southeast Asia, possibly planning some action."

Zhang Fan's eyes became sharp instantly: "Closely monitor their movements. Once any anomaly is found, take action immediately. Also, notify the Dragon King's overseas forces and have them assist in the investigation to ensure we find out Tianming's specific plan."

"No problem!" Gu Jingshen replied, immediately turning to make arrangements.

Meanwhile, in Geneva, Switzerland, in a secret stronghold of Tianming Group, the "Bishop" was roaring at the phone: "A bunch of losers! You couldn't even hold an alliance! Now it's done; Zhang Fan's Eastern Standard has been implemented, and we have no chance to stop him anymore!"

The subordinate on the other end of the phone said tremblingly: "Bishop, we still have one last card. According to intelligence, several of Zhang Fan's important female friends—Zhou Yurou, Qin Xue, Song Zhiwei, and Lin Wanyi—will be gathering in Jiangcheng soon. We can take the opportunity to kidnap them and use them to threaten Zhang Fan to hand over the core technology."

"Kidnap?" A flash of malice crossed the "Bishop's" eyes. "Good! Do it! Have the mercenary group head to Jiangcheng immediately and make sure they succeed! I want Zhang Fan to taste the feeling of losing the people he cares about most! I want him to hand over the core technology with his own hands!"

"Yes! Bishop!" The subordinate replied respectfully. After hanging up the phone, he immediately contacted the mercenary group lurking in Southeast Asia.

The day after the summit ended, Zhang Fan and his team returned to Jiangcheng. When the plane landed at Jiangcheng International Airport, they received a hero's welcome—in the airport terminal, citizens who had come spontaneously held signs reading "Technological Backbone" and "Pride of the East," with applause and cheers rising one after another.

Zhang Fan walked out of the airport, looking at the crowd before him, his heart filled with emotion. He knew that this honor did not belong to him alone, but to everyone who had contributed to Singularity Technology and to everyone who supported China's autonomous technological innovation.

Returning to Singularity headquarters, Zhang Fan immediately convened a core meeting. At the meeting, he deployed the next three major tasks: first, accelerate the promotion of the eastern technology standard and form a specialized authorization management team to connect with global partner companies; second, promote the R&D of the next-generation Photon Chip and Star Core Engine to maintain a technological lead; third, strengthen security and intelligence work to fully guard against Tianming Group's counterattack.

After the meeting, every department took action immediately. In the headquarters building, everyone was full of energy, with proud smiles on their faces—they knew they were participating in a major event that would change the global technological landscape and were contributing to the rise of Chinese technology.

Zhang Fan remained alone in his office, looking at the black-and-white photo of Li Yong on the desk, and said softly: "Uncle Li, we did it. The eastern technology standard has been implemented, and the formula for 'brave peace and health' has been promoted globally. We have fulfilled your dying wish. Next, I will continue to protect this cause, protect the people we care about, and I will never let Tianming Group succeed."

The sunlight outside the window shone on the photo, as if Li Yong's smile were even gentler. Zhang Fan clenched his fists, his eyes firm—he knew that a new war was about to break out. This time, the opponent was the desperate Tianming Group, and the battlefield was the life-and-death line for protecting his loved ones and his career.

But he felt no fear, because behind him stood powerful technology, a united team, the people who supported him, and the people he would protect at all costs.

Tianming Group's kidnapping plan had already been quietly initiated. In a hidden corner of Jiangcheng, a mercenary group was gathering in secret, aiming directly at Zhou Yurou, Qin Xue, and others. An ultimate battle centered on family, love, and career was about to unfold in Jiangcheng.