137: 137. Thunderstorm

Lu Feng’s choice of Li Xu was, of course, for a reason.

Besides Tianhua Technology’s urgent need for technological breakthroughs and its sufficient scale and influence, it was also because Li Xu himself was not a pure businessman.

He had an almost fanatical pursuit and reverence for technology, making him a more suitable first partner.

Lu Feng intended to use this new product launch as a springboard to spread the trend of emerging solid-state battery technology across all industries.

However, the participation of Tianhua Technology alone was not enough; it was foreseeable that the new battery’s launch would have a significant impact on the market and the industry.

With a limited market share, those giants would naturally be unwilling to have it divided, so a fierce backlash was certainly to be expected.

Commercial public opinion tactics, such as mudslinging and discrediting, were hard to guard against, so besides the technology itself, a powerful and controllable communication channel also had to be established as quickly as possible.

In the evening, Yu Tianxiong’s call came in, reporting on the situation.

“Sir, after Li Xu visited our lab today, he was completely astounded by our new solid-state battery, calling it a groundbreaking product.

He now hopes to become the first, or even exclusive, partner, and has offered very generous terms, fearing that competitors might seize the initiative,” Yu Tianxiong’s voice carried a hint of pleasure.

Lu Feng chuckled, “Well done, Old Yu, very efficient.

You got him to make up his mind so quickly?”

“Yes, Sir, both sides are already drafting the initial cooperation framework.

Li Xu’s first order amount will be no less than 200 million, plus subsequent technical service fees and sales commissions.

He hopes we can prioritize their supply.”

“Is there enough time?”

Yu Tianxiong hesitated, “Although the launch event is in a few days, what will be showcased there is only a prototype of the new product; it will be at least a month until its official release…”

Lu Feng pondered for a moment, then said, “Alright, proceed steadily with this approach.

Oh, and don’t forget to keep an eye on the Fei Country; by my reckoning, there should be a big show to watch there now.

When the time is ripe, we can also ‘make use’ of the mole and clean things up.”

Yu Tianxiong naturally knew that Sir was referring to the Li Family, and a smile appeared on his face as he said, “Understood, everything is going according to plan.”

… Inside the car.

Yu Tianxiong hung up the phone, his face returning to calm.

Professor Qin, however, seemed a bit anxious and couldn’t help but ask, “President Yu, why didn’t you… mention the production capacity issue to Sir?”

He spoke quickly, saying, “Although this cooperation with Tianhua Technology will boost our reputation, orders are expected to surge.

Based on Tianhua Technology’s past sales, they could reach over eight million units, and our production lines… even running 24 hours a day, couldn’t produce that many… If we can’t deliver that many batteries by then… I’m worried… something big will happen.”

Professor Qin, being technically inclined and straightforward, was concerned that while everything was currently favorable, moving too fast could lead to problems.

Yu Tianxiong calmly shook his head, his tone reflecting an almost blind trust in Lu Feng, “Professor Qin, don’t worry.

Sir and we view problems from different dimensions.

Any issues you and I can see, he must have already anticipated.

You cannot use ordinary human thinking to infer Sir’s actions.”

“But…”

Professor Qin stopped himself, the problems were clearly there, tangibly existing, and he really couldn’t figure out how to solve them in such a short time.

“Unless… unless like a god, one could conjure up several mature production lines out of thin air…” Professor Qin sighed helplessly.

Hearing Professor Qin’s sigh, Yu Tianxiong revealed an enigmatic expression, smiling without a word.

Some things didn’t need explanation; when the time came, they would naturally be understood.

He looked out at the bustling nightscape, his thoughts already drifting to the distant Fei Country, anticipating the grand drama about to unfold there, personally directed by Sir… In a luxurious, exotic palace bedroom, an elderly Black King lay on his bed, his eyes listlessly staring at the totems on the ceiling.

Beside the bed, the electrocardiogram on the life monitoring equipment had already flattened into a cold, merciless straight line.

The King was dead.

This news, like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up enormous waves in this already unstable country.

Various warlord factions, who had long been restless, erupted almost immediately, each declaring their own armed independence.

The entire country instantly plunged into chaos and fragmentation, with sporadic gunshots in the capital and major cities quickly spreading.

At the Galan Mining Area, James, the head of the team dispatched by the Li Family, was leading everyone in the final on-site survey.

While looking at the detection data, James spoke excitedly into a satellite phone, reporting to Li Fang: “Mr. Li! This is incredible! The preliminary survey results far exceed expectations! This is definitely a world-class, high-quality rare metal mine! The ore veins are rich, and the reserves are astonishing!

Moreover, the hydrogeological conditions are excellent, making it very suitable for open-pit mining; the costs will be much lower than anticipated!

We’ve struck gold!”

“Hahahahaha… Excellent, excellent, excellent!”

Upon receiving confirmation from his own people, Li Fang’s heart completely settled, and he burst into unrestrained laughter.

He was very pleased with this move, having acquired a top-tier mine for free!

But before he could finish laughing, a deafening sound suddenly erupted from the satellite phone.

“Da da da da —!! Boom!”

Suddenly, intense gunfire and explosions erupted from the outskirts of the mining area!

Moving from far to near, they rapidly approached the core of the mining area!

James and his team members abruptly turned around, heading towards the mine gate, only to see the mine owner, that arrogant Black man, fleeing in a panic, but after only a few steps, he was riddled with machine gun fire and fell into a pool of blood.

James and his group instantly turned pale with fright, frozen in place.

In less than ten minutes, several pickups full of heavily armed soldiers brutally broke through the mine gate, and soldiers in mismatched military uniforms disembarked, immediately surrounding them.

An officer wearing sunglasses jumped out of a car, holding a crumpled document, and loudly announced in a heavily accented voice.

“According to the newly established official Decree No. 1, all cooperative development projects signed by the previous administration are hereby null and void, effective immediately, and require re-examination by the new administration!

The mining rights for the Galan Mining Area are directly frozen indefinitely!

All foreign personnel must evacuate immediately!”

James was dumbfounded on the spot, wanting to argue, but seeing the cold muzzles of their guns, he dared not move.

“What’s happening?” Li Fang asked.

James shouted incoherently into the phone, “Mr. Li! It’s over! Things have changed! The military is here! They said the contract is void! The mine is frozen!”

Li Fang, who had been immersed in the joy of discovering a huge treasure, was completely stunned by this sudden bad news, which struck him like a bolt from the blue.

He stood there dumbfounded, then roared into the microphone: “What?! Changed? Void? How is that possible! Tell them we are legal investors! We paid a deposit!”

James said, on the verge of tears, “Mr. Li, he’s dead… The mine owner is dead.”

“???”