407: sudden turn for the worse

"Understood!" the subordinates responded in unison, each rubbing their hands together with a cruel and excited glint in their eyes. In their view, with Young Master Chen at the helm, ample funds, and these ruthless tactics, crushing Tianqiong Technology was a foregone conclusion.

Tengda Technology's war machine began to operate at full speed with near-manic speed and efficiency.

Almost the day after the orders were issued, Tengda Technology officially announced a shocking price for its flagship product—targeting Tianqiong's 'SmartControl V3.0'—at as low as fifty percent of the cost.

Advertisements were everywhere, and sales calls were made directly to the offices of every important client of Tianqiong Technology.

Many clients who were already on the fence or had doubts about the stability of Tianqiong's products didn't hesitate to defect to Tengda when faced with such a massive price gap and the 'kind' reminders from Tengda's sales team about 'potential hazards in Tianqiong's products.' Even some clients who had already signed letters of intent with Tianqiong preferred to pay a small penalty to switch to Tengda.

Tianqiong Technology's market orders vanished like an avalanche.

The temptation of high-salary poaching and the covert threats of 'leaked technical data' were used in tandem.

Unrest grew within Tianqiong Technology's technical department. Several core engineers who held the code for key modules submitted their resignations under the immense pressure and temptation.

Zhao Hu tried desperately to make them stay, but their minds were made up. Some even hinted before leaving that 'the outside already knows too much, there's no future in staying.'

The loss of technical backbone not only stalled the maintenance of existing projects and the development of new products but also dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the remaining employees. An atmosphere of failure and despair began to permeate the company, and rumors were rife.

Several carefully crafted 'in-depth reports' were published on influential local self-media platforms, pointing directly at Tianqiong Technology for 'disregarding product safety in a rush to seize the market,' 'core technology having long since fallen behind the times,' and 'blind expansion leading to a high risk of a broken capital chain.'

The articles appeared objective but actually cited numerous negative reviews from 'anonymous industry insiders' and 'clients who wished to remain unnamed,' packaging Tengda Technology as an 'industry innovator bringing superior technology and more reasonable prices.'

These articles were widely shared. Tianqiong Technology's public relations department was exhausted from running around, but their clarification statements had minimal effect, and the brand's reputation plummeted.

Several key component suppliers and software partners one after another informed Tianqiong Technology politely but firmly that they would suspend or reduce supply and cooperation, citing reasons such as 'insufficient production capacity,' 'strategic adjustments,' or 'receiving larger orders.'

Zhang Long and Qin Zhenhua used all their connections to inquire and smooth things over, but the feedback they received was either hesitant or directly hinted that 'someone higher up has given the word, we are also in a difficult position.'

The risk of gaps in the production process began to emerge.

Almost simultaneously, credit managers from two major partner banks called 'out of concern,' stating that due to 'changes in industry risk' and 'recent fluctuations in the company's operating status,' the original loan amounts needed to be reassessed and the disbursement process was suspended.

Two venture capital firms they had previously been in contact with also sent emails declining further investment intentions. The company's cash flow deteriorated rapidly, and even the payment of employee salaries began to feel the pressure.

Faced with this all-encompassing, multi-dimensional attack that disregarded business rules and sought only a fatal blitzkrieg, the executives of Tianqiong Technology used every trick in the book, yet they were like giants trapped in a quagmire; every movement was slow and powerless, only causing them to sink deeper.

Zhang Long personally led a team to visit important clients, trying to stabilize orders with years of friendship and more generous follow-up service terms. However, the clients either avoided meeting him or stated bluntly, 'The price gap is too large, and the board of directors is under pressure,' or 'Tengda hinted that there are problems with your products; we dare not take the risk.'

The market defenses collapsed at the first touch.

While Zhao Hu did his best to appease the remaining technical team and stabilize the core architecture, he also organized staff to urgently fix the pointed-out vulnerabilities and prepared to release upgrade patches and clarification notes.

However, the loss of core personnel led to low efficiency. The negative public impression had already been formed, and the hasty remedial measures yielded little result, instead appearing as if they were trying to cover something up.

Bai Zhantang tried to launch a price counterattack, but Tianqiong's cost control simply couldn't support a suicidal price cut of fifty percent like Tengda's. With even a slight price reduction, profits would immediately hit rock bottom or even turn into a loss... while maintaining the original price meant watching clients slip away.

Morale in the marketing department was low, and many sales staff began to secretly look for their next jobs.

Qin Zhenhua used every political and business connection he could think of to try and apply pressure or mediate from the top. However, the feedback he received was either 'This is normal business competition, it's not convenient for the government to intervene,' or a veiled reminder that 'the other party has a big background and deep roots; you'd better make plans early.'

Some relationships that were like brotherhood on ordinary days now became subtle and distant. He was even more powerless regarding the predicament of the supply and capital chains.

In just a few short days, the situation for Tianqiong Technology took a sudden turn for the worse.

Over 70% of intended orders and nearly half of the existing customer orders were canceled or transferred to Tengda.

The technical department lost more than one-third of its core team, and the remaining personnel were also in a state of panic; projects had basically come to a standstill.

The cut-off of supplies forced a major production line to stop, delaying delivery dates and triggering more customer claims and losses.

Banks were calling in interest, suppliers were demanding payment for goods, and rumors about delayed salary payments began to spread; internal management was on the brink of chaos.

The stock price plummeted, and morale was completely dissipated.

The meeting room was once again shrouded in thick smoke and despair.

After only a few days, Zhang Long seemed to have aged ten years; his eyes were sunken, and his voice was hoarse: "We can't stop it... we can't stop it at all... they want us dead!"

Zhao Hu clutched his hair with both hands, murmuring painfully, "The technology is gone, the people have scattered... it can't be fixed..."

Bai Zhantang stared blankly at the bad news and resignation applications constantly popping up on his phone screen, without saying a word.

Qin Zhenhua's face was also ashen. The fire of hope that had been ignited by Lei Jun's promise was now flickering and nearly extinguished under the stormy blows of reality, leaving only a faint wisp of blue smoke.

He had originally thought that Lei Jun's involvement would be a swift and powerful intervention—perhaps a phone call or a letter of intent for cooperation—that could deter the small-timers and turn the tide.

But after so many days, besides the sentence "Sister Lei knows" relayed by Qin Yu, there had been no further movement.

Meanwhile, the opponent's offensive grew more ferocious by the day, and the company was disintegrating at a visible rate.

Could it be... that Miss Lei just said it casually and didn't really take it to heart?

Or, although she had immense power, distant water couldn't put out a nearby fire?

Or perhaps even she felt that the mess of Tianqiong Technology wasn't worth her actually taking action?

One ominous guess after another surged uncontrollably into Qin Zhenhua's heart, causing him to feel waves of bone-chilling fear.

If even Lei Jun couldn't be counted on, then Tianqiong Technology was truly doomed!