Chapter 110 You asked me to sell jump ropes, and you alarmed the nation?

The doors to the conference room were pushed open, and the previously stagnant air began to flow once more.

Everyone's gaze instinctively turned toward the entrance.

In a meeting of this level and strict confidentiality, any unauthorized intrusion was a serious breach of discipline.

But the person standing at the door clearly couldn't care less about that.

It was Liu Jianguo's personal secretary, Xiao Zhao.

He was usually very composed, but at this moment, his face—which always wore a professional smile—was filled with weirdness, anxiety, and even a hint of an expression like he'd seen a ghost.

He was clutching a tablet tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The Old General frowned, and before he could even begin to scold him, Liu Jianguo's heart skipped a beat.

'Oh no.'

He thought to himself.

'This kid has followed me for over ten years and has never been this reckless. Unless... that rascal has caused trouble again?'

A symptom known as "Li Jiajun PTSD" instantly flared up in his mind.

He instinctively glanced at his colleagues from the MIIT and the Ministry of Commerce sitting nearby, thinking that if another international mess occurred, his old bones really wouldn't be able to take it.

"What is it?" the Old General asked in a deep voice, his tone laced with displeasure.

Xiao Zhao didn't answer the Old General. Instead, he hurried to Liu Jianguo's side, leaned down, and said in a whisper that was forced low but trembling with excitement:

"Director Liu... something's happened."

Liu Jianguo's mouth twitched, feeling speechless.

'I knew it.'

He took a deep breath, preparing himself to clean up that "ancestor's" mess once again, and asked in a low voice, "Where is it this time? Middle East again? Or Sanbianpo? Or... did he sell elderly joy to Antarctica?"

"No... no." Xiao Zhao swallowed hard and handed the tablet to Liu Jianguo. The screen's light was exceptionally piercing in the dim conference room.

"It's the stream. That Baishui City Streamer you told me to keep a close eye on... Li Jiajun, he's on the trending searches again."

"Trending searches?"

Liu Jianguo paused, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.

As long as it wasn't a war, and as long as he hadn't taken down some country's warlord, what did being on the trending searches matter? Nowadays, influencers made the trending list more often than they drank water.

He waved his hand somewhat impatiently. "What time is it right now? Can't you see Academician Zhang is reporting? Such trivial matters can wait until later!"

At this moment, Academician Zhang Jingmin on the podium was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

This elderly man, who had dedicated his entire life to the nation's aviation materials industry, was currently leaning tremulously against the projector. He pointed at the microscopic photos of snapped steel cables on the screen, his voice hoarse and tearful.

"Comrades... Chiefs... I am guilty!"

"This 'Ultra-High Strength Carbon Fiber Composite Special Steel' technology—we've been tackling it for ten whole years! It has cost the country billions! Our hair has turned white, and our equipment has been run into the ground..."

"But... but just yesterday, our best sample still snapped during the simulated carrier-based aircraft landing impact test..."

The old academician took off his glasses and wiped away his murky tears with his sleeve. His sorrowful appearance made all the generals present lower their heads, their hearts feeling heavy.

"That Ugly Country company... Titan Heavy Industry, although they are mercenary, black-hearted merchants, their technology... is indeed a full generation ahead of ours! We have to admit that in the field of basic materials science, we are being held by the throat, and held tightly!"

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

Only the old academician's suppressed sobs remained, cutting into everyone's hearts like a dull knife.

Amidst this tragic atmosphere, Liu Jianguo's secretary, Xiao Zhao, was sweating profusely from anxiety.

Seeing Liu Jianguo's impatient look, he gritted his teeth and, disregarding etiquette, shoved the tablet directly into Liu Jianguo's hands and hissed urgently:

"Director Liu! You must see this! This... this really isn't a small matter!"

"That Li Jiajun... he's crying in his stream, saying that the Ugly Country company we're negotiating with, 'Titan Heavy Industry,' is a fraud!"

"What?!"

Hearing the words "Titan Heavy Industry," Liu Jianguo's pupils constricted sharply.

This was the very Ugly Country Arms Dealer that had not only extorted them but also backed out at the critical moment, completely cutting off Eastern Country's hopes for an aircraft carrier!

How could Li Jiajun be involved with them?

A strong premonition struck Liu Jianguo's brain like an electric current. He snatched the tablet and locked his eyes onto the screen.

On the screen was Li Jiajun's enlarged face, filled with grievance and anger.

The background was that familiar dilapidated warehouse, with rolls of thick, black ropes piled messily on the floor.

Li Jiajun was facing the camera, tearfully accusing:

"family! Judge for yourselves! Is there no law anymore!"

"This Ugly Country company called 'Titan' has been working with me for several years! Before, every time they wanted those incredibly heavy 'jump ropes' that are thicker than an arm, saying they were for some strongman training camp..."

"Not long ago, they placed another urgent big order! To meet their requirement of 'absolutely unbreakable,' I even brought out my secret special formula! Every single one was meticulously crafted, and I even added that... that special alloy wire I smelted myself!"

"And the result? The goods are ready, and they don't want them anymore! They even turned around and bit me, saying my product quality is substandard? Saying someone fell while using it? They want me to pay ten million US dollars?!"

Hearing this, Liu Jianguo felt like his breathing was about to stop.

Long-term cooperation...

Urgent order...

Titan Heavy Industry...

This... this timing, this plot—how did it align so perfectly with the process of them trying to buy Arresting Cables from them?!

A guess that was absurd to the extreme yet incredibly logical began to grow wildly in his mind.

Could it be...

Could it be that the so-called "Ugly Country core technology," that "world-class Arresting Cable" that made Academician Zhang weep and the Old General endure humiliation, wasn't made by the people of the Ugly Country at all?

But instead...

Liu Jianguo felt like his skull was about to explode.

"Don't believe it? You guys don't believe it?"

On the screen, Li Jiajun seemed to see skeptical comments and roared in frustration, "Fine! Saying my quality isn't good, right? Big Hammer! Bring the trucks!"

Next was the "Dual-Truck Tug-of-War Test" scene that had shocked the entire internet.

Two fully loaded heavy trucks, tires grinding rolling smoke into the ground, engines emitting heart-wrenching roars, were held firmly in place by that seemingly unremarkable black rope in the middle, unable to move a single step!

The rope was pulled taut, gleaming with a cold, metallic luster under the sunlight like a black dragon battling the waves—resilient, unyielding, and full of power.

"See that! You call this substandard quality?!" Li Jiajun pointed at the rope and roared.

Clink.

The lid of the teacup in Liu Jianguo's hand slipped onto the table, making a crisp sound.

But he didn't hear it at all.

He stared blankly at the screen, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Though he didn't understand the specific materials science parameters, he was a veteran of the military industry. The state that rope showed under extreme tension, that unique color, and that toughness that defied physical common sense...

It was exactly the same as the "perfect Arresting Cable model" that only existed in theory, which Academician Zhang had just shown on the PPT!

In fact... it was even stronger than that model!

"This... this motherfucker..."

Liu Jianguo's lips trembled, and he felt his heart beating wildly in his chest as if it were about to break his ribs.

What technology blockade?

What holding us by the throat?

What lagging behind by twenty years?

These Ugly Country people took a jump rope made by a toy factory in our Eastern Country, sold it back to us as an aircraft carrier Arresting Cable, and even looked down on our technology for being backward?!

This is reality; if it were written in a novel, the author would be flamed to death!

A complex mix of absurdity, ecstasy, anger, and a sense of destiny that said "of course it's you again" erupted like a volcano, instantly overwhelming Liu Jianguo's rationality.

Of course, he wasn't entirely certain yet, just ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine-nine percent sure. If you asked why so many nines, it was simply because he was rigorous.

"Liu Jianguo! What are you doing?!"

The Old General sitting at the head of the table finally couldn't help but bark at Liu Jianguo, who looked dazed and had even begun to tremble all over.

How serious a moment was this? Everyone was worrying about the nation's future, and not only were you holding a tablet watching a stream, but you also looked like you'd had a stroke. Where were your manners!

However, Liu Jianguo seemed not to hear the Old General's scolding.

With a sudden "thud"!

Under the bewildered gazes of the dozens of generals and Experts present, Liu Jianguo suddenly sprang up from his chair.

His movement was so violent that his knee slammed hard against the table leg, making him grimace in pain, but he didn't even care to rub it.

He grabbed the tablet and, like a madman, rushed up to the front podium in a few strides.

Academician Zhang, who was wiping his tears on stage and preparing to make his final self-criticism, was startled by this sudden turn of events and looked at the charging Liu Jianguo with a blank expression.

"Minister... Minister Liu? You're..."

"Old Zhang! Stop crying! Stop the self-criticism!"

Liu Jianguo panted, shoving aside the speech in front of Academician Zhang, then thrust the tablet in his hand forcefully toward Academician Zhang's face, which was covered in wrinkles and tear stains.

His voice cracked with excitement, sharp and hurried:

"Look! Look closely!"

"Is this the damn thing you're looking for?!"

Academician Zhang was pushed back a bit, adjusted his crooked glasses, and instinctively focused his gaze on the small screen.

On the screen, Li Jiajun was patting that dark rope and shouting, "Only ninety-nine thousand eight hundred! You can't be fooled, you won't be cheated!"

The moment Academician Zhang's gaze landed on the rope, his previously murky old eyes instantly froze.