Chapter 79 This tactic is too dirty!

Seven days later.

Ministry of Foreign Trade, Resources Department, Conference Room No. 2.

The doors were tightly closed, and the atmosphere was heavy.

Zhang Zhengguo from the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building Industry, Vice Minister Zhang from the First Ministry of Machine Building Industry, Deputy Director Zhao from the Resources Department, and Elder Xu as a specially invited expert—several big shots sat in a circle.

Of course, there was also Lin Xi, sitting in a corner and looking harmless to humans and animals alike.

In the ashtray in front of Deputy Director Zhao, cigarette butts had already piled up into a small mountain.

"Speak up, everyone. What should we do?"

Deputy Director Zhao's voice was hoarse as he slammed a red-headed document onto the table with a "thud," the force so great that the teacup lids rattled.

"A diplomatic note just arrived this morning."

"The commercial counselors from the Lighthouse, Sakura, and Germanic countries have launched a joint protest, using very strong language."

"They accuse us of 'maliciously cutting off supply' under the guise of maintenance, which they claim is a serious violation of international trade norms. The ultimatum they gave is—three days."

Deputy Director Zhao held up three fingers and shook them helplessly. "If we don't ship within three days, they'll initiate sanctions and claim liquidated damages."

After speaking, he turned to look at Lin Xi in the corner, his eyes filled with both pressure and helplessness:

"Comrade Xiao Lin, you told me to hold the line back then, and I did."

"Now that they have a knife to our throats, where exactly is the confidence for that 'price hike' you mentioned?"

Swish—

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Elder Xu.

Elder Xu was in no hurry to speak. Instead, he slowly unscrewed his chipped thermos, took a sip of strong tea, and even smacked his lips.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 101kks.com]

This calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to the previous anxiety.

He pulled a thin report from his old briefcase and pushed it to the center of the table.

"Reporting to Deputy Director Zhao, with the algorithmic support provided by Xiao Lin..."

Elder Xu paused, a proud flush appearing on his face,

"In a laboratory environment, the entire 'Fuzzy Linkage Extraction' process has been successfully tested."

"Successfully tested?" Vice Minister Zhang of the First Ministry of Machine Building Industry was stunned for a moment. "What does that mean?"

"It means..."

Elder Xu took a deep breath, his voice booming,

"We now have the capability to separate all elements from mixed rare earth concentrates with high purity!"

"Purity: 99.999%!"

"Moreover, Xiao Lin's plan is very mature."

"Given six months, I am confident we can establish large-scale industrial production lines at the Bayan Obo mine in Baotou and the Southern Rare Earth mines in Ganzhou!"

"In other words, starting next year, what we'll be selling is no longer 'dirt,' but high-purity single rare metals!"

Boom!

These words were like a depth charge, exploding directly in the conference room.

Deputy Director Zhao stood up abruptly. The chair behind him fell to the floor with a "clatter," but he didn't even bother to pick it up.

"Elder Xu, there is no joking in military matters!"

"Industrial mass production? Not just a tiny bit in a lab?"

"I guarantee it with my life!"

Elder Xu patted his chest, speaking decisively.

Deputy Director Zhao was so excited that his hands were trembling.

He worked in resources; he knew all too well what this meant.

This wasn't just a technical upgrade.

This was transforming from a woodcutter selling logs into a master selling high-end custom furniture!

This was a qualitative leap!

The bullet chat in his vision was also scrolling frantically:

[I'm tearing up, fam! This day has finally arrived ahead of schedule!]

[Back then, we suffered from a lack of technology and were slaughtered like pigs! What do you call this now? This is what you call 'the emancipated serfs singing a song'!]

[Elder Xu is awesome! Huaxia scientists are the GOAT!]

[As long as the hoe is swung well, no wall is too strong to dig through! This time, we're digging out the pearls from the industrial crown!]

After calming down a bit, Deputy Director Zhao turned to look at Lin Xi. The blame in his eyes had long since vanished, replaced by hope.

"Xiao Lin, we have the technology now."

"But as you said before, how do we... raise the price?"

Deputy Director Zhao frowned slightly, his fingers tapping on the tabletop,

"Turning it into a finished product will certainly increase the price according to international market trends."

"But the hundredfold increase you mentioned..."

Deputy Director Zhao smiled wryly. "Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"

"Exaggerated?"

Lin Xi smiled.

He stood up, walked to the small blackboard at the front of the conference room, and picked up a piece of chalk.

"Squeak—"

The chalk made a piercing sound on the blackboard as he wrote a large chemical symbol: Nd (Neodymium).

"Leaders, let's do the math."

Lin Xi's voice was calm and confident.

"Currently, one ton of mixed rare earth concentrate can yield about 18 to 20 kilograms of neodymium metal."

"At the current FOB price, we sell one ton of concentrate for 800 USD."

Lin Xi curled his fingers and tapped heavily on the blackboard twice.

"But my plan is that in the future, we will no longer export concentrate."

"If they want to buy, they can only buy our finished neodymium."

"And my pricing is..."

Lin Xi wrote down a number: 1000.

"1,000 USD?"

Vice Minister Zhang frowned and calculated,

"One ton of concentrate becomes one ton of finished product?"

"That's not much of an increase. With refining costs added, we might even lose money..."

"No."

Lin Xi wagged his finger, revealing a row of white teeth,

"That's just the price for neodymium. One kilogram, 1,000 USD."

"Cough, cough, cough—!"

Deputy Director Zhao, who was drinking tea, choked immediately and began to cough violently.

Beside him, Zhang Zhengguo's eyes bulged like copper bells, looking at Lin Xi as if he were a madman.

"One... how much?"

"One thousand for one kilogram of neodymium?"

"Each ton of concentrate can yield 20 kilograms, so one ton of concentrate is worth 20,000 USD?!"

"There are 17 rare earth elements. If each one can sell for this price, then one ton of concentrate really will increase in price by more than 100 times!"

Deputy Director Zhao shouted while wiping his mouth,

"Xiao Lin, have you gone crazy for money?"

"The current international price of neodymium is, at most, several dozen dollars per kilogram!"

"At this price, who on earth would buy it?!"

Stream chat:

[Holy crap! The Streamer is so black-hearted! It's even more expensive than in 2025!]

[In 2025, neodymium is only about 700 USD per kilogram. The Streamer is going against the heavens!]

[But I love it! These foreign devils have been sucking our blood for so many years; it's time for them to spit it out!]

[Is this the legendary 'pig-butchering scam'? Love it, love it!]

Facing the room full of shock, Lin Xi simply leaned calmly against the blackboard with his arms crossed.

"They will buy it. Not only will they buy it, they'll be crying and shouting, begging us to sell it to them."

Lin Xi's eyes suddenly became sharp, and the calm aura belonging to a transmigrator from the future was fully unleashed.

"Because of demand."

"Everyone, the third-generation permanent magnet that the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building Industry just developed a few months ago—"

"neodymium iron boron, its core raw material is this 'neodymium'."

"You might not have realized yet what this kind of magnet means."

Lin Xi raised a finger and began to list them off.

"On a small scale, it's the heart of the Red Star shaver."

"On a large scale, the future Walkmans, hard disk drives for microcomputers, high-fidelity audio systems, MRI machines..."

"And the missile actuators flying in the sky, the torpedo thrusters swimming in the water."

"Wherever miniaturized, high-performance motors are needed, neodymium iron boron is the only king!"

Lin Xi's voice echoed in the conference room, carrying a seductive power from the future.

"I've already set the standard for 'high-performance micro-motors' through the Red Star shaver."

"I've also licensed the technology to Braun, Philips, and Moonstand."

"They've got the blueprints, built the production lines, and are ready to go big."

"At this point, they will be surprised to find..."

A devilish smile curled at the corners of Lin Xi's mouth.

"As for the material to make these motors, we are the only ones in the world who can supply it on a large scale."

"When the global market explodes, the demand for 'neodymium' will become a thousand or ten thousand times what it is now!"

"At that point, who will hold the pricing power?"

Lin Xi slapped the blackboard hard, and chalk dust fell in flurries.

"It's us!"

"If I say one thousand, it's one thousand."

"If I say ten thousand, they'll still have to grit their teeth and buy it!"

"Don't want to buy? Fine. Then their production lines will have to stop, their massive investments will go down the drain, and they'll pay liquidated damages until they're bankrupt!"

A deathly silence.

The only sound in the conference room was the humming of the exhaust fan.

Everyone was stunned by the massive commercial closed-loop Lin Xi described.

How was this doing business?

This was clearly setting a massive trap for the global industrial sector!

First, use technology licensing to lure the fish in, and once they're hooked, cut them deep on the bait (raw materials)!

This is—

Closing the door to beat the dog, catching a turtle in a jar!

The stream chat scrolled frantically:

[So dirty! The Streamer's tactic is too dirty! But I love it so much!]

[This is true industrial hegemony! In the past, the West always did this to us; now the tables have turned!]

[Foreign Lords: I thought it was over after paying the licensing fee, but I didn't expect a trap within a trap!]

[Is this the legendary 'I'm on the fifth floor'? How exactly did Xiao Linzi's brain grow? I suggest slicing it for research!]

[This is called: You don't have to buy it, but don't expect to survive!]