44: Chapter 44 The Golden Eagle's Curtain Falls, Carbon Fiber

The applause from the Golden Eagle Awards ceremony had barely faded when Bai Fengjiu and Xiaoxue walked off stage hand in hand, their smiles impossible to hide.

The two of them rushed over to Chen Mo, chattering in low voices:

“President Chen, we actually won an award!”

“We're so happy, thank you!”

Chen Mo nodded faintly, a trace of doting in his eyes:

“Mm, not bad. It wasn't a wasted trip.”

He knew clearly that the newcomer awards for these two girls, and the subsequent awards, were essentially the organizers deliberately trying to curry favor with him.

But seeing how ecstatic they were, he didn't say anything more.

Immediately after, the host continued presenting the awards, and the audience's reaction grew more fervent with every name announced.

To be precise, it was all because of Chen Mo's influence.

“The winner of this year's Golden Eagle Award for Best Director is—Director Chen Qiang for 'diamond lover'!”

“The winner of this year's Golden Eagle Award for Best Television Series is—'diamond lover'!”

“The winner of this year's Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress is—Yang Mi for 'diamond lover'!”

A triple strike! 'diamond lover' swept the three major heavyweight awards, and the live broadcast chat instantly exploded with mixed reviews.

“Damn! Are they trying to sweep everything? The organizers are being way too obvious!”

“Why should Yang Mi win Best Actress? Her acting is just so-so!”

“Exactly! Giving the newcomer awards to the two young ladies was understandable, but giving Best Actress to Yang Mi is really pushing it!”

“Don't you get it? This is for President Chen! With President Chen present, how could they let people close to him go home empty-handed?”

“Even if it’s intentional, President Chen has the clout for it!”

Chen Mo sat in his seat, his expression neutral, but he felt a bit helpless inside.

He glanced sideways at Yang Mi beside him. Yang Mi had just stood up to give her thanks and looked a little embarrassed after sitting down:

“President Chen, I...”

“It’s fine,”

Chen Mo interrupted her, his tone flat.

“Just accept it. Work hard on your acting in the future, don't give people something to gossip about.”

He admitted that Yang Mi's acting wasn't top-tier, and this Best Actress award was indeed undeserved.

But then he thought of the previous life's scenes where traffic stars won awards and were ridiculed by the masses, and he felt relieved.

The entertainment industry was just like this; if the organizers wanted to flatter him, there was no need for him to refuse the gesture.

Finally, it was time for the grand finale of the night: Best Actor.

The female host held the envelope, deliberately drawing out her words:

“Next, let us announce the winner of this year's Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor—He is a titan of commerce, a dark horse in the entertainment industry. He stunned the audience with his performance in 'diamond lover.' He is—President Chen Mo!”

Deafening applause erupted instantly, and the camera flashes lit up the venue once more.

Chen Mo stood up, his posture tall and straight, and walked onto the stage step by step. He made no unnecessary movements, yet he exuded a powerful aura.

“President Chen, thank you so much for gracing our awards ceremony. Your presence has brought immense glory to our Golden Eagle Awards!”

The female host quickly flattered him, terrified of being 'choked' by President Chen again.

Chen Mo glanced at her coolly and replied casually:

“It’s alright. I’m usually not busy. If I were busy, I wouldn't have been able to come today.”

The host froze again, secretly lamenting:

This President Chen truly never plays by the rules!

She didn't dare to say more and quickly changed the subject:

“President Chen, now that you’ve won this Best Actor award, is there anything you'd like to say to everyone?”

The entire audience immediately fell silent, everyone staring at Chen Mo, waiting for him to say something astonishing.

But Chen Mo just shook his head slightly, his tone matter-of-fact:

“There’s nothing much to say. I said it before, given my acting skills, winning this award was expected.”

As his words fell, the audience was first stunned, and then an even more enthusiastic wave of applause and laughter erupted.

“Hahahaha, President Chen is still this arrogant!”

“So domineering! Other people are humble when they win, but President Chen just speaks the truth!”

“This is the demeanor of a big shot. If you have the ability, you can be willful!”

The host breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smoothed things over:

“Thank you, President Chen, and congratulations on winning Best Actor!”

The awards ceremony concluded, and Chen Mo left the venue with Yang Mi, Bai Fengjiu, and Xiaoxue.

The buzz from the Golden Eagle Awards continued to ferment, but his life quickly returned to its usual leisure.

He spent his days playing games at home, watching livestreams, occasionally accompanying the beautiful women out shopping or dining, and when the mood struck him, he would visit the company to check on Zhang Kai and the others' work progress.

Zhang Kai, Wu Dongju, and Wu Xue managed the company so impeccably that he didn't need to worry about it at all.

A month slipped by in a flash, and the system's monthly lottery arrived as scheduled. However, the skill drawn this time disappointed Chen Mo:

It was just an ordinary Grandmaster Level Gardening Skill, which was useless to him.

“Forget it, something is better than nothing.”

Chen Mo casually closed the system panel and picked up his phone to browse the trending topics. But after just a few scrolls, two trending topics completely wiped the smile off his face.

One was:

#T800 Grade Carbon Fiber Mass Production in Dragon Country#

The other was:

#Chinese Citizen Zhang Mingshuan Sentenced in the US for Purchasing Military Carbon Fiber#.

Chen Mo clicked in to read carefully, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

Zhang Mingshuan, an ordinary Chinese citizen, had allegedly attempted to purchase one to two tons of Toray M60JB grade carbon fiber from the United States between July and September, along with a Taiwanese agent:

That was a core material for military and aerospace use, which the West had strictly blockaded from Dragon Country. They wouldn't even sell low-grade carbon fiber used for fishing rods or badminton rackets to Dragon Country.

But who knew this was actually a sting operation set up by the Americans?

On October 18th, Zhang Mingshuan was indicted and arrested by an American court, eventually sentenced to 57 months in prison, fined $100, and banned from exporting for 10 years.

The comments section below had already devolved into chaos.

The top comment, with over a thousand likes, read:

“Mr. Zhang, don't regret it! Dragon Country can now mass-produce T800 grade carbon fiber, so you no longer need to risk your life smuggling it back home!”

However, beneath this comment, the thread was completely polluted by a group of dragon haters and foreign forces.

“Heh, Dragon Country can only mass-produce T800, right? Japan can already mass-produce t1100 grade carbon fiber. You guys are still far behind!”

“T800 hasn't been cutting-edge technology for a long time, what’s there to show off about? T1100 is the real deal!”

“Admit it, Dragon Country's technology is 20 years behind developed countries and will never catch up!”

What was worse, several high-profile dragon haters directly started a trend, posting:

#Dragon Country Cannot Mass Produce t1100 grade carbon fiber#

The topic quickly shot to the top of the Weibo trending list.

“Little 'Pinkies,' stop bragging. Look at the Dragon Country technology you praise—they can’t even make t1100 grade carbon fiber!”

“Humanity’s hope for conquering the stars and seas lies in the West. Dragon Country can only manage low to mid-range manufacturing!”

“They struggle to even make the ballpoint pen tip, yet they dream of making T1100?”

“Mass-producing T1100 is harder than building a nuclear bomb. Dragon Country might as well wait another hundred years!”

Looking at these sarcastic and utterly mocking comments, Chen Mo's gaze turned completely cold.

He had no interest in arguing with these people online. Verbal sparring was useless; strength was the only truth.

He immediately picked up his phone and dialed Zhang Kai’s number, his tone leaving no room for argument:

“Zhang Kai, I need to ask you something.”

“President Chen, you speak!”

Zhang Kai on the other end of the line immediately became fully alert upon hearing Chen Mo's tone.

Chen Mo continued:

“I'm asking you, those materials science experimental devices I told you to expedite the procurement of a month ago—how are they now? Have they been delivered to the laboratory at the industrial base? Are they installed and calibrated?”

Zhang Kai quickly replied:

“President Chen, rest assured! All the equipment arrived at the industrial base three days ago. We hired the most professional team, who worked overnight for installation and debugging. Everything was calibrated and finished yesterday. All indicators are normal, we’re just waiting for your word!”

“Very good.”

Chen Mo’s tone softened slightly, but remained firm.

“Immediately notify the industrial base to lock down the laboratory. No one other than you and me is allowed near it, and no information is to be leaked. Additionally, have people upgrade all laboratory surveillance and security; we cannot afford any mistakes.”

“Understood! I will arrange it right away, there absolutely won't be any issues!”

Zhang Kai dared not slack off in the slightest and immediately agreed.

“Mm, I’m heading to the industrial base now.”

Chen Mo hung up the phone, stood up to grab his coat, his eyes sharp as a knife.

Western embargo?

dragon haters' mockery?

So what if Japan can mass-produce T1100?

He had just drawn the Grandmaster Level Materials Science Skill, bolstered by the Grandmaster Level Manufacturing Skill, and aided by a supercomputer. Forget t1100 grade carbon fiber; he could even fabricate higher grades!

Online arguments were meaningless. He would use practical action to slap the faces of those Western powers and dragon haters.

Dragon Country’s technology would be forged through their own hard work!