415: Chapter 415 The Beautiful Firmness That Plays Schemes

"Just say..."

Obama also pondered for a long time. After all, this was his reputation. Although he was already past the point where a little more shame would bother him, it was still better to have less humiliation.

"The investigation is proceeding according to the law, and it is not convenient to disclose more details. However, the attitude on the side of China must be sincere. We must make them cancel the relevant decisions as much as possible, preferably if they cancel them first. By then, we will have a way to step down."

To make China bow its head, someone must be the scapegoat. Looking at the current situation, it's hard to guess who will take the fall!

Thus, the President probed again: "What about that company? Are they still waiting for our investigation results? We must..."

"What do you mean 'what'? Isn't that the result you engineered? What kind of structure does a shell company need?"

"Just have them deregister it!"

There was no need for anyone else to speak. Those whose interests had been damaged were now itching to tear it apart. After all, for a shell company to be handled in such a way, it was truly stupid.

And so, the 377, which had been launched with great fanfare and was originally expected to drag Transsion to its death, was dragged into a quagmire amidst the power struggles of all parties.

No one openly declared it a failure, but no one was pushing it either. It was like a dud bomb, buried in the relevant archives, slowly being forgotten.

Meanwhile, at Obama's home, several people were also discussing. Although they had failed this time, they could not stop there. After all... they were the stronger side, and they could not lose their voice.

"But information investigation is useless. Their counterattack is too ruthless. We must change our tactics?"

"What other methods do you have?" Besides exhaustion, a trace of anticipation could be seen on Obama's face.

"Disintegrate them from within."

"Although China's development is fast, they have a fatal weakness, and that is the wealth gap."

Once this proposal came out, everyone's faces revealed a sense that it seemed feasible.

After all, who hasn't envied those rich people, envied everything they have, and even had a little spark in their heart wanting to replace them?

If it is not adjusted in time, it will turn into jealousy, and jealousy carries certain dangers...

They only need to light the fire, let public opinion ferment naturally, and ultimately achieve victory by attacking the mind.

"Our goal is to make them feel that their poverty is related to the revenge of certain people, to create internal conflicts among them, and to make them fight in the public opinion arena. We don't need to defeat Transsion; we just need to make them stop supporting it."

Obama nodded. This method seemed feasible. At this moment, another person looked up: "This plan is good. Bob, do you have a concrete operational plan?"

The proposer of the plan, who was named Bob, took a document out of his briefcase, with the large characters 'Forbes' written on it.

"Forbes magazine is preparing to release this year's wealth list, and we have just reviewed their content. Shen Fei's wealth is at least 3 trillion US dollars, which is already comparable to the top investment banks on our side."

"If this figure is published, what do you think the Chinese netizens will react? After all, their GDP per capita is less than 8,000 US dollars. Shen Fei's wealth alone equals the income of hundreds of millions of people for decades. Won't they be angry? Won't they hate the rich?"

A smile, as if the champagne had already been popped, appeared on Bob's face.

The others also involuntarily gave a thumbs up! This strategy of attacking the mind was truly clever, while they had only been crudely targeting them; that was too stupid.

"What we need to do is have Forbes make this list shocking enough. Place Shen Fei's photo in the first position and make the wealth figure large enough so that everyone who sees it will be surprised and disbelieving. Then public opinion will ferment automatically; we don't need to do anything, just wait for the Chinese netizens to tear each other apart. The issue of disparity is the most sensitive nerve in any country; touch it, and it will jump."

"This time we won't restrict technology, we won't restrict equipment, we won't restrict raw materials; we will touch its most painful spot."

Just as everyone thought they had found a brilliant method and began to celebrate, someone spoke up: "What if they don't tear each other apart? What if they think Shen Fei's money is well-deserved?"

Bob was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"Jack, do you think that's possible? It's like if we were all the same right now, but if I were to get a major promotion in a few years, would you feel balanced in your heart?"

Jack shook his head!

Then he hurriedly tried to make amends: "Boss, that's not what I meant. Please don't overthink it."

Bob patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, I didn't overthink it, because this is human nature. On the contrary, I will cultivate you more, because you are an honest person."

And Jack just stood there smiling foolishly after hearing this, not knowing what kind of hellish life was awaiting him.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Forbes' global headquarters was located in an old-fashioned office building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes was organizing materials in his office. For certain reasons, this year's Forbes China Wealth List was being handled by him personally.

It wasn't because the Chinese market was that important—after all, the revenue of the Chinese edition only ranked fifth among all global editions. It was because he had received a task that required a very heavyweight headline.

Steve Forbes never just did news; he dealt in influence. A list is not a reflection of objective facts; a list is a weapon.

Through the setting of rankings and figures, it can manufacture public opinion, guide emotions, and even affect the stability of some places.

The task he received was about the Chinese side. Although someone had said they would not participate in the Forbes rankings, this year they had to be on it, and it had to be done in a sufficiently shocking way.

On this point, both sides hit it off immediately. Forbes wanted figures that were eye-catching enough, and Washington wanted a lever for public opinion.

Originally, they would not have dared to confront Transsion, but now that they had support, they could.

"Have you confirmed Shen Fei's wealth valuation?"

Steve Forbes flipped through the materials submitted by the investigation team. The more he flipped, the tighter his brows furrowed; this did not quite match the data he had expected.

The head of the investigation department was a "little old man" in his 50s with thinning hair, but he didn't look like a man in his 50s at all; he looked like a 70-year-old man who was still busy working.

"Confirmed, Steve. Because the other party is not listed, there are no public financial statements, so we could only perform cross-verification through third-party channels. 1.5 trillion US dollars."

Steve put down the document in his hand. This figure was not enough; it still wasn't explosive enough. Although Apple's value was 700 billion and Microsoft's was only 400 billion. This valuation was three times that of Apple, but it still wasn't enough!