233: Chapter 233 The "Lightning Harvest" of a Trillion-Dollar Mineral Resource (Part 2)

PS: Thanks to "Woodcutter in the Mountains by the River" for the update-urging talisman.

At the same time, Shenzhen.

This was a hotel suite near the convention center, which had been converted into a temporary conference room.

Su Chen stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the lights of Shenzhen in the early morning hours. He wore a simple black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, holding a cup of warm water.

His phone rang; it was an encrypted line from Zhang Zhenhua in Moscow.

"Mr. Su, the Russian side has proposed three conditions... The first two are fine, but the third involves the military modification technology for the Red Flag P1."

After hearing the detailed report, Su Chen was silent for a full thirty seconds.

He quickly calculated in his mind:

The strategic value of the Russian lithium mines: not just 8 billion US dollars in resources, but a fulcrum for geopolitics.

The risk of military technology leakage: controllable, because what is being given is "modification technology" rather than "core design."

The potential benefits of the exchange: besides mineral assets, what else can be gained?

"Tell them," Su Chen finally spoke, his voice as calm as if he were discussing a breakfast menu, "the technology can be given, but we want to exchange it for three things."

"First, exploration rights for rare metals of equivalent value—we want priority selection rights for scandium, rhenium, and tantalum in Siberia."

"Second, port usage rights for the Arctic Sea Route in Russia; in the future, our batteries will need this route to export from Russia to Europe."

"Third, and most importantly—the Russian State Duma must pass a bill granting Spark Group enterprises in Russia 'strategic investor' status, enjoying tax exemptions and fast-track customs clearance."

On the other end of the line, Zhang Zhenhua took a deep breath: "Mr. Su, this third point..."

"Go negotiate it," Su Chen interrupted him. "Tell them that what we are giving is not just battery technology, but an entry ticket to the electrification of Russia's automotive industry for the next thirty years. If they are only fixated on military pickup trucks, then it shows their vision is still stuck in the twentieth century."

After hanging up the phone, Su Chen turned to look at another screen in the room.

It displayed real-time public sentiment analysis from global social media regarding the 740 billion order for Spark Group:

Positive sentiment: 68% (mainly concentrated in China and Southeast Asia).

Negative sentiment: 22% (mining companies in America and Australia voiced skepticism).

Neutral: 10%.

Keyword cloud: "Monopoly," "Resource War," "Neo-colonialism," "Technological Hegemony"...

"Silent Chen," Su Chen said into another communicator, "After Group C arrives in Congo, have Lei Zhan focus the negotiations on 'co-construction and win-win results.' We must establish a different image in Africa—not as plunderers, but as builders."

"Understood," Silent Chen's voice came through. "Lei Zhan has already prepared three plans: infrastructure investment, technical training, and medical and educational support. He says that Africans don't care about ideology; they only care about who can bring real, tangible change."

"Very good." Su Chen checked his watch. "Tell all groups that I want to see at least two signed agreements within three days. When the press conference begins, this news will be released as background information—let the whole world know that Spark Group's confidence comes not only from its technology but also from its absolute control over the industrial chain."

8:00 AM, Congo (DRC), Kinshasa International Airport.

The massive silhouette of a Y-20 pierced through the morning mist and landed on the runway.

This aircraft had undergone special modifications: the front half of the cabin was the command and communication area, the middle was the equipment storage area, and the rear half was the personnel rest area. The fuselage was painted in a low-key dark grey, with only a small Golden Shield emblem on the tail wing indicating its identity.

The cabin door opened, and Group C leader Lei Zhan was the first to walk down the gangway.

He was forty-two years old, 1.85 meters tall, with a buzz cut and a three-centimeter-long scar on his right cheekbone—a souvenir from an armed conflict while on peacekeeping duty in Congo in 2015. However, he was currently wearing a well-tailored dark grey suit and rimless glasses, looking more like a business school professor than a former peacekeeping battalion commander.

Behind him followed twelve team members: six negotiation experts (with backgrounds in geology, finance, law, and diplomacy) and six security personnel (all in plain clothes, though the slight bulges at their waists indicated the presence of equipment).

Outside the airport VIP passage, three Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans from the Congolese Presidential Palace were already waiting.

"Mr. Lei, welcome back to Congo." The person there to receive him was the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office, Emmanuel, a French-speaking official in his fifties with a standard, cautious smile. "The President is waiting for you, but there is only forty minutes. Afterward, he has to meet with representatives from an American mining company."

Lei Zhan shook his hand with just the right amount of pressure: "Thank you for the arrangements. I have brought the sincerity of Spark Group, and I believe we will not waste the President's time."

On the way to the Presidential Palace, Lei Zhan looked at the streetscape of Kinshasa outside the window.

Compared to when he was on peacekeeping duty here three years ago, the city hadn't changed much: the main roads were reasonably smooth, but turning into the alleys meant bumpy dirt roads; skyscrapers stood next to slums with corrugated iron roofs; old Toyota pickup trucks drove on the streets, with the occasional brand-new Chinese-brand SUV visible.

"Congo possesses 70% of the world's cobalt, yet 70% of the population lives on less than 2 dollars a day," Lei Zhan said softly to the legal advisor beside him. "This is not a coincidence; it is a curse—the resource curse. We are here to break this cycle."

The Presidential Palace was a white building left over from the colonial era, with guards standing with guns, their expressions serious.

Inside the reception room, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi sat behind a massive desk. He was sixty-five years old, wearing a dark blue suit, with three documents placed in front of him: one was the quote from the American mining company, one was the mineral cooperation framework from the European Union, and the third was blank—reserved for Spark Group.

"Mr. Lei, let's get straight to the point," Tshisekedi said directly. "The American company has offered 2.5 billion US dollars to acquire five cobalt mines and promised to invest 300 million US dollars to build a railway. The European Union's proposal is to establish a joint venture where they hold a 51% stake and we contribute resources for a 49% stake, with a profit-sharing ratio of 6:4."

Lei Zhan did not answer immediately, but instead opened the tablet he had brought with him.

He did not play a PPT, but instead played a three-minute video.

The video began with the automated production lines of the Spark Group battery factory, then cut to the assembly workshops for Red Flag and Xingchen cars, followed by images of new energy vehicle charging stations in major Chinese cities, and finally the global sales growth curve for new energy vehicles—from 500,000 units in 2015 to a projected 2 million units in 2017.

"Mr. President," Lei Zhan spoke when the video ended, "The American company gives you US dollars, and the European Union gives you a profit-sharing agreement. But Spark Group gives you—the future."

He pulled up another set of data: "Cobalt's current main use is in aerospace alloys and petroleum refining catalysts. But in the next decade, its largest application scenario will be lithium batteries for new energy vehicles. Whoever controls cobalt controls the heart of electric vehicles."

Tshisekedi leaned forward: "Go on."

"We are offering 3 billion US dollars to acquire the five cobalt mines, which is 500 million more than America," Lei Zhan said. "But that is just the beginning. We promise to build two roads around the mines to connect to the existing national road network; build a modern hospital with 100 beds, equipped with Chinese medical equipment and doctor training; and build a vocational and technical school to train 500 Congolese youths every year to become miners, mechanics, and electricians."