243: Chapter 243 The Materials Revolution. The New King Ascends the Throne

9:00 AM sharp.

The lights dimmed, and the music started.

It was not an impassioned symphony, but rather electronic sound effects resembling laboratory instruments in operation, interspersed with the distinct sounds of impact, stretching, and high-temperature scorching characteristic of material testing.

The large screen lit up, and a three-minute short film began to play.

The visuals began in the microscopic world: atoms arranged in crystal lattices, electron clouds flowing, followed by the microstructure of materials under a scanning electron microscope, and then a rapid montage of material forming, processing, and testing.

Finally, the screen froze on a line of text:

Materials are the cornerstone of modern industry.

And the quality of the cornerstone determines the height of the skyscraper.

The music stopped, and the lights focused on the center of the stage.

Wu Yi walked out.

He was forty-five years old, kept himself in good shape, and was wearing a dark blue suit without a tie. The top button of his shirt was undone, giving him an air of professionalism without losing approachability.

He did not carry a speech script; in his hand, he held only a device resembling a TV remote control.

"Good morning, everyone," Wu Yi began, his voice carrying throughout the venue via a hidden microphone. "I am Wu Yi, the president of Spark Materials. Many old friends are present, and you know I don't like small talk."

He pressed the remote control directly, and the large screen switched to three sections:

1. Third-Generation Advanced High-Strength Steel

2. Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC)

3. Graphene-Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites

"Today, we are releasing three materials. They have one thing in common:" Wu Yi paused. "Their performance parameters completely exceed the theoretical limits of existing commercial materials."

Low murmurs arose from the audience.

"I know some people don't believe it," Wu Yi smiled. "So today, we won't talk about PPTs or future visions. We will only do two things: live demonstrations and data comparisons."

The first bombshell: Third-Generation Advanced High-Strength Steel

The large screen first played a video.

The footage showed the Hongqi Automobile collision laboratory, with a timestamp from three days ago. A sedan with its front end covered in camouflage stickers was towed to the start of the track, with a rigid collision wall ahead.

"This is the white body of the next-generation flagship sedan from Red Flag, utilizing our third-generation advanced high-strength steel," Wu Yi explained.

The vehicle accelerated, and the speedometer showed: 80 km/h.

Impact!

Slow-motion replay: The front of the car crumpled, but the passenger cabin structure remained intact. The A-pillar only bent by 8 degrees—the national standard requires ≤ 15 degrees, while the actual test data for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is 12 degrees.

The camera zoomed in on a close-up of the A-pillar cross-section: the steel did not fracture; it only underwent plastic deformation.

"The strength of traditional high-strength steel is around 1500MPa, but we have achieved 2200MPa," Wu Yi pulled up a comparison chart. "At the same time, the elongation rate has increased from 5% to 15%—this means it is both hard and tough."

In the audience, Toyota's technical director, Suzuki, whispered to Akio Toyoda: "President, if this data is true, their material is 47% stronger than our latest 'hot-stamped steel'."

Akio Toyoda did not speak, but he clenched his fists.

But the video demonstration was just an appetizer.

Wu Yi walked to the demonstration table on the left side of the stage. Two steel plates were fixed on the table, each about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, both 1 millimeter thick.

"On the left is the best commercially available high-strength steel for automobiles, with a tensile strength of 1500MPa," Wu Yi introduced. "On the right is our third-generation steel, 2200MPa."

He signaled to the staff.

A technician wearing a Xinghuo uniform walked onto the stage carrying a silver case. He opened it to reveal a rifle inside.

7.62mm caliber, standard Chinese issue.

The entire venue was in an uproar.

"What we are going to do is very simple," Wu Yi said calmly. "At the same distance, we will shoot both steel plates with the same bullet. Let's see what happens."

He retreated behind the safety line.

The technician loaded the bullet, aimed, and moved professionally.

Bang!

The first shot was fired at the traditional steel plate on the left.

The bullet pierced through, leaving a clear bullet hole on the backing board behind it. In the center of the steel plate was a jagged hole.

Bang!

The second shot was fired at the Xinghuo steel plate on the right.

The impact sound was duller. The bullet did not penetrate but was embedded in the surface of the steel plate, forming a shallow pit about two centimeters in diameter and about three millimeters deep.

Wu Yi walked to the steel plate and touched the edge of the bullet hole with his finger: "The kinetic energy of the bullet was absorbed and dispersed by the material. There is only a slight bulge on the back of the steel plate, no penetration."

He had the staff take the two steel plates to the front row of the audience to be passed around for inspection.

When the steel plate passed in front of Boeing representative David Miller, he put on his glasses to inspect it closely, then whispered to the engineer beside him: "Measure the crater depth and the deformation on the back."

The engineer quickly checked it with a portable measuring device, and then his expression changed: "Mr. Miller, the crater depth is 3.2 millimeters, and the bulge on the back is only 0.8 millimeters. This... this requires at least 2000MPa of strength and excellent toughness to achieve."

Miller was silent for three seconds, then quickly made a note in his notebook.

As for Toyota, Akio Toyoda had already had his assistant contact the Tokyo headquarters: "Form a special task force immediately to analyze the technical route of the Xinghuo steel. No matter what method you use, I want to see a preliminary report within 24 hours."

On stage, Wu Yi continued to drop bombshells.

"Based on this material, we have jointly developed an 'All-Steel Body Safety Architecture' with Hongqi Automobile." The large screen displayed the body structure diagram. "Using a new topology optimization design, the vehicle can reduce weight by 15% under the same safety standards."

He pulled up the test data for Red Flag:

25% small-overlap collision: Passenger cabin intrusion reduced by 32%

Side impact: B-pillar acceleration reduced by 28%

Roof crush: Can withstand 5.2 times the vehicle's weight (national standard requires 1.5 times)

"The next generation of all Red Flag models will adopt this architecture," Wu Yi concluded. "Mass production is expected in the first quarter of next year."

In the audience, the representative from Volkswagen could no longer sit still and left his seat to make a call outside: "Headquarters? I am here at the scene in Shenzhen. The performance of Xinghuo's steel exceeds expectations by at least 30%. We must re-evaluate the material strategy for our next-generation models. Yes, immediately."

Wu Yi looked at the restless crowd below the stage, knowing that the first shot had been a success.

But this was just the beginning.