282: Chapter 282 All-Out Attack

Xingchen Headquarters

Lin Wan pushed open the door to Su Chen's office.

“You're here.” She placed three briefings on the desk. “DJI, GoPro, and Japan. They're all making moves at the same time in three different directions.”

Su Chen leaned back in his chair and picked up the first briefing.

DJI: Overseas ‘Buy One Get One Free’ campaign, 3 billion budget.

He nodded and set it down.

GoPro: Patent litigation, $500 million in damages, filed for a Section 337 investigation.

He raised an eyebrow and set it down.

Japan: Government procurement exclusion list, involving mobile phones, drones, robots, and AI systems.

After reading the last page, he stacked the three briefings together and placed them on the desk.

“Is that all?”

Lin Wan was stunned for a moment: “Is that not enough?”

Su Chen stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the waters of Shenzhen Bay shimmered with golden light under the setting sun as several cargo ships slowly sailed out of the port toward the South China Sea.

“Three months ago, they wouldn't even look us in the eye,” Su Chen said. “Back then, when we released a new product, Apple wouldn't even bother to issue a PR statement.”

He turned around and looked at Lin Wan.

“And now? DJI is shelling out 3 billion to snipe us. GoPro is digging out their bottom-drawer patents to sue us. The Japanese government is holding special meetings just to discuss us.”

He smiled.

“What does this show?”

Lin Wan thought for a moment: “It shows they're afraid.”

“Exactly.” Su Chen walked back to the desk. “They're afraid. When an opponent starts using price wars, patent wars, and government relations, it means they've already lost the technology war.”

He pushed the three briefings aside.

“Tell the legal department regarding the GoPro case—countersue them for design patent infringement; we'll sue in both China and the European Union simultaneously. Tell Gu Xinghe that the Middle East exercise is moved up to three weeks from now; I want a global live stream. Tell Li Wanqing that the ‘Free Earphones’ promotion for the HX2 in Europe goes live tomorrow.”

He paused.

“As for Japan...”

“Let them make their lists if they want. When their companies are lining up to buy our equipment, I'll see how they explain it—whether it's ‘National Security’ allowing the purchase, or ‘Market Demand’ necessitating it.”

Lin Wan noted down all the instructions and turned to leave.

“Wait a moment.” Su Chen stopped her.

“Notify all core teams; there's a meeting tonight at seven.”

Lin Wan looked back: “New developments?”

Su Chen shook his head, looking out the window.

In the distance, the last rays of the sunset were sinking below the horizon.

“Not new developments,” he said. “It's to tell them—the storm has begun, get ready.”

6:00 PM, Parliament House, Canberra

The Australian Minister for Communications issued a statement:

“Australian telecommunications providers are suspending negotiations to introduce the HX2 phone, pending further security assessments.”

Reporter: “How long will the assessment take?”

“It could take 6 to 12 months.”

The reporter laughed: “In 6 to 12 months, the HX3 will be out. Aren't you just stalling for time?”

The Minister did not answer.

7:00 PM, Xingchen Headquarters Emergency Strategy Meeting

In the large conference room, everyone had arrived.

Su Chen sat at one end of the long table, flanked by Shen Nanpeng, Liang Zhen, He Jing, Gu Xinghe, Li Wanqing, Gao Mingxuan, and Lin Wan.

Lin Wan stood before the large screen, briefing them on the current situation:

European Theater

Apple's iPhone X price dropped to $799; European channels are starting to waver.

German and French telecom operators are demanding extra discounts from Spark.

Southeast Asian Theater

DJI launched a ‘Buy One Get One Free’ campaign; our distributors are starting to stockpile inventory.

Some channel partners are requesting extended payment terms.

US Theater

GoPro patent litigation, attempting to block the North American market.

Although we don't sell in the US anyway, the lawsuit will affect judicial confidence in other countries.

Government Level

Japan is considering inclusion on a government procurement exclusion list.

Australia has suspended HX2 negotiations.

The EU received a complaint from Apple, demanding an investigation into whether ‘giving away earphones constitutes unfair competition.’

“This is a full-scale encirclement,” Shen Nanpeng said solemnly. “Price wars, public opinion wars, legal wars, and government relations wars, all at once.”

The conference room fell silent for a few seconds.

Everyone looked toward Su Chen.

Su Chen picked up his water glass, took a sip, and then smiled.

“They're desperate.”

“Desperate?” He Jing was puzzled.

“If they had an overwhelming advantage, they wouldn't use these tactics at all.” Su Chen set down his glass. “Using such methods shows that our products truly threaten their survival.”

He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker.

“Counterattack plan.”

First, the European market: We do not accept a price war.

“Apple drops their price by $200, so we'll give away earphones.” Su Chen wrote on the whiteboard:

HX2 European Edition Upgrade

Free Starlight 2nd Generation Bluetooth Earphones (Value: €99)

Promotion Period: One month

Limited to 1 million units

“Cost: The earphones cost 200 rmb each; for 1 million units, that's 200 million. Effect: Make consumers feel that ‘price cuts are too low-class, giving away earphones shows real sincerity.’”

Gu Xinghe frowned: “200 million is not a small amount.”

“But Apple dropped their price by $200, meaning they earn $150 less per phone. For 1 million units, they lose $150 million in profit,” Su Chen said. “We give away earphones and earn $30 less per phone (earphone cost is 200 yuan, and our gross margin is 50%). Who can afford the loss more?”

“Additionally,” he added, “announce the establishment of ‘Data Security Rooms’ for the HX2 European Edition in Germany and France—all European user data will only be stored on servers within the EU and supervised by the EU Agency for Cybersecurity.”

Li Wanqing's eyes lit up: “That's a ruthless move. Apple's data is all in the US.”

Second, the Southeast Asian market: Go head-to-head with DJI.

“DJI is doing buy-one-get-one-free, so we'll give away something better.” Su Chen continued writing:

Spark 5 Southeast Asia Promotion

Buy a Spark 5 Drone ($1,299)

Get a Lingmou Action Camera Basic Edition Free (Value: $299)

Limited to 500,000 sets

“Cost: The basic edition costs 500 yuan; for 500,000 units, that's 250 million. Effect: The Spark 5 + Lingmou combo will make DJI's ‘Buy Mavic, Get Spark’ look pathetic.”

He Jing reminded him: “What's the cost of DJI's Spark?”

“About 800 yuan,” Su Chen said. “They're giving away low-end machines; we're giving away mid-range ones. Consumers aren't stupid.”

Third, the US market: Strategic abandonment, but with a flanking maneuver.

“We don't sell in the US anyway, so we don't care,” Su Chen said. “But we can radiate through Canadian and Mexican channels—Americans will drive across the border to buy them themselves.”

Lin Wan noted it down: “Negotiations with Canadian and Mexican distributors are ongoing; we can speed them up.”

“Also, establish a ‘Spark North American Headquarters’ in Canada. Hire locals, pay local taxes, and use local legal counsel,” Su Chen said. “In a year, when American consumers force the government to open up imports, we'll march right in.”

Fourth, legal counterattack: Countersue GoPro.

“GoPro is suing us for infringement, so we'll sue to have their patents declared invalid.” Su Chen pulled up a document. “Our image stabilization algorithm is self-developed, based on Kalman filtering + IMU data fusion, completely different from GoPro's algorithm.”

“Simultaneously, sue GoPro in China for infringing on Spark's design patents—their Hero 7 casing looks quite similar to the design patent we applied for last year.”

Li Wanqing smiled: “Setting the stage in advance?”

“Business competition isn't a sports match,” Su Chen said calmly. “They use legal weapons, and so will we.”

Fifth, the ultimate weapon: Zhulong AI market analysis intervention.

“Starting tomorrow, Zhulong will connect to real-time data from global social media, distributor inventory, and competitor pricing,” Su Chen said. “It will update the optimal pricing strategy every four hours. Which country should raise prices, which country should have a promotion, and which distributor might defect—let the data speak for everything.”

“This will require massive computing power...”

“Zhulong has it,” Su Chen interrupted. “That's what it was built for.”

Sixth, military deterrence: Middle East combat exercise.

Su Chen looked at Gu Xinghe.

“Accelerate the delivery of Middle East weapon orders. Let Fahd hold a ‘combat exercise’ in Saudi Arabia—use the Sabertooth and Peregrine Falcon to take out a batch of targets, streamed globally.”

“Fighting a war?” Gu Xinghe asked.

“No, it's a show of muscle,” Su Chen said. “Let the world see how strong Xingchen's weapons are. Those competitors who want to follow the trend should weigh their options carefully.”

Gu Xinghe nodded: “In one month, the Saudi desert. I'll personally go to oversee it.”