355: Chapter 355 Spark Materials Tops Hong Kong Stock Market

May 8th in Hong Kong; the sea breeze from Victoria Harbour carried the humidity of early summer.

Skyscrapers in Central shimmered in the morning light, their glass curtain walls reflecting the golden sun. Outside the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, a long queue had formed. Over three hundred reporters, more than two hundred fund managers, and investors from all over the world packed Exchange Square to the brim.

Inside the trading hall, the atmosphere was even more heated than outside.

On the massive circular screen, the stock price of Spark Materials was jumping. Red numbers refreshed constantly, each tick triggering a low gasp of surprise.

Call auction stage.

120 HKD.

20% higher than the issue price of 100 HKD.

Someone gasped.

At 9:30 AM, the opening bell rang.

130 HKD!

The traders went wild.

"I can't buy in! I can't buy in at all!"

Buy orders flooded in like a tide, while sell orders were almost zero. On the screen, the red buy orders reached for the sky, with only a few green sell orders.

140 HKD.

150 HKD.

160 HKD.

180 HKD.

With every tick, someone cheered.

At 10:30 AM, the stock price broke through 180 HKD.

Market capitalization surpassed 3.6 trillion HKD.

At 11:00 AM, the big screen suddenly switched.

A real-time link to the headquarters of Spark Materials in Shenzhen.

Wu Yi appeared on the screen.

The fifty-year-old President of Spark Materials wore a deep blue suit, his hair meticulously combed. He stood in the hall of the R&D center, with a group of researchers also in white lab coats behind him.

The trading hall fell silent instantly.

Wu Yi's voice came through the speakers, calm and powerful:

"The listing of Spark Materials is not the end, but the beginning. Over the next five years, we will invest 100 billion in R&D, focusing on six major directions—semiconductor materials, new energy materials, advanced structural materials, green low-carbon materials, intelligent biomimetic materials, and frontier exploration materials."

He paused: "Let every high-end manufacturing field in the world feature the presence of Spark Materials."

As soon as he finished speaking, the stock price surged again.

190 HKD.

200 HKD.

210 HKD.

At 4:00 PM sharp, the market closed.

The big screen froze.

Spark Materials closing price: 220.00 HKD

Increase: 120%.

Market capitalization: 4.4 trillion HKD.

Financing amount: 400 billion HKD.

In the trading hall, thunderous applause broke out and lasted for a long time.

Charles Li, the President of HKEX, stood in the crowd, took off his glasses, and wiped the corners of his eyes.

Someone nearby asked, "President Li, what's wrong?"

Charles Li shook his head, his voice slightly choked up: "I haven't seen a scene like this since Hong Kong's return."

At 4:30 PM, Lin Wan pushed open the door to Su Chen's office, holding a calculation sheet.

The twenty-seven-year-old President of Xingchen International wore a dark skirt suit, her short hair looking professional. Her expression was calm, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"President Su, the total market value of the Xingchen series has been calculated."

Su Chen was standing by the window, looking at the view of Shenzhen Bay. He didn't turn around.

"Read it."

Lin Wan cleared her throat:

"Spark Materials: 4.4 trillion HKD, approximately 4 trillion rmb."

"Spark Power: 5.6 trillion rmb."

"Xinghuo Electronics: 3 trillion rmb."

"Spark Technology: 8 trillion rmb."

She paused:

"Total: 20.6 trillion rmb. Exceeding the combined total of Tencent, Alibaba, and Moutai."

Su Chen turned around.

20.6 trillion.

He smiled, a faint one:

"Just numbers. The key is that this money must be turned into better materials."

At 2:00 PM, the Shenzhen Spark Materials R&D Center.

This was a twelve-story glass building located in the core area of the Science Park. At this moment, the hall of the R&D center was boiling with excitement.

Senior Engineer Zhang Wei stood in the crowd, staring at the stock software on his phone. The forty-five-year-old Zhang Wei had worked in the materials field for twenty years, from state-owned enterprises to foreign companies, and finally joined Xingchen. He held 100,000 shares of Spark Materials.

100,000 shares multiplied by 220 HKD equals 22 million HKD.

His hands were shaking.

A colleague next to him, Wang Li, suddenly screamed: "Old Zhang! I've reached ten million! I've reached ten million!"

Ten million, not ten thousand, but ten million.

Zhang Wei murmured: "I have 22 million... I was still worrying about my mortgage last year..."

The two looked at each other and suddenly hugged. Crying and laughing at the same time.

The Spark Materials Wuhan production base is located in Optics Valley, covering five hundred acres. Inside the massive workshop, the automated production lines were running, but the workers had all stopped their tasks.

Technical worker Li Jianguo stared at the email on his phone screen.

Sent by HR: "Dear colleagues, Spark Materials today listed, and the employee stock ownership plan has been unlocked. Your share value is: 3,124,567 HKD."

3.12 million HKD.

Li Jianguo was stunned for three seconds.

Then he crouched down, covered his face, and cried.

Nearby coworkers gathered around: "Old Li, what's wrong?"

Li Jianguo looked up, his face covered in tears: "I... I have three million. The money for my son's university next year is here."

The coworkers were stunned, then someone started to applaud.

The applause grew louder and louder.

In the Spark Materials Chengdu New Materials Laboratory, a hundred top scientists were invited to the conference room.

On the big screen was the value of each person's holdings.

Ranked first was Chief Scientist Chen Jingrun.

The sixty-five-year-old Chen Jingrun was an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and had spent his life researching materials. The new ceramic-based composite material he invented was already being used in Xingchen's aerospace engines.

He held two million shares, worth 440 million HKD. The conference room was silent. Chen Jingrun looked at the screen and remained silent for a long time.

Then he said slowly: "I've spent my life working on materials. I've won the National Highest Science and Technology Award, with a prize of five million. Today, in one day, I've become a billionaire."

He paused, his eyes slightly red: "But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is—Xingchen tells us that science is worth this price."

In the corner, Wu Hao and Yang Yang sat together. They were among Xingchen's earliest scientists, joining when the company had only a few dozen people. Back then, no one knew Xingchen would reach where it is today.

Wu Hao's phone showed his share value: 230 million HKD.

He looked at the number, remembering the days of staying up late in a rented room to do experiments. Back then, he and Yang Yang squeezed into a ten-square-meter room without even an air conditioner, so hot in summer they couldn't sleep.

Yang Yang's phone showed 210 million. The two looked at each other, said nothing, and just shared a smile. In that smile, there was relief, sentiment, and a bit of disbelief.

At the Shenzhen Spark Materials headquarters, Wu Yi stood on the stage, with a massive R&D roadmap behind him.

Five hundred core employees sat below. There were executives in suits, scientists in white coats, and frontline engineers in work uniforms. Every face carried a complex expression—excitement, anticipation, and a hint of relief.

Wu Yi spoke, his voice steady and strong: "Today, Spark Materials is listed. 4.4 trillion HKD, 400 billion in financing."

He paused: "But this is just the beginning."

The big screen lit up: Spark Materials Future Five-Year R&D Plan (2019-2024)

Total investment: 100 billion rmb

Six major directions:

Semiconductor materials: photoresist, high-purity reagents, large silicon wafers, and third-generation semiconductors

New energy materials: solid-state electrolytes, lithium battery separators, and hydrogen energy catalysts

Advanced structural materials: carbon fiber, ceramic-based composite materials, and high-temperature alloys

Green low-carbon materials: biodegradable plastics and carbon dioxide capture materials

Intelligent biomimetic materials: self-healing materials, shape memory alloys, and flexible electronics

Frontier exploration: quantum materials, room-temperature superconductivity, and two-dimensional materials

Wu Yi concluded: "Our goal—to let every chip, every battery, and every airplane in the world use Xinghuo's materials."

Thunderous applause broke out below.

At 8:00 PM, Su Chen held a private dinner. Only twenty people attended. Su Chen, Lin Wan, Wu Yi, Li Wanqing, Gu Xinghe, Gao Mingxuan, Chu Tianming, Shen Nanpeng, Liang Zhen, and about a dozen core scientists. They sat around a long table set with simple dishes—no caviar, no foie gras, just the home-cooked flavors of Cantonese cuisine.

Su Chen raised his glass.

"Today, Spark Materials is listed. 4.4 trillion HKD, 400 billion in financing."

He scanned the room: "But what makes me happiest isn't these numbers."

He looked at Chen Jingrun: "Academician Chen, you've spent your life on materials and became a billionaire today. Do you think it's worth it?"

Chen Jingrun smiled. That smile held an open-mindedness that had seen through the world: "President Su, whether I'm worth it isn't important. What's important is that young scientists see that in Huaxia, doing scientific research can lead to wealth. This is more effective than any slogan."

Su Chen nodded: "Right. Xinghuo's growth has not let down a single person."

He raised his glass: "To the future."

Everyone raised their glasses:

"To the future."

In the evening, Su Chen stood alone by the window. The city lights outside extended to the horizon, and the skyscrapers shimmered in the night.

Lin Wan knocked softly and entered: "President Su, I'm flying to Berlin with Li Wanqing tomorrow. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Dresden factory."

Su Chen nodded.

Lin Wan asked: "Is there anything you want to convey?"

Su Chen looked out the window and was silent for three seconds.

Then he said: "Tell them, Xingchen isn't here to steal their livelihoods. Xingchen is here to make the cake bigger together."

Lin Wan nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait." Su Chen called out to her.

Lin Wan turned back.

Su Chen looked at the night sky.

There, Xingchen's satellites were twinkling.

"Materials are listed, chips are listed, batteries are listed. The next step is to turn these materials into the true sea of stars."