187: Chapter 187 No more pretending, the truth is out!

The black sedan made a frantic U-turn on the Convention Center's circular driveway, its tires screeching against the pavement and drawing stares from passersby.

Zhu Danyang clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, his face reflecting a mix of uncertainty and gloom in the car window.

"Faster! Faster!" he growled at the driver, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

Back at the forum, the subtle verbal barbs hidden within Wang Sifu's words were now becoming increasingly clear in his mind.

What did he mean by "dishonest practices"?

What did he mean by "like-minded"?

Those words were clearly a signal of goodwill intended for Fanmi!

Seeing the distance shortening on the navigation screen, the assistant reminded him softly, "President Zhu, we'll reach the venue entrance in five minutes!"

"Drive straight in. I'm going to the VIP lounge!"

He suddenly recalled the layout of the Convention Center. That row of inconspicuous white bungalows next to the main hall was precisely for private meetings between important guests. Wang Sifu and Lei Jun were very likely there!

As soon as the car came to a halt, Zhu Danyang pushed the door open and rushed out, his expensive custom suit ruffled by the wind.

He didn't even wait for his assistant to catch up, running toward the row of bungalows from memory.

His leather shoes clicked urgently against the stone path like the beat of a death knell.

Meanwhile, inside Meeting Room No. 3.

Steam was still rising from the Kung Fu tea on the mahogany coffee table. Wang Sifu had just set down his cup, the warmth of the tea still lingering on his fingertips.

He looked at Lei Jun across from him, his eyes filled with irrepressible excitement. "Is the superconducting material President Lei just mentioned truly capable of consistently increasing range by 30%?"

Lei Jun swiped his finger across his phone screen, pulling up an encrypted document. "That's right. Not only that, but these are the test results from last week in -15°C conditions. While the energy loss rate dropped by 7.3%, the energy consumption during conduction was nearly 20 percentage points lower than the current industry average!"

"Zhou Fan's side is already optimizing the mass production process. We expect stable supply within three months!"

The fluctuating graphs in the document acted like a shot of adrenaline, causing Wang Sifu to straighten his back instantly.

Having been involved in new energy research for over twenty years, he understood all too well what a 30% increase in range meant.

It was a chasm that could create a generational technological gap for the entire industry!

Most mainstream electric vehicles now have a nominal range of only 300-odd kilometers, not even reaching 400. Being able to run 200 kilometers in winter is considered excellent. If they could truly break through to over 300 kilometers of actual driving range, it would be enough to change consumers' perceptions of electric cars and even completely eliminate range anxiety.

"What a man, that Zhou Fan!"

Wang Sifu couldn't help but slap his thigh. "No wonder you dared to cross over into car manufacturing; you were hiding such a powerful weapon!"

He suddenly thought of the rumors circulating in the industry six months ago, saying that Fanmi had poached dozens of top PhD researchers from various foreign firms, including the increasingly declining Motorola. At the time, he thought it was a bit of an exaggeration, but now it seemed he had still underestimated the company's ambition.

Lei Jun smiled and put away his phone. "President Wang, you flatter us. Materials alone aren't enough. We do have an advantage in automotive-grade chips, but for vehicle manufacturing and supply chain management, we still have much to learn from BYD."

"There's no need for such modesty."

Wang Sifu waved his hand, his tone becoming solemn. "How about this: let's proceed as we discussed before—joint R&D plus patent sharing. We'll open up the process standards of our final assembly workshop to help you set up your production lines as quickly as possible. You provide the underlying architecture for the MCU chips, and we can establish a joint laboratory for the battery management system. What do you think?"

"Aren't you afraid of being implicated by those foreign giants because of us?" Lei Jun's tone was serious.

He knew very well that the predicament Fanmi faced was actually much harder than it appeared to the outside world. It was only because they had made extensive preparations with Zhou Fan early on, coupled with state support and the continuous push for domestic replacement technology, that they were able to temporarily stabilize the foundation of fanmi 2.

Otherwise, it would be hard to say if Fanmi would even still exist today.

Wang Sifu didn't answer the question, instead showing his attitude through action.

He pulled a document from his briefcase and pushed it toward Lei Jun. "These are the reliability test results for our Three-Electric system, including road test reports from the past five years. It contains solutions for hundreds of failure cases—experience bought with real money."

Lei Jun picked up the document, a surge of excitement suddenly rising in his heart.

He had originally thought Wang Sifu would still have reservations, but he hadn't expected the man to directly bring out his most prized technical archives.

This road test report alone was absolutely a legendary manual that every car company in the industry dreamed of. It recorded more than just the causes of failures; it also contained BYD's understanding of the safety boundaries for new energy vehicles and references for the corresponding technologies.

"President Wang, this is..." Lei Jun felt a bit apprehensive, as Fanmi hadn't actually provided any substantial help to BYD yet.

"Don't overthink it." Wang Sifu interrupted him, picking up the teapot to refill the water.

"Tesla's Model S will be in mass production in two months at most. The assisted driving system they're developing is indeed a major advantage, but it's also a weakness because it hasn't been verified in terms of safety. Then there's the supply chain—battery production capacity in North America simply can't keep up. They're barely maintaining pilot production now by importing cathode materials from our country."

He paused, his gaze becoming sharp. "We're joining forces not just to survive, but to keep the customization standards for new energy vehicles firmly in Huaxia—in our own hands!"

"Why do you think Zhu Danyang is so anxious to talk cooperation with us? He's afraid our two companies will complement each other's technologies. Once we form a closed loop, Tesla won't even get a sip of soup in the Huaxia market!"

Looking at the dense annotations on the document, Lei Jun also understood Wang Sifu's foresight.

BYD lacked high-end chips and new material technology, while Fanmi lacked vehicle manufacturing experience. This cooperation wasn't about who was helping whom; it was a collective struggle for the right to speak for the entire Huaxia new energy industry.

"Then, about the alliance..." Lei Jun looked up.

"We'll call it the 'Huaxia New Energy Technology Alliance'!" Wang Sifu said decisively.

"I'll have finance allocate 5 billion first. You guys can contribute however much you want. If it's not enough, we'll see if we can apply for a special fund from the higher-ups. I've already drafted the charter. There's only one core rule: joint R&D, technology sharing, and together we'll build a moat for Huaxia's new energy vehicle technology!"

"Good, President Wang is truly magnanimous! Since you've put it that way, I naturally have nothing to hesitate about!"

Lei Jun picked up a pen and signed his name at the end of the document. The sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

Two signatures sat side-by-side on the paper, and the two men shook hands firmly.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate."

"A pleasure indeed!"

...

Just then, the door to the meeting room was burst open.

Zhu Danyang stood at the door, his chest heaving violently. His suit collar was crooked, and his eyes scanned the room like a hawk.

Behind him, several staff members hurried up, clearly having tried to stop him but failed.

When Zhu Danyang saw the signed document on the coffee table, the two firmly joined hands, and the smile on Wang Sifu's face, his brain buzzed and went blank. His expression instantly became incredibly ugly.

"You two..."

He wanted to say something but found his throat blocked, unable to utter a single word.

Lei Jun and Wang Sifu turned their heads simultaneously, their smiles instantly fading.

"President Zhu, you've arrived just in time. We've just finalized a small cooperation. We'll be issuing an announcement later." Wang Sifu raised the document and smiled.

These words caused Zhu Danyang to completely break down.

His gaze was fixed on the document, his pupils contracting from shock.

"Let's go."

Zhu Danyang said nothing, merely turning to leave the guest room with a dark face.

The assistant followed quickly, unable to resist casting another complex look at Lei Jun and Wang Sifu.

They had actually cooperated.

The previous rumors of discord were clearly all fake.

What a great performance they put on!

They were both thousand-year-old foxes, yet they had pretended to be so serious.

Honestly, these CEOs... none of them were simple!

"It seems we can't keep up the act anymore!" Wang Sifu smiled meaningfully.

"If we can't keep it up, then let's stop. The cards are on the table!" Lei Jun laughed.

The two looked at each other, laughing like foxes.