192: Chapter 192 The Sky-Covering Alliance is finished!!

Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen Group Headquarters.

The board of directors' video conference had been going on for three hours, and the arguing was loud enough to almost blow the roof off.

"We have already joined Tesla's patent pool; if we turn around and cooperate with Fanmi now, we will be the laughing stock of the whole world!"

Herbert, the head of the China Region, was so angry his face turned red, his deep voice echoing in the office.

The headquarters' CFO calmly pulled up a set of data: "The Huaxia Alliance added 17 car companies last night, including the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in Southeast Asia. If we miss this opportunity, our market share in South America will likely be devoured completely soon!"

"The matter has not been settled yet; it's hard to say who will win or lose. Isn't the company's image important?" Herbert sat at the head of the table, his fingertips tapping gently on the tabletop.

He watched the news scrolling continuously on the screen: India's Tata, Malaysia's Proton, Mexico's DINA... More and more car companies were announcing their participation in the Huaxia Alliance, like falling dominoes.

In truth, he could understand it. After all, the terms of the Huaxia Alliance were almost equivalent to sharing the technology for free for the whole world to use. The nominal fees they were charging would likely take decades to recoup the R&D costs; it was practically charity!

Although he could imagine that there must be a deeper significance to this, Fanmi and BYD would not do business at a loss.

But just looking at it now, this counterattack plan could almost be called flawless.

spark plan... what a brilliant move!!

"Tesla's patent pool is like a gilded cage."

The Chief Global Strategy Officer of Volkswagen suddenly spoke, his voice breaking the deadlock in the conference room. "They only open up the basic code for autonomous driving, yet they set a bunch of restrictive conditions. Plus, their ambition is too big and their vision is too small—everyone can see that!"

"Fanmi is different. They provide the technology without imposing any harsh restrictions. Its essence is to promote the development of the global new energy vehicle sector, although their ultimate goal is surely to make the Huaxia new energy vehicle standard the world standard."

"But in any industry, someone needs to set the standards, otherwise there is no development to speak of!"

"Since that's the case, why don't we make the right choice? Since we can't surpass them, joining them is also a path to development!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the directors present.

"Let's decide on this! Notify the technical department to contact the Huaxia New Energy Alliance in the name of 'third-party cooperation'... Remember, keep it low-key!"

"..." With the big shot speaking, the conference room finally quieted down.

Herbert didn't speak again either; everything that needed to be said had already been said.

At the end of the day, he was actually a bit uncertain now.

One couldn't cut off one's own retreat just because of a momentary impulse!

...

Tesla China Region Headquarters, top-floor office.

Zhu Danyang smashed his tablet onto the floor hard; the sound of tempered glass shattering was exceptionally jarring in the silent room.

Before the screen went black, it displayed the trending topic "#Global Car Companies Lean Towards Huaxia Alliance#," followed by a bright red "Explosive" tag, representing the heat of this news, and the real-time discussions below had already broken one million.

"A bunch of short-sighted idiots!" He growled, his chest heaving violently.

The report he had just received showed that 32 car companies had already applied for Fanmi's technology licensing, among which were many subsidiaries of members within the Zhetian Alliance.

The assistant cautiously handed over a document.

"President Zhu, this is from the North America Headquarters. They are demanding we come up with a countermeasure, otherwise they will initiate accountability procedures against you."

Zhu Danyang snatched the document, his gaze lingering on it for a moment before he suddenly sneered: "Send lawyer letters to all alliance members. Whoever dares to cooperate with Fanmi, just wait for a breach of contract lawsuit. And for those who have already received our patent licensing, not one of them will escape!!"

"There is one more piece of bad news..." the assistant said hesitantly, "Honda just sent an email saying they want to re-evaluate the value of the alliance!"

These words made Zhu Danyang's face turn instantly pale.

He suddenly realized that the patent barrier he had meticulously built was like a sandcastle on the beach—seemingly solid, but in reality, completely fragile.

This move by Fanmi and BYD was too ruthless; it directly cut off all his fallback options.

Never mind continuing to expand the alliance; even maintaining the current scale was very difficult.

If things went on like this, he would undoubtedly lose.

"There's also..." the assistant's hesitant voice sounded again.

"Can you not just say it all at once, damn it!!!" Zhu Danyang roared fiercely.

"Yes..." the secretary's voice carried a hint of trembling, then continued quickly: "The European Automobile Manufacturers Association just issued a statement advising members to independently choose technical standards. This is clearly them sensing that the wind is blowing the wrong way, and they are putting pressure on us!"

"Also, according to the latest news, at least two-thirds of our alliance members are already in contact with the Huaxia New Energy Alliance..."

"..." The string of bad news made Zhu Danyang completely collapse into his chair.

He knew that the Zhetian Alliance was finished!

He looked at the gray sky outside the window, remembering himself three months ago, full of high spirits.

He had thought that by relying on capital and patents, he could control the entire situation, but he hadn't expected that Fanmi and BYD would have such great courage to indirectly share their own core technology framework. This was a result he never could have imagined before.

At this moment, he felt as if he were drowning, and breathing became extremely difficult.

The immense pressure gave him a feeling of being unable to catch his breath.

He knew very well that if he couldn't find a countermeasure, this time... he was really going to fall!!

Just at this moment, a commotion suddenly came from downstairs.

The assistant walked to the window and took a look, their face becoming even uglier.

"President Zhu, there are many reporters blocking the entrance..."

"..." Zhu Danyang just waved his hand to let the assistant leave, without saying anything.

He then picked up the whiskey on the table and took a large gulp.

The spicy liquid slid down his throat, but it couldn't suppress the chill in his heart.

He knew that from the moment Fanmi released the technology licensing, this war was already half lost.

A single spark had already become a prairie fire; any barrier in front of this wave would eventually turn to ashes.

The conference room lights were pale white, reflecting his dejected figure, looking just like a one-man show about to end.

"Is there really no possibility of a counterattack?" The murmuring whisper echoed in the office.

"No... there is still one way... as long as it works..." The repressed voice carried a hint of madness.

Zhu Danyang stood up abruptly and drank the whiskey in his glass in one gulp.

His figure facing the huge floor-to-ceiling window carried a trace of determination.