Steal the enemy's base at the start and build a technological empire.

Chapter 454 Ling Yun's Combination Punch

Backstage at the Beijing International Convention Center, Ling Yun flipped to the last page of his speech, then back again. He had already read it four times.

Zhao Hu pushed open the door to the dressing room. "President Ling, all the reporters have arrived, more than three hundred people."

"Hmm." Ling Yun tossed the manuscript onto the table, stood up, and straightened his suit cuffs. The platinum cufflinks gleamed under the light.

An Shiyu called.

Are you nervous?

Ling Yun glanced at his face in the mirror. "A little."

"My daughter and I watched your live stream at home." An Shiyu paused, "No matter the outcome, we are proud of you."

Ling Yun chuckled. "What's the result? It's not like I'm going to the execution ground."

After hanging up the phone, Ling Yun nodded to Zhao Hu. Zhao Hu led the way, and the two walked towards the press conference hall. The noise of people outside could be heard from the corridor.

Five minutes before the press conference began, Xinghuo's promotional video was still playing on the big screen. Ling Yun stood to the side of the stage, looking at the densely packed crowd below. Reporters were walking around with cameras, colleagues were sitting in the front row looking down at their documents, and business partners were exchanging business cards.

The moment the lights went out, the entire venue fell silent.

Ling Yun walked onto the stage. The spotlight shone on his face, and he raised his hand to shield his eyes.

Good afternoon, everyone.

The large screen lit up, displaying a magnified image of a chip.

"I have three things to announce today."

People in the audience started taking pictures.

"First, the StarCore chip has completed tape-out testing, with a yield rate exceeding 85%. Mass production will begin this month." Ling Yun pressed a button on the remote control, and a photo of the chip on the production line popped up on the screen.

The supplier representatives sitting in the front row began to whisper among themselves.

"Secondly, the StarPhone 1 will be officially released on January 15th next year."

The moment those words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in a frenzy. Flashbulbs popped and lit up the room.

Ling Yun didn't stop. "Third—" The screen behind him switched to a new photo, a production line, with workers in blue overalls busy on the assembly line. "—The Starfire Shenzhen factory has completed the preparation for mass production of StarPhone, with a monthly production capacity of 150,000 units."

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Ling Yun stood on the stage, looking at the various expressions on the faces below, a slight smile playing on his lips. He knew what would happen when this news reached certain people's ears.

Shenzhen, headquarters of Yixiang Group.

Liu Chuanzhi saw the news at 3:17 p.m.

His secretary, Xiao Zhou, pushed open the door and said that Xinghuo had held a press conference. Liu Chuanzhi was drinking tea and casually said to put it down for a moment. Xiao Zhou placed the laptop on his desk, on which Ling Yun was displaying mass production data for Xinghuo chips.

Liu Chuanzhi's teacup stopped in mid-air.

He watched it for a full three minutes and forty seconds. After he finished, he slammed his teacup down on the table, splashing tea onto the keyboard.

"Didn't he say the chip failed?" Liu Chuanzhi's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

Xiao Zhou stood at the door, not daring to make a sound.

Liu Chuanzhi watched the replay again. When he saw Ling Yun announce that StarPhone would be released on January 15, he reached out and swept the folder on the table onto the floor.

"Go and fetch Vice President Li for me."

When Vice President Li came in, Liu Chuanzhi was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window smoking. He hadn't smoked for several years.

"The StarCore chip has entered mass production," Liu Chuanzhi said.

Vice President Li's face turned pale. "I just saw the news too—"

"You said his chip failed." Liu Chuanzhi turned around. "You said their test data was full of problems, and you said Texas Instruments would take over. What happened to the intelligence you had?"

Vice President Li opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Liu Chuanzhi pointed to the door and said, "Go, check the inventory of all the screens, cameras, and batteries we've stockpiled. Immediately."

Twenty minutes later, the figures came in: nearly 280 million yuan worth of high-priced mobile phone parts were stockpiled in the warehouse.

Liu Chuanzhi sat in the chair without saying a word.

At this moment, the marketing manager rushed in, "Mr. Liu, news from the supply chain—a large number of low-priced spot goods have suddenly appeared on the market, with prices 30% lower than our purchase price."

"Where did it come from?"

"It's not clear yet, but... it seems to be from one of the second-tier factories that Xinghuo is supporting."

Liu Chuanzhi closed his eyes.

"go out."

After the door closed, he was left alone in the office. Outside the window were the skyscrapers of Shenzhen, and the sunlight was bright.

There was today's financial newspaper on the coffee table. The headline on the front page was "Spark Mobile is Coming, Rewriting the Industry Landscape." He turned the newspaper face down on the table.

That same afternoon, after finishing the press conference, Ling Yun did not stay in Beijing but flew directly back to Jinan.

He made three phone calls in the car.

The first call was to Sofia.

"Short on speculative stocks, start now."

Sofia didn't hesitate on the other end of the phone, "How many?"

"We'll take all the available short orders."

"clear."

The second call was to Wang Degui.

"Degui, send me the evidence you found about the suspected industrial espionage last time. Also, send me the information about Liu Zhenxiong from the South China Electronics Chamber of Commerce."

Wang Degui chuckled. "Ready to make a move?"

"It should have been done a long time ago."

The third call was to Zhao Hu.

"Has the gray sparrow entered the country?"

"We've arrived. We came from Hong Kong the day before yesterday and are now staying in Shanghai."

"Keep a close eye on him. I need to know who he meets and what he says."

"We're already keeping an eye on it."

After hanging up the phone, Lingyun leaned back in his seat. The streets of Jinan outside the window were receding, the tree branches bare in winter.

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "Mr. Ling, home or to the company?"

"Go to the company."

The next morning, Chen Zhongming gave a report in Ling Yun's office.

"The spot prices of screens and cameras have already started to fall. After the news spread yesterday afternoon, several middlemen who had previously stockpiled goods following the trend panicked and started dumping their stock."

"What a wild idea?"

"They're looking for buyers to take over, but no one's interested." Chen Zhongming paused, "I had someone do the math, and their paper losses from this round of stockpiling have already exceeded 300 million."

Ling Yun didn't speak, but flipped through the documents on the table.

"By the way, Yixiang's stock price dropped eight points at the opening today," Chen Zhongming added.

Ling Yun looked up. "Sophia's side is moving very quickly."

"There's another piece of news." Chen Zhongming placed a printed press release in front of Ling Yun. "Several financial newspapers in the south have received anonymous materials concerning unorthodox industrial espionage."

Ling Yun glanced at it. "It wasn't anonymous. I had someone post it."

Chen Zhongming smiled, "Then the effect should be good. The front pages of these two newspapers will be out this afternoon."

"What about the police?"

"Wang Degui has already submitted the materials, and the case should be filed within the next day or two."

Lingyun stood up and walked to the window. Below were the streets of Jinan in winter, with pedestrians hurrying by wrapped in thick clothes.

What is Liu Chuanzhi doing now?

"It's said that the store was closed for a whole day, and no one was allowed to see it."

"He has another meeting to attend." Ling Yun glanced at his watch. "Yi Xiang has a board meeting tomorrow."

Chen Zhongming paused for a moment, then realized, "Sofia's side..."

"The stock will likely drop again tomorrow morning. Their board meeting is going to be quite an event."

Ling Yun picked up his coat. "Let's go to the lab. Li Mo said the test data for the star core is out; I'm going to take a look."

He stopped at the door.

"Oh, right, that gray sparrow—"

"Zhao Hu's men have been following him. He met someone in Shanghai last night. They got the photos."

"Okay." Ling Yun opened the door. "Let him keep an eye on things."

Some people were running down the corridor carrying documents, while others were arguing heatedly in the conference room. Throughout the entire Xinghuo Group office building, no one noticed the expression on their boss's face.

That was the expression on a hunter's face as he watched his prey walk into the trap.