Industry Turmoil

"All right, that concludes today's press conference. Next comes the Q&A session for reporters."

As they entered the final Q&A session, reporters surged forward with microphones, practically shoving them into Li Zhou's face.

Li Zhou looked over the crowd of reporters and casually picked one.

"That beautiful reporter with glasses, what would you like to ask?"

When Yang Liwen saw that Future Technology's chairman had pointed at her, she excitedly hurriedly asked the question she had prepared.

"Hello, Director Li. Currently, Intelligent Assistant is only available on Android. Many Apple users are eagerly awaiting an Apple version. Could you reveal when the Apple version of Intelligent Assistant will be released?"

At the mention of Apple, Li Zhou smiled faintly at the beautiful reporter who had asked the question.

"Miss Reporter, you should ask Apple's chief executive officer that question. Since Apple's system is closed source, Intelligent Assistant has no plans to launch on Apple devices for now."

At Apple headquarters across the Atlantic, curses filled a conference room.

"Shit!!!"

Yang Liwen wanted to press on, but even being beautiful did not mean Li Zhou would give her another chance.

"All right, next question."

"Mr. Li Zhou, since Han Language poses such serious harm to the current internet, why did you still release it?"

Li Zhou looked at the reporter from Sakura Country, speechless.

Li Zhou: "Sir, your parents must be very funny, right?"

Ishida: "?"

Li Zhou: "Otherwise, how could they have produced a joke like you?"

Ishida quickly caught on. His face instantly reddened as he glared at Li Zhou with blazing fury, but the burly man in front of him firmly kept him more than a meter away from Li Zhou.

"All right, next question."

"Hello, Director Li. Do you have any plans to develop in the USA?"

For a moment, the entire stadium fell silent. The Chinese audience all looked at the American reporter with pent-up anger.

John paid no attention to the looks around him. Instead, he stared confidently at Li Zhou.

When they saw Li Zhou remain silent, many people's hearts rose to their throats. Some even began posting insults directed at Li Zhou in the livestream comments.

But those who truly understood Li Zhou and had looked into him inwardly sneered at the American.

Li Zhou took a deep breath. Rather than answer the foreign reporter's question, he spoke to himself in a solemn tone.

"A while ago, I saw these words on Weibo, and they deeply moved me:

"If you think your motherland is not good enough, then go build it;

"If you think the government is not good enough, then take the civil service exam and become an official;

"If you think the people lack civility, then start with yourself and become a highly civilized citizen;

"If you think your compatriots are ignorant, then start with yourself—learn, and change the people around you. It has flaws, and we should correct them together, rather than blindly curse, complain, and flee.

'With cold brows I face the pointed fingers of a thousand men; with bowed head I willingly serve the children.' 'Where you stand is your country. What you are determines what your country is. If you shine, China will not be dark.' May China's youth cast off their gloom and simply move forward. There is no need to listen to those who surrender to despair. Those who can act, act. Those who can speak, speak. Give off whatever warmth you have; shine whatever light you can. Even if you are only a firefly, you can still offer a little light in the darkness. There is no need to wait for a torch.

"If, after this, there is still no torch, then we shall be the only light."

After saying that, Li Zhou narrowed his eyes at the American reporter trying to sow discord and said with a smile, "Sir, I don't think you understand what those words mean. But that's fine—I wasn't saying them for you. Let me put it plainly. I can be summed up in two words: 'afraid of death.' I truly cannot praise the safety of your USA. Unless there is absolute security, I will never set foot in the USA. Compared to anything else, I think my life is the most important thing."

John stared at Li Zhou in disbelief. He had not expected Li Zhou to reject the hard-won American green card. John held it in for a long time before finally throwing out a harsh line: "You'll regret this!" Then he left with his team.

As they watched John slink away, the Chinese audience burst into laughter. But after laughing, they fell silent, and everyone could not help reflecting on it. Li Zhou was right.

"If you think your motherland is not good enough, then go build it;

"If you think the government is not good enough, then take the civil service exam and become an official;

"If you think the people lack civility, then start with yourself and become a highly civilized citizen;

"If you think your compatriots are ignorant, then start with yourself—learn, and change the people around you. It has flaws, and we should correct them together, rather than blindly curse, complain, and flee.

If everyone worked toward the same goal, why would the country have to worry about not soaring?

In a wooden room in the capital, two elderly men watched Li Zhou's remarks. They said "good" three times in succession, their eyes brimming with tears.

"With citizens like these, why would the nation worry about not prospering!"

After Future Technology's press conference ended, the entire software industry's stock market wailed. Everything turned red across the board, with no exceptions. Future Technology's dimensional strike had been too devastating. If they did not fully switch to Han Language soon, their stocks would likely remain in the red.

While the outside world was still mourning, the leaders of major domestic companies gathered with Future Technology's directors to discuss something. When the CEOs, who had entered with worried faces, emerged from the meeting room, all of them were glowing with health.

After seeing off the big shots from the various companies, Li Zhou finally had time to stretch his neck and relax.

Xiong Kexuan handed Li Zhou a cup of milk tea and jokingly asked, "So, how did it feel to be the center of everyone's attention?"

Li Zhou took a huge gulp of iced milk tea and rolled his eyes at Xiong Kexuan. The cold drink slid down his throat and into his stomach. In the sweltering summer heat, it felt absolutely wonderful!

"Not great. Next time there's a press conference, you can handle it. I'll cheer you on from below the stage."

Xiong Kexuan shrugged, utterly unfazed.

"Those CEOs wouldn't act without seeing a payoff. How did you get them to agree?"

"It was nothing. I gave them the PC version of Intelligent Assistant and granted them a free three-month license. Three months is enough time for them to reform."

"By the way, I'll upload the PC version of Intelligent Assistant to the official website later. Announce it on the official social media account. The pricing remains as we agreed before—100 yuan for lifetime access. Anyone who has already purchased the mobile version will have it automatically activated as soon as they log in." "All right, you're the boss, so it's your call. But I'm sure netizens will complain about Future Technology's bizarre approach! You didn't announce it during the press conference, then as soon as it ended—bam—it quietly went live."