Facing a Formidable Enemy

"I never expected things to turn out like this. If President Peng hadn't told me directly, I still wouldn't know that such an astonishing material had emerged domestically!"

Peng Fan had spoken with such certainty that it was clearly no lie.

Deng Guangyi could not help letting out a long sigh and giving a bitter laugh.

Anything was possible.

He simply did not want to believe that someone in the country could create a material comparable to King Material's in performance, and he found it hard to accept for the moment. After all, he had worked in the industry for more than a decade and had been with Qian Jia for nearly ten years. He had long grown accustomed to King Material standing unrivaled.

There were so many universities, research institutions, and high-tech companies in the country. Whether it was Qian Jia or their competitor Di Guang, who knew how many hundreds of millions they invested in researching New Material every year? At least three or four hundred million, surely? Yet after more than a decade, King Material still stood high above them all.

With so many groups, companies, and funds invested, all they had managed were minor patches and improvements.

Even in Little Country, which lived quite comfortably among the world's top tier in materials research, optical materials had seen nothing but patchwork improvements year after year. Many companies had even abandoned research investment in this area long ago.

Who could have imagined that an optical material outperforming King Material would suddenly appear domestically, defeat Zhong Wei Technology in the bidding for the Oupai Mobile project, and cause him to lose Zhong Wei Technology's bid as well?

When the city gates caught fire, the fish in the moat suffered.

Before the other side had even begun making a serious push to distribute its product, it had already exerted a major impact on them.

Just thinking about what lay ahead made Deng Guangyi's heart turn cold, and goosebumps rose all over his body. Where is Qian Jia's future? I own Original Shares!

Qian Jia was a giant with a market value exceeding ten billion. Would it fall into the ranks of those other no-name materials because of this New Material that had appeared out of nowhere?

If Qian Jia's future was worrying, then wasn't his own future worrying too?

As a veteran of nearly ten years, Deng Guangyi had bought Original Shares worth over a million when Qian Jia Optics went public. Their value had since risen four or fivefold, and his net worth had surpassed five million.

If Qian Jia completely went under, his fortune would go down the drain as well.

In an instant, Deng Guangyi thought of many things, and layer upon layer of cold sweat nearly ran down his back.

"Director Deng? Director Deng?"

Seeing that his expression was off, the male sales subordinate beside him hurriedly reminded him.

Only then did Deng Guangyi come back to himself. He subconsciously raised a hand to wipe the nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead, then forced a smile and asked Peng Fan, "President Peng, do you have their contact information?"

Peng Fan shook his head without hesitation. "Not for now."

He had already said so much because of the delivery schedule. Saying more might upset Zhou Feiyu, and at this stage, Peng Fan did not want to fall out with Zhou Feiyu.

"Looks like they're keeping things very confidential."

Deng Guangyi forced the words out, but his heart was clear as a mirror. He knew Peng Fan simply did not want to give him the contact information.

In truth, a little thought made it obvious. If the other party had not come through Peng Fan's connections, they would not have appeared at the bidding meeting that day. Peng Fan had clearly held something back.

Even if he were beaten to death, he would never imagine that Peng Fan was unwilling to provide the contact information because he had signed a confidentiality agreement with Zhou Feiyu and did not want to fall out with him.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Deng Guangyi suggested going out for karaoke to have some fun, but Peng Fan declined.

Deng Guangyi had no choice but to send Peng Fan back to his residence before heading back to Qian Jia Optics.

"Director Deng, I know Zhai Zhigang, the engineer at Hua Long Technology in charge of verifying the material, quite well. Should I ask him?" Xiao Liu, his female assistant, asked in the car on the way back.

Deng Guangyi thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

However, to their surprise, when Xiao Liu called to ask, Zhai Zhigang was initially warm and enthusiastic. But the moment he heard that she wanted to ask about FY-01, his expression changed immediately. He replied, "I don't know anything," then found an excuse to hang up.

"Looks like Hua Long Technology is keeping this material very confidential."

Xiao Liu's expression changed.

Deng Guangyi's expression grew solemn. "We cannot afford to be careless. This material appeared out of nowhere. If Qian Jia Optics fails to obtain information about it immediately, we may face a serious problem."

After that, Deng Guangyi used some of his connections and tried again to obtain the contact information, but none of his efforts went smoothly.

Deng Guangyi then gave up and called his immediate superior, explaining the situation and voicing his concerns and request. He asked him to report it to the company's higher leadership and coordinate resources.

Deng Guangyi's immediate superior was already part of Qian Jia's senior management. Above him were several executive vice presidents and the company's Big Boss.

Less than half an hour after making the call, Deng Guangyi received a return call from his superior, telling him to get back immediately. The Big Boss wanted to hear his report in person.

"Even the Big Boss has been alerted? Makes sense. If such an astonishing material had emerged overseas, it would be one thing. After all, an ocean separates us, and every country has different conditions. But now it has appeared domestically. That makes things much worse."

Deng Guangyi was somewhat surprised by how seriously the company was taking it, but he quickly understood.

He did not dare delay. He returned to the company as quickly as possible, then went to the Big Boss's office to report the situation.

It was already past nine at night, yet the Big Boss's office was packed. Besides the Big Boss, several executive vice presidents and his immediate superior were all present.

After listening to his report, everyone, including the Big Boss, wore grave expressions.

Once he finished speaking, his immediate superior hurriedly said, "Boss, I suggest we find their contact information immediately, establish contact first, and then see whether we can buy the patent for this material."

One executive vice president immediately refuted him. "That idea is far too unrealistic. People these days are not so easy to fool. Everyone knows the value of patents. Why would they let go so easily?"

Another vice president added, "Exactly. If it were you, would you sell the patent for such high technology?"

Yet another vice president said, "There is no need to even bring up buying the patent. It is not a matter of money. I believe that if the price is high enough, no patent is impossible to buy. The key issue now is that Hua Long Technology is using their material. That means obtaining an order from Hua Long Technology is practically certain for them, so they cannot possibly give up the patent. Perhaps we should purchase a time-limited patent license instead."

As soon as he said this, the several vice presidents who had spoken earlier all nodded in agreement.

The Big Boss also largely agreed. "I think this suggestion is fairly reliable. Since they are a new company, what they lack most right now should be production capacity. Even if Hua Long Technology places an order with them, who would be willing to invest in them? But in any case, production capacity cannot be resolved overnight. Without two or three years, there is no point even thinking about it."

As he spoke, the Big Boss sighed several times and drifted onto another topic. "In this era where high technology dictates everything, we have money, people, and production capacity, yet we are still powerless. We could be eliminated by the market at any moment. The sudden emergence of this material is proof enough. Even though the other party has only just appeared, we are already facing a formidable enemy. I believe that if we fail to seize this opportunity, the only path awaiting us will be decline."