Online, countless netizens were happily watching the drama unfold.
The executives of the companies behind the 800-billion acquisition bid for Shenma Technology Company had also seen the replies about Ning Yifan. Their feelings were complicated.
It was already past ten at night, nearly eleven, but soon the companies held another meeting.
It was still in the small conference room at Changhong Company, with the same people as last time. But unlike the previous meeting, when everyone had still held on to a glimmer of hope, this time their faces showed nothing but helplessness.
The Changhong director stood first and bowed apologetically to the executives from the other companies. "I'm sorry. Our plan failed. I never expected the other party to be a young man who couldn't be swayed by money at all. Or perhaps he's just young and headstrong? Or does he truly have the ability and his own ideas?"
The Hisense director waved a hand and sighed. "It's not your fault. None of us expected this. The owner of a startup, a man in his twenties, faced with decades' worth of company profits, actually chose not to sell. At such a young age, he's already so composed and committed to building his own business."
The TCL Company director wore a bitter smile. "There's no point talking about that now. It has nothing to do with us anymore. Given the situation, does anyone have a way to solve our problem?"
The Skyworth president said, "What can we do? We can't compete with them, we can't crack the technology, and we can't even copy it. Our only option is to give up the TV market. It'll be a devastating blow to our company, but we have no other choice. We'll just have to focus on growing our other products, like refrigerators, air conditioners, and whatever else we can."
The Haier representative said, "We're thinking the same way. Fortunately, sales of our other home appliances are still decent. Losing the TV business will hurt us, but not as badly as it will hurt your companies."
The TCL Company president, a man over fifty, sighed. "I never thought this day would come. A product invented by a young man has forced companies like ours, which have been making televisions for decades, to give up the market and retreat. The younger generation really is something."
"At least the one piece of good news is that he's from Daxia Country. If someone from another country had invented this product, then brought it here and driven us back until they took over the entire TV market, that would've been truly humiliating!"
The Changhong director said, "Over the past few decades, we've weathered many storms. From the earliest black-and-white TVs to color sets, we faced powerful foreign companies and advanced technology—brands like Sony, Samsung, and Matsushita. We didn't lose. But in the end, we lost to a company that hasn't even been around for half a year. This is the progress of technology, the progress of the times."
After everyone had finished lamenting, the meeting began to wind down.
The Hisense director stood up and clasped his hands to the others. "All right, enough with the regrets. Until we meet again!"
The Changhong director said, "I hope we can still compete with one another in the home-appliance market someday."
The Hisense director replied, "Until we meet again. I need to go back and handle the aftermath at the company. Since we failed to acquire Shenma Technology Company and obtain the production technology for the Phantom Projector, we'll be making massive layoffs—an estimated fifty percent—and shutting down our TV production line completely. We'll have to reassure distributors across the country, find new ways to make our brands profitable, and develop new home appliances. There's still a lot to do. We can't afford to slack off during this transition."
The Haier director said, "We thought the Phantom Projectors made by our companies would spread across the world. Ah, well. Shenma Technology Company..."
With plenty of frustration still unresolved, the meeting ended. The executives of each company shook hands and said their goodbyes, then went their separate ways to plan their companies' futures, handle personnel changes, and deal with everything else.
The acquisition that could have created the world's richest man seemed to have ended just like that—or had it?
While countless people across Daxia Country were still lamenting the failed acquisition, Samsung Group in South Korea was working around the clock to crack the Phantom Projector.
Samsung Group was even jokingly called the Samsung Empire by netizens. It was a multinational corporate giant that contributed around thirty percent of South Korea's annual national revenue. Within the country, it was a true behemoth!
Samsung Group's businesses included projectors, monitors, and LCD televisions, and these made up a sizable portion of the group's total revenue.
Shenma Technology Company's sudden rise and the Phantom Projector's powerful performance had long since caught Samsung's attention.
Because of the Phantom Projector, Samsung's monitor and projector sales in Daxia had also suffered a dramatic decline.
Samsung's executives had been deeply worried when several Daxia Country home-appliance companies tried to acquire Shenma Technology. Armed with the Phantom Projector, those companies might have gone head-to-head with Samsung internationally in no time. As things stood, Samsung's TVs and projectors couldn't compete with the Phantom Projector.
The enormous 800-billion price tag had also left Samsung's executives on edge. Most of them believed Shenma Technology Company wouldn't refuse the offer. They had even prepared to battle the Daxia Country appliance companies, now equipped with the Phantom Projector, on the international stage.
Fortunately, Shenma Technology Company had rejected the acquisition, against everyone's expectations. This had relieved Samsung's executives, but also made them more desperate to obtain the Phantom Projector's technology.
This was a formidable rival, one with tremendous fighting power. If Samsung didn't respond properly, Shenma Technology Company might expand its business across the globe, leaving Samsung struggling to keep up and tearing a chunk of flesh from its side.
Thus, at Samsung's instigation, a massive effort to crack the technology was underway, consuming enormous manpower and resources. They were determined to protect their advantage in their key markets before Shenma Technology Company entered the global arena.
The resources Samsung Group could mobilize were far beyond what several companies in Daxia Country could muster.
From professors and scholars at top universities to countless research staff, from South Korea's many imaging engineers and software engineers to specialists in related fields—every capable person received a task related to cracking the Phantom Projector!
Anyone who contributed to progress on the project would receive a reward from Samsung Group, with the minimum starting at 200 million won. If anyone made a key breakthrough in cracking the technology, they would be awarded 200 billion won.
Could they crack it with the strength of an entire nation?
Before you continue