316: Chapter 315 Sample Footage Has Arrived

"Frontier Technology, Liu Yemei."

Liu Yemei adjusted her glasses and said in a calm tone, "I need to see your General Manager Yu. It is a matter of great importance."

"General Manager Yu?"

The female receptionist paused for a moment.

There were many people in Huaneng Group with the surname Yu, but only one could be addressed as General Manager Yu.

Did this elegant-looking woman in front of her want to meet that big shot?

The receptionist hesitated. It was obvious that this woman knew General Manager Yu, but remembering the department head's stern instructions from this morning, she said politely, "Miss, General Manager Yu might not be available to see you right now. If you have any business, I can relay it for you."

Liu Yemei frowned slightly. She had not expected Wang Shuo to be so unreliable. He had made her fly to Shenzhen overnight, yet he hadn't even made an appointment.

She looked down at the black case in her hand.

She didn't know what was inside, but the tone Wang Shuo used when he notified her yesterday, combined with the urgency of making her travel overnight, made her realize that this item was very important.

This item had to be delivered into the hands of General Manager Yu.

No appointment? That was never an issue for her.

Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures.

"Zero."

Liu Yemei said calmly, "Help me send a message to General Manager Yu. Just say... we have solved the Chip supply problem."

"Understood, Assistant Liu."

The zero egg hovering beside Liu Yemei replied, "Message sent."

The receptionist was stunned.

This was... faking it right in front of her?

...Top floor, conference room.

As Xu Guoqing read out the countermeasures one by one, the expressions of the Board of Directors members shifted uncertainly. It was only after he finished reading all the measures that a buzzing sound began to fill the conference room.

"General Manager Xu, is this plan... a bit too radical?"

A shareholder said, "Shrinking production capacity, accelerating research and development cycles, increasing the R&D investment ratio, separating the Chip R&D department... none of these measures will show results in the short term. If they fail to take effect, then the group..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone knew what the result would be.

"That's right."

Another shareholder chimed in, "In my opinion, we don't need to shrink production capacity at all. We don't have high-end Chips, but we can completely utilize low-end Chips to manufacture a batch of special terminals first, maintain the group's image, and then seek other options."

"In that case, how would we determine the price? Should we lower the selling price? Or keep it the same? If we lower the price, the high-end image that the group has painstakingly built over the years will collapse, and trying to enter this market again in the future would be a pipe dream. If we keep the price high, then whether consumers will accept this device is questionable. Once the label of 'high price, low specs' is branded on us by consumers, it won't be easy to remove."

A shareholder retorted, with sound logic, and the other shareholders nodded one after another. High prices with low specs or engaging in sales fraud was tantamount to digging one's own grave.

"We can put some effort into the software."

The previous shareholder didn't get discouraged by the opposition and continued, "I recall that the R&D department still has some reserve technology in terms of systems, right? We can bring it all out this time and promote it as the highlight of the new device. Doing so will also help maintain the group's brand."

"That is inappropriate."

Someone objected, "Not to mention that our technical reserves are intended for competing with other rivals later, even if we bring them out now, who will adapt them? Who will optimize them? Who will handle the underlying integration? If we cannot achieve 'experience first,' then the issue of the Chip's low-end nature will inevitably explode, and who will take responsibility then?"

The shareholder who had made the suggestion was immediately speechless; no one wanted to take that responsibility, nor could they afford to.

At the scale of Huaneng Group, once it collapsed, it would affect not just hundreds or thousands, but the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.

"The only plan now is to find a wafer foundry and Chip manufacturing plant within China that can support our Chip manufacturing process. Even if the 5nm and 7nm processes cannot be guaranteed, we must at least guarantee the 10 to 12nm process technology."

"Is that useful? The performance gap between a 12nm process Chip and a 5nm process Chip is like heaven and earth. Never mind a 15% difference; even if it were a 1% difference, modern consumers would not choose a 12nm process Chip."

The conference room was noisy, with everyone discussing endlessly. For a time, no one could convince anyone else.

General Manager Yu Tongguang watched quietly and did not speak to interrupt.

If the sanctions from the US Government were truly that easy to resolve, they wouldn't be called sanctions. This was just the beginning; the real hard times were still to come.

If he couldn't make these people in front of him recognize the reality, then no matter what the group decided later, there would certainly be those who held them back.

Such a thing must never happen.

Amidst his chaotic and complex thoughts, his phone vibrated slightly.

General Manager Yu Tongguang frowned. He remembered setting his phone to airplane mode before the meeting, so why would it vibrate? An alarm?

He picked up his phone, and a message was displayed.

The moment he saw this message, General Manager Yu Tongguang's pupils constricted slightly.

"I'm going to step out for a moment."

He said softly to Xu Guoqing, then walked straight out of the conference room.

Xu Guoqing showed a trace of confusion, but since Elder Ren did not stop him, there was naturally no need for him to speak up.

Shaking his head slightly, Xu Guoqing turned his gaze toward the noisy crowd, a mocking smile appearing on his face once again.

...General Manager Yu Tongguang did not go far; he just stepped out of the conference room, found a quiet, deserted place, and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly.

"General Manager Wang."

General Manager Yu Tongguang's address was very formal.

"General Manager Yu."

On the other end of the line was a young male voice, which said with a smile, "I saw the news yesterday. The US Government is truly shameless."

General Manager Yu Tongguang was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected Wang Shuo to bring up this topic immediately. He nodded and said, "Indeed, very shameless."

This was the truth.

Not only did he think so, but almost every employee in the company, as well as every supporter in society who heard this news, felt the same way.

As for what those idiots and paid trolls thought, that was not something Huaneng Group could control.

"What are you planning to do? Do you have a response plan?"

Wang Shuo's voice sounded somewhat curious.

General Manager Yu Tongguang gave a bitter smile.

A plan?

Rather than calling it a plan, it was more like a desperate attempt to survive.

Since the US Government had already bared its fangs, they naturally could not sit and wait for death.

Negotiations?

This option had been excluded by Huaneng Group from the moment the US Government's announcement was released; it was a road of no return.

If they bowed their heads today in exchange for the other side's tolerance, then what about tomorrow? The day after? As long as they did not break through the barriers created by the other side, they would be threatened by the possibility of being struck by them at any time.

Without an equivalent Weapon in hand, things were just that difficult.

After thinking for a moment, General Manager Yu Tongguang said, "We are currently discussing it."

Wang Shuo understood.

No longer a novice, he understood that if there was no result after such a long time, it could only mean two things: one, the situation encountered this time was indeed very complex; two, there was no unified opinion within Huaneng Group yet.

However, this was just a matter of time. Given the temperament displayed by that old man at Huaneng Group, he would never allow a second voice to emerge within Huaneng Group.

"Then I can rest assured."

General Manager Yu Tongguang was slightly speechless. Why did he hear a sense of relief in that sentence?

Before he could complain, he heard the other side continue, "It seems my item arrived just in time. How is it? Are you satisfied? If you are satisfied, shouldn't you settle the bill?"

"What item?"

General Manager Yu Tongguang frowned slightly.

"You didn't receive it?"

Wang Shuo was also somewhat stunned: "If you didn't receive it, why did you call me?"

"Wasn't it you who sent me the message first?"

"When did I send you a message?"

The two fell silent instantly.

The anticipation in General Manager Yu Tongguang's heart also cooled by half.

If it wasn't Wang Shuo who sent him the message, then who could it be?

Come to think of it, even the strongest Chip company in the world dared not cooperate with Huaneng Technology. Other companies either had the technology but no courage, or the courage but no capability. He was ultimately too anxious.

"It doesn't matter." General Manager Yu Tongguang asked calmly, "General Manager Wang, what is the item you just mentioned that I should have received?"

Wang Shuo also frowned slightly, and upon hearing this, he said puzzledly, "I had Assistant Liu bring you a Chip sample."

"A Chip sample?"

General Manager Yu Tongguang was stunned, then immediately realized: "Your Chip has already had a sample produced?"

"Yes, it was produced yesterday."

Wang Shuo replied.

"So fast..."

General Manager Yu Tongguang couldn't believe it. How many days had it been? A sample was already produced?

"It wasn't that fast."

Wang Shuo said dismissively, "The blueprints were ready-made, and the materials were prepared in advance. Even so, it took three days to modify the equipment, and the manufacturing took two days. That's because there is no mature production line."

"By the way, General Manager Yu, did you really not receive it? I clearly told Assistant Liu to send it to you as soon as possible before I went to sleep. The flight was at 3:00 AM; logically, it should have arrived by now... Wait a moment, let me ask..."

The words that followed, General Manager Yu Tongguang could no longer hear. In his mind, only four words remained.

Chip sample!

A moment later, he dashed downstairs. With his intelligence, it only took a slight turn of his mind for him to understand what was going on.

He quickly arrived at the first floor.

As soon as he exited the elevator, he grabbed the receptionist standing next to the elevator.

"This morning, was there a lady with the surname Liu who took the elevator?"

His urgent demeanor gave the receptionist a fright.

She timidly raised her hand and pointed toward the guest seating area in the distance.

"General... General Manager Yu, the Miss Liu you mentioned is over there..."

Following the direction of the receptionist's finger, a graceful figure was sitting on the sofa in the guest area, appearing to be looking at her phone intently.

Her long, shoulder-length hair fell down along both sides, covering her cheeks.

Hearing someone approaching, Liu Yemei lifted her head, stood up, and looking at General Manager Yu Tongguang as he approached from afar, she extended her hand.

"Hello, General Manager Yu. This is Liu Yemei from Frontier Technology."