132: Chapter 132 Sanction Backlash

The call hung up.

Silence returned to Chen Xu's office.

Wei Yi walked in from the door.

He placed a tablet on Chen Xu's desk.

"Boss."

Wei Yi's finger swiped across the screen, and a screenshot from the Dark Web zoomed in, occupying the entire interface.

The background of the screenshot was black, and the text was blood-red.

At the very top was a candid photo of Chen Xu; in the photo, a red crosshair was centered on his head.

Below the photo was a string of numbers.

"A nine-figure sum in US dollars."

"The publisher is anonymous."

Wei Yi swiped the screen, and the emblems and code names of three organizations appeared.

"'Ghost Blade,' composed of former Delta Force members."

"'Siberian Wolves,' with a GRU background."

"'Blackwater International,' a veteran mercenary group."

Wei Yi finished his report.

He looked at Chen Xu.

Chen Xu moved his gaze away from the tablet and looked out the window.

The security system of the Xingchen Technology Park had been completely replaced overnight.

The height of the physical perimeter wall of the park was increased by two meters, with high-voltage electric fencing and microwave sensing devices installed on top.

Above the park, six drones cruised continuously twenty-four hours a day.

Those were "Sharp Sword" drones, each equipped with detection and jamming equipment.

Berlin, Europe.

A truck driver cursed in German at his phone screen.

The "Pathfinder" navigation app on his phone had map data stuck from three days ago and could not be updated.

Today, he had already been fined a hundred euros for taking the wrong route.

On social media, complaints about "Pathfinder failing" had become a hot topic.

Countless drivers, food delivery workers, and couriers saw their work fall into chaos due to the navigation shutdown.

In Paris, a long queue had formed in front of a Huawei flagship store on the Champs-Élysées.

The line stretched from inside the store all the way to the street corner.

A poster at the store entrance had a slogan written in French: [Huawei Pilot Edition—Europe's Only Choice].

The phones were pre-installed with the pure version of "Zhoutian OS" and the latest version of "Pathfinder" navigation.

Less than an hour after going on sale, all stock was sold out.

Xiaomi, OV, and ZTE stores across Europe saw the same scene playing out.

The "Europe Pilot Edition" series of phones became the only hard currency in the market.

Fruit Group's European headquarters.

A data analysis report was delivered to the president's office.

The report showed that this week's sales of Fruit Phones in Europe had dropped by fifteen percent compared to the same period last week.

This was the first time Fruit Phones had experienced a significant non-seasonal decline since entering the European market.

Even worse data came from second-hand trading platforms.

Listings for second-hand Fruit Phones surged by three hundred percent in three days, and the average transaction price dropped by twenty percent.

A large number of users were selling off their old Fruit Phones to buy a "Huaxia Alliance" phone that could use navigation normally.

Brand loyalty was fragile in the face of practicality.

United States, Department of Commerce.

The Secretary held the phone, sweat beads seeping from his forehead.

The Fruit Group CEO's roar came through the receiver.

"Our stock price is bleeding! The entire European market is collapsing!"

"Your sanctions—whose heads are they falling on?"

"I don't care what method you use, immediately! Right now! Get that 'Pathfinder' back into our App Store!"

"Otherwise, in the next earnings season, I will let all of Wall Street know who destroyed the Fruit Group!"

The Secretary held the phone, unable to say a single word.

He had intended to sanction others, but instead, his own leading enterprise was the first to take a hit.

Putting down the phone, he felt a sense of powerlessness.

Commercial means, diplomatic means—all had failed.

The opponent wasn't even playing at the same table.

A gulfstream g650 private jet took off from a secret airport in a Southeast Asian country.

Its flight application was for a cargo charter flight to Central Asia.

Inside the cabin.

Eight men in black combat uniforms were checking their equipment.

They were members of "Ghost Blade," former Delta Force elites.

The captain was assigning tasks to the team members.

"The target is the wafer fab at the Fei City Xingchen Technology Park."

"Our mission is not to destroy it, but to paralyze it."

He opened a suitcase; inside was a strangely shaped device.

"A high-intensity electromagnetic pulse weapon with an effective range of five hundred meters, enough to turn all the precision equipment in that factory into a pile of scrap metal."

"Action time: thirty minutes."

"After completing the mission, evacuate via the predetermined route."

"Is everything clear?"

"Clear!"

The plane flew steadily, passing through the clouds and approaching Chinese airspace.

Jing City, 703 Institute, Underground Command Center.

On the screen, an airspace map around China was displayed.

A red light dot had just crossed the edge of the Air Defense Identification Zone.

Beside the screen, an operator reported.

"Report, an unidentified target has been discovered; the flight path is abnormal."

Zhang Jianzhong stood in front of the screen, watching the light dot as it moved deeper.

"The fish has taken the bait."

He picked up the red phone on the desk.

"Activate the 'Skynet' Plan One."

"Make sure our guests have no way back."

In the night sky.

The pilot of the gulfstream g650 was drinking coffee.

He didn't notice.

Above him, two all-black fighter jets were staring at it.

"Target locked."

"Execute electronic suppression."

An invisible electromagnetic wave emitted from under the belly of the aircraft, enveloping the private jet.

Inside the cockpit of the gulfstream g650.

All instrument panels and screens went dark in an instant.

The plane lost all power and could only glide.

The pilot and co-pilot's faces were filled with terror.

"We've been hit by an EMP attack!"

Inside the cabin, the eight team members preparing for the mission were tossed around in the weightlessness.

A warning in Chinese came over the public broadcast channel, followed by English.

"You have entered Chinese airspace, and all equipment has been taken over. Abandon all resistance and follow guidance, or you will be shot down."

Two fighter jets, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiched the private jet in the middle.

Top floor office of Star Technology.

Chen Xu received a short message from Wei Yi.

[The guests have landed safely.]

Chen Xu finished reading and deleted the message.

His gaze fell on a document on his desk.

Although Star Technology's series of actions had heavily damaged Apple, Fruit Phones still occupied sixty percent of the high-end market.

Chen Xu leaned back in his chair, thinking about what other ways there were to directly kill off Apple.