191: Chapter 191 Cleaning the House, Uprooting the Problem

The door to the conference room was gently closed, isolating all sound from the outside world.

Inside the room, only Li Shu, Wang Fu, and Zeng lao remained, along with Guan Yi, who stood to the side maintaining her professional smile.

The set of holographic data regarding the 'SC-V3 Solid-State Battery' still floated in the center of the room.

It emitted a faint blue glow, like an irresistible temptation, yet also like a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the three men.

Ten minutes might just be long enough for an ordinary person to finish a cup of coffee.

But for these three giants who controlled the fates of billion-dollar empires, every second was incredibly long and agonizing.

Zeng lao was the first to snap out of the shock brought by that overwhelming technical superiority.

He glanced at Li Shu and Wang Fu beside him, looked up at the data once more, and finally fixed his gaze on Guan Yi.

"General Manager Guan," he said, his voice somewhat raspy, having lost its usual sharp edge.

"I want to know, if... if we don't accept Chairman Chen's conditions, what is Star Technology's next step?"

He wanted to know what kind of future he would face if he chose to refuse.

The smile on Guan Yi's face remained unchanged, but her answer was polite yet ruthless.

"Chairman Zeng, if negotiations break down, Star Technology will immediately launch its own vehicle manufacturing plan."

"Within three months, we will release the first pure electric sedan equipped with the SC-V3 Solid-State Battery. The price will not exceed two hundred thousand."

"Simultaneously, Star Technology will support a group of small manufacturers. We will provide them with low-cost licenses for the SC-V1."

"That is, part of the technical patents for the battery with an energy density of 400Wh/kg, to accelerate the elimination of all obsolete production capacity still using traditional lithium batteries."

Guan Yi's words caused the temperature in the conference room to drop several more degrees.

This was no longer business competition.

This was total extermination.

If Star Technology entered the car-making arena themselves, with their terrifying R&D advantage and disruptive pricing, there wouldn't be a single competitor left in the market.

And supporting small manufacturers was an even more malicious move.

It would instantly destroy the technical barriers and profit margins that conglomerate companies like Dening Era and BYD relied on for survival.

It would plunge the entire industry into chaotic price wars and hyper-competition.

They would not only have to face a dimensional strike from Star Technology but also deal with the influx of small and medium manufacturers into the market.

It was a dead end.

Wang Fu let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, looking as if all his strength had been drained away.

"There's no need to think about it further." He looked at the other two and smiled bitterly, "We have no choice, and there is no way to choose."

Li Shu didn't say anything, only nodding silently.

Finally, the gazes of both men converged on Zeng lao.

Zeng lao closed his eyes and remained silent for a full minute.

When he opened them again, the struggle and reluctance had vanished, replaced by a calm that comes after making a decision.

"We... agree."

These two words announced the end of an old era dominated by battery manufacturers.

They also heralded the start of a new era where Star Technology set the rules.

"The three chairmen have made a wise choice."

Guan Yi pushed a pre-prepared framework agreement for cooperation in front of each of them, signaling for them to review it.

"As for the specific details of the cooperation, my team will coordinate with you all."

The signing of the agreement was completed.

The three chairmen left the conference room looking physically and mentally exhausted, as if they had just survived a major battle.

When they arrived, they were ambitious partners.

When they left, they had become the first batch of allies under the new order; however, looking back, this was perhaps the most correct path.

Guan Yi picked up the signed agreements and walked quickly toward Chen Xu's office.

Chen Xu was standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the distant construction site of 'Xingchen Technology City,' where the land had been leveled and the first foundation piles were being driven.

"Boss, it's all settled." Guan Yi placed the agreements on the desk.

Chen Xu didn't turn around, merely giving an "Mm."

It was as if all of this was exactly as he had expected.

He picked up the communicator on the desk and pressed a few numbers.

"Chen Shisan, Yan Er, Chen Shiyi—come to my office for a short meeting."

A few minutes later, the core team members appeared in the office.

Without any preamble, Chen Xu directly issued the next strategic objective.

"The next target: Lenovo."

As soon as those two words were spoken, Guan Yi's eyes instantly became sharp.

The entire staff of Star Technology held a grudge against this 'traitor' who had stabbed them in the back at a critical moment.

Chen Xu's gaze first fell upon Chen Shisan.

"How is the progress on the full set of 'Chongming PC' hardware reference designs I asked you to prepare?"

Chen Shisan nodded.

"Reporting to the Boss: all core hardware design plans, including the motherboard, memory, graphics card, hard drive, and power management, have been completed and prototype verification is finished."

"They can be put into mass production at any time."

Chen Shisan's report demonstrated the terrifying execution capabilities of this team.

Guan Yi immediately and keenly raised a key question.

"Boss, since the hardware solutions are mature, what is our product strategy?"

"Are we going to build our own factories to produce 'Xingchen' branded PCs and compete directly with Lenovo, HP, and Dell?"

"Or will we license the technology to other manufacturers, just like the mobile phone business?"

Guan Yi's question sent Yan Er and Chen Shisan into deep thought.

As a technical expert, Yan Er leaned toward the former.

"Producing it ourselves would allow us to guarantee product quality and the final user experience to the greatest extent. Forming a perfect closed loop from hardware to software is the most stable plan."

Meanwhile, Chen Shisan offered a different perspective from the angle of industrial manufacturing.

"Licensed production would allow us to rapidly form a massive industrial scale in the shortest possible time."

"We can utilize the mature production lines and channels of allies like Huawei and Xiaomi to squeeze Lenovo's survival space globally, and especially in the domestic market, at maximum speed."

Both strategies had their pros and cons.

One sought stability, while the other sought speed.

Everyone's eyes turned to Chen Xu, waiting for his final decision.

Chen Xu looked out the window and spoke slowly, his voice carrying resolve.

"We will not produce PCs."

"We will only set the rules and develop the technology."

"Licensing to other manufacturers is the wisest move."

He made his final decision.

"But it won't be a simple license."

Chen Xu turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"This time, I'm going to dig up Lenovo's roots and make it completely impossible for them to have a foothold in China."

These words sent a chill through the hearts of Guan Yi, Yan Er, and the others.

They knew the Boss truly had killing intent this time.

A thunderous cleanup was about to begin.

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