38: Chapter 38 One fatal blow, Roadhog Factory is completely finished.

At the main gate of Lubao Electric Vehicle Factory, the chaos had spiraled completely out of control.

Angry delivery riders, citizens holding scorched motors, and the fleet from Jiefeng Express—the dense crowd had surrounded the factory so tightly that not even a drop of water could trickle through.

"Wang Fugui! Get out here!"

"Give me back my hard-earned money!"

"Liar! Heartless profiteer!"

Wang Fugui stood in the second-floor corridor, watching everything through the window.

Li Biao stood beside him, his voice trembling slightly. "Mr. Wang, I called the police, but they said this is a civil dispute and told us to negotiate a resolution ourselves..."

Negotiate?

How could they negotiate?

What did they have left to negotiate with?

His capital chain had already snapped.

"Mr. Wang."

Old Zhang walked over holding a testing report, his face looking worse than a corpse's.

"We found the cause... There's a problem with the motor winding structure. The insulating varnish ages rapidly under high loads. At the earliest, in just twenty days, it will..."

He couldn't go on.

Wang Fugui turned his head and stared at him. "Twenty days? You're saying twenty days?"

Old Zhang nodded, his voice hoarse. "Yes. The first batch of the upgraded 'storm god of war' left the factory exactly twenty-eight days ago, and now they're all failing at once. This isn't a coincidence, this is..."

He paused.

But everyone understood.

This was a long-premeditated trap.

"Chen Si..."

Just then, a security guard rushed upstairs. "Mr. Wang! Someone delivered something!"

Wang Fugui let go of Old Zhang and took the kraft paper bag.

He tore it open.

Inside was a court summons.

Plaintiff: Fei City Xingchen Machinery Co., Ltd.

Defendant: Fei City Lubao Electric Vehicle Factory.

Cause of Action: Infringement of trade secrets, unfair competition, and malicious counterfeiting.

Wang Fugui's hands began to shake.

He flipped to the evidence list attached to the summons.

The first page was a photo of the Lubaba Factory mold warehouse, clearly showing the molds used to counterfeit the "Storm."

The second page was a scan of a purchase order, stating in black and white which mold factory they had bought the "Storm" chassis data from.

The third page was production records, detailed down to the daily output.

The fourth page...

Wang Fugui didn't dare look any further.

He suddenly understood.

That young man who had suddenly appeared, fixed the stamping machine failure, led the technical upgrade, and then suddenly vanished.

He had been an undercover agent from the very beginning.

And the person behind that undercover agent was Chen Xu.

The roars from downstairs were getting closer.

"Wang Fugui! Get out here!"

He closed his eyes.

It was over.

This time, it was truly over.

...

One week later.

Fei City Intermediate People's Court, Courtroom No. 3.

9:00 AM sharp.

The gallery was packed.

In the center of the courtroom, Wang Fugui sat in the defendant's seat wearing a crumpled suit. His hair was greasy, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Beside him was the lawyer he had hired on short notice.

Chen Xu sat at the plaintiff's table.

Beside him was his retained counsel, holding a thick stack of evidence.

The presiding judge struck the gavel.

"The court is now in session."

"Would the plaintiff please state their claims."

Chen Xu's lawyer stood up and spoke in a sonorous voice:

"Your Honor, the plaintiff, Xingchen Machinery, sues the defendant, Lubao Electric Vehicle Factory, for infringement of trade secrets, unfair competition, and malicious counterfeiting."

"We request the court to order the defendant to: First, immediately cease the production and sale of the infringing product, 'storm god of war'."

"Second, destroy all infringing molds and inventory."

"Third, compensate the plaintiff for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling thirty million yuan."

"Fourth, issue a public apology in provincial media to eliminate the negative impact."

The gallery instantly erupted.

"My god, thirty million!"

"Wang Fugui is finished this time!"

"He deserves it! That's what he gets for selling fakes!"

Wang Fugui jerked his head up and glared at Chen Xu.

The presiding judge struck the gavel. "Silence."

The courtroom fell silent again.

"Defense, what is your response to the plaintiff's claims?"

Wang Fugui's lawyer stood up and cleared his throat.

"Your Honor, the defendant maintains that the plaintiff's allegations are unfounded."

"First, the 'storm god of war' and the 'Storm' are merely similar in appearance. This is normal market competition in the electric vehicle industry and does not constitute infringement."

"Second, there is no sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant stole the plaintiff's so-called trade secrets."

"Third, the defendant has obtained legal production qualifications, and the products meet national standards. There is no unfair competition."

The presiding judge looked at the plaintiff's table. "Plaintiff, please present your evidence."

Chen Xu's lawyer walked to the projector and pressed a button.

The first photo appeared on the courtroom's large screen.

It was an interior shot of the Lubaba Factory's mold warehouse.

The photo was clear, showing dozens of mold sets neatly stacked. The curvature and texture of every single set were identical to the "Storm" casing.

"Your Honor, this is an actual photo of the defendant's mold warehouse."

The lawyer pointed at the screen. "As you can clearly see, the 'storm god of war' casing produced by the defendant is exactly the same as the plaintiff's 'Storm'."

Another stir rippled through the gallery.

Wang Fugui's lawyer immediately stood up. "Objection! How did the plaintiff obtain these photos? Was there an illegal trespass into the defendant's factory premises?"

Chen Xu's lawyer sneered. "These photos were taken by an employee within the defendant's factory and provided to the plaintiff. The source is legal."

He paused and added, "Furthermore, the court can order the defendant to produce the actual molds for comparison with the plaintiff's product. The truth will then naturally come to light."

Wang Fugui's face turned pale instantly.

He knew that once the court subpoenaed the molds, all his lies would be exposed.

The presiding judge flipped through the documents. "Continue."

The second photo appeared.

It was a scan of a purchase order.

The order clearly stated: Purchase of "Storm" chassis 3D scanning data and mold-making services, amount: 120,000 yuan.

Signed: Lubao Electric Vehicle Factory.

Stamped: Lubaba Factory Official Seal.

Signature: Li Biao.

The gallery completely erupted.

"That's the smoking gun! The evidence is rock solid!"

"Wang Fugui is finished!"

"Thirty million is letting him off easy!"

The presiding judge struck the gavel three times. "Silence! Any further noise and I will clear the courtroom!"

The courtroom fell silent once more.

But everyone's eyes were fixed on Wang Fugui.

Wang Fugui slumped in his chair, staring at the order on the screen.

Li Biao had signed it.

Li Biao had stamped it.

But he was the one who had told Li Biao to do it.

There was no way to dodge this bill.

Chen Xu's lawyer continued, "Your Honor, in addition to the molds and purchase orders, we also possess the complete production records for the defendant's 'storm god of war'."

He produced a thick stack of documents. "This includes production times, quantities, sales channels, daily shipping volumes, and even the factory serial numbers for every single vehicle. We have detailed records of it all."

The lawyer paused and continued:

"More importantly, the defendant's actions did not just infringe upon our trade secrets. They also maliciously disrupted market order through predatory pricing and false advertising."

"The defendant claimed the 'storm god of war' was an independently developed high-performance product, when in reality, it is a shoddily-made counterfeit produced using design data obtained through illegal means."

"This behavior has caused our side immense economic loss and reputational damage, and it has also seriously harmed consumer rights."

Having finished, the lawyer turned to look at Wang Fugui.

Wang Fugui kept his head down, not daring to meet his gaze.

The presiding judge looked at the defense table. "Defense, do you have any objections to this evidence?"

Wang Fugui's lawyer stood up.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

After more than ten seconds of silence.

The lawyer spoke with difficulty. "The defense... has no objections at this time."

Having said that, he sat back down weakly.

The presiding judge nodded and flipped through the materials.

Everyone knew that the outcome of this lawsuit was no longer in doubt.

The presiding judge closed the file and looked at Wang Fugui.

"Defendant, do you have anything else to say?"

Wang Fugui looked up.

He wanted to say something, but in the end, he just shook his head.

The presiding judge struck the gavel. "Given that the evidence provided by the plaintiff is sufficient and the facts are clear, this court will announce the verdict on a later date."

"Court adjourned."

The gavel fell.

The people in the gallery began to file out, their discussions rising and falling.

Wang Fugui sat in his place, motionless.

He stared at Chen Xu's back.

Chen Xu stood up, turned around, and glanced at him.

Chen Xu turned and walked out of the courtroom.

Sunlight streamed in from the doorway, coating him in a golden outline.

...

Three days later.

The court's written judgment arrived.

Verdict: The infringement by the defendant, Lubao Electric Vehicle Factory, is established.

Compensation to the plaintiff, Xingchen Machinery, for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling thirty million yuan.

Immediately cease production and sales of the "storm god of war."

Issue a public apology in provincial media to eliminate the negative impact.

When the judgment was delivered to Wang Fugui, he went completely numb.

Five million.

Plus the previous bank loans, the high-interest private loans, and the money for refunds and compensation due to quality issues.

In total, it exceeded fifty million.

Where was he going to get that much money?

Wang Fugui sat in his office, looking at the workshop outside the window.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking echoed.

Li Biao pushed the door open, his face deathly pale. "Mr. Wang, the bank called. They said if the loan isn't repaid by the end of this month, they will auction off the factory building to settle the debt."

Wang Fugui closed his eyes.

"And as for the private lenders..."

Li Biao's voice grew smaller. "They said if you don't want anything bad to happen, you should sign the factory over to them."

Wang Fugui opened his eyes. "Sign it over to whom?"

Li Biao swallowed hard. "They said... Chen Xu is willing to take over the Lubaba Factory to offset part of the compensation and debt."

Chen Xu.

Chen Xu again.

From start to finish, Chen Xu had been plotting against him.

Sending an undercover agent into his factory.

Planting landmines on his production line.

Waiting for him to jump into the pit, and then stomping him to death.

Finally, he was even going to swallow up his factory.

Wang Fugui sat in his chair.

Chen Xu's words echoed in his mind: "Mr. Wang, counterfeiting carries risks; one must be cautious when plagiarizing."