239: Chapter 239 Blocking the Software Ecosystem

Afterward, Lu Li directly dialed the internal hotline for the Virtual Helmet team.

As soon as the call connected, he couldn't even be bothered to make small talk.

"Send out a notification."

"Starting from today, all games, game centers, and core applications on the current virtual platform will require additional hardware verification."

"Any device not officially certified by Guanghui Technology is strictly prohibited from running them."

The person on the other end of the line was clearly stunned.

Lu Li's tone remained unchanged.

"Especially the helmet platform from Google; block it completely."

"Whether they can build it or not is their business."

"Whether or not I let them use my ecosystem is my rule."

After speaking, as if suddenly remembering something, he added calmly.

"Hasn't the West always placed restrictions on the core products of Guanghui Technology?"

"Offline stores are closed, it can't be bought on Amazon, official channels are inaccessible, and the products can only circulate in the gray market."

"Since they closed the door first, there's no need for me to keep playing the nice guy."

The person on the other end quickly agreed.

Lu Li hung up the phone, his expression remaining relaxed.

Yet, he acted quickly.

Almost that very night, the new permission update for the Virtual Helmet platform was quietly pushed out.

Over the next few days, news about the Google Virtual Helmet and the Tesla Robot grew increasingly heated online.

The domestic internet exploded.

The first group to emerge was purely shocked.

"Holy crap, the West has caught up?!"

"What kind of speed is this? Weren't the Tesla Robots just wobbling around a few months ago?"

"Did Saint Lu open-source it?!"

"I'm numb. Google is doing helmets, Tesla is doing Robots; did these two companies conspire to ramp up the pressure together?"

Soon, another group began to worry.

"Did they really crack Guanghui Technology's core technology?"

"If they used the Guanghui Technology route without paying patent fees, that's just disgusting."

"Damn, they're stealing our tech right to our faces?"

"The problem is they've already made it; to file a patent lawsuit, we need evidence..."

Later on, the usual suspects in the comment section appeared.

They put on a face of "objective and rational analysis," but their words reeked of people who had been kneeling for too long.

"Isn't this normal? The West has always been the source of technology."

"Who landed on the moon first? Who developed nuclear weapons first? Television, light bulbs, industrial systems—which of these didn't they Pioneer first?"

"Now that Google and Tesla have created similar products, it's more in line with common sense."

"On the contrary, Lu Li rose too suddenly. Who knows if he got foreign technology in advance and just released it first?"

"Maybe they were already working on it, and he just beat them to the punch."

As soon as these comments were posted, the replies exploded in outrage.

"Damn it, are the sheepdogs out for a walk again?"

"Have you been kneeling so long that your knees have taken root in the ground?"

"Always spouting about how foreign countries invented it first—your ancestors were born after someone else's, why don't you take their surname?"

"Seeing these colonial-minded sycophants is disgusting every single time."

"Guanghui Technology's helmet and Robot were right in front of you. Now that someone else brings out a similar shell, you immediately claim Lu Li stole it—is your brain in your heels?"

"I suggest this bunch just emigrate; otherwise, living in the country every day must be quite a grievance for them."

The entire comment section descended into chaos.

There were people making memes, arguing, analyzing technical paths, and others already starting to make teardown prediction videos for the Google Virtual Helmet and Tesla Robot.

The popularity piled up layer upon layer, impossible to suppress.

But Lu Li had little interest in these internet squabbles.

Before getting his hands on the actual hardware data for the Google Virtual Helmet and Tesla Robot, he couldn't be bothered to talk about patents or file a lawsuit right now.

The reason was simple.

No complete hardware.

No underlying system analysis.

No actual architectural teardown.

It was too early to make a judgment.

So his attitude was very direct.

"Buy them first."

"Take them apart, examine them, and then decide how to deal with it."

What really bothered him was never how loud the online arguments were.

It was how exactly the opponent had managed to push their products to this level so suddenly.

But just as the buzz around Google and Tesla hadn't died down, another topic quietly veered off.

Someone turned their attention to that Anti-gravity flying vehicle.

The real photo previously posted on the Guanghui Technology official website was repeatedly zoomed in on, disassembled, and analyzed by countless people.

The more they looked, the more wrong it felt.

Because that thing looked like an elongated jet ski; the fuselage had beautiful lines, but it didn't look like something that could fly.

No propellers.

No exhaust nozzles.

No obvious lift structures.

There was no visible space in the fuselage to fit a large-volume power system and battery pack.

Consequently, a group of "amateur engineers" began to show off their skills online.

"If this thing is Anti-gravity, I'll livestream myself eating three kilograms of blueprints."

"Look at this structure; it completely lacks the aerodynamic layout a traditional aircraft should have."

"It should at least have four large blades, right? Otherwise, how would it take off?"

"And where does the power come from? Where is the battery? I zoomed in on the picture many times. If the energy storage unit is in the base, it's too small."

"With that size of energy storage, even if it could get off the ground, the range would be ten minutes at most."

"I think this is highly likely just a concept product; maybe it's essentially a modified jet ski."

"Don't let the press conference happen and have the actual machine only run on water, while netizens are forced to pretend it can fly."

"Maybe the Guanghui Technology publicity department made a mistake and accidentally typed the words 'Anti-gravity'?"

These analyses sounded plausible, and the logic was even quite complete.

Many people who hadn't paid much attention to the flying vehicle felt it made some sense after reading it.

After all, who would really think about the words 'Anti-gravity'?

In this world, no one believed that so-called Anti-gravity had been developed.

So more and more people began to suspect that Guanghui Technology was deliberately creating a gimmick.

They guessed that in the end, they would say the publicity department typed the wrong words.

A flying vehicle?

Sounds scary.

It might just turn out to be a high-end jet ski with an aggressive design.

Some even began to be sarcastic.

"The Pioneer phone can't beat foreign products, so they turn to using a jet ski to bluff?"

"Anti-gravity? Why don't you just say warp drive?"

"The name is quite grandiose; I suggest next time they go all the way and release an interstellar warship directly."

The controversy grew larger and larger.

And just when the entire internet was arguing most fiercely about "whether this thing can actually fly," the Guanghui Technology official website suddenly updated again.

This time, it wasn't just a simple image.

It was a formal announcement.

The title was short, but it instantly locked the eyes of countless people—

[Guanghui Technology January New Product Launch Announcement]

The text below was simpler and even sharper:

[The Pioneer series routine launch originally scheduled for December will be postponed.]

[Guanghui Technology will hold an independent new product launch in early January.]

[The protagonist of this launch is not a phone.]

[At that time, Guanghui Technology will officially release the first single-person Anti-gravity Vehicle.]

At the very bottom of the announcement, there was an updated real photo.

The silver-gray fuselage sat quietly in the snow, the cold light reflecting off the shell, with a sense of oppression even stronger than the previous picture.

And below the picture, there was a line of text even shorter than the main announcement, but which felt more like a blade—

[It is not a concept image.]

[Nor is it a model.]

[On the day of the launch, Guanghui Technology will let you see with your own eyes how it leaves the ground.]

At this moment, the entire internet completely exploded.

"Holy crap?!"

"They actually emphasized it again!!"

"Wait, is Guanghui Technology admitting it directly?!"

"No way, man, you're for real?!"

"I was just arguing with someone about whether this was a jet ski, and you're telling me it's actually an Anti-gravity flying vehicle?!"

"It's over. Now I'm starting to suspect that all those previous analysis videos are going to become jokes."

"No... if this thing is really an Anti-gravity Vehicle, my worldview is going to shatter!"