253: Chapter 253 Stirring Up Global Storms

6:00 PM, Secure Conference Room No. 3 (Iran)

The negotiations here were the most difficult.

Ali Hassan, Minister of the Equipment Department of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, brought four people with him, each looking nervous.

US sanctions hung over their heads like the Sword of Damocles; any major arms purchase with Iran could trigger a strong reaction from the United States.

"We need the qimingxing missile," Ali said straightforwardly, "but how will it be delivered? The United States will intercept the transport ships."

Gu Xinghe provided a solution: "Transshipment through a third country. The missiles will be disassembled into parts in China and shipped to Malaysia under the name of 'civilian industrial equipment.' They will be reassembled in a factory in Malaysia and then shipped to Iran under the name of 'civilian sounding rockets.'"

"Nameplates and documents will all be replaced; the United States will not be able to find direct evidence," Gu Xinghe added, "but due to the additional costs and risks involved, the price will increase by 100%."

"20 million USD per unit?" Ali's expression darkened.

"Yes. And it must be a cash transaction, or settled in gold or rmb. US dollars won't work; they will be frozen."

Ali fell silent. 100 qimingxing missiles would cost 2 billion USD; for a sanctioned Iran, this was an astronomical figure.

"We can trade with oil," he attempted.

"That is possible, but the oil price must be 10% lower than the international market, and Iran is responsible for transportation and insurance," Gu Xinghe said, "because we also face risks when reselling this oil."

Another round of difficult bargaining ensued.

The final preliminary agreement reached was:

qimingxing missile: 30 units, 600 million USD, paid in oil, delivered over 2 years.

Peregrine Falcon air defense system: 10 sets, 450 million USD (including price increase), paid in cash (rmb).

Comet missile (de-featured version): 200 units, 200 million USD.

Totaling about 1.25 billion USD, although far less than Saudi Arabia, it was already Iran's best effort.

Before signing, Ali suddenly asked: "If the United States discovers this and applies pressure, will China withstand the pressure?"

Gu Xinghe looked at him and said slowly: "Spark Group is not a state-owned enterprise; our actions do not represent the country. But if anyone attacks Spark Group because of commercial activities..."

He paused: "We have our own way of responding."

Ali nodded and signed the agreement.

He knew that this was not just buying weapons, but buying "insurance"—tying Iran's interests with Spark Group. If the United States dared to touch these weapons in Iran, it would be equivalent to directly challenging Spark Group.

And the muscle Spark Group displayed today was enough to make the United States think twice.

6:30 PM, Media Center.

Unlike the monetary transactions in the secret room, the Media Center was a battlefield of public opinion.

As soon as Gu Xinghe appeared, he was surrounded by more than thirty reporters. Half of them were from Western media, and the questions were sharper than the last.

Michael Stone, a defense reporter for the BBC, was the first to challenge him: "CEO Gu, the weapon data displayed by your company is extremely astonishing, but how can you prove that this data is true? Especially the AI decision-making of the qimingxing missile; there is currently no mature precedent globally. Is there any exaggerated promotion?"

A typical Western media tactic: question the authenticity first.

Gu Xinghe did not defend himself, but simply waved his hand.

An assistant brought up a stack of documents, each dozens of pages thick.

"Switzerland SGS Weapon Testing Center, Swedish FOI Defense Research Institute, Germany Fraunhofer Society, French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) testing department, Italy Ministry of National Defense Technical Bureau..." Gu Xinghe picked them up one by one, showing the covers, "These are the partial test certification reports for today's five weapons from seven authoritative international organizations."

He opened one of them; it was the test report from Switzerland SGS on the main gun of the sabertooth hx-30 tank.

"140mm electrothermal chemical gun, 2000 meters distance, penetration depth of 1100mm homogeneous steel armor. Test date: January 15, 2023. Test location: Switzerland Thun shooting range. Witnesses: Swiss military, German Federal Defense Equipment Office, Swedish Defense Materiel Administration."

He handed the report to the reporters in the front row: "You can circulate this. Each report has raw data, test video archive numbers, and notary seals. If you suspect fraud, you can check with these institutions."

The reporters quickly flipped through the reports and took pictures. The professional level, data details, and third-party stamps of the reports looked impeccable.

Michael Stone's expression was somewhat ugly. He had thought Spark Group would avoid this question, but he didn't expect the other party to be so well prepared.

Yuko Tanaka, a reporter for Japan's "Asahi Shimbun," took over: "CEO Gu, Xingchen Defense selling these advanced weapons to Middle East countries, will it disrupt the regional balance? Especially the qimingxing missile, which may trigger a new round of arms race."

Gu Xinghe looked at her, his eyes sharp: "Ms. Tanaka, Japan purchases tens of billions of dollars in arms from the United States every year, including F-35 fighter jets, the 'Aegis' missile defense system, and 'Tomahawk' cruise missiles. At that time, did your media ask 'whether it disrupts the East Asian balance'?"

"This..." Yuko Tanaka was speechless.

"Or," Gu Xinghe continued, "when the United States sells weapons to Taiwan, has your media questioned whether it 'disrupts the Taiwan Strait balance'?"

This remark was even sharper, directly exposing the double standard.

The scene was in an uproar, and reporters recorded frantically.

"Whether arms sales disrupt the balance does not depend on the weapons themselves, but on the intentions of the user," Gu Xinghe's voice rose, "Saudi Arabia buys weapons to defend against drone attacks by Houthi militants, Iran is to cope with security threats under US sanctions, and Pakistan is to counter the numerically superior Indian Air Force."

He paused, saying every word clearly: "And some countries buy weapons to threaten their neighbors and disrupt regional stability. This is the key to the problem."

This remark did not name anyone, but everyone knew who he was talking about.

The scene was quiet for a few seconds.

Then a reporter from Radio France Internationale asked: "CEO Gu, as a private enterprise, Spark Group is engaged in military trade. Does this mean that China's military industry system has changed? Will more private enterprises enter this field in the future?"

This was a deeper question.

Gu Xinghe thought for a moment and replied: "Xingchen Defense is a special case. We possess core technologies developed independently and strictly comply with international law and Chinese law. As for other enterprises... as long as they comply with regulations, pass reviews, and meet technical standards, why not?"

He changed the subject: "Must the military industry field only be monopolized by state-owned enterprises and Western giants? Competition brings progress, while monopoly brings corruption and backwardness—this is common sense in the business world, and it applies equally to the military industry."

The interview lasted forty minutes.

Gu Xinghe used facts, data, and logic to address all the doubts.

When the last reporter put down the microphone, it was already 7:10 PM.

7:30 PM, Second Floor Conference Center.

Su Chen looked at the summarized data.

Lin Wan reported: "Five hours of negotiations, total intended order amount: approximately 52 billion USD. Among them, Saudi Arabia 22 billion (including production lines), Russia 8 billion (pending confirmation), Iran 1.25 billion, Pakistan 3.2 billion (purchasing Comet missiles and Peregrine Falcon systems), UAE 3.5 billion, and Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, etc., totaling approximately 14.2 billion."

"US reaction?"

"The Pentagon's emergency meeting just ended." Lin Wan pulled up the intelligence, "They decided to upgrade sanctions: list Xingchen Defense on the SDN list and freeze all USD transactions. At the same time, they require all enterprises using US technology not to cooperate with Xingchen Defense."

"As expected," Su Chen sneered, "Initiate Plan B: All transactions will be settled in rmb, Euro, or gold. Notify the signed clients that if they trade with resources, the resource value must be 10% lower than the market price, and the clients must bear the transportation risk themselves."

"In addition," he added, "have the finance department prepare to issue 'Xingchen Military Industry Bonds,' using the arms purchase contracts as collateral to raise funds in the international market. If the Western financial system excludes us, we will build our own."

Gu Xinghe pushed the door open, his face tired, but his eyes bright.

"The effect has been achieved," he said, "within three months, the first batch of equipment will be delivered. By then, the military balance in the Middle East and South Asia will begin to change."

Su Chen walked to the window and looked at the night view of Shenzhen.

The city was just lighting up, traffic was like a weave, peaceful and prosperous.

But beneath this peace, an invisible war had already begun. It was not a war of smoke and fire, but a war of technology, finance, and rules.

"This is just the beginning," Su Chen said softly, "When our Starlink completes its networking, the space computing platform goes online, and the moon base is established... by then, the rules will be set by us."

He turned around and looked at Gu Xinghe and Lin Wan:

"Before today, they were the teachers, and we were the students."

"After today, we are peers."

"And tomorrow..."

He did not finish, but everyone understood.

Tomorrow, who is the teacher and who is the student, is yet to be determined.

Outside the window, the night was getting deeper.

But the light of Spark Group had only just begun to illuminate the world.