The world is in trouble

Chapter 290: The Quantum Phone Launch Event!
On his way to the airport, Lin Xiao suddenly received a phone call from Amy Pascal.

"Lin, don't go to the airport, don't go to the airport."

"Leave California immediately, leave immediately."

Immediately afterward, another phone rang; it was James Dolan's.

"Lin, leave California immediately. Give me your location, and I'll send a helicopter to pick you up and take you to Nevada. We've prepared a plane for you there and will handle all the formalities for you. You can leave from there."

Immediately afterwards, Texas Instruments Chairman Templeton also called Lin Xiao.

Leave California.

However, it's probably too late.

Lin Xiao had clearly seen that cars had appeared in front, behind, left, and right, completely surrounding his vehicle, and that sirens were on, forcing him to stop.

Soon, Lin Xiao's car was forced to stop.

Then, the car in front stopped, opened its door, and four people got out.

"Hello, are you Mr. Lin Xiao?" The man in the suit was very polite: "We are from the Economic Crime Division of the San Francisco Police Department. This is my work ID."

Both parties handed over their identification documents.

“You are involved in a transnational commercial crime, so you cannot leave.”

"Please come with us."

Lin Xiao didn't speak, but the lawyer next to him immediately stepped forward to negotiate with the other party.

Lin Xiao continued making phone calls inside the car.

Sure enough, it's someone else's territory. They're really fast. Schmidt just gave him an ultimatum, and they've already come to arrest him.

Next, he kept making phone calls, the first one being to Wu Lingxi.

"Several core members of Xsoft have also been taken away."

"Two core members of the X Research Institute who are in charge of the mobile operating system were also taken away."

"But it wasn't the FBI that was dispatched; it was people sent by the San Francisco Police Department."

..............................

When Lin Xiao was brought to the San Francisco Police Department, it was already surrounded by reporters who were snapping photos.

Meanwhile, one call after another was made to the San Francisco Police Department, the State Attorney General's Office, and even the Governor.

One car after another arrived at the San Francisco Police Department.

Then, several detectives from the Economic Crimes Division began interrogating Lin Xiao in an office.

Lin Xiao, of course, remained silent.

A few hours later, a lawyer appeared before Lin Xiao.

"Mr. Lin, we meet again."

Lin Xiao: "Hello, Ms. Gerken."

The female lawyer in front of him is a super big shot in the American legal community, and her entire team will serve Lin Xiao.

It wasn't just because of Lin Xiao's personal affairs, but more importantly because she was in charge of the entire lawsuit with Google.

“This is a protracted lawsuit that will take a very long time,” Ms. Gerken said. “And the reason they chose to take action at this time is to prevent you from returning to China to hold a press conference.”

"But so far, neither the Department of Justice nor the FBI has intervened, which is good news for us."

The United States is a country heavily influenced by shadow forces, but it has a different kind of power game.

While Google is incredibly wealthy, the interest groups behind Lin Xiao are also enormous.

"As is customary, they will detain you for 48 hours and then release you."

"But it is very likely that after you are released, you will be brought back on another charge and detained again for 48 hours, until you miss the press conference on May 31."

"But don't worry, we're 60% confident we can solve this problem."

Many forces are now putting pressure on the San Francisco Police Department, the California Attorney General, and even the Governor.

"We will do everything in our power to get you out of the United States and back to China within 48 hours."

Lin Xiao suddenly said, "Is the entire internet and the entire media now reporting that I've been arrested?"

Ms. Gerken said, "Of course, that was their core objective."

Lin Xiao: "Ms. Gerken, please send a lawyer to meet with me again in six hours."

Ms. Gerken: "Mr. Lin, six hours later?"

Lin Xiao: "Yes, I need to spend these few hours thinking and then make a new decision."

....................................

The San Francisco Police Department felt as if they had stirred up a hornet's nest.

One call after another came in, each one from a higher-ranking official than the last.

When the two detectives from the Economic Crimes Division interrogated Lin Xiao, their attitude became increasingly oppressive.

“Mr. Lin, you know that this time we not only arrested you, but also people from XSOFT and X Research Institute. Their mouths aren’t so tight, and they’ve started to reveal their commercial crimes one after another.”

"It seems you've not only committed theft of trade secrets, but also commercial espionage."

Throughout the entire process, Lin Xiao remained completely silent, merely glancing indifferently at the two detectives before him, ignoring them entirely.

He was fully engaged in weighing the options and thinking things through.

I went through the scenario in my mind over and over again.

About six hours later!
Another lawyer came in to meet with him.

However, when Lin Xiao saw her, he was stunned.

Lianyi?!
Isn't she pursuing her PhD at Yale Law School?
“Mr. Lin, I am Ms. Gerken’s assistant lawyer. Ms. Wu Lingxi, another client, asked me to meet with you.”

Lian Yi desperately suppressed the surging emotions within her and sat down in front of him, her hands trembling.

"Everything is ready."

"The progress is about 60% complete."

Lin Xiao immediately understood what this meant: all the interest groups had already begun to exert their influence.

Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube, AMC, New12, and even CBS are all ready to launch a media offensive.

Lin Xiao suddenly said, "Little Water Drop, after you go out, tell the people back home, tell Wu Lingxi, to implement Plan B."

Lian Yi: "You're not going back to China?"

Lin Xiao: "Yes, we're not going back to China. And we've instructed all the media to suppress the news and prevent it from going viral until after the press conference on May 31st."

Lian Yi wanted to ask why, but she quickly nodded and said, "I understand. Is there anything else?"

Lin Xiao: "Tell my parents that I'm fine, and that not returning to China is my own strategy, not because there's any real danger."

Lian Yi: "Okay."

Then, both sides fell silent.

The two hadn't seen each other for a very long time.

"Alright, go back now. We can talk about anything else after this storm has passed," Lin Xiao said gently.

Lian Yi put away her paper and pen and stood up.

Little Water Drop has really grown up; now she looks like a grown-up, and she's even wearing a suit.

She nodded, then suddenly threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

Two full minutes later, Lian Yi left.

After getting out and into the car, her tears finally burst forth.

I took out my phone, opened the text message, read it over and over again, and pressed the phone tightly against my heart.

About half a minute later, she dialed Xia Xi's number: "Lin Xiao said to execute Plan B."

Xia Xi: "Okay, I understand."

Then, Lian Yi dialed Lin Xiao's father's number.

"Dad, I...I am Little Water Drop."

"Lin Xiao is fine. It was all part of his plan. You don't need to worry."

"Yes, although this is in the United States, our influence is very, very great, and we have many friends."

"Yes, after a while, I'll go back to see you with him."

........................

The news of Lin Xiao's arrest in the United States, along with related photos, spread across the entire Chinese internet almost instantly.

Public opinion has completely exploded to its breaking point.

There are all kinds of sounds.

"The United States is a place that upholds the law. If you commit a crime, you will definitely be arrested, even if you are a billionaire."

"In China, Er Gou could get away with anything, no matter how much he skirted the line or broke the law. But in the United States, where the law is supreme, he was immediately punished."

"In a society governed by the rule of law, everyone is equal, and anyone who commits a crime must be punished."

"It seems that Er Gou's plagiarism of Google is a done deal, and it's not just plagiarism, but also suspected of commercial fraud and commercial espionage. Er Gou is probably going to spend the rest of his life in jail."

Similar opinions began to stir up trouble.

Many more people were utterly shocked, and even a little frightened.

Even though many people didn't speak out, Er Gou, the leader of the cult, still held a significant place in their hearts.

However, the current public opinion is dominated by Western voices, making it difficult for them to voice their opinions.

Countless people are unwilling to accept, deep down, that Er Gou committed a crime and that he plagiarized Google.

Moreover, wasn't Er Gou Jiaozhu supposed to make a triumphant return on May 31st?
Wasn't the quantum technology launch event supposed to be held on that day?

Now that Er Gou has been arrested in the United States, will this press conference still be held?
........................

In fact, Ms. Gerken is already in the California Attorney General's office.

Her connections and prestige in the legal world are astonishing, and the Charles Dolan family, as an old and established family, also has a very deep foundation.

Therefore, their claim that they could get Lin Xiao out of the country and back to the United States within 48 hours was not unfounded; it was indeed possible.

Even if detained for 48 hours, he can still make it to the press conference on the 31st by taking a plane from the United States on the 29th and returning to China.

But... Lin Xiao changed his mind.

Since the other party has made a move, he should take this opportunity to maximize his own benefit.

Or perhaps, in some way, this is also the will of Heaven?

After receiving the call, Xia Xi immediately went to Ning City to have a meeting with Lian Zheng and people from Quantum Technology.

Lian Zheng's eyes were bloodshot, and his chest heaved as if he were brewing anger and power.

“I’ve already reported this over the phone. I’ll be heading to Beijing in a few hours,” Lian Zheng said. “The higher-ups will definitely put pressure on us, and they’ll also launch a swift and decisive attack on the domestic situation.”

Xia Xi finished explaining Lin Xiao's entire plan to Lian Zheng.

Lian Zheng took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"That's fine, that's fine too."

“From the bottom of my heart, I hope that he can become a spiritual symbol and an idol, but I don’t want him to be under the spotlight and have his every move monitored by countless eyes.”

More than an hour later, Lian Zheng headed to the airport and flew to Beijing.

........................

Following this, a trailer appeared on Facebook, YouTube, and the official website of Quantum Technology.

On May 31st, the king returned.

Following closely, Zhejiang TV, Jiangnan TV, and Shanghai TV also released trailers.

Quantum Technology Press Conference, May 31, 20:00!
Moreover, the trailer ends with four big words: The King Returns!
Three satellite TV channels will broadcast the entire event live.

Instantly, countless people were stunned.

Wasn't Er Gou, the cult leader, arrested in the US? Why is there still a press conference?
How can he make a triumphant return?

Immediately afterwards...

Television teams from American networks like AMC and CBS, as well as from Japanese and other countries, have flocked to China.

They wouldn't normally pay attention to this press conference.

But now, it has become a global focus. Quantum technology and quantum phones, which were previously unknown, are now known almost worldwide because of this major battle.

Moreover, one big shot after another flew to China to attend the press conference on May 31.

Chairman of Texas Instruments, CEO of American cable television networks, CEO of Sony Electronic Entertainment, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, CEO of SoftBank Group, Vice President of ARM, CEO of Sharp, Chairman of Yahoo! Group, Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group, and so on.

Moreover, almost all of China's internet giants have mobilized.

Many big shots weren't planning to come, so why would they bother with your stinky feet?

However, the attitude from above is almost stern; if you don't come, the consequences will be quite serious.

Moreover, the members attending from Shanghai and Zhejiang were of very high rank.

Even relevant ministries will send representatives to attend.

........................

May 31st, truly the day of billions of eyes.

Even with three satellite TV channels broadcasting the show simultaneously, the viewership ratings skyrocketed.

Three minutes before 20:00 PM, the TV station switched to live footage of the press conference.

Countless people watched in front of their television sets.

With a dozen seconds left until 20 p.m., the stage lights went out.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

The lights come on.

There's one more person on the stage.

A person sitting in a wheelchair.

"Hello everyone, my name is Wu Di, and I am the chief scientist of quantum technology."

"Originally, this press conference was to be hosted by Er Gou himself, but for well-known reasons, I will be doing it in his place."

"Actually, a few months ago, Er Gou seemed to have a premonition of this day, so he came to me in the middle of the night and told me to make relevant preparations, as I might be needed to play."

“I even scolded him back then, saying he was being really pretentious. So what if public opinion on the internet isn't on your side right now? So what if your reputation hasn't been restored? Is it really necessary for you to be too afraid to even attend a press conference?”

"I never expected that his words would come true, and he actually let me play."

"I only had three days, so I wasn't prepared at all. Please forgive me if the press conference is not perfect."

“I yelled at him really hard back then. Of course, I’ve never been very nice to him. I’m always yelling at him or cursing him.”

"He is our spiritual leader, and we all hope that he can stage a triumphant return."

"He can't come now."

"It suddenly occurred to me that this might be fate, and perhaps it's a good thing."

"Three years ago, on this very day, he announced his complete withdrawal from Lightning Corporation and then disappeared from the public eye."

"This is really good, so he doesn't have to be in the spotlight anymore."

"Next, let me briefly introduce myself. My name is Wu Di, and I am a PhD student in the Department of Mathematics at Aurora University."

"I also have another identity, and for a long time I have been Er Gou's enemy."

"About many years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, the same disease as Hawking, and it was early-onset in adolescence, so my life was over many years ago."

“About four years ago, I left China to live in the United States because my condition was becoming increasingly obvious. So I wanted to enjoy the last days of my life and take one last adventure.”

“There is a natural snow mountain that is very dangerous. My cousin Wu Lingxi was skiing there when she was a teenager and fell off a cliff, breaking her arm. I fell on the same day as her, but the two of us broke different arms.”

"So I thought, since I'm losing control of my body more and more, and I don't have many good years left, I might as well take another chance, so I went to that dangerous snow mountain again."

"Then, I failed again and crashed into the cliff."

"This time it was a complete disaster. I broke my spine. I didn't even have to wait for my Parkinson's to fully develop before I was crippled and completely paralyzed."

“My life was completely over, so I chose euthanasia. American law doesn’t allow it, so I went to the Netherlands.”

"At this time, Lin Xiao found me and said that my life was a complete failure, that I was a so-called genius but had no value to this world."

Then, they said there was something very difficult and challenging that they wanted to do with me.

"This matter concerns the development of a mobile phone operating system."

"I cursed him out, saying he was crazy. I study mathematics, I don't know much about computers or programming, you want me to write code? Develop an operating system?"

"Then, I resolutely went to the Netherlands and chose euthanasia."

"How many minutes did I die? Or half an hour?"

"When I opened my eyes again, Lin Xiao's mocking face appeared in front of me once more, asking if I still wanted to die. If I still wanted to die, then he would not stop me. If I no longer wanted to die, then I could follow him to make a mobile phone system and make mobile phones with him. That's pretty cool."

“I died once and didn’t want to die anymore. Then, inexplicably, I was kidnapped and joined quantum technology, becoming its chief scientist.”

"Some of what happened afterward you already know."

"We're spending more and more money."

"Lin Xiao quickly spent all his money, so he started taking out loans. He borrowed $800 million overseas, and eventually had to repay more than $900 million, nearly $1 billion, including principal and interest."

"In China, he also took out loans of more than 3 billion RMB."

"So, in other words, we've already spent over 10 billion RMB on this phone before it even went on sale?"

“We’ve calculated it many times, and it seems that no matter how many units we sell, we’ll lose money.”

How much did Apple's first iPhone cost in total? What was the total development cost of Google's G1?

"What manufacturer in the world would invest over 10 billion to develop a single mobile phone?"

"People like that are either crazy or stupid."

Wu Di paused briefly at this point.

"I really want to tell everyone how important this phone is. It represents a new industrial revolution and an advanced mobile internet revolution."

"It will even determine the upgrading of the entire technology industry over the next decade."

"I want to describe it as incredibly magnificent and grand."

"However, Er Gou told me to try not to be too sentimental."

Unfortunately, I'm not very good at this.

Wu Di instinctively smoothed his hair, but accidentally knocked off his wig, revealing his sparse scalp.

The scene suddenly became awkward.

His assistant quickly came over to help him pick up the wig and put it back on.

"Never mind, never mind, I'm too nervous. My head is covered in sweat, I can't keep it dry." Wu Di waved his hand and said, "Everyone at Aurora University knows that I was really handsome back then, the number one campus heartthrob."

"Although Er Gou is very handsome, he is still far inferior to me."

"As a result, in just three years, I, a super handsome man, have turned into a balding middle-aged man."

"Mr. Zhou Xingchi is downstairs. I can't help but think of a line from your movie: 'I'm so handsome, why am I bald? You're not so handsome, why aren't you bald?'"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the room.

This is indeed not the original manuscript, but rather Wu Di's own interpretation.

Good heavens, he was really handsome back then, a super handsome man.

"I really want to tell everyone how advanced our mobile phone chips are, exceeding Apple's unreleased products by 30% and Google's G1 by more than 45%."

"Chips are a source of pain for all Chinese scientists and technologists."

"Especially after the Hanxin incident, the entire chip industry was branded with shame."

"I want to tell everyone just how important this chip is."

"I even want to tell everyone that this chip was completely independently developed by our X Research Institute. It is a great Chinese chip that represents the rise of national technology."

"In fact, we can say that this chip belongs entirely to quantum technology and Chinese intellectual property rights, and no one will refute that."

"Even the code name for this chip is X1."

"But...I can't!"

"We only own 50% of the intellectual property rights to this chip; the remaining 50% belongs to Texas Instruments."

"In fact, when we were designing this chip, our X Research Institute was relatively small, and Texas Instruments did more than 70% of the work."

"If this fails to evoke your national pride, then... I'm very sorry."

"Because Master Er Gou disdains lying, and I believe everyone can attest to that."

"Three years ago, he had completely restored his reputation and cleared his name of all stains, but he came out and admitted it again. As a result, he completely withdrew from the public eye and resigned from all power in the Lightning Group."

"Simply because of his honesty, because he disdains lying, and he is even more unwilling to lie to all his fans."

"And so, we were attacked and smeared for three whole years."

“Countless public opinions have attacked him for betraying his motherland, collaborating with the United States, being a Western worshipper, and transferring his assets overseas.”

"Ha ha ha ha……"

"Is there anything more absurd in the world? You actually slander someone arrested by the United States as a traitor to his own country?"

"Ergou borrowed an astronomical amount of US dollars and then used all of that money for domestic industrial upgrading. Do you think he transferred assets?"

"How can you transfer assets like that?"

"Stop, stop, try not to get sentimental."

Wu Di tried to calm himself down and continued slowly, "As we all know, Apple's iPhone and Google's G1 represent the most advanced mobile phones in the world, and their screens are 320P."

"I really want to tell you how amazing our screens are. We're 480p, and our resolution is twice that of Apple and Google—a full two times!"

"I really want to brag to you that we co-developed this world's top screen with Sharp."

"But... this screen was either developed by us or entirely by Sharp."

"We were only responsible for the related adjustments. Our technical skills in this area are very weak, and we are not yet capable of joining this game."

"We are only responsible for spending money, spending astronomical sums of money to develop and mass-produce related technologies for Sharp several years in advance, and then the cost of each of our screens is many times that of Apple and Google."

"And the baseband chip is entirely from Texas Instruments. Our quantum technology and X Research Institute's contribution in this area is negligible."

"I am very sorry, but we don't have much to offer in these core technologies."

"I'm very sorry that I can't make you proud."

At this point, Wu Di fell into a brief silence.

"We've burned through over 10 billion yuan, but we still haven't made many breakthroughs in key core technologies."

"but……"

"This mobile operating system is the only one that we developed entirely independently!"

"It is 100% proprietary intellectual property of X Research Institute."

"As a result, Google said we copied them, and as a result, they arrested Er Gou and several people from X Research Institute."

"I want to ask the whole world, is there any logic in the advanced copying the backward?"

"We rely on Texas Instruments for most of our chips, and Sharp for our screens."

"The only operating system we can say with a clear conscience is entirely ours. It is the best mobile operating system in the world, bar none!"

Then, Wu Di pressed the remote control.

The large screen behind them lit up.

"This is Apple's iPhone."

"This is Google's G1."

"This is our first-generation quantum phone!"

Immediately, the images of three mobile phones appeared on the high-definition screen.

This time, the world's public saw for the first time the third entrepreneurial venture of Er Gou Jiaozhu.

This is the first time I've actually seen a quantum phone.

Anyone with eyes can see how stunning it is.

In terms of appearance, it completely outclasses the other two phones, utterly crushing them.

...............................

Note: I'm only half an hour earlier than yesterday, sorry! I will definitely finish it before 9 o'clock tomorrow, thank you everyone.

Benefactor with monthly passes, please grant me one!

(End of this chapter)