Invasion of America

Chapter 49 Electric Flight
As the plane slowly descended and prepared to land at Shanghai International Airport, Kelly looked out of the business class window and saw an oversized modern city.

Skyscrapers stand like a forest, their glass curtain walls gleaming brightly in the sun.

The crisscrossing elevated bridges are bustling with traffic, like flowing blood vessels, transporting the vitality of the city to every corner.

This was not Kelly's first visit to the "Oriental Metropolis", but it had been a full ten years since her last visit.

During these ten years, she has traveled to almost every corner of the world.

She has been to the bustling cities of Tokyo and Seoul, strolled along the Champs-Elysées in Paris and the Colosseum in Rome;

She has chased sunsets on the African grasslands, explored ancient ruins in the South American rainforests, and cared about the suffering of local indigenous people in Southeast Asia.

Ten years ago, the world was still thriving.

Even if the yellow-haired real estate developer had not come to power, the United States would still be the undisputed number one in the world, the global economy would be booming, and everyone would be full of hope for the future.

Kelly was still young at that time, not married and had no children.

She was full of passion, thinking she could break free from her father's control and live a truly independent life.

But ten years later, the world has taken a 180-degree turn.

The economy is either stagnant or declining, public sentiment is becoming increasingly extreme, and politicians have to act like actors in order to please voters.

Kelly's greatest resistance to her father was to reject the marriage partner he had chosen and choose to marry a young dentist who was just starting his career.

However, this marriage did not free her from her dependence on her father.

On the contrary, her dentist husband achieved "success" by earning millions of dollars a year by opening three dental clinics with the help of his billionaire father.

Whenever her father, Jeff Connelly, mentioned this incident, he always said with a hint of sarcasm: "Kelly, you chose a loser as your husband.

If you listen to me and marry a talented young man, your family's annual income will be at least 30 to 40 million US dollars, and over 100 million is not impossible."

Kelly could only remain silent. She knew her father was right. If she hadn't been born into a wealthy family, she would have been nothing.

The conflict between father and daughter originated when Kelly was twelve years old.

At that time, her parents were an enviable "perfect couple" with a happy family and a carefree life.

Kelly felt like the happiest little princess in the world.

Until that day, my parents announced their divorce without any warning, saying they were tired of each other.

At that moment, her world collapsed.

From then on, Kelly's feelings towards her father became complicated and contradictory - she was dependent on him but also hated him; she longed for his approval but also desperately wanted to escape from his control.

As the plane slowly landed on the runway, Kelly took a deep breath and brought her thoughts back to reality.

She knew that her trip to Shanghai was not only to see “electric flight”, but also to find a new possibility.

She chose a new man, a young, rich, impulsive and inexperienced outsider, hoping that this outsider would turn the game upside down.
-
When Kelly was about to come, the legal department of "Electric Flight" found out during the "background check" that this big foreign girl's resume and background were really shocking.

She graduated from a prestigious university, was a senior manager at JP Morgan, and had a billionaire father who controlled a professional investment firm called Pioneer Holdings.

The key is that the scale of investment is over 10 billion US dollars - although it is not a big investment bank, it is not small either.

Everyone at Electric Flight immediately threw aside all their previous doubts - this was the God of Wealth coming to feed them, and if they didn't have enough to eat, they would deserve to starve to death.

Most of the startup team members are science and engineering geeks, and the company management is also lax. Everyone usually wears slippers, has messy hair, and is unkempt, but no one says anything at all.

In order to pick up Kelly at the airport, dozens of people from "Electric Flight" racked their brains - everyone had to dress in the best possible way and put on their best outfits.

So when Kelly walked out of the airport reception hall, she saw the company's boss and seven or eight well-dressed technical backbones standing outside, grinning foolishly.

"You guys are worthy of being Victor's compatriots. It's no surprise that your fashion sense is bad." Kelly has seen many career elites in the financial circle, but she has never met many people working in the industrial sector.

Her initial negative review left the people at Electric Flight feeling lost, thinking they had offended this rich girl.
-
On the day of the airport pick-up, Kelly checked into a five-star hotel in the city center.

The next morning, Kelly visited the company headquarters accompanied by Marco, vice president of Electric Flight.

In order to save money, the company was originally opened in a renovated office building in the suburbs. The original site was actually an abandoned factory.

Although the office environment is clean and bright after a thorough cleaning, the decoration is very simple.

The employees sit in small cubicles, busy and orderly.

Kelly walked and observed, nodding from time to time, and seemed very satisfied.

When she walked into the R&D department, she asked Marco, who was accompanying her on the tour, a difficult question: "What is the annual salary of your employees here?"

Marco was stunned. He didn't expect Kelly to ask so directly.

He hesitated for a moment, thinking about how to answer tactfully, but Kelly had already continued speaking:

"I looked at the recruitment information on your website. The annual salary for undergraduates is less than 150,000 yuan, and for masters it's just over 200,000 yuan. Even for PhDs, it's good to get 300,000 or 400,000 yuan.

A million-dollar annual salary is extremely rare for you."

She paused and jokingly said, "Based on the US-China exchange rate, divided by seven, your undergraduate annual income is just over $20,000.

In the US, being a waiter in a restaurant is better than this. Your manpower is really worthless."

Marco felt a wave of embarrassment, his face burning. It was truly shameful that a graduate from his own family with a college degree could earn less than a high school dropout from another family.

He was about to explain a few words when Kelly suddenly changed the subject and became serious. "But... those with lower labor costs than you don't have the same high-quality talent.

"Those with high-quality talent don't have lower costs than you. Those with high-quality talent and low costs aren't as hardworking as you. No wonder your products are so popular around the world."

Kelly smiled slyly and said, "If I offer double or triple the salary, can I poach your entire R&D team?"

Marco was speechless for a moment and could only smile bitterly.

Not to mention doubling the salary, even a few thousand more, or sufficient overtime pay, would be enough to wipe out the "Electric Flight" team.

He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Ms. Kelly, you are right. Our salary level is indeed not high, but we provide our employees with more growth opportunities and room for development."

Kelly interrupted without hesitation: "If Victor heard what you said, he would definitely give you a negative score and would never hire you."

Marco was stunned, then said seriously, "There are too many young people and too few good jobs. The wages are low and the labor is intense. This is the reality our country cannot avoid."

"Sixty points," Kelly said.
-
In the afternoon, Kelly visited the 'Electric Flight' foundry.

Inside the factory, machines roar, and workers on the production line bustle with concentration. The working environment is even worse, and the wages are even lower. Currently, no company has shipped large quantities of low-altitude aircraft. Without orders, there's no production capacity, and the unit price is naturally high.

Even American companies have to come to East Asia to find OEMs, otherwise the costs will increase infinitely.

The tour lasted less than ten minutes before Kelly couldn't stand the noise and chaos of the factory and had to leave.

Marco was worried that the vice president didn't understand the situation thoroughly enough, so he could only give a verbal explanation, "Although our factory is not advanced enough, our industrial chain is very complete.

Motors, batteries, electronic controls, and housings. All components are off-the-shelf products and can be delivered within a 100-kilometer radius.

Even if it is chips, if unmanned driving is not required, we have domestic alternatives.

The finished products are currently assembled manually by technicians, but as long as there are enough orders, they can be put on the production line.

We can recruit hundreds of skilled workers at any time to carry out assembly and test in full accordance with standards to ensure safety.

If necessary, we can arrange for engineers to go directly to Miami to handle the problem on site 24 hours a day, ensuring they are available at any time."

Marcos had gone to great lengths to secure a major order, as it was crucial to the company's survival. Then Kelly threw him off again with a single question: "How much would it cost to buy your company?"

Ah. Why do you suddenly want to buy our company?

Kelly continued, “I know Victor once said he would buy your products at double the price, or buy your company for 500 million RMB.

But just take it as a joke.

I've worked in professional investment banking for over a decade and am well aware of the difficulties startups face. After visiting your company, I realized that you are practically on the verge of bankruptcy."

Marco quickly adjusted his mindset and tried to salvage the situation: "Ma'am, we do face some challenges, but our technology and team are irreplaceable."

"Irreplaceable?" Kelly scoffed. "There are many companies in the world that make low-altitude aircraft. Do you know why they chose your 'Electric Flight'?"

How could Marcos know? In fact, he was also confused about this.

"Because your solution satisfied Victor. Other companies are using large motors and rotors, vertical take-off and landing, which are simply enlarged small multi-rotor drones.

You are using an aircraft configuration with dozens of small motors installed on the wings, which allows it to take off and land vertically and fly very quickly.

The advantages of this are fast speed, large load capacity and long range.

Other low-altitude aircraft can only fly less than 100 kilometers, but you have already achieved a range of 250 kilometers with a half-ton payload."

After praising, Kelly taunted, “Your engineers work really hard for a meager salary, but the gap between their efforts and rewards is too far.

After I arrived, I contacted your technical director, and he said that if the salary was doubled, he could bring the entire R&D team over.

As long as there is enough funding, he can develop a better product within half a year.

But Victor didn't want to wait half a year, he was still willing to buy it.

As the vice president, I will not allow Victor to be taken advantage of. It is really a waste to spend 500 million RMB to buy "electric flight".

But if the price is reduced to 100 million, I think it is still worth it.

You are the vice president of the company. If you are willing to come here, I will give you a promotion and at least double your salary. Consider it."

Marco suddenly felt dejected. He knew that the five million yuan price was just a gimmick, used to fish - and the fish really took the bait.

'Electric flight' has indeed reached a point where funding has been exhausted, with no orders, no venture capital, and no story to tell.

Although the visit was brief, Kelly had a basic understanding of electric flight. After visiting the factory, she was even more certain that the product's technological sophistication wasn't high.

Either sell the company or poach your people. This move is too cruel.
-
On the third day after Kelly arrived, she finally got to witness a demonstration of "electric flight." On a spacious test flight field, a 1.5-ton verification aircraft sat quietly on the ground.

As thirty-six small motor fans started up, the fuselage slowly rose into the air, emitting a low humming sound.

The performance of the verification aircraft is amazing - not only can it turn around on the spot and complete a sharp turn of 180 degrees, but it can also fly at a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour by adjusting the angle of the fan.

If the speed is reduced to 150 kilometers per hour, its maximum range can exceed 300 kilometers, which is fully capable of meeting inter-city transportation needs.

Zhou Qingfeng, who was watching the entire test flight from Miami via live broadcast, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the demonstrator but made only two requests:

First, the carbon fiber fuselage was replaced with fiberglass. Ordinary carbon fiber costs hundreds of yuan per kilogram, while the cost of fiberglass is almost negligible.

Second, the beautiful large curved hatch cover should be replaced with a closed design. The cockpit glass doesn't need to be so large; a frame structure and smaller glass panels can be used.

Our products are first and foremost used for transporting goods, so we must lower the production cost, and then the cost of use must be reduced.”

Zhou Qingfeng emphasized in the video, "LiDAR and other things don't need to be installed yet. In the early stages, it will be manned anyway, so it can still be used without radar."

Finally, he asked that "electric flight" be put into production as soon as possible and sent people to Miami to debug it.

Because the aircraft must be connected to the air traffic control system of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there is still a lot of testing work to be done.

The CEO of Electric Flight smiled brightly upon hearing this. However, his smile didn't last long before Kelly made an acquisition proposal:
The company was purchased for RMB 50 million, and approximately RMB 30 million in bank loans and supplier payments were also taken over.

The boss's face instantly turned red, like a cooked red shrimp. He almost cursed on the spot and directly rejected Kelly's proposal.

But it’s not over yet.

That night, Marco submitted his resignation.

William Congers has become the CEO of the Holy Light aviation subsidiary and is in urgent need of a deputy who understands both technology and the market.

Zhou Qingfeng offered Marcos an annual salary of $250,000, triple his original salary. Marcos hesitated for only one night before readily agreeing to go to the United States.

Marco's resignation triggered unrest within Electric Flight. Dozens of people throughout the company, already aware of the CEO's financial constraints, began looking for a way out.

After all, domestic competition is too fierce. Good positions don’t wait for anyone, and once they are snatched away, they are gone.

In just two days, the boss of "Electric Flight" could no longer bear it.

The banks heard about the situation and came to collect the debt. They were worried that if the foreign company set up shop elsewhere, the bank loans to Electric Flight would become bad debts.

Instead of doing this, it is better to sell the company quickly while it is still worth some money.

Under pressure from all sides, Kelly raised the purchase price to 60 million RMB. The boss reluctantly accepted the reality and sold the company to "Holy Light".

On the surface, Kelly's work had been completed until a director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology named Xiao Jinlang came to visit.

(End of this chapter)