America: My Time

Chapter 1551 Fear
Chapter 1541 Fear

"He's gone mad. Does he even know what he's doing?" At this point, the old guys in the US panicked because they had invested a lot of money in Samsung. Their goal was for Samsung to beat John in the memory chip market. But before Samsung could even make a move, John preemptively launched a price war and cleared out its inventory.

"It's not that he's gone mad, but that you've gone too far, pushing him step by step until he had no choice but to do this. You've become too arrogant. Perhaps it's John's repeated compromises in the past that have made you this way, unable to listen to the advice of others. Whether it's Morgan or anyone else, they've advised you more than once or twice not to push him too hard, as this would force John to retaliate, but you simply didn't listen. John is loyal and righteous, but that doesn't mean you can keep holding him hostage. You don't really think that a woman can make John give up his plans in the semiconductor chip industry. You're overthinking it."

"Yes, Rockefeller, you should reflect on your own problems. I admit we all want to use the power of the Koreans to break John's position in memory chips, but this should be done step by step. There's no need to go too far. But you're too hasty now. First energy, then Samsung. You're forcing John to fight back with all his might. Now your semiconductor chip strategy has been completely disrupted. John's crazy attack has caused all our plans to fail. Can Samsung withstand it?"

"Enough! Stop criticizing us. You all accepted Rockefeller's proposal back then without objection. Now that problems have arisen, you want to shift all the blame onto others. Don't you find that ridiculous? No matter how much you try to shirk responsibility, it doesn't change the facts. Now we need to work together to overcome this difficulty. We can't let the Koreans fall, we can't let Samsung fall, and we can't even let those guys from Japan fall. If they all withdraw from the memory chip market, John will have a monopoly, and then he'll have a tight grip on our throats!"

"Can we use anti-monopoly measures, dumping tactics, and other methods to target John and force him to back down?"

"It's no use. John already thought of everything you've thought of. And you haven't forgotten that John now has his own chip factories in Taiwan, China, and even Europe. No matter what you do, it won't work. He can easily break up the company again. Most importantly, John is no longer in the public eye, so even if we want to target him, it's useless. And you all know about Morgan's failure. He notified us immediately, but what were you all doing? Do I need to tell you?"

"This time we were indeed too arrogant and underestimated John's reaction. We were all focused on the huge demand in the memory chip market and forgot that he holds a lot of patents. Without patent licensing, do you think Samsung and those guys have any chance? The flash memory market is huge, but the patents are all in John's hands. That's the biggest problem we overlooked! John's counterattack is just the beginning, and it's only on memory chips. Once the patent trump card is played, we won't have any chance at all!"

"Impossible. Samsung has patent licenses, and so does Japan. We've confirmed that!"

"Indeed, there is, but there is one aspect you have overlooked. There is a special clause that stipulates that under certain circumstances, they can revoke the patent license. You must know what the special clause refers to."

"Damn it, those Korean guys never mentioned this clause. Samsung is cheating us!"

"Enough! What kind of time is this to say such ridiculous things? It wasn't Samsung begging us to make this investment; we took the initiative and even forced them to accept it!"

"Arguing now is useless, Rockefeller. We need your stance. After all, your Rockefeller Group has benefited the most from the Korean market plunder, and you orchestrated all of this. Now you need to make a decision. We don't have much time left. This time, don't try to compromise with John. It's impossible. Even Morgan couldn't persuade him to stop, and nobody can. If we drag this out any longer and John launches further attacks, your semiconductor chip strategy will completely collapse, and all of Korea's investments will be impacted. You've always asked John to prioritize the big picture; now it's time for you to make a choice."

In the past, Rockefeller had always used righteous principles to force others to compromise, but now he was being treated this way, forced to compromise by others using righteous principles. He was unwilling to accept it, but reality left him with no choice. He knew that as long as John took his second step and cut off the patent licensing, their many investments in South Korea would be affected.

“I can compromise, but who do you think can make a deal with John to make him back down? After all, the price war has already started, and he won't give up easily. The Japanese haven't reacted at all; it's obvious they're not worried about John blocking them on patent licensing. But the Koreans are no good. Those guys at Samsung are unreliable. Who can step in and solve all these problems? Even if I wanted to, John wouldn't accept it, otherwise things wouldn't be like this now. He's already made all the preparations; it's just that we were too greedy to notice, or rather, we consciously ignored it!”

Although the situation was unfavorable to him, Rockefeller found ample excuses for himself and shifted the blame onto everyone else. After all, they had all agreed to it, and now that something had gone wrong, he couldn't bear the burden alone. He could compromise, but he couldn't shoulder all the responsibility and consequences alone.

Everyone present was aware of Rockefeller's scheme. Now was not the time to be petty; otherwise, things could escalate and cause them unimaginable losses. The most important thing now was to call a halt, to stop John from retaliating, so they could breathe a sigh of relief. At the very least, they didn't want to see the Koreans' plans completely collapse. The Koreans didn't have the same resources as Japan; if they were dealt a blow by John this time, the price they would pay would be too high!
“Okay, we’ll contact Morgan right away. He’s still in Hong Kong. If he’s willing to step in again, there’s still a chance for things to turn around. We’ll also contact the White House and get the ambassador in Hong Kong to intervene! We must make sure that John doesn’t target Samsung’s patent licensing, or the consequences will be something we can’t afford.”

Do they regret it? These old guys didn't regret it. They just felt that things had come too suddenly. Samsung hadn't received any warning before being attacked like this. Their family-based plan had completely failed, and it made them realize that Lee Boo-jin's influence wasn't as great as they had imagined. However, they hesitated about what price they would have to pay! "No rush. Since you all have agreed, let's talk about what price we are willing to pay. Otherwise, Morgan's involvement is useless. He doesn't even have any sincerity. Do you think John will back down? If you want John to agree to our conditions, you have to pay a price. You can't let me bear this responsibility alone!" Rockefeller said, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his eyes filled with vigilance, afraid that these guys would do something that would make him suffer a great loss!
“Rockefeller, what sincerity do you think you can offer? After all, you benefited the most from this matter, and now you should also take on the corresponding responsibility. It’s not just about semiconductor chips; there can’t be any problems on Wall Street either, otherwise the White House won’t accept it. Don’t forget that Richard Lloyd’s term is almost over. If you anger him, it won’t benefit anyone.”

"There shouldn't be any major problems on Wall Street. Even if John is dissatisfied, he wouldn't act at this time. That would offend both the donkey and the elephant at the same time. He wouldn't be that stupid!"

"Heh, what kind of time is this to have such a ridiculous idea? Didn't the donkey and the elephant target John? They did, so do you think John cares about their reaction? Don't look at John with old eyes. He has no weaknesses now. The moment he completed the asset restructuring, we lost our deterrent against him. Otherwise, why do you think Morgan would take the initiative to meet with John? He just doesn't want to see turmoil on Wall Street."

"What are you planning to do? You don't want to sacrifice the interests of others, do you? You need to think this through carefully. The consequences of doing so will be severe. John is also targeting the power system. After all, he has Hurricane Investment, as well as Integrity Bank and East West Bank, and even other banks around the world. I believe you have all noticed these developments!"

"That's what we're worried about too. I think as long as John agrees to our demands, we can let go of electricity and energy. We won't stop John's attack, and we can even accept if he has the ability to acquire the other party. Time waits for no one, and we don't have that much time."

It's unclear whether this guy knew about those companies or was simply trying to sacrifice them to protect his own interests, but Rockefeller remained silent in the face of these words. He needed to weigh the options, as the consequences of doing so would be significant, and even a slight mistake could cause considerable harm to himself.

At this moment, no one disturbed Rockefeller; they all waited quietly for his answer. After all, this matter would have a significant impact on Rockefeller, and if he did so, he would pay a considerable price.

Refusing is almost impossible. It's obvious that these guys had already reached an understanding before coming, or even communicated with each other. Otherwise, these bastards wouldn't have put all the pressure on me and forced me to make a decision. If something goes wrong, it won't be good for me.

There is no affection between these financial giants; there is only naked self-interest. No one spoke up because they were afraid that Rockefeller would take the opportunity to shift some of the responsibility onto them, forcing them to bear some of the burden as well!
After a long pause, Rockefeller nodded and said, "Fine, we'll do everything as you say. As long as John is capable, it's no problem for me, but those guys won't sit idly by!"

"That's natural. It's a normal business transaction. John can pursue his own ideas. We can only make certain statements, but we can't help him accomplish everything. If we can get John to focus his energy on this, it will also help us extricate ourselves. After all, when the internet bubble burst, everyone suffered significant losses."

It's too late to get out now. Finding someone to take over is not an easy task. After all, smart people can see the problems behind this. Even if Zipperton steps in, it won't be of much use. The entire industry is in turmoil, and more and more internet companies are experiencing broken cash flow, but they don't have any groundbreaking patents!

"If we ask John to step in, do we have a chance to stabilize the situation?" Suddenly, someone spoke up again. Seeing that Rockefeller had already compromised, this guy had some inappropriate ideas again!
"Heh, if you think you have that ability, then go ahead. I won't make that request, and Morgan certainly won't agree. Don't always try to find benefits without wanting to bear the corresponding responsibilities and costs." Rockefeller didn't give this guy any face at all and directly refused. If he agreed, he would have to pay a considerable price, which was not the result he wanted!
“That’s right. We can’t make any more demands at this point. Otherwise, if things fall apart, we’ll only suffer greater losses. If something like this happens, will you bear the consequences, or will we share them?” DuPont had no choice but to side with Rockefeller at this point. If things really fell apart, it wouldn’t be good for him either. Nobody wants to do the work for someone else.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's proceed according to plan. John won't step in to buy us time. He won't sacrifice his reputation to benefit us unless you offer him a price that's tempting enough. I don't think any of you are willing to pay that price!"

Although some were unwilling, they were powerless to influence the overall situation. After Rockefeller and DuPont made their statements, even those with reservations had to put aside their opinions. After all, this wasn't just a matter for one or two individuals, but concerned the interests of everyone. Those who were only thinking about personal and immediate gains were merely concerned with short-term benefits, while Rockefeller and DuPont were thinking about long-term interests. Despite the bursting of the dot-com bubble, the power of technology wouldn't stop. They still had high hopes for the industry; otherwise, these old fogies like Rockefeller wouldn't have gone to such lengths to target the Koreans and try to oust John D. Cohen!

(End of this chapter)