After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

The words "password box" from Fang Cunyi were still ringing in Chen Pingfang's ears when he had already parked the car in the provincial government's underground parking garage.

Gu Deren was intercepted, and the interface files in his briefcase were confiscated, but the last sentence he uttered stuck in Chen Pingfang's mind and couldn't be removed.

"Can you secure the supply of specialty gases that the 12-nanometer manufacturing process relies on?"

Whether it could be saved or not, the answer came crashing down on us the next morning.

Han Zhiming slapped an urgent fax onto Chen Ping's desk; the paper was still warm from the machine.

"M~Tek sent a joint letter last night through its Singapore headquarters to three specialty gas suppliers. The letter recommended a 'reassessment of the risk level of supplying the semiconductor industry in Singapore'."

Chen Ping picked up the fax and scanned it line by line.

The wording was mild, entirely in business language, with not a single word mentioning Corefire. However, the attachment included a price adjustment table: argon fluoride increased by 47%, high-purity carbon tetrafluoride increased by 62%, and sulfur hexafluoride was directly marked as "orders suspended, further notice to follow."

Sulfur hexafluoride. A key gas used in the etching process of 12-nanometer manufacturing.

Without this, the first mass production line of Corefire 2.0 would just be a bunch of cold iron.

Chen Ping turned the fax over; the back was blank. He picked up a pencil from the table and wrote three names in the blank space.

Jihua Group, Chairman Zhou Yongnian.

Dongling Gas, General Manager Fang Qi.

Runze New Materials is controlled by Tao Xingguo.

All three companies are located in Jiangsu Province, all three have basic production capacity for specialty gases, and none of them have yet touched the industrial-grade mass production of sulfur hexafluoride.

"Eight o'clock tonight, small conference room on the third floor of the provincial government building." Chen Ping folded the fax and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. "Notify the top leaders of these three companies."

Han Zhiming hesitated for a moment.

"Zhou Yongnian from Jihua just went to Yuehai last week, supposedly to discuss a hydrogen energy project."

"Call them back."

"Fang Qi from Dongling might be difficult to invite; she has always had connections with several departments in the province."

"Tell her that the shortlist for the five-province alliance's centralized procurement will be finalized next week, and those who want to participate should come tonight."

Han Zhiming stopped talking nonsense, turned around and went out to make a phone call.

Chen Ping sat for three seconds, then opened a drawer and pulled out an old address book.

Turning to the page with the character "Zhao", my finger hovered over a number.

Zhao Deyu.

The former provincial governor had been retired for almost six years. The last time they met was at a tea party in the province. Chen Pingfang served the old man a cup of tea, helped him sit down, and they chatted for ten minutes about everyday things. Zhao Deyu patted the back of his hand and said, "You are more composed than your father."

Zhao Deyu had worked in the chemical industry for thirty years, rising from the director of a county fertilizer plant to the vice governor in charge of industry. After retiring, he held the honorary title of honorary president of the provincial chemical industry association. But an honorary title is one thing, connections are another. Zhou Yongnian of Jihua was someone he had personally promoted, and Fang Qi of Dongling was also approved by him when he acquired his first piece of land.

Chen Ping dialed the number.

It rang five times before being answered.

"Old Zhao, this is Ping Fang."

"Oh, Secretary-General Chen, what a rare guest." Zhao Deyu's voice was still relaxed, as if he had just woken up from a nap. "What is it?"

Specialty gas. Sulfur hexafluoride.

There was a two-second pause on the other end of the phone.

"Have overseas supplies been cut off?"

"It wasn't broken yet, but the knife was already at his neck. M~Tek pushed him from behind."

Zhao Deyu smacked his lips and let out a very soft sigh.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Tonight I've invited the top executives from Jihua, Dongling, and Runze to come over for a talk. If it's convenient for you, Mr. Zhao, could you please give Zhou Yongnian a heads-up beforehand? He's the kind of person who's afraid of tough guys but not soft ones; one word from you is worth ten from me."

Zhao Deyu chuckled, but it wasn't a polite laugh.

"Okay. But I have one condition."

"Please speak."

"Don't let these people think it's an administrative order that's forcing them. In the chemical industry, the more you pressure them, the more they shrink back. You have to let them see the money."

"The framework for the five-province alliance's centralized procurement has been signed. The annual procurement amount for specialty gases is estimated to be between 1.4 billion and 1.8 billion yuan, all of which will be sourced through domestic substitution."

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"You're well-prepared, kid."

"It's getting late. The production date for Corefire 2.0 is in thirty days."

Zhao Deyu didn't say anything else, only uttering two words: "I'll fight."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ping closed the contact list and threw it back into the drawer.

At 7:45 p.m., all the lights in the small conference room on the third floor were on.

The long table was polished to a shine, and in front of each seat was a bottle of mineral water and a thin document bag with the title "Framework for Centralized Procurement of Special Gases in the Five-Province Alliance (Draft for Comments)" printed on the cover.

Zhou Yongnian was the first to arrive. He was in his early sixties, wearing a navy blue jacket with the zipper pulled up to his chin. He glanced around the conference room as he entered, and when he didn't see anyone else, he nodded to Chen Pingfang.

"Old Zhao called me."

He didn't say much, pulled out a chair, sat down, and took a sip of mineral water.

Fang Qi was the second to arrive. She was in her early forties, with short hair and a neatly tailored black suit. When she entered and saw Zhou Yongnian, she raised an eyebrow slightly and chose to sit in the seat furthest away from him.

Tao Xingguo, looking refreshed, walked in right at eight o'clock. He had a round face, was slightly chubby, and was clutching a thermos in his hand, looking like he had just come from a dinner party.

After the three of them sat down, Chen Pingfang did not exchange pleasantries.

"M~Tek, together with three overseas suppliers, has adjusted prices and suspended orders for sulfur hexafluoride. You should all have received this news."

He distributed copies of the fax.

Zhou Yongnian scanned two lines and put the paper down.

"I know about the price increase. But the industrial-grade purity requirement for sulfur hexafluoride is 99.999%, and there isn't a single domestic manufacturer that can consistently achieve that."

Fang Qi flipped through the centralized procurement framework in the document bag and looked up at Chen Pingfang.

"Secretary-General Chen, you sent us here because you want us to take on this job?"

"I'm not letting you receive it." Chen Ping opened the third page of the file folder, pointing to a table. "I'm letting you snatch it."

The table lists the five-province alliance's special gas procurement plan for the next three years, with the total amount, classification, price range, and acceptance standards all clearly printed out. The last column states, "Prioritize the procurement of domestically produced alternatives, with a price fluctuation range of 15% upwards."

Tao Xingguo put down his thermos and, for the first time, carefully looked at the watch.

"This amount—" He scratched at the numbers on the paper with his fingernail, "...the annual demand for sulfur hexafluoride alone exceeds two hundred tons?"

"Two hundred and forty tons." Chen Pingfang reported the figure accurately. "Based on the current overseas purchase price, the cost per ton is US$120,000. If domestic alternatives can achieve the same purity, the cost per ton can be kept below RMB500,000. You can calculate the profit margin yourselves."

Zhou Yongnian crossed his arms and rolled his eyes around.

Zhao Deyu's call clearly worked. He didn't refuse on the spot, but instead asked a more practical question.

"Do you have a technical roadmap or plan?"

Chen Ping took out a document from his briefcase, the cover of which was stamped with the seal of Jizhou Semiconductor Industrial Park.

"The process engineers of the Chipfire team have already prepared a preliminary plan, which can be shared with everyone for reference. The technical committee of the five-province alliance will provide full support, and the costs of the equipment debugging phase will be covered by the alliance fund."

Fang Qi took the document, flipped through it, closed it, and placed it on the table.

"Sixty days." She held up two fingers. "From pilot testing to mass production, it can take as little as sixty days. And that's assuming all approvals are granted smoothly."

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

Sixty days.

The production launch date for Corefire 2.0 is in thirty days.

Chen Ping zipped up his briefcase and stood up.

"Sixty days is fine too. We can sign the framework agreement for the order today. However, the first batch of wafers for Chipfire 2.0 must be online in thirty days."

Zhou Yongnian and Fang Qi exchanged a glance, both feeling that the time was too tight.

Tao Xingguo also held his thermos cup, without saying a word.

What will fill this 30-day gap?

Just then, Chen Ping's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He looked down at his phone screen.

It was a text message sent by Zhao Deyu, which contained the following words:

"Zhou Yongnian should have some in stock. You should ask him."

Chen Ping put his phone back in his pocket, sat down again, and pushed a bottle of mineral water in front of Zhou Yongnian.

He began, "Mr. Zhou, I heard that there's still a batch of sulfur hexafluoride imported from South Korea last year in Jihua's warehouse?"

Zhou Yongnian paused for a moment as he was about to grab some water.