My whole family is involved in diplomacy, so you dare to flex your muscles?

Singapore, 3 a.m.

Chen Jiawen, head of the secretariat of the Asian Semiconductor Framework, was abruptly awakened from his sleep by a series of urgent phone calls from his assistant.

"President Chen! Director Gu called from overseas, demanding that the 'second batch of expansion list,' originally scheduled for next week, be released online by 8:00 AM this morning!"

Chen Jiawen sat on the edge of the bed, his mind still not fully processed. He glanced at his watch instinctively: "Is he crazy, or am I still half asleep? We haven't even finished arguing about the details of the second batch!"

"The Americans went crazy first!" the assistant exclaimed urgently, immediately sending a screenshot of the censorship statement just released by Washington.

"The White House just announced it will investigate Samsung, GlobalFoundries, and Tokyo Electron! Director Gu said, 'This is the window of opportunity we need; if we're even a second late, this whole game is over!'"

Chen Jiawen quickly scanned the White House statement, his initial morning grumpiness instantly extinguished by a bucket of ice water, replaced by a tingling excitement.

"Holy crap..." Chen Jiawen abruptly threw off the covers, shuffling his shirt with one hand as he rushed out.

"Notify everyone in the secretariat to return to the office immediately! Buy coffee by the barrel! Drag all those old men from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore out of bed; we have an emergency online consultation in ten minutes!"

At 3:30 a.m., a high-level international video conference that would determine the future of Asia's semiconductor industry for the next decade was held in an extremely surreal setting.

On the screen, some people were wearing silk pajamas, while others were adjusting their internet connection in the hotel bathroom under the light above the mirror. They all had dark circles under their eyes and looked worse than ghosts.

In the only footage received from the London embassy meeting room, Gu Yun was dressed in a well-tailored dark suit, his tie was perfectly tied, and there was even a steaming cup of black tea next to him, as if he were attending an afternoon tea party.

"Brown is trying to force us to beg for food on our knees!" Samsung executive Kim Tae-woo slammed his fist on the table as soon as he logged on, spitting as he cursed in Korean. "They singled out the three of us; they're using us as scapegoats!"

Kenichi Tanaka, Vice President of Tokyo Electron, also looked worried: "Director Gu, the Japanese industry is in a state of extreme panic. If the US wields its heavy-handed regulatory weapon, the pro-American faction on our board will definitely demand an immediate withdrawal from the framework to protect themselves."

Facing this group of panicked multinational giants, Gu Yun gently blew on the steam rising from the rim of his cup and parted his thin lips slightly.

"Fear is normal. But for all you business elites out there, the competition now is about who can turn 'fear' into 'bargaining chips'."

Gu Yun projected a draft of the joint statement, which had been revised overnight, onto the shared screen.

"The second batch of the list not only includes equipment and material suppliers, but I've also added logistics, packaging and testing, industrial software services, and even parts maintenance companies. There are a total of 37 companies."

Gu Yun's gaze pierced through the screen, precisely capturing the micro-expressions of everyone. "Look at the last point—'If any unilateral political censorship affects the normal operation of the Asian semiconductor supply chain, the framework members will activate a joint risk substitution mechanism.'"

Kim Tae-woo paused for a moment, then gasped: "You mean... whoever the US investigates, we'll handle it internally, finding alternative orders and suppliers for them?"

"It's not just about replacement." Gu Yun smiled slightly, a smile that revealed a cunning that even capitalists would call a master.

"It's to make Washington understand that what they want to sanction now is not just three companies, but the entire industrial chain of most of Asia. Mr. Tanaka, if you take a step back now, the United States will force you to take ten thousand steps back until they have completely devoured you; but if thirty-seven giants stand hand in hand, Brown will have to consider whether America's technological hegemony can withstand the shockwave of this backlash before he swings his baton."

A deathly silence fell over the conference room.

A few seconds later, Kenichi Tanaka gritted his teeth and nodded sharply: "Tokyo Electron, we won't back down! We're going all in!"

Kim Tae-woo's eyes also reddened: "Damn it! We'll fight them! Samsung agreed to release it ahead of schedule!"

A GlobalFoundries representative followed up: "Singapore is fully cooperating!"

At 4:00 AM, the Singapore Secretariat officially released a public announcement.

The second batch of participating companies in the Asia Semiconductor Framework has been expanded to 37, and a joint risk substitution statement has been issued.

The final paragraph of the announcement, personally crafted by Gu Yun, was a direct insult to Washington, utterly humiliating.

**"The framework members firmly oppose any unilateral bullying behavior that uses 'national security' as a pretext to substantially undermine commercial contracts and industrial stability. The Asian market will never accept legitimate companies being used as bargaining chips in political games!"**

This statement caused a stir in global financial media even before the Asian morning trading session opened.

Major news outlets quickly followed suit:

"Asia's semiconductor framework expands significantly, with 37 giants joining forces to counter the US!"

"Is the US chip hegemony facing its strongest resistance in history in the face of pressure from oversight?"

What surprised Wall Street the most was that after the South Korean and Japanese stock markets opened, the share prices of Samsung and Tokyo Electron did not plummet because they were named by the United States. Instead, they saw a slight increase thanks to the support of the "risk substitution mechanism"!

The market logic is simple: In the past, if the US attacked a single sheep, the sheep would surely die; now, if you strike with a stick, you find that the opponent is a pack of wolves, and it's not certain who will die!

……

A few hours later, dawn broke over Washington, D.C., on the other side of the ocean.

In the Oval Office of the White House, President Brown, looking at the plummeting U.S. semiconductor index, angrily slammed his coffee cup onto the carpet.

"They've rebelled! They've completely rebelled!" Brown raged around the room like a trapped beast. "They're openly treating U.S. export control laws like trash! Sanctions! Hearst, give me the most outrageous sanctions, make them feel the pain!"

Secretary of State Hearst, his face grim, hadn't even had a chance to reply when Deputy Secretary of State Green coldly poured cold water on his words: "Mr. President, who are we going to sanction? If we sanction Samsung, the current South Korean government will collapse due to the boiling public opinion; if we sanction Tokyo Electron, Japanese industry will completely side with China; if we sanction Singapore, the ASEAN will treat us like robbers."

"Are we just going to stand by and watch that bastard Gu Yun tear apart our alliance system?!" Brown roared.

Hearst's eyes darted around, eager to deflect the pressure on his family regarding the antiquities scandal, and he said in a sinister tone, "We can put pressure on Britain. We can get the British government to step in and echo our investigation from the European side, muddying the waters."

Washington's plan was very clever, and Downing Street in the UK was indeed very "obedient".

That afternoon, in an effort to demonstrate its loyalty to the United States, the British government swiftly announced that it would cooperate with its allies to conduct a domestic information review of Asian semiconductor collaborations that "may involve the transfer of sensitive technologies."

The news devastated two British semiconductor companies. They had just managed to stabilize their share prices with guarantees in the morning, only to have their own government stab them in the back in the afternoon. British trade unions were outraged, accusing the government of "gifting away Britain's best-paying jobs."

London, Chinese Embassy in the UK.

Looking at the British government's statement, Li Ang scratched his head in anger: "Brother Gu, are these British politicians dogs? Their own domestic chip companies are barely surviving, and they still have to bite the bullet and lick the boots of their American masters?"

Dean Ma Weihan also frowned: "If other European countries follow suit with Britain's involvement, the pressure on our semiconductor framework will be immense."

Gu Yun showed no anger whatsoever. He leaned back in his leather swivel chair, watching the news on the screen, a cold, amused smile playing on his lips.

"Li Ang, do you know what kind of opponent you fear most in the power struggles of officialdom?"

Li Ang shook his head: "Not following the rules?"

"Wrong. What I fear most is encountering those idiots who, in order to please others, willingly stick their necks into the meat grinder." Gu Yun's slender fingers tapped lightly on the table in a deadly rhythm. "This statement from the British government is not helping the United States, but rather handing us a knife that can completely pierce through the British Museum."

Ma Weihan was taken aback: "This... how are semiconductors and museums related?"

Gu Yun stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and drew two circles.

"On the left are contracts from commercial semiconductor companies. On the right are controversial archives from the British Museum, which are public in nature."

Gu Yun turned around, his gaze sharp and piercing, revealing a cunning and shrewdness that would strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.

"We previously pressured the British Museum to release its archives, but the British government has been playing dead. What's their reason? It's that 'museums operate independently, and the government has no right to interfere with academic freedom,' right?"

Li Ang nodded: "That's right, they love to use this 'we can't control it' excuse as a shield."

"Very well." Gu Yun sneered, slamming his pen heavily on the table. "Now, we can ask Downing Street—since your British government is so noble that it 'has no right to interfere' even with the archives of a public museum, then may I ask, by what right, and with what authority, do you interfere with commercial contracts of companies in Asia, which are purely subject to the free market?!"

The meeting room fell silent for a second.

Immediately afterward, Li Ang slapped his thigh, almost jumping up in excitement: "Holy crap!! Brother Gu, your 'double standard killer move' is too vicious! It's like using magic to defeat magic!"

Dean Ma Weihan listened with shining eyes, clapping his hands repeatedly: "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! If the British government acknowledges their right to intervene in businesses, then they must have the right to intervene in museums! If they insist they can't regulate museums, then their claim of censoring chips is a joke!"

"Not only that." A sharp glint flashed in Gu Yun's eyes. "I want the British government to choose between 'offending its American masters' and 'offending all the victimized countries in the world' and drink a cup of poison."

That evening, a multinational joint statement, spearheaded by China and signed by scholars and institutions from Greece, Egypt, Nigeria, and other countries, was like a precision-guided tactical nuclear bomb, directly airdropped into the London media arena.

The statement was extremely restrained in its wording, but the rhetorical question in the final paragraph was utterly piercing:

"We cannot comprehend a peculiar British logic: public administrative power can be expanded infinitely to scrutinize commercial contracts of other countries without any evidence; yet, when faced with the legacy of colonial plunder stained with the blood and tears of colonialism in their own museums, it suddenly vanishes without a trace under the pretext of 'maintaining independence.' Rules should not exist only when they serve Anglo-Saxon interests."

The entire internet erupted in excitement!

On domestic live streams and Twitter, the frenzy among netizens nearly crashed the servers.

[Hahaha! Gu Ge's slap was so powerful, Downing Street's face must be swollen like a pig's head!]

[Gu Yun: Since you like meddling so much, why don't you investigate the dirty ledgers in your family's ancestral graves too!]

[British Government: I just wanted to help my brother bite someone. Gu Yun: Come on, first hand over your own record of stealing.]

[This is a perfect logical loop, folks! This is called 'If you dare to extend your left hand, I'll chop off your right foot!']

The questioning session in the British House of Commons early the next morning turned into a large-scale execution scene.

Opposition MPs waved copies of that day's *The Times*, pointing their fingers at the Business Secretary and unleashing a torrent of abuse: "Your Excellency! Please explain to all British taxpayers whether the government has the right to interfere in contracts in the name of security? If so, why can't the Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism demand that the British Museum release those damned archives in the name of public ethics?! Is our government a schizophrenic Frankenstein's monster?!"

The Minister of Commerce stood on the podium, stammering for a long time, his face turning red with frustration, unable to utter a single complete sentence, which immediately drew boos from the audience.

Faced with pressure from domestic industries that threatened bankruptcy if they continued their misbehavior, and relentless ridicule from international critics accusing them of double standards, Downing Street finally gave in.

That afternoon, the British Culture Secretary announced with a grim face that, in light of public demands for historical transparency, the government would "strongly recommend" and require the British Museum to submit a plan for opening up the provenance archives of the disputed collections within 48 hours.

The message was relayed back to the embassy.

"Brother Gu! The British government has intervened! They really sold the British Museum!" Li Ang was so excited that he kept rubbing his hands together in his office.

Ma Weihan's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, his old eyes reddening: "A hundred years... We have finally managed to pry open a crack in this door."

Despite his excitement, Counselor Xu Jianping remained cautious: "Those old fogies at the British Museum, especially the Board of Trustees, will definitely not give in so easily. They will definitely retaliate!"

"Let them fight back." Gu Yun walked to the window, looking at the gradually darkening sky over London, his tone indifferent yet resolute, "The stronger their counterattack, the more it proves that the archives on the second basement floor contain a nuclear bomb that can ruin their reputation."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ang's work phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and glanced at the screen, his expression instantly turning somewhat strange.

"Brother Gu..." Li Ang looked up, "The British Museum sent a confidential letter. Deputy Director Edmund and Chairman of the Board of Directors Holden want to meet with you privately at eight o'clock tonight. They've chosen the location; it will be extremely secretive."

Ma Weihan frowned and stood up warily: "A trap? We can't go! Those British are desperate; who knows what dirty tricks they'll pull!"

Gu Yun turned around, took the phone from Li Ang's hand, looked at the invitation on the screen, and a cold smile appeared on her lips, as if she had everything under control.

He casually tossed his phone back onto the table and straightened his suit cufflinks.

"Dean Ma, don't worry. This isn't a trap."

Gu Yun's eyes, reflecting the light of the crystal chandelier, flashed with the cold glint of a top hunter.

"We've exposed them completely; they're not qualified to hold a banquet now." Gu Yun chuckled. "They're just at their wits' end and want to find a secluded place... to negotiate their price."