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

Washington, D.C., State Department building.

There was indeed champagne being popped in Scott's office, but not physically; it was more of a symbolic gesture.

He sat with his legs crossed in his leather office chair, swirling a cup of coffee in his hand, watching the television screen.

Although he couldn't understand Chinese, he was somewhat annoyed to see Gu Yun on stage not flying into a rage, but instead looking calm.

"What is he saying?" Scott asked the Chinese translator beside him.

The translator's expression was a little strange, and he stammered for a while before finally saying, "He...he said thank you."

"Thank me?" Scott paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, his laughter filled with sarcasm.

"It seems these Chinese people are terrified and have started talking nonsense. What are they thanking me for? Thanking me for ruining their technological dreams?"

"He said... thank you for waking them up, for making them abandon their illusions, and for preparing... to build their own tables." The translator carefully translated the original words.

Scott's laughter stopped abruptly. He slammed his coffee cup down on the table, a shadow crossing his face.

"Make it yourself? Dream on!" He scoffed. "There are 100,000 parts in a lithography machine, from more than 30 countries around the world."

Without our permission, they can't even buy a single screw!

You want to build your own table?

I doubt they could even make a bench!

Just then, the office phone started ringing incessantly.

Not just one, but all three telephones on the table—red, white, and black—rang simultaneously.

The shrill ringing mingled together, like an ominous alarm.

Scott frowned and answered the most private black phone.

That was a call from his "financial backer" on Wall Street—a partner at High-Fluidity Capital.

"Scott! What have you done?!"

Instead of the usual pleasantries, the other end of the phone was filled with hysterical roars.

"I'm celebrating my victory, Mike. What's up?"

"Celebrate my foot! Look at the news! Just now, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly issued Order No. 1!"

In accordance with the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, reciprocal countermeasures will be implemented against the entities and individuals involved in this technological blockade against China!

Scott's heart skipped a beat, but he stubbornly retorted, "Countermeasures? What can they counter?"

Not buying our Boeing aircraft?

Should we not buy soybeans?

We've already assessed these factors; the losses are manageable.

"Are you an idiot?!" The other person's roar almost shattered Scott's eardrums.

"They're not targeting the industry, they're targeting individuals! You! And us!"

"What?"

"You're number one on the list, Scott Miller! All your assets in China are frozen, and you are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with any organization or individual within China!"

Also, those tech companies your family trust fund invested in in Hong Kong have just been forcibly taken over!

Scott's hand slipped, and he spilled coffee all over his pants.

He jumped up from the heat, but he didn't care about his pants at that moment.

"It's not just you!" The voice on the other end of the phone was filled with fear. "High-throughput Capital, the main funder of this lobbying effort, has also been added to the 'Unreliable Entities List.'"

Our business in China, which generates $20 billion in annual revenue, has been completely shut down!

Our stock price was immediately halted at the opening bell! Did you know it was halted?!

Scott was completely dumbfounded.

He originally thought that this was just a high-handed "sanction," a one-sided massacre where he could make the other party bleed simply by sitting in his office and wielding his pen.

He never imagined that the other party's knife could stab directly into his wallet, or even into the lungs of his backer.

"This...this is impossible...how dare they..." Scott muttered to himself.

......

Meanwhile, in Beijing, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs canteen.

Gu Yunzheng was having dinner with his assistant, Xiao Wang.

Because of overtime work, the cafeteria only had dumplings left.

Gu Yun, on the other hand, ate with relish, one bite at a time, dipping them in vinegar, until he was slightly sweating.

"Gu Si, have you checked the foreign websites?" Xiao Wang asked excitedly, his face flushed as he held up his phone.

"Twitter is in an uproar! The consortium behind Scott has issued a statement saying they're reassessing their China policy and threatening to sue the U.S. Department of Commerce! That's incredibly fast, are they already backing down?"

Gu Yun swallowed the dumpling in his mouth, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and said slowly, "These capitalists, as long as the profit is enough, they'd sell even the rope that would hang themselves."

But if you touch their interests, they'll turn on their own people more ruthlessly than anyone else.

"This is called striking the snake at its vital point."

Gu Yun tapped the edge of the plate with her chopsticks. "In the past, we always emphasized 'considering the big picture,' and our counterattacks were all bark and no bite, for fear of breaking the ice."

But Westerners have a different logic; in their eyes, your tolerance is weakness.

Only if you slap him and knock out two of his teeth, making him feel the pain, will he sit down and reason with you.

"So... is Scott finished this time?" Xiao Wang asked.

"The end?" Gu Yun shook his head, a hint of coldness in his eyes. "This is just the beginning. He's nothing more than a henchman pushed to the forefront."

The real mastermind behind it all is that massive interest group, and that deeply ingrained hegemonic mindset.

Just then, Gu Yun's personal phone vibrated.

It is an encrypted SMS software.

The sender's name appears as a string of gibberish, but the content is very simple, consisting of only an address and a time.

[Tonight at 10 PM, Lao She Teahouse, Sanlitun, Begonia Room. A friend from the banks of the Seine would like to invite you for tea.]

Gu Yun looked at the message and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"Friends from the banks of the Seine?"

This is interesting.

At this critical juncture, if anyone hates the "long-arm jurisdiction" of the United States more than China, it is definitely not the victim China, but the so-called "allies" of the United States.

Especially the French rooster.

Their energy giant, Alstom, was dismantled and swallowed up by the United States using the same methods—arresting executives, imposing huge fines, and forcibly acquiring it.

"Xiao Wang, get the car ready for me." Gu Yun stood up and pushed the remaining half plate of dumplings aside.

"Gu Si, we haven't finished eating yet, where are we going?"

"I'm going to see a friend." Gu Yun straightened his suit. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Since the United States wants to form alliances and counter-alliances, let's add some spice to this pot of porridge.