Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

As I stepped out of the Forbidden City's red-walled compound, the wind was strong, rustling the ginkgo leaves along the roadside.

Liu Ming sat in the back seat of the Hongqi sedan, looking at the young but cold face reflected in the car window. The anger in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a deep and chilling look.

Facing that powerful, vice-state-level behemoth hidden deep within the red walls, capable of severing the backbone of national scientific research with a mere wave of his hand, a head-on confrontation would be tantamount to suicide. Even with Elder Lin's imperial sword in his hand, he absolutely could not act rashly at this time.

"Boss, what did Old Lin say?" Tank asked in a low voice as he drove the car.

Looking at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, Liu Ming tapped her fingers lightly on her knees before slowly speaking: "Old Lin only gave me four words: wait for the right opportunity."

The other side has been building its business for half its life; its foundation is too deep. We are like an ant trying to shake an elephant. Our only chance of winning is to make the elephant think it has already won.

He paused, a hint of ruthlessness in his voice, "Since they want to buy, then I'll let them buy as much as they want. Pass on my message: I will personally attend the Ministry of Science and Technology symposium tomorrow afternoon."

The following afternoon, in the multi-functional hall of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The room was filled with heads of top domestic research institutions and leading figures in the chip industry, yet the atmosphere was as somber as solidified cast iron. Western sanctions had pushed many companies to the brink of shutdown, and everyone was awaiting the latest instructions from this "hardline" vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

When Liu Ming walked onto the stage, her steps seemed a little heavy, and even her usually impeccably tailored suit showed a slight wrinkle.

He didn't start his speech immediately. Instead, he took a big gulp of water before speaking into the microphone in a low voice: "Everyone, I've seen what's been going on for the past two weeks."

Frankly, our previous assessment of the situation was overly optimistic. Developing lithography machines independently is a marathon, but right now, our companies don't even know if they'll have any rice in their jars tomorrow.

The audience erupted in uproar, and many scientists turned deathly pale instantly.

"Therefore, after emergency consultations with the National Development and Reform Commission and relevant ministries, we have decided..." Liu Ming took a deep breath, as if making an extremely difficult and humiliating decision, "We will temporarily suspend some self-developed projects that cannot be broken through in the short term, and focus on cooperating with several international 'non-sanctioned companies' to ensure the survival of the domestic industrial chain by introducing some outdated but mature technologies."

Upon hearing this, Liang Qunfeng, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly lit up and even couldn't help but exchange a smug look with his secretary next to him.

"Minister Liu, does this mean... our project to develop our own lithography machine is going to be stopped?" An old professor stood up tremblingly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Liu Ming avoided the old professor's gaze, her tone somewhat cold: "Funds should be used wisely, not wasted on things where there's no hope. Meeting adjourned."

After the meeting, news about "Liu Ming admitting defeat" and "Huafang abandoning its self-developed lithography machine" spread like wildfire throughout various circles in the Forbidden City.

Meanwhile, in a secluded club, Liang Qunfeng was reporting in a low voice onto the phone: "Boss, that kid Liu Ming is done for. Old man Lin probably didn't cover for him either. He couldn't have faked his dejected look at the meeting today."

He's already hinted at importing large quantities of foreign equipment and technology. Next, our shell companies in the Cayman Islands can start making a big splash.

A low, cold laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Young man, in the end, he can't withstand the pressure. Tell them over there, it's time to start closing in."

Just as the comprador group was celebrating their victory, Liu Ming was sitting in a top-secret lounge of the Nangong Group.

Nangong Yao, dressed in a black business suit, held a cup of cold coffee in her hand and stared seriously at the stock market curve on her computer.

"As you said, the smokescreen has already been released. Now the entire Wall Street and domestic financial circles believe that we are about to completely succumb to the 'comprador model.' Several shell companies of the Nangong Group overseas are already frantically cooperating with those compradors to spread fake news about the 'failure of domestically developed technology.'"

Liu Ming leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and pressed his fingers to his temples. "The intensity is not enough. We need to make those compradors feel that this is the only chance in their lives they can completely empty the country's assets."

"Yaoyao, feed them all the fake news we've been accusing them of 'extremely low yield rates for domestically produced chips' and 'misappropriation of research funds,' little by little."

"Liu Ming, you're playing with fire." Nangong Yao put down her coffee, turned to look at him, and said, "You know how badly domestic tech stocks will plummet once this information gets out. If you get burned, you'll be the first to lose your vice-ministerial position."

Liu Ming opened her eyes, her gaze as cold as a knife.

"If we don't thoroughly muddy this water, how can that dragon hidden deep in the depths be willing to surface? If they want to seize foreign investment at rock-bottom prices and swallow up the country's scientific research funds, then they have to reveal all their cards first."

"Fine, I'll go crazy with you this time." Nangong Yao dialed an overseas call, her tone instantly turning cold. "Initiate 'Operation Dawn.' Sell off all your holdings of domestic tech stocks, regardless of cost!"

The following week, the Chinese stock market experienced an unprecedented Black Week.

Semiconductor stocks, domestic software, high-end manufacturing—almost all leading technology companies are experiencing a massive plunge. Investors are devastated, and the media is filled with accusations of Liu Ming's "weakness and incompetence" and her "harm to the country and its people."

Meanwhile, in a secluded manor on the outskirts of the Forbidden City, Liang Qunfeng and several well-dressed financial tycoons were celebrating with red wine.

"That idiot Liu Ming actually stopped funding for self-developed chips. Now domestic chip stocks have plummeted to rock-bottom prices, and those fools are all selling at a loss."

The boss said we should speed up the sale of our last remaining domestic shares, pool all the funds to acquire shares in those Western shell companies, and then, through Liu Ming's "foreign investment" scheme, sell them back to domestic companies at a high price.

Liang Qunfeng, beaming, raised his glass: "This one transaction will net us hundreds of billions in profit. Moreover, the nation's technological lifeline will be entirely in the boss's hands. Didn't Liu Ming want to be a national hero? Now the whole country is calling him a traitor. He must be feeling incredibly good."

"The boss is brilliant. This 'cutting off the fuel supply' move has completely shattered China's technological dream."

Just as this group of compradors were frantically selling off their holdings and preparing to buy up foreign capital at rock-bottom prices, Liu Ming stood by the office window, looking at the rapidly falling red curve on the computer screen, and dialed Ghost Hand's number.

"The fish are already in the net, are the sickles for harvesting ready?"

On the other end of the phone, Ghost Hand's breathing was rapid, a tremor from extreme excitement.

"Boss, the flow of funds from all the comprador companies has been locked, and that vice-ministerial level account has started making frequent transactions. With just one word from you, I can turn all their funds into a string of dead code in a second."

Liu Ming gave a cold laugh and hung up the phone.

"Liang Qunfeng, since you like foreign investment so much, I'll give you a big gift."