Hong Kong films: From street thugs to Hong Kong financial tycoons

Chapter 86 The Power of Money: The Collective Collapse of the Old-Era Tycoons!

The Peninsula Hotel, Victoria Ballroom.

Deathly silence, an absolute silence as if even time itself had been frozen, like a heavy lead plate pressing down on everyone's chest.

The only sound in the hall was the faint hum of the central air conditioning. Dozens of high-resolution color photographs were scattered on the expensive Persian carpet and the long dining table covered with a clean white tablecloth.

Mr. Li was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently. His eyes, bloodshot from years of staying up late, were wide open, staring intently at the nearest photograph.

He reached out his chubby hand, trying to pick up the photo, but his fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, trembling so much that he couldn't even hold the thin photographic paper. After three attempts, he finally managed to grasp the photo in his hand and bring it close to his eyes.

The photo did not show the desolation he had imagined, nor the dilapidated state of Yaosheng Technology, which had ceased production.

What came into view was the terrifying sea of ​​people that could only be seen during the general mobilization period of wartime.

In the vast underground workshop that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, incandescent lights illuminated every corner as bright as day.

Countless skilled workers in anti-static suits, like tireless precision instruments, are working frantically on the assembly line.

In the distance of the photo, stacks of neatly arranged finished product packaging boxes resemble endless black hills, stretching all the way to the horizon!

On the packaging box, the dark gold logo of the giant dragon from the East looked particularly glaring under the industrial searchlight, as if it were about to burst through the photographic paper at any moment, opening its blood-red maw to devour these old bones alive.

"This—this is impossible—"

Boss Li made a hoarse sound like a broken bellows being pulled in his throat. He suddenly raised his head and roared at Lin Yao on the stage like a gambler who had lost all his chips.

"It's fake, this is definitely a photoshopped picture. Hong Kong is such a small place, where are you going to find 100,000 skilled assembly workers? This doesn't make sense!"

"Common sense?"

Lin Yao stood on the podium, looking down at the nearly insane Boss Li.

He slowly buttoned up the top button of his suit jacket, his tone flat and emotionless, yet carrying a suffocating feeling that seemed to press one into an abyss.

"Mr. Li, have you been spending too much time in the office? Has your brain deteriorated?"

Lin Yao walked down the steps one by one, his leather shoes making a crisp tapping sound on the wooden floor.

To those established tycoons, this sound was like a countdown to death.

"I admit that your Pan-Asian Alliance does indeed monopolize 70% of the large-scale contract manufacturers in Asia."

Lin Yao walked to the dining table, picked up a photo, and flicked it with his finger.

"But you seem to have forgotten that in this world, there is nothing that you can't buy if you pay enough money."

Lin Yao stopped and looked around the entire room.

"You're cutting off my supply chain?"

"Then I will take out 10 billion US dollars in cash, at three times the market price, and disassemble and reassemble all the equipment in the electronics factories across Asia that are facing broken capital chains, and airlift them all back to Hong Kong."

"You're not letting your workers take my orders?"

Lin Yao sneered, his laughter filled with ruthless mockery of these conservative capitalists.

"Then I'll offer five times the salary. A generous reward will surely attract brave men, let alone local female workers in Hong Kong."

"As long as I spread the word, people in Guangdong Province and even the entire Southeast Asia who want to earn a living will be willing to swim across the Shenzhen River to squeeze into the gates of Yaosheng Technology!"

"Three hundred thousand units in stock—this isn't magic; it's just the pure power of money that you all look down on the most."

Lin Yao casually tossed the photo onto Boss Li's face. The photo paper grazed Boss Li's pale cheek, leaving a faint red mark, before finally falling to the ground.

"Thump!"

Mr. Li's legs went weak, and he could no longer support his body weight, collapsing onto the expensive carpet.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. Only one thought remained in his mind: It's over, it's all over.

Faced with overwhelming cash flow, their proud physical monopoly barriers are like paper fences.

They didn't bother to tear down the wall; they simply used US dollars to build a steel fortress ten times taller than yours.

Uncle Liu, sitting in the main seat, looked as if all his energy had been drained away.

He didn't lose his temper and shout like Boss Li, but his once deep and sharp eyes now became cloudy.

Looking at the Loongson 1.0 supercomputer on the table, which was still running the 3D game "Myth: Zombie Taoist" smoothly, Uncle Liu felt a surge of indescribable bitterness and fear.

Three hundred thousand units are in stock, and they are revolutionary nuclear weapons equipped with a self-developed operating system, a graphical interface, and even capable of running exaggerated 3D games.

Once these 300,000 machines are launched on the market, there will be no need for any marketing; consumers all over the world will rush to buy them like mad dogs, waving their money around.

By then, how much will Yaosheng Technology's market value have ballooned? One hundred billion US dollars, three hundred billion US dollars, or even—

—Trillion?

Uncle Liu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew that today's so-called banquet, a trap to force the emperor to abdicate, had become a complete joke.

These remnants of the old era not only failed to gain any advantage over this young man, but also completely exposed their own vulnerabilities.

"Brother Lin—"

Uncle Liu slowly opened his eyes, his voice carrying an undisguised sense of vicissitude and compromise.

"The younger generation is truly formidable; it seems we old folks are really falling behind the times."

He braced himself on the table with both hands, slowly stood up, and tried his best to maintain the last bit of dignity.

"Consider this dinner tonight as a welcome party for you from the older generation. As for the matter of investing in Yaosheng Technology, we were being presumptuous, so let's just pretend we never mentioned it."

Uncle Liu picked up a glass of red wine from the table and raised it towards Lin Yao, seemingly trying to put an end to this one-sided massacre in this way.

As long as Lin Yao drinks this glass of wine, everyone can just go through the motions and save face, and then they'll keep to themselves.

The other wealthy businessmen and celebrities present also held their breath and stared at Lin Yao.

In their view, it's wise to be lenient when possible. Since they've already flexed their muscles and scared the other party away, knowing when to stop is the smart thing to do in the business world.

However, when Lin Yao saw his sixth uncle raise his glass, he not only didn't reach out to take it, but instead smiled coldly.

The laughter echoed through the empty banquet hall, carrying a chilling undertone.

"Sixth Uncle, you are a prominent figure in Hong Kong. Do you really think that business competition is child's play?"

Lin Yao stood with his hands in his pockets, his eyes as cold as a block of ice that had never melted.

"You all wanted to gang up on me and swallow half of my fortune, but now that you can't take it anymore, you just want to casually say you never mentioned it and walk away?"

Lin Yao took a step forward, and the overwhelming sense of pressure forced Uncle Liu to take a half step back, spilling a few drops of red wine from his hand and soiling his expensive Tang suit.

"My rule, Lin Yao's rule, has always been to eliminate all rivals."

Lin Yao's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly carried to every corner of the banquet hall.

"Didn't you just say that you control 70% of Asia's deep-water ports and 60% of its ocean-going freighters? Didn't you say that without your approval, my products can't even get out of customs?"

Lin Yao slowly turned his head and looked at Chen Zheng standing to the side.

"Old Chen, tell these elders how we plan to ship these 300,000 computers out of Hong Kong."

Chen Zheng pushed up his glasses, a cold smile curving his lips. He took out another document from his briefcase and unfolded it in front of everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, just yesterday afternoon, Yaosheng Capital acquired 15 Il-76 large military heavy transport aircraft from the Russian Far East Aviation Group through an offshore account."

Chen Zheng's voice was steady and powerful, yet it was like a sharp knife, piercing straight into the heart of the Pan-Asian Alliance.

"Starting tomorrow, these 15 heavy transport aircraft will form an aerial steel corridor, taking off from Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport 24 hours a day without interruption."

"We don't need your wrecked ships, nor your deep-water ports."

"These 300,000 microcomputers will all be transported by air and deployed directly to every core electronics sales terminal in North America, Europe, and Japan within 48 hours."

Upon hearing this, the entire audience went completely wild. Buy fifteen military-grade heavy transport planes specifically to haul computers?

He's insane! He's a complete madman!

Using air freight like sea freight incurs insane logistics costs. Even if a computer sells for $10,000, the company would lose everything!

"You—you're killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own!"

Grandpa Guo pointed at Lin Yao, trembling with anger.

"Airfreight 300,000 computers? Your profits aren't even enough to cover the fuel costs. You're just burning money, you spendthrift!"

"Burning money?"

Lin Yao felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. He tilted his head back and burst into laughter.

"Mr. Guo, in my dictionary, as long as money can break down your barriers, it's not called burning money, it's called strategic investment."

Lin Yao's smile vanished, and his gaze swept across the group of veteran tycoons in front of him like a sharp blade.

"I don't care how high the initial logistics costs are. I can even give away these 300,000 computers to distributors in Europe and America at a loss."

"What I want is to stuff this operating system and 3D game, which have an absolute dimensional reduction attack capability, into the minds of users all over the world as quickly as possible."

"Once they've used my Loongson microcomputer and experienced the real graphical interface and 3D mythical world, they will never be able to tolerate those typewriters on the market that are like industrial garbage again."

Lin Yao pointed to the main unit on the stage, his tone filled with an overbearing arrogance.

"Once users get used to my ecosystem and I form an absolute market monopoly, then all software developers in the world will have to beg me for licenses, and all hardware manufacturers will have to produce components according to my standards."

"By then, I won't be earning the hard-earned money from selling computers; I'll be collecting the tolls for all of humanity entering the information age!"

These words struck like heavy hammer blows deep into the souls of Uncle Liu and Boss Li.

They finally realized just how terrifying their opponent was.

This young man is not simply buying and selling goods; he is using hundreds of billions of dollars in cash flow to forcibly alter the digital operating rules of the entire world.

"This is just the beginning."

Lin Yao turned around, ignoring the group of old men who were completely terrified. He walked over to Fatty Wang and patted him on the shoulder.

"Pack your things, take our equipment, and leave."

Lin Yao took Qiu Shuyi's hand, and surrounded by two hundred Hung Hing veterans, they walked towards the entrance of the banquet hall.

When he reached the door, Lin Yao suddenly stopped. He didn't turn around, but just turned his head slightly, leaving behind a final verdict that made the entire old capital of Hong Kong utterly despair.

"Just so you know, Yaosheng Technology will be holding a global new product launch event at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM."

"At the same time, our feature film will premiere simultaneously in 3,000 theaters worldwide."

"If any of you elders have nothing to do, why not buy a movie ticket and go see a movie, and enjoy the last bit of the afterglow of your old era?"

i

After saying that, Lin Yao strode out of the banquet hall and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

All that remains in the Victoria Ballroom is a heartbroken dream of a once-wealthy family, and the remnants of capitalism utterly crushed by the wheels of time.