Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

Office of the Director of Legal Affairs, 38th Floor, Lingxiao Building.

Assistant Xiao Wang swallowed hard and handed over a heavy, gold-embossed envelope with both hands.

"Mr. Lin, this is a lawyer's letter from the William Foundation of the United States."

Xiao Wang pointed to the English on the envelope and looked up, his voice very low.

"They filed for transnational commercial arbitration with the High Court of Handong Province, accusing us of engaging in malicious technological monopoly."

Lin Yubing leaned back in his leather office chair, holding a cup of sugar-free iced Americano in his hand.

She wore a tailored burgundy haute couture suit today, looking both capable and sharp.

She put down her coffee cup, casually picked up the dozen-page English complaint, and glanced at it indifferently.

"Malicious monopoly? Unfair competition?"

Lin Yubing chuckled and casually tossed the priceless lawyer's letter into the trash can.

She took off her gold-rimmed glasses, slowly wiped the lenses with a velvet cloth, and a mocking glint flashed in her eyes, as if she were looking at someone mentally challenged.

"A bunch of Wall Street veterans who prey on information asymmetry are coming to our turf to talk about fairness?"

She put her glasses back on her nose, her red lips curving slightly.

"Trying to play international law with Ling Xiao? Go prepare the materials, I'll make them lose even their underwear in court."

Three days later, at the First Commercial Arbitration Court of the High Court of Handong Province.

The atmosphere was solemn and respectful, but the audience seats were packed with various Chinese and foreign media outlets who had come after hearing the news.

Li Dakang sat in the first row of the audience, his thighs trembling uncontrollably.

He wasn't wearing hair wax today, and his graying sideburns stood out starkly under the courtroom's cold lights.

He was clutching an old thermos in his hand, his palms covered in cold sweat.

If this lawsuit is lost, Handong's business environment will become a huge joke on the international stage.

In the plaintiff's seat, George William sat with his legs crossed, looking very imposing.

He was followed by a dozen or so blond, blue-eyed Wall Street lawyers in suits.

The lead attorney, Smith, was adjusting his tie with his nose in the air, his face full of disdain for the courtroom.

"The trial begins." The presiding arbitrator struck the gavel.

Smith immediately stood up, placed one hand on the table, and began to spout nonsense in exaggerated English.

"Your Honorable Arbitrator, the actions of the Lingxiao Consortium are a blatant trampling on the spirit of free trade!"

He waved his arms, spittle flying everywhere in the air.

"Our William Consortium spent a fortune to buy the property rights to the technology park. But the defendant maliciously locked out the underlying code!"

Smith pointed to the defendant's dock, his voice suddenly rising.

"They even colluded with a private power grid to burn down our imported equipment worth tens of millions of dollars!"

"This is blatant technological hegemony! It seriously violates the principles of fair competition under the WTO!"

The media reporters in the gallery were writing furiously, and the shutters of their cameras were clicking away.

Li Dakang's heart was in his throat as he listened to the translation through the simultaneous interpretation headset.

This is an overstatement; it elevates the issue to the level of an international trade dispute.

On the other hand, look at the defendant's seat.

Lin Yubing was all alone.

She didn't bring any assistants, and the table in front of her was bare except for a glass of plain water.

After Smith finished his impassioned performance, the entire audience fell silent.

Lin Yubing then slowly stood up and straightened the hem of his burgundy suit.

"be opposed to."

The moment she opened her mouth, she burst out with a London accent even more authentic than Smith's.

The cold, clear voice echoed in the courtroom, carrying a penetrating force that seemed to destroy everything in its path.

"The plaintiff's lawyer keeps talking about free trade, but he probably doesn't even understand China's contract law."

Lin Yubing took out two documents from his Hermès bag and slammed them on the table.

"The first one is the merger and acquisition agreement signed between the William Consortium and the Handong Municipal Committee."

Her slender fingers pointed to the disclaimer clause in the contract.

"You only bought the steel and cement of the factory building and the land rights. Which word in the contract says 'the lithography machines and production line system are included free of charge'?"

Smith paused for a moment, about to open his mouth to refute.

Lin Yubing gave him no chance to breathe and immediately threw out a second document.

"The second document contains the certificates for our 530 core patents registered with the Geneva International Intellectual Property Office!"

She held up the certificate stamped with an international seal, her eyes sharp as a knife, staring intently at George across from her.

"Every piece of equipment in the factory, every piece of low-level control code, and even the loop logic of the heat dissipation system."

"These are all trade secrets that Lingxiao Technology owns 100% of its intellectual property rights to!"

Lin Yubing's lips curled into a mocking sneer.

"You think you can just take the money you'd spend on cabbage and expect to get your hands on our core technology, which cost billions, for free?"

"Just because we can't buy the licenses ourselves, you accuse us of a monopoly? Wall Street's robber logic won't work in Handong!"

Every word is precious and resounding.

The Chinese journalists in the gallery were so excited they almost applauded.

Li Dakang breathed a sigh of relief; the anxiety that had been hanging in the air finally subsided.

Smith broke out in a fine layer of sweat on his forehead and stammered as he flipped through the documents in his hands.

"Then...how do you explain your private power grid burning our equipment?"

Smith is still stubbornly holding on, trying to regain some ground from other angles.

"That's because you're stupid."

Lin Yubing braced his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and instantly exuded an aura of immense power.

"Lingxiao Energy's power supply agreement clearly states that our power grid uses independent high-frequency inverter technology."

She looked at the group of foreigners in the plaintiff's seat as if they were mentally challenged.

"You didn't apply for technical support, you just plugged a bunch of junk equipment into three-phase power. You burned out the machines, and now we have to pay for it?"

"According to your logic, if you put diesel in a gasoline car and it explodes, you'd sue the refinery for monopoly?"

A low murmur of laughter suddenly filled the courtroom.

George's face turned a deep shade of liver, and he kicked it under the table in anger.

"That's just your side of the story!"

Smith, enraged, frantically wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

"We reserve the right to appeal to the International Court of Justice!"

"No need to wait for the International Court of Justice, let's settle the score right here today."

Lin Yubing opened the briefcase that resembled Doraemon's pocket again.

This time, she pulled out a thick red file and threw it directly at the bailiff.

"Your Honorable Arbitrator, this is our formal counterclaim."

Lin Yubing's smile vanished, her face turned frosty, and her eyes revealed absolute ruthlessness and decisiveness.

"We have retrieved the underlying interception logs of the servers inside the science park."

She turned her head, her gaze like two awls, fixed firmly on George's face.

"Two days ago at 3 p.m., the plaintiff used sixteen overseas hackers to try to brute-force crack the core cooling program of our lithography machine."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

George's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he almost jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Lin Yubing's voice boomed through the courtroom, carrying an undeniable air of conviction.

"This isn't some bullshit monopoly case!"

"This is an extremely egregious transnational theft case involving an attempt to steal China's top-level trade secrets!"

"We demand that the William Consortium immediately compensate Lingxiao Technology for damages to its reputation and data security, totaling one billion US dollars!"

Lore!

This unexpected and devastating blow left Wall Street lawyers completely bewildered.

Smith slumped in his chair, his hand holding the handkerchief trembling like a leaf, unable to utter a single word of defense.

The presiding arbitrator struck the gavel.

"The evidence is conclusive. All of William's claims are dismissed in court, and the counterclaim is requested to be heard at a later date!"

The moment the gavel fell, George felt like his skull was about to explode.

Half an hour later, on the steps outside the gate of the Handong Provincial High Court.

A cold wind was howling.

George loosened his tie and strode down the street, his face so dark it seemed to drip ink.

The domestic comprador behind him jogged up, carrying a briefcase and sweating profusely.

"Boss, we lost. Not only did we not get the authorization, we also got ourselves into a lot of trouble."

The comprador's voice trembled; he was on the verge of tears.

"The salaries and accommodation costs of these foreign engineers are a bottomless pit. We're burning through money like this every day; our accounts really can't keep up!"

George stopped abruptly, turned around, and grabbed the comprador's collar tightly.

"I'm not blind! I don't need you to remind me!"

He glared fiercely at the towering Lingxiao Building not far away.

The high-tech route has been completely blocked by Yan Qingfeng.

The door was welded shut so tightly that not even a fly could get in.

"If I can't handle high-end manufacturing, I'll just downgrade to low-end OEM!"

George shoved the comprador aside and spat out the words through gritted teeth.

"Those production lines can't be opened, but I have factory buildings, manpower, and capital!"

He straightened his torn suit, a hint of desperate madness flashing in his eyes.

"Go! Contact the local suppliers in Handong immediately!"

George pointed to the bustling street, looking like a construction foreman with bloodshot eyes.

"I refuse to believe it. Without that crappy system from the Lingxiao Consortium, I could spend real money and still not be able to buy a few circuit boards or a few screws!"