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September 2004, Washington Dragons Embassy in America.

The economic counselor gently set down the Jingdezhen white porcelain teacup, the tea sloshing slightly within, reflecting his somewhat tired face.

Three draft invitations were neatly arranged on the desk, each one more earnest than the last, yet they all disappeared without a trace.

"Counselor, Suning from Yongren Group has refused again?" Xiao Zhang from the Cultural Affairs Department poked his head in and understood the result from the counselor's expression.

The counselor rubbed his temples: "The Mid-Autumn Festival reception, the National Day celebration, the Longmei Business Forum... all invitations have been politely declined, the reason always being 'scheduling conflicts'."

He opened his notebook and said, "Over the past three years, we have tried seven different ways to reach out, all to no avail."

Xiao Zhang leaned closer curiously: "Why is the higher-ups paying so much attention to Suning? Isn't he just a successful Chinese businessman?"

“It’s not that simple.” The counselor opened the safe next to him and took out a folder marked “Confidential.” “Yongren Group purchased $83 billion worth of military raw materials from China last year. Their logistics network covers twelve countries along the East-West trade route.”

He lowered his voice, "More importantly, his relationship with the Bush family is extraordinary."

Xiao Zhang gasped, "So he's actually..."

“We’re not sure,” the counselor said, closing the document. “But headquarters has instructed that a more direct communication channel must be established.”

He picked up the latest gold-embossed invitation...

This is the guest list for a private dinner specially prepared for the Minister of Commerce of China's visit to the United States, and Su Ning's name is prominently listed on it.

“And this time is different,” the counselor said, tapping the invitation lightly with his fingertip. “The minister personally requested to see him. I don’t believe he wouldn’t even give him this much face.”

"..." At this moment, Xiao Zhang showed a thoughtful expression, and then looked at the counselor in front of him and analyzed, "Counselor, according to my investigation over this period of time, this Su Ning is unusually low-key and rarely appears in the media. Recently, news about him and Yongren has suddenly disappeared from the media. I guess it may be that Yongren Group has done media public relations."

"Yes! It's really a headache."

……

Los Angeles, media monitoring center at the headquarters of Yongren Group.

The information wall, composed of sixteen LCD screens, displays news summaries from major media outlets around the world in real time.

Twelve analysts meticulously sifted through every report that might be related to Yongren or Suning, their computers running specialized semantic analysis software.

“The Washington Post’s culture section will publish a feature on Chinese-American entrepreneurs tomorrow,” a young female analyst raised her hand. “Mr. Su is mentioned in the third paragraph, and the tone is neutral to positive.”

Media Director Kate Miller quickly glanced through the preview: "Publish it, but change the phrase 'rumored early gang connections' to 'a self-made success story'."

Meanwhile, an Asian analyst nervously reported: "This is a big problem. Someone at Getty Images is selling an old photo of Mr. Su from 1989 in Los Angeles, which looks like it was taken at a nightclub."

“Buy the global rights immediately,” Kate said without hesitation. “The maximum bid is $50. At the same time, find out who leaked it. We have reason to suspect that it was a deliberate act by a competitor. We even have reason to suspect that it was done by someone inside the Five Blessings Gang.”

Such scenes play out every day in this expensive monitoring center.

Yongren Group spends over $1200 million annually to maintain this media control system, ensuring that Suning's personal image is always kept on a precise scale...

Successful enough to earn respect, but not so dazzling as to attract trouble.

“The boss’s philosophy is very clear,” Kate explained to the new employees. “In the eyes of Western media, he should be a typical American dream achiever; in the eyes of Asian media, he is an overseas Chinese who does not forget his roots; and in the eyes of politicians, he is a reliable partner who has no political ambitions and only cares about business.”

She pulled out a set of data: "Last year, we intercepted 427 negative reports, bought out 83 sensitive photos, and arranged 19 'spontaneous' positive interviews. That's why you can earn 30% more than your peers."

……

Top floor office of Yongren Center, Los Angeles.

Lin Shimin carefully placed down the eleventh invitation letter from the Ningde Municipal Government of Fujian Province. The words "Hometown Friendship Association" embossed in gold on the envelope gleamed in the sunlight.

Suning, without looking up from behind his desk, continued reviewing documents.

"Boss, Secretary Zhang from Ningde is personally leading a delegation to visit Hong Kong. He hopes to have dinner with you..." Lin Shimin said tentatively.

"Reject it." Su Ning's pen drew a sharp line on the paper.

"But this time they brought new preferential policies, promising to provide the best land for the Yongren Industrial Park, and tax breaks..."

"I said cancel it! Don't you understand?" Su Ning raised her head, her eyes so cold that Lin Shimin unconsciously took a half step back.

An awkward silence fell over the office.

After a moment, Su Ning seemed to realize his mistake and softened his tone: "From now on, any invitations from Ningde do not need to be reported; just file them directly."

Lin Shimin nodded and left, but at the moment he closed the door, he revealed an expression of incomprehension.

Suning did not explain to anyone, nor did he need to explain to anyone; he would not do something he was unhappy about.

……

Private ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C., October 2004.

The welcome banquet hosted by the Vice Minister of Commerce of China is underway, and the guest list is a veritable celebrity directory of China's business elites.

The most eye-catching was Suning, who attended an official Dragon event in public for the first time.

“Mr. Su, I’ve long admired your name.” The vice minister raised his glass in greeting, his fluent English tinged with a distinct Shanghai accent. “I heard that your ancestral home is also in Fujian? What a coincidence, my wife is from Ningde.”

Su Ning politely clinked glasses with her, a proper smile on her face: "Ningde is a beautiful place, with picturesque mountains and clear waters."

He then skillfully changed the subject, saying, "The cooperation project that the minister brought this time is truly impressive."

Halfway through the dinner, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton made an unexpected appearance, causing a stir.

He walked straight to the round table where Suning was.

“Sue, sorry to bother you,” Bolton patted Su Ning on the shoulder familiarly, “The President wants to confirm the time for next week’s golf match.”

This deliberately arranged "chance encounter" conveyed a clear message to everyone present...

This Chinese-American businessman has an extraordinary relationship with the White House.

The deputy minister's eyes flickered for a moment, then he resumed his professional smile.

After the dinner, Su Ning declined the vice minister's invitation to a private tea party, but "coincidentally" ran into the embassy's economic counselor who was waiting in the parking lot as he was leaving the hotel.

“Mr. Su, I apologize for disturbing you,” the counselor said, handing over an exquisite sandalwood box. “This is a small gift entrusted to me by the ambassador. It’s a blue and white porcelain piece hand-painted by a master craftsman from Jingdezhen. The design is of Mount Taimu in your hometown of Ningde.”

Suning took the wooden box, his finger lingering on the four characters "Seaside Fairy City" for a moment: "Please thank the ambassador for his kindness on my behalf."

The counselor lowered his voice, seizing the opportunity: "Actually, regarding the matter of Yongren Investment back then, the province has already initiated a review process. If there's an opportunity, the leadership hopes to explain it to you personally..."

Su Ning's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Counselor Zhou, I am now a U.S. citizen, and Yongren is a multinational corporation. We will only talk about the present and the future, not the past."

"..."

Then Su Ning turned and walked toward the waiting car, carefully placing the sandalwood box next to the seat.

Back in his office, Su Ning placed the Jingdezhen porcelain on the top shelf of his bookcase, alongside the commemorative silver plate from the White House presented by President Bush.

These two very different gifts are just like his fractured identity.

Lin Shimin brought in the documents and couldn't help but take a second look at the new exhibits.

"Are you curious?" Su Ning suddenly asked, "Why would a Chinese businessman who doesn't love his motherland accept such a gift?"

Lin Shimin shook his head nervously: "No! Boss, I just..."

"Just like business, the worst thing you can do is take sides." Suning walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, where the Los Angeles night view unfolded below. "Americans value my resources, capabilities, and success, while Chinese people value my American influence and capital. Maintaining this delicate balance is the way to survive. I don't do anything other than normal business dealings."

He turned to look at the two gifts: "But some balances... are far more complex than they appear."

The encrypted phone on the table suddenly rang, and President Bush's private number flashed on the screen.

Su Ning gestured for Lin Shimin to leave, then pressed the answer button.

“George…no, I certainly didn’t promise anything…Yes, Tesla’s technology will remain in the United States…”

After the call ended, Su Ning took out the yellowed letter from the safe and stared at it for a long time.

Outside the window, the lights of the Port of Los Angeles still shone brightly, illuminating the lonely figure of this man who stood at the top of the world but had nowhere to call home.

……

April 1, 2005, hangar at Santa Monica Airport, California.

The moment Emily lifted the deep blue silk cloth, the breaths of the two hundred invited guests simultaneously froze. Under the spotlight, the streamlined Tesla "Thunder" concept car shone like a futuristic warship, its grille-less front design revolutionizing a century of automotive aesthetics.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Emily’s voice trembled slightly with excitement, “this is not an April Fool’s joke. Today, history will be rewritten.”

The large screen lit up with impressive data:
Driving range: 600 kilometers (EPA standard)
0-60mph acceleration: 3.2 seconds

Battery life: 85% capacity retained after 2000 cycles.
Fast charging time: 80% in 15 minutes
Jason Stein, a car columnist for The Wall Street Journal, dropped his pen with a thud.

"This is impossible..." he muttered to himself, "The GM EV1 can only go a maximum of 140 kilometers!"

Emily walked to the edge of the booth and lightly touched the tablet computer.

A truly astonishing scene unfolded...

Twelve drones rose simultaneously from a hidden hatch on the roof of the vehicle, creating a dynamic light show around it.

“Thunder is not just a car, but a mobile intelligent terminal.” Emily clicked the screen, and the vehicle automatically drove out of the booth and completed a precise 360-degree drift. “It is equipped with Yongren’s first-generation autonomous driving system. The hardware has L4 capabilities, and now it is just waiting for the regulations to be opened up.”

The crowd erupted in prolonged applause.

No one noticed that Suning, standing in the shadows at the back row, nodded slightly and whispered to the chief scientist of Yongren Battery beside him: "Prepare for a patent war, and notify the Suzhou factory to operate on three shifts."

72 hours after the press conference, the Yongren New Energy Super Factory in Suzhou Industrial Park.

Factory director Zhang Jianguo stared at the giant screen in the central control room, where the following information was displayed in real time:

Today's battery production: 3,217 units

Failure rate: 0.0007%
Logistics pending dispatch: 42 containers

"How's the situation on the German production line?" Zhang Jianguo asked his deputy.

"The BMW delegation is still taking pictures at the Hamburg factory," the deputy said with a smile, handing over a tablet. "They have no idea that all the core technologies are here."

The screen switches to a scene in a classified workshop: robotic arms are assembling battery modules at a dazzling speed, each unit marked "Made in China" but ultimately being packed into a shell labeled "Assembled in USA".

“An urgent telegram just arrived from Los Angeles,” the secretary rushed in. “The first batch of 500 Founder Editions is fully booked with full payment, and Emily is requesting delivery two weeks earlier.”

Zhang Jianguo grabbed the red phone: "Activate the 'Tornado' contingency plan, switch all production lines to priority A!"

That evening, three Boeing 747 freighters roared into the sky from Pudong Airport, carrying 1500 carefully packaged battery systems inside the cabins.

Meanwhile, on the assembly line at Tesla's Fremont factory, genuine leather seats from Italy, suspension systems from Germany, and displays from Japan are awaiting their central nervous system.

……

Tesla flagship store on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills.

Saudi Prince Salman's personal assistant slammed the black card onto the marble counter: "Top configuration, in stock."

The sales manager gave an embarrassed smile: "I'm sorry, sir, the Founder Edition requires a wait of at least six months. Or..."

He lowered his voice, "A Silicon Valley investor is willing to transfer his spot, but he will have to pay a premium of $30."

"Deal." The assistant said without even blinking.

This scene was played out simultaneously in seven flagship stores around the world.

The queue outside the Tokyo Ginza store had already circled the street three times.

The reservation system for the Champs-Élysées store in Paris crashed due to excessive traffic.

The most outrageous bidding was on eBay – reservation slot number 007 was sold for $98.

Forbes featured this frenzy on its cover: "The Thunder Effect: Why the Rich Are Willing to Pay Millions for Waiting."

The article sarcastically states, "These days, if you don't own a Tesla, you're embarrassed to say you're rich."

But what truly shook the industry was Consumer Reports' teardown and evaluation.

When the engineers pried open the mysterious battery, everyone gasped:

"The energy density reaches 387Wh/kg!" The chief evaluation officer measured with trembling hands. "58% higher than Panasonic's latest product!"

Even more astonishing is the ingenious design of the Battery Management System (BMS)...

Through neural network algorithms, each battery cell can independently adjust its charging and discharging rate.

This is precisely the military technology that Yongren derived from the defense electronic warfare project.

General Motors Detroit headquarters, emergency board meeting.

Tesla CEO Rick Wagoner slammed a teardown diagram of a Tesla battery onto the conference table: "Can anyone explain why the Chinese can do this? Have we wasted our $18 billion annual R&D budget?"

The CTO wiped his sweat: "Yongren's patent barriers are too tight. They even broke down the electrolyte formula into sub-patents in seven countries. The most bizarre thing is that they don't apply for patents for the key technologies at all. No one can figure out what the real situation is..."

"I don't care what methods you use!" Wagner roared. "I want to see a benchmark solution within three months!"

Japan is also facing a similar predicament.

Akio Toyoda personally flew to Suzhou, offering three times the salary to poach engineers from Yongren, only to be told that all core technical personnel had signed "lifetime confidentiality agreements," with breach of contract penalties amounting to $2 million.

In Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen Group engineers discovered an even more alarming truth…

Tesla's motor efficiency curve is so perfect it doesn't seem like real data.

It wasn't until they used a military-grade oscilloscope to test it that they were shocked to discover that Yongren had adopted a field control technology similar to magnetic confinement fusion, reducing energy consumption to an incredible level.

"This is not automotive technology," Volkswagen's chief engineer wrote in a confidential report. "It's fundamentally an aerospace-grade energy management system."

The Oval Office, on Christmas Eve 2005.

President Bush circled the midnight blue Tesla, his finger lightly tracing the Yongren Battery logo on the hood: "So the heart of this thing is made in China?"

Energy Secretary Bodman nodded: "But the design is entirely from Silicon Valley, and..."

He opened his notebook. “Yongren has established a complete battery recycling system in California, which meets the requirements of the Defense Production Act.”

Bush settled into the driver's seat, enjoying the comfort of the leather upholstery: "What are the oil giants saying?"

“ExxonMobil just lobbied the Senate yesterday,” National Security Advisor Hadley handed over documents, “to request the cancellation of the tax credit for Tesla.”

Outside the window, the lights of the White House Christmas tree twinkled in the snow.

Bush suddenly asked, "What do you think... which side Suning is on?"

After a moment of silence, CIA Director Porter Goss spoke: "From a business perspective, he perfectly capitalized on globalization. But from a strategic perspective..."

He pointed to the patent number on the battery, "If these technologies fall into the hands of the Chinese military..."

"No, it won't happen." The sudden interruption made everyone turn around.

Karl Rove emerged from the shadows, “Su is very smart. He placed the most sensitive nanomembrane production in New Mexico and even broke down the formula into three parts for safekeeping. In addition, he doesn’t like to contact the Chinese government and is particularly stingy. After his failed investment in his hometown of Ningde in 1996, he has never made any investment in Ningde since.”

Bush patted the steering wheel and made a decision: "Arrange for me to meet privately with Suning and Emily. Also, add a section on renewable energy to next year's State of the Union address."

He added meaningfully, "The United States must lead this revolution."

As the presidential limousine drove away from the White House, no one noticed a black Chevrolet parked across Pennsylvania Avenue.

Inside the car, Zhou Mingyuan, the Chinese commercial counselor, put down his binoculars and dialed a number in Beijing: "It's confirmed that Tesla's core technology is indeed under the control of the US... Yes, the Suzhou factory is only responsible for standardized production processes..."

Meanwhile, on Yongren's special plane at 30,000 feet, Su Ning was reviewing two documents placed side by side: on the left was a new battery order signed by the Ministry of National Defense, and on the right was a preferential land transfer agreement from the Shanghai government.

He smiled slightly and locked both documents in the safe.

"Boss, what's our next stop?" the assistant asked, looking at Su Ning.

“Berlin,” Suning said, looking out at the sea of ​​clouds, “Germans need to see the future with their own eyes.”

The plane streaked across the night sky like a bolt of lightning that changed the world.

America has achieved her dream, but the key is how to hold onto it.

...(End of chapter)