Huayu 2021: Isn’t he in the technology field?

Chapter 408 Global Stock Market Shock, An Unexpected Surprise
The chaos of the night has vanished with the wind.

The next day, as the sun rose in the Eastern Hemisphere, the storm sparked by Wuwen Technology's press conference truly revealed its terrifying global impact.

The US capital market was the first to be affected.

Due to the time difference, from the afternoon of January 12th to January 13th, Eastern Time, was precisely the time when the content of Wuwen Technology's press conference, after fermenting overnight, fully impacted Wall Street.

After the US stock market opened, a frenzied sell-off of stocks related to artificial intelligence and its related industrial chains quickly spread.

The market's focus is firmly on chip giant Nvidia.

This company, whose market value soared with the AI ​​wave and was regarded as the cornerstone of the entire AI ecosystem, has encountered an unprecedented attack.

The stock price plummeted immediately after the market opened, with a flood of sell orders triggering the circuit breaker mechanism multiple times during the trading session, and panic permeated the entire trading hall.

By the close of trading that day, Nvidia's stock price had plummeted 16.97%, wiping out nearly $5000 billion in market value in a single day, setting a record for the largest single-day market value loss for any listed company in U.S. history, a veritable bloodbath.

Nvidia's precipitous drop triggered the first domino to fall, quickly impacting the entire technology sector.

Broadcom's stock price fell 17%, AMD's stock price fell 6%, and even diversified giants like Microsoft were not spared, with their stock price falling 2%.

Even more astonishingly, market panic has even spread to derivative fields of artificial intelligence, such as power suppliers.

Market concerns that AI computing power demand expectations will be significantly lowered caused United Energy's stock price to plummet by 21%, while Vistra's stock price fell even more drastically by 29%.

Wall Street analysts generally believe that the core trigger for this US stock market turmoil was undoubtedly the release of the Wanxiang Big Model by Wuwen Technology.

This AI bombshell not only demonstrated astonishing technological prowess, but its extremely low training cost and open-source strategy also shook market confidence in the absolute leading position of the US technology industry.

In an interview, Jacobson, chief economist at Annex Financial, frankly stated, "What investors are really afraid of is that companies like Nvidia, which are considered to have almost monopolized the AI ​​chip ecosystem, may not have as strong a moat as they imagine. Wuwen Technology has demonstrated with facts that superior algorithms and engineering optimizations can significantly reduce reliance on top-tier computing power."

An American economist pointed out the root cause: "Nvidia achieved top-tier performance using only a small number of relatively low-end chips. If this model becomes the new industry standard, the expectation of massive future demand for high-end chips will be completely reversed, and Nvidia's growth story will no longer be sustainable."

A fundamental shift in market expectations led investors to vote with their feet.

This shocking news was quickly reported extensively by mainstream media in China, accompanied by eye-catching headlines such as "Breakthrough in domestic AI technology triggers global market restructuring" and "A new era dawns, causing an earthquake on Wall Street."

The Chinese internet was abuzz with discussion, with seven out of the top ten trending topics on Weibo related to the issue, including phrases like "Nvidia crashes," "Global stock markets shake up," and "Jiang's actions impact the world economy."

The comments section was filled with pride and amazement.

"My God! We were cheering for the press conference yesterday, and today we've witnessed history?"

"Jiang Shen has single-handedly stirred up the global capital market!"

"Those who were pessimistic before, come out and show yourselves what true cutting-edge technology looks like!"

"Hahaha, let them impose sanctions! Let them impose blockades! What we create ourselves is the best!"

"This was a technological breakthrough that directly shattered the opponent's pricing power!"

"Enough said, Jiang Shen is awesome!"

"Jiang Shen..."

On Douyin, various short videos interpreting the events quickly went viral. One after another, financial and technology anchors analyzed the intrinsic connection between this huge shock in the capital market and the breakthroughs in various technologies with exciting tones. Accompanied by rousing background music, the videos could easily get more than a million views.

On Zhihu, the question "How do you evaluate the historic plunge in Nvidia's stock price caused by Wuwen Technology's Wanxiang Big Model?" quickly rose to the top of the hot list. The highly-rated answers provided in-depth analysis from multiple perspectives, including technology, market, and international competition. They generally believe that this marks a new stage in the global AI industry landscape, and the era of computing power may face challenges, with the weight of algorithms and engineering capabilities greatly increasing.

At the same time, the shockwaves brought by Vientiane are gradually becoming apparent in the Asian market.

On the morning of January 13, after the A-share market opened, Wuwen Technology concept stocks surged by more than 11%, while traditional computing power concept stocks suffered heavy losses.

AI computing power, GPUs, liquid-cooled servers, and ASIC chips all fell by more than 3%, while previously popular sectors such as optical chips, high-speed copper interconnects, optical communications, and optical modules plummeted by more than 5%, showing a very clear divergence in capital flows.

Even semiconductor ETFs in the Japanese market were dragged down, falling by more than 3%.

Experts, scholars, and financial commentators from various fields have published articles analyzing why this phenomenon can have such a huge impact on the expectations of the global industrial chain.

For a time, as soon as you opened your phone, the information feed was almost entirely filled with discussions about Wuwen Technology, Jiang Qing, and Wanxiang.

Faced with this unprecedented change, China's internet giants reacted even more swiftly.

Tencent, Ali, Baidu, Xiaomi, and other companies rushed to release official announcements, declaring that they would fully integrate with the Wanxiang Big Model and deepen their strategic cooperation with Wuwen Technology.

Tencent announced that it will optimize its social, gaming, and content recommendation algorithms based on Vientiane.

Ali announced that its e-commerce, logistics, cloud computing and other businesses will be gradually migrated to Wanxiang Base.

Baidu stated that it will explore the deep integration of search and search services to bring users a more user-friendly search experience.

Lei Jun announced on his personal Weibo account that Xiaomi's next-generation smart home control system will fully integrate Wanxiang's AI capabilities.

Cambricon, Unitree Robotics, 360... none of them were left behind, and they all made statements one after another.

These actions are both an affirmation of Wuwen Technology and an inevitable choice to seize the initiative in the new industrial wave.

The Wanxiang app, aimed at ordinary users, saw explosive growth in downloads within 12 hours of its launch on the Apple App Store and major Android app stores, topping the free app charts on both platforms. User reviews were filled with keywords such as "amazing," "powerful," and "exceeding expectations."

However, while the outside world was in an uproar over Wuwen Technology and Wanxiang, Jiang Qing, at the center of this storm, remained in a state of quiet incongruity with the outside noise.

He stood in the hotel suite where Zhou Ye had rested the day before, the room empty before him.

The bed was made meticulously, as if no one had ever lived there.

The curtains were drawn, letting in sunlight that cast bright spots of light on the floor, but it couldn't dispel the chill in the room.

Jiang Qing's face remained expressionless, but her gaze swept across every corner of the room: the living room, the bedroom, and the bathroom.

There was no trace of Zhou Ye anywhere; she left completely and resolutely.

On the bedside table, there was only a folded white sticky note, pressed under an envelope provided by the hotel.

He walked over, picked up the note, and unfolded it.

The above is Zhou Ye's slightly messy handwriting, consisting of only one short line:
"I'm leaving, don't look for me."

There was no salutation, no date, just six lonely characters.

The detachment and resolute tone conveyed between the lines pierced Jiang Qing's heart like a cold needle.

He gripped the note tightly, but quickly released it.

At this moment, Chen Duo walked in and reported in a low voice.

"Mr. Jiang, we've checked. Ms. Zhou Ye left this morning around 7:00 AM in a campervan with her assistant, Zhang Wen. We need..."

"no need."

Jiang Qing interrupted him, her voice calm and devoid of any emotion.

The fact that he hadn't received the news meant that Zhou Ye knew Zhang Wen had been tipping him off and had specifically asked her not to tell him.

Chen Duo nodded, said no more, and began to report on his work.

"Mr. Jiang, the company's phones have been ringing off the hook. Investment institutions, partners, media... everyone wants to meet with you. Also, you saw what happened in the stock market this morning, right? The impact was huge. The CEOs of several core partners want to have a video conference with you as soon as possible to discuss further cooperation plans."

"understood."

Jiang Qing turned around, her face already regaining its usual composure.

"Reply to them that a half-hour video conference can be arranged at 2 PM. We will decline all media interviews at this stage."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Chen Duo responded and then continued his report.

"General Manager Zhao and General Manager Zhang have already gone to the company. Right now, there are huge crowds over there. Besides the media, there are also many tech enthusiasts who have come spontaneously."

"Yes, notify the security department to maintain order, but don't treat them roughly. You can guide them to visit the park."

As Jiang Qing spoke, she strode out of the room.

"back office."

"clear."

Chen Duo followed closely behind Jiang Qing.

He knew his boss was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to joke around like he usually did.

On the way to Wuwen Science and Technology Park, Jiang leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

Chen Duo could see in the rearview mirror that his fingers were unconsciously tapping lightly on his knees, showing that his inner self was not as calm as it appeared.

The streets of Luyang outside the window seemed no different from usual, but upon closer inspection, some bus stop billboards had been replaced with promotional posters bearing the "Wanxiang" logo, a speed that was astonishing.

As they approached the company, the scene before them was exactly as Chen Duo had described: a large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the park, including reporters with cameras and microphones, young people taking photos with their phones, and some citizens who had come to join the fun, pointing and gesturing at the park with excited expressions on their faces.

The company's security personnel and energetic administrative staff are working hard to maintain order and guide the crowd.

Jiang Qing's car did not stop at the main entrance, but entered the park directly through the dedicated passage in the underground parking garage.

Even so, when he stepped out of the elevator and into the office area, he could still feel a vibrant and almost boiling atmosphere that was completely different from usual.

Inside the office area, although the employees were all at their respective workstations, almost everyone had an irrepressible excitement on their faces. The sounds of keyboard typing, telephone ringing, and low but rapid discussions mingled together, creating a vibrant atmosphere full of energy.

Upon seeing Jiang Qing appear, everyone cast admiring glances their way, and some even couldn't help but cheer and applaud quietly.

"Hello, Mr. Jiang!"

"General Manager Jiang is awesome!"

"President Jiang, that's so inspiring!"

Jiang Qing suppressed her emotions, revealed a gentle smile, and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get too excited, everyone. We're not on holiday yet. Let's get back to work."

As always, he didn't act like a boss at all.

"Roger that!"

The employees responded in unison, each one full of energy and high spirits.

Jiang Qing's appearance seemed to add fuel to the already heated atmosphere, but at the same time it brought a strange sense of security.

He went straight to his office, where Jiang Nan, Zhao Quan, Zhang Bin, and others were already waiting.

Jiang Nan looked tired, clearly having not rested well the previous day. Upon seeing Jiang Qing enter, she immediately went to greet her.

"Brother, you're here! It's absolutely insane outside! And, Sister Ono, she..."

"She left."

Jiang Qing gave a brief reply, then looked at Zhao Quan.

"Old Zhao, how's the situation?"

Although Zhao Quan also appeared to have been up all night, he was in high spirits and spoke very quickly.

"It couldn't be better! Downloads and API requests for Vientiane have increased exponentially, putting a strain on the servers. The tech team is expanding its capacity. Also, here is a list of key companies and organizations that have sought cooperation in the past twelve hours, which I have already preliminarily screened."

He handed me a tablet computer with a long list on it.

Jiang Qing took the tablet, quickly browsed through it, and asked a question at the same time.

"What direct impact does the situation in the capital market have on us?"

"In the short term, the main impact is on confidence, which is extremely positive."

Zhao Quan analyzed, “Our company’s valuation has now been recognized by the market as immeasurable. In the long run, if Wanxiang’s open-source ecosystem can be established quickly, it will greatly consolidate our industry position. As for the decline in computing power concept stocks, it precisely proves the correctness of our technology roadmap. Using better algorithms to reduce dependence on hardware is a major benefit for us to reduce costs and promote its widespread adoption.”

Jiang Qing nodded.

"Yes. The next key points are: first, to ensure the stability and user experience of the Wanxiang platform; second, to accelerate the implementation of in-depth cooperation with leading companies in various industries; and third, to continue to promote the research and development of more cutting-edge technologies without any slackening. Open source is just the beginning; the real competition has only just begun."

"understand!"

Zhao Quan nodded in agreement.

Just then, Jiang Qing's phone, which was on the table, vibrated. The screen showed the contact name "Wang Churan".

Jiang Qing glanced at it, picked up her phone and gestured to Zhao Quan and the others that she needed to take a call, then walked to the window.

"Hey, Cherish."

"Jiang Shen! Good morning! Did I disturb you?"

Wang Cherish's clear yet slightly cautious voice came from the other end of the phone.

"I saw the news, it's amazing! I'm just... a little worried about you. You didn't look well when you left yesterday. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

Jiang Qing sensed her concern and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"I was just handling some personal matters yesterday. What about you? Did you go home?"

"Not yet, my flight is this afternoon."

Wang Churan's voice softened.

"Jiang Shen, um... you said yesterday that you'd send me a pair after the AI ​​glasses went into mass production, is that still true?"

"Of course it counts."

Jiang Qing smiled.

"I'll contact you once the first batch of engineering prototypes is ready."

"That's great! Thank you, Jiang Shen!"

Wang Churan immediately exclaimed with delight.

"Well... you go ahead with your work, I won't bother you anymore!"

"Well, have a nice trip."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Qing's smile faded, and she let out a soft breath.

He turned around and found Jiang Nan standing right in front of him, looking at him with a complicated expression.

That look in her eyes was clearly directed at a scumbag.

Jiang Qing smiled and walked over to ruffle her hair.

"Don't look at me like that. You're just a fan. You should go home and spend the Lunar New Year with your parents."

"elder brother……"

Jiang Nan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

"I know."

Jiang Qing interrupted her, her tone calm.

"I'll take care of it."

Jiang Nan opened her mouth, but in the end, she could only nod helplessly.

She didn't want to say too much about such things.

The morning flew by in a flurry of activity.

Jiang Qing chaired a strategic meeting attended by senior company executives, clarifying the key tasks for each department going forward.

At 2 p.m. sharp, he appeared in the video conference room and connected with several business giants, including Jack Ma, Pony Ma, and Li Keqiang.

The people on the screen were even more enthusiastic and pragmatic than at the dinner the previous night, discussing in detail specific matters such as technology integration, data security, and joint research and development. Clearly, they were completely convinced of their determination by the capital market and the overwhelming response after Wanxiang's launch.

After the meeting ended, Jiang Qing finally had a short break.

He sat alone in his office, picked up his phone, and subconsciously opened WeChat, finding that familiar chat window.

The last time they talked was yesterday morning, when Zhou Ye sent him a meme of a Samoyed peeking out, asking if he was nervous.

He hesitated for a moment before typing a few words: "Are you home yet?"

My finger hovered over the send button for several seconds, but in the end, I deleted it word by word.

Jiang Qing put down her phone, leaned back in her chair, and rubbed her temples.

He knew that once something was broken, it might be difficult to restore it to its original state.

In the evening, Chen Duo came in to report that although the crowd outside the park had dispersed somewhat, there were still quite a few media fans nearby, asking Jiang Qing if she wanted to leave directly from the underground parking garage.

Jiang Qing stood up, walked to the window, looked at the crowd still visible in the distance below, and pondered for a moment.

"No need, I'll go through the main entrance."

Chen Duo was somewhat surprised.

"President Jiang, that might result in us being surrounded..."

"It's ok."

Jiang Qing straightened his suit.

"There are some situations we always have to face, and we should give a formal response to those who have always supported us."

When Jiang Qing appeared at the company entrance, the waiting crowd instantly stirred. Reporters raised their cameras, and fans cheered.

"Jiang Qing is out!"

"Jiang Shen! Look here!"

"Mr. Jiang, what's your opinion on Nvidia's sharp drop in stock price?"

What are Vientiane's next development plans?

"Mr. Jiang..."

Under the protection of security personnel, Jiang Qing stopped and faced the crowd, a calm smile on her face as usual.

"Thank you to all our media friends and everyone for your concern! Wuwen Technology will continue to focus on technological research and development, promoting the application of artificial intelligence in various industries. This is just the beginning. We believe that in the future AI era, the power of Chinese technology will play an even more important role! Thank you all!"

His voice was steady and powerful, clearly reaching everyone's ears through the noisy environment.

After speaking, he bowed slightly to the crowd before getting into the car under the escort of security personnel.

The car slowly drove away, leaving behind a continuous barrage of flashing lights.

Inside the car, Jiang Qing leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

After a day of hustle and bustle, the silence at this moment feels particularly heavy.

As the car entered the underground parking garage of Binhu Shuangxi, the surroundings instantly fell silent, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle at the entrance of the park just moments before.

The elevator ascended smoothly, the numbers constantly changing, and finally stopped at the top floor.

Upon opening the front door, a sense of spaciousness immediately greets you.

In the spacious living room, the afterglow of the evening sun streamed in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows on the floor, but making the room seem even colder and more deserted.

This place was once filled with Zhou Ye's cheerful chatter.

But at this moment, everything fell silent.

Jiang Qing took off his suit jacket and casually draped it over the armrest of the sofa. He loosened his tie but did not turn on the light.

He sat down on the sofa, his body sinking into the soft leather, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he looked out the window at the lake view gradually being bathed in the night.

The unprecedented success of the press conference, the earthquake in the capital market, the pursuit of partners, and the overwhelming praise from the outside world... all of these seem to be separated by an invisible film at this moment, becoming somewhat distant.

A deep sense of weariness enveloped me, not from physical exhaustion, but from a kind of emptiness deep within my spirit.

I didn't feel hungry at all, so I naturally had no appetite for dinner, and I didn't even have the desire to move.

Jiang Qing sat there quietly, letting time flow by in silence.

The light in the room grew dimmer and dimmer until it was almost completely swallowed by darkness, with only the distant city lights casting flickering shadows on his face through the window.

I don't know how much time had passed, maybe a long time, maybe just a moment, when a sudden cell phone ring broke the silence.

The ringing sounded particularly jarring in the quiet room.

Jiang Qing moved somewhat slowly and took out her phone from her pocket.

The screen's light was somewhat dazzling in the darkness, and a look of surprise flashed across his face when he saw the name on the caller ID.

Why would she call at this time?
He swiped his finger across the screen, answered the call, and put the phone to his ear.

"Hey?"

His voice was hoarse from not speaking for a long time.

The excited words coming from the other end of the phone made Jiang Qing's expression instantly turn somewhat strange.

He turned his head to look in the direction of the front door, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"you sure?"

He confirmed it with the person on the other end of the phone.

After receiving an affirmative reply, Jiang Qing paused for two seconds, then said "Okay, wait a moment," and hung up the phone.

He stood up and, using the dim light, walked towards the entrance.

With a slightly puzzled expression, he reached out and opened the front door.

The scene outside the door startled him.

Instead of the expected figure, there were two paper takeout bags printed with the logo of a well-known Cantonese restaurant, held in the air by two delicate white hands.

The bag looked heavy and full.

Just as Jiang Qing was stunned, the bag opened, and a beautiful face peeked out.

The girl's face was beaming with an almost excessively bright smile, and her eyes sparkled in the light of the hallway motion sensor lights.

She shook her head, her tone cheerful.

"Ta-da! Jiang Shen! Surprised? Unexpected? I knew you hadn't eaten yet, right?"

Jiang Qing looked at the beautiful, smiling face in front of her, then at the two large, obviously heavy bags of food in her hands, and raised an eyebrow.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have overlooked something all along.

(End of this chapter)