Reborn in 1950: Shorting the Federal Reserve at the Start

Beijing, China National Convention Center.

The main venue, which can accommodate 10,000 people, was packed to capacity, with even the aisles filled with Western journalists carrying long lenses and cameras.

Clutching their bulky Motorola "big brother" phones or their proud Nokia candybar phones, they whispered among themselves, speculating about what the State Administration of Telecommunications was up to this time.

The spotlight suddenly shone down.

Instead of wearing a suit, Shen Jinghong unusually changed into a black turtleneck sweater and blue jeans. He walked casually to the center of the stage, toying with a dark, cuboid glass block without any physical buttons in his hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, over the past few decades, we have become accustomed to communicating with machines using buttons."

Shen Jinghong held up the black glass brick, a highly confident smile playing on her lips: "But today, I'm going to redefine the mobile phone."

He gently pressed his thumb on the bottom of the screen and swiped to the right.

"Whoosh!"

The originally dark glass bricks lit up instantly, and a retina screen with vibrant colors and so clear that not even a single pixel could be seen was thrust into the retinas of tens of thousands of people in the audience!

"There is no keyboard, no stylus."

Shen Jinghong stretched out her index finger and thumb and gently pinched a photo on the screen, instantly shrinking the photo; then she expanded it outwards, and the photo smoothly enlarged.

"We are born with ten fingers, which is the most perfect interaction tool in the world. This is called multi-touch."

The entire room fell silent.

Those Western journalists looked at their Nokia phones with their densely packed plastic buttons, then at Shen Jinghong's smooth and fluid operation on the big screen, and felt like their brains were about to explode.

Is this even a cell phone?!

This is like a piece of magical glass cut straight out of a science fiction movie!

"My God...this is a true work of art!"

In the VIP seats in the first row, a white man with a thick beard and fanatical eyes stared intently at the big screen, his whole body trembling with excitement.

His name is Steve Jobs.

Back then, in that dilapidated garage in California, he was severely humiliated by Huo Jianming with the OEM contract, and he thought his Silicon Valley dream was completely shattered.

But when he actually entered Shenzhou Technology and came into contact with those ahead-of-its-time carbon-based chips and underlying code, his pitiful pride was completely crushed into powder.

He is currently a product manager at Digital China Technology North America.

Looking at the god-like Eastern man on the stage, Jobs' eyes reddened, and two streams of tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Steve, you're crying?" The second-in-command next to him was startled.

"You don't understand! You have no idea how terrifying the technological barriers behind this glass are!"

Jobs grabbed his deputy by the collar, his voice hoarse as if he were on a pilgrimage: "The terrifying computing power of carbon-based chips, coupled with perfect capacitive touchscreen logic! Mr. Shen isn't just making a product; he's creating a whole new world!"

The arrogance that once filled his eyes when he looked at Shen Jinghong was gone, replaced by the purest and most fervent submission.

"To be able to provide such a modern-day factory for a deity is the greatest honor of our lives!"

The day after the press conference, the entire Western world went completely crazy.

The queue in front of the flagship store of Digital China Technology on Fifth Avenue in New York stretched for three blocks.

Those Wall Street elites and Hollywood stars who are usually high and mighty are now willing to queue overnight in the cold wind, wrapped in sleeping bags, just to snag a first-generation "Shenzhou" smartphone.

"Give me ten! No matter the price!"

"Get out of the way! I got in first! I'll pay double!"

A frenzy of buying swept the globe.

Those established European and American mobile phone manufacturers, looking at the mountains of feature phones piling up in their warehouses, closed their eyes in despair. Under the overwhelming impact of "Shenzhou" mobile phones, their products instantly became unwanted electronic waste.

Even the Oval Office in the White House was filled with an eerie atmosphere.

President Clinton looked at the "Shenzhou" mobile phone on the table, which he had just bought at a high price through special channels, and swiped the screen with great interest.

"Mr. President, this phone may contain a backdoor program belonging to the Chinese. For national security reasons, you absolutely cannot use it!" The CIA director was sweating profusely.

"Shut up!"

Without looking up, Clinton yelled, "Look at the screen's clarity! Look at this smooth scrolling experience! You want me to go back to that brick-like Motorola? You might as well just kill me!"

Even the president of a superpower has completely succumbed.

The harvest of technological hegemony is on full display at this moment.

Beijing, Shenzhou Bureau Underground Information Command Center.

Shen Jinghong leaned back in the large leather seat, watching the sales data from all over the world soaring on the big screen, and took a leisurely sip of tea.

"Chief, this time we've emptied the pockets of the entire world."

Chen Weiguo grinned from ear to ear, "This week's profit alone is equivalent to ten years of selling oil!"

"Selling hardware is all hard-earned money."

Shen Jinghong put down his teacup, his eyes revealing a profound sense of having the world at his fingertips.

Shen Min'an, wearing a white shirt, pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and walked to his desk.

A dangerously dangerous smile now graced her usually aloof face.

"Dad's right. The cell phone is just a Trojan horse we sent into their house."

Shen Min'an pushed a laptop connected to the core server in front of Shen Jinghong. The screen displayed a background interface called "Shenzhou App Store".

"The monopoly of hardware is only temporary, but the monopoly of the ecosystem is permanent."

Her slender fingers hovered over the Enter key, her cool eyes flashing with the fanatical light of information hegemony.

"Once this button is pressed, all software developers in the world will have to obediently follow the rules we set. For every penny they earn, they will have to pay us a 30% 'toll'."

Shen Jinghong stood up and walked to her daughter's side.

He looked at the code on the screen that was about to change the way humans live, and a haughty, arrogant smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Honey, we won the industrial age, and we've won the information age too."

Shen Jinghong turned her head and looked at Lin Qinghan standing to the side, her eyes burning with longing for the boundless universe.

"Shouldn't we head out to the stars and find some new fun next?"

Lin Qinghan smiled gently, her gaze falling on the computer.

"Before that, let these foreign devils taste the fear of being dominated by the software ecosystem."

Shen Min'an smiled slightly and pressed the Enter key heavily with his fingertips.

"App Store, Global Launch"