Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

1983 7 Month 17 Day.

Summer in Hong Kong is always accompanied by sticky sea breezes and scorching sun. But this July, what's hotter than the weather is the city's fervent and restless anticipation of the "future."

Two days have passed since Golden Harvest's globally stunning "The Future Has Arrived" press conference.

Although Lu Chen clearly stated at the press conference that these three groundbreaking products would not be officially available until September 1st, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the public. On the contrary, this month-and-a-half "vacuum period" felt like waiting for a date with a first love for all Hong Kong citizens—every second was agonizing, yet every second was filled with sweet anticipation.

Nine o'clock in the morning, Mong Kok, Kam Wah Cafe.

This tea restaurant, usually filled with the shouts of waiters and the clatter of cutlery, was discussing something completely different today. Almost every table had a freshly printed copy of either the Oriental Daily News or the South China Morning Post.

"Hey, Inspector Chan, you've got your eye on that 'Dragon VCD' too?"

A middle-aged stockbroker, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and carrying a briefcase under his arm, poured condensed milk into a piping hot coffee while pointing to a full-page article on the newspaper and speaking animatedly to an acquaintance sharing the table.

The man called Chen Sir pushed up his glasses, his face full of longing: "It's more than just 'interested'! I've already paid a deposit at the Golden Harvest store! 1999 yuan! That price is practically charity!"

"Think about it, back in the day, buying a VCR was like buying a brick. You had to worry about the tapes getting moldy or tangled. The picture quality was so bad, even watching 'Happy Ghost' was all static." Inspector Chen tapped his finger on the table, doing some calculations. "Now, this VCD player is a disc! A digital signal! It never wears out! And Golden Harvest promises to give away three Dragon Watch movie discs with every machine purchase! Who can resist that?"

"Yeah!" the waiter next to him couldn't help but chime in, "I heard that renting DVDs will be cheaper in the future, just a few dollars a DVD to watch all day. My wife, that tigress, is already nagging me to buy one to watch Qiong Yao dramas."

Not far away, several middle school students in school uniforms and carrying backpacks were gathered together, their eyes shining as they stared at the illustrations in a science magazine.

"Wow! This Dragon phone is so cool!"

A boy wearing black-rimmed glasses pointed at the black and white candybar phone in the magazine, his tone full of envy, "Only 3999! My dad's old mobile phone cost over 30,000! And it was incredibly heavy!"

"The key is that 'text message' function!" Another boy exclaimed excitedly, his face flushed. "Just imagine, if we had this, we could still text Amei during class, or when our parents are watching us at home at night! And we wouldn't even have to say anything! That's so romantic!"

"Hello World...tsk tsk tsk, if I could save up enough money to buy one, Amei would definitely agree to be my girlfriend!"

"Stop dreaming, you'll have to save for ten years. But I heard that Lu's Bank, under Jiahe Group, offers installment payments, two hundred yuan a month..."

Throughout the city, from white-collar elites in office buildings to housewives in housing estates, and even bewildered teenagers in schools, everyone's conversation revolves around the three words "Longteng."

A sentiment known as "technology worship" is spreading wildly across this tiny island. Suddenly, people feel that their Walkmans are no longer appealing, their VCRs are too outdated, and those still using pagers are practically living in the Stone Age.

however.

For every person who is happy, there is someone who is sad.

In stark contrast to the revelry of Hong Kong citizens, a gloomy and desolate haze hung over the other side of the Pacific and the island nation of Japan.

……

The Eagle, Chicago, Motorola's global headquarters.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, an expensive whiskey glass shattered violently on the thick carpet.

Motorola's CEO, the once-powerful white man who wielded considerable influence in the telecommunications industry, was now red-faced and roaring at a room full of executives:

"Can anyone tell me! Where did that Asian guy named Lu Chen come from?!"

"GSM digital signal? SMS? And that damn price tag of less than four hundred US dollars?!" The CEO pointed at the small, exquisite "Dragon D1" on the projection screen, his fingers trembling. "Our DynaTAC is priced at $3995 (about HK$3)! How are we supposed to compete with this?! No, this isn't competition, this is a one-sided massacre!"

A deathly silence filled the conference room. The head of the R&D department wiped the cold sweat from his brow and stood up shakily:

"Boss, we...we didn't expect their technology to be so far ahead. That GSM standard...it's even more mature than the next-generation prototype in our lab. And that SMS function is simply a brilliant idea..."

"I don't want to hear praise!" the CEO roared, throwing down another wine glass. "I want a solution! Now! Immediately!"

However, the R&D manager shrugged and said that the gap was too big and there was nothing they could do.

"Price cut! Price cut across the board!" The CEO gritted his teeth and made an extremely painful decision. "Notify all global distributors that DynaTAC prices are to be halved! No, cut by two-thirds! We must clear out the inventory before DragonTex goes public! Otherwise, those bricks will only be good for building houses!"

"And R&D department, get a DragonD1 at all costs! Take it apart! Reverse engineer it! I need to know what magic they used!"

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, in Sony's Zen-inspired Japanese-style conference room, the atmosphere was equally oppressive.

"President, these are the VCD technical specifications that Golden Harvest just released," an executive knelt on the tatami mat, presenting a document with both hands, not daring to raise his head. "After evaluation by our technical department... this technology poses a devastating blow to our Betamax videotape system and the LD disc player we are currently developing."

Sony President Akio Morita looked at the report, his face turning ashen.

As a giant who set the standards for videotapes, he knew all too well what "digitalization" meant. It meant no wear and tear, smaller size, and a precipitous drop in cost.

"HKD 1999..." Morita Akio muttered to himself, "That price is less than a fraction of what our LD player costs. And they've even integrated a vast library of Hong Kong films..."

"Baka!" Morita Akio slammed the file on the table. "This is absolutely destroying our livelihood!"

"Give the order!" Morita Akio took a deep breath, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "Reduce prices on all VCRs for a clearance sale! At the same time, launch 'Operation Dragon Hunt'... No matter the cost, we must acquire the core decoding chip for DragonVCD. Our engineers must produce a competing product within six months! Otherwise, Sony's home entertainment division can just wait to commit seppuku!"

Eagle, New York, IBM Building.

The Blue Giant's panic came a little later, but it was all the more profound.

Looking at the smooth graphical interface and mouse operation of the Longteng computer, IBM's top executives felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Their proud DOS command line was like a primitive stone axe facing a modern machine gun in front of that "little mouse."

"Patents! Check their patents!" IBM's legal director proposed at the meeting. "They've definitely infringed! How could such an advanced graphical interface be developed by a Hong Kong financial company?!"

However, half an hour later, an urgent patent search report was delivered to him, which showed that Longteng Technology had not infringed any technology.

Moreover, they discovered something devastating: regarding the graphical user interface (GUI), mouse interaction logic, and even the mechanical structure of the 3.5-inch floppy disk, Jiahe Technology had already applied for an extremely tight, ironclad patent protection network (PCT international patents) in major global markets such as the United States, Japan, Japan, and Italy six months ago.

The sheer number and breadth of their patents are like a Great Wall built in the tech world!

Moreover, any competitor that tries to imitate or reverse engineer will find that every step they take will step on landmines planted by Lu Chen.

Want to make VCDs? Sure, just pay DragonTech patent fees.

Want to make GSM phones? Sure, just pay Longteng patent fees.

Want to open a folder by double-clicking with the mouse? Sorry, that's also a patent of Longteng.

"Steal it!" At the same time, IBM's commercial espionage division received the same order: "Use whatever means necessary—poaching, bribing, infiltrating… I need to know the source code of 'DragonOS'! I need to know how they achieved such integration."

The three companies all chose this method without prior agreement, after all, all business competition has a dark side.

However, Motorola, Sony, and IBM all discovered with despair that those three globally watched machines had been protected by Lu Chen as tightly as the U.S. president's nuclear button.

All the prototypes are stored in Jiahe Technology's R&D center, which has quasi-military security. All the contract manufacturers are under tight security at Jiahe. Forget about corporate espionage; even a fly would have to go through three security checks to get in!

An invisible and intangible yet unbreakable "technology + patent" moat has firmly kept all potential competitors out of the game.

Just as the outside world was being turned upside down and filled with bloodshed by Lu Chen.

On Victoria Peak, a symbol of Hong Kong's highest power and wealth, a long-awaited tour of a new home is quietly taking place.