The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

The next day.

The sun shines brightly in Silicon Valley, but it cannot penetrate the darkness in people's hearts.

As if by prior arrangement, major tech media outlets uniformly dedicated their headlines to a "joke" from the East.

TechCrunch: "Santa Claus from the East: Microlight Technology Acquires Shell Mining Company at a 300% Premium"

The Wall Street Journal: "While we're talking about AI, the Chinese are talking about Martian potatoes"

fling in teeth.

A deluge of ridicule.

On Twitter, the name "Lin Che" has become synonymous with "stupid".

Nobody cared about the attached Open-V lab.

To everyone else, it was just a pile of soon-to-expire electronic waste, a bitter pill that the crazy Chinese tycoon had to swallow in order to fulfill his absurd "space dream".

Palo Alto.

Inside an upscale bar.

Thomas was standing on the table, holding a champagne glass, like a general who had just won a battle.

"A salute to that idiot!"

Thomas shouted.

Her face turned as red as a monkey's bottom.

"Respect to Lin Che! Respect to his touching, foolish, and money-grubbing generosity!"

Cheers!

Below, a group of equally well-dressed swindlers and speculators raised their glasses and burst into laughter.

They're all here to celebrate.

They celebrated Thomas's successful shedding of a hot potato that not only didn't make money but could also cause trouble due to "national security."

Hey, Thomas.

Some people started a disturbance.

"I heard that Chinese guy even made you sign a non-compete agreement? And he detained everyone in your precious lab?"

"Go ahead and deduct! Deduct as much as you want!"

Thomas burst out laughing and nearly fell off the table.

"What can those freaks do besides burn money? Let them support us! I'm just afraid they'll change their minds! Last night I handed over the company seal and keys overnight. Now, Open-V has nothing to do with me, not even a single screw!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The bar was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

no one knows.

Just as they were raising their glasses to mock the "scapegoat,"

The gears of fate have quietly turned to that crucial point of engagement.

……

At the same time.

San Jose.

Inside an unassuming business hotel suite.

The curtains were tightly closed.

Not a single ray of light penetrated.

The room was freezing cold, like an icebox, and the air conditioner was turned up to the maximum.

Lin Che sat in front of the computer.

He wasn't wearing a suit, just a shirt soaked with sweat.

Xie Yu stood behind him, not daring to breathe.

Although the CFIUS approval stamp has been obtained, everything remains uncertain until the data actually leaves the country.

As soon as that inspector named Smith realizes what's going on, and as soon as that idiot Thomas blurts out, "Actually, that architecture is quite useful," the NSA will immediately cut off that line.

"hurry up……"

Lin Che's fingers were tapping on the edge of the table.

The nails turned white due to the force applied.

He is racing against time.

Racing against the falling iron curtain.

The numbers on the screen flickered.

[100%]

Transmission complete, verification passed.

"Cut!"

Lin Che let out a low growl.

"Click."

The scissors in Xie Yu's hand fell.

The network cable was neatly cut.

Physical isolation.

Lin Che looked completely exhausted and slumped back in his chair.

But he did not rest.

He didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his brow.

He grabbed the satellite phone that was lying next to him and dialed the number that only he and Director Song knew.

"Feed".

Song Ju's signature, slightly hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone.

The background noise was very loud, seemingly coming from some kind of command center.

"I am Lin Che."

Lin Che's voice was very soft.

"The seeds have arrived."

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then came Director Song's voice, visibly relieved, trembling slightly: "Received. Ark Labs just confirmed the data is complete; the veteran experts are all in tears."

"Why are you crying?"

Lin Che stared at the ceiling.

A tired smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Let them shed tears; the battle hasn't even started yet."

"Lin Che".

Director Song's voice suddenly turned serious.

"How's the situation on your end? According to the latest intelligence, Washington is already drafting documents. Should you evacuate immediately?"

"withdraw?"

Lin Che sat up.

He walked to the window and slightly opened a gap in the curtains.

Looking at the bright sunshine outside.

"I can't leave now."

"If I leave now, it will be considered fleeing from justice, which will confirm that I am a spy."

"I have to stay here."

"Not only do I have to stay here, but I also have to keep acting, playing a fool who wasted money, and a nouveau riche who gets furious after being ripped off."

"Only in this way will Jim and his team be safe, and only then will Open-V be safe."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

"be safe."

Director Song only said these four words.

"rest assured."

Lin Che hung up the phone.

I pulled out the SIM card, broke it in half, and threw it into the toilet.

It was swept away by the current.

All traces have been erased.

……

three days later.

5 month 15 day.

This day, in its original history, was a watershed moment for the global science and technology community.

The morning in San Francisco was rather gloomy.

The fog was thick, shrouding the Golden Gate Bridge like a persistent haze.

Lin Che was having breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

The morning news was playing on the television opposite him.

Thomas came too.

He was there to deliver the final handover documents and also wanted to mooch another breakfast from Lin Che.

"Mr. Lin, have you read today's newspaper?"

Thomas mumbled as he stuffed bacon into his mouth.

"Everyone is praising your vision... uh, I mean, praising your courage."

Thomas suppressed a laugh.

Actually, what the newspaper said was "rich and stupid".

Lin Che was cutting the fried eggs on the plate.

The cutlery made a harsh scraping sound on the porcelain plate.

Thomas.

Lin Che did not look up.

"If you had a gun, who do you think you would sell it to?"

"gun?"

Thomas paused for a moment.

"Of course, it should be sold to the highest bidder."

"What if this gun could kill you?"

Lin Che raised his head.

Looking at Thomas.

Thomas shivered at the coldness in his eyes.

"Mr. Lin... you must be joking. This is just a game company, where would they get guns from..."

Just then.

The noise in the restaurant suddenly stopped.

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

A deathly silence.

Dozens of eyes turned to the wall-mounted television.

At the bottom of the screen.

[Breaking News: The White House has issued an executive order on ensuring the security of the information and communications technology and services supply chain.]

Followed by.

The host's voice became sharp and urgent:

"...According to the announcement just released by the Ministry of Commerce, Huawei and its 70 subsidiaries will be officially added to the 'Entity List'."

"This means that any U.S. company will be prohibited from selling any technology, software, or chips to the government without obtaining a license..."

Google announces suspension of GMS services...

Qualcomm and Intel announce supply cuts...

"ARM is assessing compliance..."

Every name.

Every single ban.

They were like a bombshell, crashing hard into this glass house called "globalization".

Crackle, crackle.

Broken to the ground.

Thomas dropped his fork.

With a clang.

It fell into the plate.

He stared wide-eyed at the news, then looked at Lin Che, who remained calm in front of him.

My mind went completely blank.

Entity List?

Supply cutoff?

As a Silicon Valley native, he knew all too well what this meant.

This means that half of China's technology industry will be cut off from life today.

"This...this is ruthless?"

Thomas muttered to himself.

"Fortunately...fortunately we're just a mining company, and fortunately Open-V is just an open-source project..."

Speaking of which...

Thomas's voice suddenly stopped.

It felt like someone was choking me.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

A memory struck him like lightning.

That was the sentence that Li, the intern he had fired a few days ago, shouted at the top of his lungs:

"If ARM cuts off supplies, RISC-V is the only solution! It's the only architecture not subject to the long-arm jurisdiction of the United States!"

The only... antidote.

Thomas turned his head sharply.

He stared intently at Lin Che.

Lin Che was still eating a fried egg.

The movements were graceful.

Slow and deliberate.

It was as if the collapsing world around him had nothing to do with him.

"Forest……"

Thomas's voice was trembling.

"You...you knew all along?"

"Know what?"

Lin Che put down his knife and fork.

He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

Then he raised his head.

He revealed a smile that Thomas had never seen before, a smile that was extremely cruel.

"You mean this news?"

Lin Che pointed to the television.

"No."

"I just know."

"When the flood comes."

Lin Che stood up.

A shadow fell over Thomas, who was slumped in his chair.

"I'm the only one with a ticket."

"And this ship ticket."

"You sold it to me yourself."