I accidentally joined a group of charlatans, so I immediately called the police and handed it over t

The air in the warehouse was stagnant, as if it were filled with cement, so heavy it was suffocating.

The Western elite inspection team, which had just been impeccably dressed and holding champagne to celebrate their victory, now looked like a group of refugees stranded on a deserted island after a shipwreck.

Disarray, despair, and even hysterical madness.

The French representative knelt on the silver-gray metallic floor.

He was holding a piece of rhenium brick in his hand, biting it hard with his teeth.

"Bang" sound.

His teeth broke, and blood flowed down the corner of his mouth, but he felt no pain.

He only wanted to taste a tiny bit of lead or aluminum.

Even the slightest impurity is acceptable.

Unfortunately, the tip of the tongue only felt the unique coldness and hardness of the rare metal.

In the corner, a senior partner at a Wall Street investment bank was slumped on the floor.

He gripped the encrypted satellite phone tightly in his hand and roared into the other end.

"Throw it away! Throw it all away!"

"What do you mean no one's willing to buy it? Then give it away! Give it away for free!"

"Damn it, the Chinese have five thousand tons! Five thousand tons in stock!"

I heard a cacophony of cries and alarms coming from the other end of the phone.

Clearly, the NYSE trading floor has become hell.

Some people were crying their eyes out, their faces covered in snot and tears.

Just yesterday, he mortgaged his Manhattan mansion and went all in shorting rhenium futures.

It’s over.

It's all over.

These five thousand tons of rhenium are more than just cold metal.

It was the final straw that broke the back of the West's century-old financial hegemony.

It is a nuclear bomb that destroys their proud technological confidence.

Chen Xi stood in the shadows, coldly watching the clowns' performance.

He showed no pity whatsoever.

A month ago, this group of people were in the same position, looking down on China's industry as it struggled under the blockade.

The cycle of cause and effect, retribution is unhappy.

Chen Xi waved his hand gently.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the depths of darkness.

Four warriors clad in exoskeletons emerged from the shadows, carrying a strangely shaped "chair."

No.

That cannot be called a chair.

It was a "throne" forged entirely from a single, uncut piece of rough metal through violent melting.

There are no fancy decorations, and the surface is smooth without any polishing.

Only the most primitive, rugged, and stunning industrial heavy metal aesthetics.

The edges even have metallic burrs from the cooling process, making them look as menacing as the fangs of a steel behemoth.

It was so heavy that even the hydraulic rods of the exoskeleton armor emitted a piercing wail.

"Thump!"

The throne fell to the ground.

A dull, loud thud struck everyone's hearts.

The entire warehouse floor, including the thousands of tons of rhenium bricks, seemed to tremble.

Chen Xi walked over.

He unbuttoned his trench coat, turned around, and sat down.

His movements were casual, yet they carried an imposing aura that made people afraid to look him in the eye.

He crossed his legs and casually placed his hands on the cold, even slightly uncomfortable, armrests.

that moment.

The refined, scholarly air about him had completely vanished.

He is the king of this silver-gray metallic ocean.

He was a tyrant who held the power of life and death over these top Western elites.

"Everyone."

Chen Xi spoke calmly.

In this empty and desolate warehouse, a chill that penetrates to the bone is palpable.

"Have you cried enough?"

The noise in the warehouse seemed to have been muted.

Everyone looked up in horror at the man sitting on the silver-gray throne.

Backlit, his face was blurred.

All you could see were those terrifyingly bright eyes, like those of a vicious wolf scrutinizing its prey.

"You've cried enough, let's talk business."

Chen Xi raised his hand and casually flicked his sleeve.

"Business?"

Dr. Smith got up from the ground.

His suit was wrinkled like pickled vegetables, and his knees were covered in dust.

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses with trembling hands, trying to regain some of his former dignity.

But the tremor in his voice betrayed his inner collapse at that moment.

"Mr. Chen, what do you want?"

"We acknowledge that China's strategic reserves...have indeed exceeded our expectations."

"But this goes against market principles! It would destroy the global supply chain!"

Smith took a deep breath, trying to intimidate with the rules they were best at.

"We can sit down and talk about production limits to maintain prices..."

"We can establish a global rhenium industry alliance, with China serving as a council member..."

"Production restrictions?"

Chen Xi smiled.

The laughter was filled with undisguised mockery.

"Smith, are you still half asleep?"

"When your G7 countries jointly imposed a blockade on us a month ago, why didn't you consider market principles?"

"When you drove the price of rhenium to ten times that of gold, trying to starve our aviation industry, why didn't you consider the supply chain?"

Chen Xi suddenly stood up.

step.

He stepped right in front of Smith.

The overwhelming sense of oppression forced Smith to take a step back.

He slipped and almost fell to his knees again on those metal bricks that filled him with despair.

"Now you're talking to me about patterns?"

"It's too late."

Chen Xi sat back on his throne, his eyes looking down at him with disdain, as if he were an ant.

"Now, I'm in charge of the rules here."

"This door."

Chen Xi held up one finger and pointed to the open door.

The sunlight outside is so free and so warm.

Yet it is so far away.

"It's easy to get in, but hard to get out."

"You've seen it, touched it, and even bit it with your teeth."

Chen Xi pointed to the French representative whose mouth was full of blood.

"Shouldn't we settle the ticket fee now?"

"Tickets?"

The French representative got up from the ground and shouted angrily.

"We are a verification mission with diplomatic immunity! You cannot detain us!"

"I will file a lawsuit against you in the International Court of Justice for illegal detention!"

"I can."

Chen Xi interrupted him, his tone icy.

"This is a military restricted area in the Qilian Mountains."

"Base 001".

"You are suspected of stealing top state secrets. I have the right to detain you all."

Chen Xi leaned forward slightly, staring into the eyes of the French representative.

"I've heard there are quite a few abandoned mines around here."

"Perfect, I think no one would object to sending you to mine for the rest of your lives."

"and……"

Chen Xi patted the throne beneath him, producing a crisp metallic clanging sound.

"These floor tiles are very delicate, with a purity of 99.99%."

"It's been splattered by you filthy robbers, so someone has to stay and clean it up."

A naked threat.

This is kidnapping.

But everyone present knew that this young man was capable of doing it.

Because behind him stood a vast empire that had awakened and was thoroughly enraged.

Behind that empire stood a group of gods who loved to watch the drama unfold.

The warehouse was deathly silent.

Only Dr. Smith's heavy breathing could be heard.

Looking at the man sitting on the throne, cold as a demon, his defenses completely crumbled.

"What...what do you want?"

Dr. Smith looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

His back bent low, and he asked dejectedly.

money?

What China has the least to lack right now is money.

If this batch of rhenium were released, they could buy up half the world's assets overnight.

"I don't lack money."

Chen Xi pulled out a list that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket.

Just toss it aside.

The stack of papers drifted down and landed beside Smith's dusty leather shoes.

Black text on white paper, densely packed.

"I need technology."

Chen Xi's voice was as cold as a verdict.

"Everyone here is a leader in their respective fields."

"Each of you represents a company or a country."

"Hand over a core patent."

Chen Xi began taking attendance.

With each name read out, the faces of the representatives present grew paler.

ASML Corporation.

Chen Xi looked at a bald middle-aged man.

"I need the core technology of the extreme ultraviolet light source for EUV lithography machines."

The bald man's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

That's their livelihood, their lifeline.

General Electric.

Chen Xi turned to Dr. Smith.

"I need the formula for single-crystal blades for sixth-generation aero engines, as well as the complete thermal barrier coating process."

Dr. Smith looked up abruptly, his eyes bloodshot.

This is not just technology; it is the cornerstone of American aviation hegemony!

"And you, the one who works on quantum communication."

Chen Xi pointed to a British man wearing glasses in the corner.

"I need the source code for the deep-sea relay algorithm."

This is digging up their roots.

This is going to kill them.

"That's impossible!"

The GM vice president screamed, his voice as sharp as a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"This is extortion! This is robbery!"

"Congress will absolutely not approve it! The Pentagon will send an aircraft carrier!"

"Yeah?"

Chen Xi shrugged indifferently, his expression even somewhat bored.

"Then stay."

"I've heard that the sandstorms in the Northwest are good for people. Although it's a bit dry, it's very effective in curing arrogance."

"Perfect timing, we're short a few porters who speak English at the mine."

Chen Xi raised his head and looked at Li Guobang, who had been standing silently at the door.

"Old Li, close the door."

"yes!"

Li Guobang let out a loud shout, his voice booming like a bell.

"Snap—!"

The two rows of soldiers standing in the shadows simultaneously pulled back their rifle bolts.

That was the sound of a bullet being chambered.

That crisp, cold, murderous metallic clang was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The gate slowly closed.

The sunlight gradually disappeared, and darkness engulfed the warehouse like a tidal wave.

Only the throne of the King of Lu, where Chen Xi sat, emitted a faint, cold light in the darkness.

"Wait...wait a minute!"

Dr. Smith broke down.

He looked at the door that was about to close, the dividing line between life and death.

He looked at the expressionless man sitting on the throne.

He knew they had lost.

We lost completely.

If they don't pay, they won't be able to go back.

If the deal is handed over, the technological barriers that the West has built up over a century will be torn open today, leaving an unhealable gap.

From then on, the roles of offense and defense shifted.

"I...I'll sign."

Dr. Smith picked up the list from the ground with trembling hands.

That's a contract of servitude.

It was also a surrender document.

He knelt on the ground and took the Montblanc pen out of his pocket.

My hand was shaking so badly that the pen tip tore through the paper with a piercing "sizzle".

But he dared not stop.

He signed his name on the document that could make him a sinner in the West.

that moment.

Chen Xi sat on the silver-gray throne, looking at the group of Western elites who were once arrogant but now bowed their heads.

He didn't laugh.

I just felt that the wild wind of the Northwest had suddenly become exceptionally gentle.

"very good."

Chen Xi put away the heavy list.

His gaze passed over the kneeling crowd and landed on the vast, azure sky outside the door.

That's the direction of the east.

There is a sea there, and an island.

"Next."

Chen Xi spoke softly, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.

"Whose turn is it now?"