Chapter 215: A Group of Living Lei Fengs

NVIDIA's counterattack was more ferocious than anticipated.
As expected of a prehistoric behemoth that had dominated the graphics card market for decades, its power was astonishing when it got serious.
As Maersk Line ships arrived at port one after another, TSMC's production lines were gradually resuming operations.
Qin Han, chairman of Jiangjin Group, even began to doubt whether he had made a mistake in his move.
Continuing on this path, he hadn't made any money and had offended many giants, putting Jiangjin in a very passive position.
However, just as he was worrying, a sudden piece of news stunned him.
Just last night, an unprecedented large-scale cyberattack called 'WannaCry' swept the globe.
More than 150 countries and nearly 3 million computers became victims.
Once infected, all files on the computer are encrypted and locked. Unless you pay the hackers $1000 worth of Bitcoin, you're doomed.
“How’s the damage on our end? Have we been affected?” Qin Han asked in a deep voice.
“Don’t worry, Chairman, Jiangjin Group is basically fine,” the secretary reported.
“This ransomware attack primarily targeted Europe. Although a few of our employees’ computers were infected, it hasn’t affected their work yet.”
The list of affected countries continues to grow: Britain, Spain, Germany, Russia, Denmark…
Even more critically, many hackers, after obtaining the virus samples, are spreading it further, causing the damage to snowball.
In an instant, countless businesses and institutions worldwide are paralyzed, confidential documents are leaked, systems are shut down, and the entire cyber world is in chaos.
"Pass the order! Everyone on high alert! Double-check any documents from unknown sources. Be extremely cautious!"
"Yes, sir! The emergency order has been issued. However… Chairman, there's a particularly interesting rumor circulating outside."
This is a large-scale cyberterrorism attack affecting the entire globe. At this critical juncture, what "interesting" rumor could there possibly be?
"It's said that the UK and Denmark were the hardest hit by this disaster.
One company's system was completely wiped out by the virus, bringing all operations to a standstill."
"Which company?"
"Maersk Line."
"Wait," Qin Han suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing, "Maersk? The Maersk that ships to TSMC?"
"Yes, Chairman." The secretary's tone carried an barely suppressed excitement,
"The Maersk Line that teamed up with Nvidia to try and suppress us and Fang Huan.
Their system has completely collapsed; all ship scheduling and transportation have come to a standstill.
Forget about shipping, they don't even know where the ships are."
"!?!"
This… what incredible luck!
Qin Han was just worrying about how to deal with Maersk, this troublemaker, when a group of selfless hackers appeared out of nowhere and inadvertently solved this enormous problem for him!
"Chairman, don't you think... this timing is too coincidental?" the secretary asked in a low voice.
"It just so happens that this highly targeted cyberattack erupted precisely at this crucial juncture when Maersk Line was preparing for a major offensive to help TSMC turn the tide."
"...What are you trying to say?" Qin Han's heart sank.
"What I'm trying to say is...AMC. A while ago, because of the TSMC situation, all semiconductor-related stocks plummeted.
It's said that Fang Huan seized that opportunity, acquiring a large number of AMC's outstanding shares at the lowest point, and reportedly now has controlling interest."
Qin Han was completely speechless.
Jiang Jin Group's move this time wasn't intended to completely sever ties with VSTECS.
Their plan was to cripple TSMC and then naturally turn TSMC's customers into their own.
Therefore, the animosity with VSTECS had been a constant headache for Qin Han.
But he never expected that Fang Huan's investment would directly wipe out VSTECS's biggest competitor, AMC!
“And don’t forget, Fang Huan’s Su Hao previously ran a Bitcoin exchange.
It was because of him that the Bitcoin craze was fueled, triggering an unprecedented bull market in the semiconductor and graphics card markets.
That’s why our Jiangjin Group had the confidence to build a new chip factory in China.”
And building a chip factory happens to coincide with the city’s industrial development plan:
to designate the Lingang New Area as a new high-tech industrial belt, creating a world-class industrial cluster.
“But… Chairman, guess,” the secretary abruptly dropped a bombshell,
“Our group, in response to the call, has long had its eye on those core plots of land in the planned ‘Oriental Chip Port’ industrial park in Lingang…
Who are their current owners?”
A utterly absurd, yet perfectly logical, thought suddenly arose in Qin Han’s mind.
"...No way?"
"That's right, it's Su Hao from Fang Huan Investment!
According to our investigation, he bought up all the core industrial land suitable for factory construction in the 'Oriental Chip Port' planning area starting from the beginning of last year."
"Hiss..."
Qin Han gasped, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
How could someone in finance and investment know the specific plans for the city's integrated circuit industry zone a year in advance?!
Even Qin Han himself only recently learned about the name "Oriental Chip Port" and its specific area at a closed-door briefing in the city!
"Before he invested in AMC, we all thought it was just a simple land investment. But now, it's almost certain."
The secretary's voice trembled slightly, a mixture of fear and admiration.
"Fang Huan's plan is to forge a deep alliance with our Jiangjin Group. We'll provide cutting-edge manufacturing processes to help him restructure AMC.
Then, with a completely new AMC, he'll reshape the entire graphics card market!
If he also builds AMC's new chip design center and packaging plant on that land, it will create a seamless industrial ecosystem with our Jiangjin foundries!"
Fang Huan's massive investment, making AMC a major client of the Jiangjin Group, is a perfect win-win situation!
Moreover, the other party had even bought the land a year in advance!
It's conceivable that this plan had been brewing in Su Hao's mind for an incredibly long time!
"Whether it's this ransomware attack, the acquisition of AMC, or even the initial blockade of shipping lanes to strangle TSMC..."
Every word from the secretary struck Qin Han like a hammer blow, piecing together every fragmented clue.
"At first, we all thought that everything he did was just to help our Jiangjin Group.
But now it seems... we might all just be a pawn in his game.
Su Hao's true goal might be far more than this!"
At that moment, Qin Han felt as if a lightning bolt had cleaved his skull.
All the mysteries, all the coincidences, all the incomprehensions, suddenly became clear!
All the clues connected to form an incredibly clear... path to slaying a god!
Su Hao's target was never just the small TSMC!
That company was merely a stepping stone, a trivial cannon fodder, casually trampled upon in his grand scheme!
His true prey, the one he truly wanted to eliminate with a single blow… was far away, across the Pacific!
From the very beginning, his target was…
Viyingda!