Chapter 381: A Malicious Smile

Du Yuanhang, the boss of Fanghuan Shipping, was dragged to the company early in the morning by a barrage of calls, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
This guy usually had a fierce, unapproachable look, but now, with that furrowed brow, the temperature in the entire office seemed to drop ten degrees, the air pressure so low it felt like it was going to rain.
An unfortunate executive was pushed forward to give a report, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly:
"Reporting to Mr. Du… the cargo ship 'Changci,' originally scheduled to sail to the Netherlands, reportedly encountered a sudden gale, coupled with the captain's reckless speeding, and possibly some inherent problems with the ship itself…
In short, at the Suez Canal, he wasn't paying attention, swerved the steering wheel, and crashed into the canal's embankment, running aground."
"What about repairs? How long will it take?"
Du Yuanhang's voice was unreadable, but those who knew him well knew this was the calm before the storm.
"Estimated repair time... seven to ten days."
"Seven to ten days?"
Du Yuanhang raised his rough, calloused hand and rubbed his face hard, as if trying to peel off a layer of his skin.
Seven to ten days!
For the shipping industry, where every second counts and time is life itself, this is a catastrophe!
"How many ships will be stuck there?" His voice was filled with barely suppressed anger.
"If it really takes ten days... then over four hundred giant ships will be like dumplings being thrown into a pot, all firmly pinned down in that little ditch!"
JIT.
Just In Time, the "Instant Production System."
In short, it's a "zero inventory" system, a status symbol in the shipping and logistics industry.
The core idea of ​​this system can be summarized in four words: extreme time-limit control.
No stockpiling, no warehousing—costs are compressed to the extreme, and inventory is kept to a minimum—hailed as the pinnacle of modern logistics.
Unnecessary goods are never transported; they are only shipped when needed, and in precisely the right quantities.
Ships arrive at port at the exact appointed time, without a minute's delay, perfectly avoiding port congestion.
The entire chain operates like a precise, seamless supermachine, with astonishingly high efficiency.
The executive giving the report swallowed hard and continued:
"But this is precisely the Achilles' heel of this system.
If any link in the chain breaks down, even just a two-day delay, the entire logistics system will be paralyzed on the spot."
Du Yuanhang's eyes grew even colder: "You mean, we're not just two days late, but a full ten days of paralysis. What will the consequences be?"
"A global logistics storm—no, a logistics tsunami!
The losses will be astronomical, starting at hundreds of billions of US dollars! It could easily reach trillions!
The first to suffer will be energy; international crude oil prices have already skyrocketed shortly after the incident."
"And what about Fanghuan's losses?" This was Du Yuanhang's biggest concern.
"Huge losses! Mr. Du, as you know, Fanghuan now controls over 65% of the global shipping business. We handle the lion's share of the ships that pass through the Suez Canal every day!"
Under the JIT (Just-In-Time) system, lateness is a cardinal sin.
Delays mean exorbitant penalties.
“However,” the reporter changed the subject,
“this isn’t our fault, so we can shift the blame.
If we really want to go to court, we should target MSC Shipping, the owner of the ‘Changci’.”
MSC Shipping.
Du Yuanhang knew that name very well. It was a long-established European shipping company, and Fanghuan Shipping’s most prominent competitor on the European continent.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was a “dragon slayer” that Europe had practically raised to counter Fanghuan’s monopoly.
Although it had a solid foundation, it had recently found a major backer, which emboldened it to act so aggressively.
"You mean, if this goes well, not only will we not lose money, but it'll be a golden opportunity to cripple MSC in one fell swoop?"
"Theoretically... entirely feasible. Although we'll suffer losses in the short term, as long as we firmly pin this exorbitant burden on MSC, even if they don't go bankrupt on the spot, they'll be skinned alive!"
That's not just skinning them alive; this attack is a fully charged "scorched earth" strike!
With good luck, it might even wipe MSC Shipping, this major threat, off the face of the earth!
Du Yuanhang forcibly suppressed his almost ear-to-ear grin, cleared his throat, and resumed his composed, CEO demeanor.
"Okay, I got it. Who's most anxious right now?"
"Indonesia. Didn't we have a batch of specially supplied mutant virus vaccines to send there for emergency relief?
But we've run into terrible luck; the fleet is lined up to cross the canal on the day of the accident."
Oh, right, the vaccines. There's that connection.
Du Yuanhang remembered; he was involved in this whole affair.
Initially, the first wave of global vaccine distribution used both air and sea freight, but air freight was the main method.
But for the second wave, governments calculated that air freight was actually more expensive than the vaccines themselves—a complete reversal of priorities.
So, everyone turned their attention to the cheaper and more efficient sea freight.
Of course, Du Yuanhang played a significant role in this.
Giving away such a huge chunk of the profits to airlines?
Do they think he, Du Yuanhang, is a saint?
At that time, the shipping industry was in dire straits, yet he skillfully secured the entire second wave of vaccine distribution, establishing a distribution system entirely reliant on sea freight.
Governments had no objections; after all, who wouldn't be happy to save money?
Although some criticized Fang Huan for profiting from the national crisis and creating a double monopoly, Du Yuanhang never cared.
These days, how can you survive in the cutthroat business world without being ruthless?
If he relaxed even slightly, Fang Huan's shipping business might be forcibly dismantled again, just like before.
He had sworn never to let that humiliation repeat itself!
"This... is a bit tricky," he muttered to himself.
It was a pity, but there was nothing he could do.
But it was too late now; it wasn't Fang Huan who deliberately steered the ship into the ditch. They were just unlucky.
"What about the rescue efforts? What are they saying in Egypt?"
"The Egyptian government is frantic, but this is the first time they've encountered such an epic traffic jam, and they're completely at a loss."
"Look, they've already sent us a distress signal, it's urgent!"
"They want us to send technical experts?"
"Yes. They mean that as long as we're willing to send manpower and resources, even the world's top salvage and dredging experts, we can definitely move that wrecked ship as soon as possible and reopen the waterway."
"..."
Du Yuanhang fell silent, his fingers rhythmically tapping the table, making a "tap, tap" sound, as if tolling a death knell for someone.
The senior executive who reported was a shrewd person. Seeing Du Yuanhang's expression, his heart skipped a beat. He tentatively asked:
"It seems... Mr. Du, you don't intend to help with this?"
Du Yuanhang smiled, a smile that sent chills down the spines of everyone present.
"You see, the waterway is already blocked, the JIT system has crashed, and global logistics paralysis is a foregone conclusion, right?
And all the blame for this will fall on our old friend, MSC Shipping."
"So... brothers, tell me, what's in our best interest right now?"
A senior executive instantly understood, a glint of insight in his eyes:
"...The longer the rescue operation drags on, the more money MSC will have to pay.
When they reach the point where they can't afford to pay even if they sell everything they own, they'll be doomed!
Then, we can watch a competitor explode without firing a shot, and then swallow up all their market share without lifting a finger!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Du Yuanhang and all the senior executives present exchanged the same knowing, yet malicious smiles.
"You're quick to learn," Du Yuanhang nodded in satisfaction.
"Now that you've figured it all out, I don't need to spell it out, do I?"