Chapter 503: Do we even need to choose?

Meanwhile, at Fanghuan Investment, in Su Hao's office.
"Really?"
"Yes, Chairman Su. The M side has announced that they are abandoning all further investigation plans.
They even publicly expressed their 'gratitude' to Fanghuan Investment, thanking us for 'humanely' providing compensation for their fallen agents.
As for Lina, the head of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau who was at the forefront and the most stubborn, she has already resigned."
"It seems this earthquake has caused a huge uproar in the M country as well."
In the media, Lina and the Aiden government have been portrayed as fools who overestimated their abilities and recklessly imposed investigations without any evidence; this "tragedy" is entirely their own fault!
Under such overwhelming public pressure, withdrawing the investigation became their only option.
"To say it's a happy ending for everyone doesn't quite feel right.
After all, both our people and their people are dead."
"Yes, Chairman Su. As per your instructions, the compensation has been fully paid, and the funeral arrangements will be made entirely according to the families' wishes."
"Hmm, well done." Su Hao nodded.
"Also, have your people choose a new location and rebuild the 'Wildfire' headquarters.
This time, use the highest earthquake-resistant standards, preferably capable of withstanding a magnitude 10 earthquake."
"Yes, I'll pass it on immediately."
For Su Hao, this tragic accident was now over.
Compensation paid in full, funeral arrangements handled properly, clean and efficient—this chapter was now closed.
"Next topic."
"Chairman Su, it's about shipping. There's been a problem."
"Shipping?"
"Yes, Chairman Su.
From last year to this year, the world has been experiencing an unprecedented super drought.
The abnormal climate has caused the water level in the Panama Canal to drop continuously, severely impacting navigation."
The world's shipping has two major bottlenecks—the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal.
These are the arteries of global trade; a blockage in either one would be a catastrophic heart attack for global shipping.
Because detouring means adding more than a month to the voyage, the cost of which is astronomical.
“The Panama Canal relies on Gatun Lake, an artificial lake, to regulate its water level. Each time a ship passes through the locks, it consumes a huge amount of fresh water.
But now, this unprecedented drought, the worst in fifty years, has nearly dried up Gatun Lake.”
“Is it that serious?”
“Yes. Each cargo ship that passes through consumes a full two hundred million liters of fresh water.
At the current water level, this is simply unsustainable.
Therefore, the Panama Canal Authority has announced that it will reduce traffic by half.”
This news was a devastating blow to the global shipping industry!
All scheduled shipping plans were instantly thrown into chaos.
“So, which companies are most severely affected right now?” Su Hao asked.
"If the voyage is delayed, it appears that the two companies will suffer the greatest losses: Jiangjin Group and the fruit company.
Each of them has a batch of their most crucial core raw materials loaded onto the ship. If they can't pass through the Panama Canal, their subsequent factory production lines will have to shut down completely."
"In other words, production will be severely disrupted."
"Yes."
"What's the solution?"
"The only way is to urgently allocate inventory from other places and fill the gap by air.
But... air freight is extremely expensive, and global air cargo is currently at full capacity; there's simply not enough capacity to meet the needs of both Jiang Jin and Fruit.
Even if we only support one, we can only barely transport a portion."
So, the question arises.
Who should receive this precious transport capacity?
Su Hao didn't even bother to consult his intuition.
The answer was self-evident.
On one side was the domestic industry leader, Jiang Jin Group, whom he considered like a brother; on the other was a formidable competitor.
What the hell was there to choose?
***
"Yesterday they said the Panama Canal was going to be blocked, and today the Suez Canal is in trouble?!"
Qin Han, chairman of Jiang Jin Group, felt utterly overwhelmed.
After the news about the Panama Canal yesterday, he urgently convened a high-level meeting, feeling extremely anxious.
Fortunately, Fang Huan Investment was loyal; Su Hao personally approved the plan, agreeing to use air transport to get the most urgently needed supplies over regardless of cost, which finally gave him a sigh of relief.
But before he could even catch his breath, another piece of bad news hit him.
The Suez Canal was in trouble too!
"Last month, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out, right?
Affected by that, the Houthi rebels in Yemen are now going crazy, attacking all ships they 'suspect' are heading to Israel in the Red Sea."
"What?! Could it be... our ship was attacked too?"
"Yes! These bastards, they shout anti-Israel slogans, but they're actually a bunch of opportunistic pirates!
Their real purpose is to steal the cargo on ships!
One of our Jiangjin Group's cargo ships was attacked by them just now!"
"Damn it!" Qin Han slammed his fist on the table.
The Panama Canal blockage had already jeopardized the production line, and now even the Suez Canal, a vital lifeline, was severed!
This was catastrophic!
“Aren’t there ‘Wildfire’ security personnel escorting them over there?”
“Yes, there are,” the subordinate replied with a bitter face,
“But wasn’t ‘Wildfire’s’ Turkish headquarters just destroyed by an earthquake?
The command system and the entire defense system there are in chaos.
Moreover, the southern section of the Suez Canal has never been a pirate hotspot, so security there is relatively lax.
Who would have thought that this time it wasn’t just some petty thieves, but a well-equipped Houthi rebel group, practically indistinguishable from a regular army!”
Qin Han rubbed his throbbing temples; these successive blows left him momentarily at a loss.
“However… Chairman,” the vice president suddenly spoke up,
“The Panama Canal disaster was a natural disaster, we accept it. But the Suez Canal… don’t you think something’s a bit suspicious?”
“What do you mean?”
“The rumors circulating outside about this massive earthquake in Turkey are flying thick and fast.”
Qin Han, of course, knew about this.
The US investigation team had barely stepped into the “Wildfire” headquarters building when the devastating earthquake struck, sending everyone and everything to their doom.
Now, a sensational conspiracy theory is circulating worldwide—
Fang Huan Investment has mastered the technology to manipulate earthquakes!
"What does that matter have to do with the trouble we're facing now?"
"Chairman, think about it, besides the M country government, which company was the biggest victim in that earthquake?"
"Who?"
"Our competitor—the Fruit Company!"
"...!" Qin Han shuddered, abruptly raising his head.
Apple, the undisputed king of the smartphone industry!
Are they the biggest victims of this earthquake?
"Have you forgotten? Apple's production base was originally mainly concentrated in our Xia Kingdom."
But with the rise of our Jiangjin and Fanghuan Investments, we joined forces to launch a powerful attack against them, not only driving them out of Xia Country, but also pursuing and intercepting them, ultimately driving them out of Asia.
"That's right."
.
"So, they chose a new production center—Turkey!
The president there nearly ruined the economy with his reckless actions, only managing to stabilize it thanks to Fang Huan's intervention.
Afterwards, he announced a complete opening up to foreign investment, and Apple Company bet everything there, investing heavily in building several mega-factories using cheap labor and land!"
"Wait…you mean…"
"Yes, Chairman.
According to our latest intelligence, this massive earthquake has completely razed several of Apple Company's core factories—built at astronomical costs—to the ground!
This includes their factories producing core mobile phone components. This means Apple's new product launch this year is completely ruined!"
Adding to this the double blockade of Panama and the Suez Canal, Apple's global supply chain is no longer just hampered, but… severed in half!
In other words, the attack on the Suez Canal was no accident at all!
"Chairman, if... if that earthquake in Turkey really was orchestrated by Fang Huan Investment...
then their goal is far more than simply eliminating a group of US investigators!
They... are definitely playing a much bigger game!"