Chapter 504: The Ghost Who Lacks Martial Morality

In the world of smartphones, Apple is the only legend.
In the past, it was the sky, the only light.
Now, it still sits atop its pedestal, looking down upon all.
As for the future…
Who can say for sure about the future?
Especially when some unscrupulous ghost is already lurking behind you, hesitant to throw a brick.
"So, you're telling me this shipment won't make it?"
"Yes, Mr. Tim.
According to reports from the front lines, those rebels are like mad dogs, bombarding our cargo ships relentlessly. They say the convoy was almost eaten alive…
Luckily, the 'Wildfire' security personnel arrived like angels descending from heaven, managing to save the ships.
However, all the cargo on board is ruined. Forget about transporting it, even using it… is a problem…"
Fruit's CEO, Tim Hook, felt his temples throbbing and his blood pressure soaring.
"You bunch of idiots, do you even know what's going on?!
The new product launch is just around the corner!
Our factory in Turkey was destroyed by a damn natural disaster, and now even our sea transport is messed up!
Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on?!"
In the Apple meeting room, the executives were speechless, exchanging glances, unable to utter a single word.
This blame... is really hard to shift.
If you had to pinpoint who's at fault, this colossal burden probably falls on CEO Tim Hook himself.
He was the one who defied all opposition, pouring astronomical sums of money into Turkey, building massive super-factories in that turbulent land.
But Tim Hook clearly didn't see it that way:
"Building the factory in Turkey was our only option! You all know that!"
Once upon a time, Apple held the top spot in the global smartphone market, the Mount Everest of the tech world, looking down on everyone else.
Although Jiangjin Group relentlessly pursued them, the chasm-like gap between them was like an insurmountable chasm between a pay-to-win player and a free-to-play player.
Until… Fang Huan Investment, this uninvited troublemaker, kicked the table in with utter brutality.
“That damned Fang Huan! Ever since they colluded with Jiangjin Group to monopolize the semiconductor industry, they’ve been tripping us up at every turn!
Whenever we want to build a new factory anywhere in Asia, those bastards always manage to jump out and sabotage our plans with all sorts of absurd reasons!”
Even though they were seething with hatred, they could only grit their teeth and bear it.
What could they do? They held the trump card of semiconductors firmly in Jiang Huan’s hands.
If those bastards cut off the supply, Apple’s proud production lines would all come to a standstill, and tens of thousands of workers would be stuck playing cards in the factory.
"The only saving grace is that those two companies still have some sense of shame and haven't launched a full-scale attack on us," an executive muttered under his breath.
This wasn't because Fang Huan and Jiang Jin were some kind of saints.
They dreamed of scattering Fruit's ashes.
The reason they hesitated was simply because the Fruit brand was no longer just a company.
Its status was far too extraordinary.
It's the pride of the United States, the totem of its national spirit, the pioneer and enduring banner of smartphones.
And you, a foreign company, dare to touch the pride of the US?
That's like stirring up a hornet's nest. Believe me, the next second, the angry public could drown you in their spittle, and the officials on Capitol Hill could immediately devise a tailor-made "economic sanctions" package for you.
Therefore, all along, they could only sabotage us in the shadows, resorting to underhanded tactics.
"I long expected that after the two behemoths, 'Asia' and 'Faceweb,' fell one after another, Fang Huan's wolfish fangs would eventually be turned against us…
But I never expected them to do it this way…"
Tim Hooker's voice carried a chill.
"You mean… Fang Huan Investment orchestrated all of this behind the scenes?" an executive asked incredulously.
“Of course!” Tim Hook said decisively.
“Think about it, who was it that played whack-a-mole, smashing factories wherever we wanted?
It was Jiang Jin! It was Fang Huan!
And then, who suddenly pushed for Turkey's full opening of overseas investment, luring us there?
It was that damn Fang Huan again!”
Looking back now, everything seemed suspicious.
When Fruit was pouring money into Turkey, Fang Huan Investment unexpectedly fell silent, as quiet as a dead man.
At the time, everyone thought it was a windfall, that Fang Huan Investment had finally revealed its weakness.
It wasn't until after that earth-shattering earthquake that Tim Hook realized the truth.
That wasn't silence, that was a conspiracy!
It was luring us into a trap, then trapping us!
Those heartless devils deliberately lured Apple into spending a fortune building factories in Turkey, and then…
they used a massive, cataclysmic earthquake to raze everything to the ground!
“But, Mr. Tim… this… this is a bit too far-fetched, isn’t it? Fang Huan can’t control earthquakes, can he?”
“Yes, who in this world can artificially create a massive earthquake?
If this were true, the Pentagon would have already blasted them into the air with missiles.”
Tim Hook looked at these executives, so naive as to be like little rabbits, and a deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.
These idiots, they're the most clueless fools ever!
Have they still not seen through the true nature of Fang Huan and his gang of demons?!
"You bunch of pigs! Use your fat-covered brains!" he roared.
"That damned earthquake precisely 'shocked' all the agents and informants who entered the Wildfire Building!
Not only that, those councilors who united to strangle Fang Huan's ambitions vanished overnight, leaving no trace!
Most importantly, the Iron Lady Director of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau, Lina, the only woman who could put a tight rein on Fang Huan, suddenly announced her resignation!
That position is now vacant! Do you know what this means?
It means that the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all the monopoly giants, and the only one that could check Fang Huan…
has been broken by Fang Huan himself!"
That's right, the Anti-Monopoly Bureau, once the tight rein that Jiang Jin and Fang Huan feared most, the most solid moat protecting the company.
This was also the fundamental reason why Fang Huan and Jiang Jin hesitated to take decisive action against Fruit.
But now, this last line of defense collapsed along with the Turkish landslide.
"The chains binding Fang Huan and Jiang Jin have been completely broken!
So, these madmen have begun to bare their fangs with unbridled arrogance!"
The Turkish earthquake reduced Fruit's factory to ruins, burying core components under the rubble—this was just the first blow.
Fruit painstakingly patched things up, sourcing parts from other factories around the world and urgently transporting them by sea.
Then, even more surreal things followed.
"The Panama Canal has suddenly announced a passage restriction due to an unprecedented drought!
You're telling me this is a coincidence?
Is it really that hard for a monster that can even 'manufacture' earthquakes to manipulate the weather?
And those Houthi rebels in Yemen, they just announced their support for Hamas, and then they precisely attacked our cargo ships passing through the Suez Canal!
Do you still think all of this is a coincidence?!"