"Flying cars?" The highest leader was stunned. "Mingqiu, are you talking about those cars in movies that fly without propellers?"
Jing Mingqiu nodded gently. "That's right. Alas, I didn't expect the boss to be so busy, yet still have time to watch sci-fi movies?"
"You kid," the highest leader chuckled. "Leaders are people too, I need entertainment. Besides, sci-fi movies aren't necessarily fake; sometimes they can point out the direction of future technological development."
Jing Mingqiu strongly agreed with this statement. "That's not wrong. It's like 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.' At first, I thought it was a memoir, but it turned out to be a science fiction novel."
"I've also read 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.' I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, but I once fantasized about seeing the ocean floor." The highest leader first sighed with admiration, then gave a wry smile.
"It's a pity that when I was young, I didn't have the ability. Now that I do, with my current status, I really can't afford to take risks."
Jing Mingqiu waved his hand grandly. "It's fine, boss. In a while, when I have some free time, I'll modify a top-of-the-line submarine and equip it with an enhanced underwater mech. I guarantee you can explore the seabed however you like without any problems."
"We'll talk about going underwater later." The highest leader was somewhat tempted, but he took a deep breath to suppress his drifting thoughts. "Mingqiu, could you first introduce the flying car you mentioned?"
Jing Mingqiu frowned slightly. "Boss, this is very complicated to explain. It involves many very profound academic theories. You're not a professional scientist, so you wouldn't understand if I explained it."
"I can only tell you that it's similar to the maglev trains we use now; both utilize magnetic fields for propulsion and levitation. How about this, I'll give you the research data, and you can take it back and have specialized personnel study it."
Speaking of which, Jing Mingqiu flipped his wrist, took out a portable hard drive he had just redeemed from the system, and handed it over. "To be honest, we are lacking in many areas. Even if you wanted to build it, boss, you wouldn't be able to mass-produce it in a short time..."
While Jing Mingqiu and the highest leader were chatting happily, on the other side, Andrew Fort was in a conference room, enduring a storm of accusations and curses.
"Andrew, why did you manipulate the water army to attack the safety of electric cars? Do you know? You've completely undermined electric cars!"
"Andrew! Do you know how much damage you've caused us? You lunatic!"
"Andrew..."
Seeing that others were scolding him more and more harshly, Andrew Fort couldn't take it anymore. He wiped the saliva from his face, looked at the enraged senior leaders with a frosty expression, and slammed the table forcefully.
"Enough! I hold 32.5% of Fort Group's shares, and I've also invested a large amount of capital in the Tesla electric vehicle project. If electric vehicles are ruined, my losses will be even greater than all of yours."
Everyone was surprised that Andrew Fort dared to get angry, and they were stunned into silence. The scene immediately quieted down.
Andrew Fort seized the momentum and began to employ a soft tactic.
"I understand how you feel. I'm also heartbroken that so much capital has gone to waste."
"But have you considered that if we let Jing Mingqiu continue to test the Dragon Crystal electric car, with the huge configuration gap, we will not only lose the new market for electric cars, but we will also lose the original internal combustion engine car market entirely."
Des Collen, President of Tongyong Group, unwilling to see all his investment go down the drain, stood up abruptly.
"Andrew, the tests aren't finished yet. How can you be so sure that the Dragon Crystal electric car produced by Dragon Country will definitely be superior to our Tesla electric cars?"
"Heh heh," Andrew Fort sneered twice. "Des, let me ask you, since Jing Mingqiu burst onto the scene, which of his released products has ever failed?"
"He hasn't failed before, but that doesn't mean he won't fail in the future! No matter how much of a genius Jing Mingqiu is, he's just a college student who has just reached adulthood. How can he achieve groundbreaking research results in so many fields?"
Seeing Des Collen's stubborn resistance, Andrew Fort couldn't help but shake his head. "Tsk tsk, when did I ever say that these new technologies were all researched by Jing Mingqiu? He's just a mouthpiece."
"Dragon Country intentionally let him come out and release these products to attract our attention, thereby allowing the real inventors to remain hidden. At the same time, it can establish a banner, giving Dragon Country a feeling of being a chosen nation."
"Now, even you believe that Jing Mingqiu is a genius scientist. Do you think Dragon Country would allow Jing Mingqiu to release a failed product?"
Facing Andrew Fort's well-reasoned analysis, Des Collen couldn't refute it. For the sake of face, he forcibly found an excuse.
"Even if everything you say is true, higher configurations mean higher prices. If Dragon Country's Dragon Crystal electric car is as advertised, its price will definitely not be low. We can engage in a price war with them and capture the mid-to-low-end market..."
As he was speaking, Andrew Fort burst out laughing. "Stop fooling around. Everyone knows that Dragon Country is best at turning expensive high-tech products into common commodities."
Des Collen became increasingly conflicted. "But we invested so much capital into researching electric cars. Should it all go down the drain like this?"
"Of course not," Andrew Fort waved his hand vigorously. "This is just a delaying tactic. Once Dragon Country completely abandons electric cars, we can completely change the name, repackage it, and launch it again."
"Electric cars are dangerous, we can completely rename them 'new energy vehicles.' Then we can repeat the same trick, causing people to worry about the safety of internal combustion engine cars, and also promote an environmental route to attract those 'woke' people..."
After Andrew Fort laid out his entire plan, Des Collen breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows remained tightly furrowed.
"Andrew, I don't think this is enough. You can use the water army, and Dragon Country can also use the water army. To completely destroy the reputation of electric cars with some true and false news, making ordinary people completely give up buying electric cars, the success rate is too low."
"I know, so I plan to start with myself. Des, your cooperation is needed for the next phase of the plan..."
The next morning, the four major American automobile groups suddenly convened reporters from all over the world for a high-profile press conference.
Andrew Fort, Des Collen, and other senior executives from American automobile groups walked onto the stage wearing black suits, their expressions solemn.
Just as reporters were speculating that they were going to clarify the online rumors and vindicate the safety of electric cars, Andrew Fort suddenly faced the camera and bowed deeply...