Hollywood, I became a legend with special effects.

Chapter 122 A Thunderclap from Out of the Sky: Giant Crocodile Appears

Chapter 122 A Thunderclap from Out of the Sky: Giant Crocodile Appears

In late February in Beijing, there was already a hint of early spring in the air.

After sending Liu Yifei home last Sunday, Jiang Yu visited her once on Wednesday evening with gifts.

Liu Xiaoli was very happy and invited him to stay for dinner.

The meal featured authentic Hubei cuisine: lotus root and pork rib soup, steamed Wuchang fish, and pearl meatballs.

The conversation at the dinner table was very pleasant. They talked about everything from Jiang Yu's parents' health to Liu Yifei's childhood anecdotes, and the hardships Jiang Yu faced in starting his business.

"Xiao Jiang, your mom said on the phone last time that you've never caused her any worry since you were little." Liu Xiaoli put a piece of fish on Jiang Yu's plate. "You're a good student, sensible, and started your own business in college. Unlike our Yifei, who's always been a worry for us."

"Mom, how have I ever caused you any worry?" Liu Yifei protested.

"Haven't you worried about it yet?" Liu Xiaoli raised an eyebrow. "In second grade, she insisted on learning ballet, but after two months she said it was too hard and quit; in junior high, she secretly participated in a singing competition and almost got tricked by a record company into signing a contract to sell herself into slavery—"

"That was so long ago." Liu Yifei blushed and secretly kicked Jiang Yu, signaling him to stop laughing.

Jiang Yu suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "Auntie, I think Yifei is very opinionated and knows what she wants."

Such a person will succeed no matter what they do.

"Look how eloquent Xiao Jiang is," Liu Xiaoli nodded in satisfaction. "Yifei, you should learn a lot from Xiao Jiang."

They chatted for a long time after dinner, and Liu Xiaoli even took out a photo album to show Jiang Yu photos of Liu Yifei when she was a child.

Three thick photo albums documented the entire process of a little girl's growth.

"Look at this one. When she was five years old, she insisted on wearing her grandfather's military uniform for a photo. The clothes were dragging on the ground," Liu Xiaoli said, pointing to a black and white photo with a laugh.

The little girl in the photo has two pigtails and is wearing an obviously oversized military uniform with the sleeves rolled up several times and the hem dragging on the ground.

She saluted the camera with a serious expression, her eyes sparkling like two black grapes.

Looking at the little girl with bright, sparkling eyes in the photo, and then at Liu Yifei beside him who had grown into a graceful young woman, Jiang Yu sighed inwardly at how amazing time truly is.

"And this one too, it's from her tenth birthday, she's got cake all over her face." Liu Xiaoli turned to another page, "Look at this cream, it's even smeared on her hair."

In the photo, Liu Yifei is smiling carefree at the camera, revealing a gap where she has lost two front teeth.

"Mom, why do you tell everyone everything?" Liu Yifei blushed even more and reached out to grab the photo album.

"What's the big deal? Xiao Jiang isn't an outsider." Liu Xiaoli protected the photo album. "Look at this one, she was thirteen years old, taking her first boyfriend photo, and she was so nervous she kept pulling at her skirt—"

The atmosphere that night was wonderful, like a real family.

As Jiang Yu left, Liu Xiaoli saw him to the door. "Jiang, I'm entrusting Yifei to you. She can be willful and stubborn at times, so please be patient with her. Remember, she's the one I've raised with all my heart, and I can't let her suffer any injustice."

"Don't worry, Auntie, I will take good care of her," Jiang Yu solemnly promised. "I won't let her suffer any injustice."

"Okay, okay." Liu Xiaoli nodded. "Come over for dinner anytime you have time."

"it is good."

From then on, Jiang Yu felt much more at ease.

I've truly passed the test with my future mother-in-law.

Judging from Liu Xiaoli's attitude, she not only did not object, but also quite approved of it, even showing a bit of the "mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, the more she looks, the happier she is" feeling.

This gave Jiang Yu even more energy to work.

February 26th, the second day of the second lunar month, the first day after the Dragon Raises its Head.

According to folklore, getting a haircut on the day the dragon raises its head will bring good luck.

So early in the morning, long lines formed at barbershops in Beijing, as men wanted to bring good luck.

Although Jiang Yu didn't believe in these things, she still tidied her hair in front of the mirror before leaving home in the morning; hmm, it's okay, no need to cut it.

At nine o'clock in the morning, he arrived on time at the headquarters of Chasing Light Holdings in Building 2 of Wanda Plaza.

He had just sat down at his desk when his assistant, Wang Wei, brought in a freshly ground coffee.

"Good morning, Ms. Jiang." Wang Wei placed the coffee on the table. "Mr. Chen and Mr. Zhou have already arrived and are waiting for you in the small conference room. Also, Mr. Shen from Sequoia China sent an email yesterday saying that the partners' meeting has been rescheduled to March 5th in Shanghai, and he asked about your schedule."

"Okay, I understand." Jiang Yu nodded, picked up his coffee and took a sip; the temperature was just right. "Tell President Shen that I will attend on time. Also, I will not be receiving any guests this morning or afternoon; I have important matters to discuss with President Chen and President Zhou."

"Understood." Wang Wei noted it down. "Do you need lunch prepared?"

"Just order three light meals and have them delivered to the conference room," Jiang Yu said. "We might have a long discussion today."

"OK."

After Wang Wei left, Jiang Yu carried his coffee to the small conference room at the end of the corridor.

The important thing we're going to discuss today is whether or not to make chips.

This isn't the first time this has been discussed.

Since the release of the iPhone 3G last year sparked a smartphone craze, the importance of chips has become increasingly prominent in Jiang Yu's mind.

Apple has its own A-series chips, Samsung has Eynos, and Qualcomm and MediaTek monopolize most of the market.

China has virtually no presence in this field and relies entirely on imports.

Light Chaser Animation's business scope is now quite extensive, encompassing film production and distribution (Light Chaser Pictures), visual effects production (Light & Shadow Digital), video technology (Light & Shadow Video), cinema chains (Light Chaser Cinemas), cloud computing (Light & Shadow Cloud), and venture capital (Light Chaser Investment).

These businesses may seem scattered, but they all revolve around one core: the production, distribution, and consumption of digital content.

All of this requires powerful computing capabilities.

The core of computing power is the chip.

Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu were already waiting in the conference room.

Today, Chen Jingming was wearing a dark blue Zegna suit, his hair was neatly combed, and the Apple MacBook Pro in front of him was open, displaying complex financial models and charts on the screen.

Zhou Mu dressed casually. He spends most of his time at the Light and Shadow Digital Headquarters in the 798 Art District, where the technological atmosphere is strong and no one cares about what you wear.

Today he wore a plaid shirt, a gray fleece vest over it, jeans, and a pair of New Balance sneakers that looked like they'd been worn for a long time.

My hair is a bit messy, like I just grabbed it a couple of times after I got up this morning.

In front of him was a heavy ThinkPad laptop, its screen displaying a bunch of incomprehensible circuit diagrams and code.

"Boss." The two men stood up when they saw Jiang Yu come in.

"Sit down." Jiang Yu waved his hand and sat down at the head of the conference table. "Let's get straight to the point. Jingming, you go first and analyze the feasibility of making chips from a financial and strategic perspective."

Chen Jingming adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and opened his notebook: "President Jiang, I've done detailed calculations. If we want to make chips, we need to go through at least three steps: First, we need to establish a research and development team and design our own architecture. This requires top-notch chip design talent, which is almost nonexistent in China. We'll have to poach people from the US, Taiwan, and South Korea, which is extremely costly. A senior architect's annual salary starts at at least $200, plus signing bonuses and stock options, so we'll need to prepare $50 million to poach one person. The initial team will need at least 50 people, and the personnel costs alone will be $2500 million a year."

He paused, then turned to the next page: "The second step is tape-out. This means sending the designed chip blueprints to a foundry like TSMC or Samsung for production. A single tape-out costs at least $5000 million, and success isn't guaranteed. Chip design is extremely complex; any small error can lead to tape-out failure, requiring design modifications and re-tape-out. The industry average requires 2-3 tape-outs to succeed, meaning the tape-out costs alone must be $1-1.5 million."

One hundred million US dollars.

"The third step is mass production and market promotion. This requires huge capital investment and time accumulation. Even if the chip design is completed and the performance meets the standards, there still needs to be customers willing to use it. Why would mobile phone manufacturers use a chip designed by a novice like us? Why would server manufacturers trust our products? This requires a lot of marketing, customer relationship maintenance, and technical support teams. Conservatively estimated, it will burn through 2 to 3 million US dollars every year."

He closed his notebook and summarized, "Therefore, from project initiation to mass production of the first chip, it will take at least three years, with a total investment of no less than $5 million. And this is just the beginning. The chip industry updates and changes extremely rapidly, requiring continuous investment in research and development. Most importantly, we have no experience, no technological accumulation, and no customer base; we are starting from scratch. The probability of failure is extremely high."

Jiang Yu listened calmly, his fingers lightly tracing the rim of his coffee cup: "What's the probability of success? Even if it's only 10%?"

"Even a 10% chance is optimistic," Chen Jingming said frankly. "There are only a handful of companies in the world that can make high-end chips: Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, and TSMC—each with decades of technological accumulation and patent barriers. It's extremely difficult for us to break into that market. Although Sino-US relations are currently good, if we poach talent from the US on a large scale, it could cause unnecessary trouble. The US has very strict export controls on chip talent."

Jiang Yu turned to Zhou Mu: "What about the technical aspects? Do you think it's possible?"

Zhou Mu adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of fervor and composure characteristic of technologists: "Technically speaking, it's not impossible, it's extremely difficult. Chip design is one of the most complex engineering projects in the world. A modern processor contains billions of transistors, each of which requires precise design, placement, and routing. This necessitates top-tier EDA software. Currently, the world's three largest EDA companies—Cadence, Synopsys, and Mentor—are all American, and the latest tools and technologies are subject to restrictions on Chinese companies."

He turned on his computer and pulled up a map of the global chip supply chain: "This is a panoramic view of the supply chain. Design tools are monopolized by the US; design companies are concentrated in the US, Taiwan, and South Korea; manufacturing is monopolized by TSMC, Samsung, and Intel; equipment is monopolized by ASML of the Netherlands, Applied Materials of the US, and Tokyo Electron of Japan; materials are monopolized by Japan..."

The US and Europe have a monopoly. If we want to make chips, it means competing with the world's top companies, and competing in a field where others set the rules and control the supply chain.

The meeting room fell silent.

Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "What will happen if we don't do it?"

"In the short term, within three to five years, there won't be any consequences," Chen Jingming said. "In the long term—five to ten years from now—we might be at the mercy of others. If one day we are prohibited from purchasing chips, all our businesses will come to a standstill. Smartphones, cloud computing, artificial intelligence—all of these require chips. Without chips, we're just a pile of scrap metal."

Zhou Mu added, his tone somewhat excited, "If we have our own chips, we can customize and optimize them for our own business. For example, the server chips for Guangying Cloud can be specifically optimized for distributed storage and computing, potentially improving performance by more than 30%; mobile phone chips can be deeply adapted to our operating system, potentially reducing power consumption by 20%. This advantage is incomparable to buying general-purpose chips. Right now, everyone is using the same chips, and the competition is on software optimization. If we control both our chips and software ourselves, we can create a true competitive advantage."

Jiang Yu nodded and continued, "What if we start from the low end? We could begin with IoT chips or edge computing chips, which have relatively low technological barriers. Or—we could invest in domestic chip design companies first?"

“That’s a good idea.” Zhou Mu’s eyes lit up. “This is a viable path. IoT chips don’t have high requirements for manufacturing processes, and the design difficulty is much lower. We can start from these areas, accumulate experience, and build a team before moving towards the high-end. As for investing in domestic companies—currently, the level of domestic chip design companies varies greatly. Even the best ones, such as Spreadtrum and RDA Microelectronics, are at least two generations behind international giants in technology. Investing in them won’t yield returns in the short term, and in the long term—it’s uncertain.”

"How much funding do we need?" Jiang Yu asked Chen Jingming, "If we start with IoT chips."

Chen Jingming quickly did the mental calculations: "If we start with IoT chips, an investment of $5000 million in the first year should be enough. This mainly covers the costs of building the team and the first tape-out. If successful, we can increase it to $1 million in the second year, $2 million in the third year—gradually increasing in this way, keeping the risk under control. Even if we fail, the losses won't be crippling."

Jiang Yu pondered.

A hundred million US dollars is not a small amount for Light Chaser Holdings at present. Light Chaser Holdings currently has net assets of about 50 billion US dollars and cash reserves of about 8 million US dollars.

It's not that we can't afford it, the key question is whether it's worth it and whether we have a chance of winning.

"Alright," he concluded, "Jingming, you need to create a detailed five-year plan, including funding requirements,

Team building, technology roadmap, market strategy. Zhou Mu, you're in charge of the technology research. See which areas are the most suitable to enter the market, what kind of talent we need, and where to recruit them. We'll make a decision in a month.

"Okay." The two nodded at the same time.

The meeting lasted from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

They only took a half-hour break for lunch, and Wang Wei ordered three simple meals: Kung Pao Chicken, stir-fried broccoli, and...

Rice, fruit, and yogurt.

The three continued their discussion while eating, ranging from technical details to market prospects, from talent strategy to the international situation.

At 4 p.m., the discussion entered its most crucial stage: whether or not to start the preliminary research for the chip project now.

Chen Jingming advocates caution, believing that Light Chaser already has a wide range of businesses, including film and television, investment, and the internet.

Cloud computing—each segment requires a lot of effort and capital; starting another chip project, which is a bottomless money pit, is too risky.

"We're like driving on a highway right now, going pretty fast," Chen Jingming said, "The chip project is like changing tires while we're driving, and we have to change them to new tires that we make ourselves. One wrong move and we could crash and die."

Zhou Mu, on the other hand, is very radical. With a technical background, his dedication to technology borders on a religious belief: "Boss, chips are the oil and food of the future digital age. Whoever controls chips controls the future. If you don't do it now, you'll definitely regret it ten years from now. Look at Intel; when they made their first microprocessor in 1971, who could have imagined that forty years later it would become the global semiconductor giant? Look at Qualcomm; when it was founded in 1985, it was just a small company with seven people, and now it dominates the majority of the mobile chip supply. The opportunity is right in front of us; if we miss it, it will never come again."

The three argued fiercely, and none of them noticed the passage of time.

As darkness fell outside the window, office buildings in the CBD gradually lit up.

To avoid being disturbed, Jiang Yu asked Wang Wei to put their phones on airplane mode so they could focus on their discussion.

At 5:30 p.m., the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the glass curtain wall of the China World Trade Center Phase 3 a golden red, like a burning Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Just then, there was a rapid knocking on the conference room door.

The knocking was urgent, like thunder before a storm.

Jiang Yu frowned.

He had instructed Wang Wei that there was an important meeting this afternoon and that she should not be disturbed unless it was something particularly urgent.

.

Wang Wei had been with him for a year and knew what was important and urgent. For her to knock on the door so urgently, something serious must have happened.

"Come in," he said calmly, but a bad feeling suddenly crept into his heart.

The door was pushed open, and Wang Wei stood in the doorway, her face pale, her breathing rapid, and her chest heaving noticeably, clearly indicating that she had run all the way here.

She held a laptop in her hand, calling out, "President Jiang, President Chen, President Zhou—"

She was panting, her words broken and fragmented, "Something terrible has happened."

"What is it?" Jiang Yu asked, putting down his pen.

Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu also looked up at the doorway.

"There are so many reporters downstairs," Wang Wei said, her voice trembling slightly. "Dozens of companies, hundreds of people, they've completely filled the lobby on the first floor. The security guards can barely hold them off, so the administration manager told me to come up here and inform you."

"A reporter?" Jiang Yu was taken aback. "Where did this reporter come from? What are they doing here?"

Wang Wei shook her head, walked in, placed her computer on the conference table, and pulled up the lobby surveillance footage. "The administration department said that starting from 4 PM, many media outlets have been arriving one after another, saying they want to interview you. I asked them what it was about, but they wouldn't give a clear answer, just saying there was major news and they had to see you. Here's the surveillance footage, take a look."

The surveillance footage showed that the lobby of Building 2 in Wanda Plaza was indeed packed with people.

Cameras, recorders, microphones, and reporters and bloggers holding up their mobile phones.

Security guards were maintaining order, but there were too many people and the scene was somewhat chaotic.

Through the glass door, you could see that more and more people were arriving.

Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion and shock in each other's eyes.

"I'll go take a look." Chen Jingming stood up.

"Wait a minute," Jiang Yu said. "Take your phone and see if there's any news. Such a large media gathering must mean something big has happened that we don't know about."

The three then remembered that their phones were still in airplane mode and quickly switched them back.

As soon as the phone regained signal, it started vibrating wildly, like a swarm of bees that had been trapped for a long time and finally gained their freedom.

The notification tones of missed calls rang incessantly, creating a cacophony that sounded particularly jarring in the quiet conference room.

Jiang Yu picked up his iPhone 3G, a new model released by Apple last year.

The screen displays dozens of red numbers indicating missed calls.

He swiped to unlock the phone, and the list of missed calls was so long that he had to scroll down several screens.

David from the North American company got eight shots, Wu Na got six, her mother Zhou Huiwen got three, her father Jiang Jianguo got two, and Liu Yifei got five.

The notification sounds kept coming in, and the screen was covered with tiny red dots, like someone with a severe skin disease.

He opened Liu Yifei's text message; the latest one was from fifteen minutes ago: "Jiang Yu, where are you? Did you see the news? Call me back! Urgent!"

News? What news?

Jiang Yu opened David's text message again. The latest message was from two hours ago: "Boss, something big has happened! We're on the front page of all five major American newspapers! Call back immediately!!!" It was followed by three exclamation marks.

His heart sank, and he immediately opened the Sina News app on his computer.

The title of the homepage push notification made his pupils shrink:

Mysterious Chinese Company Makes $20 Billion in US Subprime Crisis

"Chasing Light Holdings: A Mysterious Capital Giant Hidden in Macau"

How did a 26-year-old Chinese youth become incredibly wealthy during the US financial crisis? A look inside the story of Jiang Yu.

The Biggest Winner of Chinese Capital Going Global: Creating a Wealth Myth of 10 Billion Yuan in Three Years

He quickly clicked on the first report and skimmed through it.

The article is long, but the main points are clear: "According to reports from mainstream American media such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, a company registered in Macau..."

A Chinese company called Light Chaser Holdings profited over $20 billion last year through precise short-selling operations during the US subprime mortgage crisis.

The report states that Chasing Light Holdings began its strategic positioning in mid-to-late 2007, massively shorting subprime mortgage-related derivatives before the collapse of the US housing market. After Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in September 2008, the company quickly closed its positions and profited. This operation was perfectly timed and yielded huge profits, making it one of the most profitable institutional investors during the subprime crisis.

""

"Even more shocking is that this company, founded in 2006, not only profited from the financial crisis but also holds shares in several major US tech companies. According to public information and sources familiar with the matter, LightChaser Holdings holds 3.3% of Amazon (worth approximately $10 billion), 0.9% of Apple (worth approximately $10 billion), 7.2% of Nvidia (worth approximately $3 million), and 11.8% of Netflix (worth approximately $1.3 million). In addition, the company is the second-largest shareholder of Tencent, holding 8.57% of its shares, with a market value of approximately $9 million."

The report also revealed that Light Chaser Holdings owns several subsidiaries, including Light Chaser Pictures (North America), a rising star in Hollywood; Light & Shadow Digital, a visual effects company; and Light & Shadow Cloud, a cloud computing company. Light Chaser Pictures North America and Light & Shadow Digital alone generated $4 million in profit last year, and Wall Street valued them at over $30 billion.

The actual controller of this company is a young Chinese man named Jiang Yu, born on March 15, 1984.

Jiang Yu was not yet 26 years old. Public information shows that she graduated from the Animation and Digital Design major at the Communication University of China in 2005.

In 2006, he went to the University of Southern California for exchange studies, during which time he co-founded Light & Shadow Digital Special Effects Company with alumnus Zhou Mu.

In 2008, he invested in the film *Taken*, contributing special effects and a script as collateral. The film was a global box office success, earning him his first fortune.

"Currently, the total assets under management of Light Chaser Holdings are estimated to exceed US$60 billion, and cash reserves exceed US$5 million."

If these figures are accurate, Jiang Yu will become China's youngest billionaire, with his net worth potentially surpassing that of Huang Guangyu, who topped last year's Hurun Rich List.

The article is accompanied by a photo of Jiang Yu, taken at an event, where he is wearing a suit and giving a speech.

Jiang Yu quickly finished browsing, his expression growing increasingly serious.

The data in the article is largely accurate. Light Chaser did indeed earn over $20 billion during the subprime mortgage crisis, did indeed hold shares in companies such as Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Netflix, and Tencent, its total market capitalization did indeed exceed $40 billion, and its cash reserves did indeed exceed $5 million.

This data should be kept highly confidential.

The percentage of shares held, the time of purchase, the time of sale, and the amount of profit—these are known only to the company's core management and a few regulatory agencies.

How could it have been leaked? And even made the front page of five major American newspapers?

Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu also saw the news, and their expressions changed.

Chen Jingming opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his temples vigorously, and then put them back on.

Zhou Mu muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief: "They can't hide it anymore. How did they know this data?"

Jiang Yu forced himself to calm down, his brain racing.

The news content is basically true, which means it is not a rumor or speculation, but a report with solid evidence.

There are only a few possible sources for this information: internal leaks, leaks from regulatory agencies, or acquisition by competitors through special channels.

The possibility of an internal leak is unlikely; no more than five people know all the data, and they are all core members who have followed him for many years.

Did the regulatory agency leak the information? The U.S. SEC does have their filings, but the SEC has strict confidentiality rules.

Unless—there is pressure from higher levels.

Competitors? Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other Wall Street giants suffered heavy losses in the subprime crisis, and some of the money that Light Chaser made came from their pockets.

Light Chaser's recent investments in several internet and cloud computing projects in Silicon Valley do indeed compete with the investment departments of these major banks.

"Boss, what do we do now?" Wang Wei asked cautiously, standing at the door, her voice filled with obvious nervousness.

Jiang Yu took a deep breath, placed his phone on the table, and crossed his arms in front of him. "How many media outlets are downstairs? Which ones specifically?"

"The administration department did a count, and it's about 53 companies." Wang Wei took out her notebook. "Including CCTV Finance, financial magazines, CBN, Sina Finance, Sohu Finance, NetEase Finance—and Reuters,

Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal correspondents in China. The crowd is growing; the security guard just said that many financial bloggers have also arrived outside. There's already video footage of the scene on Sina Weibo, and it's been widely shared.

Fifty-three media outlets—this is quite a spectacle, comparable to a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

Jiang Yu looked at Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu: "What do you think?"

Chen Jingming smiled wryly and pointed to his phone screen: "What else can we see? Someone is deliberately pushing us out as a scapegoat. The subprime crisis has bankrupted many Americans, caused unemployment to skyrocket, and public resentment is immense. They need to vent their emotions, they need to find a bad guy. As a foreign company that has been profiting from the national crisis in the US," we are the perfect punching bag. Shifting blame, classic tactic."

Zhou Mu nodded, his tone heavy: "Although our operation used a multi-layered structure, it's still traceable by the real Wall Street bigwigs. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley's own quant teams are not to be underestimated. This time, someone is probably trying to divert attention or use us as a scapegoat. By drawing public attention to us, they can extricate themselves from responsibility for the subprime crisis."

Jiang Yu was silent for a few seconds, then said to Wang Wei, "Go out first and have the administration department reassure the media. Tell them I'm in a meeting and will give them a response in an hour. Also, increase security and don't let anyone upstairs. Contact the property management; if necessary, call the police."

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away." Wang Wei turned and left, closing the door gently behind her.

The meeting room fell silent again; the atmosphere was completely different now.

We were just discussing whether or not to develop chip manufacturing, a long-term strategy that will take three to five years to prove effective, and now we're suddenly facing a media storm.

Jiang Yu first called David in North America back.

The call was answered almost immediately, and David's anxious voice came through the other end, speaking rapidly with the characteristic American English accent: "Boss! Thank goodness you finally called back! Something terrible has happened! Did you see the news?"

"I saw it." Jiang Yu said calmly, trying not to let his emotions affect his voice. "What exactly happened?"

How was the information leaked?

"We don't know either," David said, the background noise a bit loud, with the sounds of keyboards and colleagues talking. "Early this morning, the New York Times suddenly published this report, and then the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today followed suit almost simultaneously. The content was too detailed, abnormally detailed; our holding ratios, purchase times, sale times, profit amounts—even the details of our structures in the Cayman Islands and the Virgin Islands. Only a very few people know this data: me, Wu Na, General Manager Zhou, General Manager Chen, and you."

"Did they investigate internally?" Jiang Yu asked.

"We're investigating. I don't think it's an internal leak," David said in a low voice. "This data is too comprehensive; it looks like it came from a regulatory agency. We have records with the SEC, but they don't have this much detail. Unless it's from a higher-level agency, like the Treasury? The Federal Reserve? Or—the FBI?"

Jiang Yu felt a chill run down his spine.

If the leak came from the FBI or the Treasury Department, then the problem is serious.

This means that the US government has its eye on them and doesn't mind using public opinion as a weapon.

"What's the public opinion like in the US right now?" he asked, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

"It's in an uproar," David sighed, his voice filled with exhaustion. "As soon as the newspapers came out, all the major TV stations were reporting on it. Fox News' headline was 'How Chinese Capital Is Taking Advantage of the Crisis: The Mysterious Winners in the Subprime Crisis.'"

While CNN is relatively objective, it has also questioned the legality of our actions and whether we used insider information. MSNBC

We consulted an economics professor, who said our profit forecasts were too precise and warranted investigation.

He paused, then continued: "On social media, the criticism is overwhelmingly negative. Some say we're bloodsuckers, profiting from hardship; some say it's a conspiracy, economic aggression; others have dug up your photos, saying how could someone so young have such vision, there must be someone supporting you behind the scenes. There are already people organizing offline protests, demanding that we get out of the American market and return our illegal gains."

Jiang Yu rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on: "Where's Wu Na? What did she say?"

"Mr. Wu is contacting PR firms, but with little effect," David said. "Our partner, Edelman PR, said this media frenzy is too intense, like it's organized and premeditated. They suspect there's a mastermind behind it, possibly our competitor. When the White House press secretary was asked about this today, he didn't comment directly, saying they would review all foreign investments in the U.S. to ensure compliance with U.S. law and national security."

"Scrutiny—" Jiang Yu repeated the word, "They want to censor us?"

"I'm afraid so." David's voice lowered even further. "Some members of Congress have already proposed investigating whether our operations during the subprime crisis were legal and whether we used non-public information. Others have said they want legislation to restrict foreign capital operations in the U.S. financial markets. Boss, this time—we're in big trouble."

Jiang Yu remained silent for a while.

As dusk settles over Beijing, the traffic on Chang'an Avenue resembles a luminous river.

Everything felt so familiar, so real, yet the message coming from the other end of the phone felt like a story from another world.

"Understood." He concluded, "Stay calm for now, don't give any interviews, and don't issue any statements. Have the PR firm prepare a press release emphasizing that all our operations are legal and compliant, and are based on research and judgment using publicly available information. We'll release it after I give you further instructions."

"Understood," David said. "But what if reporters corner the company?"

"The company is operating normally, just continue with what you were doing," Jiang Yu said. "If reporters try to force their way in, call the police. Stay calm and professional."

"Okay. Boss, is everything alright on your end? Are the domestic media also—"

"It's started domestically too." Jiang Yu glanced at the conference room door. "I'll handle things here. Keep in touch."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yu leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu looked at him, but neither of them said anything.

A few seconds later, Jiang Yu opened his eyes, his gaze becoming clear and sharp again.

He picked up his phone and called Liu Yifei back.

The phone rang once and was answered quickly by Liu Yifei, her voice filled with worry: "Jiang Yu! You finally called back! Are you alright? I saw the news, it was so scary. Are there a lot of reporters downstairs? Where are you now? Are you safe?"

A barrage of questions came at me like a machine gun.

Jiang Yu felt a warmth in his heart, and his voice softened unconsciously: "I'm fine. I'm at the company, it's safe. There are reporters downstairs, they can't come up, don't worry."

"How could I not worry—" Liu Yifei's voice was a little nasal. "Those reports were so awful, as if you'd done something terrible. It's clearly your good judgment that led to the successful investment, so why are they criticizing you? And those comments, saying you're profiting from the national crisis, saying Chinese people are stealing American money—it's infuriating!"

"That's just how public opinion is," Jiang Yu comforted her, trying to sound relaxed. "When someone makes money, someone gets envious. Especially when they make so much money, especially in the US. It's okay, I can handle it. Don't go out these next few days; reporters might try to ambush you."

"I know, my mom won't let me go out anymore," Liu Yifei said. "Jiang Yu, you have to be careful. Those people will write anything and say anything. I'm afraid they'll write things that will affect you—"

"Don't worry, I'll sue them if they write anything wrong," Jiang Yu said. "I have the best legal team. You rest first, don't watch TV, don't go online, out of sight, out of mind. I'll call you when I've finished dealing with this."

"Hmm...then you must be careful," Liu Yifei whispered. "I...I miss you."

These words, spoken softly, at this moment, were like a warm current flowing through the telephone line, warming Jiang Yu's somewhat chilled heart.

"I miss you too," he said. "I'll come see you after I've finished dealing with this."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yu looked at Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu: "Did you hear that? It's already bombed in the US, and it'll be soon in China too."

Chen Jingming's expression was grave. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he pulled up a real-time public opinion monitor: "Boss, domestic public opinion is escalating rapidly. Six out of the top ten trending searches on Baidu are related to us. The keyword index for 'Zhuiguang Holdings' and 'Jiang Yu' has soared by 5000%. Major financial forums are buzzing with discussion, offering all sorts of opinions."

He turned the screen towards Jiang Yu.

The screen displays a complex public opinion monitoring interface, with red, yellow, and green lines interwoven like an electrocardiogram.

Next to it is a real-time hot word cloud, with words such as Chasing Light Holdings, Jiang Yu, $20 billion, subprime crisis, and Chinese capital being the largest and most eye-catching.

"Public opinion has already split into several camps," Chen Jingming analyzed. "One camp admires and idolizes you, calling you a national pride and the 'Chinese Buffett'; the other camp questions how you made so much money and whether there are any inside stories."

Another group criticizes the practice, saying that profiting from national disasters is immoral. Currently, positive voices slightly outweigh negative ones, but the sentiment is highly volatile and could reverse at any time.

Zhou Mu added, "The most crucial point is that the media is currently praising us so highly, calling us a successful example of Chinese capital going global and a role model for young people—the higher they're praised, the harder they'll fall. If any negative news follows, or if the US investigation uncovers any problems, public opinion will instantly reverse, and we'll become public enemy number one."

Jiang Yu walked to the window and looked downstairs.

Looking down from the 35th floor, the traffic on the street looks like toy cars, and the pedestrians look like ants.

Right now, in the lobby on the first floor of this building, more than fifty media outlets, hundreds of reporters, and countless onlookers have gathered.

The sun had completely set, and the lights of Beijing began to illuminate the city one by one.

China World Trade Center, CCTV Headquarters, Yintai Centre —

"Jingming, Zhou Mu," Jiang Yu turned around, his back to the myriad lights outside the window, facing the two people in the conference room, "What do you think we should do now?"

Chen Jingming pondered for a few seconds, then adjusted his glasses: "I feel we have no choice but to respond directly. There's no going back now; the more we hide, the more frantic the media becomes, and the more outrageous the rumors get. It's better to hold a press conference proactively, say what needs to be said, and refrain from saying what shouldn't be said. Our attitude should be sincere, our demeanor low-key, emphasizing that we are operating legally within the rules and have not violated any laws or regulations. At the same time, we should emphasize our contribution to the economy; our investments in Chinese companies like Tencent and JD.com, supporting technological innovation; and our investments in American companies like Apple and Amazon, creating jobs and driving global technological progress."

Zhou Mu nodded and added, "We also need to play the emotional card. Emphasize that the boss started from scratch, came from an ordinary family, and succeeded through his own hard work and vision. This will gain public sympathy and understanding. Additionally, we need to appropriately show weakness, saying we're just a small company, just lucky, not some financial behemoth the media portrays us as." This will reduce public hostility.

As Jiang Yu listened, he gently tapped his fingers on the windowsill.

"The press conference can't be held today," he concluded. "It's too rushed. We need time to prepare, we need a unified message, we need a professional public relations team, and we need lawyers to review every word. Also, I need to communicate with the US side first to ensure a consistent narrative."

He walked back to the conference table and pressed the intercom button: "Wang Wei, come in for a moment."

Wang Wei came in quickly, and Jiang Yu asked, "What's the situation now?"

"There are more and more people." Wang Wei handed him the laptop. "Besides the media, there are also a lot of onlookers. Some people are taking pictures and posting them on QQ Space. The property management has brought in ten more security guards, but I don't think they can hold out for long. Some reporters said they wouldn't leave if they weren't allowed to see you."

Jiang Yu looked at the surveillance footage.

The lobby on the first floor was indeed packed with people, and more people were still gathering outside the glass doors.

Several reporters were giving a live report in front of their cameras, their expressions excited.

"What's going on online?" he asked.

"It's exploded." Wang Wei pulled up another page. "On Baidu and Sina, five of the top ten trending topics are related to us. The Baidu search index has soared by 8000%. Major forums are discussing it, and there are tens of thousands of answers to related questions on Tieba and Tianya. On Youku and Tudou, people have already made popular science videos about you, and the views have exceeded one million."

She paused, then added in a low voice, "Also, your personal information has been dug up. Your date of birth, place of origin, educational background, family situation—all of it has been posted online. Even your parents' workplaces and the neighborhood they live in are known."

Jiang Yu's face darkened. His worst fears had come true, affecting his family.

"Contact a security company and send two people to Wuhan," he said immediately. "Make arrangements for Liu Yifei's family as well."

"Understood." Wang Wei wrote it down.

Jiang Yu thought for a few seconds and made a decision: "Wang Wei, notify the media that a press conference will be held tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM in the banquet hall of the Wanda Vista Hotel next door. I will attend in person. Only formal media outlets will be invited to the press conference; prior registration and qualification verification are required. Bloggers will not be accepted."

"Okay, I'll contact the hotel and the media right away," Wang Wei said.

"Furthermore," Jiang Yu continued, "contact the three best public relations firms—BlueFocus, XuanYa International, and Ogilvy—and have them develop a response plan overnight. I need to see it by 8:00 AM tomorrow. Have the legal department prepare a formal statement emphasizing that all our operations are legal and compliant and have been approved by the relevant regulatory agencies. Also, have the technology department monitor online public opinion and immediately collect evidence of any false information, preparing for prosecution."

"Understood." Wang Wei quickly took notes. "Then—what about the reporters downstairs?"

"Tell them the time and place of tomorrow's press conference and let them go home first," Jiang Yu said. "If anyone still refuses to leave, let the property management and security handle it. If necessary, we can ask the police station for assistance."

.

"OK."

Wang Wei turned and left, the sound of her high heels clicking on the marble floor echoing in the corridor, hurried and firm.

Jiang Yu then said to Chen Jingming and Zhou Mu, "Jingming, you are responsible for preparing the financial data: what can be made public and what cannot, and you must be careful to maintain a proper balance. In particular, you must not disclose any information that may trigger further investigations."

Zhou Mu, prepare your technical arguments, especially regarding the companies we've invested in in Silicon Valley, emphasizing how our investments have driven technological innovation and created jobs.

"Understood." The two nodded at the same time.

"Now," Jiang Yu checked the time, it was already 7:30 pm, "let's all go home and get some rest. We have a tough battle to fight tomorrow. Remember, don't give any interviews or reply to any messages tonight. We'll talk about everything after tomorrow's press conference."

The three of them walked out of the conference room.

In the corridor, the employees were whispering among themselves. When they saw Jiang Yu come out, they immediately quieted down, but their eyes were filled with complex emotions: curiosity, admiration, worry, and a hint of excitement.

After all, not everyone gets to experience having their company suddenly become the global focus and their boss suddenly become a billionaire.

Jiang Yu nodded to everyone, said nothing, and went into his office.