Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 135：Taking Advantage of a Crisis

The people of Dragon Country were filled with anger upon seeing the announcements from Apple and Samsung regarding their price hikes. It was evident that foreign brands were seizing the opportunity to exploit the situation.

Many citizens of Dragon Country began venting their frustrations online. However, despite their anger, mobile phones remained an essential part of daily life—both for work and personal use. With no other option, they had to endure the exploitation.

At 8 p.m., Apple launched its new product release event and opened the pre-order qualification code channel on their official website. Within just three minutes, 100,000 pre-sale qualification codes were completely sold out.

Soon after, many people posted on social media, offering to buy the pre-sale qualification codes. Prices for a single code soared to between 500 and 1000 yuan.

At Apple's Dragon Country division, the chief executive, Job Brown, couldn't suppress a sneer upon seeing the result.

"Dragon Country people truly have no backbone, hahah..." he scoffed.

"Indeed, before the launch, I was worried after seeing the online attacks, but who would have thought they'd rush to grab the codes within three minutes! Hahaha," his secretary, Kerry, chuckled lewdly.

"We've raised the price of each phone by 20%, making an extra 400 million yuan."

"Tell headquarters to send all the unsold phones from other countries to Dragon Country and hike their prices by 20%. Let's take full advantage of this opportunity to milk the Dragon Country people..."

The news of Apple's pre-sale qualifications being snapped up in under three minutes caused a stir on the internet.

Netizens expressed their fury:

Netizen 1: "What the hell? 100,000 pre-sale qualification codes, and they're gone in three minutes! I just want to ask, are the people who grabbed them even from Dragon Country?"
Netizen 2: "You probably can't get one, so you're just sour."
Netizen 3: "A new Apple phone for at least 12,000 yuan? The previous models were only about 6,000. This is daylight robbery."
Netizen 4: "Apple phones are for the wealthy, symbols of status. You poor folks don't deserve them!"
Netizen 5: "Damn you, you're the one funding foreigners! Support local brands to revive Dragon Country!"

Currently, the entire mobile phone market in Dragon Country was dominated by foreign brands. It seemed like they had coordinated their efforts, all increasing their prices. While domestic brands had previously been criticized for poor quality, at least they were affordable. A few hundred yuan could buy a basic smartphone, and around two thousand could get a relatively decent one.

Now, with domestic brands off the shelves, the foreign brands' prices had soared above 3,000 yuan, making them unaffordable for most.

As a result, there was a growing online call for the government to save local phone brands. After all, the majority of the population in Dragon Country lived on low incomes. Their voices quickly garnered the government's attention.

This was a matter of livelihood, so the government held a press conference to assure the public that a solution was on the way and that they should be patient for a while longer.

Both Lei Jun, the CEO of Xiaomi, and Ren Zhengfei, the CEO of Huawei, also raised the issue with the government. However, they received no immediate solutions, only being told to wait as the government worked on resolving the issue.

Minister Wang Wenhai of the Ministry of Commerce had just seen off Ren Zhengfei and Lei Jun when Yang Yuanqing, the CEO of a domestic computer brand, came in as a representative of the computer industry.

Minister Wang invited him to his office.

Yang Yuanqing, his face full of worry, immediately addressed the minister.

"Minister Wang, you must help us, the domestic computer brands! The economic sanctions from the Beautiful Country on our chips have turned hundreds of thousands of our computers into waste. We still have more than 100,000 employees waiting for their wages, which cost us over ten million a day. We simply can't hold out much longer, and that's why we've come to seek your help..."

Minister Wang sighed, "I understand your difficulties. The government is already working on a solution..."

Half an hour later, representatives from several television brands arrived, all with similar concerns about the chip shortage. Minister Wang took note of their issues and forwarded them to the relevant leaders.

The senior officials in Dragon Country, upon reviewing the reports, furrowed their brows. They hadn't anticipated that the Beautiful Country would escalate the sanctions to such an extent. Now, domestic brands in industries like mobile phones, computers, and televisions—industries reliant on chips—were all facing the threat of bankruptcy.

The reports indicated that within ten days, a large number of businesses would collapse, leading to millions of job losses. This could potentially trigger a severe economic crisis in Dragon Country.

At that moment, a secretary entered with a message.

"Sir, Secretary Foster from the Beautiful Country requests a voice call with you."

"I see," the leader replied.

Knowing that Foster's call was unlikely to be good news, he made his way to the communication room.

"Mr. Foster, what can I do for you?"

Foster's voice came over the line.

"Good day, Mr. One. I'm calling to discuss the ITER magnet materials technology. Given the current situation in Dragon Country, I believe you would be eager to discuss this with me."

"You may be disappointed. Our situation here in Dragon Country is not as dire as you think. As for the ITER magnet materials, I don't believe there's anything we need to discuss," the leader replied coolly.

"Oh, Mr. One, there's no need to pretend. If we continue to impose economic sanctions, Dragon Country will face a severe economic crisis. Heh heh..."