Chapter 210: Magic Is Everywhere
by xennovel“James, you told me it would be ready by Monday. It’s already Friday. Are my gaming consoles not assembled yet? How much money are you planning to compensate me?”
James explained helplessly, “Lorick, you have to blame the government for this. How could I have known that some parts of those consoles were subcontracted to Dream Technology? Now, because of the government sanctions against Dream Technology, they have stopped supplying us here in the United States. I’m currently looking for new suppliers. We are long-term clients, after all. Please, try to understand my position.”
“All right,” Lorick said. “I’ll give you one more week. If it’s not ready by then, you’ll have to pay a penalty.”
…
…
“George, I’m terribly sorry, but we cannot deliver your excavator on time. We are willing to pay a late fee for this. The delay is due to our government’s sanctions against Dream Technology, which has disrupted our parts supply.”
“Oh, that’s not a problem. I’ve directly purchased the latest model of intelligent construction robots from Dream Technology. They can do not only the excavator’s job but also the work of a loader. They’re quite impressive.”
“Wait, what did you say? You bought intelligent construction robots from Dream Technology?”
“Yes, you don’t need to pay me the late fee. Just return my deposit. As for the penalty fee, considering our years of cooperation, I’ll let it slide.”
“No, why did you buy intelligent construction robots from Dream Technology?”
“They’re highly efficient, affordable, and with the money I’d spend on three of your excavators, I can buy four robots. Their work efficiency is several times that of your excavators. Of course, I would choose Dream Technology’s products.”
…
…
Steven, the president of Texas Electronics in the United States, has been experiencing headaches recently. Texas Electronics, as the world’s largest manufacturer of analog circuit technology components and the ninth titan in the global semiconductor field, had never faced such a situation. Even when Wisdom Technology from the Tang Country made a sudden rise, mainly encroaching on Intel’s number one spot. Now, Intel is barely surviving in the US market; it took Wisdom Technology only half a year to dominate all markets outside the United States. If the US hadn’t put Wisdom Technology on the Entity List, Intel would probably have fallen by now. Of course, another giant, Qualcomm, has already fallen, especially as the Tang Country market accounted for 60% of its sales. Now from the Tang Country to other international markets, no one uses Qualcomm products, and without Intel’s solid background, Qualcomm could only sadly collapse. After all, the era of the mobile phone has irreversibly passed.
“David, are you certain that it’s Dream Technology stealing our overseas customers?” Steven asked, massaging his temples as he looked at the vice president in charge of the overseas market.
“Yes, right before I came to your office, a big client from Gaul canceled their order. I have a personal friendship with him and asked why.”
“What did he say?” Steven asked eagerly.
David sighed and said, “He told me that for our entire product line, Dream Technology has corresponding products that perform better in both quality and efficiency. And their price is only half of ours!”
“What? Only half the price? Does Dream Technology not want to make money? This is predatory dumping!” Steven roared in anger.
“President, perhaps we could try suing Dream Technology for predatory dumping in Europe.”
Steven calmed himself down a bit and said, “That’s a good idea! You handle this. Organize a legal team and send them to Europe immediately.”
…
…
“Sean, can you tell me why last month’s sales plunged?” The president of Bone Script Corporation, Bowmore, asked the sales vice president while holding the financial report.
“I had already started investigating the decline in sales and just found the reason,” Sean said.
“What’s the problem?”
“A new software company released a new database product. Their product is remarkable, grabbing away a group of our overseas clients in one fell swoop.”
Bowmore was astonished, “A new product from a new software company? Our clients all need data stability and security. Did they really dare to switch to a new company’s product on a whim?”
“Yes, mainly because this company also has other collaborations with these clients.”
“What’s the name of this company?”
Sean looked at the information in his hand and said, “Dream Technology. It’s the multinational company recently sanctioned by our government. The software products are from one of its subsidiaries.”
“Dream Technology? Weren’t they subcontracting electronics and mechanical hardware? Why did they suddenly decide to get into software?”
Sean checked the information again and then said, “Their president vowed to defeat the giant companies in our country’s electronic and mechanical industries after our government implemented sanctions on them. Maybe he counts software as part of the electronics industry…”
Bowmore slammed his hand on the desk and cursed, “Bastard, this indiscriminate attack… are they not afraid we’ll band together against them?”
Sean hesitantly said, “Well, our Secretary of State recently visited Germany, Britain, Gaul, Rome, Japan, and other countries to forge a united front against them. However, so far, only Japan has agreed and announced sanctions. It’s said that our European allies were already on the fence, but the public attack by our military forces on Dream Technology’s industrial park in South Sudan with missiles has made the allies change their minds again.”
Bowmore nodded and said, “That’s it. The military has indeed done something stupid. How could they openly launch such a military strike on a multinational enterprise’s factory? The person who developed that plan should resign. It’s just too harmful. I guess Dream Technology was provoked by the bombing to expand from the electronics industry into software.”
Sean agreed, “Yes, I think the same.”
“Finding the reason doesn’t help much, though,” Bowmore said, crossing his arms and pondering his next move.
Sean offered a suggestion: “President, I think it is essential for me to visit those overseas clients who have abandoned our products to understand their evaluation of Dream Technology’s database products so we can counterattack Dream Technology’s overreach effectively.”
Bowmore approved, “That’s a good idea. Dream Technology’s products can no longer enter the US market. If we want to know about a competitor’s product, then we must venture out. Take a few product managers and visit all those overseas clients. Oh, especially the Tang Country, which is our most important overseas market. We need to reassure our clients there before Dream Technology’s software products enter the Tang market.”
Bone Script’s database clients in the Tang Country are mainly concentrated in finance, telecommunications, energy, government, and other sectors, focusing on large enterprises. Over the past two years, they have already lost a considerable market share to Ali Cloud amid the drive to de-IOE-ify data centers in the Tang Country. Now, if it’s defeated by Dream Technology’s products, it will truly lose the Tang Country market altogether.
“All right, I’ll arrange it immediately.”
Sean left quickly.
Bowmore sighed, murmured to himself, “Ever since last year, when Wisdom Technology and Dream Technology of the Tang Country jointly disrupted our IT industry foundation in the United States, we’ve indeed entered an era of endless troubles.”
Suddenly, with a bang, the office door was pushed open forcefully. Sean, who had left not long ago, rushed back in, looking anxious.
“What happened that a dignified vice president appears so flustered?” Bowmore frowned and reprimanded.
Sean reported, “The Tang Country government has just signed a cooperation agreement with Dream Technology. All state-owned enterprises, universities, and the government will fully adopt Dream Technology’s software products.”
“What?!” Bowmore stood up so abruptly that he felt dizzy and had to support himself with his hands on the desk. Just what he dreaded the most!
“Not only our database products will be replaced, but also CAD software, electronic design software, decision-making software, GIS software, and other AI software will all be switched! This is an enormous blow to our software industry in the United States!”
Bowmore slumped back into his chair and said, “For the past two years, I strongly opposed the government’s policy of restricting GIS software exports to the Tang Country, arguing that this would force them to develop their own. But a bunch of short-sighted politicians thought that it would take the Tang Country at least five to ten years to develop these kinds of software! They’ve been quiet these past two years, and now with Dream Technology’s cooperation with the Tang Country, they’ve achieved a wholesale replacement, permanently closing the Tang market to us. Dream Technology, you’re really impressive! They were able to launch so many software products in such a short period of time. They must have been preparing for a long time. Electronics, machinery, software… Dream Technology has truly achieved omnipresence. Our country really picked the right moment to impose sanctions!”
Sean joked, “Yeah, it’s no wonder they attacked and bombed their factory; they probably knew Dream Technology was a threat to our existence!”
Bowmore glared at Sean, feeling utterly drained. What kind of logic was that?
“Sean, forget these things. Go to Europe immediately. We can’t lose that market. You need to report back the advantages of the competitor’s products as soon as possible. Our R&D department needs a full response. I believe Bone Script has the capability to fight back!”
“Yes, President.”