Hearing Professor Lai Jianguo's dissatisfaction, the person on the other end of the phone quickly realized their mistake.
Indeed, this was the Devonshire family they were dealing with. A mere two or three hundred million RMB was hardly going to impress them.
Just as Professor Lai suggested, if money wasn't an advantage, they should focus on numbers instead—making their offer more impactful.
"100,000 air conditioners, 100,000 refrigerators, 100,000 televisions..."
One of the companies, Gree, even went to great lengths to create a dramatic impression. They halted a cargo ship about to leave port, delayed it by two hours, and sent a professional film crew onboard. Using low-angle shots, they captured the towering stack of 120,000 air conditioners inside the cargo hold—resembling a literal mountain. This footage was prepared to shock the world during the campaign.
Upon hearing this, Professor Lai didn't hesitate much longer. Early the next morning, at 5 a.m., he set off for Devonshire Castle from London, accompanied by three embassy officials.
Arriving in the small town near the castle at 7 a.m., they found a café, ordered breakfast, and waited. Around 8 a.m., Professor Lai finally called Abigail.
Unsurprisingly, Abigail answered quickly.
Hearing that Professor Lai was already in the area, Abigail felt more at ease.
If someone like Lai Jianguo—a trusted partner of the Devonshire family—was nearby and Sunday hadn't issued any security warnings, it meant the visit was likely safe.
Even so, Abigail remained cautious. Smiling over the phone, she assured Professor Lai that someone would come to pick them up soon.
After hanging up, Abigail instructed the castle staff to double-check security measures and verify the guests.
Back at the café, the embassy officials couldn't contain their excitement.
"Professor, you truly are the Devonshire family's most trusted expert on Chinese artifacts!"
"It's a good thing we found you. Otherwise, we wouldn't have even gotten the chance to meet the Devonshire family, let alone deliver our message."
"Well, you didn't look in the right places," Professor Lai replied, his tone slightly dismissive. "There is someone out there who could arrange a direct meeting with Abigail—or even with William—without much trouble."
The officials exchanged surprised glances.
"Really? Who is it?"
Realizing he had spoken too freely, Professor Lai quickly changed the subject.
"Don't get too excited just yet. Abigail may be William's woman and his chief steward, but in his absence, any major decision she makes requires Lena Devonshire's approval.
"And Lena," Professor Lai hesitated briefly, noting the growing concern on the officials' faces, "does not share William's level of interest in China. To her, neither our country nor its affairs are particularly relevant.
"Given the current situation with William being 'trapped' on Mars, it's hard to predict how she'll react to our request."
Little did they know, William wasn't really stranded on Mars. In fact, the moment Professor Lai and his entourage entered the town, Sunday had already informed William.
So, when Abigail met with Professor Lai to hear their proposal, both she and William—who was listening in—were stunned by the offer.
100,000 air conditioners, 100,000 refrigerators, or 100,000 televisions.
The sheer scale of the offer took Abigail aback. William, too, was momentarily at a loss for words.
However, William quickly dismissed the idea of accepting computers as part of the giveaway.
One company had already committed to providing 50,000 computers, which had successfully sparked consumer interest in the European and American markets.
If a Chinese company were to follow suit with 100,000 computers, it would undoubtedly provoke the wrath of Western tech giants, creating unnecessary tension.
As for the other appliances, William had already decided that no product would be repeated during the month-long campaign.
Watching Abigail's expression evolve from shock to a calm, professional demeanor as she began asking about the specific products and companies involved, William knew she was interested.
With Abigail clearly in control, William decided not to interfere further in the negotiations.
Three days later, the first giveaway campaign wrapped up successfully under Sunday's meticulous management.
The participating computer company simply provided Sunday with a list of questions related to their products, which were then posted on FaceNet.
Users had to answer these questions correctly to qualify for the lottery, with 1,000 units given away per question for a total of 50,000 units.
Within hours, the company's publicly available information had flooded the internet. Whether or not this data was intentionally leaked, most netizens didn't care.
Winners of the laptops were understandably ecstatic.
While not everyone received a prize, even those who didn't win were eager to participate in future campaigns—especially after seeing photos of winners unboxing their laptops and posting them on their FaceNet profiles.
When FaceNet announced the second giveaway, the results stunned the public yet again.
No one expected the next campaign to involve a Chinese air conditioning company. But the real shock came when the campaign revealed a staggering 120,000 units would be given away.
This number was enough to air-condition the entirety of central London—and still have units left over.
As the third and fourth campaigns rolled out with 100,000 refrigerators and 100,000 televisions from other Chinese companies, the buzz reached a fever pitch.
By now, FaceNet's valuation had officially crossed £10 billion.
The massive giveaway of 320,000 appliances left European and Japanese electronics companies reeling. They struggled to compete with the sheer scale of these promotions, while FaceNet began showing hints of expanding into e-commerce.
Lena Devonshire, noticing the platform's growing influence, became more directly involved.
Without informing William, she took Abigail, Selene, and Nissa to London in a bulletproof Aston Martin Phantom. Together, they visited FaceNet's newly established headquarters to meet the staff and review preliminary plans for an e-commerce expansion.
While the world celebrated FaceNet's meteoric rise, the old adage "extreme joy begets sorrow" began to manifest.
The moment Professor Lai and his entourage stepped into the Devonshire Castle—an estate strictly closed to outsiders—alarm bells went off among the Americans and certain factions within England's leadership.
Fearful that the Chinese delegation might be negotiating a secret deal with Lena Devonshire, these factions began to panic.
What if Lena, in a bid to secure the rescue mission for William, secretly handed over advanced technology to China?
Even worse, what if she authorized the construction of a second spacecraft in China?
Adding fuel to their suspicions, the first three giveaway campaigns were all awarded to Chinese companies.
"We can't afford to wait any longer. Who knows what Lena Devonshire might give to the Chinese if this continues?"
"It's possible that they've already obtained some of the technology. This could be a way to pressure us into halting our sabotage of the rescue mission.
"Or worse—they might be warning us that if William can't return to Earth, the Devonshires will transfer everything to China—or even Russia."
"Then let's greenlight the blood clans and werewolves. Have them sabotage the spacecraft under construction.
"Once the mission is disrupted, William and Lena will have no choice but to turn to us for help.
"After all, only we—the United States—have the capability to mass-produce the components needed for a rescue mission within a month.
"As for China? Sure, they've got the full industrial chain, but their technological base is still developing. They can't possibly assemble the required infrastructure in time.
"William Devonshire doesn't want to die, and Lena Devonshire doesn't want to lose her son. So, they'll have to grit their teeth and take whatever deal we offer them."
(End of Chapter)
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