The next day, in his office, Xiao Ai stepped in.
"President Lu, the people from Samsung have arrived."
"Take them to the conference room. Have we heard from the others?"
"Yes. Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, and Google all sent formal requests. They're in China already and want to meet over a meal. Huawei and Alibaba also reached out."
Haifeng narrowed his eyes.
Typical. It's the Chinese way to talk business over dinner—especially when you need something.
He smirked.
"Tell them all to come to my company instead. Take them to the conference room when they arrive—and let me know once everyone's here."
By 10 a.m., luxury cars rolled into the China Tech headquarters.
Vice presidents from Apple, Nokia, Microsoft, and Google stepped out—alongside investment heads from Huawei and Alibaba.
Xiao Ai returned shortly.
"President Lu, they're all here."
Haifeng nodded. "Let's go."
In the conference room, tension hung in the air. None of the competitors made a sound. The room was filled with sharp eyes and subtle glances.
As soon as Haifeng walked in, Samsung's VP for China, Pu Xingcai, rushed over.
"President Lu, can we sign the contract now? The funds are ready for immediate transfer."
He looked anxious, regretting not locking the deal down the day before.
Haifeng looked amused.
"What contract?"
"Didn't we—yesterday... I thought...?"
"Did I say I wanted financing? Or that I was selling the company?" Haifeng replied coldly.
Only then did Pu realize he'd made assumptions—dangerous ones.
Haifeng stepped past him and faced the room.
"My company is not open to investment or acquisition. But since you're all here for the System Accelerator, I don't run an operating system myself. I might be willing to sell it."
That sentence shifted the atmosphere. Every executive straightened in their chair. Eyes sharpened.
If Samsung had signed yesterday, they'd be walking out with the deal today. The others were relieved they hadn't.
Google's VP, Smith, was the first to speak.
"President Lu, if you're open to selling the System Accelerator, name your terms. Google is willing to meet them."
The rest followed quickly—none willing to let Google get ahead.
Haifeng raised a hand.
"I have three conditions:
Cash only—no stock, no crypto, no IOUs.
Payment first, delivery after.
The highest bidder wins."
No one objected.
Smith asked, "Will the developers join us at our headquarters?"
Haifeng smiled faintly. "I developed the system over three years. Back when no one in China even used Android. I wrote it for Windows originally, but life got in the way, and I shelved it."
Of course, that was all a cover. The developer was Li Gang—but no one needed to know that.
Behind the scenes, Haifeng had already told Li Gang to create optimized accelerators for all major platforms—Windows, macOS, iOS—so he could milk every company present.
Microsoft's VP asked next:
"Can the computer operating system be accelerated, too?"
"About 60% improvement."
Apple's rep leaned forward.
"What about iOS?"
"All systems can be accelerated, but with different results. You'll need to test it yourselves."
Haifeng then handed over limited-use demo versions.
"Each version is usable for 30 minutes and self-erases after 20 downloads."
"I'll be gone for a bit. Test the product. In 30 minutes, we'll hold a bidding round. The highest bidder wins. All participants must pay a ¥50 million deposit (≈ $6.9 million in 2025)."
Thirty minutes later.
Haifeng re-entered the conference room.
"Everyone finished testing?"
Heads nodded.
"Good. Then let's begin."
Smith from Google raised his hand.
"If no one else will start, I will. $50 million."
Samsung followed.
"$100 million."
Then:
$200 million
$300 million
$400 million
$500 million
$1 billion
The number climbed $100 million at a time—faster than anyone could believe.
Haifeng was stunned.
How many phones would I need to sell to earn that?
Eventually, Microsoft offered $1.01 billion, and Nokia countered with $1.03 billion...
And then Smith raised the stakes:
"$2 billion."
The room went dead silent.
Everyone now knew: Google wasn't walking away.
They couldn't afford to.
Microsoft and Nokia had OSs of their own—but they lacked momentum. Google? They were defending Android's global dominance.
And they weren't about to lose it.
After all, Android might be "free"—but Google made tens of billions from:
Ads
App store commissions
In-app payments
Data collection
Licensing agreements
Losing Android would mean losing their core business.
Finally, Smith stood.
"$2.6 billion. Final offer."
Haifeng smiled.
"Congratulations to Google… you've bought the System Accelerator."
Smith extended a hand. "President Lu, your company is a miracle. Just six months ago, it was a struggling OEM factory. Now? You're a tech powerhouse."
Haifeng shook his hand—but his mind was elsewhere.
This is just the beginning.
The world's biggest companies are lining up to buy what we create.
And next time… they won't just be buying software.