Before this, Haifeng had kept a low profile.
China Star's labs stayed deliberately obscure. Their technologies emerged quietly—first in mobile, then chips, then cloud. Even their internal equity system was so well hidden that many competitors underestimated them.
But now?
China Star Lab was either China's most significant strategic ally,
or its most potent future competitor.
And that decision could no longer be ignored.
Inside Huawei's Executive Meeting Room
Xu Wenwei stood and made the first move.
"Let's cooperate."
"Not because we can't beat them—but because we believe in the mission to strengthen China through technology."
"We've already run our 'Extreme Survival Hypothesis.'"
The room grew quiet.
Everyone understood what that meant.
The Extreme Survival Hypothesis
This was an internal Huawei contingency plan created years ago:
Assume that, one day, China is cut off from all imported chips, OSs, and global supply chains.
In the future, no outside tech will be accessible.
The country must survive with what it has. No help. No imports.
A full blockade.
To prepare for that scenario, Huawei quietly developed the following:
Emergency backup tech stacks
Alternative supply chains
In-house chip R&D
OS independence (HarmonyOS was one result)
Most of it had never been revealed publicly.
But if the tech war ever escalated?
Huawei could flip the switch overnight.
Old Man Ren finally nodded.
"The pressure from outside is too great.
We don't have time for internal rivalries."
"Right now, we must twist all our strength into one rope.
Unite and confront what's coming."
The rest of the executives agreed.
One added:
"I support cooperation—but the question is: will Lu Haifeng agree?"
"That man never attends tech forums, expos, or summits.
He's a total recluse."
Ren laughed.
"Then we'll visit him."
"He never leaves Piao City? Fine.
We'll go to Piao City tomorrow."
Back at China Star
Haifeng had just stepped out of the lab when Zhao Jianhua, general manager of Audi Auto, called.
"President Lu, we got a call from Wang Cheng."
"The higher-ups are offering us a deal."
"If we complete a certain task, we'll receive a ¥50 billion interest-free loan (≈ $6.9 billion) over 20 years—plus, we get that big plot of land next to the factory."
Haifeng's eyes lit up.
"Really? What's the task?"
He'd had his eye on that land for a while.
Zhao responded:
"We need to enter the Ward's 10 Best Engines competition.[1]
We don't have to win—but we must place in the top ten."
Haifeng paused.
This was no joke.
In his last life, Ward's was a niche competition.
But in this world?
It was one of the top global engine competitions, backed by ten leading international media groups.
Highly professional. Televised and publicly voted.
Known by car enthusiasts and everyday drivers alike.
Winning or even placing would catapult China Star's brand onto the global stage.
And now it was tied to state policy.
Haifeng smiled.
"A top-ten finish?"
"That's not a condition.
That's a gift-wrapped opportunity."
[1] Wards 10 Best Engines is an annual list of the ten "best" automobile engines selected by Wards AutoWorld magazine in the U.S. market. The list was started in 1994 for model year 1995 and has been drawn every year since then and published at the end of the preceding year.