Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

100: Chapter 100 Three-Front Operation: Material BreakthroughSeptember 15th, 2 PM, Shenzhen Spark Materials.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the Red Flag press conference, this one was low-key to the point of being mysterious.

Only thirty media outlets were invited, all official or industry authorities. Before entering, everyone signed a non-disclosure agreement—no recording, no early publication, and no disclosure of technical details.

The hall was small, with only fifty seats. No music, no light show; only a simple logo on the podium: Spark Materials.

At exactly two o’clock, Wu Yi, the General Manager of Spark Materials, stepped onto the podium.

This forty-five-year-old material scientist was Spark Technology’s chief material scientist three months ago, now transitioned into management. Wearing a dark suit and black-rimmed glasses, his expression was as serious as if he were reading a thesis.

”Thank you to our friends from the media for coming.” Wu Yi’s opening was extremely brief. ”Today, we are releasing two materials. First: the ’Ghost Shadow’ series radar stealth material.”

A microscopic structure diagram of the material appeared on the large screen—multi-layered composite, like a mille-feuille cake.

”Principle: Through a specially designed impedance gradient layer, radar waves undergo multiple reflections, interference, and absorption within the material, eventually converting into heat energy.” Wu Yi spoke quickly, as if in a hurry. ”Absorption frequency: 1-18GHz, covering the detection bands of major active radars. Absorption rate: -25dB, meaning 99.7% of radar waves are absorbed.”

Gasps came from the audience. A military reporter immediately realized the significance of this number—the most advanced active stealth coatings have an absorption rate of around -20dB.

”Weight: Only one-third of traditional stealth coatings,” Wu Yi continued. ”Weather resistance: Operates stably from minus fifty to three hundred degrees Celsius. Washable, won’t peel off, and the maintenance cycle has been extended from three months to two years.”

He paused to add key information: ”It has passed all military tests. In Radar Cross Section (RCS) tests, a J-10C model using ’Ghost Shadow’ coating saw its frontal radar reflection area reduced from 5 square meters to 0.01 square meters, equivalent to a sparrow.”

Someone in the audience began taking notes, the sound of the pen tip scratching the paper clearly audible.

”Second: the ’Heavenly Bow’ series ultra-strong carbon fiber.” Wu Yi switched the slide. ”Performance: Tensile strength 7.5GPa, modulus 450GPa. Comparison data: Japan’s Toray T1100 grade, tensile strength 7.0GPa, modulus 320GPa. We have surpassed them across the board.”

He pulled up cost data: ”In the current international market, T1100 grade carbon fiber sells for about 3,000 rmb per kilogram. The ’Heavenly Bow’ series has a production cost of 1,800 rmb and a selling price of 2,100 rmb. Only 70% of the price of imported products.”

”Capacity: The first production line has an annual output of five hundred tons. After the expansion is completed next June, it will be two thousand tons per year.”

Wu Yi finally looked up at the audience: ”Application areas: aircraft carrier arresting cables, C919 large aircraft fuselages, launch vehicle shells, satellite brackets, hypersonic missile bodies, fighter jet fuselages. Simply put—anywhere that needs to be light and strong.”

He put down the remote and leaned his hands on the podium: ”Both materials have complete independent intellectual property rights. From raw materials to production processes, they are 100% localized. No reliance on any foreign technology.”

The press conference lasted only twenty-five minutes. No Q&A, no interaction; Wu Yi left immediately after finishing. The reporters looked at each other, but everyone knew—they had just witnessed history.

The news leaked anyway, or rather, the authorities allowed it to leak.

At 4 PM that afternoon, sporadic posts began appearing on military forums: ”I heard Spark Technology made some god-tier stealth material?”

”Carbon fiber performance exceeding Toray? Real or fake?”

”If true, the J-20’s stealth performance is going up another level.”

At 6 PM, the ”Military Report” program on CCTV News Channel used five minutes to briefly introduce ”our country’s major breakthrough in the field of stealth materials.” Although it didn’t name Spark Technology, laboratory footage of the ”Ghost Shadow” material flashed on the screen.

The real thunderclap came the next day.

At 9 AM on September 16th, three Red Flag cars with military plates drove into the Spark Materials park.

General Zhao of the Department of National Defense Equipment, fifty-five years old, holding the rank of Major General, specifically responsible for the procurement of advanced materials. He wasn’t tall, but his back was straight, he walked with a gust of wind, and his eyes were as sharp as if they could see through people’s hearts.

Wu Yi met him at the door. When the two shook hands, General Zhao shook firmly three times: ”Mr. Wu, you’ve done something big.”

There were no pleasantries in the meeting room. General Zhao sat down and got straight to the point: ”We want both materials. Right now.”

The staff officer behind him opened a folder and took out two agreements.

”The ’Long-term Procurement Framework Agreement,’ the first phase is ten billion rmb, prepaid in full.” General Zhao pushed the agreement in front of Wu Yi. ”Don’t be surprised; we’ve been waiting for these two materials for ten years. Every year, the foreign exchange spent on importing high-end carbon fiber exceeds five billion. The funds spent on stealth material maintenance exceed three billion. Your products aren’t just better performing and lower priced; more importantly—they are secure.”

Wu Yi flipped through the agreement. The terms were simple: Spark Materials guarantees an annual supply of five hundred tons of ”Heavenly Bow” carbon fiber and three hundred tons of ”Ghost Shadow” coating. The military prepays in full to support the expansion of production lines.

”Prepaid in full...” Wu Yi was a bit hesitant. ”This doesn’t follow the conventional process.”

”Special cases require special handling,” General Zhao said. ”You need money to expand production, and we can’t wait. Sign it, and the money will arrive within three days. But I have one condition—capacity must prioritize the military. You can sell to the civilian market, but you need to lower the performance, and it cannot be exported or affect the military’s supply.”

”That goes without saying.”

”The second one, the ’Joint R&D Memorandum’.” General Zhao pushed another document. ”We will co-build the ’Joint Laboratory for Advanced Military Materials.’ The military will provide testing grounds, application scenarios, and requirement guidance. You will share some basic research data. The goal is simple—maintain the lead, and keep leading.”

Wu Yi took a deep breath and picked up the pen.

The signing ceremony was simple, right there in the meeting room. No media, no flowers, only representatives from both sides and a few witnesses. But every stroke of the pen carried immense weight.

After signing, General Zhao stood up and shook Wu Yi’s hand again.

”Mr. Wu, on behalf of the Department of National Defense Equipment, I thank Spark Materials.” The general’s voice softened slightly, a rare occurrence. ”You might not know what these two materials mean—they mean our fighter jets can fly more stealthily, missiles can strike further, and aircraft carriers can carry more. It means that on the battlefields of the future, our soldiers can bleed less.”

He paused, a flash of complex emotion in his eyes: ”My old comrade-in-arms, during the 1996 Strait Crisis, he flew a J-8. As soon as the radar warning receiver beeped, he knew he was locked on. Back then, our planes had no stealth capabilities; we could only rely on maneuvers to evade. In the end... he didn’t come back.”

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a breath.

”If we had ’Ghost Shadow’ back then...” General Zhao didn’t finish, just squeezed Wu Yi’s hand hard. ”So, thank you. Truly, thank you.”

After seeing off the military delegation, Wu Yi returned to his office and sat in his chair, unmoving for a long time.

At 3 PM, he dialed Su Chen’s number.

”President Su, the agreement is signed. Ten billion, prepaid in full.”

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, then Su Chen said: ”Understood. Do two things: first, expand capacity, but the quality must not drop; second, upgrade the protection of the core team, especially those senior experts in basic research.”

”It’s already being arranged,” Wu Yi said. ”But I have a feeling—from today on, Spark Materials will become a thorn in many people’s sides.”

”Then let them stare,” Su Chen’s voice was calm and firm. ”We are doing what is beneficial for the country. What is there to fear?”

That evening at 7 PM, Xinwen Lianbo.

The second news item, lasting three minutes and fifteen seconds—a rare length for technology news.

The anchor spoke with perfect articulation: ”Today, our country has achieved a major breakthrough in the field of cutting-edge military materials...”

The screen switched: Wu Yi demonstrating material performance in the lab, General Zhao’s signing ceremony, animations of the material’s microstructure, footage of a J-20 fighter jet flying across the sky, and a test video of aircraft carrier arresting cables.

Key phrases appeared repeatedly:

”Complete independent intellectual property rights”

”Performance reaching international leading levels”

”Will significantly enhance the stealth performance and lightweighting of our national defense equipment”

”Another important achievement of the military-civilian integration strategy”

Three minutes and fifteen seconds, every second worth its weight in gold.

When the news aired, Su Chen was having dinner in his office—a simple boxed meal. He put down his chopsticks and looked at the television screen.

Lin Wan pushed the door open, unable to suppress her excitement: ”President Su, Xinwen Lianbo! Over three minutes!”

”I saw it.” Su Chen continued eating.

”Aren’t you excited? This is Xinwen Lianbo!”

”I am,” Su Chen nodded. ”But Lin Wan, do you know what the most dangerous thing is right now?”

Lin Wan thought for a moment: ”Technical leaks? Competitors tripping us up?”

”No.” Su Chen shook his head. ”It’s that we are being held too high. The chip hasn’t come out yet, the car model hasn’t been successfully delivered, and now military materials have been added. If any link goes wrong, it will become a breakthrough point to attack the entire xinghuo system.”

He walked to the window; the night view of Shenzhen was as brilliant as a galaxy.

”We are currently running on a tightrope. chips, cars, materials—three lines, none of which can fall. If one falls, the whole game is lost.”

Lin Wan fell silent.

Su Chen turned around: ”Arrange tomorrow’s itinerary to the Imperial Capital. Also, notify the heads of all subsidiaries: next week’s meeting has only one theme—crisis management. Achievements should be publicized, but we must stay clear-headed. Secondly, have Li Jianfeng set up the Group Security Department and recruit 1,000 veterans, with special forces preferred, monthly salary 20,000 plus social security and housing fund.”

”Yes.”

After Lin Wan left, Su Chen sat back at his desk. He opened his computer; Spark Technology occupied three of the top five trending topics on the Chinese microblogging platform:

#China Breakthroughs Stealth Material Technology# (Hot)

#Spark Military Materials# (Hot)

#Xingchen Military Industry 10 Billion Order#

The fourth was: #car model 50,000 Orders#

The fifth was: #chip Price Drop Wave#

Netizens’ comments had already reached hundreds of thousands:

”Does Spark Technology find alien tech every day?”

”Yesterday I was worried Red Flag wouldn’t sell, today you tell me Spark is making stealth fighter materials?”

”10 billion prepaid in full! How desperate is the military to use this?!”

”J-20: I heard I’m getting new clothes?”

”So what exactly is Spark? Making chips? Making cars? Making stealth materials? Is there anything they can’t do?”

”Is this the legendary ’three-front war’? And they’re winning them all?”

Su Chen read them one by one, his face expressionless.

He closed the webpage, opened the internal system, and pulled up three reports:

chip line: Progress 85%, Risk: High

Car line: Orders 50,000, Risk: Extremely High

Material line: Orders 10 billion, Risk: Medium

Three-front war, three risks.

Outside, the night in Shenzhen grew deeper. This sleepless city was still brightly lit.

Su Chen picked up his phone and sent the same message to three people: ”Stay steady, don’t get cocky.”

Recipients: Li Weimin, Zhou Qingyu, Wu Yi.

Three minutes later, three replies arrived almost simultaneously:

Li Weimin: ”Understood, the chip team is working overtime to optimize the final algorithm.”

Zhou Qingyu: ”Received. The factory rework line is still rushing; all 300 cars will be qualified by tomorrow morning.”

Wu Yi: ”Don’t worry. The production workshop is doing its best to increase capacity for the military delivery as soon as possible.”

Su Chen looked at these three replies and finally smiled.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the city he had fought in for many years. In the distance, the waters of Shencheng Bay shimmered under the moonlight, and the traffic on the cross-sea bridge flowed like a silver river.

Three-front war, three battles.

chips are the future, cars are the present, materials are the foundation.

None of them can be lost.

Because what is lost is not just commercial interests, but the dignity of a nation on the technological battlefield.

The phone vibrated again. It was a reminder from his secretary: ”President Su, the flight to the Imperial Capital tomorrow morning is at 7:00. Should I send you home to rest now?”

Su Chen glanced at his watch: 11:20 PM.

”No,” he said. ”I’ll stay a bit longer.”

He needed to think about how to report to the higher-level leaders at tomorrow’s meeting: how far Spark’s three-front war could actually go.

The night grew deeper. But the lights of Shenzhen remained as bright as day.