Chapter 464: The Last Shred Of Dignity
“Heh, Ran, you’re really popular.”
The morning after the video aired, Li Xiaoman complained in Lin Ran’s office.
After Lin Ran returned from the moon landing, they confirmed their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.
But because Lin Ran often had to use the door to go to another spacetime, the two never lived together from beginning to end.
For Lin Ran, it was perfect to use the workaholic image to avoid being noticed for abnormalities from living together.
Even the closest person, Lin Ran wouldn’t tell them about the door.
Of course, because Lin Ran was indeed a workaholic, Li Xiaoman didn’t find anything strange.
Lin Ran stayed year-round in the sub-high floors of Apollo Technology Headquarters Building, with the top floor and second floor as spaces exclusive to him.
Why the sub-high floors? Afraid Americans would go mad and use a missile for precise positioning, taking him out in one shot.
Although the possibility was extremely low, it had to be guarded against.
Lin Ran glanced at Li Xiaoman, then continued looking at the emails on his screen, replying while saying, “Yeah, because I’m a top stream. Isn’t it normal for top streams to be popular?”
Li Xiaoman thought about it, and there really wasn’t anything wrong with it.
Lin Ran was indeed an out-and-out top stream.
Like entertainment circle top streams, no works, yet had his own super topic and fans.
Lin Ran had many fans, among them female fans on Weibo had even crystallized.
Die-hard beyond die-hard.
The super topic was in the past.
Later, after she coordinated with Weibo officials, it was shut down.
Because Lin Ran’s personal super topic not only praised Lin Ran, but was also filled with abuse toward various women close to Lin Ran, with her being the most abused.
The most serious incident was idle fans tracking Li Xiaoman, uploading photos online, and making up all sorts of stories.
Going to Hong Kong was delivering information to America, going to an outer place was dating, such extreme behaviors were countless.
Far more extreme than entertainment circle fans.
This was the ecosystem of Chinese Internet, especially cesspools like Weibo.
And precisely because of such incidents, there was justification to shut down the super topic.
Shutting down the super topic didn’t mean the fans disappeared; crystal fans wouldn’t melt so easily.
This group of crystal fans regrouped on Xiaohongshu, existing in more hidden ways, with even more extreme attacks on Li Xiaoman.
“Ran, what do you think the situation would be like if we were still in America now?” Li Xiaoman asked.
Lin Ran replied without thinking, “Probably locked in some secret laboratory, with ample material supply guaranteed, but forget about freedom.
Think about it, your great uncle’s family, and I were just tenant and landlord, and to this day they haven’t been released. I can’t think of any possibility for us to gain freedom.
Unless I only showed my talent in the field of mathematics, became a mathematician, found a teaching job in New York, and honestly stayed out of sensitive fields. But the problem is, such a life I’m really unwilling to accept, and it’s even more meaningless.”
Li Xiaoman sighed, because she knew Lin Ran was telling the truth.
After the five years from 2020 to 2025, the extent to which Americans weren’t human far exceeded her imagination, and what happened in Middle East made her see America’s essence clearly.
Among American Asians, the white left proportion was very low, most were old conservatives, so many of them blindly supported big T.
But Asian women would differ, especially liberal arts Asian women, because of the education environment plus Asian women being favored groups during Donkey Party rule, so their white left probability was higher.
On the contrary, those Chinese descent women who grew up in China, then married Americans and immigrated, had the highest old conservative proportion.
“Just like the lever I mentioned in the interview, America’s lever can’t be used by me unless I’m a white person.”
“Purgative, a few insights, the deepest is that Ran Shen doesn’t seem like his peers at all; he matured too early. I suspect he started preparing for aerospace from high school or even earlier, preparing for one day to do the moon landing.
What looks like a miracle of moon landing in one year is actually ten-plus years sharpening one sword behind the scenes.
Principles like the lever, at my age of over thirty, it’s hard for me to summarize so precisely. I have similar awareness, but can’t condense it into theory.
I don’t think this is Ran Shen’s thinking from these few years; I think it’s thinking he had even earlier.
Ten-plus years sharpening one sword, he prepared himself and figured out what lever to find.
Didn’t you notice a detail? That when he was just a current PhD student, he could meet Bezos? At that time he was just a PhD in artificial intelligence at State University of New York, and he could get Bezos to sponsor the moon landing.
For a normal person, they probably wouldn’t even dare think that way, right?
Even Musk sold his PayPal shares, took the seed funding, and then founded SpaceX.
What Ran Shen thought was to ask the world’s richest man Bezos for money, and Bezos actually met him. I’m really curious how he did it?
Just meeting Bezos is extremely difficult for a person of Chinese descent.
The meeting here isn’t just a simple greeting, but fully presenting your concept, your ideas to him—simply put, a one-on-one project pitch.
It can be said Ran Shen’s first lever was Bezos, but Bezos missed the biggest opportunity in his life.
The second was former NASA employees; this lever succeeded, and he used these Cold War golden age former employees to successfully complete Apollo Moon Landing.
I dare say, even if the second lever didn’t work, Ran Shen could find a third lever, like China’s state-owned capital.
Compared to Boss Jia and Boss Ma, their wealth levers came from the barbaric era, transporting American business models and localizing them in China.
Ran Shen is the amplification of humanity’s wisdom limit.
The second thought is, although Tim, with 50 million fans across the net, is a very successful entrepreneur, in the interview with Ran Shen he was too passive. He said he prepared adequately, but throughout, he was completely led by the nose by Ran Shen.
All topics were set by Ran Shen; after watching the whole program, I feel there’s no difference with or without him.
Next time, can Teacher Luo come? Or simply have higher-status and level entrepreneurs like Pony, Boss Ma, Lei Zong do the interview. This interview was a bit too uneven.
Finally on the lever, I think most people should practice expression well, starting from family, colleagues, direct superiors, clearly stating things is a very important ability, and how to quietly claim merit for yourself and shift blame to others—these are essential skills for promotion in the workplace.
By the way, for workplace advancement, you need your direct leader not to dislike you, and your leader’s leader to have favorability toward you.
The former is work scope, the latter is interpersonal relations outside work hours. In this process, ordinary people without connections can only accumulate favorability through expression.
Ran Shen is really kind, even teaching this hidden studies, but for the vast majority, it’s useless unless someone hand-holds you, gives suggestions based on your situation, helps you adjust anytime; otherwise, by the time you comprehend, the opportunity is long gone.
Normal people don’t have that many opportunities to miss.”
“As a young scholar, I often see two completely opposite viewpoints on Chinese Internet.
One is that academia doesn’t need social graces, scientists don’t need to understand social graces.
In reality, in academia, whether evaluating titles or competing for projects, social graces are needed. Every year in academician elections, how much work these academician candidates do privately is hard for outsiders to imagine.
These academician candidates’ achievements are amplified through platforms, academia big shots, media these levers, finally competing for those few academician spots.
The other is that academia values social graces the most, even Hawking coming to China had to toast.
The accurate situation is, whether domestic or foreign, whether academia or other circles, social graces are very important.
And geniuses easily master these; IQ and EQ aren’t contradictory. If getting along with a high-IQ person makes you uncomfortable, it only means one thing: the other party doesn’t need to flatter you.
From the viewpoints Ran Shen showed in accepting the interview, he’s definitely maxed out in EQ too, and what’s truly valuable for ordinary people is learning expression, learning how to smoothly achieve goals.
Let me give the simplest example.
Blind dates; many colleagues around me found partners through blind dates, and I’ve done them too.
For older single science and engineering men, their communication is straight-line: ask whatever they want directly, which often makes the other feel offended and fails to achieve their purpose.
I have a colleague very concerned about the other’s family background; asking directly gets no answer or a vague one.
At such times, if you want to know, learn expression: first introduce your own situation to induce the other to reveal theirs.
Expression, for ordinary people, is a required course; more bluntly, it can be seen as a lever—how to make language your lever to achieve goals at minimal cost.”
Lin Ran’s interview program caused heated discussion on the internet; on Zhihu, answers about this program exceeded five thousand.
No way, Lin Ran was even more of a top stream among top streams on Zhihu.
At this moment, with global attention focused on this space rescue, on Lin Ran, Central News Agency, after a year, published a report: “The Destroyer of the Free World’s Semiconductor Industrial Chain.”
The central here isn’t Mainland, it’s the other side’s central.
The report came from Central News Agency’s special investigation team.
“Central News Agency’s year-long in-depth investigation reveals a meticulously planned silent war from surface financial markets to East Asia semiconductor industry, targeting the 4v semiconductor industrial chain.
This war, without smoke, has dealt a devastating blow to our economic lifeline, especially companies dependent on mature process and mid-downstream supply chain.”
Content detailed, including a large number of photos.
Among them, photos of Old John Morgan frequently entering and exiting Shanghai Apollo Technology Headquarters Building.
Throughout 2026, Old John Morgan went to Apollo Technology Headquarters Building at least once a month.
Central News Agency matched each Wall Street short selling attack with Old John Morgan’s time in Shanghai, finding the interval often less than a week.
Often, just after in Shanghai, then Old John Morgan back to Tokyo, the financial offensive began.
Also revealed the reason for China’s rapid semiconductor progress: China built a whole new lens system through Japan’s NIL lithography machine technology, solving the core lens system.
Similarly with photos, even including internal information from Shanghai microelectronics, introducing this technology route.
Once this report came out, it was the real tsunami.
Especially in East Asia’s Japan and Korea.
Making them truly fearful.
Would America sell them out too? Would America use the same method as in the report to harvest our financial market?
These two places were in some ways not even as good as 4v; 4v at least had no American troops stationed, but these two have stationed troops, Korea has American-controlled prosecutors, Japan has American-controlled Tokyo District Prosecutors.
Deeper control, more unable to resist.
For a time, the report was frequently forwarded, shaking the free world.
Europe shouting that America is abandoning allies, G2 is for real.
After all, if America can cooperate on this, what can’t they cooperate on?
Japan and Korea were terrified.
Anyone could become chips pushed by America onto the negotiation table.
At the emergency meeting in Tokyo, the newly appointed prime minister had a face full of bitterness. How did I get such a situation right away? How am I, a prime minister who rose by right turn, supposed to operate? Friendly to China? That’s political suicide.
“Everyone, I’ve read this report three times. Both the financial sector and NSS have confirmed that the report’s descriptions of Morgan fund’s operation methods, the panic outflow of 4V mid-downstream companies, and most critically, America’s tacit approval of loosening Japanese technology controls, all have high credibility.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs angrily said, “This is simply betrayal! Washington actually tacitly allowed Wall Street capital led by Morgan to carry out financial plunder for a strategic deal with China! If they can sacrifice them, what reason do they have not to use the same means against us?”
The Finance Minister was more concerned with economic risk: “Minister of Foreign Affairs, please calm down.
But from an economic perspective, our vulnerability is even higher than.
Korea and we are Wall Street’s more delicious cake.
Our financial market is more open, asset scale larger.
If they short Japanese yen bonds in the same way, while using our military dependence on America for political pressure, our self-defense ability is almost zero.”
Everyone knew complaining was useless; Japan must take action.
After a moment of silence, the prime minister said, “This is not the time for mutual accusations.
The conclusion is clear: we can’t put all our eggs in the Washington basket anymore.
Our core goal is crisis hedging.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, immediately launch the warming-up plan for relations with China.
I need you within 48 hours to arrange a high-spec, informal visit, sending a clear signal to Yanjing side: Japan is willing to bear more shared responsibility on Asia-Pacific economic stability and supply chain security.
We need deeper economic bundling with China.
We haven’t done enough in the past.”
The prime minister then turned to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry: “For restrictions on semiconductor materials and equipment exports to China, immediately find loosening space not dependent on America.
We must create a layer of interest firewall, making Washington and Wall Street think twice before moving us.”
He then added, “Additionally in finance, we will launch a secret stabilization fund for Japanese yen and Japan government bonds market, preventing any possible financial raid.
At the same time, instruct financial institutions to cautiously welcome China sovereign wealth fund investments in our high technology companies.”
Tokyo Chiyoda’s elites knew they were undergoing a difficult but necessary strategic shift.
After all, no one wanted to be on the menu.
Korea’s reaction was similar.
Less than 12 hours after Central News Agency’s report triggered the tsunami, anger from Washington directly burned to Tokyo’s Nagatacho.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Muto’s phone was woken by an encrypted call in the midnight.
On the other end was White House Senior Official Rutnik from the Commerce Department, his tone filled with arrogance and command.
“Muto, what are you doing?
The report has caused anger from the public to Congress.
On semiconductor exports, I don’t need to hear any explanations.
Now, in the name of highest security, I demand immediate, right now, stop all exports of nanoimprint lithography technology and related materials.”
Muto had just been woken from sleep, but the three letters NIL quickly sobered him, fist clenched. Damn Americans, we didn’t want to sell in the first place, it was all you forcing us to sell?
Made us sell before, now tells us not to sell? What do they take us for?
“We discovered that recently a large number of NIL technology authorizations and material orders are accelerating toward China.
This must stop! The ban will officially pass at 8 a.m. Tokyo time tomorrow; you have seven hours to ensure all goods stop shipping.”
Without waiting for Muto to reply, Rutnik on the Washington side hung up.
Muto, this veteran politician who had been in the cabinet since the Abe era, a Chiyoda big shot, was no different from a house servant before White House high officials.
He looked at the black Japanese-style room, took a deep breath. This was Washington clearly telling them: your fate is still in our hands.
However, after taking the call, Muto’s choice was to play both sides.
He immediately contacted the METI (Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s English abbreviation) official responsible for trade.
“Listen, America’s restrictions will take effect at eight.
What we do now is: ship out all completed production and pending shipment NIL-related orders from Japan ports before eight.”
This wasn’t for economic profit, but to project goodwill to Yanjing.
In the eyes of elites like Muto, since they couldn’t prevent big powers from exploiting them in the future, before being exploited, they must first send a favor to China’s core strategic project.
Who says foreigners don’t care about social graces?
METI official called back twenty minutes later: “Minister Muto, currently three batches of high-purity NIL polymer photoresist materials and one batch of high-precision quartz molds have passed quality inspection, waiting for loading at Yokohama Port and Osaka Port.
I’m now immediately coordinating customs and ports to open green channels, but completing loading and departure procedures before eight.”
Muto had already communicated with the prime minister and gotten approval.
He decisively said, “Tell the ports, this is highest priority national emergency transportation.
Ensure all documents and procedures completed within seven hours.
We must let this batch of goods reach international waters before the ban takes effect.”
In his heart was faint sorrow. Is this the sorrow unique to small countries? Clearly just recently experienced unbearable past in international waters, now he surprisingly had to think for China.
In a private room of a high-end bar in Xinyi District, two middle-aged men sat facing each other.
Both looked exceptionally haggard.
This might be Wu Jianzhong and Chen Xiaoxian’s last gathering; the latter was about to return to America, feeling no hope in Taipei.
“Is that report meant to counterattack?” Chen Xiaoxian asked, tone still holding some hope.
The past year-plus had really made him feel stifled.
The public felt the rising cost of living, capital market turmoil, blue-green mutual attacks on TV programs, society’s resentment intensifying.
They were numb to the harvesting by American daddy far across the Pacific Ocean.
But how could Chen Xiaoxian be numb?
He was a financial practitioner, facing data, K-lines, and order books daily, feeling the sharp scythe from Wall Street.
Every plunge was one harvest by this scythe.
Such harvests in the past were countless.
What he couldn’t accept most was that Taipei still cooperated with Wall Street’s harvesting.
Right, from Chen Xiaoxian’s perspective, many times Taipei cooperated with Wall Street’s harvesting, which was what he couldn’t accept most.
Many times, Taipei’s market stabilization measures just provided liquidity for Wall Street’s precise harvesting.
Taipei wasn’t passively victimized; it was cooperating in the performance.
This feeding-the-eagle-with-one’s-body behavior was the final straw making Chen Xiaoxian decide after a year to leave for elsewhere.
Wu Jianzhong drained the wine in his glass, saying wistfully, “You think this report is the horn of counterattack; actually it’s a wail of despair.
The report’s audience isn’t Wall Street or Yanjing, but Tokyo, Seoul, and ourselves.
This is our last time, in the most dignified way, proving to the world how we were betrayed.”
Wu Jianzhong leaned forward slightly, tone heavy, pulling the current dilemma into historical dimension.
Wu Jianzhong: “Xiaoxian, do you remember 1971? The United Nations General Assembly resolution.”
Chen Xiaoxian nodded; it was the pain in their hearts.
Wu Jianzhong: “At that time, we were expelled from the United Nations.
The slogan then was no standing together with Han thieves, active withdrawal.
Why active withdrawal?
Because we knew, no matter how we struggled, the trend was gone.
Today’s situation is 1971’s economic version replay.
We originally wanted to struggle, but after China completed lunar orbit rescue, we knew there was zero chance, no chance at all.
Back then it was America’s power structure choosing political abandonment; now it’s America’s capital structure choosing economic harvesting.”
Chen Xiaoxian swallowed, of course he knew what lunar orbit interception meant; compared to moon, Mars, solar system, they really counted for nothing.
“If America wants to continue this space race game with China, they can’t anger China; they need time for their moon base, time for their lunar electromagnetic rail.” Wu Jianzhong continued.
Chen Xiaoxian asked, “You mean we don’t even have the chance for active withdrawal this time? We’re required to cooperate in the performance, watching ourselves being hollowed out?”
Wu Jianzhong nodded: “Right. In 1971, our allies still gave us the dignity of active exit.
But today, Washington doesn’t even give us that dignity.
They require us to keep shouting we’re their allies, while using our assets, technology, and talent as chips in deals with Yanjing.
That report is our era’s final exit statement.
We’re telling Japan and Korea: See clearly how Washington treats allies! You’ll be next!”
He picked up the wine bottle, pouring the last glass for both.
“Pity, no matter how loud the shout, it can’t change our fate of being expelled from the global industrial chain core.
Xiaoxian, you’re right to leave.
You’re just repeating those diplomats’ choices back then: before humiliation arrives, at least choose a safer place.”
Chen Xiaoxian looked at the lights reflected in the wine glass, eyes full of bleakness.
He knew Wu Jianzhong spoke the truth.
He could leave, but where could this land go?
