Chapter 79: Business is Like Battlefield

“What technology are you getting this time?”

Inside the huge space of the Science and Technology Library, Elder Shu stood before Chen Mo. He had already reached book number 743. This was his effort over the past two months, after obtaining the Laser Sensor.

He read over 140 books in two months, a much slower speed than before. But he did not mind. Only 257 books remained to complete the first stage.

After the Laser Sensor was created, Chen Mo had been thinking about the technology he would acquire next. He only decided to start obtaining it today.

“A design for a humanoid robot, something achievable with current technology. Elder Shu, please display some designs related to appearance so I can take a look,” said Chen Mo.

“Very well.”

Elder Shu waved his hand, and the central area of the Science and Technology Library was instantly filled with densely packed books, all featuring humanoid robots on their covers.

Chen Mo felt his scalp tingle. All of these were humanoid robots, many of them as large as Transformers. Whether they were just for display or had some practical use, Chen Mo had no idea.

“Make the size that of a normal human,” Chen Mo said, steeling himself.

“Very well.” Elder Shu waved his hand again, and all the other robots vanished. Immediately afterward, another set of robot design books appeared to take their place.

Chen Mo did not care how many books were here; it did not matter anymore.

He knew that even if he developed technology without any restraint for the rest of his life, he would not be able to bring out all the technologies stored here.

Chen Mo searched through the pile of books and finally selected one with a relatively appealing design and a less difficult manufacturing process.

At his Novice level, the design blueprint he obtained did not include software. However, Chen Mo was not worried. He could write the software himself or let Ink Girl handle it. What his Laboratory needed more was an assistant to help out.

Xiaoyu did not understand technology and also could not stay by his side every day. Chen Mo did not fully trust others, as there were simply too many secrets. The existence of Artificial Intelligence could not be revealed for now, so he decided to choose a Robot assistant.

As soon as Chen Mo came out of the Science and Technology Library with the Robot design blueprint, Zhao Min entered his Office.

“Apple contacted us. Cook wants to invite you to discuss cooperation.”

Chen Mo sank into thought, then shook his head after a moment. “Tell them I can’t leave the company right now. If they want to talk about cooperation, they can come here to meet me. Asking us to go to them is a different matter—it would seem like we’re the ones begging them for cooperation.”

Zhao Min nodded, agreeing with Chen Mo. She was just informing him. If Chen Mo had chosen to go, she would have reminded him. Since Chen Mo said this, it meant he had already weighed the pros and cons.

“I also found it strange why he wouldn’t come here to talk with us. Logically, if they want to cooperate, they should take the initiative to visit us,” Zhao Min said.

“Who said they’re here to discuss cooperation with us? Did Cook publicly announce that he came to discuss cooperation?” Chen Mo looked at Zhao Min.

Chen Mo’s words made Zhao Min suddenly realize she had fallen into a trap of habitual thinking.

She knew Cook was visiting Binhai City to cooperate with them. But they had only received a phone call—they hadn’t actually met him in person. There was still much room for interpretation.

“The media claimed the cooperation; Cook never publicly stated the purpose of his visit to Binhai. The outside world believes he came for our company, and we also were sure they wanted to cooperate.

But as long as he hasn’t stepped into our company, it doesn’t count as an official visit. If we rush over to meet him, the media narrative could shift drastically, and we might be finished,” Chen Mo said.

If they went to see Cook, the meaning would change. They knew it was Apple who invited them, but outsiders and the media did not.

At that point, the media could say they actively sought Apple’s cooperation—or put more harshly, that they were groveling before Apple, showing no integrity. The reputation Legion Ant Company had built would be completely ruined, with no way to explain.

Once such a thing happened, to the unaware public, it wouldn’t be Cook discussing cooperation with them, but rather Legion Ant Company rushing to latch onto Cook when he came to town.

Legion Ant Company had experienced the violence of online rumors more than once.

He did not know what Cook was thinking, but he had to be cautious. Business is like a battlefield; a small decision-making error could lead to disastrous consequences.

“Another possible reason is that there are too reporters around. He might have wanted to keep his visit discreet and not let the media know. Unfortunately, the news got leaked,” Chen Mo said with a laugh.

“The CEO of the world’s most valuable company personally coming to see us would normally be impossible. Maybe it’s because after Butterfly Eye was released and Smart Assistant didn’t support the IOS system, Apple’s stock kept falling, and he got desperate. That’s why he lowered his status to come here. You have to remember who he met on his previous visits to Huaxia,” Chen Mo added.

Cook had visited the State Council several times and met with vice premiers, the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, and the Chairman of China Mobile. As long as Cook and Chen Mo had not met, there was no official contact between the two parties.

If Cook were to enter Legion Ant Company under the media’s spotlight, it would undoubtedly lower his status. So instead, he invited Chen Mo to come to him, keeping the initiative in his own hands.

If the cooperation did not work out, Cook could then visit other cities or drop by a phone store, calling it ‘market research.’

In that scenario, Apple would hold the upper hand. If the cooperation failed, it could be spun as Legion Ant Company rushing to Apple to beg for cooperation—only to be rejected.

Then online backlash would follow, and it would be their company in trouble. Regardless of whether the two sides eventually cooperated, Apple could walk away unscathed.

“It seems my worry was unnecessary,” Zhao Min said.

In principle, she would not have agreed for Chen Mo to meet Cook either. The moment Chen Mo pointed out that Cook never publicly announced his purpose for coming to Binhai, she knew he had already thought through the situation.

“Refuse their invitation. If they visit, we welcome them. If not, that’s fine too. We are not in such a desperate state that we have to obediently go talk cooperation just because they made a phone call.”

Chen Mo did not have particularly strong feelings about the Apple brand. After all, their products were indeed better than others.

However, he did not particularly like Jobs, Apple’s founder.

Jobs had been idolized in Huaxia, but many people did not know that Jobs never set foot in Huaxia in his entire life and held extreme arrogance and prejudice toward Huaxia.

He did not even bother to hide his disdain for this Eastern nation in public. When the Apple iPhone first launched, he said he had no plans to enter the Huaxia market. Later, for the sake of profit, he had no choice but to come.

Perhaps influenced by this arrogance and prejudice, Apple treated consumers in Huaxia differently from other consumers.

Previous issues like the double standard in warranty policies, and later the 30% fee on tipping—known as the Apple tax—were repeated attempts to squeeze domestic consumers. The drop in Apple sales was partly due to Apple’s own mistakes.

As Jobs’ successor, Cook might appear friendly toward Huaxia, but Chen Mo did not believe there was not a trace of arrogance deep down. The Apple tax incident was one example. With Jobs gone, Cook had to visit Huaxia repeatedly to maintain Apple’s performance.

After understanding Chen Mo’s thoughts, Zhao Min left his Office. Once she was gone, Chen Mo called Ink Girl and asked her to help organize the materials and design blueprints needed for the Robot. As for the Apple matter, he would let things take their course. He would not go to them on his own—that was his principle.