As the cold, indifferent military officer departed.
The banquet hall appeared harmonious and cheerful.
The previously equal footing among the magnates now clearly displayed distinctions of status and respect.
Chen Kun's father became the center of attention; Lin Hecheng's father, while receiving slightly less flattery than Chen Kun's father, was not far behind.
The group of extremely contemptuous wealthy wives and ladies toward Chen Kun and Lin Hecheng.
At this moment, they displayed the practiced acting skills honed from years in high society, shamelessly and excessively showering them with praise.
"Oh, these two brothers, they truly are silent unless they strike, and strike with astonishing force… Compared to them, my son, who merely reads from a script at UN assemblies, is utter garbage!"
"An acceptance letter from Ivy League, my heavens, it's practically worthless… It's your sons who are truly accomplished, managing to get involved with missions prioritized by the military!"
"What nonsense is Wall Street? Going there is just being an employee. It would be better for my useless son to follow these two paragons, Chen Kun and Lin Hecheng, and learn from them… Even a shred of their knowledge would benefit them for a lifetime."
"..."
A flood of flattery.
It made Chen Kun and Lin Hecheng's parents ecstatic.
Never underestimate the depths to which businessmen would sink.
To make money, they would eat dirt.
Let alone such simple matters as acting and flattering.
It must be known that the multi-trillion dollar orders undertaken by the Chen Kun and Lin Hecheng families were something their respective companies, with their current capabilities, could never handle alone.
Since partners were needed, why not them?
Keep the benefits within the family, as it were.
Of course, compared to making money, they were more concerned with the relationship with the military.
Previously, the three cold-faced officers who casually discarded a multi-trillion business deal and repurchased Chen Kun's mechs, as well as compensated Lin Hecheng for his surrendered mech.
Those were close attendants to the highest commanders of the military!
Who knew what kind of connection Chen Kun and Lin Hecheng had managed to forge with them.
Regardless, getting closer to these two families could only be beneficial.
At the very least, when they feasted, there might be some soup left for them to drink!
At the banquet tables, all was convivial.
The adults chatted animatedly, laughing heartily, in perfect harmony.
As for Chen Kun and Lin Hecheng.
These two unfortunate souls were causing trouble again.
Chen Kun: "Brother, my mech is gone… I barely had time to enjoy it… If I order another one, who knows when it will arrive… That was the first powered mech produced by Huarong Industries, and it was even personally piloted by Meng Hao…"
Lin Hecheng: "Brother, don't even mention it. My goddess is gone… She joined the military. I don't even qualify to curry favor with her anymore… Before, Uncle Zhang Weimin was just a colonel, and I could still pursue Zhang Qianjin… Now, if I dared to pursue her, it would be harassment of a current female military officer…"
"Brother, let's down this 30-year-old Maotai!"
"Brother, let's drink this, and then have three more."
"..."
Amidst the peaceful, harmonious, and joyous banquet atmosphere.
The two children who had their beloved toys snatched away, and the pathetic admirer who couldn't get close to his goddess, gulped down wine and cried on each other's shoulders.
"Speaking of which, why are these two kids crying?"
"It's all thanks to them that we could take on such a huge order and connect with military headquarters!"
"They must be overwhelmed with emotion, feeling they've contributed so much to us!"
"Youngsters are truly formidable; they already know how to share business burdens with the family at such a young age. So filial."
"This Maotai tastes good, intoxicating but not disorienting, and without a hangover. Let these two little heroes drink their fill!"
"Waiter, bring over the aged Maotai we stored here earlier!"
"And mine too."
"Bring up the two bottles I stored as well. Let these two little heroes and iron brothers drink to their heart's content!"
"Not just them, we must also have our fun!"
And so.
Under the tearful embrace of the two clowns, the banquet atmosphere reached its zenith!
...
Online.
The outcry against Meng Hao grew louder and louder.
Initially.
It was just a pinned announcement on a small website, with hot search topics bought on other social media.
But, soon.
These hot search topics bought by the small website were removed.
However.
This did not mean the condemnation of Meng Hao had ended.
Small Website: We firmly boycott Huarong Industries for using live broadcasts to shamelessly leech off military traffic… Our deep cooperation partner, Aoshi Heavy Industries, backed by General Dynamics of the United States, possesses the world's most cutting-edge mech technology. Only they can build the finest products…
DouYin: We resolutely condemn Meng Hao for hyping the concept of military robots. We must open our eyes and make the correct choice… Tianping Industrial, which has invested heavily in advertising on our platform, is backed by France's Thales Group. The hundred-year-old, unyielding Thales Group brings you a completely different new mech experience…
BiHu: We sternly boycott Huarong Industries, founded by Meng Hao. This behavior of exploiting military enterprises is extremely base, vulgar, and irresponsible… Currently on an aircraft carrier in BiHu, when it comes to technology, who is best? Ultimately, it's BiHu. Our partner, Qilin New Technology, is the sole authorized mech manufacturer globally for the British Royal Korm. A century-old enterprise, ever-renewing, constantly innovating, demonstrating true quality…
Xiaohongshu: …
Toutiao: …
And so on, dozens of online social platforms.
It was evident.
Their boycott of Meng Hao was false.
Their true objective was to elevate the mech concept stock prices and reap profits by demeaning Meng Hao and suppressing Huarong Industries, thereby promoting the mech companies they cooperated with.
A domestic market for hundreds of thousands of mechs, conservatively estimated.
A market cake share worth hundreds of billions.
This was enough to drive those profit-driven "entrepreneurs" mad.
As for Meng Hao?
Who is this guy?!
Huarong Industries?
Even if it's the "Light of National Products," what's the use if it doesn't make money?!
In an instant.
The internet was filled with a chaotic dance of demons.
As for the "mech products" from various foreign brands they plastered, often mismatched and bizarre.
What about their quality, controllability, and overall performance?
Did it matter?
As long as it made money, that was enough.
After all, in the minds of many Chinese people, foreign goods were always the best.
The mech concept was indeed introduced by Meng Hao!
But.
Who told Huarong Industries to be so focused on quality?
Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of users holding money, begging them to pre-order.
Yet, they claimed insufficient production capacity and the pursuit of quality as reasons.
After pre-selling less than three hundred units, they shut down the pre-sale link!
Not making money when it's readily available, wasn't that idiotic behavior?
Well.
If Meng Hao wasn't going to make this money.
Then Chen Juntian, the "Uncle" of the small website, and Dong Jian, the "pseudo-foreigner" from Aoshi Heavy Industries, wouldn't hesitate.
As for whether it would all fall apart later, did it matter?
Even if someone had to take the blame, it would be Meng Hao and his Huarong Industries, wouldn't it?
As for them?!
They were just scrambling for money.
Grasping at leeks.
Making money!
Deceiving people!
Fooling them!
It wasn't shameful!