In the Chinese mobile phone industry, competition had always been fierce. But behind the scenes? Everyone knew the truth.
Cooperation and competition weren't opposites—they were inseparable.
And now, that balance was being shaken.
Across the Pacific, in Apple's Cupertino headquarters, Tim Cook stared at a report his assistant had just handed him.
The contents made his expression freeze.
Last year's A7 chip, once a point of pride, had been completely outclassed. And the company responsible? A rising firm from China.
China Star Technologies had done the unthinkable: they outperformed Apple on Apple's turf—chip design.
Cook's hand tightened slightly around the report.
"How is this possible?" he muttered.
Apple had leaned on its ironclad ecosystem—iOS and the A-series chips for years.
After Jobs passed, innovation slowed, but the margins kept climbing. That was enough—for a while.
But now, they were being squeezed.
Cook recalled what everyone in the tech world knew: Apple had long mastered chip R&D. They were already prototyping the A10, even while the upcoming iPhone 6 was prepping to ship with the A8.
But the reality was harsh. The A8 only offered a 20% performance boost over the A7.
Incremental progress. Not innovation.
Now the problem was clear.
If CS's chip, used in the Hongmeng S2, was already matching the A8, then what kind of monster would be inside their Hongmeng X series?
Cook turned to his assistant.
"How far along is A9 production?"
"Eight hundred thousand units have already rolled out," the assistant replied after checking his phone.
Cook hesitated for a moment, then spoke decisively:
"Call a board meeting. I'm proposing we swap the A8 with the A9 for all in-production iPhone 6 models."
It was a bold, expensive move. But there was no choice.
CS would run away with the global performance crown if they didn't raise the bar now.
Meanwhile, at Qualcomm, alarms were sounding, too.
The board of directors called an emergency meeting. The CEO's tone was grim:
"We are the world's top mobile chip company.
We can't let a small Chinese firm rub our face in the dirt."
Their trump card—a new generation processor—was still in development.
But now the board wanted to rush it out.
The R&D chief shook his head.
"That chip isn't ready. It's powerful, but unoptimized. If we launch it now, stability will tank."
The board didn't care.
"Do you want us just to sit here and let the other side stand on our heads and shout?"
"If this gets out of control, the damage to our brand—and stock price—will be enormous. And you'll be the one held responsible."
The message was clear:
Deliver results, or we'll replace you.
The R&D head could only nod.
He wasn't in control here. The board called the shots.
Even if they forced out an unfinished chip, there was nothing he could do but follow orders.
China Star Technologies had shaken the global giants awake.
That same day, Lu Haifeng got a call from Zhao Jianhua, CEO of Audi Auto.
The news was stunning:
The Audi A4 had sold over 400,000 units in a single month.
Haifeng's jaw tightened in surprise.
That number wasn't just high—it was insane.
"You're telling me… we hit the annual production volume of Phases 1 and 2 in just one month?"
Zhao Jianhua confirmed it.
Lu Haifeng broke into a wide grin.
"Not bad at all. Today's a good day. Let's announce it."
Two million Hongmeng S2 phones in the morning.
Four hundred thousand Audi A4 cars in the afternoon.
It was a double kill.
And people remembered:
When Haifeng first took the stage with Audi Auto, he said they'd hit 400,000 units within two years.
At the time, people laughed. Said it was impossible.
Said he was bluffing.
Now? That milestone had fallen in a month, with just one model.
The moment Audi announced the numbers, Weibo exploded. The topic rocketed into the top 10.
"400,000 units? That's terrifying."
"China Star does it again."
"This company's actually out of control now."
It wasn't just the number. It was what that number represented:
Market trust, viral appeal, and dominance.
400,000 units didn't just mean strong sales. It meant momentum—the kind that created a snowball effect.
Even consumers who knew little about the A4 were suddenly curious.
"Wait, 400k people bought this car? It must be good."
"Guess I'll go test drive one too."
That's how the consumer mind worked. People didn't buy specs—they bought signals. And high sales? That was the loudest signal of all.
And truth be told, the A4 wasn't riding on hype alone.
It had strong specs. Strong design. And now—legendary word-of-mouth.