Silence hung heavily inside the foreign auto consortium's meeting room.
BMW's CEO, Dieter Schopf, broke it.
"Look, I get it. None of us wants to bow to them. But we have to face reality—if Audi doesn't participate, this test becomes a joke."
"We started this. We're the ones who challenged them. If they pull out now, the global media will eat us alive."
A tense pause followed. Then he added:
"So what's wrong with taking a step back? We didn't come here to win face but to keep the market."
No one answered until Will, the hardest line among them, slammed his fist on the table.
"This is disgusting. You're suggesting we bow to a Chinese car company?
You're all pathetic."
"We used to be the benchmark. Now you're ready to kneel because of one flashy model?"
His face was red. No one responded.
It wasn't that they liked the situation—they didn't. But unlike Will, they knew when to cut losses.
Dieter Schopf sighed.
"Fine. We'll vote."
"All in favor of accepting Audi's terms—raise your hands."
One by one, they did. Porsche. Mercedes. Volvo. Even the most reluctant nodded.
Only Will kept his arms crossed, furious.
But no one cared anymore.
He was outvoted. And frankly, irrelevant now.
"You can sulk if you want," someone said. "But if you walk away from this now, you're walking away from the entire game."
Audi might lose. But if they win, and you're not even in the ring?
You're done."
Will said nothing. Just gritted his teeth and sat back.
Shortly after, the coalition sent word to Audi:
They would accept the new test standard. The test will be held in China.
Back at CS Auto, Zhao Jianhua walked into Lu Haifeng's office with a smirk.
"President Lu, they folded—just like you said."
"Honestly, I thought they'd drag it out a bit longer. Guess I overestimated them."
Haifeng didn't even look surprised.
"They don't have a choice. They either take the hit now or get steamrolled later."
"We're not the ones in a corner—they are."
"If they want to suppress us, this is their last chance. So, of course, they're desperate."
"But in our territory? Even a dragon lies low. Even a tiger bows its head. I won't give them room to posture."
Zhao nodded.
"Should I set the date?"
"One week," Haifeng replied. "Tell them we'll handle all the preparations. We'll give them a proper show since they're eager to play along."
"And make it public. Call it the First Global Five-Star Automotive Crash Test. Hype it. Push it. I want the whole world watching when we crush them."
"Make sure when they come in proud, they leave humiliated."
Zhao laughed.
"This is the perfect launch platform for our new crash standard. If we pull it off, we won't just win this test—we'll control the future standard."
"Anyone who wants to sell cars must use our safety metrics."
"I'll make sure it's handled."
As expected, Audi became the center of global attention again when the press release went live.
"Wait, Audi's hosting a global crash test?"
"What's this new five-star safety thing?"
"Didn't the Western brands initiate this in the first place?"
"How'd Audi flip it around?"
Public forums lit up with debate:
"Audi made their safety standard?"
"It's not official unless international bodies recognize it."
"Recognize it? They're all coming to test under it. What more do you need?"
"Seeing a Chinese company call the shots for once is refreshing."
"For years, we've followed foreign standards like gospel. Now someone's setting one here—and making the world play by it."
"I heard the foreign brands originally set this up to embarrass Audi.
Guess who's embarrassed now?"
"I don't admire many companies. But Audi? I respect the hell out of them."
Audi hadn't just accepted the challenge. They'd flipped the script, seized the stage, and made it theirs.
And now, with the world watching, the outcome wasn't just about cars anymore.
It was about who would write the rules next.