Cutting-edge technology: I handed myself over

Chapter 54: Banquet Showdown

"Ding ding ding~"

On the evening of the welcoming ceremony, the banquet hall of a top resort was brightly lit, filled with elegant ladies and the clinking of glasses. Suddenly, a crisp clinking sound broke the noise of the banquet hall and instantly attracted everyone's attention.

On the stage, Zhou Luming and the banquet hall fell completely silent. All eyes were on him before he slowly spoke, "I am Zhou Luming. I believe everyone knows me, so I won't go into too much detail about myself."

I warmly welcome everyone to tomorrow's technical exchange meeting, and wish you all a pleasant evening. Cheers!

After they finished speaking, they raised their glasses, drank, and once again gathered in twos and threes to whisper among themselves, and the banquet returned to its noisy state.

However, the hustle and bustle of the banquet was not completely restored.

Because now most people are focusing their attention on a small group of people in the corner of the stage: Zhou Luming and the heads of the top ten international families.

The Rothschild family, a long-established global financial family, was founded in the 18th century and has been passed down for nearly 300 years. They monopolize global gold pricing, cross-border credit, mining, high-end real estate, and global private equity capital; they have a deep penetration into the political and royal circles of various European countries; and they possess a private armed force composed of retired special forces and a global intelligence network.

The Rockefeller family, with a history spanning over 160 years, is the progenitor of modern industrial conglomerates. They monopolize the global oil, natural gas, and new energy industry chains, and have deep roots in investment banking, healthcare, and high-end research funds. They are also deeply intertwined with the White House and the military-industrial complex, and can influence the energy and defense policies of the United States. Their private security forces cover North America and overseas locations.

The Morgan family, with a history spanning over 150 years, is a global force in finance and industry, controlling top investment banks, commercial banks, railroad heavy industry, military manufacturing, and telecommunications giants. They once single-handedly stabilized the US financial crisis and infiltrated the top rules of the Federal Reserve and Wall Street. Their private intelligence and security system is the strongest in the financial world.

The DuPont family, one of the oldest and most powerful families in the United States, has a history of 210 years. Starting with gunpowder, they have monopolized the global high-end chemical industry, military ammunition, special materials, aerospace coatings, and biochemicals. They have a profound influence on the procurement and military research and development policies of the U.S. military and possess their own private armed forces and secret experimental bases.

The Koch family, with a history spanning over a century, is one of the world's largest private industrial enterprises. They control Koch Industries and monopolize the energy refining, chemical raw materials, and commodity supply chains. Their political lobbying abilities are unparalleled in the United States, and they secretly influence the policies of both the left and right parties. They are low-key and secretive, and possess a private security force with military-like configurations.

The Walton family, with a history spanning over a century, has consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest families. They control Walmart's global retail system, global supply chain, logistics and warehousing, and the entire consumer goods chain. They are adept at using consumer channels to influence prices and industrial layouts in various countries and possess a formidable protective force.

The Onassis family, with a history of over 120 years, is a global shipping tycoon, controlling ocean shipping, port terminals, maritime energy transportation, and the cruise industry; it also owns a private maritime security fleet and land-based armed guards, holding the reins of global commodity shipping.

The Van Cleef family is a century-old European aristocratic conglomerate with interests spanning luxury goods, diamond mining, high-end wineries, private estates, and rare overseas mineral resources. They are deeply intertwined with European aristocracy and financial circles, and their private armed forces are geared towards elite protection and intelligence infiltration.

The Mitsubishi family, with a history of over 150 years, is the core leader of the six major conglomerates on Insect Island, controlling the island's military industry, shipbuilding, avionics, heavy industry, finance, and rare metal resources; it is deeply integrated with the Insect Island Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces, with its private security and official security systems interconnected.

The Guccio family, with a century-long heritage, has long been involved in global private equity funds, high-end real estate, biomedicine, and light luxury military-related industries; its network extends throughout European politics, fashion, and finance; and its private elite security team specializes in circle protection and intelligence gathering.

These giants, with a history spanning centuries and deep roots in core areas, have penetrated global politics, economics, military, and technology. They possess the power to shake up regional and even global power structures and are known as the world's top families.

"Mr. Zhou, thank you very much for organizing this exchange meeting, which gives us an opportunity to exchange ideas and cooperate."

After exchanging pleasantries, Lionel Rothschild, with a touch of deliberate friendliness, said to Zhou Luming, "I have a beloved granddaughter who has always admired your country and is fascinated by your traditional culture and magnificent scenery. She often talks about wanting to come and visit."

Unfortunately, she had been unable to come before due to various reasons.

Thanks to the opportunity of your exchange meeting, she was finally able to come to your country, which fulfilled one of her wishes.

Here, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Zhou once again.

In addition, as a father, I would like to ask Mr. Zhou for a small favor, without any conflict of interest or personal gain involved. Is that alright?

"Speaking."

"My granddaughter wants to travel in your country for a while, but I can't wait for her to finish her trip. So, I would like to ask Mr. Zhou to take care of her for me during her trip."

Rest assured, she will absolutely abide by your country's laws and regulations.

After Lionel finished speaking, Zhou Luming immediately cursed inwardly: Damn it, I've been tricked! That bastard is really damn poisonous!

Why?

Because Lionel's plan to sow discord had already been laid out.

If nothing unexpected happens, even if he doesn't become the grandson-in-law of the Rothschild family in the future, he will become the grandson-in-law of some other family.

In short, no matter what, he will definitely not be able to stay in China in the future.

How is that possible?

After Lionel finished speaking, his granddaughter had a legitimate and reasonable reason to contact him privately in a personal capacity.

Once there's that first private contact, there will be countless more private contacts.

As a result, he was destined to be involved in all sorts of scandals with Lionel's granddaughter.

With a scandal, Lionel and his associates can use it to mislead the public and make those above question his stance.

Once his position is questioned, he will certainly be unable to participate in the country's core military research projects for the future.

At the same time, because he had previously accessed a lot of classified information, he would definitely be monitored by his superiors.

He might even be placed under house arrest for a period of time to prevent him from leaking secrets.

Under those circumstances, coupled with public pressure, even if he didn't hate the authorities and the public, he would definitely feel dissatisfied with them.

Once these emotions have accumulated to a certain point, Lionel and his group only need to offer a little incentive, and with Lionel's granddaughter comforting and persuading him, he will definitely leave the country.

Thus, Lionel's scheme to sow discord came to a perfect end.

Rejecting someone because you're too busy?

Lionel's idea of ​​taking care of him wasn't about having him follow him around like a servant 24/7, but rather about having him step in and handle things when his granddaughter encountered "trouble."

Besides, for people at their level, many things can be resolved with just a phone call. There's no such thing as being too busy; it's just a matter of whether they're willing or not.

Therefore, using "I'm too busy" as an excuse to refuse or saying no directly will have the same result.

What would happen if I directly said no?

If someone smiles and extends their hand to shake yours and become friends, but you push their hand away, what do you think the consequences will be?

More importantly, what will other people think?

Therefore, unless that technology company never touches the international market and never cooperates with any foreign companies, Zhou Luming cannot directly refuse. He can only nod in agreement or think of other plausible reasons to refuse.

Explain the rumors?

It takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of legwork to refute them; the more you explain, the worse it gets, have you heard of that?

Should we pass the buck to officials?

Useless.

Firstly, it's impossible for officials to send someone to accompany Lionel's granddaughter 24 hours a day; secondly, there are too many reasons to refuse official permission to have someone accompany Lionel's granddaughter 24 hours a day; and thirdly, there are no officials in the banquet hall.

Therefore, Zhou Luming cursed Lionel inwardly: he had really outmaneuvered him!

But then again, Lionel's divisive tactics were aimed at young, high-spirited researchers who were not part of the system, owned their own companies, and were currently in the public eye. Was Zhou Luming one of them?

Aside from being young, Zhou Luming doesn't meet any of the other requirements.

Therefore, after cursing in his heart, Zhou Luming nodded in agreement: "Okay."

Lionel was a little incredulous and excited when he saw that Zhou Luming had agreed without hesitation. He tentatively said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Zhou."

Mr. Zhou, I wonder if we might have the opportunity to explore further cooperation?

After Lionel finished speaking, Zhou Luming's eyes narrowed: He's taken the bait!