Rich, Rhine Metal; poor, Rhine Steel. 52

Chapter 52: Overwhelm Them! (First Update!)

June 4, 2024

Chapter 52: Overwhelm Them! (First Update!)

A calm voice delivered the most unsettling news. Everyone except Lin Yu was stunned into silence.

He Qingyang was particularly shocked, as Lin Yu hadn’t mentioned any of this in his initial draft. There were only two possibilities: First, he’d just received this information from an unknown source.

Second, he’d known all along but deliberately omitted it from his paper, perhaps because he knew no one would believe it without evidence to back it up.

He probably considered it a waste of time.

Observing his somewhat unruly student, He Qingyang leaned towards the second possibility. Because even he, let alone others, would have initially dismissed such claims as unbelievable.

He glanced at Luan Yue Lin, the person in charge, who was staring at the floor, lost in thought.

He Qingyang closed his eyes for a moment, then abruptly opened them, his eyes filled with sternness. He asked gravely, “Do you have proof?”

“You’ll have to ask the CIA,” Lin Yu replied swiftly.

Before he could continue, Luan Yue Lin spoke up:

“He’s not making it up; it’s true. Our security department discovered a batch of computers during an inspection. These computers had more hardware than usual.”

“Upon closer examination, the extra hardware turned out to be a signal transmission device.”

“The signal was very weak, with a range of only about 2 kilometers.”

“But it was indeed espionage equipment.”

“So, I want to ask Lin Yu, do you think America has the processing power to handle the vast amount of data they acquired?”

Luan Yue Lin’s words confirmed Lin Yu’s claims. Everyone except those in the know instinctively turned to Lin Yu, their eyes wide with shock.

The older professors were astonished by Lin Yu’s audacity and intelligence, and even more amazed that He Qingyang, that lucky dog, had such a brilliant student.

On stage, Lin Yu spread his hands, “They don’t have that capacity, which is why I focused on deception and anti-deception in my paper.”

Hearing this, Luan Yue Lin’s eyes flickered. He took out a notebook, jotted down a few lines, then looked up and asked, “How can you be sure they can’t process that much information?”

He asked earnestly, his pen hovering over the notebook, ready to record.

Under the scrutinizing gaze, Lin Yu awkwardly scratched his cheek.

This information came from declassified American government announcements in the future. But he couldn’t exactly say that now.

He wanted to say he had no proof. But that would damage his image as an expert.

After careful consideration, Lin Yu feigned profoundness, “You could try asking a city police department to report all cases, big or small, that happen in the city for a week.”

“Then you process them.”

“And keep doing this for six months.”

Luan Yue Lin’s pen rested on the notebook, a blot of black ink spreading where the nib had lingered. He looked at his colleagues, who all shook their heads. He followed suit:

“No need, I think I understand why you said that.”

“Intelligence gathering requires analysis, but too much intelligence leads to prioritization.”

“But if high-priority intelligence is repeatedly confirmed to be false…”

“After several instances, they’ll lower its priority, eventually ignoring it.”

“A low-priority piece of intelligence, glanced at casually, is discovered to be important. Repeated checks confirm its importance.”

“They’ll then invest more attention. The three-men-make-a-tiger effect, right?” (This refers to the idiom 三人成虎 (sān rén chéng hǔ), meaning that if three people say a tiger is present, even if there’s no tiger, people will believe it due to the repetition of the lie)

Seeing Lin Yu nod, Luan Yue Lin breathed a sigh of relief, quickly wrote something down, flipped a page in his file, and said, “So, that’s why your paper mentions cultivating online water armies.” (Water army refers to paid online commentators used for propaganda or astroturfing)

“Cultivating professional photographers and hosts.”

“Launching a separate channel called ‘Industry Channel’.”

“Airing TV dramas all day.”

“At 8 PM, have the host present seemingly genuine documentaries seriously.”

“Continue airing TV dramas at 10 PM.”

“Essentially, it’s using a mix of true and false information to overwhelm America’s data processing centers.”

“Using this opportunity, secretly upgrading basic industries, and developing construction exports. Whoever America attacks, we’ll help rebuild.”

“To ruin America’s strategy of using war to seize assets.”

“You’re… incredibly ruthless.”

Luan Yue Lin sighed, scratching his head in frustration, offering his assessment of Lin Yu.

Everyone gasped. Ruthless, incredibly ruthless.

Several old professors instinctively looked at He Qingyang, unable to resist asking themselves, what the hell has this old tortoise been researching all day? How did he produce such a ruthless student?

He Qingyang enjoyed the shocked stares, pursing his lips in pride.

Amidst the shock, Luan Yue Lin said, “You keep mentioning independent industrial development.”

“So, how do we overcome those technological bottlenecks?”

“More money,” Lin Yu raised his right hand, his thumb and index finger rubbing together lightly.

Under their questioning gazes, he added, “Not money for a specific person, but setting elimination standards, upgrading domestic markets and industrial chains, and assigning homework to domestic private and state-owned enterprises.”

“Rewards for completion, consequences for failure or deception.”

“We’ll help them ‘look good’.” (This suggests forceful, less-than-kind methods for those who fail to perform.)

“Refer to my previous article, ‘Caution Against Simple Resource Processing Enterprises’.”

Recalling the article’s content, Luan Yue Lin nodded approvingly, extended his right hand, and said with a smile, “Lin Yu, according to Wang Kuan’s report, your Factory 567 has 857 employees.”

“You have a little over 12 months to earn 20,000 yuan. Good luck.”

“Rain or shine, we’ll be waiting for you.”

……

After dinner, after seeing off the staff members from the Operations Department, He Qingyang took Lin Yu back to his office. He brewed tea for his favorite student, sat with his arms crossed on the windowsill, silently observing his student.

After a long while, he asked, “Tell me, how did you analyze all that information?”

“I don’t remember teaching you this.”

“Also, your handwriting has improved significantly.”

Lin Yu leaned back on the sofa, his eyes drifting off. After a long pause, he said, “I had a dream when I was lying in the infirmary after I fell.”

I’m an idiot, Chapter 53 has been revised, please check again.

(End of Chapter)

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