Chapter 1560 Checkmate

Before the press conference was over, Zhang Tao's explosive revelations had already flown to the other side of the ocean via the Internet.

new York.

Although it was already three o'clock in the morning Eastern Time, more than half of the office windows were still stubbornly lit with glaring white lights, and the air was filled with the bitter taste of over-extracted caffeine and a silent anxiety.

In the luxurious office, Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones News Service and The Wall Street Journal, pinched his brows, trying to dispel the heaviness of a sleepless night. On the screen in front of him, the real-time early trading data of the Asia-Pacific market was beating like a pulse.

Normally, news from Asia only needs to be handled by the Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong, but today's press conference from Northeast China has attracted the attention of the whole world.

Any slight disturbance could trigger a tsunami that would sweep across the entire financial market. This night was destined to be a sleepless night for the financial media in North America and even around the world.

Suddenly, there was a hurried and restrained knock on the office door.

"Come in." Thomson responded almost instinctively.

Executive Editor Gerard Baker walked in quickly, holding a thin folder tightly in his hand.

"Editor-in-chief, the briefing came back from the front."

Thomson looked up in surprise and glanced at his watch: "The press conference should end in more than an hour... Why did it end so early?"

He picked up the coffee that had already gone cold and took a sip.

"The situation is special. The reporter at the front thought that this part of the information was extremely timely and explosive, so he asked his deputy to leave the press conference and send back this briefing immediately." Baker explained, tapping the cover of the folder with his finger. "He thought it would be too late to deal with it after the press conference was completely over."

Thomson put down his coffee cup and solemnly opened the folder.

On the first page, a line of bold black headlines hit his eyes like a hammer:

"The research team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences confirmed that the industrialization progress of super lithium batteries may be hindered by patent disputes"

Thomson's heart suddenly shrank, as if it was being gripped by an invisible hand.

He quickly turned to the next page of the briefing, scanning the highly technical paragraphs, looking for core information.

Baker quickly added, "I have asked the editorial team to urgently rewrite a news release based on the core content of this briefing, and it can be broadcast at any time. If we publish it now, we should be able to grab an exclusive."

"You can't send it!" Thomson raised his head suddenly, his face turned pale in an instant, and his voice was firm, "At least you definitely can't send it now!"

"Why?" Baker was stunned, confusion written all over his face. "This is explosive news! The exclusive is right in front of us!"

"Gerald, we are The Wall Street Journal, a core media under Dow Jones!" Thomson's voice was low and full of pressure, and his fingers tapped heavily on the table. "Look outside! Look at the global stock index! What happened in the past few days? The entire market is crazy about this technology, and capital is pouring into materials, electronics, and energy storage like a tide! How many trillions of market value are stacked on this expectation? It's like a balloon that has been blown to the limit!"

He stood up and walked to the huge French window, overlooking the sleeping but turbulent financial district. "What we need to do now is to carefully deflate the balloon and let it land softly, instead of using this needle," he turned around and pointed at the briefing, "and just puncture it! That would be a catastrophic crash! The market would explode instantly! Countless investors would lose everything! We can't afford this responsibility! What the market needs is calm analysis and the gradual release of risks, not a basin of ice water!"

Beads of sweat oozed from Baker's forehead, and he obviously realized the seriousness of the problem. "But editor-in-chief, this is what was announced to all reporters at the press conference. Even if we don't publish it, other media will publish it within an hour at most. We can't cover it up at all!"

Thomson took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He sat back in his seat and picked up the briefing again. This time he completely skipped the complicated scientific terms and quickly focused on the core of the briefing.

The name that was mentioned repeatedly: Candlelight Technology.

"Gerald, you're right. We can't keep the news secret." Thomson's eyes flashed with a gleam. "But how and what to report is still in our hands."

Baker quickly pulled out his notebook, ready to record follow-up instructions.

"Immediately mobilize all our connections and quickly investigate Candlelight Technology, especially the details of all the patent disputes it is involved in, and evaluate whether these so-called 'patent risks' really exist..."

"..."

Baker felt the urgency and weight of the editor's words, and without any nonsense, he immediately turned around and rushed out of the office.

Time passed by minute by minute in suffocating tension, and the Wall Street Journal's huge information network was forcibly activated in the early hours of the morning.

Thomson stared at the countdown on the screen, feeling the tension as if the days were passing by like years.

He had already prepared for the worst. If Baker was too late, he would have to produce a report that could ease market concerns, even if it was fabricated.

However, the situation seems to be much better than expected.

Just twenty minutes later, Baker reappeared at the door.

This time he brought a thin folder with only a few pages.

"So fast?" Thomson was a little surprised.

"Surprisingly... it's almost not difficult," Baker shrugged. "Candlelight Technology was only established at the beginning of the year, and its background is as clean as a blank sheet of paper. The 76 patent disputes it is currently involved in have all erupted in the past two and a half months."

Thomson flipped through the report quickly, while Baker quickly summarized: "These 76 disputes can be clearly traced back to three main sources: a Chinese company called 'Liming Technology', 'Huayue Holdings' registered in Cyprus, and 'Xinghai Intellectual Property Fund' registered in the Cayman Islands with a mysterious background. Their methods are highly consistent: intensive prosecution, high claims, and requests for a global ban on sales."

"A standard patent hunting operation..." Thomson glanced at the three names listed in the report and made a judgment almost instantly:

Then, he put down the report and looked at Baker: "In other words, from the intelligence we have and the professional judgment of our lawyers, the independence and validity of Candlelight Technology's core patent itself have not been found to have obvious flaws that can be fatal at the professional level?"

Baker nodded affirmatively: "Yes."

Hearing this, Thomson's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down a little, and his tense expression relaxed a little.

He glanced at the time and saw that there was less than half an hour left before the press conference was expected to end.

"Gerald, the time is up. We have to prepare for publication." Thomson said as he quickly typed on the keyboard: "You mentioned earlier that Huaxia's spokesperson clearly stated at the press conference that Candlelight Technology cannot cooperate with international giants due to patent disputes?"

"Yes, the original words were that international cooperation was hindered," Baker confirmed.

"Very good!" Thomson's eyes gleamed even brighter. "Patent hunting is a means, not an end... Therefore, whoever is most likely to profit from Candlelight Technology's collapse or forced cooperation is the black hand hiding behind the scenes."

His fingers clicked the mouse twice, then he turned the laptop 180 degrees, facing Baker.

The screen is displaying the homepage of FEI Group's website.

"Since we can't cover it up, let us guide the direction." Thomson's tone became calm and decisive. "Remember our position. We are a financial media. Our core readers are investors. What they need is a clear judgment of risks and guidance for the future, not panic!"

Since Baker has been able to hold the position of executive editor, he is definitely not incompetent.

In just a few minutes, he had already figured out the core framework of the report:

"Editor-in-chief, my idea is to first directly acknowledge the existence of risks - the industrialization of new technologies is facing obstacles due to patent disputes, and Candlelight Technology's cooperation is hindered. This is a fact and cannot be avoided, but the key is to trace the source of the risk and clearly point out that the company that is creating trouble is just a professional patent troll company with small strength and scale, which is not enough to pose a substantial threat to the research of Candlelight Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences!"

"That's it." Thomson nodded in agreement. "There is only one principle. Downplay the destructive threat that the lawsuit itself poses to technology and emphasize the 'low-end' and 'suspicious' nature of the initiator of the lawsuit. This will both report the risks and give the market a psychological expectation that 'risks are controllable and resistance can be overcome'. As for the title, use..."

Baker quickly wrote down the key points, his eyes sparkling with excitement: "Let's call it - Who is hindering the advent of a new energy revolution?"

Thomson leaned back in his chair and smiled with satisfaction: "Go ahead."

With just over twenty minutes left, Baker quickly turned around and prepared to return to the editorial office.

"and many more!"

Thomson stopped him again and added:

“The hint about the ‘international giant’ in the article should be worded cleverly, citing the common doubts or reasonable speculations of industry analysts. We should not directly accuse FEI, but let all industry insiders know who we are talking about at a glance… In addition, we need to be quick. I want to release it globally as soon as possible after the press conference!”