The police officers who arrived at the scene quickly looked at the young man in front of them, who resembled a boy next door, with surprise.
These security guards.
Every single one of them.
Were burly men trained in martial arts.
Even though a large portion of their muscles were built through protein powder and gym workouts.
They were still not people that ordinary individuals could easily handle.
One against eight.
And he had taken them all down.
It seemed this kid was truly skilled.
"I did it!"
Meng Hao admitted.
"Name, age, and the reason for causing a disturbance in public..."
The police officer frowned.
From the snippets of conversation from the onlookers, he had already pieced together the entire sequence of events.
It was likely that the unlikable Kun Kun had thrown a tantrum, ignoring his ardent fans, and accidentally injured an old lady in a wheelchair.
This young man, who acted bravely, had stopped Kun Kun, demanding an apology, and then clashed with his agent, eventually escalating into a one-against-eight brawl, leaving the security guards defeated.
It had even scared Kun Kun into kowtowing and begging for forgiveness.
Well.
This Kun Kun actually had some acting skills!
Look at that earnest kowtowing.
His forehead was even scraped.
Although the police officer felt extreme disdain for this effeminate Kun Kun and the agent who twisted the truth.
However.
He had a duty to perform and could only handle the matter by the book.
And at present.
It was indeed this young man in front of him who had taken down all of them.
"Meng Hao..."
Just as Meng Hao revealed his name, age, identity, and the cause and effect of the fight.
The police officer suddenly gasped.
"Wait, you said you're Meng Hao... Brother Hao of Huarong Technology?!"
He had felt that Meng Hao looked familiar earlier.
He just couldn't recall where he had seen that familiar face before.
It wasn't until Meng Hao announced his name that he finally remembered.
Then, looking at Mech Ji beside Meng Hao, he was completely certain.
This was Meng Hao, who had developed and manufactured mechs, traveled to the Gulf to acquire lithography machine technology, and declared his intention to develop an independent lithography machine for Da Xia.
Clearly.
This young police officer was also a fan of Meng Hao.
However.
From a personal standpoint, he deeply admired Meng Hao and was disgusted by the ambiguous Kun Kun.
Nevertheless.
In the face of duty, personal feelings were not important.
"Brother Hao."
"I apologize."
"I have to handle this by the book due to my duty."
The police officer lowered his voice, greeted him, and then his expression turned extremely serious again.
However.
His conversation had been overheard by quite a few onlookers.
After all.
Among young people, especially those who were passionate about military affairs, Meng Hao and Huarong Technology were extremely well-known.
Instantly.
The scene exploded.
"Holy cow, it's Brother Hao, I couldn't see clearly from this distance!"
"It's Meng Hao, the one who always denied that his Huarong Technology was a military enterprise. Didn't he say he was going to work on lithography machines?"
"You're a fake fan, Brother Hao said yesterday that he'd be back today and would start streaming at four o'clock for a giveaway!"
"Damn it, why is Brother Hao entangled with Kun Kun, that sissy? The stream today might be canceled."
"I never expected Brother Hao to be so capable in a fight. Aren't engineers generally nerds?"
"I have to say, Brother Hao's character is indeed commendable."
"..."
Seeing the crowd becoming agitated.
Some even intended to unleash their fists on Kun Kun, who had been scared into kowtowing by Meng Hao.
Sensing the situation was getting out of hand.
The police officer quickly took Meng Hao away and instructed his colleagues to maintain order along with the hotel security.
"Meng Hao, and the two girls accompanying you, please come with us to the police station to give your statements..."
"Where are the medical personnel? Take this Kun Kun and the security guards who were knocked down to the hospital..."
"Everyone, please calm down, do not resort to violence..."
Well.
It seemed the four o'clock live stream was likely to be canceled.
...
As the police cars and ambulances departed.
The crowd, who had intended to teach Kun Kun a lesson, lingered.
"Brother Hao is a true man!"
"For the old lady who was pushed out of her wheelchair, he directly confronted eight big guys... and he even won, isn't that infuriating!"
"As a passerby, I've become a fan... I want to be a self-driven patriot and share Brother Hao's content for free!"
"Yeah, I recorded the whole thing just now, and I'm uploading it online too!"
...
Hong Kong Island.
Bob had been anxiously awaiting news.
He Yue Tang, the leader of the online trolls, quickly got up from his computer.
"Mr. Bob."
"The plan was executed well... Coincidentally, Kun Kun was in Modu for an event today and stayed at the same hotel as Meng Hao. I have a good relationship with his agent, and I paid him twenty thousand US dollars to have him and his bodyguards deal with Meng Hao!"
Oh?
Bob raised his eyebrows, gesturing for He Yue Tang to continue.
"My original plan was to abduct Meng Hao amidst the chaos..."
"But some unexpected things happened..."
"Your intel didn't mention that Meng Hao could fight one against eight..."
"All eight bodyguards were taken down, but Meng Hao was also taken to the police station..."
Oh?
He's that capable?
Bob recalled the terror of being thrown from several stories high by Meng Hao piloting a mech.
"Heh."
"This is indeed like him."
"Completely disregarding the situation or location, he acts on impulse!"
Bob expressed some regret at not being able to capture Meng Hao completely.
"However, don't worry, Mr. Bob..."
"I'll give that agent another sum of money and have him mobilize Kun Kun's fans to dox Meng Hao to death..."
"Either he stays in the police station forever, or as soon as he gets out, he'll be swarmed by the angry 'fanatic fan groups.' Then we'll have more people arranged to ensure his capture with no room for error!"
He Yue Tang chuckled sinisterly.
"Offending Kun Kun on the street, even scaring Kun Kun into kowtowing and admitting fault..."
"And beating up Kun Kun's security personnel..."
"Such atrocious behavior will definitely be posted online, and under public pressure, Meng Hao will likely face several months in prison!"
Bob was very satisfied.
He chuckled and patted He Yue Tang's shoulder.
"Yes."
"You did well!"
"Now, Meng Hao is completely discredited."
"However, this is not enough. It's time to contact high-level officials in the United States. Let's add more fuel to Meng Hao's fire!"
...
Almost simultaneously as Meng Hao was taken away.
Several companies in the United States and the West, possessing core lithography machine technology, issued a joint statement.
The gist of it was.
Given that Meng Hao, the head of Da Xia's private enterprise Huarong Technology, had publicly declared his intention to develop lithography machines and challenge the existing market order, they had decided to completely close off the possibility of exporting lithography machines to Da Xia.
And they decided to increase the price of high-end chips originally allowed for export to Da Xia by 20%.