"Chapter Master... it seems something has happened in New York."

"Happened?"

Morning in Hong Kong, exactly twelve hours ahead of New York.

Lee Zhangchang had been leisurely reading the paper when Zhuge Youliang's report put a troubled look on his face.

He sensed by instinct that the peace he'd been enjoying lately was over.

He'd had a hard time for a while after Clara married into a family in Europe.

They talked every day, but it wasn't the same as having her at his side.

His lovely daughter, sacrificed for the Chinese Dream.

Fortunately, Clara was doing better than he'd expected.

Matters of state were proceeding without a hitch, too.

With overseas Chinese capital pouring in, China's industrial output was soaring by the day.

Through the strength of the people and the Communist Party's seamless control, total national output had grown enormously.

They'd lured foreign tech companies into China with free land and tax exemptions.

Companies flocked in for the cheap labor and all the perks.

They'd pitched the advantages of a domestic market that would only keep growing.

Stupid companies crawled in on their own to earn a few coins of short-term profit.

All of it stayed within the law, structured as joint ventures.

And everything was set up so the businesses could be shut down at any time, on any pretext.

Ignorant people raised on Western free-market capitalism poured into China.

Their technology and know-how were calculated, extracted and absorbed down to the last drop.

Those who'd grabbed big money in a short time were gleeful.

This was the Heaven and Earth Society's master stroke for laying the groundwork for fast growth.

The classic strategy: give up flesh to take bone.

They'd also steered the transfer of political power so it went smoothly.

They were already laying the foundation for a long hold on power, a plan for a thousand years.

Every plan was drawn up looking at least ten years ahead.

Of all the countries, they'd taken the most technology from their neighbor, Korea.

Plenty of people would hand over even NIS intelligence for a few coins.