Chapter 8: Just Stepped Off the Plane in America, the Entire Internet Explodes!

Far from the city center, on the road leading to the suburbs.

Jiang Liangliang sat nervously in the back seat, watching Wang Yang, who was chatting animatedly in English with the bearded driver, swallowing hard.

To be honest, she was quite scared to be here in America with Wang Yang.

Unfamiliar with the place, and coming here to buy fighter jets—it didn’t sound like a good thing. After all, those who sell fighter jets are arms dealers.

Whether influenced by various films or her preconceived notions, she pictured arms dealers as ruthless, cold-blooded killers. Dealing with such people meant danger; one misstep could cost her life.

So, as she sat in the car passing by an arms factory, her palms were sweating nervously.

At that moment, Wang Yang laughed heartily, turned his head, and said to Jiang Liangliang, “Take out the cigarettes you brought from back home. One pack will be enough.”

Jiang Liangliang was taken aback but quickly retrieved a box of Zhonghua cigarettes from her backpack.

Wang Yang skillfully took it, flicked open the pack, pulled one out, and handed it to the bearded driver, saying, “These are good cigarettes from our homeland. They don’t have the strong kick of American brands, but the taste is excellent.”

The bearded driver accepted it with delight, lighting up while driving. After a deep drag, his eyes widened as he kept saying, “Good, good…”

Wang Yang turned back and said solemnly, “Don’t be nervous. You’re my assistant, so if you’re nervous, it means I’m nervous. That would make it harder to bargain, understand?”

“Also, don’t imagine these arms dealers as monsters. In the end, they’re businessmen focused on profit. Since we’re going through official channels, there won’t be any trouble.”

Jiang Liangliang took a deep breath, smiled, and nodded firmly. “Don’t worry, Brother Yang, I’m not nervous anymore.”

“Good. Just don’t mess up later. Director Liang has pinned all his hopes on us. We must get this done right.”

“Okay, Brother Yang. I won’t be nervous. I’ll help you negotiate a good price!”

Hearing her reply, Wang Yang finally relaxed and pulled out his phone.

Since they were already in America and about to start negotiations with an American arms company to buy F-22 fighter jets, it wouldn’t be right not to post a Weibo update and silence those haters.

Of course, the main goal was to generate buzz and maintain exposure.

With that in mind, he quickly opened Weibo and accessed his personal account.

As a top influencer in live commerce, his Weibo follower count hovered around two million.

These were active followers, not fake accounts.

However, possibly due to a recent incident with trolls during a livestream, his follower count had dipped below two million and was now at 1.98 million.

Wang Yang paid no mind and tapped to compose a post, writing: [Just landed in the US, about to reach the venue. This time, we’re determined to bring down the price of the F-22 fighter jets!]

He tagged his location, double-checked, and decisively hit “post,” then put down his phone and turned to continue chatting with the bearded driver.

…

At the same time,

Thousands of miles away, in Kyushu, online.

Weibo, the hottest social media platform in Kyushu with over 100 million daily active users, was dominated by entertainment gossip. Whenever a celebrity had any news, it would quickly climb the trending charts.

In Wang Yang’s fan group,

[A troll posted, “See? Wang Yang hasn’t livestreamed in days. That means he blew his lies too far and is hiding. Haha, he should just apologize and quit.”]

This obvious troll comment instantly ignited the previously quiet fan group.

[“Nonsense! Are you trolls out of your minds? You’re obsessing over this one thing? Go back and watch the livestream; even high-ranking Kyushu military officials wouldn’t say they can bring down the price of an F-22.”]

[“Exactly. If you’re so capable, go negotiate the price yourselves. Obsessing over this is ridiculous.”]

[“Ignore them. Treat them like barking dogs. When a dog barks, do you bark back? Same logic—don’t feed the trolls; they have ulterior motives.”]

[“I can’t stand this. When will these trolls just disappear?”]

As the passionate fans responded fiercely, the troll account fired back immediately:

[“Haha, can’t do it, can you? Stop bragging. This is the price of your lies. Your Wang Yang has no gatekeeper on his mouth. Letting him apologize and quit is lenient.”]

Before more fans could lash out at the troll, a new message grabbed everyone’s attention:

[“Wang Yang posted on Weibo!”]

Clicking the post revealed a link.

Both fans and trolls clicked eagerly, racing to Wang Yang’s newly posted Weibo to turn it into a battleground.

“Just landed in the US, about to reach the venue. This time, we’re determined to bring down the price of the F-22 fighter jets!”

The profile picture was Wang Yang’s livestream photo, verified with a yellow V badge, confirming it was indeed him.

Within minutes, hundreds of comments flooded in:

[“Whoa! My Wang Yang, I thought you quit!”]

[“Right? Wang Yang in the US? Damn, he actually went!”]

[“I knew Wang Yang was awesome. He’s really here to negotiate the price of the F-22!”]

[“Can you guys think? Just because Wang Yang’s in the US doesn’t mean he’s negotiating. I bet he ran away.”]

[“Honestly, that’s just wishful thinking. If Wang Yang could bring down the F-22 price, or even buy one at full price, I’d let you use my head as a soccer ball! And I’d pay dearly for it.”]

[“Quick, save the troll comments before they disappear!”]

[“Haha, I’m not afraid. I’m staying put to see how Wang Yang ends this.”]

[“Haha, as a bystander, this is getting interesting. This Wang Yang live commerce guy has some guts. The trolls are just causing trouble. He really went to the US. Interesting, I’ll follow the updates.”]

[“I want to see how it ends too. If he can’t handle it, an apology and quitting is guaranteed.”]

[“Waiting for the follow-up, everyone together. (Hands clasped)”]

…

Kyushu, Capital City.

Fighter Jet Research and Development Center.

Director Zhang Wenchang sat in the cafeteria, chewing his food while scrolling through his phone.

He was reading a research paper on military fighter jet flight trajectories and air resistance.

Upon reaching an interesting section, he set down his chopsticks and adjusted his silver-framed glasses. “Interesting.”

“Director, take a look at this,” came a familiar voice.

He looked up to see a rough, large hand offering a phone.

Without glancing at the screen, he first looked at the man in his thirties standing before him.

“Chang Wen, what’s with the sudden excitement?” Zhang Wenchang rolled his eyes, then focused on the phone. “What do you want to show me?”

Chang Wen smiled, “Director, take a look at this news.”

On the screen was a screenshot of Wang Yang’s Weibo post. After reading it, Zhang Wenchang adjusted his glasses and looked at Chang Wen with a puzzled expression. “What does this mean? Going to the US to buy an F-22?”

“Well, here’s the situation…” Chang Wen sat down and spent two minutes summarizing the story for Director Zhang.

Zhang Wenchang nodded thoughtfully. “That’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Chang Wen replied, surprised.

Zhang Wenchang sighed, resumed eating, and said, “You young people are too restless. That Wang Yang is just a live commerce host. Even if I were the director of the Fighter Jet R&D Center, there’s no way I’d go to the US to buy an F-22. It’s simply unrealistic.”

“The interesting part isn’t that, but the comments,” Chang Wen scrolled through the phone, “Now netizens say that since he’s in the US, he probably won’t come back. He’ll be detained by the US military.”

Zhang Wenchang chuckled without looking up after swallowing his food. “Don’t worry. He definitely won’t be detained. He can’t even see what an F-22 looks like.”

“A live commerce host with a few fans? Forget about seeing an F-22, he won’t even get into a US military base.”

“That’s true. Even if he wanted to meet senior US military officials, they wouldn’t want to meet him,” Chang Wen nodded thoughtfully, then added excitedly, “But if he really manages to bring back an F-22, that would be something.”

“Daydreaming. You’d better focus on research. The sixth-generation fighter project is just starting and about to enter a critical phase. Forget about these distractions and concentrate on your work,” Zhang Wenchang scolded.

Chang Wen scratched his head and smiled, “Yes, Director.”

…

As the online debate grew, more people noticed Wang Yang fiercely confronting trolls and his claim of being in the US to negotiate the F-22 price.

Meng Manman was among them.

She lay on her soft, large bed in her detached villa, dressed in white pajamas, swinging her delicate, fair feet in the air.

“Hm?”

A local trending topic on Weibo caught her attention instantly.

[“Famous live commerce host Wang Yang arrives in the US, vows to purchase F-22 fighter jets.”]

Wait, did she read that right?

Famous live commerce host Wang Yang?

Meng Manman clicked on the trend, checking the profile picture, location, and the posted Weibo.

It was definitely Wang Yang!

The same Wang Yang who had conned Liang Yuzhu into starting a livestream sales company!

Seeing Wang Yang’s Weibo post, her mind went blank, thoughts exploding like fireworks.

Frowning deeply, she opened the comment section to sift through the content and piece together the full story.

“Ha! That Wang Yang, the one who called Yuzhu for money yesterday, really had something shady going on! I guessed right—he’s running away. Good thing I told Yuzhu not to give him any money.” Meng Manman clenched her teeth, feeling relieved.

But then she hesitated, feeling uneasy.

“Should I call Yuzhu and tell her about Wang Yang?” She lay on the bed, her smooth forehead creasing, pondering for a moment before decisively opening her contacts.

…