The Beautiful Country issued an apology to the Dragon Country!
This apology sparked a fervent reaction within the academic community of Dragon Kingdom!
Scholar 1: "The Beautiful Country actually apologized to our country, ha ha... incredible! My country is amazing!"
Scholar 2: "Shameless Holt! To think he dared to steal our country's academic work. He deserves to be legally punished by the United Nations!"
Scholar 3: "Remember when the Beautiful Country and France jointly issued a statement forcing us to apologize or face an academic blockade? Where's their arrogance now? In the end, weren't they the ones who were defeated by us, the Dragon Country?"
Scholar 4: "Watching the Beautiful Country eat humble pie is so satisfying, truly refreshing!"
Scholar 5: "Proud to be born in the Dragon Country!"
...
The entire academic community of Dragon Kingdom rejoiced as if they had won a great victory.
The apology from the Beautiful Country also created a significant stir on the international stage!
Many countries found it hard to believe the news! The Beautiful Country, the hegemon of the Blue Planet, had never bent the knee before! When had they ever apologized? And now, they were publicly apologizing to Dragon Kingdom?
Government officials from various countries began to analyze the underlying interests at play.
As the saying goes, "In international relations, there are no permanent enemies, no permanent friends, only permanent interests." There must be something in Dragon Kingdom that the Beautiful Country found advantageous—something they stood to gain.
In recent days, three major events had unfolded in Dragon Kingdom. First, the establishment of "Long Magazine" and the publication of four high-quality SCI papers! The Beautiful Country had been developing SCI papers for decades and boasted a solid academic foundation, yet the publication of "Long Magazine" was not enough to persuade the Beautiful Country government to show goodwill.
Second, Dragon Kingdom had exposed evidence that Professor Holt had stolen SCI papers from their country. To the shameless Beautiful Country, however, this seemed to have little consequence.
Lastly, Dragon Kingdom had made a breakthrough in the research of IERT materials—high-tech materials that had previously been monopolized by the Beautiful Country. With this technological advancement, Dragon Kingdom posed a serious threat to the Beautiful Country.
Thus, it was clear that the Beautiful Country had extended an olive branch to Dragon Kingdom due to the IERT breakthrough.
Though many countries still didn't fully understand the significance of IERT magnetic materials, the Beautiful Country' actions suggested that they recognized Dragon Kingdom's progress and sought to establish favorable relations.
As a result, numerous countries swiftly contacted Dragon Kingdom, congratulating them on their scientific breakthroughs and expressing hopes for maintaining good diplomatic relations.
Dragon Kingdom, however, remained calm and vigilant amidst the flattery, not allowing themselves to be swayed.
Meanwhile, the reactions from the academic and political communities worldwide were sharply divided. Academics, unconstrained by political calculations, voiced their opinions freely in international forums.
D-country's academic community: "Professor Holt of the Beautiful Country is utterly shameless! Over seventy years old, and still stealing academic work from Dragon Kingdom!"
L-country's academic community: "When I attended the World Mathematics Summit, Professor Holt brazenly insulted Dragon Kingdom, calling them vile and despicable! Who would have thought that he was the real villain, a shameless scoundrel!"
K-country's academic community: "It seems we misunderstood Dragon Kingdom, but thankfully, everything has been cleared up! Professor Holt has been rightfully punished."
P-country's academic community: "And then there's Austin, the President of the World Mathematical Organization, who not only conspired with Holt to slander Dragon Kingdom but also used his nation's police force to try and arrest Chinese citizens. I believe Austin and Holt were in cahoots!"
M-country's academic community: "The World Mathematical Organization is disgraceful. Who knows, maybe our research will be stolen by them next! I've decided to withdraw from this organization!"
P-country's academic community: "I agree! I will withdraw as well. Only Dragon Kingdom has true integrity. I am planning to submit to Dragon Kingdom's 'Long Magazine'!"
M-country's academic community: "It seems the acceptance rate at 'Long Magazine' is incredibly low!"
K-country's academic community: "A low acceptance rate just means high quality!"
M-country's academic community: "Exactly, I'll give it a try as well!"
...
The day after the first issue of "Long Magazine" was published, submissions began flooding into the magazine's inbox from international scholars!
This reassured Jiang Fan and Long Lao, confirming that international academics recognized "Long Magazine."
From this point on, "Long Magazine" would be an international journal for SCI papers, a platform for global scholarly exchange, and would greatly enhance the academic stature of Dragon Kingdom.
The success of "Long Magazine" was a huge boost to the entire academic community of Dragon Kingdom, fostering an environment where many young people were now eager to engage in academic and scientific research.
As the saying goes, "A strong youth leads to a strong nation."
In this way, the rise of Dragon Kingdom as a world power seemed imminent.
...
After issuing their apology, the Beautiful Country once again contacted Dragon Kingdom.
The 10 billion dollars the Beautiful Country had initially received for the counterfeit IERT materials was deemed to be the actions of a private company. After a review by their government, penalties were imposed on the company, and the 10 billion dollars were returned to Dragon Kingdom.
Dragon Kingdom swiftly received the remittance.
This left the leadership of Dragon Kingdom somewhat bewildered.
The next day, the Beautiful Country revealed its true intentions.
Foster from the Beautiful Country and Dragon Kingdom's representative, Number One, connected once again.
"Esteemed Number One, now that we have established good diplomatic relations, I hope you will consider providing us with the technology for IERT magnetic materials."
Number One immediately understood the game being played. The Beautiful Country had been cultivating good relations with Dragon Kingdom, all in the hopes of gaining access to this vital technology.
IERT magnetic technology was high-tech, and such materials were fundamental to many advanced projects. Whoever controlled these materials would possess the keys to unlock numerous high-tech innovations.
There was no way Dragon Kingdom would share this technology with the Beautiful Country.
Upon seeing Number One's firm rejection, Foster persisted.
"Number One, we can offer you a 10 billion-dollar technical licensing fee! What do you say?"
"I'm afraid, Foster, our country will not provide IERT magnetic technology to any nation."
Foster, not ready to give up, continued.
"We can offer other technological exchanges, such as photolithography machines, for example!"
Number One chuckled inwardly, certain that the Beautiful Country would only offer outdated technology in exchange.
"..."
The conversation ended, and as soon as the call was terminated, Foster erupted in anger.
"Those damn Dragon Kingdom people! I will make you pay for this!"
Foster quickly convened a meeting, and this time they reached a unanimous decision.
The next day, the Beautiful Country issued a public statement to the world: "Due to Dragon Kingdom's violation of international trade regulations, we are imposing restrictions on their chip exports!"
The announcement sent shockwaves through Dragon Kingdom's tech companies, as they were heavily dependent on imported chips due to their own lack of chip-manufacturing technology.
Within just three days, this chip embargo led to the shutdown of numerous companies reliant on chips, including those in mobile phones, computers, and televisions, causing billions of dollars in losses.