Facing doubts, the US United Super Vacuum Tube Railway Company offered no direct response. Instead, they gradually released photos of ongoing actual production on their official website and WeChat, seemingly to address the external controversies.
However, a different narrative soon emerged on US networks: the "China fabricated" theory.
A US netizen confidently posted online, claiming that after analyzing the entire video, they found significant discrepancies between the pipe footage and the ground background, indicating a floating effect, thus suspecting the video was either edited or created with special effects.
Furthermore, this netizen stated they had just returned from China and had visited the construction sites, yet saw nothing.
A super-high-speed magnetic levitation vacuum tube, much like a railway, is an impossible construction project to conceal. They couldn't have possibly missed such obvious pipelines, leading to the irrefutable conclusion that the Chinese were lying and it was all a scam.
Finally, the netizen summarized, "Our US is just starting its high-tech projects, so how can China be ahead of us in building them? This is definitely fake news! It's fake news deliberately fabricated by the Chinese for their pathetic pride and their laughable delusion of surpassing the US!"
This post quickly gained widespread agreement among many Americans. After all, the vast majority of Americans would never believe that China could build such a long pipeline within two years, let alone a vacuum magnetic levitation pipeline. It was simply preposterous and absolutely impossible.
For a time, China's reputation in the United States suffered considerably. The board of directors of the US United Super Vacuum Tube Railway Company, seeing the online public opinion, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, if people actually believed these reports, their stock price would likely plummet.
Nevertheless, the board of directors of the US United Super Vacuum Tube Railway Company hastily convened an emergency joint meeting. Essentially, 80% of the representatives of the behind-the-scenes forces attended this meeting to discuss how to counter the threat posed by China's super-high-speed vacuum magnetic levitation railway to their stock price.
"Frankly, we shouldn't bother with these Chinese. They're just a bunch of country bumpkins who know nothing but imitation and fabrication. I bet their so-called 1,500-kilometer pipeline is all fake. In just two and a half years, they couldn't even build 1,500 kilometers of pipes!" one representative scoffed. "It took us nearly three years to build less than 100 kilometers of pipeline, and they claim to have built 1,500 kilometers, and even completed installation. This is utterly impossible, it's definitely a scam!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I can share some interesting footage we captured in China's Yunnan Province!" suddenly, the representative from Goldman Sachs spoke. Facing this request, everyone naturally agreed, and a video was quickly projected.
"Please take a look, everyone. This is footage captured by our staff in China at great risk!" the representative introduced. As the footage played, it revealed a vast, boundless jungle.
Initially, everyone expected some significant changes, but by the end of the video, the entire scene remained a jungle, with only some fencing visible at the very end of the frame.
"What's the point? Are you showing us a scenic travelogue?" one representative asked impolitely.
"Of course not. As everyone should have noticed, there is indeed some fencing at the end of the video. Now, what if I told you that this fencing is none other than the containment for the super-high-speed vacuum magnetic levitation railway pipeline currently under construction in China, and the jungle in the footage is precisely the construction site enclosed by this fencing? What would you think?" the Goldman Sachs representative said, narrowing his eyes, while the board members were all stunned.
"Hahahahahaha!" Many couldn't help but burst into laughter. "I've heard that the Chinese are obsessed with saving face, but I never imagined they would be so shameless and brazen just for the sake of it. They actually just put up fences around the ground and declared their pipeline construction a success!"
"Hahaha!" Others joined in the laughter, filling the entire hall with merriment. In their eyes, the case was solved, and there was nothing left to debate. The Chinese were clearly fabricating.
Of course, some less discerning individuals chimed in, "Could it be that China's pipeline isn't above ground, but rather underground, so nothing is visible on the surface?"
"Absolutely impossible!" an engineer immediately retorted. "While pipelines can indeed be buried underground, if they are underground, the pipes would be subjected to far greater natural erosion than if they were above ground. For a 6-meter diameter pipeline, the erosion would be terrifying."
"Moreover, and most importantly, maintenance would be extremely difficult. If it's above ground, when a problem arises, you can simply drive a vehicle over to fix it, which is very simple. But if it's underground, you have to excavate. Whether in terms of time efficiency or reliability, there are significant issues. Therefore, pipelines can only be built above ground, never underground."
This argument was well-reasoned and very convincing. The board members became visibly relaxed, their faces breaking into smiles. As long as the Chinese pipelines were fake, they could expose them at a suitable time. Not only would the Chinese be ruined, but by contrast, the US United Super Vacuum Tube Railway Company would highlight its formidable strength and superiority, further boosting its stock price. This was a perfect plan.
After establishing that the Chinese project was fake, the board's next priority was to focus on their own affairs. One representative expressed considerable dissatisfaction, stating, "According to the original plan, we were supposed to acquire 500 hectares of our company's land along the track. However, only 300 hectares were acquired in the end. Do you not want the remaining 200 hectares?"
"Mr. House, I've already explained to you that 200 hectares of the 500 hectares you provided were hilly terrain and completely unsuitable for pipeline construction. We could only route around it, so your 200 hectares are gone!"
"I don't care. Since 500 hectares were agreed upon, it means 500 hectares. Otherwise, I can't report back to the board!"
"And us! It was clearly agreed that the oil leakage prevention would be purchased from our company, but in the end, they bought from their suppliers!" another representative stood up indignantly.
"That's because your oil leakage prevention isn't actually produced by you. You're importing it directly from China and selling it to us under your brand. You should know that we are currently in a competitive relationship with Andi China, so I naturally cannot purchase your company's products."
"Nonsense! Which clause in the previous economic contract stipulated that suppliers cannot be from China? And even if such a clause existed, 90% of those present have used various products and parts produced in China to varying degrees. Are you any cleaner than us?"
After several rounds of verbal sparring, the entire meeting room devolved into complete chaos, losing the harmonious atmosphere of discussing China's affairs.
"Can I understand this to mean that the entire project is still in the land acquisition phase?" From the back of the meeting room, several people stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before them.
These were new shareholders who had spent tens of billions of dollars to purchase shares during the second phase of issuance. Due to the substantial scale of their holdings, they were qualified to attend this board meeting.
And then they heard the shocking news: the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation pipeline train, which had been in progress for nearly three years, was still in the land acquisition phase, and issues regarding land acquisition benefits had not yet been settled!
"It's close; only a portion of the land hasn't been finalized yet!" several accompanying individuals replied. These were employees of the US United Super Vacuum Tube Railway Company, responsible for hosting these new shareholders, explaining the company's current situation, and striving to appease these major shareholders.
"Yes, at least our phase one land acquisition is basically complete, and we are already manufacturing magnetic levitation pipelines. If all goes well, we will be able to commence laying the first pipeline in three months!" one staff member said with a smile.
"Still three months before laying the first pipe?" The newcomers were shocked. They suddenly realized they might have been greatly deceived.
As for the staff members standing nearby, they wore expressions of indifference, as they were not at all concerned about any trouble the new shareholders might cause.
After all, these individuals had invested billions of dollars in actual currency to earn their seats on the board. If they were to publicize the actual construction progress of the US United Super Vacuum Tube Railway Company, the company would inevitably face a stock price crash, and their hard-earned billions would be wiped out in an instant.
Therefore, it would be foolish to expose the real situation of this project. Even after learning the facts, these newcomers could only remain silent, not to mention defend the company and jointly promote how successful the project currently was. Otherwise, their investments would be irrevocably lost.
"Just visited our magnetic levitation train pipeline. The design and concept are perfect. I can hardly believe such marvelous transportation could exist in this world!" A few minutes later, these new board members began posting on their social media accounts, praising the non-existent pipeline, which they hadn't even seen firsthand, as incredibly miraculous.
There was no other way. Most of the participants who joined at this stage were insiders. It was impossible to deceive insiders. Therefore, they had to rely on a broad-casting strategy, continuously bringing in new people to act as buyers, and selling their shares at a higher price.