The Japanese Conspiracy

The sky outside gradually transitioned from pitch-black to a dark gray, signaling the arrival of dawn, and the sunlight would soon completely dispel the darkness.

Zach lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, having stayed awake all night.

Yesterday, he had met Mr. Chen from Fidelity Investments Hong Kong, a Chinese man who, coincidentally, shared the same surname as Zach's Chinese girlfriend, which made Zach feel a bit more at ease with Mr. Chen.

During their discussion on investment, Fidelity Investments expressed a willingness to invest $1.5 million in FB (presumably Facebook) in exchange for 35% of FB's shares. Upon hearing this demand, Zach immediately rejected it. The idea that a mere $1.5 million could buy 35% of FB was absurd!

Zach almost walked out, but the next condition put forward by Mr. Chen intrigued him: Fidelity Investments was willing to accept Class A shares, meaning they would forgo voting rights on the board! They would relinquish future decision-making authority!

The voting rights of Class A shares were only one-tenth of those of Class B shares. Even if they held 35% of the Class A shares, they would only have 3.5% of the total voting rights. Additionally, the introduction of Class A shares would increase the voting power of Class B shares, allowing Zach to maintain complete control over FB.

But that wasn't the end of it. Mr. Chen from Fidelity Investments went on to say they could sign a proxy voting agreement with Zach, which meant the voting rights for the shares controlled by Fidelity Investments would be fully entrusted to Zach.

Under this arrangement, while Zach's equity in FB would be significantly diluted, his voting power in future board meetings would not only remain unaffected but would actually increase.

$1.5 million was equivalent to the salary of a U.S. President for one term. With this $1.5 million, Zach could not only hire top-notch lawyers for his legal battles but also purchase several sets of servers and hire more staff to expand FB's operations across the United States! FB would then not just be a social network for university students but something used nationwide.

FB's control was Zach's Achilles' heel, and Fidelity Investments' offer hit that weak spot precisely. Introducing the capital would ensure FB's survival and growth while Zach retained control, which, despite the high 35% equity stake, made it hard for Zach to resist the allure of the $1.5 million.

To agree or not to agree, the internal debate raged in Zach's mind all night, like an angel and a devil battling it out. Finally, as dawn broke, Zach sat up in bed, having made his decision to accept Fidelity Investments' offer. Despite the reduction in his equity stake, he would retain control over FB.

Feeling significantly relieved, Zach went to his computer and began browsing the latest news.

"'Olympic 100-meter Top Three Gather in Japan'," Zach clicked on the headline out of curiosity, which led to an article introducing the Yokohama Athletics All-Star Meet. At the end, there was a poll asking who the readers thought would win the 100-meter championship at the Yokohama All-Star Meet.

Without hesitation, Zach cast his vote for Gatlin. The poll results showed that both Gatlin and Greene had over 40% of the votes, while Zhang Guan's vote rate was less than 10%.

"It seems everyone thinks the same as I do; this Olympic champion isn't favored!" Zach leaned back in his chair, musing, "No Asian has ever achieved world-class success in sprinting. This Chinese guy is probably just a flash in the pan!"

Tokyo, Japan

In the office of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister was meeting with Kobayashi Takashi, the head coach of the Japanese athletics team.

"Your Excellency, hosting this Athletics All-Star Meet is a great opportunity for our Japanese athletes to engage with top international competitors. Although our track and field levels are the best in Asia, we still lag significantly behind Western countries and even African nations. There are physical differences between Asians and Africans, and even though this is a home-ground competition, it will still be challenging for our team to win the championship. I ask for your understanding," Kobayashi Takashi said humbly, bowing his head in apology.

"Physical differences between Asians and Africans? I don't think so," the Deputy Minister smiled slightly and continued, "Hasn't the Chinese athlete Zhang Guan broken the world record in the men's 100 meters?"

"Well…" Kobayashi Takashi was also present when Zhang Guan broke the world record. The extraordinary speed Zhang Guan displayed was inexplicable to him.

After a few seconds of thought, Kobayashi Takashi responded, "The Chinese have made significant strides in sprinting in recent years. I suspect they may have acquired some advanced training methods."

"Advanced training methods? I don't think so," the Deputy Minister continued. "Coach Kobayashi, let me introduce you to someone."

The Deputy Minister picked up the phone, called his secretary, and said, "Please bring in the professor."

A minute later, there was a knock on the door, and the secretary brought in a man in his fifties. The Deputy Minister introduced him, "This is Professor Kondo Kamizō. Professor, this is Coach Kobayashi Takashi, whom I mentioned earlier."

"Coach Kobayashi, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too!"

After the introductions, the Deputy Minister continued, "Professor Kondo was a professor at Waseda University School of Medicine and later founded an independent laboratory specializing in biomedical testing."

Kobayashi Takashi, although unclear about the Deputy Minister's intentions, showed respect towards Professor Kondo.

The Deputy Minister then said, "Coach Kobayashi, you were present when Zhang Guan broke the world record at the Olympics. Do you think 9.77 seconds is his limit?"

Kobayashi Takashi thought for a moment before responding, "Certainly not. Zhang Guan looked back at the other athletes and didn't make a final sprint to the finish line. I believe these actions cost him about 0.02 seconds. Based on my analysis, Zhang Guan's true speed could be around 9.75 seconds."

"Then, as a professional coach, do you believe that the physical capabilities of Asians can reach such a speed?" the Deputy Minister continued.

"If Zhang Guan hadn't emerged, I would have unequivocally said that Asians currently don't have the physical capabilities to achieve such speeds," Kobayashi Takashi replied. "But Zhang Guan's achievements have proven me wrong."

"No, perhaps your thinking has always been correct. We have conducted a detailed investigation on Zhang Guan. Last May, he was just a high school student with no professional sprint training, and after only two months of training, he broke the Chinese national record. Two months later, he broke the Asian record. This might indicate that Zhang Guan is a genius. However, from the time he broke the Asian record, it took him less than a year to improve his time from 9.99 seconds to 9.77 seconds, an increase of 0.22 seconds. For an athlete running under 10 seconds, improving by even 0.01 seconds is extremely difficult. As a coach, you must know this. Therefore, I suspect that Zhang Guan has likely used some special methods to improve his performance," the Deputy Minister said with a sinister smile. "For instance, doping!"

The Deputy Minister signaled the two men to come closer and pointed to his monitor, saying, "I found videos of Zhang Guan's semi-final and final runs at the Olympics. Coach Kobayashi, this is Zhang Guan's gait after the semi-final. Can you tell anything from it?"

"He seems to be very exhausted, probably feeling muscle soreness in his calves, making each step heavy and causing a feeling of emptiness in his legs, which is a normal bodily reaction after intense high-speed activity," Kobayashi Takashi replied.

"Yes! But just two hours later! In the final, he appeared full of energy. Look at this!" The Deputy Minister showed the video of the final and Zhang Guan's post-race walk, and said, "After an even more intense final, his physical state seemed much better than after the semi-final. Coach Kobayashi, does this seem normal to you?"

"Uh, the final was more intense and higher in intensity, and Zhang Guan's post-race physical condition looked relatively normal. This indeed seems abnormal," Coach Kobayashi responded.

"Exactly, it doesn't make sense. After our analysis, we are almost certain that Zhang Guan must be using doping!" the Deputy Minister said excitedly.

"But post-race tests didn't find anything; everything was normal," Kobayashi Takashi said.

"That's because the Olympic testing agencies are not technically advanced. I believe the Chinese are using a newly developed, special form of doping that can evade Olympic tests, which explains their numerous gold medals in the Athens Olympics," the Deputy Minister stood up and continued, "We need to expose the truth and let the world know that China's rise in sports is due to their use of despicable means, such as doping! That's why I brought in Professor Kondo Kamizō."

"Professor Kondo's laboratory is world-class in terms of technology, certainly superior to European labs. If Zhang Guan competes in our country, he will have to undergo urine testing, and with Kondo Laboratory's advanced technology, we will definitely be able to detect the doping he uses! We will make the world realize that our Yamato people are the best in Asia!"

The Deputy Minister paused for a moment to calm his emotions before continuing, "I have arranged for TBS reporters to bring up the topic of doping in their pre-race interviews to set the stage. I'm sure Zhang Guan will oppose doping, and then we'll present the test results, making the world believe Zhang Guan is a hypocrite, possibly ending his athletic career prematurely!"

Kobayashi Takashi took a deep breath and finally understood why there was such a persistent effort to invite Zhang Guan to this competition, even at the cost of substantial appearance fees.

However, if they could indeed gather evidence of doping by the Chinese, it would all be worth it!