Chapter 34: Hot Discussions by Netizens

The MaumNet forum, Korea's digital heartbeat, pulsed with chatter about the Busan Industry Summit. Park Minho's bold chip speech and Industry 4.0 tease had sparked a fire, and netizens were fanning the flames. A thread titled "Who's This Park Minho?" was climbing the charts, its comments a mix of awe, skepticism, and curiosity about the young Hansung boss.

**8th Floor - WarmSmile**: "I rewatched the summit footage, and Hansung's Labor Edition 2 phone caught Big Kim of AliKor's eye. He even praised it! What's the deal with this phone? For Kim to notice, it's gotta be special, right?"

**9th Floor - FlowingYears_Youth**: "Hansung's Labor Edition 2 isn't your average phone. It's the first designed for rural laborers and migrant workers. Low-end specs—can't even go online, just calls and texts—but it's tough as nails, drop-proof, with killer signal and crazy battery life. Best part? Only 29,900 won!"

**10th Floor - ColdWorld**: "29,900 won? I could swing that, even if it's offline-only. But is the quality legit?"

**11th Floor - FlowingYears_Youth @ColdWorld**: "Quality's top-notch. I sell phones for a living, seen 'em all. Never come across anything like this. What blew my mind was Hansung's sales team 'torture-testing' the phone. I was sweating just watching."

**12th Floor - ColdWorld**: "Spill the tea on this 'torture-test'!"

**13th Floor - WarmSmile**: "Yeah, tell us!"

**14th Floor - HungryGator**: "I've got over a million won saved, so a 30,000-won phone's beneath me. Still, I'm curious—how's the quality? What made you sweat?"

**15th Floor - FlowingYears_Youth**: "Since you're all begging, fine, I'll dish. I was on a business trip in a Gyeonggi town, saw Hansung set up a booth at the train station square. Thought it'd be a standard pitch. Nope. Their sales guy, in front of hundreds, ran over a Labor Edition 2 with a car!"

**16th Floor - WarmSmile**: "A car? For real?"

**17th Floor - FlowingYears_Youth**: "Dead serious. Car rolled over it, and the phone? Not a scratch. That's when I knew this thing's built like a tank. But that wasn't even the wildest part."

**18th Floor - ColdWorld**: "Don't cliffhanger us, man, keep going!"

**19th Floor - FlowingYears_Youth**: "Haha, chill. I'm in the phone biz, so I know how fragile these things are. That day, the salesperson yeeted the phone skyward—three, maybe four meters high. It crashed down, and guess what? Just a tiny scuff on the plastic shell's corner. Buttons, screen, all fine. They handed it around for us to try, still working like new. I was floored. I've sold phones for years; they're delicate. This thing? It rewrote my worldview. I'm calling it the drop-proof king."

**20th Floor - WarmSmile**: "A scuff after a four-meter drop? And it survived a car? This phone's a beast."

WarmSmile's tone dripped with doubt. No phone could be *that* tough—it sounded like hype. Netizens smelled exaggeration, but FlowingYears_Youth doubled down.

**21st Floor - FlowingYears_Youth**: "Why would I lie? I bought one myself. It's 30,000 won—pocket change for a few days' pay. Haven't dropped it from four meters, but I tested its grit. How? Smashed walnuts with it. Cracked 'em clean, phone's pristine. It's a walnut-busting legend. Other phones? At 60,000 or 100,000 won, I'd never risk it."

**22nd Floor - ColdWorld**: "Smashing walnuts? That's reckless, man. Dropping it's one thing, but hammering nuts could wreck it. I'm kinda speechless."

**23rd Floor - FlowingYears_Youth**: "Haha, no worries. It's cheap enough to replace."

**24th Floor - ColdWorld**: "Bow to the Youth boss!"

**25th Floor - StarChaser**: "Worship the nut-smashing king!"

The thread veered into playful banter, but its energy showed Minho's ripple effect. Unbeknownst to him, he'd gained a superfan in FlowingYears_Youth, hyping Hansung's phone to a growing online crowd. If Minho saw this, he'd laugh—free marketing gold. Too bad he couldn't tip the guy; Youth might've earned a "50-won shill" badge.

Beyond MaumNet, Minho's morning summit speech—"How to Transform from a Major Producer to a Production Powerhouse"—was Korea's talk of the day. News outlets replayed his chip-focused pitch, tying it to national pride. Street corners, offices, and homes buzzed with his name and Hansung Technology. Though less detailed than forum debates, the public now knew Park Minho, Hansung, and its rugged Labor Edition 2.

Minho's summit gamble was paying off, but only partly. His speech, amplified by media, matched the impact of a multi-billion-won ad campaign, all for free. Yet, it was just a spark. The public was curious, but not hooked enough to dig into Hansung's products or Minho's story. His chip talk stood out among the summit's many topics, but it hadn't dominated. It reached a niche—tech enthusiasts, patriots, dreamers—not the masses.

At the summit, Minho sat quietly, unaware of his online fandom. His goal was unshaken: secure a final speech slot to make Hansung a national brand. His chip pitch, backed by Ni Kwang-soo's nod, had raised his profile, but Xu Hua's public attack showed the stakes. Saehan Mobile's boss wasn't just sniping—he feared Hansung's rise. With 180,000 phones sold monthly and a factory scaling to 1 million, Hansung was no longer a "small shrimp," as Xu Hua had scoffed.

The Ultimate Imitation Emperor System gave Minho's phones an edge—unmatched durability, tailored for rural workers, priced to disrupt. The forum's walnut-smashing tale wasn't hype; it was real, a testament to Hansung's engineering. But the summit was Minho's true battlefield. Ni's support and the public's buzz were assets, yet Xu Hua's gatekeeping loomed large. Saehan's low-cost model aimed to bury Hansung, and Xu Hua's summit clout could block Minho's speech.

Online, MaumNet's thread grew rowdier.

**26th Floor - IronForge**: "Labor Edition 2 sounds like a brick. 30,000 won for a phone that laughs at cars and walnuts? I'm tempted."

**27th Floor - TechBit**: "Minho's no fluke. His chip speech nailed Korea's tech pain—Wassenaar, failed projects. Industry 4.0's gotta be next-level. Ni Kwang-soo's hooked for a reason."

**28th Floor - WarmSmile**: "If Minho speaks tomorrow, he'll drop Industry 4.0 details. Bet it's smart tech—factories, maybe AI. Kid's playing big."

The netizens' hype mirrored Korea's hunger for a tech hero. Minho's youth, bold ideas, and underdog status struck a chord. But doubts persisted—could a small-timer from Gyeonggi outshine chaebols like Saehan? Xu Hua's summit jab had painted Minho as overreaching, and many bosses agreed. Only Ni's prestige had saved him.

Minho's next move was critical. The summit's third day, with its speech session, was his last shot. Industry 4.0—smart systems, chip-driven automation—was his trump card, but timing mattered. Teasing it kept Ni and the judges intrigued, but he'd need a third splash to clinch a speech slot. Xu Hua's hostility, paired with Motorola's Liang Ho's earlier block, showed the elite's resistance. They saw Hansung's rise as a threat to their thrones.

As MaumNet raved, Minho prepped. His notes, fueled by the system's knowledge boosts, covered every summit topic. The chip speech had tied Hansung to Korea's tech dreams; another bold pitch could seal his legacy. Xu Hua's taunts, the crowd's jeers, the gatekeepers' walls—they were hurdles, but Minho saw the detour. With Ni's nod, public buzz, and his system's power, he'd reach the mountain's peak. Hansung's name would echo nationwide, and Saehan would feel the heat.

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(end of this chapter)