Tearing Up Face

And that's exactly how it was.

The export price, though slightly higher than domestic sales, wasn't significantly more expensive.

But when these helmets were rerouted to the European bloc or Old Len Country, their prices skyrocketed by tenfold or more.

To put it bluntly, even white laundry detergent didn't yield such outrageous profits.

Money moves hearts.

It also indirectly exposed how laughably lax export controls were in those countries.

Of course,

Cao Cheng couldn't care less where these helmets ended up. As long as the money and emotional energy points rolled in, he was fine—even happy to fan the flames, letting the helmets slip into Old Len Country and similar places through gray-market channels.

More emotional energy that way.

Let's put it this way:

Buying a gold bar from a store and stealing one deliver entirely different thrills.

The subsequent fencing process also involved more steps and channels, generating additional emotional energy.

Plus, those buying under the radar were cautious, wealthy individuals—often with assets and social status—meaning their emotional energy was richer than the average person's.

So,

squeezing out emotional energy from these overlooked corners, if done relentlessly, added up to a substantial income.

Not to mention, many of these smuggled helmets ended up being disassembled, studied, and reverse-engineered.

Cao Cheng's security systems ensured these researchers were just wasting their time.

In the end, they squandered both time and research funds.

......

......

After the press conference, the controversy kept simmering, becoming common knowledge.

Abroad, certain parties amplified the outrage online, rallying international gamers who felt Miracle Games looked down on them.

But times had changed.

Only Miracle Group had these gaming helmets, and the games were exclusively from the Eastern bloc. Unless these protesters had the willpower to swear off gaming entirely, they had no choice but to swallow their pride.

Just look at who's out there protesting and boycotting Miracle Group now:

First, those who couldn't afford scalped helmets.

Second, those who couldn't afford Miracle Group's other products.

Third, hardcore nationalist bigots...

In short,

the people who could actually afford to play and embraced global openness weren't joining these rallies or boycotts.

Among the regions with the fiercest protests, John Country naturally topped the list.

Local officials there seized the anti-Miracle fervor to summon the regional head of Miracle Group's subsidiary, demanding they step in to quell public anger.

Miracle Group outright rejected the summons and issued a statement: "Matters involving our entertainment and gaming divisions have nothing to do with Miracle Cosmetics. If the local government insists on using past grievances to punish unrelated parties, Miracle Cosmetics will fully withdraw from John Country."

This escalated tensions.

John Country was furious. Extremists threatened to drive Miracle Cosmetics and other subsidiaries out entirely.

The back-and-forth dragged on for over twenty days.

During this period, emotional energy surged at an unprecedented rate—exactly what Cao Cheng wanted.

Now that Miracle Group was a behemoth, stirring up some trouble—especially when it boosted emotional energy—was a no-brainer.

So,

twenty days later,

Miracle Cosmetics announced: "Our company will completely withdraw from John within a month, enacting a full embargo on all John-based cosmetics brands and terminating partnerships... For John-affiliated brands in other regions and countries, we will enforce an ultimatum: choose between them or us."

This statement was an outright declaration of war.

The announcement sparked fury—and fear.

Especially the "choose one" ultimatum.

Everyone knew Miracle Cosmetics' market dominance. Most consumers couldn't live without it, and retailers worldwide couldn't afford to reject their products.

With this ultimatum, most countries would inevitably side with Miracle Cosmetics over John's local businesses.

In other words,

Miracle Cosmetics was going for the kill.

This wouldn't have been possible before.

But now, Miracle Cosmetics had rooted itself deep into the industry's foundation.

Crushing one regional market wasn't hard.

......

Xu Qing, the undisputed queen of cosmetics,

gave an interview with a local TV station about the situation.

"This decision was made by our European bloc's leadership, and our headquarters fully supports it."

"As for whether this will offend John Country..."

"Sorry, but I don't see an issue here!"

Chuckle...

Xu Qing chose her words carefully—after all, she represented Miracle Cosmetics' headquarters and was the industry's top figure domestically. She couldn't afford to sound as brash as some hotheaded youngster.

But

that chuckle at the end? It oozed disdain.

"Hahaha, Queen Xu slays."

"That dismissive look? Iconic."

"Xu Qing basically said: 'John Country? That speck of a place? Who cares if we offend them?'"

"LMAO—"

"Let's be real, Miracle Cosmetics isn't losing sleep over a tiny market of a few million. Even some backwater in Southeast Asia has more people—not to mention Europe's wealthier consumer bases. They don't need this one."

"I bet Xu Qing was dying to laugh out loud but held it in."

"Honestly, John Country crossed a line here. Gaming division's mess, and they expect the cosmetics branch to take the fall? What kind of logic is that?"

"Everyone knows Miracle's subsidiaries operate independently. Zero overlap. This has nothing to do with Miracle Cosmetics."

"Exactly... And why target cosmetics? Did they think Miracle Cosmetics was an easy mark?"

"Breaking news! Breaking news!"

"Big trouble! Big trouble!"

"Bros, bros—we're cooked! John's whatever department just announced they're auditing Miracle Cosmetics' finances and freezing their local accounts. Nearly 8 billion dollars in cash—GONE."

"YIKES—"

"‘Earn in John, spend in John—not a cent leaves’?"

"John's taking notes from Third Brother now?"

"Nah, nah—Third Brother learned this from their colonial daddy John. Let's get the history right."

"Fair point. Birds of a feather."

"So this is full-blown war? Freezing nearly 10 billion?"

The backlash was immediate.

Fans flooded Cao Cheng's socials, demanding action.

But Cao Cheng stayed silent—letting the fire spread.

It wasn't just fans and netizens watching. Other nations were eyeing the situation too, waiting to see how Miracle Cosmetics would respond.

If they fumbled, others might try the same cash grab.

After all, Miracle Cosmetics was raking in way too much.

......

Only after a week of silence

did Cao Cheng finally post a response...