Chapter Seventeen: The Challenge

In the blink of an eye, January 1973 arrived. On January 27th, the U.S. government signed the "Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" in Paris with South Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, and North Vietnam. In the following two months, all American troops withdrew from Vietnam. For American soldiers, the Vietnam War was over. Making use of this information, Jesse, Mary, and Kathleen made a tidy profit in the stock market. At the same time, the three of them became firm believers in Weihua's intelligence and were filled with hope for the future of the Excellence Private Investment Company.

To reduce complications in operation, Weihua decided to simply buy and sell according to the fluctuations of the major market index recorded in the bio-computer. Because the intelligence provided by Weihua was so accurate, by October 1973, the company's capital had already approached one million U.S. dollars.

In America during the 1960s, the most famous Chinese figure was the kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. He was the first to introduce Chinese martial arts to Americans and Europeans, and he became a household name across the United States. In his previous life, Weihua had only heard of this name, being born too late to witness his legend firsthand, but at the academy, many young Americans idolized Bruce Lee. These admirers naively believed that every Chinese person must know those mystical martial arts. It was only after arriving in the United States that Weihua realized the immense influence Bruce Lee had there. Weihua vaguely remembered that Bruce Lee had died suddenly, leading to many legends about him. Therefore, Weihua deliberately searched the bio-computer's archives for information about Bruce Lee. The records showed that Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong on July 20, 1973, from a brain disease. Such a star, a pioneer who promoted Chinese culture in America and Europe, was not someone Weihua could bear to see die in vain. So he wrote a letter to Master Bruce Lee, informing him about his illness, hoping to make the acquaintance of this extraordinary martial arts master.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a world-class, comprehensive university focused on science, engineering, and management, cultivating top-level talent in these fields. The school hosts international students from around the globe, including many from Asia—Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and of course, Hong Kong. Weihua had to admit that the Japanese possessed an innate ruthlessness, towards both themselves and others. In order to quickly recover from the trauma of defeat after the war and revive the economy, the Japanese government had, in private, even proposed sacrificing a generation of women, using the sex industry as a foundation for Japan’s economic resurgence. The results were clear: throughout the 1950s and 60s, Japan’s economy maintained a 10% growth rate. By the 1970s, the U.S. government had begun to take notice, and anti-Japanese sentiment started to appear within America. With the outward expansion of Japan’s economy, Japanese culture inevitably began to spread abroad as well, and America was one of the targets of this cultural expansion.

In the small town of Cambridge, where MIT is located, there was a Japanese judo dojo. Quite a few students at the academy had once learned judo there, but after the rise of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, the dojo’s business sharply declined. Weihua also practiced martial arts, following a method for tempering the body derived from the cultivation techniques left by Emperor Xuan Yixian, as summarized by the bio-computer. The goal was to transform and strengthen Weihua’s body. The bio-computer’s development was closely tied to the robustness of Weihua’s physique. It did not only require energy; it also needed Weihua’s body to supply large quantities of uniquely human proteins, amino acids, and other bodily tissues. Simply put, the bio-computer would cultivate a second cerebral cortex for Weihua, which was its unique function. At the academy, Weihua was something of a celebrity, so his activities attracted much attention. News of his martial arts skills spread, and soon Weihua received a challenge letter from the Japanese judo dojo.

Looking at the challenge letter in his hand, Weihua found it amusing. Many Americans he had met genuinely believed all Chinese people could perform martial arts, but the Japanese should have known this was impossible. Clearly, the dojo intended to use this challenge as a publicity stunt—in modern terms, a marketing ploy. Whoever came up with this idea was no simple character. The bearer of the letter was a Japanese man, who handed the letter to Weihua and, after he had read it, spoke:

"Mr. Wei, please forgive my boldness. My name is Sato Eimon, from Nagoya. Our dojo is in dire straits at the moment. The Chinese martial arts craze sparked by Mr. Bruce Lee has made life difficult not only for our judo dojo but also for the Korean taekwondo studios. That is why we have come up with this idea. I hope you won’t take offense. I know many Chinese hate us Japanese—because of the great suffering we brought to China during World War II—but that was the doing of the militarists, who to this day continue to conceal the truth. We are not militarists. Our family has always advocated friendship and alliance with China, but our strength is limited, so our situation is as you can imagine. This challenge is a last resort, and regardless of the outcome, we will compensate you." Sato Eimon spoke in flawless, standard Mandarin.

"Mr. Sato, your Chinese is excellent! So, you and your dojo members are part of the progressive forces in Japan? Are you members of the Japanese League of Progress?" Weihua asked.

"We can be considered part of Japan’s progressive circle, but we are not members of the League of Progress. Our goodwill toward China has other reasons, which I cannot disclose without my family’s permission," Sato Eimon replied.

"Is that so? No matter. I accept your challenge letter. As for the specific time, I’ll let your dojo make the arrangements. But as for the gift you intend to give me, I must decline. If Mr. Sato can visit me often and share information about Japan, I would be most grateful. I also hope there will be an opportunity to cooperate with your family in the future. I wish to establish a company in Japan; the Japanese economy has been developing rapidly in recent years and has become a prime destination for many investors."

"Mr. Wei, you are too kind! I cannot make decisions regarding family cooperation, but I will discuss it with them. If you truly wish to do business with us in Japan, I believe the family will consider it. As for this challenge, you may regard it as the beginning of our cooperation."