Chapter 217
Shencheng, Penguin Headquarters.
Inside a conference room overlooking the entire technology park, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it made it hard to breathe.
Tony stood in front of the projector screen, a fine layer of sweat seeping from his forehead.
On the presentation behind him was the strikingly minimalist green icon of MicroChat.
And an exaggeratedly steep user growth curve.
"...According to our latest data, MicroChat's penetration rate at Qinglin University has exceeded eighty percent. Moreover, through the campus network, it has already begun to spread to several neighboring universities."
Tony's voice was somewhat dry.
"The most critical point is that they just launched version 1.1 yesterday, adding a feature called Moments. Our product managers evaluated it and concluded that the design concept of this feature is at least a year ahead of ours."
At the head of the conference table, Pony listened expressionlessly.
His slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the mahogany tabletop.
"What is the progress over at the Guangyan Institute?"
He asked faintly.
"Well..."
Tony's face turned even uglier.
"Allen's team reported that MicroChat's underlying architecture is extremely complex and uses many optimization algorithms they have never seen before. Achieving a pixel-perfect replica within a month is highly difficult. They... they need more time."
"Time?"
Pony chuckled softly, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
"Will the market give us time?"
He stood up and looked at the endless stream of traffic below.
"Tell Allen that I do not care what methods he uses, whether it is pulling all-nighters or working overtime. Half a month. I will only give him half a month."
"In half a month, if I do not see the closed beta version of WeChat, he can take his entire team to the general office and collect their termination notices."
The temperature in the conference room instantly dropped to the freezing point.
Everyone knew that Pony was truly enraged.
"Also."
Pony turned around, his gaze falling on Tony.
"Go contact that young man named Gu Ran again."
"This time, do not talk about an acquisition."
Pony adjusted his cuffs.
"Tell him directly that Penguin will make a strategic investment. We will provide the money, the traffic, and the technology to support him. The condition is that he must accept our controlling stake and integrate MicroChat into Penguin's ecosystem."
"Is... isn't this a disguised acquisition?"
An executive muttered softly.
"No."
Pony shook his head.
"This is called bringing him into the fold."
"Give him an offer he cannot refuse. If he still does not know what is good for him..."
A cold glint flashed in Pony's eyes.
"Then tell him that the word 'lose' does not exist in Penguin's dictionary."
...
Three days later, Qinglin University.
A black Alphard commercial van with a Guangdong B license plate parked downstairs at the School of Economics and Management's teaching building.
The car door opened, and two men dressed in crisp suits with their hair slicked back stepped out.
Leading the way was the Penguin representative, Manager Liu.
He glanced at the time on his phone: 10:25 AM.
"Hmph, putting on quite the airs."
Manager Liu curled his lips in disdain.
"We agreed on ten-thirty, and he is still not here. He has quite the ego for a student."
The assistant beside him echoed.
"Exactly, Liu. If you ask me, we should have taught him a lesson last time. Mr. Pony personally gave the order, and he still dares to put on airs?"
"Just wait."
Manager Liu adjusted his tie, wearing the arrogance unique to the elites of major tech companies.
The two waited downstairs for a full ten minutes.
Only then did Gu Ran and Ye Zhenzhen slowly stroll out of the teaching building.
"Gu Ran!"
Seeing him, Manager Liu immediately approached with a dark expression.
Looking at the man walking toward him, the young man asked in confusion.
"Are you Manager Liu? I apologize, the teacher kept us late, making you wait."
The teacher kept them late?
Manager Liu glanced at the book in Gu Ran's hand, the cover of which read An Actor Prepares. The corner of his eye twitched violently.
Since when did the Economics and Management Department offer this kind of specialized course?
"Student Gu, time is precious."
Manager Liu could not be bothered to waste words with him and cut straight to the chase.
"Mr. Pony is very interested in your project and specifically sent me to discuss an in-depth collaboration with you."
"An in-depth collaboration?"
Gu Ran raised an eyebrow.
"That is right."
Manager Liu tilted his chin up slightly and spoke in a patronizing tone.
"Penguin has decided to make a strategic investment in your MicroChat. We will provide you with five million in cash, as well as cross-platform traffic support from QQ. In addition, the technical team at the Guangyan Institute will fully assist you with product iteration."
He paused and looked at Gu Ran, as if this were a monumental blessing.
"In return, Penguin requires a fifty-one percent controlling stake in MicroChat."
He thought Gu Ran would be shocked, would be ecstatic.
And would even grasp his hands in tearful gratitude.
However, Gu Ran merely looked at him with a smile.
"Are you finished?"
"I am finished."
"The terms are not bad."
Gu Ran nodded.
A smug smile appeared on Manager Liu's face.
"But..."
Gu Ran suddenly changed the subject.
"I refuse."
Manager Liu's smile froze on his face.
"What... what did you say?"
He suspected he had misheard.
"I said, I refuse."
Gu Ran's tone remained indifferent.
"Manager Liu, please go back and tell your boss. I look down on his money. I do not need his traffic either. As for his technology... heh."
He let out a disdainful laugh.
"As for the controlling stake, that is nothing but a pipe dream."
"You!"
Manager Liu's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
"Gu Ran! Do not be ungrateful! Do you know what you are rejecting? This is Penguin! An internet empire worth hundreds of billions! We can crush your little student project to pieces with a flick of our little finger!"
"Is that so?"
The young man's smile widened.
"Then I will be waiting."
He took Ye Zhenzhen's hand and turned to leave.
"Young man, do not be too arrogant."
Manager Liu roared behind him in exasperation.
"Without us, you are nothing! Within a month, our WeChat will be online, and when that time comes, your MicroChat will be nothing but cannon fodder!"
Gu Ran stopped in his tracks and turned around.
He looked at the flustered middle-aged man with a trace of pity in his eyes.
"Manager Liu, there is a saying: you cannot discuss ice with a summer insect."
"A month?"
The young man smiled meaningfully.
"In a month, you will thank me for not selling it to you today."
After saying that, he ignored Manager Liu, who was on the verge of exploding with anger.
Holding Ye Zhenzhen's hand, he walked straight toward the parking lot.
The young girl followed obediently by his side.
"You... you just offended them like that, is it really going to be okay?"
She asked softly.
"Offended?"
He started the car, looking at the shrinking figure in the rearview mirror, and said faintly.
"From the moment I decided to create MicroChat, the war with Penguin had already begun."
"There is no need to show mercy to our enemies."
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his unwavering gaze seeming to pierce through time itself.
"What we must do is put a bullet straight through their hearts before they even have a chance to react."
......
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
