Chapter 218
A few days later, at a cafe in the university town.
The afternoon sun was a bit glaring. Gu Ran leaned back on the sofa, facing two men in sharp suits sitting across from him.
On the left was an old acquaintance, Manager Liu. The man on the right clearly had a much more imposing aura.
"Mr. Gu, young and promising indeed."
The middle-aged man handed over a gold-embossed business card with swift, professional movements.
Gu Ran took it. It read:
[Liang Dong, Director of Strategic Investment, Penguin Group]
"I'm Liang Dong. I'm here representing Mr. Pony to discuss the future of MicroChat with you."
Gu Ran glanced at the business card, ignoring the remark about the "future," and just gave a faint smile.
"You are too polite, Mr. Liang. The future is too far away. I am a pragmatic person; I only look at the present."
Liang Dong raised an eyebrow and withdrew his hand.
This young man was much tougher to deal with than he had imagined.
"Alright, then let's talk about the present."
Liang Dong didn't beat around the bush and took out a thick contract directly from his briefcase.
"This is our final proposal. Penguin will invest ten million to acquire a sixty percent stake in MicroChat. At the same time, we will fully integrate MicroChat into QQ's traffic-driving system and provide comprehensive technical support."
Liang Dong leaned back into a comfortable position, his tone carrying the unique sense of superiority typical of major tech giants.
"Mr. Gu, I hope you understand that this is the utmost sincerity Mr. Pony can offer. We are not negotiating with you; we are giving you an opportunity. A chance to board the giant ship that is Penguin."
Beside him, Manager Liu pushed up his glasses, a gloating smile hidden in his eyes.
It was as if he could already picture Gu Ran signing the papers with overwhelming gratitude.
Gu Ran didn't even glance at the contract.
He picked up the coffee in front of him and took a slow, deliberate sip.
Then, he looked up, meeting Liang Dong's confident gaze.
And asked the question that would leave a lasting impression on the other party.
"Mr. Liang, what if... I don't sell?"
The atmosphere froze.
Liang Dong's smile slowly faded as he scrutinized him coldly.
"Mr. Gu, you are a smart man. In the internet circle, those who try to stand in the way of a juggernaut usually meet an ugly end."
His voice was soft, but the threat was palpable.
"Penguin has never failed to get what it wants. We can lift you up, and naturally, we can also... destroy you."
"Our WeChat is starting its closed beta test next week."
Liang Dong leaned forward and enunciated every word clearly.
"The exact same functions, the exact same design, but we have eight hundred million users. Tell me, what do you have to fight us with?"
This was Penguin's logic.
Simple, brutal, and effective.
If I can't beat you, I'll join you.
If I can't join you, I'll copy you, and then use my sheer size advantage to bleed you dry.
"Fight?"
The young man chuckled softly and set down his coffee cup.
"Mr. Liang, I think you have misunderstood something."
"From the very beginning, I never planned on fighting you."
Liang Dong narrowed his eyes, trying to find a trace of forced composure or panic on the young man's face.
But he was disappointed.
Gu Ran's eyes were calm, showing not a single flaw.
"Mr. Gu, I admit your product is very creative. However, in the face of absolute capital and user traffic, any creativity is fragile,"
Liang Dong said in a deep voice.
"Young man, don't ruin your bright future over a moment of impulse. In this world, there is no problem that money and traffic cannot solve."
"Is that so?"
Gu Ran stood up and adjusted his collar.
"In my view, there are always some things in this world that money can't buy."
As he spoke, he took two hundred-yuan bills from his pocket and placed them gently on the table.
"The coffee is on me today."
"Also, pass a message to Mr. Pony for me."
Gu Ran walked to the door, turned around, and flashed a brilliant smile.
"Tell him that times have changed."
"The ticket to the mobile internet era isn't something anyone can just grab because they want to."
"If he wants to play, I'll play with him to the very end."
With that, he pushed the door open and walked out.
The wind chimes jingled crisply, and his departing figure looked impossibly dashing.
Inside the room, Liang Dong and Manager Liu looked at each other, their faces incredibly grim.
"Brother Liang, this kid... is too fucking arrogant!"
Manager Liu was trembling with anger.
"Are we just going to let this go?"
Liang Dong didn't speak.
He looked at the two crisp RMB banknotes on the table.
Then he looked out the window at the retreating figure, his gaze becoming incredibly complex.
He had a strong premonition.
This young man named Gu Ran might just become the most terrifying opponent the Penguin Empire had ever encountered since its founding.
"Let it go?"
Liang Dong picked up the unopened contract and slowly tore it to pieces.
"The game has only just begun."
...
In the car.
Ye Zhenzhen looked at the relaxed young man beside her,
and couldn't help but poke his arm.
"Did the talks break down? Did they throw their weight around and bully you?"
"Bully me?"
"The person who can bully me hasn't even been born yet in this world."
He freed up one hand and skillfully rubbed the soft hair on top of the girl's head.
"Don't worry, everything is going exactly according to my plan."
"Then... what about that WeChat they mentioned..."
Ye Zhenzhen was still a little worried.
"Just a clumsy imitator, nothing to be afraid of."
He knew that the inertia of history was powerful.
Even though he had created MicroChat ahead of time, Penguin would still launch WeChat.
But... so what?
What he held in his hands were operational strategies and business models that were a full decade ahead of this era.
What he needed to do wasn't just defeat WeChat.
It was to build a brand new mobile internet ecosystem of his own.
"By the way,"
Gu Ran suddenly remembered something.
"How did it go with contacting those art academy students I asked you about?"
At the mention of business, Ye Zhenzhen instantly perked up, her eyes sparkling.
"All sorted out! I told them it was an outsourcing project for GR Games to do original art for a new game, and everyone was super enthusiastic. They sent me several portfolios, and the art styles are absolutely stunning!"
"Beautifully done."
Gu Ran gave the girl beside him a doting look and smiled.
"You have great taste, so you pick. Choose the ones with the best art styles and tell them their salary is doubled."
"Huh? Doubled?"
Ye Zhenzhen froze for a moment, her inner little miser flaring up.
"Didn't you say recently that every penny needs to count right now?"
"We don't need to save anymore."
Gu Ran stepped on the gas pedal, and the engine let out a melodic roar.
"Someone just delivered money to us."
Penguin's declaration of war didn't make him feel pressured; instead, it made his blood boil with excitement.
It meant that MicroChat had truly struck a nerve with this giant.
Only a brave warrior who has caught the gaze of the dragon is qualified to slay it.
"Hold on tight."
Gu Ran's voice carried an irrepressible, soaring amusement.
"Let's go have a good meal to celebrate."
"Celebrate what?"
"Celebrate that our enemies have finally started taking us seriously."
...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
] [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!"
