Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 555 Audition
After the performance, Rao Yuan, along with Tang Guo and Lou Shishi, bowed deeply to the audience.

She straightened up and glanced at Cheng Yi's seat one last time.

At this moment, Cheng Yi had already turned his head and was talking quietly with Li Fuzhen beside him. The eldest princess of Samsung had a bright smile and was very affectionate with Cheng Yi.

Rao Yuan took a deep breath and straightened her back.

With a perfect smile, she walked off the stage with her two band members.

Her performance was over, and her little secrets seemed to be temporarily sealed away as the lights dimmed.

She knew that she and he were ultimately from two different worlds.

When the last performer left the stage, it was nearly midnight.

The dazzling lights once again focused on the center of the stage.

Zhu Jun and four other hosts took to the stage again and said with deep emotion: "Tonight, the stars are shining brightly and the songs are resounding! We have witnessed the power of music, which transcends national borders and connects hearts! We have also witnessed a company with technology as its backbone and dreams as its wings, rising in the East of the world."

"Friends, the third anniversary celebration of Momo Group has come to a successful conclusion, but the story of Momo and the 'better tomorrow' for each of us has just begun to turn a new page."

Amidst thunderous applause, the curtain slowly fell.

This grand event, which brought together top international stars, Mandopop legends, and emerging local talents, was clearly imprinted in the minds of over 7400 million Mandopop viewers through satellite signals from Universal Television.

The name Momo Group also became one of the most shining symbols of Chinese culture in early 2005.

It is not just a cultural performance for a commercial celebration, but also a successful cultural export and image shaping to the whole of Asia and even the world.

For the first time, countless young people overseas watching on television experienced firsthand the immense power and unique charm of this Chinese technology company.

Although the curtain has fallen, the aftershocks of that dazzling ceremony are only just beginning to spread in all directions.

Seoul, Samsung headquarters.

The mess in the office has been cleaned up, and the new large-screen TV is showing the last scene cut from the Universal Television program. Cheng Yi and Li Fuzhen left the venue side by side, their posture intimate and their smiles composed.

Lee Jae-yong stared intently at Lee Boo-jin's bright smiling face on the screen and said in a deep voice, "Go and ask her what happened with that attack just now? Why did it only last for such a short time?"

The secretary stood to the side, her voice trembling, and said, "I just asked. Before our technical team could even get started, someone attacked Momo Group's server cluster first."

"What?" Lee Jae-yong looked back at his secretary and said, "Who did this?"

"We can't find anything," the secretary said. "Their offensive was swift, and they retreated as soon as they made contact."

"?" Lee Jae-yong frowned, slowly stood up, and asked, "And then?"

"After they retreated, we launched another attack, but we couldn't break through Momo Group's defenses," the secretary said truthfully.

Li Zairong said coldly, "So, the people we found just went along to join in the fun? They didn't do anything, and they might even have left traces?"

The secretary's expression froze instantly.

It seems... it seems that's correct.

At this moment, inside the top-floor suite of the Handong Hotel.

Johnson stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the bustling city.

He held the red wine in his hand, but did not drink it for a long time.

“Mr. Johnson, we…” Chen Yongzheng stood behind him, hesitant to speak.

The smile on his face had vanished, replaced by a barely perceptible sense of frustration.

This celebration not only showcased Momo Group's technology, network, and culture, but also demonstrated its formidable cohesion during the crisis.

This comprehensive display of muscle far exceeded their expectations.

“See that, Chen?” Johnson said in a low voice. “This is no longer an opponent that can be suppressed by conventional means. His foundation is deeper than we thought.”

He turned around and said with a sharp look in his eyes, "We cannot sit idly by and watch an IT company grow stronger in Asia. Your mission, starting tomorrow, is to infiltrate, divide, and dismantle the alliance within the Momo system, find their weaknesses, and prepare for the end of the truce."

"Why should we abide by that truce?" Chen Yongzheng frowned and said, "We might as well give them a surprise attack."

“No.” Johnson shook his head and said, “If we did that, we would become the villains in China, and Momo Group would be more than happy to see us break the agreement.”

Johnson didn't turn on the main light. He put down his wine glass, lit a cigar, and the smoke swirled around him, carrying a hint of suppressed anxiety.

Chen Yongzheng stood to the side with his hands at his sides, even his breathing became soft.

He could feel the chill emanating from his boss, which was even colder than the winter night in Jingzhou outside the window.

Cheng Yi's anniversary celebration was indeed a great success, so great that it was like a resounding slap in the face to all of them.

Johnson flicked his cigar, sending ash flying everywhere.

His voice was low and hoarse as he said, "Those idiots Samsung hired didn't even scratch the surface of the enemy; instead, they gave them a tragic hero's performance." Chen Yongzheng said, "Yes, we should have acted together."

Johnson remained silent. He slowly stood up, his tall figure exuding a powerful aura in the dim light.

He said slowly, "What we need to do now is to curb their overseas development as soon as possible and prevent them from gaining a foothold in Asia. Games are the foundation of Momo Group's overseas development and the lifeblood of its expansion. Even if we can't destroy it, we must at least make it bleed."

Johnson's words were unequivocal.

Chen Yongzheng immediately followed his boss's train of thought and said, "Boss, do you mean to support someone who can compete with him? It seems that Li Zairong has already done that."

"Hmph, the way he did it was an idiotic thing to do." Johnson sneered, "He didn't even know the true strength of his opponent, and he just rushed in recklessly. As a result, the opponent launched a counterattack, and he was defeated like a house of cards. He couldn't even launch a proper counterattack."

“Yes, Li Zairong is still a bit too inexperienced in this area,” Chen Yongzheng nodded approvingly.

Johnson said, "Momo Group's Primordial Era is an RPG game. The core gameplay is fighting monsters, leveling up, and getting equipment. Players are highly engaged, but the entry barrier is also relatively high, and the player base is relatively fixed. If we want to compete with them, we absolutely cannot go head-to-head with them in the RPG field. The reason why Li Zairong failed was firstly because he was careless, and secondly because he entered the game field that Momo Group is good at."

"Our marketing department helped me find a suitable game!"

Johnson took a document out of his bag, threw it in front of Chen Yongzheng, and said, "Look at this! It's a game made by a small Korean game company called T3."

Chen Yongzheng picked up the document with some curiosity. It contained several rough game screenshots and some Korean information. The scene depicted a virtual disco, with stylishly dressed male and female characters dancing to music, requiring players to use the keyboard arrow keys to perform dance moves.

He asked curiously, "Audition?"

“Hmm,” Johnson said, “It’s a casual game called Audition Online.”

"Music and dance? Keyboard controls?" Chen Yongzheng quickly skimmed through the core gameplay description, his eyes gradually brightening: "This gameplay is both novel and simple."

Chen Yongzheng looked up at Johnson and said, "Now in Asia, especially East Asia, it has become a trend for young people to follow celebrities. This game is simply riding the wave."

“That’s right.” Johnson smiled and said, “This game is targeting young casual players, especially female players, whose reach is relatively weak in ‘Chronicles of the Primordial Era’. They may not like fighting and killing, but they like pretty clothes, listening to music, and playing with friends. This game is a poison tailored for them. As long as there are more female players, it will naturally attract more male players.”

"The gaming market is only so big; when one thing declines, another will rise."

"Moreover, as long as this game attracts young people, we can simultaneously launch MSN in China and revitalize Lianjiang Internet Cafe in China."

Johnson pointed his finger heavily at the name of T3 on the document and said, "This company lacks money, technology, and, more importantly, channels to open up the huge Chinese market and the entire Asian market. These are exactly what we and Samsung can provide."

“Samsung?” Chen Yongzheng immediately understood and asked, “Would Lee Jae-yong agree?”

Johnson scoffed, a calculating glint in his eyes: "His hatred for Momo Group is probably even deeper than ours right now. Lee Boo-jin publicly holding Cheng Yi's hand is tantamount to ripping off Lee Jae-yong's face and trampling it on the ground. Moreover, Samsung has been humiliated in the gaming field. Not only did they lose Actoz, but they were also forced to pay a 30 billion yuan deposit. Can he swallow this insult?"

"What he needs most right now is a chance to get back at his opponent!"

Johnson straightened up, his tone leaving no room for argument, and said, "Fly to Seoul immediately and personally meet with the head of T3. Tell them that a mysterious consortium has taken a liking to their game and is willing to invest fifty million US dollars in them, with further investment depending on their performance. This consortium's technical team can provide them with state-of-the-art server architecture support, optimize their underlying code, and ensure the game's smoothness and stability! Most importantly..."

He paused, his eyes flashing even colder, and said, "This conglomerate can also help them get Microsoft's system pop-up slots."

“Okay.” Chen Yongzheng nodded and said, “However, given the current strength of Momo Group, we will probably soon find out that this conglomerate is related to our connection with Samsung.”

Johnson laughed and said, "Finding out information and obtaining evidence are two different things. Unless they can bribe the top management of this consortium and get the accurate share certificates, and even if they do get them, so what? Does that mean we can't invest in games? As long as T3 doesn't explicitly target Momo Group, then Momo Group can't say we're targeting them. After all, this game and Honghuang Zhanji are even different game categories."

“That’s true.” Chen Yongzheng’s expression relaxed.

Johnson said, "You should also stop by Samsung and have a detailed talk with Lee Jae-young. I don't want to see that idiot right now."

"Yes!"

Johnson said, "You have Samsung provide the distribution channels and on-the-ground promotion. Samsung has a huge number of mobile phone and MP3 users in Asia. Let them put the Audition Online beta activation code and game cards in the packaging of every new Samsung mobile phone and MP3 sold. Let them set up Audition Online offline experience points in the core business districts and university towns of all major cities in China and Asia. Let young people in Asia be surrounded by the Audition Online atmosphere when they walk on the street!"

He walked up to Chen Yongzheng and said in a very low voice, "Give T3 a death order: within a month, Audition Online must launch a large-scale public beta in China! I want to see it spread like a virus, and I want to see it snatch enough meat from the pie of 'Primordial Era' to feed itself."

Chen Yongzheng straightened his back, a fierce fighting spirit burning in his eyes, and said with a smile, "Understood, I'll fly to Seoul at dawn."

Johnson patted Chen Yongzheng on the shoulder with satisfaction, then walked back to the window, looked at the lights of Jingzhou, and said, "No matter how strong the Primordial War Chronicles are, can they stop this wave of popularity sweeping across Asia? Let's wait and see."

The next day, the atmosphere in Lee Jae-yong's office was extremely heavy.

Lee Jae-young stared at a document with a gloomy expression. Beside him, Kim Jun-ho lay on the sofa with his legs crossed, and in front of him was the same document.

Chen Yongzheng has left, but the joint investment plan between Microsoft and Samsung that he brought, along with his highly targeted market strategy, acted like a shot in the arm, giving Li Zaiyong a glimmer of hope for revenge.

"Heh, Microsoft provides the technology and online channels, while we provide the money and offline channels?" Jin Junhao sneered, shifting his legs and speaking with undisguised sarcasm, "Is Johnson treating Samsung like a sucker? I don't think this is necessarily Microsoft headquarters' intention, but more like that old fox Johnson is unwilling to accept defeat and wants to use us to vent his anger."

Kim Jun-ho looked sharply at Lee Jae-yong: "President, calm down and think about it. We don't actually have any core business conflicts with Momo Group. They make internet cafes, operating systems, and games, while we make electronics, semiconductors, and heavy industry."

Kim Jun-ho stood up and said very seriously, "The previous conflict was largely due to the Actoz Group, and... some personal grudges."

He skillfully avoided mentioning Li Fuzhen's name, saying, "Now that Actoz is gone and the deposit has been lost, we can put the grudges aside for the time being. Everyone has witnessed the strength and potential that Momo Group demonstrated at this celebration. Instead of fighting to the death, why not consider the possibility of cooperation? For example, their Honghuang Zhanji needs strong hardware support overseas. Samsung's chips, storage, and displays are all world-class. A strong alliance might just be a win-win situation."

“This isn’t about personal grudges at all,” Li Zairong said slowly. “We’re already on Microsoft’s side, and sooner or later we’ll have to fight Momo Group. Do you want to fight a fully-fledged Momo Group, or a Momo Group with its hands and feet tied?”

(End of this chapter)