Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 591 You've Been Used

The rooftop office of the Shilla Hotel in Singapore.

When Lee Jae-yong's private plane landed at Changi Airport, the sky over Singapore was filled with thick rain clouds typical of the tropics, making it hot and oppressive, as if foreshadowing an impending storm.

Without notifying any local Samsung branches, he drove directly to the luxurious Shilla Hotel, now owned by Lee Boo-jin, in the heart of Marina Bay, accompanied only by a few trusted assistants and bodyguards.

The hotel lobby remained bright and beautiful, but Li Zairong keenly noticed that the area originally planned for a high-end restaurant or luxury store had been replaced by a high-tech and futuristic Honor computer experience center.

The room was bustling with people, many of whom were trying out the computers, while several pretty girls were patiently explaining things to them.

This scene was like a sharp thorn, piercing Lee Jae-yong's eyes.

It hurts quite a bit...

Without pausing, he walked straight to the VIP elevator with a gloomy expression, heading directly to the chairman's office on the top floor.

The office door was pushed open by the secretary, but what Lee Jae-yong saw was not the panic or guilt that his sister might have expected.

Lee Fu-zhen stood with her back to the door, in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the Singapore skyline and the gently rippling sea.

This silhouette reminded Li Zairong of the scene when he went to Jingzhou to see Cheng Yi.

That bastard was in the same position, with his back to him, pretending to be deep in thought.

Lee Boo-jin was dressed in a well-tailored white suit skirt, her posture upright. She slowly turned around when she heard the noise, her face showing just the right amount of surprise.

"Big brother? What brings you to Singapore? Why didn't you tell me beforehand? I could have arranged for someone to pick you up." Li Fuzhen's tone was very polite, but there was a hint of distance in her politeness, as if she were facing an ordinary business partner rather than a blood-related elder brother.

Lee Jae-yong suppressed his anger, waved for his assistant and bodyguards to stay outside, and strode into the office, saying coldly, "Pick me up? I see you're busy helping outsiders count money right now, I'm afraid you don't have time for that!"

Li Fuzhen raised an eyebrow slightly, walked behind the desk and sat down, gesturing for her to sit, and said with a smile, "What do you mean by that, brother? I don't quite understand."

"Don't understand?" Lee Jae-young slammed a report on his expensive desk and roared, "Look at this for yourself! Our offline event, which Samsung invested heavily in, has become a tool to drive traffic to your Shilla Hotel and that Honor computer company! Lee Boo-jin, do you even know what you're doing? You're aiding the enemy! You're undermining the Samsung Group!"

His voice grew louder and louder, filled with barely suppressed anger and accusations.

Lee Boo-jin listened quietly, without even glancing at the report. Only after Lee Jae-young finished speaking did she slowly open her mouth and smile, saying, "Brother, first of all, please watch your words. This is my office. I am the chairman of Shilla Hotel Management Group, not some Samsung Group employee you can order around at will."

She stood up, placed her hands on the table, and looked sharply at Li Zairong, saying, "Secondly, in business cooperation, it's a win-win situation. Momo Group is an important strategic partner and shareholder of Shilla Hotel. Honor computers' presence in the hotel not only increases the hotel's guest traffic and rejuvenates its brand image, but also brings considerable rental income and profit sharing. As a hotel manager, is there anything wrong with me seeking the best profit model for my businesses?"

"As for what you said about aiding the enemy and undermining them..." Lee Boo-jin's lips curled into a faint sneer as she laughed, "Brother, have you forgotten? The Shilla Hotel Group has already separated from the Samsung Group. Its primary task is to be responsible to its own shareholders, not to pay for the strategic mistakes of the Samsung Group."

"You!" Lee Jae-yong was speechless for a moment, his face turning bright red.

He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Even if we become independent, you'll still be surnamed Lee! Samsung's glory is your glory, and Samsung's losses are your losses too."

"Oh? Is that so?" Li Fuzhen's sarcasm deepened. "When Father handed the hotel business over to me, you didn't think it was a great honor. Now that you see the hotel business reviving under my management, and even potentially becoming a new growth point, you think I should unconditionally repay the group? Brother, business isn't child's play; it's about contracts and interests, not some vague family sentiment, especially since you haven't given me equal support."

She walked around the long table to Lee Jae-yong, her tone turning icy: "Samsung Group made a mistake in its decision-making, investing huge sums of money but failing to make 'Audition Online' work. That's a problem with your management. And your inability to cope with the competition from Momo Group is a problem with your abilities. Don't blame your incompetence on an independent company that seeks development by following business rules."

"Li Fuzhen! You've really gone mad!" Li Zairong roared, "You're willing to completely offend Microsoft and the entire Wintel alliance for such a small gain? Do you think that kid Cheng Yi will have the last laugh? He's just using you!"

“Use?” Li Fuzhen suddenly laughed, a clear laugh that carried a chilling madness.

She stared at Li Zairong with a half-smile, chuckling, "Brother, who's really being used? I now have actual control over 19721 hotels, exclusive hotel channel sales rights for Honor computers in Asia, and my Shilla Hotel Group's valuation is skyrocketing. And what have you gained? Besides constantly burning money to fill a bottomless pit, besides being repeatedly defeated by an opponent you look down on, what have you gotten? You've been used by Microsoft."

She took a step closer, her eyes burning with intensity, and continued, "As for the future? Of course, I don't know if Cheng Yi will have the last laugh. But I do know that if I follow you, the Shilla Hotel will forever remain just a subsidiary of the Samsung Group, something that can be discarded at any time. But if I gamble with him, I might win a business empire of my own! This risk is worth taking! Even if I lose in the end, I'll accept it!"

Lee Jae-yong stared at his sister in shock, as if he were seeing her for the first time.

He originally thought he could easily subdue her by virtue of his status as her elder brother and the greater good of the family, but he never expected that she was no longer the woman who needed to act according to the family's wishes.

She was calm, mad, ambitious, and seized this opportunity for independence.

“You, you’re a complete madman!” Lee Jae-yong muttered.

He found that all his arguments were far too weak and powerless in the face of his sister’s naked ambition and cold calculation of interests.

“If this is madness, then I’d rather stay mad forever.” Li Fuzhen put away her smile and resumed her cold demeanor as a powerful businesswoman. She smiled and said, “Brother, if there’s nothing else, why don’t you go to the hotel and rest for a while? I still have a few documents to process. I’ll treat you to dinner after I’m done.”

"No need, I can't eat this." Li Zairong snorted, his face ashen.

He knew that there was no point in continuing the conversation.

He glared at Li Fuzhen fiercely, then turned and slammed the door shut as he left.

The office door slammed shut behind him, as if announcing the official emergence of an irreparable rift within the Samsung family.

Lee Boo-jin walked back to the floor-to-ceiling window and watched Lee Jae-yong's convoy angrily drive away downstairs.

Her face was expressionless, but deep in her eyes, a cold flame called ambition flickered.

She knew there was no turning back. But she was willing.

Sitting in the car, Lee Jae-yong's heart was even more chaotic and turbulent than the weather.

Lee Boo-jin's words, "You were used by Microsoft," echoed repeatedly in his mind like a poisonous thorn.

He rubbed his temples wearily, trying to calm down and re-examine the war.

Indeed, from the very beginning, Microsoft strongly encouraged Samsung to increase its investment in Audition Online, portraying it as a bridgehead to counter Momo Group's gaming ecosystem, promote MSN, and even consolidate the position of the Windows system in the Asian market.

Samsung has invested huge amounts of cash, invaluable channel resources, and brand reputation.

The results of it?
Audition Online's success was short-lived, and its online player count has plummeted.

Samsung's offline events inadvertently benefited its competitors' computer products. Momo Group and Honor Computer capitalized on the hype generated by Samsung's massive investment to successfully penetrate the Asian market.

And Microsoft... aside from verbal support and some technical attempts that didn't really stop their competitors, what did they actually give up?
And what did Samsung actually gain?
It's as if Samsung has always been the one burning money and charging ahead, bearing all the losses and ridicule, while Microsoft is more like a fence-sitter hiding in the back, cheering and waving, but ready to back down at any time.

“Use it…” Lee Jae-yong muttered to himself, his face growing increasingly grim.

He had to admit that Li Fuzhen's words, though harsh, were not entirely without merit.

He was tricked by Cheng Yi this time, or perhaps... he was also used as a pawn by Microsoft.

Just then, his cell phone rang.

The caller ID showed the person as a senior vice president at Microsoft headquarters, responsible for global partnerships.

Lee Jae-yong took a deep breath and answered the phone.

The voice on the other end of the phone still carried a habitual condescending urgency as it said, "President Li, we've noticed that the data for 'Audition Online' continues to deteriorate, which is terrible! It has now become one of the main channels for user migration within the Momo system. The massive amount of advertising funds you've invested has been completely transformed due to the involvement of Shilla Hotel and Momo Group."

Lee Jae-yong suppressed his anger and said coldly, "Then, in your opinion, what should we do now?"

He emphasized the word "us".

The other party seemed oblivious to the unusual tone in Li Zairong's voice, or perhaps simply didn't care, and said in a commanding tone, "You must resolve this issue immediately! Either stop all offline promotion and financial support for 'Audition Online' right now, cut your losses and avoid further waste of resources and driving traffic to your competitors."

"Either..."

The other party paused for a moment and said, "Either choose a more radical approach. Since we can't technically eradicate that cheat, why not incorporate it? Samsung or T3 could release a similar auxiliary tool and offer it to all players for free or at a very low price. This way, at least on the surface, we can level the playing field between Windows users and Moc-OS users and temporarily stabilize the trend of user churn."

Upon hearing this, Lee Jae-yong almost burst out laughing in anger.

Stop supporting? This means that Samsung's initial investment of over one billion US dollars has gone down the drain, the "Audition" project has essentially failed, and Samsung's reputation in the investment field will suffer a severe blow.

As for the official team making their own cheats? That's utterly ridiculous!
This is tantamount to deliberately poisoning one's own product for the sake of short-term data.

If the official stance is to condone or even provide cheats, the game will completely lose its fairness and competitiveness, and its long-term value will instantly drop to zero. This is tantamount to destroying its own foundation and digging its own grave.

Moreover, this short-sighted approach will make Samsung a laughing stock, demonstrating that Samsung is no match for Momo Group in terms of technology, which is why they chose to give up.

Microsoft's suggestion completely disregarded Samsung's interests and situation. Its sole purpose was to cut off the channel through which Audition Online supplied the Moc-OS system as quickly and effectively as possible. The extent of the losses Samsung would suffer as a result was not even within their consideration.

At this moment, Lee Jae-young's guess was completely confirmed.

He spoke coldly into the phone: "Is this the solution Microsoft offered? Are we forced to either admit defeat and lose our huge investment, or ruin our reputation and become a laughingstock in the industry? Is this the kind of advice your so-called allies should offer?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if they hadn't expected Lee Jae-yong's reaction to be so intense.

His tone softened slightly as he said, "President Li, please don't misunderstand. This is just one of the possible options proposed based on the current severe situation. Of course, we will share the burden together..."

"Share the responsibility?" Li Zairong interrupted him sharply, questioning, "What will you use to shoulder the responsibility? The public opinion crisis of the Pandora Project that you still can't resolve? Or your usual empty promises?"

He took a deep breath and said, "Let me tell you, Samsung is not a vassal of Microsoft. We have our own judgment and decision-making processes. As for how to handle the Audition Online project, that is an internal matter for Samsung Electronics, and Microsoft need not worry about it!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

The car was completely silent.

Lee Jae-yong leaned back in his chair, feeling a deep weariness, but also a sense of clarity as if the fog had been cleared.

He realized that Samsung could no longer be passively led by the nose, whether facing Cheng Yi's ruthless precision or Microsoft's selfishness and coldness.

He must reassess the strategy and find a real way out for Samsung, rather than becoming a casualty caught between Momo Group and Microsoft in the future.

He looked at the scenery outside the window, his eyes gradually becoming firm.

Although Samsung is already mired in this war, it's not fair to call it a loss.

(End of this chapter)