Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 649 Shameless! Despicable! Base!
The revelry continued until late at night.

The next morning, while most people were still lying in bed with a slight hangover, Cheng Yi was already sitting in his office, looking refreshed.

At 10:00 a.m., he asked Li Weiwei to invite Huang Ganping over.

Huang Ganping arrived at Cheng Yi's office, his face still bearing a trace of fatigue from the previous night.

"Dean Huang, please sit down." Cheng Yi gestured for him to sit down and said directly, "Let's get down to business. I have an urgent task for you and the technical team."

"Please speak, Mr. Cheng." Huang Ganping adjusted his glasses, his expression immediately becoming focused.

Cheng Yi lowered his voice and said, "I need you to lead the core team to perform a special optimization of the Moc-os system, targeting MSN Messenger and KartRider."

Huang Ganping was stunned for a moment, not reacting immediately: "Optimize? Optimize their operating efficiency?"

“No.” Cheng Yi shook his head and grinned maliciously. “It’s about making them appear as unpredictable, non-fatal pop-up errors or lag on our Moc-os system. For example, during a voice call or while playing a game, a sudden error pops up. You need to make it look clever, like a software or network compatibility issue, rather than a deliberate system-level targeting.”

Upon hearing this, Huang Ganping's expression changed instantly. He stood up abruptly and shouted, "President Cheng, this... this is against technical ethics! This is artificially creating compatibility barriers. If Microsoft finds out, they will consider us to be engaging in unfair competition, which will lead to serious legal and public opinion consequences. It's like handing them a handle against us!"

Cheng Yi seemed to have anticipated his reaction. Instead of getting angry, he calmly looked at him and asked, "Dean Huang, do you think Microsoft won't take action against us if we don't do this?"

He looked at Huang Ganping and said in a steady voice, "Waters hasn't done that yet. Firstly, our domestic system users are on par with theirs, and secondly, their game has no competitors. Once their game to compete with 'Honghuang Zhanji' and 'World of Warcraft' comes out, the problems they create on the Windows system will be more frequent than ours."

“But…” Huang Ganping still couldn’t accept it.

Cheng Yi lit a cigarette and tossed one to Huang Ganping, saying, "Dean Huang, this is business warfare. There are never any bottom lines in business warfare; it's all about exploring each other's limits."

“We now have over 60 million Moc-os users, which is our home advantage. Before they can make a move, we'll let them suffer on our own turf. This is called preventative self-defense, or striking first!”

He walked up to Huang Ganping, his tone softening, and said, "Dean Huang, I understand your insistence on the purity of technology. But you must understand that what we are protecting is not just an operating system, but the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of employees behind it, and the hope for the entire Chinese IT industry to break the monopoly."

"Sometimes, extraordinary measures are needed in extraordinary times."

Huang Ganping fell silent, his struggle evident on his face.

He has always believed in the openness and fairness of technology, but Cheng Yi's words are also very realistic.

He knew Cheng Yi was telling the truth; Microsoft was absolutely capable of doing it, and perhaps even more ruthless.

After a long silence, he sighed deeply, as if making a difficult decision, and said in a low voice, "I understand, Mr. Cheng. I will organize the most trustworthy team to handle this carefully. I guarantee it will look like a random technical glitch."

Cheng Yi nodded in satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "You must keep it in moderation, and don't play it too often. Once every hour is enough."

Upon hearing the requirement to play once an hour, Huang Ganping's lips twitched involuntarily.

He sighed, turned and left the office, his steps heavy.

He knew he was about to cross an ethical line in technology, but for the survival and development of Momo Group, he had no other choice.

After seeing Huang Ganping off, Cheng Yi instructed Li Weiwei to buy plane tickets and personally went to Shenxia City.

At this moment, the headquarters of Tencent is shrouded in a deep sense of oppression.

Ma Huateng was curled up in the large executive chair, his eyes sunken and his beard unshaven, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

On the desktop, the pile of files consisted mostly of declining data reports and urgent requests from various departments.

The combined dominance of MSN and KartRider has almost completely drained Tencent of its last bit of vitality.

When the secretary announced that President Cheng Yi had come in person, Ma Huateng raised his eyes almost numbly.

He didn't even bother to get up and greet him.

When Cheng Yi walked in and saw Ma Huateng's appearance, he didn't offer much comfort.

He pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, saying, "Mr. Ma, you've been slacking off for long enough. Now, isn't it time to launch a counterattack?"

Ma Huateng's unfocused eyes sharpened, a bitter look appearing on his face: "Counterattack? President Cheng, what can I use to counterattack? All the users have left. If it weren't for your continuous financial support, our cash flow would probably have dried up long ago..."

"Users are like mothers; they'll follow whoever feeds them. You have to win them back the way they left," Cheng Yi said, enunciating each word clearly. "The money, I'll give you."

Ma Huateng's gaze slowly focused, staring intently at Cheng Yi, and he murmured, "Is there still a chance to win?"

Cheng Yi laughed and said, "It's not about whether there's a chance of winning, but about leading you to a sure victory."

"A sure win?" Ma Huateng muttered, "Unless the Momo system takes down MSN and KartRider..."

"That's about right." Cheng Yi smiled ambiguously.

Upon hearing this, Ma Huateng's eyes suddenly lit up.

He stared at Cheng Yi in shock. When Cheng Yi nodded, Ma Huateng stood up abruptly, as if he had been given a second spring. His voice trembled as he said, "Really, really?"

"Otherwise, why do you think I came here in person?" Cheng Yi patted Ma Huateng on the shoulder and laughed, "Can you cheer up now? I can't tell you what I've been doing lately, so I'm sorry to trouble you."

“No, I’m not wronged.” Ma Huateng quickly shook his head, a smile and radiance appearing on his face.

Cheng Yi's expression slowly turned serious, and he said, "Listen, I need you to do three things immediately."

“President Cheng, please speak,” Ma Huateng replied quickly.

Cheng Yi said, "First, immediately add a racing game mode to your 'Sweet Home'. Let couples or playmates design and modify their own cars together, and compete against other teams on their own home tracks. The gameplay should be simple and fun, with strong social elements and generous rewards. It's too slow to make a racing game now; it's easier to release an expansion pack."

Add racing? Ma Huateng was taken aback at first, but then thought about it carefully. Now that Sweet Home has the couple dance mode of Audition Online, adding racing gameplay wouldn't be too abrupt.

Cheng Yi continued, "Secondly, headquarters will approve a 1 billion yuan interest-free loan for you. Use this money to launch the QQ user return reward program and the Sweet Home special subsidy program. Users who have been away for more than a month will receive Q coins and game items directly upon their return. We will also give them game cards for completing daily tasks in Sweet Home. At the same time, we will promote our UT Voice and deeply integrate it with QQ."

"Great!" Ma Huateng's lips trembled with excitement when he heard there was a billion.

“Third,” Cheng Yi said, staring intently at Ma Huateng, “I want you to stop the decline and start a new rise in QQ’s daily active users within a month, and make the new expansion pack of ‘Sweet Home’ a hot topic. How to promote it and how to do it is your job. I’ve given you the money and the opportunity. If you still can’t make it work, then your management team is too incompetent, and I will consider replacing them.”

“I’m sure I can do it,” Ma Huateng immediately assured him.

"Hmm." Cheng Yi stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Mr. Ma, Penguin is a child you raised from scratch. It's not dead yet. Don't give up on it yourself. Show the same drive you had when you started your business." "Yes, Mr. Cheng, I understand." Ma Huateng almost shouted. He stood up abruptly, his vision momentarily blurred from the sudden movement, but the dejection on his face was replaced by an almost frenzied excitement: "I'll personally lead the team. In a month, I will definitely give you an explanation."

"Keep it up!" Cheng Yi smiled and nodded, then turned and left Ma Huateng's office.

After seeing Cheng Yi off, Ma Huateng seemed like a completely different person.

He rushed into the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. Looking at himself in the mirror, his fighting spirit rekindled, he clenched his fists tightly.

He returned to his office and immediately convened a meeting with all the core members.

Without wasting words, he went straight to assigning tasks, breaking down Cheng Yi's requirements into detailed steps and assigning responsibility to each individual.

Under the night sky of Deep Summer City, the lights of the Penguin Building once again shone as bright as day.

Ma Huateng moved his desk directly to the game development department and lived and worked at the company with the programmers and planners.

Based on the already strong UGC features and social foundation of "Sweet Home".

The development of the couples racing game is progressing at an astonishing pace.

They also cleverly utilized the concept of home plots to set up ramps, traps, and acceleration zones, designing seven or eight very interesting tracks.

The racing car modification parts can be obtained through home production, mission rewards, or events, which is full of simulation management fun.

Meanwhile, the UT Voice team was asked to fully cooperate in optimizing in-game voice latency and clarity to ensure smooth communication during racing.

A massive subsidy plan was also formulated overnight, with rewards for returning users that were so generous that they were hard to refuse.

In less than three weeks, the major expansion pack for Sweet Home, "The House of Love, The Racetrack of the Wind," was officially launched.

The promotional slogan directly targets "KartRider": There are no cold tracks here, only a loving home and someone cheering for you!

Initially, it did not attract much attention.

But soon, some returning old users and core players of "Sweet Home" discovered the fun of this new gameplay.

Unlike KartRider, which pursues ultimate control and speed, it emphasizes cooperation between couples or friends.

The joy of playing in duos is definitely much more engaging than playing alone.

After all, the most satisfying part of the game isn't that you came in first place, but that someone else witnessed you coming in first place.

However, despite the growing positive word-of-mouth for the new expansion pack for Sweet Home, the number of online players for Sweet Home only increased by a symbolic tens of thousands in the face of the immense popularity of KartRider.

Although it cannot shake the dominant position of "KartRider", the topic of Home Racing has begun to generate buzz online.

In mid-March, the spring chill lingered.

Even though the temperature hasn't returned to spring, the flagship store of a large Momo Internet cafe in Jingzhou City is still bustling with activity.

On the second floor of the internet cafe, a game guild called War God Temple is organizing an important guild war in the game "Primordial Era".

Guild leader, War God Ahao, wearing a headset, was giving tense instructions via MSN's TeamSpeak voice chat.

"Priests, keep up and keep healing the tank. Mages, focus fire on that elite mob. Rogues, go and flank the backline..."

His command was clear and effective, and the team cooperated seamlessly.

Just as the battle reached its most critical moment, a familiar error message suddenly popped up and got stuck in the center of the screen.

An error occurred while running MSN Messenger.

"Damn it!" Ah Hao cursed angrily, hurriedly closed the app, logged back into MSN, and entered the voice channel.

In just a few seconds, the team lost its leader, and their formation became slightly chaotic, almost leading to a wipeout.

"Damn it, what a piece of junk software, it always fails at crucial moments." Complaints from other team members came through the channel.

"I just got stuck too."

What's wrong with MSN lately? It keeps acting up.

Similar situations are beginning to appear in more and more internet cafes and among individual users across the country.

While playing KartRider, just as I was about to make a turn and teleport, that damn error message popped up.

The same applies to MSN voice chat; the more people online in a channel, the greater the chance of an error.

Although the error messages are not frequent, maybe only once or twice an hour, they tend to appear at crucial moments, which is incredibly frustrating.

Users assumed the problem lay with the Microsoft software itself, and the complaints were mainly concentrated on MSN and the KartRider forums.

The atmosphere at Microsoft Asia headquarters was completely different from the triumphant atmosphere of just a few weeks earlier.

Waters' face was ashen, his chest heaving violently, and he clutched a detailed report that had just been submitted by the technical analysis team.

The report uses solid data and analysis to prove that the frequent random failures of MSN and KartRider on the Moc-os system, based on their occurrence patterns and error code characteristics, strongly point to human intervention at the system level, rather than simple software compatibility issues.

"Shameless! Despicable! Base!" Waters slammed the report down on the expensive European-style desk with a loud bang, startling his assistant and Sarah who were standing nearby.

Waters could no longer maintain his usual calm and elite image. He paced back and forth in his office, spewing out a string of English curses, each step accompanied by a "FACK".

"They actually resorted to such despicable means! This is a blatant desecration of technology and a naked trampling of the principles of fair competition!" Waters felt like a clown being mocked, and all the sense of victory he had felt before had turned into immense humiliation.

He had already chosen a fair and moderate approach to competition, yet these damned guys still tried to play dirty tricks on him.

Moreover, he kicked him in the balls.

(End of this chapter)