Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 675 Microsoft's Last Stand

Zhang Lingyu's smile faded slightly. She gestured for everyone to wait a moment, then took her phone and walked to the relatively quiet courtyard gate.

"Hey, Yongqiang, what's up?"

On the other end of the phone, Wen Yongqiang, the marketing director, sounded a little anxious as he said, "Mr. Zhang, I'm so sorry to bother you so late, but there's a rather urgent situation that I need to report to you immediately."

"Go ahead," Zhang Lingyu said, her tone regaining its professional competence.

“During our recent market inspections, we discovered that an investment company called Gaoping Capital is making large-scale contacts with medium-sized internet cafes in our alliance that may not have sufficient cash flow.”

"The conditions they offered were very tempting. They promised to replace all the computer hardware in the internet cafe with the latest configuration at half price, including the motherboard, CPU, memory and graphics card. They also claimed that it would be a permanent half price. In return, they only needed to take about 10% of the shares in the internet cafe and would not participate in the specific operation and management."

Wen Yongqiang quickened his pace and continued, "This condition is very attractive to many business owners. After World of Warcraft became popular, internet cafes soon faced the situation of replacing their graphics cards. This is almost a risk-free and highly profitable business, equivalent to saving hundreds of thousands of yuan in hardware costs out of thin air."

Zhang Lingyu frowned deeply.

Half-price hardware replacement? Permanently?
This is quite a large undertaking.

One of the biggest costs in the internet cafe industry is hardware upgrades, and Gaoping Capital's move directly hits the pain point of small and medium-sized internet cafe owners.

A 10% stake can solve the biggest cost concerns for the next few years without losing control, no wonder those bosses are tempted.

"Do you know the background of this Gaoping Capital?" Zhang Lingyu asked in a deep voice.

"We're investigating. The registration information is clean, the legal representative isn't well-known, and the source of the funds is still being traced. But with such swift action and such a clear objective, there must be something more to it," Wen Yongqiang replied.

"I understand." Zhang Lingyu took a deep breath and ordered, "Compile a list of franchise stores that may be poached and a risk assessment report as soon as possible, and give it to me by tomorrow afternoon."

"Understood, Mr. Zhang!"

After hanging up the phone, the gentleness on Zhang Lingyu's face had long been replaced by a cold and stern expression.

She turned around and found that the laughter and chatter by the pool had stopped, and everyone was looking at her with concern.

Du Yusheng put down his wine glass, walked over, and asked, "Lingyu, what happened? Is there a problem at the company?"

Zhang Lingyu did not hide anything and briefly recounted the situation reported by Wen Yongqiang.

Before he could finish speaking, Li Xiang was the first to jump up, angrily saying, "Half-price hardware exchange? Do they have money to burn? This is clearly aimed at us."

Huang Wenrong nodded slowly and said, "This model of burning money to grab market share is very similar to Microsoft's approach. 30% of the shares may not seem like much, but if they hold shares in tens of thousands of internet cafes, they can form a small shareholder alliance that can influence our alliance's decisions. At that time, our unified management, system promotion, and event planning may all be hampered."

Yu Sen frowned as well: "The key is that the words 'half price' and 'permanent' are too tempting. Although our franchise model provides technical support, the hardware costs are ultimately borne entirely by the owners themselves."

Without even thinking, Jiang Yuxi said, "Let's talk to Cheng Yi first. That guy has a lot of tricks up his sleeve."

Zhang Lingyu nodded and took out her phone to call Cheng Yi.

Just then, the sound of a car engine came from outside the villa.

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Yi and Lin Qingyin, who was wearing a light blue dress, walked in side by side.

"Sorry everyone, I'm late." Cheng Yi smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "I went to pick up the birthday gift I made for Lingyu, which took a little longer."

Lin Qingyin smiled and offered her blessings to Zhang Lingyu, saying, "Happy birthday, Sister Lingyu."

At this moment, Cheng Yi and Lin Qingyin realized that something was wrong.

The expected lively and joyous atmosphere did not materialize; instead, everyone huddled together, their faces solemn.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Yi's smile faded, his gaze swept over everyone, and finally landed on Zhang Lingyu. He asked, "What happened?"

Zhang Lingyu stepped forward and said, "I just received a report that a company called Gaoping Capital is trying to lure our franchised internet cafes with a promise of a 50% discount on permanent hardware replacement. Many owners are already interested."

"Half-price hardware upgrade? 10% equity stake?" Cheng Yi said in surprise, "Isn't this crazy?"

"This is absolutely insane. If each computer costs 1000 yuan to upgrade every year, a million computers would cost 20 billion yuan," Huang Wenrong said. "Spending so much money and not even taking control, what exactly are they trying to do?"

“They’re quick on their feet,” Cheng Yi said with a smile. “We just took a bite out of their territory in Europe, and they’re already stirring things up in our own backyard. This Gaoping Capital is almost certainly a front for Microsoft.”

"Looks like I need to teach those internet cafes another lesson," Zhang Lingyu said, frowning.

"Don't panic." Cheng Yi shook his head and said, "They want to use the fire of capital to burn our roots, so let's wait and see if they have enough fuel or if our foundation is strong. This battle will definitely be a protracted war."

"Alright, let's continue the birthday party." Cheng Yi turned around and smiled at everyone. "We'll discuss the specifics of how to handle this at the company meeting tomorrow. Tonight, no one is allowed to think about work. We only have one task today."

He raised his glass and smiled, "That's to wish our most beautiful CEO Zhang a happy birthday."

Although the sudden crisis weighed heavily on many people's minds, Cheng Yi's calm demeanor revitalized the atmosphere once again.

Everyone raised their glasses, temporarily putting their troubles behind them.

"Happy birthday!"

Zhang Lingyu glanced at Cheng Yi, and seeing the familiar confidence in his eyes, the slight anxiety in her heart quickly vanished.

She smiled, raised her glass, and clinked it with the others.

Only Jiang Yuxi, between drinks, secretly glanced at Lin Qingyin, who was standing side by side with Cheng Yi, a subtle, complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

But soon, she smiled again and joined in the brief celebration.

The next morning, Cheng Yi arrived at the company early.

He immediately summoned Chen Mo, the head of the information analysis department, to his office.

This department ostensibly conducts market research, but in reality, it is responsible for collecting and analyzing business intelligence, essentially serving as the eyes and ears of the group.

Chen Mo is an elite recommended by Lin Hua, the former president of the student union of Handong University, and has excellent business acumen.

"Chen Mo, there's something urgent." Cheng Yi cut to the chase without any pleasantries. "A company called Gaoping Capital is contacting our franchised internet cafes. Investigate their background: their funding sources, legal representative background, investment portfolio, and the actual controller behind them. The more detailed the better." Chen Mo nodded immediately, "Understood, Mr. Cheng. Is there a deadline?"

"We need to be quick," Cheng Yi emphasized, adding, "I have a feeling this company has ill intentions."

"Okay, I'll report back as soon as I find the basic information." Chen Mo responded and immediately left to carry out the order.

Just half a day later, around 1 p.m., a preliminary investigation report was placed on Cheng Yi's desk.

Cheng Yi picked up the report, and the more he read it, the more his brows furrowed.

The report indicates that this company, Gaoping Capital, did not appear out of nowhere.

It has been active in the domestic internet sector for nearly half a year, and its investment strategy is extremely unique and generous.

Unlike most venture capitalists who chase unlisted unicorns, it has a particular fondness for publicly listed internet companies.

Xinlang, Souhu, NetEase...

Gaoping Capital has a stake in almost every well-known company, but its shareholding is not high, generally around 10%, which is just the right position to exert some influence without attracting too much attention.

They are keen to continuously acquire shares from retail investors in the secondary market, spending lavishly and never caring about short-term stock price fluctuations. This is why they have acquired so many shares without attracting attention.

The person in charge of Gaoping Capital on the surface is a young man named Zhang Xiao.

His resume looks impressive: he's a Chinese American, graduated from an Ivy League university with a degree in finance, and is the quintessential Wall Street elite.

However, the report notes that this person has very few public activities and an excessively clean background, making him seem more like an agent pushed to the forefront.

"Invest only in listed companies, without seeking controlling stakes..." Cheng Yi put down the report, leaned back in his chair, and sneered, "This is interesting. Are you trying to play the subtle, insidious trick with me?"

This all-encompassing, indiscriminate investment approach, which disregards short-term returns, upon closer examination, feels more like a network—a network attempting to penetrate and potentially influence China's internet industry and even offline terminal nodes.

"Waters has come full circle and ended up back on this path." Cheng Yi shook his head and sneered.

Developing the internet cafe industry was a move Microsoft initially wanted to make, but temporarily shelved due to the high cost.

Waters' initial choice to start with MSN and KartRider was a last resort. He originally wanted to target internet cafes, but he got off to a bad start, and Samsung was unwilling to cooperate.

Now that online channels are completely blocked, they either have to surrender or they are left with only one last option.

That is to break through Momo Group's most important Achilles' heel at all costs.

Internet cafe industry.

If Microsoft doesn't explore the internet cafe industry as a viable path, their alliance of game creators will lose its way to survival.

If these games switch sides, Microsoft's dream of regaining market share in China is just wishful thinking.

"However, they offered a 50% discount on hardware replacements, which is quite generous."

Cheng Yi likes to put himself in others' shoes when doing things. If he put himself in Waters' shoes, he could roughly understand Waters' purpose.

In an era where hardware-intensive games like World of Warcraft are all the rage, they use tangible, half-price hardware as bait, coupled with a promise of non-management, to quickly disarm internet cafe owners and establish initial trust.

This tactic targets the human instinct to gain an advantage and avoid risks.

When some internet cafe owners are still hesitant or have doubts about Gaoping Capital's ability to continue investing, they will reveal their true colors at the right time, showing their status as major shareholders of many listed companies such as Xinlang, Souhu, and Wangyi. This move can prove that they have strong financial resources and are by no means a shell company, and their promise of permanence will be more trustworthy.

Ultimately, quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Once a large number of internet cafes accept this handout and become accustomed to it, a huge high-capital system can be formed in the internet cafe industry.

Once they reach a certain scale, they can freely change the system and release their games.

Moreover, they only need to spend a small amount of hardware costs to achieve their goals.

As for this "permanent," it's as ridiculous as offering free battery replacements for electric vehicles in 2025.

If a bankruptcy liquidation occurs, where will users go to redeem their accounts?

"Using a year and tens or hundreds of billions of dollars to exchange for the foundation I've built over several years..." Cheng Yi's eyes flashed with excitement as he murmured, "Waters, you've pulled out all the stops. You really think highly of me."

He clearly realized that this was no longer the small-scale business battles of the past, but the prelude to a true decisive battle.

His opponent wasn't aiming for a single city or territory, but rather for his very lifeline.

It has to be said that Waters is really something. If it were any other executive, after the previous crushing defeat, they would probably have been forced to return home by Microsoft long ago.

As one of Microsoft's board members, Waters also wielded considerable decision-making power.

At this moment, in the reception room of a Tiantian Internet Cafe in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, the internet cafe owner, Feng Shangen, was frowning as he looked at the uninvited guest sitting opposite him.

This person was introduced by a leader from the Yangcheng District Administration for Industry and Commerce. His name is Gao Shunzong, and his business card lists him as the Vice President of Gaoping Capital.

Feng Shangen sized up Gao Shunzong, who appeared to be about forty years old. He was wearing a well-fitting navy blue suit, his hair was neatly combed, and he had a perfectly measured smile on his face that was neither obsequious nor lacking in respect.

He was accompanied by a young assistant who was holding a thick folder and remained silent.

"Mr. Feng, I've long admired your name." Gao Shunzong's voice was gentle, yet carried the crispness of an elite: "I apologize for my unauthorized visit."

Feng Shangen waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to serve tea. With the caution typical of a businessman, he asked, "Mr. Gao, you're too kind. May I ask what brings Gaoping Capital to see me?"

"I wouldn't dare to offer advice." Gao Shunzong smiled slightly and got straight to the point: "Our Gaoping Capital is very optimistic about the future of offline entertainment terminals, especially the internet cafe industry. This visit is to hope to reach a cooperation agreement with an industry leader like Mr. Feng."

A standout? Who? Me? Feng Shangen was a little confused.

He's just a run-down internet cafe owner, how could he possibly deserve such flattery?
While Feng Shangen was still in a daze, Gao Shunzong's assistant had already opened the folder and gently placed a beautifully bound plan on the mahogany desk in front of Feng Shangen.

(End of this chapter)