Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 701 The Contradiction in Fate
Let professionals do what they are good at.

Microsoft also tried to develop an antivirus system, but many things require specialization, and their own antivirus system could not achieve such a large virus database and real-time updates.

Waters looked at the rapidly growing number of Kaspersky 360 installations and the almost unanimous positive reviews from users, and finally a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

He dialed Ivanov's number and laughed, "Mr. Ivanov, you did a fantastic job. You truly deserve to be called the strongest antivirus software in Asia."

Ivanov laughed bluntly, "This is just the beginning. We'll get even stronger. Be prepared to keep your promise."

“Okay, I’ll prepare the contract.” Waters smiled broadly.

At this moment, inside the executive apartments of Momo Technology Industrial Park in Jingzhou City.

Lin Qingyin walked over with a glass of warm water and gently placed it on the coffee table in front of Cheng Yi.

Seeing Cheng Yi's furrowed brows, she herself felt a hint of anxiety.

“We tried seventeen variations, modified the core behavioral logic, and even imitated the digital signatures of several legitimate software programs.” Lin Qingyin sat down next to Cheng Yi and whispered, “But Zhou Hongyi’s side reacted too quickly. Our promotional program was precisely located and quickly eliminated as soon as it appeared. They even started to build a behavioral pattern database. They have almost figured out our methods.”

She sighed and said, "With just our hacker team, our resources and response speed are no match for this alliance supported by Microsoft. Cheng Yi, it seems we are..."

"It's like fighting a fully armed army with a dagger." Cheng Yi slowly opened his eyes and continued the conversation.

Cheng Yi's description left Lin Qingyin speechless.

That's a very apt description.

Cheng Yi slowly stood up. He understood the pressure Lin Qingyin was under. Lin Qingyin only had five members of the Dark Lance hacker team at her disposal. They were fine for dealing with half-baked security personnel like Microsoft, but they would be stretched thin against an alliance like Kaspersky and 360.

Often, the software variants they spend an entire day modifying are shut down by the Kaspersky/360 team within 12 hours.

"Why don't we ask Teacher Yu and his team for help?" Lin Qingyin suggested. "If they step in, Kaspersky 360 might not be able to withstand it."

“No, we can’t let this get out of hand,” Cheng Yi said in a deep voice. “Once it’s labeled as malware, it’s doomed. I have a friend who was condemned by everyone.”

"Friends?" Lin Qingyin looked at Cheng Yi with some curiosity. She didn't know that Cheng Yi had such friends.

Cheng Yi didn't explain, and continued, "The Momo Group is a big ship that absolutely cannot be stained with this kind of stain. Qingyin, you and your team have done very well, but we can't continue to confront each other head-on like this."

Lin Qingyin looked at him. Based on her years of understanding Cheng Yi, she knew that Cheng Yi must have other ideas.

Cheng Yi took two steps and said, "Zhou Hongyi is a shield. His approach is defense and elimination, and he also stands on the moral high ground. The most powerful thing about him is that he can stand on the side of safety and accuse you of being unsafe. I used to..."

Thinking back to the past, a figure flashed through Cheng Yi's mind.

Their former boss was Pang Dongzi, the grassroots king of the internet.

Pang Dongzi's nickname within the group is Pan Dongzi, a man full of legendary stories and infamous online.

In his previous life, he worked under this man and witnessed firsthand the tenacious vitality of the 2345 series products, which, like vines, entangled themselves on users' computers in every possible way. Relying on various ingenious bundling techniques and the difficulty in uninstalling them, they fought fiercely with 360 in that era, battling it out for more than a decade, with each side experiencing victories and defeats.

He had completely forgotten about that old rogue.

“I’ve thought of someone.” Cheng Yi smiled and said, “Pang Dongzi, the guy who made 2345 Navigation, he should be able to use him.”

Lin Qingyin frowned slightly and said, "I know him. His 51 Community was very popular last year, but after failing to challenge Mr. Ma, he disappeared."

“Yes, that’s him.” Cheng Yi laughed. “He must be having a tough time right now. 51 Community failed to challenge Tencent and its huge investment has been exhausted. This is the time when he is most eager for funds and opportunities. And his and his team’s core competence is exactly what we need right now: how to occupy Microsoft users’ desktops in a friendly yet stubborn way, and how to deal with antivirus software. They are experts in this area.”

He looked at Lin Qingyin, his thoughts becoming clearer, and said, "We can't do the dirty work ourselves, but we can invest in someone who is good at doing the dirty work and is willing to fight for it for life. Support Pang Dongzi and let him fight Kaspersky 360. As long as he can hold out for more than a month, the era of Microsoft will be over."

"Invest in him?" Lin Qingyin understood Cheng Yi's intention.

Cheng Yi nodded, immediately picked up his phone, and instead of calling Pang Dongzi directly, dialed Li Weiwei's number first, saying, "Help me check the details of a company called 2345 Navigation in Zhonghai. The key is the founder Pang Dongzi's current contact information, the company's financial situation, and the background of the core team. Be quick."

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Yi said to Lin Qingyin, "Qingyin, for now, switch to defense and in-depth research. Stop all large-scale proactive planting and preserve your strength. Focus your efforts on reverse-analyzing the Kaspersky 360 firewall, the deeper the better, to find its rule vulnerabilities and monitoring blind spots. These research results will be our ammunition for Pang Dongzi in the future."

A few hours later, detailed information was presented to Cheng Yi.

Just as he predicted, Pang Dongzi and his 2345 were at a bottleneck in their development, with a tight cash flow. The glory days of 51 Community were over, and all their hopes were pinned on 2345 Navigation, which urgently needed a breakthrough.

Looking at the excessively young photo of Pang Dongzi in the document, Cheng Yi felt as if he were seeing the boss from his past life who had been pointing fingers at him.

The shift in time and space, the exchange of positions—this strange sense of destiny stirred up an indescribable emotion within him.

He took out his phone and dialed the number on the form.

The phone rang several times before being answered. A slightly tired male voice came from the other end: "Hello, who is this?"

"Is this Pang Dongzi, President Pang?" Cheng Yi's voice was calm, revealing no emotion.

"Yes, this is me. Who is this?" Pang Dongzi asked, his tone questioning. The number was unfamiliar.

"My surname is Cheng, and my name is Cheng Yi," Cheng Yi said, giving his name.

There was a noticeable silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a rustling sound, as if Pang Dongzi had suddenly sat up straight, his tone instantly becoming respectful and even tinged with disbelief and nervousness: "You, you are President Cheng of Momo Group? Hello, hello! President Cheng, may I ask what brings you here?"

Cheng Yi could imagine the other person's shock and helplessness at that moment.

For a business tycoon who runs a vast business empire to suddenly call the owner of a struggling, obscure internet company is nothing short of a prank.

“I’m very interested in you and your 2345.” Cheng Yi got straight to the point without any small talk, saying, “There are some things that are inconvenient to discuss over the phone. If you have some free time recently, come to Jingzhou and we can talk about it in person.”

There was no overbearing command, but the weight contained in the calm tone made it impossible for Pang Dongzi to refuse.

"I'm free! I'm free! Mr. Cheng, you can set a time, I'm ready to come anytime!" Pang Dongzi's voice trembled with excitement.

He knew all too well what this opportunity meant; it might be his and his company's only chance to turn things around. "Tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock, go to the Momo Group headquarters in the Momo Technology Industrial Park. Contact my secretary when you arrive," Cheng Yi said, and then hung up the phone decisively.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Pang Dongzi, far away in Zhonghai, held his phone for a long time without putting it down. His heart was pounding. He looked at his somewhat messy office and then thought of the vast business empire represented on the other end of the phone. A huge sense of unreality and a strong desire intertwined.

That's Cheng Yi, the young king of China's internet industry.

The following afternoon, in Jingzhou, at the Momo Technology Industrial Park, in Cheng Yi's private meeting room.

This meeting room isn't particularly luxurious, but it exudes a surreal, high-tech feel.

One wall of floor-to-ceiling windows offers a view of the neatly planned industrial park, while another wall features an electronic screen displaying real-time data from Momo's core businesses, silently proclaiming the power and influence of the owner of this place.

Pang Dongzi, an internet entrepreneur who was once Cheng Yi's boss in his previous life but now seemed somewhat uneasy, was led in by his tall and hot secretary.

He had specially worn his best suit and carefully styled his hair, but his fingers were still unconsciously gripping the handle of his briefcase, revealing his inner nervousness.

"Mr. Cheng... Hello! I am Pang Dongzi." As soon as he saw Cheng Yi, he immediately bowed slightly, his voice trembling slightly.

Cheng Yi in front of him was too young, so young that he was a little dazed, but the calmness and depth in his eyes made him feel a strange pressure, as if Cheng Yi could see through all his secrets.

Cheng Yi did not get up, but simply raised his eyes from behind the large desk and calmly swept his gaze over Pang Dongzi.

He casually pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "Mr. Pang, please sit down."

The two simple words made Pang Dongzi feel as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly and carefully sat down, only sitting on half of his buttocks, his back straight as a primary school student.

Seeing Pang Dongzi's behavior, Cheng Yi couldn't help but want to laugh.

In his past life, this jerk would lecture him every few days, forcibly feeding him all sorts of motivational platitudes, almost saying something like, "If you work hard, I'll get you a celebrity wife next year."

However, Cheng Yi was also quite grateful to Pang Dongzi. Without the spurring of this demanding and stingy boss, he probably wouldn't have achieved such great success in his previous life.

In other words, without this scoundrel, he wouldn't have been condemned by everyone in his previous life.

In this world, no one will be grateful to their boss, let alone empathize with them.

Therefore, he didn't have much feeling for Pang Dongzi.

All he needs to do is show up on time, complete his tasks on time, and collect his commission on time.

Strictly speaking, although this boss has many flaws, he has one advantage that surpasses 60% of bosses nationwide.

That means no unpaid wages.

"Have some tea." Cheng Yi pushed a cup of tea that had already been brewed over, his movements casual, but he put a lot of pressure on Pang Dongzi.

"Thank you, President Cheng!" Pang Dongzi accepted the cup with both hands, his fingertips touching the slightly hot cup, but his heart skipped a beat.

Even if he told people that CEO Cheng of Momo Group personally brewed tea for him, no one would believe him, right?

Cheng Yi didn't rush to speak, but slowly sipped his tea, letting silence fill the room.

This silence was nothing short of torture for Pang Dongzi, who was filled with anticipation.

Fine beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead. He couldn't help but speak first: "President Cheng, I wonder what you need me for this time?"

His tone carried a hint of cautious flattery.

Cheng Yi put down his teacup, his gaze falling on Pang Dongzi, and said with a smile, "President Pang, I've looked at your 2345 Navigation. I've also looked into 51 Community."

Cheng Yi's words made Pang Dongzi's heart jump into his throat.

Cheng Yi taking time out of his busy schedule to care about a failed internet startup like theirs that was about to go bankrupt made him feel incredibly flattered.

“You received $600 million in venture capital, and 51com was once the second largest social platform in China. But you’re quite bold. You even dared to use Rainbow QQ plug-in to mess with Tencent’s Ma Huateng. Don’t you know he’s one of my people?” Cheng Yi looked at Pang Dongzi with a smile.

Pang Dongzi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "President Cheng is joking. We are hardly the second largest social platform. We only have a 6% market share. The reason we are the second largest social platform is because there are only two community platforms in China."

"You're quite honest," Cheng Yi chuckled. "You're mainly relying on 2345 Navigation to barely keep the company afloat, right?"

"Yes...yes, I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Mr. Cheng." Pang Dongzi's voice was a little hoarse.

"I don't find it funny." Cheng Yi's tone remained calm as he said, "What I value is your unique ideas and execution in promotion."

The word "unique" made Pang Dongzi's heart skip a beat.

"To put it bluntly, I have high hopes for your potential." Cheng Yi continued, "Momo Group is interested in giving 51 Community a boost. The domestic market is currently dominated by Tencent, and it is also a business of our Momo Group, so we plan to promote your 51 Community to the entire Asian market and let it compete with MSN."

"Push it to Asia?" Pang Dongzi could hardly believe his ears.

This is like a windfall for 51 Community and 2345, which are currently struggling to survive.

The Asian market is enormous, more than three times the size of the domestic market.

If he can take over the Asian market outside of China, then what's Tencent anyway?

They're all younger brothers.

"However," Cheng Yi changed the subject, "I have an additional assessment."

Pang Dongzi immediately held his breath, adopted the most focused posture, and said, "President Cheng, you say so, I will definitely do my best!"

“It’s very simple.” Cheng Yi’s gaze locked onto Pang Dongzi and he said, “I’ll give you two months. I want to see your 2345 website navigation reach ten million monthly active users on the Microsoft system.”

(End of this chapter)