Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 722 The Three Kings Gather
Faced with Lin Sipeng's shameless act of turning the tables, the FBI agents were furious, but without clear instructions from their superiors, they didn't have a better way to deal with him for the time being.

Forced confession? In today's climate of intense global media scrutiny, the risks are far too great.

What's more, this guy is a skilled actor. If he were to stage another scene of being tortured on camera, it would be another major news story that would shock the world.

"You will pay for your actions, Mr. Lin." The old detective suppressed his anger, uttered these words with a gloomy face, and led his men away.

Also taken away was Avril Lavigne, who felt she had been taken advantage of.

Good days are fleeting, like a flash in the pan.

The next day, Lin Sipeng experienced what it meant to go from heaven to hell.

The lunch that was delivered was no longer steak and lobster, but a return to the classic boiled broccoli and chicken breast, with only a spoonful of sauce given out.

Dinner was the same.

Forget about alcohol; there's only plain water.

The top-of-the-line laptop was also taken back without any hesitation, and all the entertainment equipment that had been delivered to the house was also cleared away.

The villa has become a cage again, even more suffocating than before.

Because Lin Sipeng had already tasted the sweetness of success, this huge sense of disparity made him feel restless and anxious.

"Damn it, a bunch of trash who can't take a joke." Lin Sipeng cursed at the empty living room.

He knew that the FBI had completely lost patience and had reverted to its most primitive methods.

It wears down his will.

Meanwhile, at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters, although Microsoft executives were helpless against Lin Sipeng's stubbornness, they quickly adjusted their strategic focus.

Since they couldn't find a breakthrough with Lin Sipeng, they decided to cut off Momo OS's survival space overseas by targeting the market.

Microsoft has intensified its cooperation with hardware giants such as Samsung and LG to launch deeply customized and optimized Windows+ hardware solutions, and has also leveraged its strong government relations network to lobby in many countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region.

In an instant, the Asia-Pacific market was in turmoil, and Microsoft's influence overseas was fully demonstrated.

At the end of January, in the president's office of Momo Group, Cheng Yi was warmly receiving a special guest.

Pang Dongzi, the founder of 2345 Company.

Pang Dongzi appeared somewhat uneasy at this moment. Facing Cheng Yi, who was young but already controlled a vast business empire, he felt an unprecedented sense of pressure.

"Mr. Pang, there's no need to be nervous." Cheng Yi sat behind his large desk and smiled calmly, "I invited you here to discuss 2345's overseas expansion."

Pang Dongzi said with a wry smile, "President Cheng, I was just about to talk to you about this. I've been studying it carefully lately. Our little tricks are fine for playing around in China, but the regulations abroad are much stricter than in China. Our promotional methods would be suicide if we went abroad."

He told the truth.

Many domestic malware programs still disguise themselves as useful tools, such as downloaders, browser plugins, and compression software. However, they often bundle advertisements and secretly install bundled software packages and other plugins.

However, in regions with well-established overseas regulations, such behavior, once caught, can result in hefty fines or even criminal charges.

Therefore, overseas malware is more straightforward; it doesn't need to disguise itself as a useful tool. It's either a virus or Trojan, or ransomware, and they don't even bother installing it.

Cheng Yi smiled and said, "Of course I know that directly copying the domestic model won't work, so what we need is compliant overseas expansion, or localized overseas expansion."

"Compliance? Localization?" Pang Dongzi was even more puzzled.

“That’s right.” Cheng Yi stood up, walked to the huge world map, and said, “First, we need to completely reconstruct 2345’s products, stripping away all modules that are suspected of violating regulations, such as bundling, silent installation, and traffic hijacking, while retaining its core practical functions such as file management and browser navigation, and focusing on optimizing performance and user experience.”

"This...this is like cutting off our most profitable business!" Pang Dongzi couldn't help but say.

"You need to distinguish between short-term interests and long-term development." Cheng Yi glanced back at him and said, "The cleaned-up 2345 will be a clean tool software and will be the first to enter the Asian market, seizing Microsoft's market share."

"But how can we seize the market without our promotional plugins? The promotional costs are astronomical," Pang Dongzi couldn't help but ask.

"That's my second point," Cheng Yi said with a smile. "Why do we have to use 2345 to embed the plugin? Can't someone we don't know create 1234 or 5678 and then promote it to you 2345 in a bundled way?"

Pang Dongzi was dumbfounded. This...this works?
"However, Mr. Cheng, this method can only solve our user base problem. Without a binding mechanism, it will be difficult for us to make a profit," Pang Dongzi raised the most crucial question.

Cheng Yi smiled and said, "This is the third point I wanted to make, and it's also the core one. We need to develop value-added services that comply with local laws and regulations and user habits, tailored to local conditions."

"President Cheng, could you give me an example?" Pang Dongzi asked, holding his breath.

"For example, in areas with poor network infrastructure and rampant piracy, we can launch a one-click installation service for genuine software and charge a certain installation fee. In areas where entertainment is paramount, such as Japan and South Korea, we can cooperate with financial companies to develop some internet lending services, bringing great benefits to the young people in Japan and South Korea."

"Credit services?" Pang Dongzi was starting to understand.

Pang Dongzi felt as if a door to a new world had been opened. Before, he only thought about how to make money by exploiting loopholes, and he never thought that he could make money like this.

He never imagined that he, an internet professional, would get involved in finance.

"This online lending service is limited to Japan and South Korea; it's not allowed in other countries," Cheng Yi added. Pang Dongzi nodded repeatedly, excitedly standing up and saying, "President Cheng, I understand. I know what to do."

“Okay.” Cheng Yi nodded and said, “I will have Huang Wenrong handle the specific details with you. The group will fully support you in terms of funding, legal affairs, and overseas channels. I hope that in the near future, we can see a brand new, compliant 2345 international version that has gained a foothold in the overseas market.”

"I can definitely do it." Pang Dongzi nodded excitedly.

After seeing off the spirited Pang Dongzi, Cheng Yi felt a slight sense of apology.

It's true that he invested in Pang Dongzi, and it's also true that he supported Pang Dongzi.

But his ultimate goal was to test the waters and see how Microsoft would react.

Pang Dongzi was that stone that was thrown out.

If Microsoft reacts strongly and gives Pang Dongzi a severe beating, then he will have to adjust his overseas strategy accordingly.

If Microsoft's reaction is not strong, he will test Microsoft's bottom line step by step.

It's very difficult for Momo OS to go global; the best it can do is quickly capture the civilian market.

He doesn't even consider overseas government and corporate procurement.

Many small countries have unpredictable policies. Some of these countries are smaller in area and population than Handong Province, and their economies are far smaller. Their policies change every day, which can be quite troublesome at times.

Just as Cheng Yi was using Pang Dongzi to test Microsoft's bottom line in the Asia-Pacific market, a meeting that would soon influence the future landscape was quietly taking place at the headquarters of Enze Capital in London, England.

In the chairman's office of Enze Capital, Ali Sharif, the stand-in actor representing Lei Jun, sat calmly in the main seat with his signature Middle Eastern royal demeanor.

Opposite him were two rising stars who had already made a name for themselves in the IT field.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Jobs was still wearing his signature black turtleneck and jeans, with a hint of urgency in his eyes, while the younger Brin appeared more casual, but his eyes also gleamed with the look typical of a technician.

“Mr. Lei Jun.” Jobs got straight to the point, his voice carrying a unique magnetism, and said, “We all know that Enze Capital has made extensive investments in the semiconductor and mobile communications fields. The capacitive touchscreens we need now can only be provided by your group. The purpose of our visit is to reach a cooperation agreement with Mr. Lei Jun.”

Sallyf nodded slightly, then frowned and said, “Mr. Jobs, we have indeed invested heavily in the field of capacitive touchscreens, but if I may be so bold, our current touchscreen production capacity is barely enough to meet our own needs in automotive electronic display equipment. We are afraid that large-scale external supply in the short term is beyond our capabilities.”

These seemingly dismissive words caused Jobs to furrow his brow.

His obsessive pursuit of perfection made him unable to accept suboptimal solutions; the soul of the original iPhone lay in its screen, which could accurately respond to finger touches.

“Mr. Lei Jun,” Jobs said, his tone becoming somewhat urgent, “I know that your company is probably worried that our growth will affect your company’s interests, but if you think about it carefully, our competitors are actually the same.”

"We must face reality. Microsoft's dominance in the PC field is unchallengeable. To challenge its Windows empire head-on would require astronomical resources and time, and the chances of winning are extremely slim."

"However, the mobile field is different."

Jobs said excitedly, "The mobile phone, this device that everyone carries with them, is a completely new battlefield. As long as our mobile phones have some of the functions of computers, it is possible to overtake them and break Microsoft's monopoly."

At this point, he looked at Sharif very seriously and said, "You should know that since the late 90s, after our alliance with IBM lost to Microsoft, some of our businesses were acquired and integrated by Microsoft. At that time, we realized that there was no way out to continue fighting in the PC field, so we focused most of our efforts on redefining the mobile phone."

"Now that we have gradually bought back and cleared out the Apple shares held by Microsoft, we have regained our independence. Now we really need allies, we need a strong ally."

Jobs spoke very frankly, and his demeanor did not seem feigned.

At this point, Google co-founder Sergey chimed in, saying, "Mr. Jobs is right. The capacitive touchscreen technology that Enze Capital possesses, as well as the mobile operating system that your research institute is developing, are the core of redefining the mobile phone. However, technological leadership does not equate to market success, especially on a global scale."

He adjusted his glasses and calmly analyzed, "Our government will never sit idly by and allow such a critical mobile core technology to be monopolized by a European capital with a complex background for a long time. They will have countless ways to intervene and restrict it from the perspectives of anti-monopoly investigations, technical standard barriers, and even national security reviews."

“If you want this technology to truly take root globally, Enze Capital must find a group of powerful American companies as allies. These allies need to have a deep foundation in the American domestic market and strong brand appeal, and also have a strong desire to challenge the status quo of Microsoft.”

"For example, you guys?" Sharif asked with a smile.

“Yes!” Sergei said without any modesty, “Google and Apple, founded by Steve Jobs, are your ideal allies. Google has the world’s strongest internet service and a huge user network, Apple has the ultimate product design philosophy and a loyal user base, and your Enze Capital has core technology and capital.”

“If the three of us combine, Enze Capital will provide core technologies and key components, Apple will create disruptive hardware products, and we will build a rich application ecosystem and internet services. This will be enough to rival Microsoft in the mobile field.”

Sergei's words made Sharif look thoughtful, and he said, "I need to think about it. How about we talk about this again this afternoon?"

Sergey and Jobs exchanged a glance, realizing that this was a big deal, and nodded, saying, "Yes, we sincerely hope to cooperate with your company."

Soon, accompanied by his assistant, Sharif left the conference room and went straight to the private lounge on the top floor of the Enze Capital Building, which had been strictly protected against eavesdropping.

Upon entering the room and confirming that the security system was activated, Sharif's composed expression, typical of Middle Eastern royalty, vanished instantly. He quickly turned on his computer and sent Jobs and Sergei's proposals from the conference room to the big boss's email address, verbatim and without reservation.

He particularly emphasized Jobs's urgent need for capacitive touchscreens and Sergey's warnings about potential US government intervention.

After sending these messages, Sharif sat in front of his computer, waiting anxiously.

Nearly an hour later, the big boss finally replied to the email: "An alliance is acceptable, but it must be led by us. Also, the phones cannot be jointly developed; everyone should focus on their own research and development and avoid interfering with each other."

(End of this chapter)