The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

Chapter 349 Ice Cream Cone Available [Two Chapters Combined, Bonus Chapter 32]

Shen Mo booked two executive suites on the top floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel late at night.

Before entering, Li Yitong turned around and gave Shen Mo a bright, sparkling look.

He then turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Li Lin, smiling mischievously.

"Hehe, I'll lend you my medicine to heal your wounds tonight. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't hold it against you."

Li Yitong ultimately kept her promise and gave Shen Mo to Li Lin for the night.

Then he pulled Meng Ziyi, who looked reluctant and was whining, towards another suite.

As soon as Meng Ziyi entered the room, she kicked off her high heels and collapsed onto the sofa without any regard for her image.

Li Yitong shook her head helplessly, washed up, and changed into loose and comfortable silk pajamas.

Lying in bed, the two of them wore face masks and chatted about the fun things that happened that night. Meng Ziyi had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, and soon fell into a deep sleep in Li Yitong's arms, breathing evenly.

Li Yitong gently covered her with the blanket, turned off the main light, but her gaze involuntarily drifted to the window.

In the room next door, spring is probably in full bloom right now, isn't it?

Meanwhile, in the suite next door, the curtains were drawn tightly shut, leaving only a dim bedside lamp.

Li Qin leaned against the closed door, her breathing becoming rapid.

The dress she wore shimmered faintly in the darkness, perfectly outlining her silhouette.

"Amo————"

Li Qin murmured softly, her beautiful eyes shining brightly in the dim light.

Tonight, watching Meng Ziyi win Best Newcomer and Li Yitong win Best Actress, it's impossible for her, as a runner-up, not to feel a little disappointed.

But now, in this private room, all the loss has turned into the most frantic demands.

Shen Mo stepped forward, placed one hand on the door panel, and looked down at her.

"Want some comfort?"

Shen Mo's voice carried a hint of teasing and playfulness.

"Hmm—I need the best comfort."

Li Qin tilted her head back and climbed onto Shen Mo's shoulders, wrapping herself around him like a vine.

When their lips pressed tightly together, the pent-up emotions that had been building up all night finally erupted.

The expensive dress was roughly pulled open, and the sound of it slipping down was particularly clear in the quiet room.

Shen Mo picked her up by the waist and strode towards the large double bed.

Li Lin was terrifyingly crazy that night.

She shed all pretense and reserve, and readily complied.

The aloof beauty's infatuation, in the extreme back-and-forth between offense and defense, exudes a pure and alluring charm that makes one's bones melt.

The clouds dispersed and the rain stopped.

Two hours later, only the lingering warmth of their intertwined bodies remained in the room.

Li Qin lay limply on Shen Mo's chest, her snow-white skin flushed with an alluring pink. She was too lazy to even move a finger.

Suddenly, she gritted her teeth, stretched out her weak little hand, and gave Shen Mo a weak push on the chest.

Her soft, sweet voice carried a hint of hoarseness and pleading.

"No! Get out of here!"

Shen Mo let out a low, muffled laugh, and stroked it with a lingering affection.

"You were just offering comfort, and now you're turning your back on me?"

Li Lin rolled her eyes at him, her gaze sparkling and alluring.

"I really can't take it anymore—my bones feel like they're going to fall apart."

Shen Mo's eyes softened, and he gently stroked the top of her head.

"Stop making a fuss, go to sleep! I'll stay with you."

"Why don't you go find Tongtong?"

She buried her face in Shen Mo's shoulder, her voice muffled.

"Tonight is the night she won the Best Actress award, and those two people over there—also need your company."

Shen Mo didn't answer, but gently pulled Li Lin into his arms and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

"Go to sleep."

Li Lin felt the warmth of the man's embrace, and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

Exhausted, she leaned against Shen Mo's chest and soon began to snore sweetly, drifting off to sleep.

After she fell asleep, Shen Mo quietly moved his arm away, lifted the blanket, and got out of bed.

He carefully pulled the velvet blanket up for her, covering her alluring figure, then put on his robe and quietly left.

In the suite next door, Li Yitong was tossing and turning in bed.

Although it was late at night, she was wide awake.

In the quiet room, the cell phone on the bedside table suddenly lit up and vibrated violently.

Li Yitong grabbed her phone and saw only two short but authoritative words on the screen: "Open the door!"

"ah!"

Li Yitong was startled, and an overwhelming joy instantly exploded from the bottom of her heart.

She didn't even bother to put on slippers, and rushed towards the entrance with her bare, fair feet.

The door opened, and warm yellow light from the corridor streamed in, revealing Shen Mo's handsome face.

Before Li Yitong could speak, Shen Mo took a step forward, closed the door, and swept her up in a domineering princess carry.

"Why did you come here?"

Li Yitong naturally wrapped her arms around his neck, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise.

"I'll come keep you company!"

Shen Mo lowered his head, his burning gaze fixed on her stunningly beautiful face.

"Where's Hanhan?"

Li Yitong sniffed, keenly catching a faint scent of Li Lin's perfume, and pouted slightly, as if she were a little jealous.

Shen Mo smiled indulgently and whispered a mischievous breath into her ear.

"She's asleep."

"You came over after she slept with you? What a jerk!"

Li Yitong wrinkled her nose and glanced at him with feigned disdain, but she tightened her grip on his neck.

"Never mind whether I'm a jerk or not, just tell me—"

"On the night of her coronation, how could an award-winning actress be without the presence of an award-winning actor?"

Li Yitong's stunningly beautiful face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears.

"Pah! What kind of movie star are you? You're just a big scoundrel!"

"Hehehe, that big scoundrel is about to start harassing the movie queen!"

All of Li Yitong's previous resentment and jealousy melted away at this moment in Shen Mo's domineering words of love.

She leaned forward and kissed him passionately.

Shen Mo carried her to the living room.

"Where is Ziyi?"

Li Yitong glanced in the direction of the master bedroom and spoke in a guilty voice.

"Asleep."

Shen Mo hugged her tighter, his large hand already slipping under the hem of her silk pajamas.

"Then what about us—?"

Li Yitong's voice was already tinged with a hazy, watery quality, and her whole body was incredibly limp.

"Let's just stay outside!"

Shen Mo stopped in front of the sofa, a slightly aggressive glint in his eyes.

Pink silk pajamas were scattered on the marble floor, and a unique award ceremony for a movie queen was being held in the living room.

Under the constant threat of waking Meng Ziyi next door, Li Yitong completely abandoned her reserve.

She tried her best to suppress her moans, but under Shen Mo's onslaught, she repeatedly reached the heights of ecstasy.

After a long while, the storm finally subsided.

Li Yitong leaned lazily against Shen Mo's chest, her beautiful hair slightly disheveled and clinging to her shoulders.

She felt the man's strong heartbeat, and the light feeling that had been hanging in mid-air because of winning the Best Actress award finally settled down completely at this moment.

She raised her fair fingers and gently drew circles on Shen Mo's chest, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed.

Li Yitong glanced in the direction of the second bedroom, a sly and magnanimous smile playing on her lips, and whispered in Shen Mo's ear.

"At least you have a conscience—"

"For the sake of how hard you worked tonight."

"Tonight, you're allowed to sleep between me and Ziyi."

Shen Mo laughed heartily, picked up the actress in his arms, and strode towards the bedroom.

The news that Mohen swept the Hundred Flowers Awards, and that Shen Mo and Li Yitong were awarded Best Actor and Best Actress, has swept through the entertainment industry and has not yet subsided.

On the third day, another piece of news related to ink stains went viral in the financial and internet circles.

Mohen Capital's official Weibo account, official corporate account, and major financial media outlets simultaneously released an announcement:

[Inkmark Capital Strategic Acquisition Announcement]

Our company has reached a definitive full acquisition agreement with Musical.Iy, a well-known short video social platform in North America.

Inkstone Capital will acquire 100% of Musical.ly through a cash and stock swap deal worth US$5.5 million (approximately RMB 38 billion).

Following the acquisition, the platform will be formally incorporated into the global mobile internet ecosystem of the InkTrace Group.

The news caused a huge uproar on the internet.

$5.5 million!

This is by no means a small amount. In 2016, this huge sum of money was enough to buy a mid-sized listed internet company in China, or to invest in several Hollywood-level heavy-industry blockbusters.

However, Shen Mo used this astronomical sum to buy a niche music short video product in North America, which was considered unpopular by most mainstream domestic investors.

Immediately, waves of ridicule and pessimism erupted online.

"He's lost his mind! Shen Mo has absolutely been blinded by his victory at the Hundred Flowers Awards!"

"Does he really think that just because he's doing so well on long-form video platforms, he can succeed in short-form video platforms?"

"$5.5 million to buy a big toy?"

What is the current landscape of the short video industry in China? Which of Kuaishou, Meipai, and Miaopai has shown any significant improvement?

"Long-form video platforms haven't even figured out how to monetize yet, so what about short-form music videos? They simply don't have a place to survive in China!"

Well-known analysts in the internet industry also wrote articles overnight, publishing lengthy articles expressing their bearish views on the acquisition.

In-depth analysis: The blind pursuit and crisis behind Inkstone Capital's sky-high acquisition price.

The widely acknowledged pain points in the short video industry are low retention rates and unclear monetization paths.

Kuaishou in China focuses on the lower-tier market, Meipai relies on the female beauty advantage of Meitu Xiu Xiu, while Miaopai is tied to the massive traffic of Weibo.

Even so, it is still in a stage of severe losses and burning through cash.

Mr. Shen Mo's decision to invest 38 billion RMB to acquire a music-related short video platform located overseas with a completely different cultural background is undoubtedly a huge gamble.

We believe that short music videos lack a broad appeal in China, and this move is highly likely to become the biggest strategic investment failure for Mohen Group since its inception.

The arrogant traditional capitalists are sneering, waiting to see him suffer a crushing defeat.

However, amidst this overwhelming wave of doubt and ridicule, a keen force remains hopeful.

At Hillhouse Capital's headquarters, Zhang Lei looked at the data report from Musical.ly on the large screen.

Instead of joining the clamor of those self-media outlets, he pointed to the alarming North American teenage retention rate and daily active user curve in the report and said in a deep voice to his partner.

"Don't judge Shen Mo with worldly standards."

"Every step this person has taken in the business world since his debut has ultimately proven to be a brilliantly planned investment."

"That's normal if you don't understand it. There are definitely unusual considerations behind this investment."

"Otherwise, why would Tencent have invested $3.5 million in Kuaishou six months ago?"

However, regardless of the noise, ridicule, expectations, and doubts from the outside world, the president's office on the top floor of the Ink Trace Building remained peaceful.

"Mr. Shen, the online public opinion has already started to ferment according to the enemy's guidance."

"A lot of online trolls have appeared, frantically stirring up trouble and attacking our cash flow and investment decisions."

Lin Wei, the head of the public relations department, walked in wearing high heels and reported on the current public opinion situation.

Shen Mo looked at her, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Let them shout."

"These people are still stuck in logic from over a decade ago."

"How could they possibly understand what nuclear weapons are for the mobile internet age?"

At this point, Shen Mo's eyes sharpened.

"Pass down the notice: the media briefing this afternoon will proceed as planned."

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

The Grand Ballroom at The Ritz-Carlton Beijing was packed.

Reporters from dozens of mainstream financial and technology media outlets across the country crowded the scene.

Shen Mo strode onto the stage with a powerful stride, calmly standing on the podium amidst the almost suffocating flashes of light from the audience.

"Good afternoon, friends from the media. I am Shen Mo."

Without any further formalities, Shen Mo pressed the button on the remote control in his hand, and a dense array of data charts appeared on the large screen.

"There's been a lot of discussion in the market regarding Inkhen Capital's acquisition of Musical.ly this morning."

"To save everyone's time, I'll make a few key clarifications here."

"First, Musical.ly currently has over 70 million daily active users worldwide, and its penetration rate ranks first among teenagers in North America and Europe."

"It is by no means a toy, but a mature short video product that has been tested in the global market."

A slight commotion arose from the audience.

"Secondly, the core logic behind this acquisition lies in strategic synergy."

"Its short video product format and underlying audio and video compression and decoding technology will form a seamless strategic synergy and closed loop with the Mohen Group's own short video platform that will soon be launched in China."

"After the acquisition, Musical.Iy's brand and North American operations team will continue to operate completely independently, but the two teams are already sharing underlying technologies and integrating algorithms."

Upon hearing this, the reporters below the stage could no longer contain themselves, and countless arms were raised high.

Shen Mo randomly selected a reporter sitting in the first row.

The reporter took the microphone: "Mr. Shen, hello! Although Musical.ly has impressive overseas data, as many have said, the current short video market in China is unable to monetize and is already crowded with companies."

"Kuaishou focuses on third- and fourth-tier cities, while Meipai monopolizes female users in first- and second-tier cities."

"What are your considerations for forcibly entering the market now? When will Mohen's own short video platform, which you just mentioned, be launched?"

Shen Mo straightened up slightly, looking down at the media below the stage.

"Mohen has a deep presence in the entertainment industry and has made its own achievements in long-form video platforms. We are very optimistic about the development of the short-form video field."

"In Mohen's dictionary, any time is the best time, and there is no such thing as not entering the game because of competition."

"As for your question about when our own platform will be launched..."

Shen Mo raised his wrist, glanced at the time on his watch, and uttered three words indifferently.

Three days later.

A murmur of surprise erupted throughout the banquet hall.

Three days later? No gray-scale testing? No internal testing warm-up?

Following such a large-scale acquisition, to leverage this surge of traffic and attention to announce the launch so openly and ostentatiously—that takes immense confidence.

"He's insane! Shen Mo is too confident!"

"The whole internet is waiting to see him make a fool of himself!"

"Quickly! Big news! Release this breaking news immediately! Ink Trace Strike short video, we'll find out in three days!"

Amidst the frantic typing of countless reporters, Shen Mo gracefully nodded slightly to the audience, not even giving them a chance to ask questions, and strode off the stage.

It was 6 a.m. on the third day after the acquisition news broke.

On all major domestic mobile platforms, including Apple's App Store, Xiaomi App Store, and Huawei App Market, an app with a black and white logo and a design that exudes a youthful and fashionable feel has received the green light for listing.

Ice Cream Cone Short Video – Officially Launched!

Almost at the same second that the product was launched, Shen Mo's multi-channel promotional matrix was fully activated!

The moment everyone opens their eyes and turns on their phones, they'll find themselves completely surrounded by ice cream cones.

Open Xiaomi's phone's app store, and the splash screen and the top banner on the homepage have all been changed to ice cream cone posters: "Come on, have an ice cream cone, and record your beautiful life."

I casually opened Bilibili to watch some otaku dance videos, and the top recommendation on the homepage also featured the Ice Cream Cone logo.

I opened Magnet to order breakfast delivery, and the homepage pop-up window was still offering a free ice cream cone coupon.

Furthermore, Toutiao launched pop-up push notifications across all its channels and platforms, and Xiaohongshu influencers went on a buying spree.

Shen Mo directly mobilized all the strategic cooperation resources of the Mohen Group, spending an astronomical amount of promotion fees that would make even traditional internet users shudder.

Offline, it also succumbed to the pandemic.

In subway stations, bus stops, and elevator car displays in first- and second-tier core cities across the country, all the images lit up in unison at this moment.

The seemingly simple yet heartwarming slogan, "Come on, have an ice cream cone, and record your beautiful life," has been firmly imprinted in the minds of hundreds of millions of urban white-collar workers and young people since that day.

However, this was merely an appetizer in this grand feast.

Following closely behind is the terrifying star-studded power of Mohen Media.

Newly crowned Hundred Flowers Award-winning actress Li Yitong updates her Weibo account simultaneously with her ice cream cone.

"Hi everyone, I'm Li Yitong, and I'm waiting for you on Ice Cream Cone Short Video! Come see a different side of me~!"

In the video, accompanied by a catchy background music, her slender fingers fly, her big crescent-shaped eyes crinkle into a smile, and she performs a simple yet widely circulated hand gesture dance.

This unprecedented short video hand gesture dance garnered hundreds of thousands of likes and comments in just five minutes.

Immediately afterwards, Tian Xiwei posted a funny short video of herself making silly faces at the camera. Her bright, expressive eyes and deep dimples instantly melted the hearts of countless male fans.

Following that, Bai Lu's hilarious costume change show, Meng Ziyi's charming vlog, and Dilraba's stunning 15-second exotic dance —

It's not just about the artists from Mohen's own company.

Shen Mo also leveraged his vast network of connections and made deals involving Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, He Jiong, Xie Na, and Brother Hu.

More than fifty first- and second-tier celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry announced their collective entry into the short video platform "Ice Cream" at almost the same time and released their first short videos!

"Good heavens! Li Yitong's fingers are so long! Is she showing off weapons?! Mom, I'm itchy!!"

"Xiao Tian'er is so cute! I love her so much!"

"Hahaha! Bai Mengyan, are you trying to make me laugh to death?!"

"Yumimi looks so good in this outfit! Do you have a link to the clothes?"

"He Jiong released backstage footage! The Happy Family is so much fun!"

They've gone mad! Utterly gone mad!

Fans and casual observers flocked to major app stores like a tidal wave.

Downloads of short videos featuring ice cream cones have skyrocketed!

100,000, 500,000, 1 million, 5 million —

In the technical monitoring hall of Mohen's headquarters, the blue lights of hundreds of servers were flashing wildly. Fortunately, Shen Mo had rented the top-of-the-line servers, otherwise the terrifying traffic would have paralyzed the system in the first hour after going online!

If the exorbitant channel promotion fees and the star-studded lineup of half the entertainment industry were merely Shen Mo's means of attracting traffic to forcefully break through the current situation.

What truly enabled the Ice Cream Cone short video to retain tens of millions of users and generate explosive growth was Shen Mo's marketing philosophy, which was ahead of its time.

In this era, with the popularity of photo editing apps like Meitu and Photoshop, people are used to heavily beautifying and retouching their photos, resulting in more selfies than selfie videos.

The ice cream cone deeply embodies the philosophy of Douyin, pushing video filters to their limits.

-

It allows ordinary people to dare to make their own videos and be happy about it.

Therefore, the homepage of the ice cream cone short video platform launched its first activity topic challenge initiated by the official operations team.

#Original Camera vs. Ice Cream Cone Filter#

Users open their phone's built-in, unedited "original camera" and shoot a video of themselves in their most authentic, bare-faced state.

Then, using the "intelligent real-time dynamic filter" pioneered by Ice Cream Cone, another video of the same action was filmed, and finally the two 15-second videos were spliced ​​together and released.

On the topic challenge's introduction page, there was only one line of small text typed by Shen Mo himself.

"You are beautiful as you are. We just wanted to help you by capturing this line in the video."

This one line of text has deeply penetrated the anxieties and desires deep within the souls of contemporary young people.

The effect was not just immediate, it was like a wildfire spreading!

At 10:30 a.m., the first group of female college students and white-collar workers to try the challenge released their own.

When they nervously turned off all the beauty filters, their slightly dull skin tone and small dark circles were revealed under the original camera.

Then the scene flashed, showing the ice cream cone under a subtle beauty filter that combined facial micro-expression recognition and light compensation.

They discovered that they didn't become those cookie-cutter internet celebrity faces on the screen.

in contrast.

Their skin became clear and radiant, their eyes gained a lively sparkle, and their original facial features were perfectly preserved and optimized.

That feeling wasn't like becoming a different person.

Instead, I became the person I am on my most radiant and best day, after getting eight hours of sleep every night.

Sophisticated, natural, and full of vitality!

"My God! This is real beauty!"

"The Meipai app next door photoshopped me so badly that even my mom wouldn't recognize me. The ice cream cone filter even shows my eyelashes!"

"I never knew that I would look like this after removing my blemishes and taking good care of myself."

"Honestly, looking at myself in the video, I actually felt like crying."

"Thank you for the ice cream cone. It makes me feel like I'm a pretty girl too."

This product logic that strikes at the heart of the matter stands in stark contrast to the excessively smoothing beauty cameras on the market.

In just one day, the hashtag #OriginalCameravsIceCreamFilter# has garnered hundreds of thousands of challenge videos within the app, and its external reposts have easily exceeded one million!

The topic's cumulative views on the site have terrifyingly exceeded 100 million!

On Weibo, QQ Space, and WeChat Moments, countless girls who love beauty, and even boys who never take photos, are frantically posting videos of themselves making things in ice cream cones.

Countless users who originally downloaded the app just to see celebrities were now completely hooked and unable to stop using it.

They spontaneously began to pick up their phones and record their lives, completing a remarkable transformation from bystanders to creators.

While traditional giants are still figuring out how to promote and buy traffic, Shen Mo has already conquered human nature with a tiny filter and a single line of copy.

If the appearance challenge conquered the public's desire for self-expression, then the next scene perfectly demonstrated the power of ice cream cones to create idols.

An ordinary user account posted a scenic video. There was nothing particularly special about it, but the music in the video was very distinctive and extremely catchy.

In the background music that's spinning in the bottom right corner of the video, clicking on it reveals: BGM from @小鹿乱撞.

Just three days ago, this girl named "Little Deer Bumping" was an independent musician who frequented underground livehouses in Beijing.

However, in the traditional music industry, she was of average appearance, lacked the financial backing to promote her, and no record company wanted her.

Her worst performance at a livehouse show was when only seven audience members were seated.

However, the background music in this video went viral, with over ten thousand videos using the same BGM, accumulating over ten million likes.

At 2:30 p.m., the data surge of this full version of the song on NetEase Cloud Music's backend made the operations staff question their own existence. In less than a day, it broke into the top ten of NetEase Cloud Music's Hot Songs Chart and Rising Chart!

The comment section saw a surge of 30,000 comments within an hour, all saying the same thing: "I came here specifically to search for this amazing song!"

The girl, still lying in bed, was completely dumbfounded as she looked at the Weibo posts and the ice cream cone app on her phone.

Her Weibo account gained a staggering 500,000 followers!

Her ice cream cone notification sound has crashed due to too many private messages.

The operators of several major music platforms extended invitations to her to discuss copyright matters.

This creation of a myth spread throughout the country in an instant.

"At Ice Cream Cone, if you have talent, you can become famous overnight in 15 seconds!"

"Ink marks can truly help ordinary people realize their dreams!"

In an instant, creators from all over the country, with red eyes and heavy breaths, flocked to the ice cream cone short video platform.

At this moment, the creator ecosystem of ice cream cones has come alive.

Shen Mo's combination punches are always linked one after another.

Just as the entire internet was shocked by Lin Xiaolu's overnight fame.

The following morning at 10 a.m., the official homepage of the Ice Cream Cone short video platform launched the "Ice Cream Cone Global Creator 100 Million Yuan Incentive Plan" to the entire internet in an extremely abrupt manner.

Unlike other major internet companies that like to make grand promises, Shen Mo's plan was extensive, but its core idea was: no tricks, just direct investment.

"All certified high-quality creators on the Ice Cream Cone platform can receive a minimum monthly living allowance of 1000 RMB."

"Based on this, for every 1 likes or 1000 valid interactions a video receives, the platform will provide a tiered cash reward ranging from 100 to 5000 yuan."

"No upper limit, weekly withdrawals."

If Lin Xiaolu's sudden rise to fame was a miracle, then this creator incentive program is a financial downpour that hits the entire content industry!

In 2016, the vast majority of recent college graduates and ordinary migrant workers in third- and fourth-tier cities in China earned only three to four thousand yuan a month.

And now, Ice Cream Cone is actually saying that as long as you shoot short videos seriously and your content quality passes the review, the platform will give you a guaranteed 1000 yuan every month!

"Mohen is using real money to whitewash the entire short video industry!"

In less than a week, the entire short video industry experienced a tremendous upheaval.

The first to be affected were the major competitors who had been sitting comfortably on the throne, and their core data began to plummet.

According to a briefing by QuestMobile, a leading industry data agency:

Kuaishou, a leading short video platform in China, saw its weekly active users, on which it relies for its survival, plummet by more than 12% in just 72 hours after the launch of its ice cream cone app!

A large number of high-quality creators who were originally based on Kuaishou moved to Ice Cream Cone overnight with their fans.

Meanwhile, competitors like Miaopai and Meipai, which target urban white-collar workers and women with attractive appearances, followed closely behind.

Meipai experienced a churn rate of up to 15% among its core female users within three days!

Inside the Kuaishou headquarters building in Wudaokou.

Kuaishou founder Su Hua sat in the main seat with a livid face.

In the deathly silence, he slammed his phone down hard on the center of the conference table.

On the phone screen, a core data curve chart, produced overnight by the data department, is displayed.

The curve representing Kuaishou's daily active users began to plummet from its peak three days after the launch of the ice cream cone app, creating a shocking vertical drop.

"Shen Mo is throwing money around—cough."

Su Hua took a deep drag on his cigarette, coughing as he was choked by the smoke.

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the operations director.

"Do you have specific numbers? How many rounds of ammunition did Inkmark prepare this time?"

The operations director turned pale: "President Su—their official budget for creator subsidies is 500 million yuan in cash."

"But this is just the tip of the iceberg. According to our estimates, their daily spending on user acquisition channels such as Xiaomi App Store, Bilibili, and Meituan is in the tens of millions."

"Specific figures are not available at the moment."

Upon hearing the figures "a minimum guarantee of 500 million yuan and daily consumption of tens of millions of yuan," the co-founders in the meeting room couldn't help but shudder.

Su Hua clenched her fists tightly, a feeling of unspeakable distress and grievance rising in her heart.

Just this March, Kuaishou had gone through many hardships to receive a $3.5 million strategic investment led by Tencent.

At the time, the entire team was full of confidence, thinking that with a huge sum of over 2 billion RMB in hand, they could make a name for themselves in the domestic short video market.

But who would have thought that before they could even get comfortable sitting down, an unreasonable ink stain would suddenly appear next to them!

Having just established himself in the long-form video platform and film market, Shen Mo is now impatiently rushing into the short-form video field, which is his own territory.

Su Hua gritted her teeth and picked up her phone from the table again.

He clicked on the "ice cream cone short video" icon.

Swipe your finger up and down.

One fifteen seconds, two fifteen seconds, three fifteen seconds —

As Su Hua watched, his originally cold expression gradually transformed into a deep-seated shudder and terror.

He discovered that the recommendation algorithm behind the ice cream cones was so accurate it was terrifying.

He is a big basketball fan and, due to stress, he likes to watch food making videos in the evenings to relieve stress.

At this point, he had only swiped through less than ten videos in the ice cream cone.

The ice cream cone's recommendation feed then began to push NBA dunk slow-motion close-ups and teppanyaki videos to him with extremely precise targeting.

He wanted to quit.

But whenever he tries to exit, the next video is always the one he most wants to watch.

Fifteen seconds passed, then another fifteen seconds, and time slipped away unnoticed.

Su Hua sighed and slowly placed the phone back on the table.

At that moment, he seemed to have aged five years.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the incandescent light bulb on the ceiling, his voice filled with helplessness, finally uttering only two words: "Trouble."

Yes, it's troublesome.

The accuracy of the ice cream cone's algorithm recommendation made him despair at first glance; this is a technology that Kuaishou cannot catch up with in the short term.

Moreover, the problem has never been the ice cream cone itself.

The most fatal trouble is Shen Mo, the man standing by the ice cream cone.

The man who manipulates human nature behind the scenes, uses capital to achieve devastating results, and possesses keen insight into future internet trends.

However, with over two billion yuan in investment from Tencent, he couldn't give up. He had to continue working on the algorithm and also pursue the creative incentive program.

In the capital city, in Mohen's office.

Suddenly, a WeChat notification sound lit up on Shen Mo's phone.

It was a news flash sent by Zhang Nan.

The message was very simple; it was a screenshot of a chat within the official group for Kuaishou's core creators.

In the screenshot, a senior executive of Kuaishou is seen reassuring some of the more active online influencers.

[@Everyone, brothers and sisters on Kuaishou, please be patient!]

Our senior management has been holding meetings overnight regarding subsidy policies for short videos.

Kuaishou has decided to follow up with a creator subsidy plan, which is expected to be officially released this Friday!

The force will definitely not be less than the opponent's!

We hope everyone will stay put on Kuaishou during this crucial time and grow together with the platform!

Shen Mo shook his head with amusement.

Follow up with subsidies?

Su Hua, Su Hua, do you think I, Shen Mo, am playing some kind of traditional e-commerce war of attrition with you?

How long can your mere $3.5 million in Tencent funding last against Mohen's current steady cash flow?

Shen Mo didn't call Zhang Nan; he didn't even have the desire to say another word.

Shen Mo replied with two cold words on his phone screen: "Upgrade!"

The next morning.

Before Kuaishou's Friday subsidy plan was even released, the official ice cream cone account dropped another bombshell:

[Ice Cream Cone Creator Project 2.0]

[Starting today, all creators who bring their accounts with over 10,000 followers from other platforms to Ice Cream will have their guaranteed subsidy increased to 2000 yuan per month upon successful verification.]

Brothers, please vote with your monthly tickets!!! I only need a little over 100 more monthly tickets to reach 1000!!!