The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

Hangzhou East Railway Station. Taxi waiting area.

This is the city's sewer outlet.

Thousands of taxis were crammed into the dimly lit second basement level like sardines.

The air was filled with the suffocating smell of exhaust fumes, the rotten smell of cheap boxed lunches, and the tarry stench left by countless burning cigarettes.

heat.

stuffy.

It's like a giant steamer.

"Driver, want to install Didi? First ride bonus of 50 yuan, plus a free thermos."

Xiao Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead that had gotten into his eyes and stuffed an orange flyer into the car window.

He was a ground sales representative for Didi.

The recent college graduates still have a youthful innocence on their faces and aspirations for the internet to change the world.

He had already spent three hours exploring this underground maze in order to meet today's KPI.

My shirt was soaked through and stuck to my back, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.

"Didi?"

The driver in the driver's seat was bald and had his feet propped up on the steering wheel, picking at his toes.

He glanced at the flyer.

I didn't answer.

"I'm not pretending."

The bald man exhaled a puff of smoke from his nostrils, his eyes filled with a mocking look as if he were looking at an idiot.

"I have that... faint light."

Xiao Liu was stunned for a moment.

A faint light?

That shady character who launched a sneak attack last night during the downpour?

"Master, Weiguang is a small company, it's unreliable."

Xiao Liu quickly smiled apologetically and tried to hand the thermos inside.

"Didi is invested in by Tencent, it's a big platform, has a lot of orders, and also offers subsidies..."

"Subsidies my ass."

The bald man suddenly put his leg down.

He grabbed the phone from the dial, the screen almost touching Xiao Liu's face.

"Open your eyes and look."

The screen is very bright.

The sting made Xiao Liu squint.

It was a purple interface.

A line of striking numbers was displayed above:

Today's income: 860 yuan (already credited to account)

"Did you hear me?"

The bald man pressed the "withdraw" button.

"Ding!"

One second.

A crisp text message notification sounded.

"Alipay payment received, 860 yuan."

That mechanical female voice sounded surprisingly pleasant in the noisy underground parking lot, like a heavy hammer hitting Xiao Liu's heart.

"Pay now."

The bald man waved his phone, his face full of fat, grinning.

"After completing one order, the money immediately goes into my pocket."

"What about you, Didi? Another seven days of delays? And you're going to take 20% of my commission?"

The bald man spat, aiming precisely at the floor tiles near Xiao Liu's feet.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Xiao Liu froze.

The thermos in my hand became as hot as a branding iron.

He opened his mouth, only to find that all his public relations rhetoric paled in comparison to the simple and direct "instant payment" offer.

"Make way, make way!"

Suddenly, a series of noisy footsteps came from behind.

It looked like an army had marched in.

Xiao Liu instinctively stood close to the wall.

A group of burly men wearing purple vests strode over.

The leader was a fat man.

He had a large gold chain around his neck and a pack of "Soft Zhonghua" cigarettes tucked under his arm.

That's Fatty Wang.

He walked with a brisk pace, each step making a loud thud on the pavement.

Behind him followed more than twenty young men with buzz cuts and fierce eyes.

They didn't seem to be there to sell software.

They look more like they've come to collect protection money.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone!"

Fatty Wang stood in the middle of the aisle and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The sound echoed through the concrete dome, making people's eardrums buzz.

"A glimmer of light is bringing warmth to everyone!"

No nonsense.

He tore open the expensive cigarette pack.

Packets of red Zhonghua cigarettes were tossed around as if they were free.

"then!"

"Old Zhang, here you go!"

"Hey you, take this and smoke it!"

The drivers were ecstatic.

The bald man, who had just been ignoring Xiao Liu, jumped off the car like a lapdog and caught a pack of cigarettes that Fatty Wang threw to him.

"Thanks, Fatty!"

"A faint light in the atmosphere!"

Fatty Wang laughed and cursed a few times before taking a case of Red Bull from his underlings behind him.

"Everyone has them! Thirsty? Drink Red Bull. Tired? Smoke Zhonghua cigarettes!"

"As long as our 'Weiguang' sign hangs up, I'll protect this East Station from now on!"

That instant.

Xiao Liu felt like he was invisible.

He watched as streaks of glaring purple spread rapidly through the dimly lit underground parking garage.

It's like some kind of highly resilient virus.

Or perhaps... a ghost.

Less than ten minutes.

The rear windows of all the hundreds of taxis in the parking lot were covered with that purple sticker:

[Weiguang Travel: 0% commission, instant payment].

The purple hues stretched out like a purple ocean, completely obscuring the pitiful speck of orange in the droplet.

"This is hardly a field promotion..."

Xiao Liu huddled in the corner, the flyer in his hand soaked with cold sweat and crumpled into a ball of waste paper.

"This is clearly bandits coming down from the mountain."

He took out his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed his supervisor's number.

"Feed... Boss."

Xiao Liu's voice was choked with sobs.

"East Station...can't be held."

"They...they gave the drivers Zhonghua cigarettes, and...they didn't even take a cut..."

……

Beijing. Shangdi.

Cheng Wei's office was filled with smoke.

The ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, resembling a miniature volcano.

Sitting opposite him was Lao Lü, the CEO of Kuaidi Dache.

Two rivals who were fighting to the death yesterday are now forced to sit at the same table.

Because of fear.

There was a report on the table.

Hangzhou Market Urgent Briefing

These words were like a knife, hanging over their heads.

"Three days."

Cheng Wei stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray with a thud, sparks flying everywhere.

"It only took three days."

"Weiguang accounts for 60% of Hangzhou's taxi market."

"They account for 90% of the private car market."

He looked up, his eyes bloodshot, evidence of persistent insomnia.

"Old Lu, your stats aren't looking too good either, are they?"

Old Lu didn't say anything.

He simply opened the iPad in front of him silently.

On the screen, the daily active user curve of Kuaidi Dache (a ride-hailing service) showed a breathtaking precipitous drop.

That line looks like it's about to jump off a building.

"This Lin Che..."

Old Lu gritted his teeth, a hard lump of flesh bulging out of his cheek.

"He lacks martial ethics."

"No commission, instant settlement. This is a strategy that's all about burning money to survive."

"Where did he get so much money?"

Cheng Wei stood up and walked to the window.

Beijing's night view is beautiful, with bustling traffic.

But in his eyes, those moving car lights all turned into an eerie purple glow.

"I heard he made two billion US dollars in the US stock market."

Cheng Wei's voice was cold, revealing a deep sense of apprehension.

"And it was all cash."

"He's a madman. He doesn't care about profits, or even going public."

"He just wants to cause trouble."

The room fell into dead silence.

Only the air purifier was buzzing, futilely trying to suck away the anxiety filling the room.

a long time.

Cheng Wei turned around.

Reach out.

"Old Lu."

"Stop hitting him."

"If this fight continues, both our families will be devoured by this madman."

Old Lu stared at that hand.

He hesitated for a second.

Then, he gripped it tightly.

Their hands were tightly clasped together.

This is not a reconciliation.

This is about huddling together for warmth in the cold winter.

"Let's join forces."

Old Lu's voice was deep and carried a murderous aura.

"Cease fire first."

"Combine all the subsidies and all the resources."

He turned his head sharply, his gaze fixed on the map of China on the wall.

That spot in Hangzhou.

It was flashing a blinding red light.

"Suppress the glimmer of hope."

"Since he has money."

"Then let's show him what a meat grinder of capital really is."

……

Hangzhou. Weiguang Building.

Lin Che stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city.

My phone vibrated.

A message from an "insider" popped up:

[Didi and Kuaidi are in talks, seemingly preparing for a truce, and are joining forces to target us.]

Lin Che smiled.

He was laughing very happily.

He raised his glass of red wine and gently clinked it against the night view outside the window.

The glass made a crisp ringing sound.

"finally."

"I've forced you all to sit at the same table."

This is the effect he wanted.

If Didi and Kuaidi continue their battle, Weiguang can only try to find opportunities in the cracks.

Only by instilling fear in them and forcing them to join forces can the glimmer of light truly become the "third pole" that cannot be ignored.

"bring it on."

Lin Che took a sip of red wine.

The scarlet liquid spread between their lips and teeth, carrying a bloody sweetness.

"I have the money ready."

"Two billion US dollars worth of fireworks."

"That'll keep us entertained for a while."