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

Beijing, Shangdi. Baidu Building.

This colossal glass structure, known as the "search box," reflects a cold light in the winter sun.

As the leader of China's internet giants BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent), Baidu was once an invincible hegemon.

But in the quagmire of O2O, its proud technological genes have become its biggest burden.

................

Top floor conference room.

Li Yanhong sat in the main seat.

He wore a refined white shirt and had that signature, gentle smile typical of engineers on his face.

But behind that smile, a hint of fatigue could not be hidden.

Baidu Waimai (Baidu Takeout)

This "own son," which he once had high hopes for and claimed would receive 200 billion yuan in investment, has now become a bleeding point for Baidu.

Losing hundreds of millions every month, its market share has plummeted to third place, and it's even on the verge of being squeezed out by Meituan and Ele.me.

"Mr. Lin, I've heard so much about you."

Robin stood up and shook hands.

Lin Che looked at this former internet idol, but his heart was not stirred.

The train of time rumbles forward; whoever falls behind will be crushed.

"Mr. Li."

Lin Che sat down and got straight to the point.

"I'm here to help Baidu stop its losses."

A freshly printed assessment report was on the table.

That was the acquisition proposal put forward by Ele.me.

[Offer: US$5 million]

"Zhang Xuhao only gave 5 million."

Lin Che pointed to the number, his tone calm but laced with sarcasm.

"And most of them are Ele.me shares, those kinds of bubble assets, you shouldn't be interested in them."

Robin fell silent.

He genuinely looked down on it. He wanted cash, he wanted to get rid of the burdens, and return to Baidu's core—artificial intelligence.

"So how much are you going to offer?"

Robin picked up his teacup and blew on the floating leaves.

"8 million US dollars."

Lin Che held up eight fingers.

"All cash."

"Moreover, I will assume all of Baidu Waimai's debts."

Robin's hand trembled slightly.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the tea.

8 billion US dollars.

This is 60% higher than Ele.me's price.

For Baidu Waimai, which is currently facing a serious problem, this is a premium that it cannot refuse.

What do you want?

Robin put down his teacup.

His eyes sharpened.

He didn't believe Lin Che was there to do charity work.

Although Weiguang Flash Delivery has money, it's not so rich that it can just throw money around like crazy.

"Market share? User data? Or just those tens of thousands of red knights?"

"None of that matters."

Lin Che shook his head.

He pulled out a pre-selected list of assets from his bag.

Push it in front of Robin.

He pressed his finger heavily on one of the bold black lines.

[Source code and technical team of Baidu Waimai Intelligent Logistics Dispatch System (Knight System)]

"I want this one."

Lin Che's voice was deep and resolute, carrying an unquestionable determination.

"I want all the algorithm engineers from Baidu Waimai to be merged into Weiguang."

"I want the underlying code of the 'Knight System,' which cost billions to develop."

Robin was stunned.

He originally thought that Lin Che was like Zhang Xuhao, who came to acquire the company in order to seize territory and users.

Unexpectedly, what Lin Che set his sights on was Baidu's most core and least understood aspect – technology.

Although Baidu Waimai has performed poorly in the market, its scheduling algorithm is the strongest in the entire industry.

It is the only platform that truly utilizes artificial intelligence for order dispatching.

Unfortunately, no matter how good the technology is, it can't beat Meituan's iron army of ground sales.

"Buying the casket and returning the pearl?"

Robin smiled.

The smile was tinged with bitterness.

"Lin Che, you're a knowledgeable person."

"Those engineers were the only gems of Baidu Waimai. You bought them out, and what's left is just an empty shell."

"I want the empty shell too."

Lin Che leaned forward, his gaze intense.

"Mr. Li."

"Baidu needs cash flow to transform into AI and needs to divest non-performing assets."

"And me."

"We need that brain."

"This deal is mutually beneficial."

"make a deal."

Robin didn't hesitate any longer.

He stretched out his hand.

"8 million US dollars, the people are yours, the code is yours."

"Good luck."

.......................

three days later.

Weiguang Building. Basement level 2.

This is the main control room of Microlight Brain.

At this moment, dozens of Baidu engineers who had just flown in from Beijing were sitting in front of their computers, typing away with complex expressions.

They are the "losers".

These are the "assets" that have been sold.

But when they saw the computing power resources displayed by Weiguang, and the larger and more ambitious logistics network that was already in operation, their eyes lit up again.

"Boss."

The chief scientist of Microlight was so excited that his face turned red as he pointed at the big screen.

"The fusion is complete!"

"Baidu's 'Knight System' is simply a masterpiece! Their path planning algorithm is a generation ahead of ours!"

"After code merging, our single-delivery efficiency has improved..."

The scientist took a deep breath.

"An increase of 30%!"

30%.

In the field of large-scale logistics, this is not just about increased efficiency, it's about skyrocketing profits.

This means that the marginal cost of Weiguang Flash Delivery will be far lower than that of Meituan and Ele.me.

Lin Che stood in front of the control panel.

Looking at the more precise and intelligent heat map of Hangzhou on the screen.

He was fiddling with the coin in his hand.

"8 million US dollars."

Lin Che whispered.

"They thought I bought a pile of scrap metal."

Little did I know, I was buying a Ferrari engine.

He turned around.

Looking at the servers behind me that were frantically processing data.

Ele.me won face by merging with Baidu Waimai's brand and traffic.

But the glimmer of light won over the substance.

They acquired the most advanced technology and built a moat that others couldn't see.

"Fatty."

Lin Che called out.

Fatty Wang was squatting in the corner eating a hamburger when he heard the shout. He quickly wiped his mouth and ran over.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"Pass the word down."

Lin Che's gaze pierced through the thick walls of the basement, reaching towards a more distant future.

"The battle for food delivery is basically over."

Meituan is number one, and Micro-Light Invisible is number two.

The situation has been set.

"Next."

Lin Che straightened his collar.

"It's time to cash in our chips on the capital market."

He took a business card out of his pocket.

That's Neil Shen's business card from Sequoia Capital.

"Starting Series C funding."

"this time."

Lin Che's lips curled into a wildly arrogant smile.

"I want to make Microlight Logistics..."

"Independent listing".

................................................