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

On the way to the Capital Airport.

The back seat of a Maybach.

The carriage was quiet, with only the low noise of tires rolling over the asphalt of the Fifth Ring Road.

The air was filled with the leather smell of the genuine leather seats and the faint aftertaste of cigars.

Shen Nan held the summons from Shenzhen in his hand, his palms sweaty.

The paper was crumpled from his grip.

By the light of the streetlamp flashing past the window, he looked at the bright red seal for the tenth time.

"Boss, the legal department just checked."

Shen Nan's voice trembled, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"In the past three years, Tencent has won 98.6% of all cases brought against it in the Nanshan District Court of Shenzhen."

"The remaining 1.4% are out-of-court settlements."

"In other words, they have never lost a lawsuit in Nanshan. In the industry, they are known as the 'Nanshan Invincible Team'."

Lin Che leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The light from outside the car window swept across his face, creating an ever-changing interplay of light and shadow.

"I know."

Lin Che spoke calmly.

"This isn't called winning percentage, this is called dominance."

"Then we still..." Shen Nan said anxiously, "This is 10 billion! And they are demanding a 'cease infringement.' If the court really issues an injunction requiring us to remove all the background music, Weiguang will be completely silenced."

"You won't become mute."

Lin Che opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the fleeting Beijing night view outside the window.

"Shen Nan, do you think TME (Tencent Music) really wants this 10 billion yuan?"

Shen Nan was taken aback: "Isn't that right?"

"For a giant like Tencent, 10 billion is just a drop in the ocean."

Lin Che reached into the car refrigerator, took out a bottle of Evian water, and unscrewed it.

Cold water vapor condensed into beads on the bottle.

"They don't want money."

"What they want is—knees."

Lin Che took a sip of water, the cold liquid sliding down his esophagus, calming his brain, which had been feverish from staying up all night.

Have you seen The Godfather?

"When Lord Corleone wants to subdue a disobedient gang, he doesn't just kill them all."

"He would first cut off their water supply, burn down their warehouses, and then sit at the negotiating table with an 'irresistible contract'."

"What TME is doing now is cutting off the water source."

Lin Che tapped his fingers lightly on his knee.

"They monopolized the exclusive distribution rights of the world's three major record companies (Universal, Sony, and Warner)."

"in the country, if you want to listen to music, there's a 90% chance you can't bypass Tencent."

"After the merger of Kugou, Kuwo, and QQ Music, they practically monopolized the music industry."

"Now, the glimmer of light has grown up."

"We have become the largest traffic portal in China, but we are not in their hands."

"They filed the lawsuit to force me to sit down."

"They're forcing me to sign a 'treaty of surrender'."

"They want me to admit that Weiguang is a downstream company of Tencent, to pay them huge 'tolls' every year, and even... to hand over my shares in Weiguang."

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

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

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

Shen Nan felt a chill run down his spine.

This is how giants operate.

It's not just simple business competition, but a devastating blow to one's ecological niche.

They don't produce content, but they control the raw materials that produce it.

"Then what do we do?" Shen Nan felt a wave of despair. "If we don't bow down, we'll have no songs to use. If we bow down, Weiguang will become Tencent's employees."

"This is a dead end."

"A dead end?"

Lin Che smiled.

That smile held a hint of contempt, and a hint of madness.

"There are no dead ends in this world, only people who dare not break them."

The car entered the airport expressway.

The speed was increased to 120 mph.

"Shen Nan, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"We are not the only ones gasping for breath under the iron heel of TME."

"There's another person who hates Tencent even more than we do."

"Who?"

NetEase.

Lin Che uttered two words.

"Ding Lei's NetEase Cloud Music".

"Haven't you noticed? There are more and more grayed-out playlists on NetEase Cloud Music lately."

"Jay Chou is gone, Eason Chan is gone, and JJ Lin is gone too."

"TME is using the same tactics to strangle NetEase Cloud Music. They want to force Ding Lei to his death and completely monopolize the market."

Lin Che's eyes sharpened.

"Ding Lei is a proud person."

"He raises pigs, runs a premium online store, and indulges in sentimental pursuits; he considers himself a cultured intellectual."

"He couldn't stand being humiliated and bullied by Ma Huateng in this 'nouveau riche' way."

"He lacks traffic, monetization methods, and the key to breaking the deadlock."

"And we..."

Lin Che pointed to himself.

"We are that knife."

"I have 3.5 million monthly active users."

"I have the ability to create gods using algorithms."

"I can turn an unknown underground singer into a superstar overnight."

"TME has a copyright library; that's its existing stock."

"I have the ability to create stars, that's an incremental advantage."

"As long as Ding Lei and I join forces."

"He provides the warehouse, I provide the personnel."

"We can tear a hole in Tencent's iron curtain."

The car slowly came to a stop at the VIP entrance of Terminal 3.

The cold wind howled.

Lin Che pushed open the car door and wrapped his coat tighter around himself.

Winters in Beijing are very cold, but Hangzhou should be a bit warmer.

"Let's go."

He waved to Shen Nan, who was still somewhat dazed.

"Go and meet that pig farmer."

"Tell him I brought him a gift."

"A gift that will keep Tencent Music up at night in pain."

Shen Nan watched Lin Che's retreating figure.

That figure stood tall and resolute, showing no fear in the face of a trillion-dollar giant.

On the contrary, it exudes an excitement of wanting to tear a hole in the sky.

Shen Nan took a deep breath and stuffed the summons from the Nanshan Court into the bottom of his briefcase.

Then he quickly followed.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the departure hall, a Boeing 747 is taxiing toward the runway.

The deafening roar of the engine shook the glass.

Lin Che stood by the window, watching the plane soar into the sky.

His phone vibrated.

It was a message from the General Counsel:

"Mr. Lin, Tencent has released a press release titled 'Protecting Intellectual Property Rights: Tencent Music Declares War on Piracy.'"

"Public opinion has started to overwhelmingly criticize us."

Lin Che glanced at it and then turned off the screen.

No reply.

He knew that the war had begun.

This is a war about "ears".

This is also a decisive battle between the new elite and the old king.

"Piracy?"

Lin Che looked at the dark night sky, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Wait until I get back from Hangzhou."

"I'll show you what it means to redefine copyright."

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