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

Anji, deep in the bamboo forest.

The rain was still falling, rustling as it landed on the bamboo leaves covering the mountains and fields.

This is the NetEase Weiyang Modern Agricultural Industrial Park.

Or to put it more simply—the most luxurious pigsty in all of China.

Lin Che, wearing a disposable sterile protective suit and blue shoe covers, walked through the fully enclosed visitor corridor.

The corridor is flanked by huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

On the other side of the glass, hundreds of jet-black pigs were strolling around in a pigsty with a constant temperature of 24 degrees Celsius.

There wasn't a trace of foul smell here.

Instead, there is a faint scent of camphor wood shavings, and soft, pure music flowing from the speakers.

"Mr. Lin, look at this end."

Ding Lei pointed to a black pig across the glass, his face beaming with a fatherly affection.

He was wearing a POLO shirt with a faded collar and a pair of black canvas shoes that were frequently seen at internet conferences.

"Those muscles are so well-defined."

Ding Lei turned his head, his eyes narrowing into slits with a smile.

"Do you know what they listen to as they grow up? Mozart. They listen to it for six hours every day to make their flesh firm."

Lin Che looked at the black pig that was scratching itself.

"Want to listen to Mozart?"

Lin Che replied casually.

"Unfortunately, if it wants to listen to Jay Chou, it probably won't be able to."

The air fell silent for two seconds.

Ding Lei's smile froze for a moment, then he quickly regained his signature憨厚 (honest and simple) expression.

"President Lin is really humorous."

Ding Lei walked forward with his hands behind his back.

"Since you're here, try my tea. This year's pre-rain Longjing. I have two private tea trees, right on the mountain behind here."

……

……

The tea room is right next to the pigsty.

A heavy solid wood door shut out the sound of rain from outside.

The room was warm, with water bubbling and steaming on a small red clay stove.

The aroma of tea fills the air; it's the unique flavor of top-grade West Lake Longjing tea.

Ding Lei sat in the main seat, skillfully warming the cups, scalding the teapot, and adding the tea leaves.

The movements were fluid and graceful.

Lin Che sat opposite him without moving.

Shen Nan sat somewhat awkwardly in a chair in the corner, looking at the two men whose combined net worth was several hundred billion.

"Try it."

Ding Lei pushed a cup of pale green tea toward Lin Che.

"This tea can't be bought outside. Someone offered 70,000 yuan per kilogram, but I won't sell it."

Lin Che picked up his teacup and took a sip.

It's a little hot.

After the bitterness, a sweet aftertaste lingers on the tongue.

"Good tea."

Lin Che put down his cup and looked at Ding Lei.

"Mr. Ding, I'm not here today for tea, nor to see the pigs."

"I know."

Ding Lei poured himself a cup and slowly blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water.

"You've come here looking for a lifeline."

Ding Lei raised his eyelids, his gaze finally no longer evasive, but sharp.

"Mr. Lin, the current situation of Weiguang is known throughout the industry. TME (Tencent Music) has issued a pre-trial injunction and is demanding 10 billion yuan in compensation."

"You're like someone on fire trying to jump into the water to put it out."

"And me..." Ding Lei pointed to himself, "I am that pond."

"But Mr. Lin, business is business."

Ding Lei put down his teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the rosewood tabletop.

"My copyright was bought with real money. You know how much money NetEase Cloud Music has spent on copyrights over the years."

"Why should I open my database to you so you can make money from it and drag me into the quagmire with Tencent?"

The atmosphere in the tea room instantly turned cold.

The usually cheerful "happy tycoon" now bared his fangs.

This is the real Ding Lei.

Shrewd, pragmatic, and never act without a clear objective.

Lin Che did not refute.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a black USB drive, and placed it on the table.

Then, he took the fairness cup from the tea tray and poured himself a full cup of tea.

"Mr. Ding, you've made two mistakes."

Lin Che held up two fingers.

"First, I'm not here to ask for help, I'm here to save you."

"Save me?" Ding Lei laughed, a look of amusement on his face. "NetEase has plenty of cash flow, and its game business is making a fortune every day. Do I need your help?"

"you need to."

Lin Che's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a nail.

"Because your musical dreams are about to be shattered."

"Mr. Ding, open NetEase Cloud Music and see for yourself. How many songs in your playlist are still active?"

"Jay Chou is gone, Eason Chan is gone, JJ Lin is gone, and now even those independent folk singers have been signed exclusively by TME."

"If a user opens NetEase Cloud Music wanting to listen to a song, but finds it all grayed out, will they stay to read the comments section? Will they stay to talk about nostalgia?"

"Won't."

"They'll just download QQ Music instead."

Lin Che stared into Ding Lei's eyes.

"This is the logic of monopoly. Ma Huateng wants to completely squeeze you out of this market, leaving not even a bone fragment."

Ding Lei's smile vanished.

He silently picked up his teacup and took a big gulp.

This is his sore spot.

As one of the earliest internet giants in China, he was overwhelmed by the rising star Tencent in the music industry.

This is a disgrace.

"second."

Lin Che continued.

Do you consider copyright a core competitive advantage?

"wrong."

"Before today, it was."

"But after today, it won't be."

Lin Che pointed to the USB drive on the table.

"Mr. Ding, do you know what the most terrifying thing about Weiguang is?"

"It's not the 3.5 million monthly active users, nor the 1.2 million daily active users."

"But rather—the ability to create gods."

Lin Che leaned forward, lowering his voice, like a devil tempting Faust.

"The traditional logic of the music industry is: whoever a record company promotes becomes a hit."

"But my logic is: whoever the algorithm promotes will become popular."

"I can turn a homeless man singing in an underpass into a superstar known throughout the internet overnight. I can make a catchy song with only three chords reach the ears of 10 billion people within 24 hours."

"TME has a copyright library, which is its 'existing stock'."

"I have traffic and algorithms; that's 'incremental'."

"As long as we join forces."

Lin Che pushed the USB drive in front of Ding Lei.

"You open up your music library interface to me, and I'll create a primary entry point for your app with 'one-click redirection'."

"When users find a good song on Weiguang, they can click the link and jump directly to NetEase Cloud Music to listen to the full song."

"I'll take care of your daily active users."

"I'll take care of the promotion for your new song."

"As for Tencent..."

Lin Che gave a cold laugh.

"When users all over China are listening to music on Weiguang, TME's 'exclusive copyrights' that no one listens to are just a pile of waste paper."

The tea room was deathly silent.

All that remained was the sound of water boiling in the red clay stove.

Glug. Glug.

Ding Lei stared at the USB drive.

His fingers unconsciously rubbed against his knee.

This is a huge temptation.

flow.

This is what NetEase's products lack most.

Although NetEase Cloud Music has a good community atmosphere, it has always been a small circle of people enjoying themselves.

If we could connect to the micro-light nuclear power plant with a flow rate of hundreds of millions...

That was an exponential explosion.

"but……"

Ding Lei hesitated.

"TME's legal team is very aggressive. If I cooperate with you, they will immediately sue NetEase Cloud and may even cut off the remaining sublicenses."

"That was war."

"Are you scared?" Lin Che asked back.

Ding Lei looked up at Lin Che.

His eyes were complicated.

"I'm not afraid of war," Ding Lei said slowly. "I just don't like fighting wars we're bound to lose."

"We won't lose this time."

Lin Che stood up and straightened his collar.

The rain outside the window seems to have lessened a bit.

"Because the rules have changed."

"In the past, they set the rules; from now on, we will set the rules."

Lin Che turned and walked towards the door.

"Mr. Ding, this tea is good, but I still think it would taste even better if it were a celebratory drink."

He walked to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

Ding Lei's voice came from behind.

"etc."

Lin Che stopped in his tracks.

Ding Lei sat in front of the tea table without turning around.

He picked up the black USB drive and gripped it tightly in his hand.

"President Lin."

"I also have the copyrights to 300 million songs by independent musicians, although most of them are folk and electronic music, and none of them are big names."

"Is this knife fast enough?"

Lin Che turned around, a smile playing on his lips.

That was the hunter's smile when he confirmed his prey was caught in the net.

"That's enough."

"As long as there is a glimmer of light."

"Even rusted iron sheets can be transformed into a dragon-slaying sword."