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

798 Art District, Beijing.

This is Beijing's most fashionable press conference venue, yet it is now shrouded in a somber atmosphere.

There were no fancy opening acts, and no so-called popular celebrities were invited.

The huge LED screen was completely black, with only a pale white spotlight shining in the center of the stage.

The audience was filled with reporters from hundreds of media outlets, as well as investors from Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, and IDG Capital.

Everyone was whispering among themselves, speculating about what Weiguang was up to this time.

"I heard Lin Che invested in Hello Bike? Isn't that a second-tier, no-name brand?"

"I guess they want to start a price war with ofo and Mobike, the same old trick."

"It's difficult. Dai Wei has billions in cash reserves. If it comes down to burning money, Lin Che might not win this time."

Amidst the noise, the stage lights suddenly dimmed.

A low-frequency sound effect, similar to a heartbeat, rang out.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Lin Che came out.

He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and dark gray trousers, without any embellishment.

He walked to the center of the stage, not with a microphone, but wearing an earpiece.

He didn't even look at the audience below the stage, but instead looked up at the dark screen.

"Many people ask me why Weiguang (微光) would enter the quagmire of bike sharing."

Lin Che's voice was very steady.

Some say this is a mirror reflecting the quality of the nation's citizens.

Some say this is a crazy meat grinder of capital.

Lin Che turned around and glanced at the investors in the first row who were waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

"But in my eyes, this is just a pricing game about 'trust'."

He snapped his fingers.

Snapped.

The large screen behind them lit up instantly.

That wasn't a bicycle, nor was it a pretty data report.

It was a huge, slowly rotating golden dial.

The dial is marked from 350 to 950.

In the middle is a striking number: 600.

"Today, I'm not releasing any new bikes. Hello Bike is doing a great job; there's no need for me to reinvent the wheel."

Lin Che stretched out a finger and pointed to that number.

"I will only release this one number."

"From this moment forward, Weiguang Technology officially launches – [Weiguang Credit Score]."

There was some commotion in the audience, and everyone was puzzled.

Lin Che didn't pause; his speaking speed began to increase.

"We calculated this score for each Weiguang user by analyzing 5 million pieces of e-commerce data, payment behavior, and social relationships."

"It's more than just a number."

"It is your passport in the digital world, a monetary representation of your personality."

Lin Che took a deep breath and launched the nuclear weapon that had been prepared for a long time.

"I hereby declare."

"All users whose micro-light score reaches 600 points."

The screen suddenly changed to show the blue logo of Hello Bike, next to which was a huge, bold lettering that looked as if it were on fire:

[Nationwide deposit-free cycling]

"It doesn't need to be 299, it doesn't need to be 199, it doesn't even need to be 99."

"As long as your credit meets the requirements, you can ride the bike away."

"Because we believe."

Lin Che's voice rose, drowning out the gasps that erupted from the audience.

"In this era, trust is the hardest currency."

……

……

boom--

It's not an adjective, but a real outcry.

The press conference was in an uproar.

Reporters frantically typed on their keyboards, and photographers' flashes illuminated the stage as if it were daytime.

The live stream chat instantly filled the screen, and server traffic surged dramatically in that single second.

"No deposit required? Really?"

"Holy crap! Has Lin Che gone mad?"

"ofo charges 199, Mobike charges 299, and Weiguang is free? How can anyone compete with this?"

"This is an absolute game-changer! It's like flipping the table!"

Meanwhile, in the background.

Yang Lei looked at Lin Che on the stage, his palms sweating profusely.

He listened to the cheers outside and felt like he was dreaming.

He knew that from this moment on, Hello Bike was no longer the "poor boy" picking up leftovers in second- and third-tier cities.

……

……

Zhongguancun, Ideal International Building.

ofo's headquarters, top-floor office.

Dai Wei was sitting on a leather sofa, holding a glass of freshly poured champagne.

The projector screen in front is broadcasting the launch event of Weiguang live.

When the words "no deposit required" appeared on the screen.

Dai Wei's hand froze in mid-air.

The amber-colored liquid swirled violently in the glass, spilling a few drops that landed on the expensive Persian carpet, but he was completely unaware.

"No deposit required..."

Dai Wei's lips moved, and he uttered these three words, his voice dry as if he were chewing sand.

"How dare he?"

Zhang Siding, the co-founder standing next to him, turned pale and suddenly stood up.

"This is impossible! This doesn't make business sense!"

"Without a deposit pool, how will cash flow be managed? Who will pay for manufacturing the cars? Who will pay for maintenance? What will happen to bad debts?"

"Lin Che is carrying out a suicide attack!"

Dai Wei did not speak.

He stared intently at the man in the black turtleneck sweater on the screen.

He was trembling.

Not out of fear, but out of anger, and a deep, bottomless chill.

He suddenly understood Lin Che's logic.

Lin Che didn't care at all whether the bicycles made money or not.

Weiguang has e-commerce, payment, and a huge traffic pool.

He can use profits from other businesses to maintain the bikes, in exchange for users' "credit data".

But ofo is different.

ofo only offers bikes.

The deposit pool is the heart of ofo, its only conduit for blood flow.

Now, in front of all the Chinese people, Lin Che pulled out the tube.

"quick!"

Dai Wei slammed the wine glass to the ground, sending shards of glass flying.

"Issue an announcement! Issue an announcement immediately!"

"Should we follow suit?" Zhang Siding asked, trembling. "What if we also waive the deposit..."

"Follow my ass!"

Dai Wei roared, the veins on his neck bulging.

"If we waive the deposit, the two billion in our account will be wiped out instantly! We won't even be able to pay our suppliers next month!"

"Release a press release! Say that Weiguang is engaging in unfair competition! Say that their credit score system leaks privacy! Say that the deposit-free policy is a Ponzi scheme!"

"Hurry up!"

……

……

However, some things, once started, cannot be stopped.

That was the torrent of humanity.

A male dormitory at a university in Beijing.

"Holy crap, I got 680 points!"

A boy held up his phone and shouted, "I just tried it, and it really works! No deposit required!"

"Really? Let me see."

The roommates all took out their phones.

"I have a 650, I can drive it too!"

"Damn, I only have 590, why? Oh, I forgot to pay back my Weibei last time..."

"Who's that 800-point pro? Can I borrow their account to have some fun?"

Even in cities where Hello Bike doesn't yet exist, users are downloading the Weiguang app like crazy out of curiosity, just to see their "worth".

Immediately afterwards, a most basic yet most fatal question arose in everyone's mind:

"Since Hello offers deposit-free service, why should I deposit 199 yuan with ofo?"

"That's 199 yuan! That's enough for a good meal!"

"All ofo bikes have been broken lately, I don't want to ride them anymore."

"Refund! Refund it now! It's better to use the money to top up your phone credit than to have it stuck there!"

This is a upheaval without the smoke of gunpowder.

There was absolutely no need for Lin Che to incite them.

As long as users are given a choice, as long as there is even the slightest possibility of "not having to pay", their seemingly solid loyalty will instantly crumble.

……

……

Two hours later.

ofo headquarters.

The air was so thick it was suffocating; the only sound was the printer spitting out paper.

The CFO stumbled into the office without even knocking.

He was covered in sweat, his tie was askew, and he was clutching a freshly printed data report in his hand, the red curve on it resembling a shocking wound.

"Mr. Dai... Mr. Dai..."

The CFO's voice was trembling with tears.

Something's happened.

Dai Wei sat in the chair, clutching his hair with both hands, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

He didn't look up, but asked in a low voice:

"How many?"

"The past two hours..."

The CFO swallowed hard and reluctantly announced the number.

"The number of deposit refund requests received by the app's backend has exceeded 50."

"And...and it's accelerating."

"Hundreds of people are clicking the refund button every second."

"Our payment channels are overwhelmed. Alipay just called to warn us if our system has been hacked..."

50 million orders.

That is, 100 million in cash.

In two hours, 100 million yuan was siphoned off.

This is just the beginning.

Dai Wei raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.

He looked out the window; the night view of Beijing was still bustling, and the yellow bicycles were still parked on the roadside.

But he knew that those were no longer assets.

Those were the heavy anchors that would soon drag him into the abyss.

"Lin Che..."

Dai Wei gritted his teeth and squeezed out the name.

"You're so cruel."

This is the power of nuclear weapons.

It doesn't need to actually explode.

All it takes is to show it off and tell everyone, "There's a free option here," and the old world's financial edifice will collapse in an instant.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

It was an investor, Zhu Xiaohu, calling.

Dai Wei stared at the flashing name, his fingers trembling, hesitant to press the answer button.