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

The spotlights were like a thousand white daggers, simultaneously piercing the podium in the center of the press conference.

The sound of camera shutters clicking incessantly was like a downpour hitting a tin roof.

Microlight Headquarters, Press Conference Room No. 1.

More than 300 media outlets were seated in the audience, their cameras and microphones already set up, eagerly awaiting the man's appearance.

Even the corridors were crowded with self-media people holding up their phones to do live broadcasts.

"Have you heard? It seems like Microlight is having some cash flow problems lately."

"Definitely. The long-term rental apartment business has burned through so much money that even a printing press couldn't keep up."

"Not only that, I heard that they've been dragging their feet on paying the final installments for several big directors' films. It seems the internet is going to blow pigs off the ground."

Whispers buzzed like flies.

Until that figure walked out of the side door.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

Lin Che was wearing a black turtleneck sweater without any logo, with a dark gray trench coat over it.

No tie, no suit, and none of the fake smiles that business elites are known for.

He walked to the microphone and rested his hand on the podium.

His gaze swept across the audience as if he were looking at a flock of ducks waiting to be fed.

"I am Lin Che."

The sound, transmitted through top-of-the-line audio equipment, resonated throughout the venue, deep and even.

"I'm only announcing one thing today."

He didn't even bother to look at the teleprompter in his hand, and instead looked directly at the CCTV reporter in the audience who was still adjusting the focus.

"Effective immediately, Weiguang Video will cut its external copyright acquisition budget by 80%."

boom--!

This sentence was like a hand grenade, thrown directly into the crowd.

The CCTV reporter's hand trembled, and the camera almost hit his foot.

The editors-in-chief of several portal websites in the front row looked at each other, and they all saw shock and—ecstasy—in each other's eyes.

Big news! This is an admission that they're out of money!

"President Lin! Does this mean that Microlight is admitting that its cash-burning model has failed?"

"Mr. Lin! Is Microlight's cash flow currently exhausted?"

"President Lin! Are you planning to avoid competing with Huaying Entertainment's upcoming slate of films worth hundreds of billions?"

The reporters, like sharks smelling blood, eagerly raised their microphones, spitting as they spoke.

Lin Che did not answer.

He simply watched the chaos quietly, as if he were watching a poorly made circus.

Avoid their sharp edge?

He sneered inwardly.

Fragments of memories from my previous life flashed through my mind.

In the winter of 2018, the film and television industry experienced its final frenzy.

Exorbitant actor salaries, fabricated viewership ratings, dual contracts... these bubbles were inflated by capital until the tax authorities' hammer fell and shattered them into pieces.

Right now, these people are partying.

Because they thought the glimmer of light had receded.

"quiet."

Lin Che tapped the microphone.

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority.

The scene gradually quieted down, but the mocking and questioning looks still lingered on everyone's faces.

"We won't buy it because everything you produce is garbage."

Lin Che then uttered his second statement.

The audience erupted in chaos.

Some people stood up angrily, some were dumbfounded, and many more typed rapidly on their keyboards and posted the arrogant headline.

Lin Che's outrageous statement: Traditional film and television are all garbage!

"The Last Fury Before the Faint Light's Demise?"

Lin Che ignored the noise, turned around, and left the camera with a cold back view.

"This is Glimmer's 'Winter Project.' Meeting adjourned."

……

Half an hour later, Weibo crashed.

Six of the top ten trending topics are related to glimmers of light.

#Weiguang completely retreats# Breaking news

#Lin Che's Garbage Theory# Boiling Point

#Internet Capital Get Out of the Entertainment Industry# New

However, inside the opulent chairman's office at Huaying Entertainment, the atmosphere was one of jubilation.

Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, Wang Zhonglei swirled the whiskey in his hand, his face revealing undisguised smugness.

He pointed to the rows of stock charts on the wall and laughed at the several directors sitting on the sofa, "See that? This is what you call running out of ideas."

"Lin Che is good at P2P lending and rentals, but he's still very inexperienced when it comes to the content industry."

A famous director wearing a baseball cap scoffed and exhaled a smoke ring: "What does he know about the content? Does he think money can create a blockbuster? Now that he's out of money, he's starting to act high and mighty, saying our film is garbage? When I was making this film, he was still wearing open-crotch pants."

"Mr. Wang, now that Weiguang has withdrawn, what about the copyrights on the market...?"

"Take them all!"

Wang Zhonglei waved his hand, displaying his boundless ambition.

"Weiguang used to compete with us, driving up prices exorbitantly. Now that they're broke, it's our time to buy at rock-bottom prices. Whether it's an IP or a script, as long as it's S-level, Huaying wants it all!"

He walked to his desk and pressed the intercom button.

"Notify the finance department to prepare for the Series B financing round. Release the news of Weiguang's exit and tell investors that the entertainment industry now belongs to Huaying."

"Also, issue a press release."

Wang Zhonglei gave a sinister laugh into the phone, "Just say... we regret the comments made by some nouveau riche. Creating content requires reverence. Being poor isn't scary; what's scary is being tasteless."

After hanging up the phone, a burst of laughter echoed in the office.

The champagne was opened, and bubbles overflowed.

They celebrated the fall of their competitors, the impending monopoly, and the soaring stock price.

Little did they know, dark clouds were gathering in the sky outside the window.

……

On Beijing's East Third Ring Road, the evening rush hour traffic jam resembles a glowing red worm.

A black Maybach S680 sat quietly in the traffic, shutting out all the noise from the outside world.

The car windows were covered with the highest level of privacy film, making it completely dark inside from the outside.

Inside the car, Lin Che leaned back in the Nappa leather seat, holding a specially made encrypted tablet in his hand.

The screen is showing a live interview with Wang Zhonglei.

"...We have great respect for Mr. Lin, even though he is indeed a novice in the film and television industry. Huaying will shoulder the responsibility of being an industry leader. Over the next three years, we will invest 30 billion yuan to build an Eastern Marvel Universe..."

Wang Zhonglei's well-maintained face was magnified on the screen, every pore exuding arrogance.

"Turn it off."

Lin Che said calmly.

Xie Yu, who was sitting in the passenger seat, immediately cut off the video feed.

"Boss, the fish has taken the bait." Xie Yu turned around, his voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement.

He handed me a printed form.

"Just as you were holding your press conference, Huaying announced that it would take over all the major IPs we had given up. As soon as the news came out, Huaying's stock price rose by 12% in pre-market trading in the US."

Lin Che took the form and glanced at it.

That glance was devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at an autopsy report.

"45 pieces."

Lin Che suddenly announced a number.

"What?" Xie Yu was stunned for a moment.

"Huaying's current stock price is 32 yuan." Lin Che looked at the red taillights outside the window and said quietly, "Wang Zhonglei still needs to raise funds and still dreams of a market value of 100 billion yuan. He will push the stock price up, and those institutions will help him push it up too."

"When it reaches 45 yuan, that will be its death day."

Xie Yu swallowed hard.

He was all too familiar with Lin Che's tone.

The last time Lin Che spoke in this tone, Jia Yue from Anju Apartment was still in detention eating steamed buns.

"But Brother Che, are we really not going to create content anymore? Those IPs are actually pretty good quality..." Xie Yu was still a little reluctant to part with the money.

"content?"

Lin Che turned his head and looked at Xie Yu.

The ambient lighting in the carriage shone on his face, half bright and half shadowy.

"Xie Yu, you must remember this. In the capital market, the biggest profits are never made by selling products."

He pointed to his temple.

"It's based on the 'expectation gap'."

"Right now, the entire market believes that Micro-Light is doomed and Huaying is going to reign supreme. This is the biggest expectation gap."

Lin Che's finger lightly swiped across the tablet screen, bringing up a black trading interface.

That was the "Ark Fund's" secret account in the offshore market.

The available funds listed above are a dizzying string of zeros.

"Wang Zhonglei thought I was retreating." Lin Che's lips curled into a faint sneer. "Actually, I was making room for him."

"If we don't hand over those worthless assets to him, how can he possibly suffer from indigestion? If we don't make him feel invincible, how can he dare to sign those deadly gambling agreements?"

Xie Yu felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head.

This is the true hunter.

First, feign weakness, then lure the enemy, and finally fatten up the prey before killing it.

Outsiders thought Lin Che was forced to cut the budget, but who would have thought that it was actually a carefully designed "short-selling trap"?

"So now we..." Xie Yu asked tentatively.

Lin Che looked out the window.

The Maybach was slowly driving past the Huaying Entertainment building.

On the huge LED screen, posters of popular stars under Huaying Group are scrolling through the screen. The actress named Fan XX is smiling charmingly, as if the whole world is at her feet.

That was a golden age of prosperity, like oil being poured on a raging fire.

It is also the ashes that are about to burn out.

"Begin building a position."

Lin Che withdrew his gaze, his voice as cold as ice shards.

"Notify traders in Hong Kong and New York to buy put options on Huaying Film in batches, but do it quietly so as not to alert the market makers."

"I want to turn all of Huaying's circulating shares into my prey."

"I hope Mr. Wang will still be smiling so happily in the interview next month."

Xie Yu nodded heavily.

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

Huaying is just the beginning.

What he wants to do is to uproot the old order of the entire entertainment industry.

"And another thing," Lin Che said with his eyes closed, "did you make plans with Old Cui?"

Xie Yu paused for a moment: "It's arranged. Tonight at 11 PM, at 'That Place' in Xishan. That place is very secluded; only members can get in."

"However..." Xie Yu hesitated for a moment, "Old Cui is in very bad condition right now. I heard he's been almost completely blacklisted, and he's also a bit mentally unstable."

"It's good to be in a daze."

Lin Che opened his eyes, a dark light flickering deep within his pupils.

"Only a madman would dare to light a bomb."

"drive."

The Maybach roared, like a black beast tearing through the night, heading into the dark depths of the city's edge.

Only the tablet screen, which had been left on the back seat, was still lit.

The above is the number one trending topic on Weibo:

#Microlight's defeat means Huaying's market value of 100 billion yuan is just around the corner#

It's so ironic it's like a joke.