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

The door to the presidential suite was as heavy as a wall.

Old Xiao knocked three times, very lightly, with the kind of respect a subordinate shows to a superior.

"Enter."

The voice inside sounded tired, yet still carried an undeniable air of authority.

Old Xiao pushed open the door, gesturing for Lin Che to come in, but he didn't follow, instead closing the door behind him.

"Click".

The sound of the door locking shut confined Lin Che and the man who was about to control half of China's internet to the same space.

The main lights were not on in the room.

Only the dim, yellowish glow of the floor lamp barely illuminated the sofa area.

The air was filled with a strong smell of cigars, mixed with the lingering aroma of fine red wine.

Mr. Ma sat on a single sofa, a half-smoked Cohiba cigarette between his fingers.

The ash had accumulated to a considerable length, but he seemed to have forgotten to flick it off.

His tie was loose, his shirt collar was open, and that face that was always full of passion and always talking about the future in front of the media cameras was now filled with deep anxiety.

This is the reality behind the halo.

"sit."

Mr. Ma pointed to the sofa opposite him, his voice a little hoarse.

Lin Che sat down.

He placed the briefcase containing the secret of forty million US dollars at his feet and rested his hands naturally on his knees.

His posture was respectful, but his eyes were neither humble nor arrogant.

"Lin Che".

Mr. Ma flicked his cigarette ash, his gaze piercing through the swirling smoke as he scrutinized the young man before him. "You fought a brilliant battle today."

"That's because the company has a good foundation," Lin Che replied flawlessly.

"Stop giving me that bureaucratic talk."

Mr. Ma waved his hand, leaned forward slightly, and exuded a sense of pressure. "Although the Goldman Sachs guys have withdrawn their short-selling plans, they have put forward a new condition."

"A bet?" Lin Che uttered two words.

Mr. Ma's eyes flickered.

"It seems you know a lot about Wall Street."

Jack Ma took a puff of his cigar, the flame flickering, and said, "They demand that Alibaba's mobile GMV compound annual growth rate reach 30% in the two quarters before its official IPO. Otherwise, they will trigger the 'ratchet clause' to dilute the management's shares."

30%.

This is an insane number.

For Taobao, which is already so large, this means that it has to create another JD.com every quarter.

If this is not accomplished, the control of Mr. Ma and the founding team will be threatened.

This is Mr. Ma's Achilles' heel.

"Project W may look good, but it was built with money, and it was also... " Mr. Ma paused, looking at Lin Che with a meaningful gaze, "...using some 'special methods' to accelerate its development.

"This kind of surge is unsustainable. Once the roadshow ends, if we don't continue burning money, the data will plummet."

Mr. Ma stubbed out his cigarette in the crystal ashtray.

"Lin Che, I need you to tell me the truth now."

"How long can this fire burn?"

The room fell into dead silence.

This is a question that could cost you your life.

If Lin Che says "it won't burn for long," then he will lose his usefulness.

If you say "it can burn for a long time," that's a pledge, and if you can't keep it, you'll be blamed.

Lin Che did not answer immediately.

He bent down and took out a document that had been prepared in advance from his briefcase.

He had Wang Pangzi prepare it before he came to New York.

Implementation Plan for Building a Closed-Loop for Mobile Logistics and Traffic during Double Eleven

He handed it over with both hands.

"Mr. Ma, how long a fire can burn does not depend on how much firewood there is."

Lin Che's voice was calm and resolute.

"It depends on which way the wind is blowing."

Mr. Ma took the document and turned to the first page.

After only a few glances, his brows furrowed, then relaxed, and finally turned into shock.

In this plan, Lin Che not only outlined the expansion path of "micro-group buying," but more importantly, he made "Weiguang Logistics"—that behemoth entrenched in western Hangzhou and always outside the Alibaba system—the core support point.

The core logic of the solution is very simple:

By leveraging the massive volume of parcels expected during the upcoming "Double Eleven" shopping festival, "micro-group buying" orders will be forced to be fulfilled through "Weiguang Logistics," thus creating a perfect closed loop in terms of data.

The traffic belongs to Alibaba, the goods belong to the merchants, but the road was built by Lin Chexiu.

In this way, all the data—from clicks to payments to delivery confirmations—is authentic and auditable.

Even if Goldman Sachs examined it with a microscope, they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

The only "flaw" is that these core assets are actually owned by "Lin," not "Ma."

But does that matter at this moment?

Mr. Ma closed the document.

He looked up, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Lin Che had completely changed.

It's no longer about watching a P7 employee, nor is it about watching a firefighter.

Instead, they were looking at someone...of the same kind.

A kindred spirit with a similar profound understanding of power, rules, and human nature.

"Weiguang Logistics...is it one of your people?" Mr. Ma suddenly asked.

This is an extremely dangerous problem.

Lin Che did not hesitate at all.

"It is an ecosystem partner of Alibaba."

Lin Che smiled and gave a perfect definition: "As long as it can help the company win this battle, it will be Alibaba's most loyal soldier."

Mr. Ma smiled.

He stood up, walked to the wine cabinet, and poured two glasses of red wine.

"What a wonderful ecological partner."

Mr. Ma walked back and handed one of the glasses to Lin Che.

"Lin Che, do you know what I admire most about you?"

Lin Che accepted the wine glass and bowed slightly.

"You're ruthless."

Mr. Ma took a sip of red wine, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp. "You're greedy enough, but as long as your greed is tied to the company's interests, I'll dare to use you."

"Go for it."

Mr. Ma raised his glass and clinked it against Lin Che's.

The crisp sound of glass clashing echoed in the quiet room.

"I don't care if it's a black cat or a white cat, I want the data, I want that 30% growth rate."

"You can directly mobilize all resources—technology, public relations, finance—I'll put in a good word with Lao Xiao."

This is the imperial sword.

This is also the power that Lin Che has been waiting for.

With this statement, he could openly and legitimately channel Alibaba's traffic and funds continuously into his "Microlight" industry.

This was a legitimate, fully authorized "transfer of benefits".

Lin Che downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"Mr. Ma."

He put down his empty glass and straightened his suit.

"You are responsible for looking up at the stars, talking about vision, and talking about the ecosystem."

Lin Che took a step back and bowed slightly.

"As for those dirty and tiring jobs that can't be done in the light of day, I'll do them."

Mr. Ma looked at him and nodded in satisfaction.

"Go."

......

Stepping out of the presidential suite.

The corridor was covered with thick carpets, making no sound when you stepped on them.

Lin Che took a deep breath of the cold air in the corridor.

Just now, in the room, although it was only for a short ten minutes, the back of his shirt was soaked again.

Playing against someone of Mr. Ma's caliber is like dancing on a knife's edge.

One wrong move and you'll be smashed to pieces.

But he won his gamble.

Mr. Ma's anxiety is his stepping stone.

As Lin Che walked, he took out his cheap Nokia phone.

Instead of making a phone call, he edited a text message.

Recipient: Fatty Wang.

The content consists of only four words:

[To muddy the waters]

Click send.

The light from the screen illuminated the chilling smile on his lips.

The so-called "stirring up trouble" means creating a bigger commotion domestically.

Since Mr. Ma has given us this powerful tool, we must use it to its fullest potential.

He wanted to make "micro-group buying" not only flood social media feeds, but also create congestion on the logistics side, creating the illusion that "the business is so popular that it has paralyzed the logistics."

Then, he used his "Glimmer Logistics" as the savior.

This is a grand drama that was directed and acted by itself.

And the audience isn't just Wall Street, but also Tencent.

"President Lin."

As soon as I reached the elevator, Lao Xiao, who had been waiting there, came to greet me.

"How did it go? What did the boss say?" Old Xiao asked nervously.

Lin Che stopped and glanced at his nominal superior.

At this moment, his importance in Lao Xiao's eyes has completely changed.

"Mr. Xiao."

Lin Che smiled, his tone still humble, but his posture was no longer subservient.

"The boss said that I would be in charge of the next battle."

Old Xiao was stunned for a moment.

Then he saw the document in Lin Che's hand that hadn't been put away yet; it was a strategic plan that only core senior executives could access.

Old Xiao immediately understood what was going on.

His expression instantly changed from tense to ingratiating.

"Good, good! I knew you could do it!" Old Xiao patted Lin Che on the shoulder. "If there's anything that needs to be coordinated, just let me know."

"There is indeed one thing."

Lin Che pressed the elevator down button.

"Please have Mr. Xiao inform the domestic public relations department."

"What's wrong?"

"Starting tomorrow, I want to see the entire internet criticizing Weipintuan."

"Scold?" Old Xiao was dumbfounded.

"right."

The elevator doors opened.

Lin Che went inside, turned around, and looked at Old Xiao outside the door.

As the metal door slowly closed, his voice drifted out from the crack, carrying a chilling calmness:

"If we don't get criticized, how can we prove that we've taken away someone else's interests?"

"Why would Tencent panic if it weren't being criticized?"

"Only Tencent panicked..."

The elevator doors closed completely.

"We are the ones who are valuable."