2003: The Opening Sniper Against the Financial Tycoon

"As expected of a company listed on the US stock market, even their reception room is of such high quality."

After Qin Hanyang arrived at NetEase headquarters.

He contacted an administrative staff member who had previously communicated with him, and the latter led him to a reception room.

"Mr. Qin, please wait a moment. Our General Manager Ding will come to see you as soon as his routine morning meeting is over."

"Okay, it's alright."

Qin Hanyang was used to this set of procedures at the Internet company.

Moreover, NetEase was already a US-listed company at the beginning of the century and is a leading internet company in China.

It's fair to say it's incredibly popular.

"Mr. Qin, would you like coffee or tea?"

"An Americano, please."

"OK."

After the administrative staff member left, Qin Hanyang got up, went to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the scenery of Guangzhou.

Then, he glanced around the room and thought about his meager possessions.

"Damn, that's too low-class. I hope we can move the company into an office building in Chengdu's CBD within a year."

The location and office interior here are thousands of times better than those of Daqin Media.

However, Qin Hanyang was not discouraged.

It's only been a month or so, and to have made this kind of start is already quite good.

I sat on the sofa and waited for about twenty minutes.

A slightly overweight man with glasses pushed open the door and walked in. He looked at Qin Hanyang's young face, paused for a moment, and then asked:

"Mr. Qin?"

"Yes, hello, Mr. Ding." Qin Hanyang nodded with a smile.

Hello, hello.

Ding Sanshi sat down with a smile and looked at Qin Hanyang.

"Mr. Qin is visiting on behalf of Delong, saying he has business to discuss? As far as I know, Delong is currently heavily involved in the aerospace economy, and its subsidiaries are mainly in traditional manufacturing and finance. I wonder when your company became involved in the internet industry?"

"Haha, Mr. Ding, you're mistaken. Whether it's a traditional industry or the financial industry, they can all be linked to the internet industry."

Ding Sanshi probably knew about the recent news about Delong and was quite interested in gossip.

Qin Hanyang sensed the sarcasm in the words, but without further explanation, he said directly,

"In my opinion, the Internet industry should not be classified separately. Its wide applicability should allow it to be applied to and extended to various industries. It might be better to position it as a service industry in other industries. So, from this perspective, there are many areas for cooperation."

"Oh? That's a novel and interesting way to put it."

Ding Sanshi seemed somewhat surprised upon hearing this statement.

It must be said that the latter truly embodies the mindset of entrepreneurs in the internet industry.

As he spoke, he took another careful look at Qin Hanyang.

Delong has been in the spotlight for the past two years. Every time it appears in the news, it involves hundreds of millions of dollars. Could it be that this time they are really going to enter the Internet and plan to cooperate with them?

The key point is that Delong's reputation isn't very good.

Is he a troublemaker? Or is he genuinely interested in cooperating? Ding Sanshi keeps his distance from both.

Today's meeting was arranged by Delong through their contact with the leaders in Guangzhou, who specifically made arrangements for him to come.

The meeting was merely a formality to appease the local leader who had spoken to them; in my mind, it was just a perfunctory procedure.

Thinking of this, Ding Sanshi didn't keep anyone in suspense and said directly:

"Where exactly do you wish to collaborate with NetEase? Is there some promising project you have in mind?"

"Mr. Ding, to be honest, I am here today not on behalf of Delong Group, but on behalf of my own company."

Qin Hanyang smiled without answering, then took out a business card he had previously ordered and handed it over.

Please take a look.

"Daqin Media...Never heard of it."

Ding Sanshi crossed his legs, took the business card, glanced at it, and casually placed it on the table.

Then, he turned his gaze to Qin Hanyang and smiled slightly.

"Mr. Qin, please feel free to speak frankly about what kind of business you'd like to collaborate on. To be honest, NetEase hasn't dealt with any professional media companies yet."

Although Ding Sanshi did not explicitly refuse, Qin Hanyang had already sensed the mocking tone in his words.

Of course, Qin Hanyang wasn't angry.

If you put yourself in Ding Sanshi's shoes, as the head of a company, it would be a great honor for him to be personally received.

Moreover, Qin Hanyang has now revealed his true identity.

Ding Sanshi had experienced this kind of thing before, where someone used another person's name to meet him. Now that he had figured out whether it was Yama or a little devil, he was even less inclined to take Qin Hanyang seriously.

At this moment, Qin Hanyang smiled slightly, remaining silent on Ding Sanshi's question, and instead asked:

"Putting the collaboration aside for now, I wonder if Mr. Ding has been following the recent online discussions about the movie 'A Chinese Odyssey' and the popular online novel 'The Legend of Wukong'?"

"We can't ignore it, though. This has been getting a lot of buzz online lately. But it's obvious there's a professional planner and promoter behind it all, just to market this book."

Ding Sanshi smiled and treated it as a casual chat with the young man in front of him.

"Oh, I wonder if Mr. Ding has read this book?"

"I had seen it online before, but now that the new book is out, I bought a copy. I have to say, the marketing is really great."

At this point, Ding Sanshi suddenly realized something and asked, "Could it be... that you're the mastermind behind this?"

"Not bad." Qin Hanyang nodded.

"sharp."

Ding Sanshi gave a heartfelt thumbs up.

I never expected that this idea came from this young man in front of me.

Qin Hanyang laughed:

"Then I bet Mr. Ding is in a very good mood lately, right?"

"It's alright, nothing special."

Ding Sanshi had no idea what Qin Hanyang was up to, which was why he suddenly asked this question.

"I don't cooperate with people based on my mood. Since your company has such strong marketing capabilities, please feel free to share any good project ideas you have. There's no need to keep us in suspense."

At first, he thought Qin Hanyang was just faking it.

The purpose is obvious: to get close to him and get some benefits from NetEase.

However, now that he has presented his "achievements," he has a higher opinion of Qin Hanyang. If any of his subordinates have suitable project resources that can connect the two, he will not be stingy with them.

Unexpectedly, Qin Hanyang changed the subject at this moment, looking at him with a smile:

"Shouldn't Mr. Ding thank me? I've done free promotion for your company."

"Oh? What are you promoting?"

Ding Sanshi frowned slightly, spread his hands, and asked, "This time, the online hot topics are nothing more than movies and books. Do they have anything to do with my company's products?"

"It's not there now, but it will be later. Mr. Ding is probably secretly delighted right now."

Qin Hanyang took the initiative, jokingly addressing Ding Sanshi before finally unleashing his killing move.

"The movies and books have nothing to do with NetEase, but this 'Journey to the West' element should be quite relevant, don't you think, Mr. Ding?"

He said it so casually.

But to Ding Sanshi, it was like a thunderbolt. He immediately stopped crossing his legs, straightened up involuntarily, and stared intently at Qin Hanyang:

"What do you mean by that?"

Qin Hanyang chuckled and said unhurriedly, "It's nothing. I just learned about your company's business activities through some channels."

If I'm not mistaken, a role-playing game with Journey to the West elements is about to be born from your company, right?

I wonder what stage we've reached so far?

The mount system must have been ready a long time ago, right?

Has the gang system been improved?

Are there any vulnerabilities in the business system?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Qin Hanyang's final words didn't sound like a question at all; rather, they sounded like a threat, forcing Ding Sanshi to stand up abruptly.

At this moment, Qin Hanyang was talking about something that involved NetEase's major strategic plans for the next few years, so there was no reason for him not to be excited.

"Who exactly are you, and how did you learn about our company's trade secrets?"

"Don't get agitated, Mr. Ding. I'm a businessman just like you."

Qin Hanyang pointed to the business card he had casually tossed on the table. "Also, shall we sit down and talk? In business, I believe that anything can be resolved if both parties are willing to sit down. What do you think? Besides, NetEase is my first stop here. If we can't reach an agreement, I think I'll have to go to Shanghai to find Mr. Chen from Shanda. I'm sure he'll be willing to discuss this with me properly."

Upon hearing this, Ding Sanshi laughed in anger.

How could a CEO of a listed company be lectured to his face by a young man?

They even used Shanda's Chen Tianqiao to blackmail him in the end.

But it must be admitted that his agitated state just now did indeed lose some of his composure.

After calming himself down, he slowly sat down and said in a calm tone:

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I am willing to handle all marketing activities for your company's blockbuster game, including online pre-launch promotion, event booking, advertorial marketing, and even offline game event planning..."

After listing his options, Qin Hanyang added, "Our company excels in this area. Furthermore, I'll arrange for the author of 'The Legend of Wukong' to write a fan fiction specifically for your company's new game... Mr. Ding, what do you think of this cooperation proposal?"

"..."

Ding Sanshi listened patiently but did not immediately express his opinion.

Instead, he remained calm and stared intently at Qin Hanyang.

Qin Hanyang felt a little uneasy under that gaze and laughed, "President Ding, I have no interest in men."

Upon hearing this, Ding Sanshi smiled faintly:

"The proposal is rather mediocre. My question is, what will happen if I disagree?"

"Not very good."

Qin Hanyang shrugged. "As you said, I might look for other partners like Shanda."

Sigh, the internet age is great; you can make money just from information. They'd probably be happy to know the intelligence I have.

Of course, I have a good relationship with Delong too. How about we make a similar game and presumptuously challenge Mr. Ding?

Ding Sanshi was unfazed by the threat and provocation in Qin Hanyang's words, and instead asked:

"How much else do you know?"

"They probably know more than even President Ding."

Qin Hanyang remained noncommittal, instead revealing a harmless smile.

He wasn't lying. Qin Hanyang even knew how many versions of "Fantasy Westward Journey" would be revised, how much criticism it would receive, and how many serious bugs it would have.

Upon hearing this, Ding Sanshi assumed that Ding was simply unwilling to tell the truth.

Qin Hanyang never revealed the name of "Fantasy Westward Journey" from beginning to end, but it was this feeling that made Ding Sanshi somewhat unable to stop.

"Then just tell me, how much money do you want?"

"Hey, Mr. Ding, that's a bit harsh. It makes it sound like I'm trying to extort you. We live in a society governed by law, and we're both respectable people. This is a normal business partnership, and the price should be what it is, right?"

Qin Hanyang clicked his tongue, took out the plan he had prepared long ago from his briefcase, and handed it to Ding Sanshi's desk.

"Mr. Ding, please take a look. How about we tentatively price the game pre-launch marketing and advertorial promotion at 300 million?"

In addition, we have several options for custom-made fan fiction. One option is to buy out the work, but we do not guarantee the promotional effect.

Another option is also a buyout, but we can develop it into a sequel to "The Legend of Wukong," guaranteeing popularity. However... the price will be different, around 500 million. I personally prefer the second option.

"hehe."

Ding Sanshi didn't look at it closely, he just glanced at it briefly, and then closed the plan.

"Mr. Qin, I'll think about it and get back to you later."

After saying that, he looked at Qin Hanyang and asked, "Also, Mr. Qin, are you staying in Guangzhou tonight?"

"Yes, yes."

Qin Hanyang smiled and said, "It's only right to consider such a big matter. Please consider it, Mr. Ding. However, I will only stay in Guangzhou for three days at most. After all, it's too hot here in the summer. I'll be covered in sweat when I go out, and I don't have any spare clothes to change into."

"Hehe, then I'll trouble you to wait patiently for a day, Mr. Qin. I'll give you an answer as soon as possible. Also, if there's anything you need, just let me know, and I'll have someone arrange it for you."

Ding Sanshi stood up at this moment.

There was no talk of seeing them off or anything like that.

He turned and left the reception room where Qin Hanyang was being received, his steps appearing hurried and anxious.

The secretary at the door was already waiting. Ding Sanshi said in a deep voice:

"Call all senior executives for a meeting!"

"Okay, Mr. Ding."

Although Qin Hanyang didn't hear it, he could guess that Ding Sanshi must have gone to a meeting immediately after leaving.

Ding Sanshi was not discussing cooperation with him.

But... just how many secrets does Qin Hanyang actually know about the game "Fantasy Westward Journey"?

Should their company adjust the game content and gameplay next?

Also, is there a mole within the company?

How exactly was the information leaked to this outsider?

What is Qin Hanyang's background, and what is the relationship between Daqin Media and Delong?

These are the most important things!

Compared to that, Qin Hanyang's customized marketing plan and the amount of money involved are insignificant matters.

At that moment, he even wished Qin Hanyang was a fraudster, and had a slight urge to call the police!

On the other side, the assistant who had just received Qin Hanyang came to see him off.

Qin Hanyang took out his phone and glanced at it:

"It's almost noon, could we grab a bite to eat at your company before we leave?"