Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

Su Qingying had not yet recovered from the shock.

On the computer screen, the long string of zeros in the company account was so numerous that she couldn't count it even after three tries.

This is a massacre.

This man resolved the company's crisis and fought back against the old capital in just one day.

Looking at Gu Ming's back in front of the French windows, she felt not only fear but also a deep sense of admiration.

"A trillion-dollar Pandora's box?" she repeated Gu Ming's words, her voice trembling. "What is that?"

Gu Ming did not turn around.

He simply snapped his fingers.

The smart screen that covered an entire wall in the office lit up instantly.

The slide above contained a document titled "Mars Ecosystem Phase I Budget".

Server procurement and global node deployment: 87 billion.

Algorithm 2.0 underlying architecture upgrade and AI cluster computing power leasing: 135 billion.

Global top technical talent (AI, algorithm, graphics) recruitment reserve fund: 50 billion.

……

The rows of numbers made Su Qingying feel cold.

The smile on her face froze, then faded, and her face turned pale.

She suddenly looked up at Gu Ming.

"Are you crazy?!"

This was the first time Su Qingying had used the word "crazy" to describe Gu Ming's decision.

"The inheritance we just received from Shen Guodong isn't even enough for you to burn for a month?!"

"This is suicide!"

Gu Ming finally turned around, his face calm.

His inner thoughts were very simple.

Silly girl.

What we're fighting for is time.

It was the time it took to create something unstoppable before AME and his group could even react.

Shipbuilding is expensive, of course.

"so..."

"We need a money printing machine that spins faster than a traditional money printing machine."

Su Qingying was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Gu Ming smiled but offered no explanation.

He simply picked up his phone and dialed the internal line for the technical department.

"Get Zero ready for the live stream. Let's change the script tonight."

The theme is companionship.

……

Nine o'clock in the evening.

Zero, a virtual idol under Starry Sky Holdings, appeared in the Bilibili live stream on time.

As a virtual life form that is currently very popular on the internet, her every move touches the hearts of millions of fans.

But tonight's live stream is a little different.

There was no singing, no dancing, and no playing of popular games.

She simply sat quietly in a virtual bedroom, with soothing background music playing, chatting casually with the comments section.

"I'm so tired today, I practiced dance moves all day."

"How about you guys? Did you have a good day?"

"Oh, you haven't finished your homework yet? You'd better work harder!"

This kind of purely chat-style live streaming has left many new fans confused, but core fans really enjoy it.

This is the wife of their dreams.

Just as the atmosphere in the live stream was getting warmer and warmer, and the chat was filled with "AWSL" and "wife sticking together", an accident happened.

Behind the zero, the virtual screen displaying the bedroom background suddenly "sizzled" and flashed with static.

Then, the screen went black.

A window that looked like a backend operation interface popped up, filled with code and numbers.

"Holy crap? An accident?"

"What happened? The live stream was interrupted?"

"No! Look at what's in that window!"

Millions of online viewers hadn't even had time to react.

The window only stayed for less than three seconds before it disappeared with a "snap".

The live stream has returned to normal.

At the same time, a look of panic and helplessness appeared on Zero's face.

"Oh! What...what was that just now...I'm so sorry, it seems like there was a bug..."

She apologized hastily, her face flushed red, which made her look very cute.

But at this moment, no one cares whether she is cute or not.

The atmosphere in the live stream was very emotional.

Because, in just those three seconds, someone with quick hands had already captured the contents of that window.

It was a list that looked like an Excel spreadsheet.

The list is titled—【Star Selection: Internal Supply Chain Factory Price List】!

[XX Brand Snail Rice Noodles (Supplier Version), Factory Price: 3.2 RMB/pack]

[XX brand facial tissues (100 sheets * 10 packs), factory price: 9.9 yuan/pack]

[XX Brand Beauty Sponge (Skin-Friendly Version), Factory Price: 1.5 RMB/each]

……

price!

These are the factory-direct prices of those best-selling products on the market, prices that ordinary consumers can never access.

"My goodness! A pack of snail rice noodles usually costs 15 yuan! Here it's only 3.2 yuan?!"

"9.9 yuan for tissues?! And with free shipping?! That's cheaper than what I can get on Pinduoduo?!"

"This is a system vulnerability! A vulnerability in the StarCraft backend system has been exposed!"

"Brothers! Don't say a word! And don't tell the streamer! Let's make our fortune quietly!"

"Where's the link?! Where the hell is the link?!"

Just as the barrage of comments was about to get out of control, an account with the ID "Passing Programmer" posted a comment with a technical analysis.

"Guys, I just did some packet sniffing and analysis. It seems there's an internal test purchase link linked to this table, and it looks like it's still working."

"boom--!!!"

This comment ignited everyone's emotions.

The moment that internal link was posted, no one questioned its authenticity.

Everyone had only one thought in their minds!

--Rob!

If you manage to snag one, you've made a profit!

Millions of people flocked to that link.

Star Holdings, Data Center.

Su Qingying and all the company executives were staring in disbelief at the huge data screen in front of them.

Just now, they received a notification from Gu Ming to gather here to watch a fireworks show.

Then, they witnessed the zero-death livestream incident.

Then, they saw the number on the screen representing the sales volume of XX brand snail rice noodles, which started to jump rapidly.

10000!

50000!

100000!

500000!

One million pieces!

It only took fifteen minutes.

The snail rice noodle manufacturer had a million units of unsold inventory piled up in the warehouse for a year and were almost moldy in order to pay Xingchen off their debts.

It was wiped out instantly.

On the other side of the screen, a number representing real-time sales figures eventually settled on an amount that shocked everyone.

—One hundred and eight million seven hundred thousand!

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone froze in place, their minds blank.

What... what is this?

System bug?

Hacking attack?

Or was it a miracle from God?

"Impossible..." a supply chain executive muttered absentmindedly, "We've searched all the channels for this batch of snail rice noodles, and nobody wants them... How could this be... How could they be gone in just fifteen minutes..."

Su Qingying's expression was also grave: "Our supply chain's bottom line has been exposed! This is a heavy blow to all our future business negotiations!"

"It must stop immediately!"

Just as she was about to give the order, a hand gently pressed on her shoulder.

It's Gu Ming.

He didn't know when he had already stood behind the crowd.

His face showed no panic, but rather a slight smile.

Good evening, everyone.

He glanced around the conference room at the stunned executives, and then slowly began to speak.

First of all, congratulations everyone.

"We achieved our small goal of 100 million in fifteen minutes."

"Secondly, I want to clarify one point."

He paused, and the smile on his lips turned playful.

There was no accident at all.

"This is just a small stress test that I designed."

He snapped his fingers.

The screen behind me switched instantly.

A PowerPoint presentation titled "[Pandora's Box: The Plan to Launch the Trillion-Dollar Live Streaming E-commerce Market]" was presented to everyone.

"BUG, rock-bottom price, limited time offer, flash sale."

Gu Ming's voice echoed clearly in the quiet conference room.

"What you perceive as an accident are actually four hooks I've planted in consumers' minds."

"I've turned shopping into a carnival that ordinary people can participate in."

"I hereby formally announce that, starting today, Star Holdings will officially enter a brand new track that did not even exist in 2016."

He stared intently at the four large characters "Live Streaming E-commerce" on the screen.

"And in this track,"

"We are the rules."

……

In the capital city, at a top-tier private club that is not open to the public.

The smoke from the cigars filled the enclosed room, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Several middle-aged men were sitting in the room.

They are the top decision-makers for AME in China.

On the huge screen in front of them, three images were being displayed in split-screen mode.

On the left is a recording of Zero's live stream, and the price list that was accidentally leaked.

In the middle is the rapidly growing sales data from Star Holdings' back-end system.

On the right are screenshots of countless netizens celebrating their success in snatching up bargain-priced goods on major online forums and social media platforms.

The room was silent.

a long time.

A man sitting in the main seat slowly stubbed out his cigar in the crystal ashtray.

"We... seem to have made a mistake."

His voice was hoarse.

"We always thought he was playing a business war against us."

"But we are only now realizing that he is building a financial empire that is out of our control."

"He broke free from the capital rules we are familiar with, such as those of the stock market and venture capital."

"He can directly extract the war funds he needs from the pockets of hundreds of millions of netizens."

The man raised his head, and for the first time, a hint of fear appeared in his cloudy eyes.

"He has already developed the ability to generate his own blood."

"If we don't act now, it will be too late."

"I agree," the other man said in a deep voice. "Business tactics can't kill him anymore."

"Then let's start from the inside."

The man in the main seat revealed murderous intent in his eyes.

He picked up a red encrypted phone next to him and dialed a number.

"Initiate Project No-Intervention."

"I want him, even if it means being abandoned by everyone."

……

Starry Sky Building, CEO's Office.

The celebrating crowds have dispersed.

Gu Mingzheng stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the city lights.

The office door was gently pushed open.

Wang Tianqi walked in, his face showing no joy, only solemnity.

He walked behind Gu Ming and placed a top-secret intelligence document on the table.

"Boss."

His voice was very low.

"AME has dispatched their top corporate spies."

"Code name: Godfather."

"Our goal is neither our technology nor our funding."

"Their goal was to dismantle our newly formed partnership team from within."