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

Wang Tianqi's attack came quickly and fiercely.

"Bang!"

Su Qingying rushed in, her high heels clicking.

"Gu Ming! Something's happened!"

"Blue Ocean Chemicals, Windspeed Motors, and M-Zone—these three companies! Three endorsements worth tens of millions of yuan, just sent emails simultaneously saying they want to unilaterally terminate their contracts! They've already paid the penalty fees!"

"Do you know what this means? Our cash flow for next quarter is going to be reduced by more than half! The company was just starting to look up, and this is going to kill us!"

Gu Ming didn't even read those emails.

He simply raised his hand, signaling Su Qingying not to rush.

Gu Ming's calmness infuriated Su Qingying even more, but she couldn't lash out, so she could only pace back and forth in the office.

The next morning, downstairs at Xingchen Media.

A black Mercedes-Benz S-Class was parked in front of the company, and a man in a suit got out of the car surrounded by a group of bodyguards in black.

His name is Gao Jun, and he is a capable subordinate of Wang Tianqi.

Gao Jun did not go upstairs; he simply stood at the entrance of the lobby, holding a document in his hand.

"On behalf of Apocalypse Entertainment, I would like to read aloud a proposal for future development guidelines for the virtual idol industry to everyone at Star Media!"

"The proposal clearly states that any makeshift team that disrupts market order, engages in malicious competition, or lacks core technology will be boycotted by the industry!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the media and passersby who were watching the spectacle.

This is no longer an implication; it's a direct insult directed at Star Media.

Inside the company, the employees who saw this scene through the glass windows immediately changed their expressions.

Everyone panicked. Some of the young people who were happy yesterday that the company had secured funding were now filled with worry.

Gao Jun was very satisfied with this effect. He curled his lip and then said something even harsher.

"Furthermore, Tianqi Entertainment is in dire need of talent. All core staff of Xingchen Media's operations department, come downstairs now. On behalf of General Manager Wang, I promise you double your salary, a promotion, and you can sign letters of intent on the spot!"

The room fell silent after those words were spoken.

Then came an even bigger commotion.

The atmosphere in Star Media's office area instantly turned icy. Everyone instinctively looked at the core members of the operations department, whose eyes began to dart away.

Double salary, and an industry leader—the offer is too tempting.

The reporters who were watching went crazy, flashing their cameras nonstop, and news flashes were already spreading online.

Apocalypse Entertainment is going all out; Star Media is doomed!

Capital tycoons make their move! Is Gu Ming left with no way out?

Just when everyone thought Gu Ming would get angry or start arguing with the other party.

The office door opened.

Gu Ming came out.

He ignored Gao Jun shouting downstairs and paid no attention to the media cameras.

His gaze swept over every tense, hesitant, and fearful face in the office area.

Then, in a very calm tone, he announced a decision that stunned everyone.

"Everyone has it."

"Starting today, the company will be giving employees a three-month paid vacation."

"Now, pack your things and go home."

The entire office area was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Paid extended leave? Three months?

At a time like this?

What kind of move is this? They've given up resistance? Is the company going to collapse?

Gao Jun downstairs also heard the news. His smile froze, and he was completely stunned.

He had thought of all sorts of ways to deal with it, but he didn't expect the other party to just flip the table and quit.

Before everyone could recover from their shock, Gu Ming did something even more incomprehensible.

He first went to the technical department, and under the dumbfounded gaze of the technical director, he personally entered the command to stop all the GGs.

Next, he ordered the operations department to remove all interactive apps featuring the virtual idol "Zero" from the market.

Finally, in front of everyone, he deleted several accounts that he had painstakingly built up with millions of followers.

This series of actions was executed without the slightest hesitation.

This isn't giving up, this is suicide!

The news quickly reached Tianqi Entertainment.

In Wang Tianqi's office, he looked at the report sent back by his subordinates, paused for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! He's gone mad! I've driven this kid crazy!"

But as he laughed, his voice trailed off.

A deep sense of doubt surfaced in his eyes.

Not right.

Something's really wrong.

Gu Ming wasn't the type to give up easily. This self-destructive tactic seemed more like a trap.

On the other hand, Shen Guodong, who was preparing to join forces with capital to acquire Star Media when its stock price plummeted, also quickly called off the plan.

He doesn't understand.

The entire industry couldn't understand Gu Ming's actions.

This move was something no one had ever seen before.

For a time, the entire industry was focused on Star Media, this strange "empty city," trying to guess what it was up to.

……

It was late at night, inside a private club that was not open to the public.

Gu Ming poured Su Qingying a glass of red wine, but she had no appetite for it and her brows were still furrowed.

"What exactly do you want? This company is your life's work, why would you...?"

"Because Wang Tianqi is dying." Gu Ming interrupted her, his tone calm, but he uttered a startling statement.

He turned his laptop toward Su Qingying; instead of a candlestick chart, the screen displayed a complex financial model.

"These are Tianqi Entertainment's financial data for the past three years. I got them from someone."

Gu Ming's finger swiped across the screen. "Look here, his debt-to-equity ratio has reached 70%, and a lot of money is invested in projects with slow returns. To keep the company running, he's been borrowing money like crazy, playing a high-risk game."

"Now, I'm voluntarily withdrawing, leaving him with the huge market left by the 'Zero' project. Guess what a greedy person would do when they see such a large piece of meat?"

Su Qingying gasped, realizing a possibility.

"He...he'll eat it no matter the cost!"

"That's right." Gu Ming snapped his fingers. "He'll divert money from other projects, and even borrow more, to expand aggressively and seize market share. And I happen to know that in half a month, one of his most important overseas investment projects will be completely ruined due to policy reasons."

"When the funding chain breaks, it will be his death."

Looking at Gu Ming's profile, which appeared somewhat cold under the light, Su Qingying felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet.

This man had planned everything from the very beginning.

He not only predicted what Wang Tianqi would do, but also his greed.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the private room.

Shen Lian walked in, her expression somewhat complicated, and handed a file folder to Gu Ming.

"My dad asked me to get you what you wanted."

Gu Ming opened the file bag, inside which was a debt transfer agreement.

Su Qingying leaned closer to take a look, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

The agreement stipulates that all the claims of the largest OEM manufacturer in Wang Tianqi's core product supply chain have now been quietly transferred to an overseas company.

And the actual controller of that company was Chen Mo.

Su Qingying understood instantly.

Gu Ming's so-called "paid leave" is not a vacation at all!

On the surface, he pretended to give up, but in reality, he sent his most trusted man, Chen Mo, to use the money from the financing to precisely buy out the debt of Wang Tianqi's most important supplier, thus strangling him!

He was pretending to back down, but actually he wanted to swallow Wang Tianqi whole!

Su Qingying looked at Gu Ming, a man younger than herself, and for the first time felt a little scared.

He's not starting a business.

He's setting things up; he's the mastermind behind it all.

As expected, the hashtag "Star Media goes bankrupt" trended on social media the next day.

There is a lot of pessimistic sentiment online.

Just as Gu Ming had predicted, Wang Tianqi began to mobilize all resources and seize the market at all costs. Tianqi Entertainment's stock price soared, and it seemed to be doing very well.

The Star Media office building was deserted.

Gu Ming stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the city below, and dialed Wang Min's number.

"How are the preparations going on your end?"

Wang Min's slightly nervous voice came from the other end of the phone: "Boss, everything is ready."

"very good."

Gu Ming hung up the phone and turned to leave.

Half an hour later, his car stopped outside an unmarked underground office on the outskirts of the city.

Chen Mo was already waiting there and pushed open the heavy iron door for him.

Inside the door was a huge space filled with all sorts of sophisticated instruments and servers.

The three sisters, Wang Min, Wang Qiao, and Wang Ling, stood somewhat awkwardly in the center of the field, wearing black motion capture suits covered with sensors.

Gu Ming ignored them and walked directly to the control panel.

On the screen, countless green codes flowed like a waterfall.

He watched the gradually taking shape 3D human body model on the screen, his voice echoing in the empty studio, cold yet clear.

"Since the outside world doesn't allow you to speak."

"Then let's create a soul that no one can control."

Gu Ming's fingers typed the last command on the keyboard.

"Let's start the reissue."