256: Chapter 255 Li Hong's Helplessness

"CEO Li, I object."

Just as CEO Li finished speaking, a cold voice rang out in the office.

A woman sitting towards the back of the office stood up and frowned, saying, "The Artificial Intelligence strategy is a key direction unanimously passed by the Board of Directors. We have already invested a vast amount of manpower and material resources into it, occupying countless group resources. Now you just want to give it up with a single sentence? CEO Li, how are we supposed to answer to the shareholders?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the office immediately erupted into murmurs.

CEO Li glanced at the woman who had spoken and frowned slightly.

He could ignore others, or even use his status as the helm of Baidu to leave them speechless, but this woman was different.

This woman represented Baidu Group's largest shareholder, the Defeng Group.

"Ms. Lin, I wonder what your brilliant opinion is?"

CEO Li did not speak, but Wang Chaoyuan asked knowingly.

"I wouldn't call it a brilliant opinion." The woman surnamed Lin swept a glance at Wang Chaoyuan, her tone brooking no argument: "But Baidu Group cannot abandon the Artificial Intelligence field right now."

"We don't want to abandon the Artificial Intelligence field either." Wang Chaoyuan sighed: "But you can see the current situation. The zero egg released by Frontier Technology is several, or even dozens of times better than our large model in both performance and experience. Moreover, for our large model to reach a publishable version, it will need at least a hundred more iterations, which will take five years or even longer. What will zero egg look like in five years?"

"I know what you are saying. But if you announce abandoning the Artificial Intelligence field now, have you considered what impact it will have on the stock market?"

The woman surnamed Lin scanned the crowd and finally fixed her gaze on CEO Li.

"This year, Baidu Group has already experienced stock market volatility due to the departure of senior executives, with a decline of nearly 19 percentage points at its peak, which has seriously affected the shareholders' interests. Mr. Defeng Jie has already expressed his dissatisfaction to me. Now, we have finally managed to maintain the group's valuation at the $90 billion level. If we announce a strategic adjustment at this time, no one can predict how far Baidu Group's value will fall. Who will bear the consequences? Who will compensate for the losses suffered by Mr. Defeng Jie?"

Wang Chaoyuan was silent.

He could not answer this question.

"I will communicate these issues with Mr. Defeng Jie personally."

CEO Li said indifferently: "The urgent priority now is how to maintain the group's stability and find the wisest way out."

"Very well." The woman surnamed Lin did not dwell on the issue of interests anymore and said: "Then CEO Li, if the group adjusts its Artificial Intelligence strategy, how do you plan to arrange the current Artificial Intelligence team of as many as 20,000 people, including 4,000 high-level Artificial Intelligence engineers? Will you just dismiss them directly?"

Dismiss them? That was impossible.

These were precious talents that CEO Li had painstakingly recruited and cultivated over such a long time; any one of them could carry a project on their own.

But keeping them was not realistic either.

If the decision to cut the Artificial Intelligence group had been made, these people would turn from high-quality resources into a burden. Just for that team of 4,000 high-level engineers, CEO Li would have to pay nearly 10 billion in funds every year.

And this was only a part of it.

"These... I will have the HR department make a reasonable arrangement."

CEO Li's voice was a bit low.

"I hope so." The woman surnamed Lin looked at CEO Li: "If I feel that CEO Li's decision will cause turmoil in the group and subsequently affect earnings, I will advise Mr. Defeng Jie to withdraw investment."

The office suddenly went quiet, and everyone looked at the woman surnamed Lin in disbelief.

Did this woman know what she was saying?

"I'm afraid that's not something Ms. Lin can decide."

CEO Li's face was gloomy. He did not expect that this agent from the Defeng Jie company would act like this.

Withdraw investment?

As Baidu's largest shareholder, the Defeng Jie Group held nearly 26% of the shares.

With Baidu's current size, if they were to withdraw their investment, it would mean pulling out nearly 160 billion RMB in funds from Baidu Group, which was no different from directly destroying Baidu Group.

This was not withdrawing investment; this was a naked threat.

"It is indeed not something I can decide." The woman surnamed Lin said indifferently: "But I have the power to advise, don't I?"

The power to advise was also power, and sometimes it could play a decisive role.

"Very well."

CEO Li said with a cold expression: "I will discuss this matter with Mr. Defeng Jie and then put it to a vote at the Board of Directors. Does Ms. Lin have any objections?"

The woman surnamed Lin said indifferently: "I have no objections. However, before you contact Mr. Defeng Jie, I have a piece of private information to provide to you, which might be helpful."

The woman surnamed Lin looked around at the shareholders and said: "I know that the only reason you want to abandon the Artificial Intelligence field is because Frontier Technology's product is simply too excellent, and you are afraid."

"But, you won't have to worry about this issue for much longer."

"Because, Frontier Technology... and zero egg, will soon disappear."

"We still have time."

"Victory will eventually stand on our side."

...

Beijing. Villa district.

Zhi Shu sat on a wide sofa, watching a video displayed on a tablet, a mysterious smile on his face.

A few minutes later, with the young man's closing remarks, the video finished playing.

"Young Master, this is currently the video with the highest popularity on the internet regarding zero egg."

"It is indeed not bad."

Zhi Shu put the tablet aside and looked at a spherical object placed on the coffee table, saying with some regret: "It's a good thing, but it's a pity I didn't register for a reservation, so I can't activate it."

A look of apology appeared on the Female Assistant's face.

"Young Master, we have tried our best. Frontier Technology has locked down the purchase identity cards very tightly. At the current stage, we can only get the zero egg unit itself. As for the purchase qualification, no matter what methods we think of, we..."

"I don't blame you."

Zhi Shu waved his hand indifferently, interrupting the Female Assistant.

"I just find it a pity that such a good thing will soon disappear."

The Female Assistant was silent.

Touching the zero egg again, Zhi Shu said: "It's about time, let's attend the meeting."

The Female Assistant nodded and tapped a few times on the tablet.

The large screen TV in front turned on slowly, and several figures appeared.

"Good afternoon, everyone."

"Zhi Shu."

The old man sitting in the very center spoke: "Time is limited, let's keep it brief."

"Hmm."

Zhi Shu nodded, picked up the zero egg in front of him, and handed it to the Female Assistant.

"Take it out."

After the Female Assistant had completely left the room with the zero egg, he then spoke: "Everyone, I assume you have already received the news about the release of zero egg."

"We have received it."

The old man who spoke first nodded: "It seems your strategy didn't have any effect."

"It didn't have no effect." Zhi Shu smiled: "At least I can confirm now that there is definitely another force supporting Frontier Technology behind the scenes."

The expression of The Figure on the screen became a bit more solemn, and a Middle-aged man spoke: "Since the force behind Frontier Technology has been confirmed, we should also call it a day."

"I agree. On Huaxia's territory, a direct conflict with them is not a good idea."

"Everyone, listen to me."

Zhi Shu smiled and interrupted the discussion of The Figures, saying indifferently: "My thoughts are exactly the opposite of yours. I believe now is the best time to take action."

"Take action?"

The old man frowned and asked: "Who are you planning to target? Frontier Technology?"

"Naturally, Frontier Technology." Zhi Shu said indifferently: "There are three reasons."

"First, the force behind Frontier Technology has been identified, and attacking it can serve as a warning to others."

"Second, Frontier Technology is not large in size, but since it has been pushed to the forefront and released an Artificial Intelligence of zero egg's caliber, it shows that it is very important. Taking down Frontier Technology is enough to make the force behind it feel pain without causing them any fundamental damage, which is conducive to us stabilizing the situation and reducing the intensity of the conflict."

"Third, it is Frontier Technology itself. As the most watched internet-famous company on the web right now, the demise of Frontier Technology is enough to let us advance further in Huaxia and let those who are watching from the sidelines see the situation clearly."

The old man nodded slowly: "How do you plan to take action?"

"Very simple. I have already had someone dismantle a zero egg to determine its internal structure. We can proceed to have people imitate it."

"Imitate it?" The old man shook his head slightly: "The most important thing about zero egg is the software; imitating the hardware won't be of much use."

"I know."

Zhi Shu nodded: "So this is just a way to create a diversion; the effect it can achieve will be minimal."

"My real purpose is... this."

The Figures looked at the object in Zhi Shu's hand and nodded thoughtfully.

"Not a bad idea. This is also the reason why you needed overseas authorization before, right?"

The old man nodded with a smile.

"We will give you the overseas authorization and have the Maple Leaf Group and the organization's personnel cooperate with you. As for how far you can go, that depends on you."

After speaking, the screen faded to darkness.

Zhi Shu sat quietly on the sofa, waiting for the Female Assistant to enter the room again, then he let out a slight sigh and handed the thing in his hand to the Female Assistant.

"Have someone book a flight ticket, as soon as possible."