307: Chapter 306 Survival Game

Donghai City. Zhenhua Machinery Office Building.

President Cheng looked at the data in front of him and let out a slight sigh of relief.

Throughout the afternoon, the Chinese stock market remained calm, as if the recent crash of United States Artificial Intelligence stocks had been nothing but a hallucination.

"This time, it really is thanks to Frontier Technology," President Cheng muttered.

If Frontier Technology hadn't released zero egg, significantly raising the technical ceiling of Artificial Intelligence and making investors and tech giants realize the future prospects of Artificial Intelligence, this crisis likely wouldn't have been overcome so easily.

Of course, relevant government departments must have also intervened behind the scenes. The fact that the price of the Chinese Artificial Intelligence sector didn't fall, but rather rose, is the best proof of this. Collaboration from multiple parties ultimately brought about the current result.

Although the hardest part had passed, President Cheng's face did not show any signs of relief. As a seasoned veteran who had been struggling in the business world for many years, he keenly sensed the risks that lay ahead.

It's just that... compared to a stock market crash that would affect the entire Chinese nation, this part of the risk was aimed at only one target—Frontier Technology.

President Cheng stood up silently, walked to the window, looked outside, and furrowed his brows. After a while, he gently pressed a button on his phone. The secretary pushed open the door shortly after.

"Draft an invitation," he said. The secretary was slightly stunned: "President Cheng, an invitation for whom?"

President Cheng's voice was calm: "Frontier Technology. I want to purchase one thousand units of zero egg!"

...

Beijing. Baidu corporate headquarters building. CEO Li sat behind a large desk, his expression slightly serious. Before him, an assistant was reporting on work.

"CEO Li, this afternoon, the Artificial Intelligence sector index did not show any obvious downward trend; some companies' stocks even saw a slight increase. As per your instructions, we have carried out a tentative reduction in our positions, but it didn't have any obvious effect."

"Hmm." CEO Li's attention was not on this; he waved his hand and said: "You go ahead and get busy. I will call you if there is anything." The assistant bowed slightly and left the office.

Once the office door was closed, CEO Li's expression immediately turned grim.

"Is this their method? Really..." CEO Li chewed on the words, but ultimately did not say the word 'insidious'.

The business world is like a battlefield; there is never any talk of reciprocating courtesy. Seizing the opportunity to destroy your opponent is the norm.

On the sofa nearby, a Middle-aged man sat upright and said: "CEO Li, what should we do next? Should we continue to wait and see?"

"The ones who made a move this time are definitely not just DFJ. To be able to set up such a big game, I estimate there are other companies involved as well; I just don't know what scale they have reached." CEO Li shook his head slightly: "If we act rashly, we are very likely to become a target ourselves."

Once capital starts devouring people, it never distinguishes between friend or foe. Sighing slightly, CEO Li said: "Wait. Wait until others make a move, or wait until the dust settles."

The Middle-aged man surnamed Wang was worried: "CEO Li, I'm afraid no one will make a move." If no one made a move, it meant they would be completely out of this capital game.

Although he didn't know who the initiator of this game was, by this point, the game had gradually taken shape—this was a Battle Royale against Frontier Technology.

It's just that other games involve back-and-forth confrontation, while this game is a gang-up of many against one. The rest are all free agents. And the loser of this game is destined to leave no bones behind.

Not only will the winner gnaw on the corpse, but even other teammates on the same side might come up to suck a drop of blood. The capital market is just that bloody.

No one is a fool, especially the winners like Baidu, who fought their way out of thousands of competitors and belong to the same capital camp.

Is Frontier Technology not dazzling enough? Is the Mark I System not excellent enough? Is zero egg not stunning enough? None of that is the case.

For these big shots, all information in the internet age is transparent, and their foresight and predictive ability regarding information are unmatched. So, when the Mark I System appeared, when zero egg appeared, when Frontier Technology began to develop rapidly, did none of these big shots realize the future of this company? That is not the case.

They saw it, and they thought of it, but—no contact, no investment, no probing. Except for some small, ill-informed factions, almost all other capital that could be considered significant maintained a surprisingly consistent attitude—silence and waiting. What they were waiting for was this very scene before them.

CEO Li was silent, his mind recalling the arrogant words of the female shareholder representative who had stood here before. "zero egg will disappear soon!"

It is a real pity that such an excellent Artificial Intelligence product would disappear; this is a huge loss for all consumers and a disaster for all of humanity. But for him, and for Baidu, it is not. And he is very sure that there are many others with the same thoughts. This is a huge rock blocking everyone's path, not just his.

CEO Li regained his calm and said indifferently: "Wait."

...

Meanwhile, in Hangzhou City. A somewhat gaunt-looking Middle-aged man sat on a leather sofa and made the same judgment to the company shareholders in front of him: "Let's wait."

He smiled and said: "Someone will make a move. The Chinese government will not allow this thing to fall into the hands of others. Once they succeed, that will be our opportunity."

For a moment, the atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly heated up. Ma Fei looked at everything in front of him and revealed a satisfied smile.

The zero egg purchased by employees had proven to him more than once that Frontier Technology had not exaggerated the level of zero egg; this was indeed a genuine Artificial Intelligence, the current peak of Artificial Intelligence. But so what?

Even if your technology is advanced, if you cannot survive this time, the ending is still total annihilation. Consumers are fickle and forgetful. In a few years, who will still remember that there was once a Frontier Technology that released the world's first Artificial Intelligence?

And the Alibaba Group will still be standing. By then, whether this Artificial Intelligence is called zero egg, or Xiao Du, or Xiao Ai, or some other name, who can say for sure?

...

Donghai City. Zheng Yi slowly walked into the Software Park and headed towards the location in her memory. Passing a corner, a group of people brushed past her shoulders in a hurry.

The instinct honed from years of training allowed her to observe all the details of this group with just a glance. Four people, three wearing security uniforms—they should be the security guards of the Software Park. A young man, dressed in expensive, gorgeous clothing, was being dragged hard by the three security guards towards the outside of the Software Park.

Even until he was dragged to the main gate, he kept shouting: "Ye Mei, Ye Mei! I am sincere! Ye Mei! Come out and see me, just see me and I'll leave!"

Zheng Yi raised her brows slightly. Hmm... being so annoying, the origin of the bruise on his face made sense.

Without paying any more attention, Zheng Yi went directly to the front of the small building belonging to Frontier Technology. Before she even entered, she heard sounds of exclamation coming from inside.

A girl said: "Wow, I only realized today that Han Xiaoxin could actually hit people? That punch just now was really too fast; I didn't even see clearly before he fell down."

A boy said proudly: "Hmph, of course. Daring to harass our Assistant Liu, hitting him is already considered light. Next time I see him, watch me beat him to a pulp."

"Master, according to my calculations, if the angle of that punch had been raised by another twenty degrees, it would have hit the eye socket directly, causing a severe bruise and affecting his appearance for about three days; the effect would have been better." This was a cute child's voice.

"Ahem, zero degree, don't worry about those details..." Zheng Yi revealed a slight smile and walked through the door.

Han Xiaoxin, who was still preparing to continue bragging, was slightly stunned: "Who are you looking for?"

Before Zheng Yi could reply, she heard a cold, clear voice coming from the staircase. "She is here to see me."

Zheng Yi looked in the direction the voice came from; a slender figure stood there gracefully. It was Chen Xin.