128: Chapter 128 Not convinced? Then get lost!

The circular conference room was well-lit.

Chen Xu sat at the head of the table.

Guan Yi and Yan Yi stood on either side of him.

At the other end of the long conference table sat a dozen men.

They were the executives from companies like Huawei, Xiaomi, OV, and ZTE.

The decision-makers of the Huaxia mobile phone industry were gathered here at this moment.

The air conditioning system blew a gentle breeze that didn't stir any papers.

Someone picked up a water glass from the table.

The bottom of the glass made a soft "tap" as it touched the tabletop.

The sound caused the shoulders of a few people sitting nearby to shrink slightly.

These people, accustomed to giving orders, were now the ones waiting.

Chen Xu picked up the teacup in front of him.

His gaze swept over everyone opposite him, passing over the rim of the cup.

"I know why you are all here."

"You want to use the 'Kunlun' chip? You can."

The crowd opposite him stretched their necks, listening quietly.

"But it won't be a purchase."

Chen Xu set down his teacup.

"It is to join the 'Xingchen Ecosystem'."

As he finished speaking,

the massive screen behind him lit up.

On the deep blue background, several large white characters appeared.

[Xingchen Ecosystem Cooperation Agreement]

These words made all the manufacturer representatives present lean back in their chairs.

"Article one."

Yan Yi took a step forward.

He raised his hand and pointed at the screen.

The text on the screen changed, displaying the first clause of the agreement.

"All mobile phones equipped with the 'Kunlun' chip must, and can only, come pre-installed with the pure version of 'Zhoutian OS'."

Yan Yi read out the content.

"Any form of modification or customization is prohibited. Pre-installing any third-party applications or channels is prohibited."

After this rule was read,

a commotion began on the other side of the conference table.

Some people were whispering quickly with their neighbors, exchanging glances.

Some picked up their phones, their thumbs tapping rapidly on the screens.

Some looked at Chen Xu, trying to find some information on his face.

But Chen Xu was just looking at his teacup.

The operating system was the source of profit for mobile phone manufacturers and the foundation of their differentiation.

Pre-installing a pure, unmodifiable operating system was equivalent to working for Star Technology; only the name would be different.

Their phones would only have their own brand name.

They would be nothing more than a pure assembly plant.

Yan Yi didn't give them time to digest this and continued to announce the second rule.

The text on the screen refreshed again.

"All devices within the ecosystem must use the 'zhoutian App Store' for application downloads, updates, and payments."

"Manufacturers are not allowed to establish their own application distribution channels."

This rule tightened the noose further.

It not only stripped manufacturers of control over the system itself but also cut off their revenue stream from software distribution through their own app stores.

The murmurs in the conference room grew louder.

Someone had already picked up their nameplate from the table, their fingers rubbing over it repeatedly.

Some began to organize the documents in front of them, creating the noise of friction from the paper.

The unease in their hearts was growing.

At this moment, Guan Yi took a step forward.

Yan Yi stepped back.

Guan Yi stood in front of the screen.

Her appearance caused the commotion in the room to subside slightly.

As the sales head of Star Technology, she had dealt with many of the people present.

"Article three."

Guan Yi's voice was crisp and clear.

The third clause appeared on the screen.

"For all paid applications and in-app purchase revenue in the 'zhoutian App Store', Star Technology and the developer will split the revenue 70/30."

She paused when she reached this point.

She looked around at everyone present.

Then, she announced the second half of the clause.

"Mobile phone manufacturers... will not participate in the revenue sharing."

The continuous whispering and discussion in the conference room stopped completely at this moment, followed by an outburst.

"This is impossible!"

Xiaomi's CEO, person, was the first to stand up from his seat.

"We pay for the chips, and we manufacture and sell the phones ourselves. Why don't we get a single cent of the software revenue?"

His questioning echoed in the conference room.

"How is this any different from being robbed!"

His words ignited the suppressed emotions of the others.

"That's right! This is too much!"

"Have we become people working for free for you?"

"Chairman Chen, we cannot accept such a partnership!"

Echoes of agreement rose one after another.

The various manufacturer representatives, who had just been distinct and separated, now formed a united front.

They all looked at Chen Xu at the head of the table.

Chen Xu raised his hand, picked up the teacup in front of him, and set it down again.

The bottom of the cup collided with the tabletop, making a soft "clack" sound.

It brought the entire conference room's uproar to an abrupt halt.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on him.

Chen Xu looked up and swept his gaze over the crowd.

"Robbery?"

He repeated the word.

"In the past, you used the openness of android to pre-install dozens of applications in the factory system that users couldn't delete."

"You stuffed advertisements into calendars, weather apps, and stores, with intrusive push notifications everywhere."

"These behaviors consumed the performance and battery life of users' phones and encroached on their storage space."

With every sentence Chen Xu spoke, someone opposite him lowered their head, avoiding his gaze.

"What do you call that?"

He asked.

No one answered.

person was still standing, but his hands, which had been pressed against the table, had already been pulled back.

Chen Xu stood up.

"What I am giving you is a clean, smooth, and secure ecosystem."

"It is the experience that users truly want."

"All you need to do is build hardware that meets quality standards and then enjoy the brand premium and explosive sales growth brought by 'Kunlun' and 'zhoutian'."

His words made some people show expressions of contemplation.

But the cost of giving up software profits was still something they couldn't accept.

Chen Xu straightened his collar.

He made a gesture as if preparing to leave.

"These are the rules."

"If you can't accept them, the door is over there."

He pointed at the door of the conference room with his finger.

"You can go back and continue using your flagship phones to compete with 'Tianshu'."

Chen Xu turned around.

He didn't look at them again.

"Compete with 'Tianshu'."

These six words were like a sharp knife, piercing through the last shred of fantasy in the hearts of everyone present.

In their minds, the terrifying pre-sale numbers that jumped by hundreds of thousands every minute at the Star Technology launch event simultaneously appeared.

How could their flagship phones compete in front of 'Tianshu'?

Compete?

That wasn't competition; it was a unilateral massacre.

In the conference room, everyone looked at each other.

Huawei's rotating CEO, Yu Chengdong, watched Chen Xu's back as he walked toward the door.

His lips parted a few times as if wanting to say something, but no sound came out.

His hands, hidden under the table, were trembling slightly.

In the end, it was as if all his strength had been drained, and he slumped back into his chair.

He leaned his body against the back of the chair.

He said one sentence in a volume that only those beside him could hear clearly.

"We... have no choice."