89: Chapter 89: Market Value Evaporates by Billions?

The carnival surrounding Doraemon continued to ferment online, even evolving into a meme-making movement that swept the nation.

And the instigator was none other than that unlucky guy named Li Jiahao.

Lu Li lay on his side on the sofa, one hand supporting his head while the other leisurely scrolled through Douyin.

On the screen, Li Jiahao was tearfully complaining to the camera.

"Guys, my Doraemon won't carry me in ranked games! It says it has to maintain game fairness. How hateful!"

At the end of the video, the camera panned to the round Blue Fatty.

On the screen on Doraemon's chest, a smug emoticon slowly appeared: ( ￣ ▽ ￣ ) ~ *

"Pfft."

Lu Li couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

This AI's learning ability and comedic nature were truly surpassing the master.

He casually opened the comment section, and the vibe was even more bizarre.

"I'm dying of laughter. I suggest the streamer change his ID to Nobita; maybe Blue Fatty will soften his heart and carry you."

"Case closed, this is e-sports bullying from the 22nd century!"

Lu Li read through them with great interest and gave a like to the comment about e-sports bullying.

When he designed the logic for this AI interaction, he had specifically added some minor, human-like flaws. Now, it seemed the effect was outstanding.

"What are you looking at that's so funny?"

Su Qingxue walked over with a plate of sliced Apple, sitting down beside him, carrying the faint, fresh scent of a post-shower fragrance.

"Just watching our client engage in a friendly and cordial interaction with our product." Lu Li handed her the phone.

Su Qingxue watched Li Jiahao wailing in the video and couldn't help but chuckle. She picked up a piece of Apple and held it to Lu Li's lips.

Lu Li took a bite and said indistinctly, "This is just the start. Once it's fed more user data in the future, it'll even be able to help you write papers and prepare reports."

Su Qingxue imagined the scene and felt her business perspective being refreshed once again.

Just then, Lu Li's phone buzzed.

A financial news notification popped up: Tianqiong Interactive Entertainment's stock price had plummeted for three consecutive days, its market value had evaporated by nearly ten billion, and its subsidiary, Tianqiong Technology, might be facing liquidation.

Lu Li raised an eyebrow.

Well, well, has karma arrived this quickly?

He clicked on the news and began reading it with great interest.

...

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Tianqiong Interactive Entertainment, in the top-floor conference room, the air was so heavy it felt as if it could be wrung out like a wet towel.

Around the massive conference table sat over a dozen board members, each with a grim, stone-faced expression.

At the head of the table, the Chairman of Tianqiong Interactive Entertainment and Fan Yu's father, Chairman Fan Jianguo, stared fixedly at the projection screen.

The screen was split in two.

On the left was Tianqiong Interactive Entertainment's K-line chart, showing a terrifying, plummeting green line.

On the right was the sales curve for Doraemon from the Guanghui Technology official website—a vibrant, deep red line that was practically shooting through the roof.

The contrast was cruelly heart-wrenching.

"Crash!"

A blue-and-white porcelain teacup was slammed onto the floor, shattering into pieces.

Chairman Fan Jianguo stood up abruptly from his seat and pointed at Fan Yu, who stood to the side with a pale face. His voice was filled with barely suppressed rage.

"Look at this! Look at the mess you've made!"

"I told you to focus on your games and social networking, but you insisted on getting involved with mobile phones! Now look at where we are—you've created a money-burning joke!"

Fan Yu's body swayed, his lips trembling as he tried to defend himself. "Dad, this is only temporary. Guanghui Technology just got lucky..."

"Luck?"

The Chief Financial Officer pushed up his glasses and interrupted him in a cold, emotionless tone, beginning to read the company's death warrant.

"Chairman Fan, just moments ago, Goldman Sachs, Sequoia, and several other major investors sent over some sternly worded emails."

"They are currently re-evaluating the group's credit rating and demanding that we immediately cut our losses on the Tianqiong Technology project."

"Otherwise, they will consider liquidating their holdings in the group!"

"The group's stock price has plummeted for three consecutive days, and market confidence has all but collapsed! If this continues, our years of reputation will be destroyed in an instant!"

Chairman Fan Jianguo was trembling with rage as he slammed another document onto the table.

"This is the most fatal part!"

It was an internal data investigation report.

"The report shows that since Guanghui Technology's Robot went on sale, the number of daily active users across all our games, including our most profitable title, 'Jiuzhou Zhanji,' has dropped by an average of seventeen percent!"

"Do you know what this means?"

Chairman Fan Jianguo glared at Fan Yu, his eyes bloodshot.

"It means players are using our competitor's Robot to idle in our games to level up and grind their accounts!"

"The content we worked so hard to create has become a place for others to make money by leveling up for people."

"We didn't just lose in hardware; our very foundation—our content ecosystem—is being undermined by them!"

Fan Yu's mind went blank. He truly hadn't expected that Doraemon would have such an impact on Tianqiong Interactive Entertainment's games.

He attempted a final, desperate struggle: "Dad, we can ban the accounts. We can do it in large batches..."

"Shut up!"

Chairman Fan Jianguo slammed his hand on the table, making everyone jump.

"Everyone else is trying to find ways to cooperate with Guanghui Technology and apply for SDK interfaces!"

"But you! You idiot, you're here playing out some personal vendetta, targeting them, and now you want to ban their Robot!"

"The technical department already tested the client-side; there's absolutely no trace of data modification. What are we supposed to do if we accidentally ban legitimate users?"

"And now look at the mess—you've dragged the entire group down with you! Are you satisfied?"

Fan Yu opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

He was finished.

Chairman Fan Jianguo looked around the room, his voice icy and bone-chilling.

"I propose that the board of directors hold a vote to immediately terminate all further investment in Tianqiong Technology."

"A total of 1.5 billion in funding will be frozen!"

"Furthermore, the project initiator, Fan Yu, will bear full responsibility for this major investment failure!"

As his words landed, no one objected.

One hand after another was raised with indifference.

The motion passed unanimously.

"From today on," Chairman Fan Jianguo said, looking at his devastated son without a shred of pity, "all of Fan Yu's positions within Tianqiong Interactive Entertainment Group are revoked. He will retain only his status as a shareholder. Go home and reflect on yourself for three years!"

The meeting concluded.

Fan Yu walked out of the conference room like a walking corpse.

In the hallway, he ran into a project manager who used to bow and scrape before him.

The man froze upon seeing him, then his expression shifted to one of sympathy mixed with a hint of thinly veiled schadenfreude, which pierced Fan Yu's heart like a steel needle.

An unprecedented wave of humiliation rushed to his head, burning away the last shreds of his sanity.

He stumbled back to Tianqiong Technology.

The office was shrouded in gloom; the finance department had already placed liquidation seals on the doors, and dozens of workstations stood empty.

"Young Master Fan."

A voice sounded from behind him.

Director Gu Yang had appeared behind him, his face still wearing that self-righteous smile.

Fan Yu, as if grabbing at a life-saving straw, looked at Director Gu Yang and pleaded, "Gu... Young Master Gu, can you invest in me? Please?"

He had previously looked down on Director Gu Yang because his family wasn't as wealthy as his own; it was truly ironic that he was now begging him for investment.

"No. I don't have any money to invest in your crumbling company. I'm just here to tell you that MediaTek has also refused to sell you any more chips."

"And Qualcomm is also pressing for their final payment..."

"The company's accounts only have enough to last another month."

Director Gu Yang slowly adjusted his tie, shrugged, and turned to leave, leaving behind a dashing silhouette.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.

In that moment, Fan Yu experienced the fickleness of human nature.

He stood alone before the floor-to-ceiling window of the president's office.

Not far away, in the Mingzhu City CBD, the Guanghui Technology building was brightly lit, standing like a brilliant monument in the night.

Meanwhile, his own Tianqiong Technology was about to become nothing more than a pile of ruins.

Why?

Why could Lu Li have everything?

Why was he the one destined for utter defeat?

A wave of frantic hatred, like a poisonous vine, wrapped around his heart, distorting his features.

Since he couldn't win in a direct confrontation...

Since he couldn't win through business tactics...

Then don't blame him for trying something else.

Fan Yu spun around abruptly, rushed to his desk, and yanked open the bottom drawer.

He rummaged through it and pulled out a slightly yellowed sheet of paper.

On it was a detailed address and floor plan of Lu Li's home, with even the blind spots of the security cameras clearly marked.

He had originally commissioned a private investigator to get this information so he could get to know Su Qingxue, never thinking he would need it again.

Fan Yu's mouth curled into a hideous grin.

He took out his phone and dialed an encrypted overseas number.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered, and a hoarse, guarded man's voice came from the other end: "What is it?"

"I need you to do me a favor." Fan Yu lowered his voice and spoke into the receiver, enunciating every word: "Break into a place and steal something for me."

"Steal technical data? That kind of job is too risky. You know the rules—the price will be double."

"Money is no object!" Fan Yu gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, each word squeezed out from between his teeth.

"I don't just want the item; I want him dead!"

"I want that guy named Lu Li to pay a blood price for everything he's done!"

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

"Send me the address."

After hanging up, a sinister and satisfied smile appeared on Fan Yu's face.