Rebirth: I have Monopoly System

"Oh! Looks like our circle is about to welcome another big shot!" A voice tinged with a hint of amusement came from the doorway.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the doorway. A young-looking man wearing rimless glasses and a casual suit stood there.

He wasn’t tall and had a scholarly, gentle look.

But no one present dared to underestimate him. Such was the aura that wealth bestowed.

The newcomer was none other than Xiaomage, who beamed as he looked at the crowd.

"President Ma!"

"President Ma!"

...

Everyone rose to their feet to greet the man who was, for all intents and purposes, at the top of the food chain.

Xiaomage waved his hand and naturally took a seat at the head of the table.

"Who else hasn’t arrived?" The question was, of course, directed at Peng Zhijian.

Peng Zhijian smiled and said, "There’s still President Liu from Jingdong, President Liao from Registration Network, President Peng from Bread Travel..."

Peng Zhijian listed six names in a row. If it weren’t for the report from the system, Wu Yun wouldn’t have even heard of a name like Bread Travel.

The information showed that on December 22, 2014, Bread Travel’s CEO, Peng Tao, had announced to Tencent Technology that their entire 50 million US Dollar Series C funding round had been received.

Wu Yun looked over the information while listening to the conversations around him.

A short while later, Old Liu, with a streak of white in his bangs, also walked in. Seeing Xiaomage at the head of the table, he smiled and explained, "My apologies, my apologies! The traffic was a nightmare. Sorry to keep you all waiting!"

Old Liu naturally sat down next to Xiaomage and exchanged a few jokes with him.

Soon, everyone attending Xiaomage’s banquet that evening had arrived.

Wu Yun was seated directly across from Xiaomage, with Peng Zhijian to his left and DiDi’s Cheng Wei to his right.

After the waiters had finished bringing out the dishes, Xiaomage began, "Everyone here today is, or will soon be, a partner of our Tencent. So the main reason I’ve gathered you all is to build some camaraderie."

"I’m sure Old Ma on the other side is doing the exact same thing as me right now!"

His words immediately drew laughter from the crowd.

It was true. Although the Tencent Ecosystem and the Alibaba Ecosystem hadn’t gone into all-out war yet, you could tell from their actions that they wished they could poach the other’s entire market.

But after the full rollout of WeChat Pay, the competition between the Tencent Ecosystem and the Alibaba Ecosystem could be said to have reached a fever pitch.

"Old Peng! There are some new faces here I haven’t seen before. Why don’t you make some introductions?"

Peng Zhijian immediately started with Old Liu. "This is President Liu from Jingdong. I’m sure everyone knows him!"

...

Peng Zhijian went around the table, making introductions.

When introducing Wu Yun, Xiaomage took a deliberate look at him, clearly having a strong impression of this "Overseas Dragon."

"Come! Let’s have a drink first! After this, we can eat and chat!"

After everyone drank a glass together, Xiaomage picked up his chopsticks, and only then did the others follow suit.

"Regarding this inaugural World Internet Conference, let me share my thoughts first."

After swallowing a piece of vegetable, Xiaomage put down his chopsticks, propped his elbows on the edge of the table, and said with a smile, "I’ll get the ball rolling, if you’ll indulge me."

"For this conference, I believe the government has several main objectives. First, to have all countries seek consensus amidst disputes, pursue cooperation from that consensus, and create win-win situations through cooperation. They hope the internet giants will use this platform to exchange ideas, explore patterns, and build consensus."

"The internet is developing too quickly now. Our country alone has 630 million netizens, 1.2 billion mobile phone users, and 500 million Weibo and WeChat users. So, the government wants to establish a platform like this for everyone to come together and exchange ideas."

After finishing his first point, Xiaomage raised his glass. "Come on, don’t just listen to me talk. Let’s all have a drink!"

Xiaomage took a sip of baijiu, exhaled the alcoholic vapor, and continued, "The second objective, I feel, is more macroeconomic. I don’t know if you’ve all read the agenda materials provided by the organizers."

"It’s all macroeconomic topics. I think the government mainly wants to use the conference to convey concepts like standardization and legalization to the internet industry. After all, the internet is not a lawless land, and after so many years of development, many problems still exist."

"The organizers want to gather us all together. What’s that joke? ’Catching everyone in one net!’"

"Hahahaha~"

...

Wu Yun ate the delicious food while listening to everyone’s opinions, finding it all quite interesting.

The banquet wasn’t quite what Wu Yun had imagined, with big shots laying down grand strategies. Instead, everyone was engaged in lofty discussions, offering their opinions on the World Internet Conference’s agenda and its future impact, while either avoiding business matters entirely or just touching on them superficially.

Wu Yun just quietly watched them show off, occasionally discussing transportation-related matters with Cheng Wei beside him.

"President Wu, I see you guys have been doggedly focused on first-tier cities. Are you planning to give up on the second- and third-tier ones?" Cheng Wei asked curiously.

Wu Yun gave a wry smile. "I’d love to expand everywhere, but the financial pressure is immense! Shared bikes aren’t like you guys, who just operate a platform. We’re more asset-heavy."

"Manufacturing the bikes takes time and money! The national market is huge. It’s impossible for us to be the only three shared-bike companies in the future. I believe we’ll see the rise of many more small, local shared-bike enterprises."

Wu Yun glanced at Cheng Wei, who was listening intently, and continued, "So, who knows, maybe even DiDi will make its mark in the shared-bike space in the future."

Cheng Wei shook his head. "That’s probably a long way off. We’d at least have to wait until we’ve captured the national market or become the unshakable number one before we’d consider venturing into other fields."

"President Wu, you must know how we’re burning through cash. A hundred million can be invested and disappear in a flash, sometimes without even making a ripple."

DiDi was in a tough spot now, unable to back down. With Kuaidi and Uber eyeing them like hungry tigers, they had to grit their teeth and press on.

But then Cheng Wei changed the subject, saying with envy, "President Wu, your Little Red Car shouldn’t be short on cash! The security deposits must be in the tens of billions by now!"

Wu Yun shook his head. "It’s not that exaggerated. Besides, we don’t dare touch those deposits. We can only live off the interest and the ride fees."

Since they were both in the transportation sector, Wu Yun and Cheng Wei exchanged contact information.

No matter how Wu Yun probed, Cheng Wei showed no interest in the idea of shared bikes.

But DiDi was currently fighting for market share against Kuaidi and Uber, getting their brains bashed in, so they had no spare capacity to worry about anything else.

Wu Yun didn’t offer his own views on the World Internet Conference. He only spoke about his optimism for certain industries in the future, which earned him nods of approval from the others for his foresight.

Throughout the entire banquet, Peng Zhijian acted as a social lubricant, keeping the atmosphere at the table lively and warm.

When the banquet ended, under Peng Zhijian’s guidance, the attendees happily dispersed.

Wu Yun didn’t leave, however, because he was planning to bum a ride back with Peng Zhijian.

In the end, only Xiaomage, Peng Zhijian, and Wu Yun remained in the banquet hall.

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