140: Chapter 141 Circumventing the Anti-Monopoly Law: Policy Strangulation

Early in the morning at the headquarters of Jiyuan Technology, the central air conditioning slowly exhaled a stream of cold air.

The hallways were filled with employees from various departments, clutching coffee and walking briskly, a scene typical of a high-speed, fast-paced internet company.

"Ding—"

As the elevator doors exclusive to the president slid open to both sides.

Just as Shen Du stepped out, his gaze collided with General Manager Chen Shengqiang, who was waiting outside the door.

This professional manager, who usually handled billions in funds and didn't even bat an eye at the cash flow.

Was, at this moment, uncharacteristically flustered.

General Manager Chen Shengqiang's meticulously combed-back hair was slightly disheveled, and a fine layer of cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

His chest heaved violently due to extreme tension, and his breathing rhythm was completely disordered.

"President Shen, there is a huge problem!"

General Manager Chen Shengqiang didn't even bother with basic workplace etiquette.

Gripping a document so tightly that its edges were crumpled, he hurried forward, ready to speak.

Seeing his subordinate in such a flustered state, a flicker of brief confusion flashed in the depths of Shen Du's eyes.

But that cold, hard composure allowed him to instantly suppress any emotional fluctuations that might have spread.

He did not respond.

Instead, he cast a cold glance at the employees passing by in the hallway.

He decisively raised his right hand and gestured downwards at General Manager Chen Shengqiang.

"This is not the place to talk."

Shen Du interrupted him crisply and walked straight past General Manager Chen Shengqiang's shoulder toward the end of the hallway:

"Follow me into the office."

The heavy mahogany door closed behind them.

With a "click," Shen Du turned the metal lock behind him.

Locking the door completely, cutting off the noise and prying eyes of the outside world.

"Speak, what could possibly make you this panicked?"

Shen Du walked behind the large desk, not even sitting down, but instead braced his hands on the cold desktop, looking straight into General Manager Chen Shengqiang's eyes.

As soon as the door was locked, General Manager Chen Shengqiang strode forward.

He slammed the document, still warm from his touch, onto the desk in front of Shen Du.

"President Shen, you must have seen the news this morning.

The state has relaxed the access restrictions for foreign investment in the domestic technology and entertainment industry."

General Manager Chen Shengqiang's voice was dry, his speech rapid, revealing an irrepressible palpitation:

"But this is just a smoke bomb on the surface; the real murderous intent is hidden in the underlying changes to enterprise qualification regulations!"

General Manager Chen Shengqiang extended a slightly trembling index finger.

And poked heavily at a clause on the second page of the document, which had been circled firmly in red ink:

"According to the latest detailed interpretations issued, once the equity acquisition ratio of a single domestic enterprise by foreign capital exceeds the absolute red line of 50%.

Then that enterprise will be directly and forcibly stripped of its domestic status at the national legal level.

And changed into a compliant 'foreign entity'!"

Listening to this seemingly dry legal clause.

Shen Du's knuckles, braced on the desktop, paused slightly, and a cold glint instantly gathered in the depths of his pupils.

In a fraction of a second, Shen Du's brain instantly completed the deduction of this underlying business logic.

Just a short time ago.

In order to regulate the order of the internet market, the state had just implemented the extremely strict anti-monopoly law.

It explicitly prohibited domestic enterprises from engaging in bottomless malicious cash-burning and subsidy wars.

This restriction was originally intended to prevent large capital monopolies and cool down the industry.

"But as long as they cross this equity red line.

And put on the vest of foreign capital, this legal barrier aimed only at domestic enterprises will completely fail."

Shen Du's tone was devoid of any fluctuation, yet he pierced through that layer of compliance window paper with pinpoint accuracy:

"They can directly utilize the relaxed policies for foreign investment to perfectly circumvent domestic anti-monopoly reviews."

"Exactly!"

General Manager Chen Shengqiang swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva hard and quickly flipped to the third page of the document.

Pointing to the three business briefings that had just been summarized on it:

"In just the few short hours since the news was broadcast, Alibaba Group, Douyin, Pinduoduo...

These three competing companies, which still hold massive market volume in the lower-tier markets after the retreat of the Beijing Capital Circle last year.

Have already begun to densely and massively accept rapid capital injections from overseas!"

General Manager Chen Shengqiang's fingertips tapped heavily on the paper twice; because of anxiety, his voice sounded unusually hoarse:

"President Shen, this combo is too vicious.

Once the foreign shareholding of these three companies breaks the 50% red line.

Overseas capital will be able to legally and compliantly open offshore accounts and mobilize massive amounts of US dollar foreign exchange."

"By then, they won't need to worry about the regulatory fines of the anti-monopoly law at all.

They will launch a new, unconstrained, high-frequency subsidy war directly against pure domestic platforms like our Jiyuan Technology and Meituan!"

This was equivalent to the opponent holding a dollar money-printing machine that was not subject to regulatory restrictions.

While Jiyuan Technology could only be bound tightly by domestic laws.

Forced to wear shackles while fighting a limitless transnational war of capital attrition against others.

Having heard this strangulation logic, which was sufficient to destroy the capital chain of domestic enterprises in a short time.

On Shen Du's well-defined face, there was still not a trace of panic.

He slowly withdrew his hands from the mahogany desk and stood up straight.

Restraint.

Allowed him to demonstrate a machine-like, cold, hard rationality in the face of this policy deadlock that would drive ordinary entrepreneurs to despair.

"Policy relaxation is one thing, but foreign money wanting to truly smash into the domestic market is another."

Shen Du looked at General Manager Chen Shengqiang, who was still breathing rapidly opposite him, his tone steady without a single ripple:

"Establishing positions of hundreds of millions or even billions of US dollars, cross-border clearing and settlement.

And the change of absolute controlling interest exceeding 50%, all require going through extremely cumbersome audit and compliance procedures.

It is absolutely impossible to complete the handover overnight."

He raised his right hand, tapping his index finger knuckle on the desktop twice, and issued a clear business dispatch instruction:

"You need to calm down first.

Go to the bottom-level server room immediately to coordinate with Lin Zimo, and fully mobilize the backend big data center."

"I want you to screen the entire network for the current industrial and commercial equity change nodes of these three competing products.

Keep a close watch on their corporate accounts, the speed of capital inflows, and foreign exchange declaration approvals.

Before their foreign shareholding ratio truly approaches the 50% red line, we still have a time difference to prepare countermeasures."

Facing Shen Du's cold and hard aura.

General Manager Chen Shengqiang's originally taut nerves were finally forcibly pulled back to the rational track of a professional manager.

"I understand, President Shen. I will go to the server room to coordinate now."

General Manager Chen Shengqiang took a deep breath and forcefully clamped the crumpled document in his hand again.

Without any unnecessary words, he turned and strode toward the door.

After the door was completely closed, Shen Du sat alone behind the large desk.

He did not touch any physical documents on the table, but instead directly awakened the Geomantic Map in his mind.

Accompanied by slight neural electrical feedback, a translucent data light curtain instantly spread and intertwined in front of his retinas.

As the board data on the light curtain was forcibly refreshed.

The power data representing the fundamental plate of Shanghai capital underwent visible and drastic fluctuations.

At the very bottom of the market.

The 20% base position representing the immovable national level was as still as stagnant water, without producing any ups and downs.

But in the middle and upper section of the board.

The red data band representing the absolute control of the Shen Family's influence seemed to have encountered an unprovoked super-large order smash.

The pillar representing dominance directly broke through the originally stable support level.

Falling off a cliff from 45% to 40%.

At the same time, the various data indicators representing overseas capital on the edge of the light curtain.

Completed an equal counter-trend rise in an extremely glaring posture on the board, with a year-on-year growth of a full 5%.

Under the underlying logic deduction of the Geomantic Map, which transcends conventional financial statements, data does not lie.

In the few short hours since the policy was relaxed.

This unknown torrent of capital had already silently crossed the commercial moat on the surface.

Completing a clean and neat cut of meat and grab of chips on the Shen Family's fundamental plate.

The drop in data did not make Shen Du lose his reason.

What really made his heart sink was a hidden connection of capital movement deep within the Geomantic Map.

At the bottom of the translucent light curtain.

A black capital line extending from an overseas node.

Was connecting tightly to the capital map of the north in a posture that was thicker and blacker than ever before.

Shen Du's gaze moved along that glaring black line, instantly seeing through the underlying logic of this transnational capital flow.

This was not at all simple Wall Street capital running to the country to grab the lower-tier market.

The Beijing Circle families in the north had learned the lesson from being strangled head-on last time.

Through intricate offshore financial channels, they completed the secret handover and asset laundering of huge interests overseas.

On the surface, it appeared that overseas capital, holding heavy funds, was wantonly acquiring the equity of competing products domestically.

But in reality, it was all the Beijing Circle families wearing the legal vest of "foreign capital".

Preparing to use the newly opened policy loopholes to launch a secondary proxy war against Jiyuan Technology that was not restricted by the anti-monopoly law.

The worst and most difficult situation had been laid out without reservation on this virtual board.

Shen Du did not utter any angry whispers, nor did he throw objects on the table to vent his anger.

He just stared fixedly at the pitch-black connection on the light curtain, like a maggot attached to a bone.

His body leaned back slowly, resting against the large leather chair back.

His gaze slowly withdrew from the phantom of the Geomantic Map in mid-air, his brain conducting a cold review in the quiet office.

According to his experience in the capital market in his previous life and conventional business laws.

Last time, directly cutting off the Beijing Circle's five hundred million US dollars in cash flow was equivalent to draining most of the blood of a medium-sized conglomerate.

A heavy blow of this level was enough to hurt the other party's muscles and bones, forcing them to lie dormant and recuperate for two to three years.

Shen Du's original strategic plan:

Was to use this six-month vacuum period, utilizing Jiyuan Technology to madly earn cash flow at the front.

To cover the magnetic confinement Cold Etching Machine foundry in the deep mountains of Western Zhejiang, completing the initial foundation pouring and equipment operation.

As long as the physical hardware was established.

His commercial fundamental plate would have an anti-risk base.

At that time, he could start the next round of expansion and stand in an invincible position.

But he underestimated the intervention power of policy changes.

Only four months had passed.

A policy opening that relaxed foreign investment access directly wiped out this time difference, which should have been a sure win.

More severe was that Jiyuan Technology was currently at the weakest point of its defense.

Xinghuo Software's April report was indeed impressive.

But as soon as that money came in, it was directly drawn out by Shen Du, gathering over a billion yuan to pay off old debts.

Although the cash flow on the books was recovering rapidly.

When facing the impending transnational dollar dumping.

This running water that had not yet formed a capital pool was simply insufficient to build a solid physical defensive barrier.

Shen Du gently rubbed the edge of the mahogany desktop with his fingers, somewhat distractedly deducing several backup leverage plans.

Just then, the heavy wooden door of the office was gently knocked on from the outside.

"Dong, dong."