144: Chapter 145 A written agreement states 55% foreign ownership; unregistered merchants are actively cut off from their livelihood.

Late June.

The continuous plum rain washed over the layered glass curtain walls of Shanghai, blurring them into a haze.

In the core server room on the bottom floor of Jiyuan Technology headquarters, heavy exhaust fans emitted a dull roar.

After weeks of high-frequency algorithmic screening, regardless of computing power costs, Lin Zimo and Technical Expert Su Hua finally tore open a gap in the massive and fragmented overseas business data.

A top-secret penetration report, still warm from the server room printer, was slammed onto Shen Du's mahogany desk by Lin Zimo.

"The net has closed."

Lin Zimo's eyes were bloodshot from days of staying up late, his voice dry: "These foreign capital operators are extremely cautious, completely avoiding large-scale position building by a single institution. They are all using offshore shell companies in the Cayman and Virgin Islands to conduct cross-purchases in an ant-moving-house style."

Technical Expert Su Hua stood to the side, extending a finger with prominent knuckles.

He flipped directly to the last page of the report.

He pointed at an equity summary table that had been reverse-penetrated through complex algorithms.

"On the surface, the daily operational rights of Alibaba Group, Douyin, and Pinduoduo are still in the hands of the original management teams. Even the promotional narratives in the major media haven't changed at all."

Technical Expert Su Hua stared at the summary figures, his breathing slightly heavy with tension: "But as long as you add up all these fragmented shares hidden behind the shell companies..."

Shen Du's gaze followed Technical Expert Su Hua's finger downward.

At the very bottom of the financial table.

A glaring summary figure had quietly crossed the legal red line: 55%.

It was in black and white, with no room for debate.

This meant that regardless of what orders the visible power-holders of these three competitors were issuing from their offices.

At the bottom level of the board of directors' articles.

These three massive local internet giants.

Their ultimate power of life and death and strategic decision-making had substantially changed hands through compliant cross-border legal procedures.

Shen Du did not speak, nor did his body make any unnecessary movements.

He simply leaned back into his wide chair, his right index finger sliding slowly across the rough paper, resting on the bolded "55%".

He let the cold sensation of the ink fade into his fingertips.

Less than half an hour after the equity penetration report, which was enough to shake the foundation of the domestic internet, had been delivered.

The president's office door was knocked on again.

Operations Manager Zhang Nan walked in, wearing a sharp, tailored professional suit.

Her high heels made a dull sound on the sound-dampening carpet.

She walked straight to the desk and handed a new marketing proposal regarding June's market dynamics to Shen Du.

"Mr. Shen, this is the user profile and platform retention report for this quarter."

Operations Manager Zhang Nan's tone was as capable as ever, but there was an undisguisable gravity between her brows.

At this point in 2012, while the domestic 3G network had already been rolled out.

There was still a huge physical gap in basic communication infrastructure construction in the vast sinking markets.

"According to the backend data feedback from Technical Expert Su Hua.

Jiyuan Technology's traffic expansion in the Short Video and live streaming tracks has inevitably entered a phased stable transition period."

Operations Manager Zhang Nan pointed to the line graph on the cover of the proposal, stating the objective facts with extreme calmness:

"The smartphone penetration rate and base station coverage in the sinking markets determine the upper limit of our user pool.

Before the state-led 4G infrastructure is fully rolled out to the lower markets.

No matter how much we spend on promotion, it is impossible to generate explosive, contrarian growth in the data."

In this window period where traffic has peaked and existing stock is being fought over, the competitors happened to receive a ten-billion-dollar offshore capital injection.

Once they force their way into the existing pool to snatch users with money, the defensive pressure facing Jiyuan Technology will rise exponentially.

"Under the condition of limited physical expansion.

If we want to withstand this round of absolute capital volume from foreign investors and tightly hold onto our market share in the sinking markets..."

Operations Manager Zhang Nan braced her hands on the edge of the desk, leaning forward slightly, her gaze meeting Shen Du's cold and sharp eyes in mid-air:

"We only have one way: to operate within our own ecosystem."

She straightened up, her fair fingers tapping heavily on the line of black text on the proposal's cover.

The title consisted of only six short characters:

Good money drives out bad.

Shen Du's gaze froze on those six characters for two seconds.

Subsequently, a hidden coldness, carrying a pure desire for destruction, welled up in his eyes.

He instantly saw through the sinister commercial calculation behind this plan of Operations Manager Zhang Nan's.

In the current live streaming e-commerce track.

A large number of non-compliant merchants are parasitic, making huge profits by selling Three-No low-quality products with free shipping for 9.9 yuan.

Although the return rate and customer complaint rate for this type of merchant are a few percentage points higher than the market average.

Under the temptation of low prices, they can siphon away a huge amount of sinking market turnover every day, generating astonishing profit margins.

This group of people is the active tumor attached to the Jiyuan Technology ecosystem.

Meanwhile, on the other side, those three competitor platforms that had just completed foreign capital restructuring were in a state of extreme hunger.

In order to answer to the Wall Street masters who provided the ten billion dollars, their management was urgently in need of a massive merchant base and superficially glamorous GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) data to prop up their financial reports.

"As long as we actively cut off the survival space for these low-quality merchants at this critical juncture."

Operations Manager Zhang Nan's voice was very low, as if simulating the spread of a plague:

"In order to survive, this group of non-compliant merchants, holding massive funds and huge amounts of low-quality inventory.

Will inevitably take their mature set of fraudulent tactics and swarm, skin and bone, into the competitor's starving pool."

Shen Du gave a short, cold laugh and pressed his wrist down.

He slammed the proposal onto the solid wood desktop with a dull thud.

"Go do it."

He looked up, his gaze staring straight at Operations Manager Zhang Nan without a ripple:

"Tell General Manager Chen Shengqiang to prepare a network-wide announcement, pull the backend data, and filter out all the low-quality merchants with excessive customer complaint rates for me.

Remember, don't deduct a single penny from them.

Release the legal profits in their accounts in full.

But you must physically and completely seal off all their live streaming and e-commerce accounts on Jiyuan Technology."

By leaving the money to this group of profit-seeking speculators, they will have sufficient capital to go to the other side and buy traffic frantically.

By cutting off their retreat.

They will transform into the most lethal ecological plague.

Hurling counterfeit goods and complaints without reservation at those Wall Street giants attempting to harvest the domestic market.

Operations Manager Zhang Nan neatly gathered the proposal on the table, the edges of the paper tapping a rhythmic, dull sound against the solid wood desk.

As an operator who had been fighting on the front lines for many years, she could calculate the direction of public opinion after detonating this bomb even with her eyes closed.

Once the high-pressure announcement of the network-wide clearance landed.

The general public and news media would unsparingly shower Jiyuan Technology with praise as a "conscientious enterprise" that "cleansed the industry's tumors."

But in the cold, temperatureless business ledger, this decision had nothing to do with sentiment or justice.

Actively cutting off billions in low-quality turnover was not meant to protect consumers in the sinking markets.

It was to package these highly destructive "ecological plagues" completely and air-drop them precisely onto the positions where the competitors were desperate to expand their merchant volume.

When those three competing platforms, in order to boost financial report data for their Wall Street investors.

Receive this batch of non-compliant merchants carrying massive amounts of counterfeit and shoddy inventory.

The resulting extreme customer complaints, waves of returns, and backlash against their reputation.

Will, like industrial acid, corrode the platform credibility they spent tens of billions of dollars to buy until it is riddled with holes.

"The Public Relations and Legal Departments are already in place.

The list of the first batch of 8,000 high-complaint accounts to be cleared will be forcibly pushed through all network channels at 2:00 PM sharp."

Operations Manager Zhang Nan held the file to her chest.

Her back under her professional suit was straight, and her eyes held only the cold sharpness before executing a kill order.

Shen Du nodded slightly, his gaze lowering.

His eyes locked back onto the penetration report at his side, which was printed with the 55% foreign capital holding, and he issued no further instructions.

Operations Manager Zhang Nan did not stay any longer.

She turned around in her high heels, decisively pulled open the heavy mahogany door, and strode out.

With a crisp "click," the door closed tightly, completely isolating the dense, rain-like sound of keyboard typing from the corridor outside.

Approaching noon, the plum rain outside the window fell harder and harder.

The dull rain hit the fully enclosed glass curtain wall fiercely, winding into twisted water trails.

On the desk.

The internal landline that connected directly to the heads of major business lines suddenly rang, the sharp sound piercing the silence of the room.

Shen Du reached out and picked up the heavy black receiver.

On the other end of the line, the voice of Meituan Wang Xing came through, accompanied by slight microphone static.

He spoke very quickly:

"Mr. Shen, the other side has made a move.

Alibaba Group has just opened the floodgates for the US dollar foreign exchange in their offshore accounts.

In the local life service track, they have directly launched a new round of crazy cash red envelope giveaways targeting C-end users.

Their opening move is completely cost-insensitive. Should we follow up immediately?"

Facing the terrifying physical oppression generated when ten billion dollars were smashed into the market.

Shen Du sat in his wide leather chair without even lifting an eyelid.

He held the receiver, his gaze passing through the rain-blurred glass window, overlooking the gray streets of Shanghai below.

"No need to follow."

"According to the original plan, fully launch the defensive scheme prepared by General Manager Chen Shengqiang."

The breathing on the other end of the line clearly stalled.

"Don't give a single penny directly to C-end users, and don't touch any red lines of non-compliant dumping."

Shen Du's words were like cold pig iron, smashed into the receiver without any emotion:

"Allocate all the book funds in full to the merchants and riders in the back end.

Protect the supply-side foundation tightly.

Ensure that our merchants absolutely do not lose money in this torrent of network-wide price cuts.

Ensure that every single delivery fee for every delivery rider is not reduced by a single penny."

Meituan Wang Xing did not make a sound on the other end of the line.

But as a smart man who was able to fight his way out of the Thousand-Group War.

His brain instantly understood the chilling, blood-sucking logic behind this reverse operation.

"As long as the merchants' profits are not interrupted and the delivery riders' livelihoods are stabilized.

The terminal service quality and natural price reductions will act like a meat grinder, washing away all the fake traffic that the other side spent money to create."

Shen Du's tone carried an unquestionable resolve:

"Let them burn as much as they want.

I want to see what kind of mess this ten billion dollars can burn into in an ecosystem polluted by low-quality merchants."

After finishing, Shen Du did not give Meituan Wang Xing any chance to ask further questions and decisively slammed the black receiver back onto the landline cradle.