Chapter 131: Domestic Internet Giants Pay Homage to Tencent, Even Penguin Has to Bow Down

The boast of "wiping the screen" still echoed in the office.

The white mist blown out by the air cooler hit the explosion-proof glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lu Jingming casually stuffed the green plastic lighter back into the pocket of his worn-out jeans.

On the forehead that Chu Xuan had just wiped dry with a tattered tissue.

A dense layer of cold sweat instantly beaded up again.

"Wiping the screen?"

"What kind of alien technology is that?"

Chu Xuan swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva, his throat aching.

He didn't dare to ask any further.

Any random crazy thought from Lu Jingming's mind could tear current physics textbooks to shreds.

Chu Xuan's legs were trembling, so he hurriedly changed the subject.

He pointed outside the wide floor-to-ceiling window.

"Mr. Lu, let's put the new project aside for now."

Chu Xuan shoved the soaked tissue into the pocket of his purple short-sleeved shirt with a leopard print.

"Down in the lobby, there's President Ma from Penguin and President Zhang from Ali."

He took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently.

"These hundred-billion-level giants of the internet circle have been sitting idly on the leather sofas for two hours."

Chu Xuan swallowed with a dry throat.

"They've already drunk five or six cups of plain water poured by the receptionist. Do you think you should see them?"

Lu Jingming leaned back in his leather executive chair.

Beneath his faded black T-shirt, his back relaxed slightly.

He crossed his legs and propped them carelessly on the edge of the dark mahogany desk.

"They've been left hanging for two hours and only drank five cups of water?"

Lu Jingming curled his lips, revealing half of his sharp, white canine teeth.

"These guys lack stamina."

He tapped his fingers on his knee twice.

"Go, call that President Ma who does social networking up first."

Chu Xuan felt as if he had been granted an amnesty.

He turned around in a hurry, pulled open the heavy solid wood door, and ran out.

His leather shoes clicked against the anti-static floor of the corridor.

The VIP guest hall on the first floor.

The air conditioning was on full blast.

The tycoons who could make the domestic internet tremble with a single cough in the past.

Were now all sitting obediently, squeezed onto several sets of leather sofas.

No one dared to speak loudly.

President Ma pushed up the rimless glasses on the bridge of his nose.

He picked up the warm water in the paper cup in front of him and took a small sip.

The high-end custom shirt on his back was sticking to his skin, feeling a bit cold.

Chu Xuan walked out of the private elevator.

He swaggered over, walking with a brisk pace.

Back when Xinghai Technology was just starting out.

Chu Xuan went to Shenzhen to handle business and wanted to see a department head at Penguin.

He had to sit on the cold bench for half a month.

And now?

Seeing Chu Xuan, President Ma immediately put down his paper cup.

He stood up, squeezed out a warm smile, with wrinkles piling up at the corners of his eyes.

"President Chu, is Mr. Lu finished?"

President Ma extended both hands and greeted him proactively.

Chu Xuan felt bubbling with satisfaction inside.

But he didn't show it on his face, merely shaking hands perfunctorily.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, President Ma. Mr. Lu invites you up."

The surrounding internet tycoons watched President Ma's back with jealous eyes.

In the face of Xinghai OS's terrifying 85% market share.

Whoever could cut in line first.

Would be able to secure their livelihood for the rest of their lives.

The top-floor office.

The solid wood door was pushed open by Chu Xuan.

President Ma followed him inside, his gaze quickly sweeping across the entire room.

Lu Jingming sat behind the desk, not even standing up.

Shen Qingqiu stood nearby.

The collar of her white shirt was buttoned meticulously.

She held a freshly brewed cup of Longjing tea and placed it on the glass coffee table.

The porcelain bottom touched the glass.

Emitting a crisp, dull sound.

"President Ma, please sit." Shen Qingqiu's voice was as cold as water in an ice cellar.

In the corner.

Xia Weiliang was barefoot, curled up in a large gaming chair.

The hem of her dirty white lab coat dragged on the floor, picking up a ring of dust.

She was biting on a peeled instant noodle companion sausage.

Her cheeks were puffed out, chewing with a "crunch-crunch" sound.

She didn't even spare a glance for this hundred-billion-level tycoon.

President Ma walked to the coffee table.

He didn't dare to sit fully, perching only half his bottom on the edge of the sofa.

"Mr. Lu, congratulations to Xinghai Technology for reaching the top of the world."

President Ma was all smiles.

"In the future, our domestic internet ecosystem will have to rely on you to take the helm."

These were just polite pleasantries.

But the sweat in his palms had already dampened the fabric of his trousers.

Lu Jingming didn't take up the conversation.

He put his legs down from the desk and leaned forward.

His gaze was like two steel knives scraping bones.

"President Ma, skip the pleasantries."

Lu Jingming's voice was languid.

"You've been looking at the rules of the Xinghai developer backend for two hours downstairs; you should know them by heart by now, right?"

President Ma's smile stiffened.

His molars began to ache.

That "Xinghai OS Global Developer White Paper" was simply a knife cutting into his flesh.

He rubbed his hands and spoke, biting the bullet.

"Mr. Lu, Penguin is not like those small developers."

President Ma swallowed dryly, trying to regain some confidence.

"Our WeChat has hundreds of millions of users in the country. Our daily activity is an astronomical number."

Lu Jingming reached his right hand into his jeans pocket.

He pulled out that one-yuan green plastic lighter.

He spun it back and forth between his callous-covered fingers.

"So what?" Lu Jingming raised his eyelids. "You want special treatment?"

President Ma sat up a little straighter.

"I wouldn't dare call it special treatment, I just want to discuss the details of the cooperation."

He looked at the lighter in Lu Jingming's hand, his heartbeat quickening.

"WeChat's underlying data is too vast and involves a massive amount of user privacy."

President Ma weighed his words.

"Penguin hopes that our core data servers will not be open to Xinghai Cloud computing center."

The air in the office instantly dropped eight degrees.

The air cooler puffed out white mist.

Shen Qingqiu pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses.

A look of disdain flashed behind the lenses.

"President Ma, if you don't connect to Xinghai Cloud, how will you run the fluidity of the Pandora Protocol?"

Shen Qingqiu's voice was sharp.

"You're just reluctant to hand over data control, aren't you?"

President Ma gave a dry laugh, avoiding Shen Qingqiu's gaze.

He turned to stare at Lu Jingming, throwing out his real bottom line.

"And also... the issue of the commission."

President Ma gritted his molars.

"The 30% Xinghai tax is too high."

"Penguin hopes to sign a tiered commission agreement or buy out the interface fees."

As soon as these words came out.

Chu Xuan, standing on the side, directly gasped.

The cold air choked his lungs, raising goosebumps.

The hand holding the tattered tissue was trembling.

This Penguin was too bold.

On Lu Jingming's turf, they actually dared to blatantly bargain and resist taxes?

Lu Jingming didn't get angry.

He leaned back against the back of the executive chair.

A short, cold laugh rolled out of his throat.

Xia Weiliang swallowed the last bit of the sausage.

She kicked the computer case next to her with her toes and rolled her eyes.

"Old fossils are just old fossils. Treating a pile of junk code like a treasure."

President Ma's face became a bit strained.

He was, after all, a figure who could summon wind and rain in the domestic internet industry.

To be mocked by a girl with bare feet and hair like a bird's nest.

Blood rushed to his head.

He picked up the Longjing tea on the coffee table.

His fingers were trembling a bit.

The boiling tea sloshed violently in the cup.

Two drops splashed onto his trousers, creating a small dark stain.

He didn't wipe it off.

President Ma stared at Lu Jingming, pulling out his final trump card.

He thought this card was very strong.

Big enough that Xinghai would never dare to fall out with him.

"Mr. Lu, Penguin has hundreds of millions of users. Users cannot live without WeChat."

President Ma slammed the teacup onto the desk.

Making a crisp clattering sound.

The tea sloshed violently against the cup walls.

"If pushed too far, we just won't list on Xinghai OS."

President Ma gritted his teeth tightly.

"Let's see if the users buying phones are more anxious, or if we are."

The entire office was dead silent.

Only the sound of the wind.

Lu Jingming didn't even raise his eyelids.

His thumb pressed against the metal grinding wheel.

Rubbing hard downwards.

"Click."

A crisp mechanical sound pierced the silence.

A ghostly blue flame suddenly flared up.

The firelight illuminated half of Lu Jingming's sharp canine teeth.

And also reflected the undisguised arrogance in his eyes.

"Threatening me?"

Lu Jingming casually extinguished the flame, the plastic casing making a crisp sound.

He looked at President Ma as if looking at a primitive man throwing stones at a tank.

"You think that just because you've corralled a few hundred million users, you can set the rules on my turf?"

Lu Jingming turned his head.

His gaze fell on Xia Weiliang in the corner.

"Weiliang, you've eaten my sausages all morning, do some work."

Lu Jingming tapped the glass tabletop with his knuckles.

Emitting two dull "tap-tap" sounds.

"Bring that backup machine over."

Lu Jingming curled his lips, his voice full of relentless ferocity.

"Show him something. Let him know who the boss is in this ecosystem."