15: Chapter 15 The Money-Burning Frenzy

Penguin went all out, pushing DiDi's subsidies directly to eight yuan per order, split four yuan for the driver and four for the passenger. Taking a short trip in a small city basically cost nothing, and the cost-effectiveness of taking a ride in a big city doubled. People who usually squeezed onto the bus or subway started casually hailing rides with their phones, but within a few days, a problem arose.

Passengers were fighting tooth and nail, but there weren't enough drivers.

The number of taxis in a city was fixed. Not every master driver had a smartphone, but the temptation of the red envelopes was undeniable. Many drivers spent a few hundred yuan to buy an entry-level smartphone, and they could recoup the cost through subsidies in just over ten days. But even so, orders were still piling up faster than they could be accepted.

DiDi's boss, Chen Wei, slapped his forehead and, copying foreign models, launched a premium car service, allowing private car owners to register and earn extra money. Fast Ride immediately followed suit, and the subsidy war between the two immediately escalated, with the money burned daily flowing like water.

However, the overt subsidy fight was just superficial effort; the real decisive battle lay in capital financing.

Without a continuous supply of capital transfusion, what would they use to burn money and seize the market?

This battle was never about who had more users; it was about whose money bag was fatter and who could burn longer. Once the opponent ran out of money, switching apps for those users and drivers took just a couple of taps, and the market naturally became one's own.

This was the true winner-takes-all scenario, so neither Penguin nor Alibaba dared to relax first. Capital from both domestic and international sources flooded in upon smelling the scent. Even the major state-owned banks of Long Country picked sides: either support DiDi or back Fast Ride.

This made the two companies even more reckless. Subsidies soared to fifteen yuan per order—seven and a half yuan for the driver and passenger each. In some small places, taking a ride not only cost nothing, but the platform even subsidized a few dimes. New drivers who registered also received an extra cash bonus of thirty yuan.

Mobile ride-hailing instantly became a hot topic across the country, sparking heated debates everywhere. Online, the arguments were even more intense:

Some marveled at how wealthy internet companies were;

Some, exploiting the loopholes, exclaimed how satisfying it was;

Others brought up Chen Mo, saying that Tianxing Technology's CEO handing out red envelopes was truly generous, as the Fetion red envelopes directly distributed cash, which was much more substantial than ride subsidies.

They also flooded screens with requests for a discount event on skins for League of Heroes.

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind all this, Chen Mo, was sitting in his office on the top floor of Tianxing Technology. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the Shanghai skyline of early summer. The evening breeze carried the neon reflections from downstairs. He tapped a few times on his computer, quietly launching the Tianxing Takeout mini-program on Fetion.

In Chen Mo's view, ride-hailing and food delivery were ultimately intermediary businesses, but the food delivery market was countless times larger than ride-hailing and could form a true monopoly.

No matter how expensive ride-hailing got, it couldn't exceed the price of a taxi, and there were still options like buses, subways, and shared bikes. But food delivery pinched people's 'laziness tendon'; once established, user stickiness was fundamentally incomparable to ride-hailing.

In his previous life, food delivery platforms constantly ran deficits, but Chen Mo wasn't afraid at all. Tianxing Technology's biggest advantage compared to giants like Penguin and Alibaba was its ridiculously low cost: the salaries and benefits for tens of thousands of employees at those companies were astronomical figures. Tianxing Technology had no such burden. The money saved in one year could turn others' losses into profits, and profits into massive profits.

He wasn't just pursuing profit with food delivery; he also couldn't stand seeing capital recklessly raising funds by burning money. He decided to leave the money pit of ride-hailing to Penguin and Alibaba to deplete each other while he focused on the more promising track of food delivery.

However, just a few days after Tianxing Takeout launched, it ran into a tough opponent: the current leader of the internet industry, Baidu.

Without Penguin's strong resistance, Baidu sat firmly in the top position (of course, not counting Tianxing Technology). Seeing Chen Mo target the food delivery market, Baidu immediately launched Baidu Waimai and started the money-burning war in the food delivery market without a second thought, directly confronting Tianxing Takeout.

In the blink of an eye, it was the May Day holiday, and the money-burning war across the entire internet industry reached its peak.

Penguin and Alibaba were locked in a death match in the ride-hailing market, burning tens of millions daily without hesitation.

Chen Mo's Tianxing Technology and Baidu fought fiercely in the food delivery market, striking even harder. Burning eighty to ninety million a day was the norm, leaving the entire nation stunned.

In just a few days, the registered riders for Tianxing Takeout and Baidu Waimai combined surpassed 800,000, and the number of settled catering merchants exceeded 80,000. The total daily order volume directly shot up to eight million. Of course, many of these riders and merchants were registered on both platforms, exploiting the subsidies from both sides.

The two companies were extremely generous with subsidies for food delivery users and riders but didn't give merchants a single cent.

After all, the catering industry's profit margins were already not low; once order volume increased, merchants naturally reaped huge profits. And the happiest were the ordinary citizens: during May Day, they could take free rides and have free takeout delivered to their doors. Enjoying comfort just by moving their fingers—this life was even more wonderful than a dream.

But this good period didn't last a few days. Baidu suddenly drastically increased subsidies, pushing the daily food delivery subsidy directly to 150 million yuan. In contrast, Tianxing Takeout remained still, not following suit to increase its spending.

The market situation immediately reversed: users flocked to Baidu Waimai, which offered higher subsidies, and riders were more willing to accept Baidu's orders. In just three days, Baidu Waimai seized nearly 70% of the food delivery market share. Tianxing Takeout's order volume plummeted, and many riders quietly canceled their Tianxing accounts.

Zhang Kai was sweating profusely, clutching a report, and hurried into Chen Mo's office:

'CEO Chen! Baidu Waimai increased its daily subsidy to 150 million yuan. Our order volume has dropped by nearly half, and many riders have left. If we don't increase subsidies, Tianxing Takeout might be crushed to the point of suffocation!'

Zhang Kai was no longer in charge of Fetion and Tianxing Games; he was focused entirely on managing Tianxing Takeout, harboring no resentment whatsoever.

He understood clearly that everything he had today was given by Chen Mo. Simply put, he was an efficient tool, a self-awareness he always possessed.

Moreover, the people who replaced him were Chen Mo's two women: Wu Xue managed Fetion, and Wu Dongju managed Tianxing Games.

He knew perfectly well that Wu Dongju was likely not entirely satisfied with this arrangement: although Tianxing Games made money, Fetion was the foundation of Tianxing Technology, the cornerstone of the entire commercial empire, and their status was vastly different.

But Chen Mo's arrangement surely had his reasoning: Wu Xue had no background and was meticulous, making her more trustworthy to manage Fetion.

Wu Dongju was the eldest young lady of the Wu Family, a genuine top-tier second-generation elite. The professional league for League of Heroes was about to officially launch soon, and Tianxing Live was nearly ready for preparation. Dealing with the second and third generations in those circles would be unavoidable, making it most suitable for Wu Dongju to take the lead.

Chen Mo, however, showed no ripple of emotion as he looked at the anxious Zhang Kai. He slowly picked up the clear tea on his desk and took a sip. After setting the cup down, he finally looked up at him, a faint smile still lingering on his lips:

'What's the rush? If he wants to burn money, let him burn it all he wants.'

Zhang Kai was stunned, unable to grasp Chen Mo's intentions, and asked:

'CEO Chen, if this continues, our market share will be swallowed by Baidu! The harder Baidu burns money now, the stronger the stickiness of users and riders will become. It will be difficult to win them back later!'

'Stickiness?'

Chen Mo chuckled lightly and pointed to the Fetion data report on the desk.

'Their stickiness is only tied to the subsidies, not the platform. When Baidu can no longer burn money, won't these users and riders obediently return?'

Baidu appeared wealthy, but its foundation was nowhere near as solid as Tianxing Technology's. Competing with him in burning money was simply overestimating its own strength.

Now, letting Baidu jump around first, when it was exhausted from burning and capital withdrew its investment, that would be the time for Tianxing Takeout to reel in the harvest.

On the other side, Wu Xue and Wu Dongju were also monitoring the situation of the food delivery war in their respective offices.

Wu Xue looked at the backend data for Tianxing Takeout on Fetion with a calm expression, maintaining the platform steadily and ensuring user experience as Chen Mo had instructed.

Wu Dongju, however, frowned, holding a surge of resentment, feeling that Chen Mo had entrusted the more important Fetion to Wu Xue, looking down on her. But then she considered that the professional league and Tianxing Live were about to start; doing well in those two areas might not be worse than managing Fetion, and the anger in her heart slightly subsided.

Chen Mo naturally knew the thoughts of the two women, but he didn't take it to heart at all.

In this life, he had no intention of getting married. It was good as it was now, with each managing a division and living in peace—it was fair to both. Marriage would only bring endless trouble, and besides, he didn't want his hands tied by marriage. The world outside was vast, and his commercial empire was only just beginning its layout.