30: Chapter 30 Search Engine Launch

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment, truly not expecting Nalan Ruoshui to say such a thing.

Given her gentle and reserved nature, her proactively suggesting they go to a hotel was truly abnormal.

"Brother Mo, I know you are the boss of Tianxing Technology, and I know many of your secrets."

Nalan Ruoshui noticed his surprise, her cheeks faintly reddening as she explained softly,

"Some things will happen sooner or later, so it might as well be me taking the initiative."

She understood clearly that Chen Mo had previously used both kindness and pressure on her family precisely because he feared she would leak secrets, and he certainly wouldn't let her go easily in the future.

With Chen Mo's status and position, he was never short of beautiful women, and he likely had designs on her body too.

Rather than waiting to be passively accepted, it was better to take the initiative, avoiding making Chen Mo think she was unappreciative.

Chen Mo instantly understood her meaning, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation: "Ruoshui, you misunderstood. How about this, let's make an agreement: you work for me for five years, and after five years, I will grant you your freedom. How about that?"

He kept Nalan Ruoshui around purely because he felt she was a suitable helper, perfect for being in charge of animation production.

As for those secrets, even if they were leaked, they would only cause him minor trouble, such as many people coming to him for medical treatment, nothing more.

Five years would be enough time for him to cultivate many replacements; by then, Tianxing Live and Tianxing Animation would just be insignificant trifles to him.

When Nalan Ruoshui heard this, her face instantly flushed crimson; it turned out she had indeed overthought things.

But since the words were already spoken, she had no intention of taking them back. Mustering her courage, she looked up at Chen Mo:

"Then what if I say I genuinely want to go to a room with you?"

After saying this, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength, slumping onto the passenger seat. Her previously feigned ease vanished completely, her eyes filled with nervousness and anticipation.

Chen Mo looked at her reddening eyes and trembling fingertips, completely losing any reason to refuse.

The girl had gone this far; if he refused again, it would be too inhuman.

Whether Nalan Ruoshui truly liked him or was repaying a favor, it didn't actually matter. As long as he wasn't exploiting her gratitude, there was nothing improper about it.

Moreover, Nalan Ruoshui's looks and temperament were already to his liking.

In the following few days, Chen Mo took Nalan Ruoshui to live in another vacant villa he owned in Modu.

During this period, he had Zhang Kai purchase quite a few high-end villas, school district housing, and several ocean-view properties in Jinghu, all for convenient future vacations.

The two stayed together intimately for several days, finishing the entire 'battle through the heavens' animation together until just before school started, when they returned to Tomson Riviera.

Ling Jing saw them return and noticed nothing unusual. Upon learning that Nalan Ruoshui's mother's illness was cured, she was genuinely happy for her good friend.

Nalan Ruoshui felt a bit guilty, though. She had met Chen Mo through Ling Jing, only to end up getting together with a 'relative' of her good friend in turn.

Chen Mo didn't care much. He had only taken extra care of Ling Jing based on the 'relative' connection. In his previous life, the two only helped each other deal with parents and weren't particularly close.

As the start of the school term approached, Nalan Ruoshui officially returned to school, and Chen Mo welcomed his monthly lottery draw.

"Ding, this month's draw count has been refreshed. Would you like to start drawing?"

"Start drawing!"

"Ding, congratulations to the host for drawing the Grandmaster Level Gambling Skill!"

Looking at the newly added skill on the system panel, Chen Mo felt a bit helpless.

The Grandmaster Level Gambling Skill had little practical use for him. He had plenty of ways to make money, much faster than gambling.

However, the skill came with a one-cubic-meter God of Gamblers Space, which was quite practical. Combined with the Grandmaster Level Medical Skill and Combat Skill, he could store quite a few things, and it would occasionally be useful for performing magic tricks.

The subsidy war in the takeout market was still ongoing. Chen Mo had been subsidizing for three consecutive months, investing over 700 million in total, yet he managed to achieve break-even, even showing a slight profit.

Tianxing Takeout drew a 20% commission from the merchants' sales volume. The profit margin in the catering industry was inherently not low, so merchants were willing to join the platform to earn more money even after the deduction.

Currently, in the takeout market, Tianxing Takeout firmly held over 55% of the share, while Meituan and Ele.me each held 17%, and Baidu Waimai was left with less than 11%.

Meituan and Ele.me subsidized 60 million each daily, and Baidu Waimai subsidized 30 million daily, yet they still couldn't keep up with Tianxing Takeout's pace.

Chen Mo could so easily fight one against three entirely due to the support from his other businesses:

'League of Heroes' and Fetion generated at least 60 million in profit daily, and after the 'battle through the heavens' animation became a massive hit, Tianxing Live also achieved self-sufficiency.

Compared to platforms like Tencent Video and Alibaba Video, which burned money by purchasing film and television copyrights, Chen Mo’s advantage of self-produced animation was too obvious, making those platforms envious but helpless.

What troubled Alibaba and Tencent even more was that they were fighting a two-front war. The mobile ride-hailing business, this 'money pit,' continued to lose money daily even after monopolizing the market, forcing them to reduce costs in the takeout sector.

Layoffs and increased working hours for employees—while not reaching the level of 996 or 007, it wasn't far off.

Chen Mo was unconcerned by this. He had no interest in being a savior; crushing these capitalists was simply because he found them displeasing and it provided him some amusement.

Just then, Baidu Waimai was the first to buckle under the pressure and announced its withdrawal from the takeout industry.

Baidu, which was the leading internet giant just last year, hadn't participated much in money-burning wars and inherently had deep reserves, yet it was defeated in just a few short months.

How could Chen Mo easily let them off? He hadn't completely wiped out Meituan, Ele.me, and Baidu Waimai precisely because he wanted to drag them into burning money together, draining the reserves of Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu, and then seeing if banks would still dare to lend them money.

As soon as Baidu stopped its takeout subsidies, Chen Mo immediately launched the Tianxing Search Engine, shouting a resounding slogan:

"There will never be any advertisements!"

On the other side, Ling Jing was also facing the troubles of starting the new semester.

She was now a veritable mid-tier streamer. After bringing Nalan Ruoshui on stream, her popularity surged even further, putting her just one step away from becoming a top streamer.

She didn't want to give up her streaming career, but staying in the school dormitory would definitely be inconvenient. She planned to rent an apartment near the school and intended to ask Nalan Ruoshui to join her.

After all, Nalan Ruoshui still had to work for Tianxing Animation, so renting would be more convenient for her too.

However, when she told Nalan Ruoshui about this idea, Nalan Ruoshui was instantly dumbfounded.

She did want to move out, but not for work; it was so she could meet Chen Mo more conveniently.

After spending time with Chen Mo during this period, their feelings deepened daily, and they were already inseparable.

Chen Mo also showed Nalan Ruoshui more importance and affection than he did towards his other women.

He could clearly feel that Nalan Ruoshui genuinely liked him as a person, not his money or status.

From the moment Chen Mo asked her to draw comics, she knew he was deliberately helping her, just using this method so she wouldn't feel awkward.

As for Wu Dongju, Wu Xue, Yang Mi, Bai Fengjiu, and Xiao Xue, although they also spent time with Chen Mo, they all had their own motives:

Wu Dongju initially just wanted to find a handsome and obedient 'puppy,' but unexpectedly found a 'Wolf King' instead;

Wu Xue was moved by money and power;

Yang Mi, Bai Fengjiu, and Xiao Xue were all looking to secure their footing in the entertainment industry based on Chen Mo's background and resources.

They all knew Chen Mo wouldn't marry them, yet they were willing to stay by his side, even coexisting peacefully. After all, being Chen Mo's mistress offered far more security than marrying into an ordinary wealthy family.

Only Nalan Ruoshui was the only one attracted by Chen Mo's personality and character, and this pure affection was what Chen Mo cherished the most.