Chapter 27
The news that Wang Hao's server had been professionally scanned, along with Li Ziqing's information about Zhao Zhen's private contact with Lei Yao Capital's investment manager, pierced Li Ming's already tense nerves like two cold probes. A chill, even stronger than when he learned his parents were under investigation, quietly rose up his spine.
Zhou Ruilin may have temporarily escaped open attacks, but the hidden arrows from the shadows seem even more deadly.
"Can you confirm that it's Lei Yao's man?" Li Ming's voice was low and emotionless.
Li Ziqing shook her head: "Just seeing them having dinner together doesn't mean we're 100% sure they were discussing investment. But the timing is too coincidental, right after Zhao Zhen left us, and just after we demonstrated... a certain level of counterattack capability."
Li Ming remained silent. He understood that Zhao Zhen's departure was based on ideological differences and practical interests. But if Zhao Zhen, after leaving, quickly took the core business model and resources spun off from "Mingyu" and turned to Leiyao Capital, which Li Ming had previously rejected… then the nature of the situation would be entirely different. This was not merely a parting of ways; it was almost a "surrender" with trade secrets, a complete trampling of their past camaraderie, and a naked insult to Li Ming's judgment and leadership!
And Leiyao Capital… Zhang Lei. He had just rejected their harsh conditions, and now they might be supporting a more “obedient” alternative with “Mingyu” as its core asset? Is this the rule of the game in capital?
“Wang Hao,” Li Ming turned to the core technical team, his eyes sharp, “Regarding the server scan, be on high alert, strengthen all defenses, set up honeypots (a type of trap system used to lure hackers), and see if we can catch them red-handed. I suspect this is more than just corporate espionage.”
"Understood," Wang Hao replied succinctly, his eyes equally grave.
Just then, Li Ming's phone rang, and the name that appeared on the screen was—Zhao Zhen.
Li Ming stared at the name, paused for two seconds, then pressed the answer button and turned on speakerphone.
"Li Ming," Zhao Zhen's voice came through the receiver, sounding as crisp as ever, but upon closer listening, there seemed to be a hint of...smugness? "Did I disturb you?"
"What is it?" Li Ming's tone was flat and indifferent.
“Two things.” Zhao Zhen didn’t seem to be beating around the bush. “First, I heard you’re a bit better off financially lately? When will the remaining 300,000 of my 600,000 arrive? My new company is starting up, and I need money for everything.”
They really came to collect debts; they timed it perfectly.
"Don't worry, the agreement is for three months. I'll return it to you when the time is up," Li Ming replied calmly.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Zhao Zhen paused, his tone suddenly revealing an undisguised excitement, or rather, a boastful tone. “The second thing is to let you know. My ‘Zhenhua Commerce and Trade’ has reached a preliminary investment agreement with Lei Yao Capital. President Zhang is very optimistic about our mature e-commerce model and team execution capabilities, believing that this is the down-to-earth path that can quickly create value.”
Despite being mentally prepared, the air in the office seemed to vanish the moment Zhao Zhen confirmed it with his own words, speaking in a tone brimming with superiority. Wang Hao's fingers stopped typing, Liu Qiang clenched his fists, and Li Ziqing looked at Li Ming with worry, fearing he would be devastated by the news.
Li Ming's face remained expressionless. He simply asked indifferently, "Oh? Is that so? Congratulations then. I wonder how much Mr. Zhang invested in you? And how much of your shares and power did he take away?"
Zhao Zhen on the other end of the phone seemed momentarily taken aback by the calm reaction and sharp question, his tone softening slightly: "Specific business details are not convenient to disclose. In short, Li Ming, facts have proven that my choice was correct. Capital has discerning eyes; they know what kind of teams and models are more worthy of investment. Your vague platform dream should be abandoned as soon as possible..."
“I will walk my own path.” Li Ming interrupted him, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable determination. “Zhao Zhen, I wish you a bright future. The money will be transferred to you when it’s due. From now on, there’s no need to contact me unless necessary.”
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
A deathly silence fell over the office. Zhao Zhen's betrayal, like the final boulder, weighed heavily on everyone, making it hard to breathe. He not only took the business and funds with him, but now he was also taking "Mingyu's" core business model and throwing it at his former "rival," which was tantamount to rubbing salt into "Mingyu's" wounds.
"Damn it! That traitor!" Liu Qiang couldn't help but curse, his face full of resentment.
Wang Hao pushed up his glasses, his eyes cold: "He can't take the core technology with him. He doesn't understand the platform's architecture and code."
Li Ziqing walked to Li Ming's side and asked softly, "Are you... alright?"
Li Ming slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the three of them. Unexpectedly, a cold smile appeared on his lips.
"I'm fine." He stood up, walked to the simple whiteboard in the office, picked up a pen, and forcefully erased all the previous plans for the e-commerce business, leaving only the architecture diagram of the platform project.
"He thought he had won by taking away e-commerce and clinging to Lei Yao's coattails?" Li Ming's voice carried an extreme calmness and sharpness. "He was wrong. What he took away was just the past 'Mingyu,' a shell we had to maintain for survival, a shell we could discard at any time!"
His pen pointed heavily at the core of the platform architecture diagram: "This is the soul of 'Mingyu'! This is the future we truly want to build! Zhao Zhen's departure, Lei Yao's interference, Zhou Ruilin's coercion... all of these only make us realize more clearly that we must, and can only, rely on ourselves to ignite this spark and let it burn into a prairie fire!"
His gaze, like a burning flame, swept across every face: "Now we have the safety of our parents, experience in dealing with Zhou Ruilin's counterattack, and a crucial amount of start-up capital (referring to the final payment for the domain name transaction and the potential of the options). More importantly, we've shed the burden of a disunited team, making the team more focused! Now is the time for us to go all out and charge forward!"
Li Ming's words of desperation and turning crisis into motivation acted like a shot in the arm, injecting energy into the remaining three. Frustration and anger were replaced by a resolute determination to fight to the death.
"That's right! Brother Ming! Let's fight them to the end!" Liu Qiang waved his fist.
"I'll speed up the technical aspects," Wang Hao said, adjusting his glasses and refocusing his gaze.
"Leave the funding and logistics to me," Li Ziqing said firmly.
The team's cohesion, after experiencing the pain of betrayal, was instead rebuilt in a more resilient way.
Li Ming immediately redeployed the team. He ordered Wang Hao's team to suspend all outsourced projects and concentrate all technical resources to carry out a major restructuring and optimization of the platform based on previous experience and user feedback. The goal was to launch a public beta version with more focused functions and a smoother user experience within two months.
At the same time, he made a bold decision: to bet the future focus of "Mingyu Technology" entirely on the platform project. He used the expected final payment for the domain name of "Xunjie Travel" as collateral and borrowed some of Li Ziqing's personal savings (Li Ming insisted on writing an IOU) to raise additional marketing funds.
He no longer limited himself to Jinyang, but began to tentatively place targeted advertisements and advertorials about "Mingyu Life Platform" on several major university BBS and early technology forums in the province, focusing on the concept of "discovering the beauty of life around us" to attract the first batch of seed users at a very low cost.
However, just as the battered little boat "Mingyu" adjusted its course and prepared to set sail again into the unknown deep sea, the abnormal data flow monitored by Wang Hao suddenly underwent a strange change.
The previous scanning process has stopped.
Instead, there were several extremely brief but highly targeted probing attacks attempting to penetrate the platform's user database! The methods were more sophisticated, and the targets were directly aimed at core data!
“The other side… seems to know we’ve strengthened our defenses and changed our strategy.” Wang Hao stared at the complex log records on the screen, his brow furrowed. “They’re looking for our user information. This doesn’t seem like someone Zhao Zhen or Zhou Ruilin could hire.”
Li Ming's heart sank.
If it's not Zhao Zhen, and it's not Zhou Ruilin... then who could it be?
Leiyao Capital? Zhang Lei? He's investing in Zhao Zhen's "Zhenhua Commerce" to run a similar e-commerce business, while simultaneously spying on the core data of the "Mingyu" platform? Is this in line with his usual style? Or... is there someone else involved?
An even more terrifying thought, like a venomous snake, burrowed into his mind:
Could it be that the flapping of his wings after his rebirth, like that of a tiny butterfly, has already attracted the attention of some deeper and more powerful forces? These eyes hidden behind the scenes have begun to take an interest in, or even become wary of, this "variable" who does things unpredictably and repeatedly turns the tide in desperate situations?
An unknown enemy is more terrifying than an opponent in the open.
Looking out at the deep night, Li Ming felt as if an invisible net was quietly tightening around him. He and his weak "Mingyu" were like moths struggling in the net, unaware of who was holding it.
The darkness ahead is unfathomable.
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