Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”Combine! Upgrade!”

Chen Yansen focused his mind, converting 177,049 wisps of Human Dao Fire into 1,770 wisps of Divine Dao Fire.

A vast and majestic golden mist once again materialized out of thin air and shot into the space between his eyebrows.

Chen Yansen had long since grown accustomed to the subtle changes during the upgrade process. His brain felt as if it were soaking in a hot spring, an utterly comfortable sensation.

As he absorbed and assimilated the golden mist, the black hole eidolon above his head grew even more bizarre, as if it were about to pull in the surrounding light.

But upon closer inspection, he decided it was just an illusion caused by the explosive growth of his Spiritual Power.

In just a few breaths, his Spiritual Power value soared from 55.64 to 73.34!

The range of his Divine Sense continued to expand, extending from over fifteen meters to more than seventeen. Within the surrounding three-hundred-plus square meters, every single movement was under his control.

Chen Yansen waved his hand, and the refrigerator opened automatically. A dozen or so bottles of drinks floated in mid-air. By a rough estimate, his telekinetic weight limit was around fifteen pounds.

It was a significant increase compared to May.

With a thought from Chen Yansen, the drinks flew back into the refrigerator, and the door snapped shut with a CLICK.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but think, ’In three months at most, my Spiritual Power will break 100. I wonder what kind of talent this damn system will give me?’

Telepathy?

Mind control?

Or mental creation?

Chen Yansen narrowed his eyes, a faint sense of anticipation growing within him.

Just then, Wang Zihao called and asked if he wanted to have lunch together. Besides him and Prince Ziyuan, Meng Jie would be there too.

”Shuangqing Restaurant? Not high-class enough! Let’s go to the Sky Garden. Wait for me at the East Gate.” Chen Yansen thought for a moment and readily agreed.

Prince Ziyuan was just a little brat. There was no need to avoid her.

Shuangqing Restaurant? Not high-class enough!

Wang Zihao was taken aback for a moment, cursing inwardly, ’That bastard Chen Yansen, ditching his bros for a girl! When it’s just us guys eating, I never see you complaining about the place not being high-class enough.’

「At the same time.」

Yanjing, Qian Du Headquarters.

”Out of money again? How on earth did Cheng Wei manage that?” For the first time, Li Yanhong showed a hint of surprise regarding the DiDi Dache project.

From the end of May to the beginning of July, in less than forty days, Cheng Wei had burned through the 200 million in C-round financing.

Yet DiDi Dache’s operational range currently only covered three cities: Yanjing, Changshan, and Jinmen.

The peak average daily order volume was only 500,000!

If they continued to expand at this rate, Qian Du would have to invest several billion, at the very least.

If DiDi Dache went through another round of financing, Qian Du would become the largest shareholder.

”Boss, the ride-sharing industry burns through too much cash. I heard Fast Taxi’s marketing funds are being depleted even more severely. Now it’s just a matter of who gives out first.”

Liang Zhixiang, the Vice President of Qian Du Network sitting opposite him, said with a frown.

Wincing as if it were his own money being spent, Li Yanhong demanded, ”Where is Cheng Wei’s operational strategy? Does he only know how to throw money around?”

Liang Zhixiang sighed and remained silent.

The greatest skill appears clumsy. In reality, when internet tycoons fight, it’s no different from a brawl between elementary schoolers.

If you don’t burn cash and engage in a price war, will users really stick with you?

The war between Penguin and 360, Jingdong suppressing Dangdang, the group assault on Jingdong by Sunning, Gome, and Pinbei, and the struggle between Clound Speed and the Three Passes and One Reach—all of these demonstrated that price wars are the most effective business strategy.

Li Yanhong was clearly much slower to pull out his wallet this time. After a moment of thought, he called Ma Wenteng.

”Pony, let’s sit down and talk,” Li Yanhong suggested.

Ma Wenteng pushed up his glasses and sneered inwardly. He didn’t even want to bother with Li Yanhong.

Last time, Liu Zhiping had stepped in, hoping to call a truce in the subsidy war between DiDi and Fast Taxi, but Li Yanhong had insisted on ”keeping the fight going”!

’It’s only been a month, and he can’t take it anymore?’

Ma Wenteng pursed his lips and retorted with a smile, ”Robin, you were the one who wanted to fight, and now you’re the one who wants to end it. Penguin doesn’t hold that much equity in Fast Taxi. I’m not in a hurry.”

’You’re not in a hurry, but I am!’

DiDi Dache’s current equity structure was: Cheng Wei held 40.3%, and Qian Du held 40%. For every 10 million lost, Qian Du had to cough up 4 million.

According to Cheng Wei’s financial statements, DiDi Dache’s daily subsidy costs had skyrocketed to 8 million.

Although Qian Du had money, he didn’t want to be taken for a fool.

Hearing this, Li Yanhong’s expression stiffened. But considering his own vested interests, he patiently tried to persuade him, ”Pony, the point of investing is to make money. Ride-sharing is an industry with extremely low gross profit margins. Every 10 million we lose takes months of profit to recoup. If we keep fighting, it will only lead to mutual destruction.”

Hearing the urgent, conciliatory tone in his voice, Ma Wenteng smiled faintly. ”I can reach out to Chen Yansen and talk to him, but I can’t guarantee whether he’ll agree or not.”

Although Chen Yansen’s net worth couldn’t compare to his and Li Yanhong’s, the man held two money-printing machines in his hands—Pinbei and Orange Technology. He wasn’t actually short on cash and naturally had the capital to keep the fight going.

”Okay, Pony. I’ll leave it to you, then,” said Li Yanhong.

From a business perspective, Ma Wenteng also hoped that Chen Yansen and Cheng Wei could sit down and talk. Whether it led to a merger and integration or an end to the vicious competition in ground promotion and subsidies, it would be beneficial for everyone.

Just as Li Yanhong had said, investing was about getting rich returns, not about fighting with people.

Half an hour later, in a private room at the Sky Garden, Chen Yansen received a call from Ma Wenteng.

”A truce? Brother Pony, I don’t think the time is right. The operational range covered by DiDi and Fast Taxi doesn’t even amount to 5% of the national market. What if a ’Dada Limo’ pops up in the future? Are we going to have to call for a truce again?”

Chen Yansen stepped out of the private room, rejecting Ma Wenteng’s suggestion.

They would talk again when DiDi and Fast Taxi’s operational range had captured at least a third, or even half, of the national market.

’Someone will always be the first to break!’

Compared to Li Yanhong, Chen Yansen wasn’t afraid of losing money. Compared to Human Dao Fire, this little bit of cash was nothing.

Ma Wenteng’s brow furrowed slightly. He hadn’t expected Chen Yansen to refuse. But after a moment of reflection, he understood what Chen Yansen meant.

The market was too large, and the share that DiDi and Fast Taxi had captured was too small. Even if they could pause the subsidy war, the peace would last a month at most. At that point, one side would inevitably be unable to resist and would reignite the conflict.

”Alright, I understand. When Fast Taxi starts its B-round financing, remember to notify me,” Ma Wenteng replied.

The implication was that Penguin was choosing to fully support him. Even if Chen Yansen chose to burn money to conquer territory, Ma Wenteng was willing to follow up with more investment.

”Thanks, Brother Pony,” Chen Yansen replied politely.

Li Yanhong soon received the news: Senlian Capital had refused a truce. The ride-sharing war had to continue.

When Cheng Wei found out, he had extremely complicated feelings. But the frantic competitive landscape left him no time to overthink it, and he turned around and threw himself back into developing marketing plans.

On July 4th, Fast Taxi entered An Ci and Tang City.

However, due to a lack of funds, DiDi Dache could no longer suppress Fast Taxi’s pace of expansion.

The question now facing Qian Du, Gao Ling Capital, Today Capital, and Haina Asia was whether to abandon DiDi or to make an additional investment.

For a time, Li Yanhong was indecisive.

Just then, Zhu Nanli, the head of Junlian Capital, took the initiative to find Cheng Wei and proposed the idea of leading DiDi Dache’s D-round financing.

This move drastically reduced the pressure on Li Yanhong, Zhang Lei, and the others. They all breathed a sigh of relief and expressed their willingness to follow the investment.

Cheng Wei understood that DiDi Dache had survived another crisis, but his own shareholding ratio was also shrinking significantly.

At this time, leveraging its markets in Hang City, Jinling, Luzhou, Yanjing, and other places, Fast Taxi pushed its daily order volume to 1.5 million, becoming the leader of the ride-sharing market in one fell swoop.

On July 9th, DiDi Dache publicly announced that it would complete its D-round financing in mid-July. Junlian Capital would lead, with Qian Du, Gao Ling Capital, Today Capital, and Haina Asia following. The planned financing amount was 600 million.

As soon as the news broke, the Gray Studio was ecstatic. Brother Hui’s ”Little Heifer” short-selling software sold another six copies that day.

That afternoon, Kuai Pao launched a ”Group Buy” channel on its PC client and mobile app, officially entering the group-buying field.

Meituan, Dianping, and Lashou Network were instantly thrown into a panic!