Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 104 A Head-to-Head Strike, Each with Their Own Countermeasures (Seeking First Subscription)
If necessary, Wang Junshan is willing to accept selling a portion of YouTuan Technology's shares to Tencent.

This powerful alliance will buy time for the future of technology and for WeChat to develop.

There's also the potential for a massive online group-buying war in the future, which could easily burn through even more money.

How painful must it be for Wang Junshan to suffer from the burning himself?
It would be fun if we brought Tencent in and burned money together.

The combination of Future Technology and Tencent, WeChat and QQ, is a powerful alliance that will sweep away all obstacles.

Meituan, Eleme, Baidu Nuomi, and Alibaba Koubei are all insignificant!
With overwhelming strength, the battlefield can be cleared quickly, bringing the thousand-team battle to a swift end.

It's not like we're wasting so much money.

Of course, if negotiations with Tencent fail, bringing Baidu into the picture is also an option.

Moreover, Baidu, which is constantly declining, is actually easier to control.

When soldiers come, we'll meet them head-on; we'll be prepared for both.

The next day, Tencent's investment department came to visit again.

This time, Huo Siying came again, but no longer as the leader; instead, she played a supporting role.

Also present were Xu Tiannian, president of Paipai.com, and Cui Zhen, manager of QQ Space.

And the head of the investment department of Tencent Group, Yao Mingchen, vice president of Tencent Group.

Unlike other business unit presidents.

Yao Mingchen is not only the president of Dashiye, but also the vice president of the group.

His position is second only to Chairman Ma and the president of Tencent Group.

That's right, this time it wasn't the e-commerce investment department that came, but Tencent Group's group investment department.

There was no way around it; with a valuation of 5 billion and an investment of 1 billion, even the e-commerce division couldn't negotiate such a big deal.

After all, the entire e-commerce business unit is only valued at around 60 billion!
Out of line.

This time, Wang Junshan didn't run away.

Yao Mingchen's position is high enough; we can discuss it.

After exchanging pleasantries, Yao Mingchen smiled and began to speak:
"Mr. Wang is exceptionally talented; it's truly a pity we haven't met sooner!"

"Would you be interested in joining Tencent?"

"With Mr. Wang's talent and his young age, he could very well become Chairman Ma's successor in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Tiannian was startled.

Huo Siying's mouth gaped open, and she didn't know what to say.

Cui Zhen was even more dumbfounded, never expecting President Yao to act so unpredictably, starting with such a statement!
Chairman Ma's successor!

That's the person in charge of Tencent in the future.

If someone else said that, then they would probably be talking nonsense.

But Yao Mingchen's words have a different meaning.

Yao Mingchen is about the same age as Chairman Ma, so he is not suitable to be his successor.

When Chairman Ma decides to retire, Yao Mingchen will also have to retire.

The future successors will only be the younger generation.

Both Xu Tiannian and Cui Zhen had their own ideas.

But it's also clear that the gap is too large.

Moreover, we need to win the support of Chairman Ma, as well as several group presidents, vice presidents, and major shareholders.

Yao Mingchen's statement is an olive branch extended to Wang Junshan.

Once Tencent invests in Future Technology, Wang Junshan will be able to join Tencent naturally.

Furthermore, the fact that this investment in YouTuan Technology was proposed by Chairman Ma indicates that Chairman Ma is also optimistic about future technology, or about Wang Junshan.

Wang Junshan is already exceptionally capable and has outstanding achievements. If he makes further progress and has the support of Chairman Ma and Yao Mingchen, he might really have a chance to sit in that position!

This is incredible.

Xu Tiannian sighed, thinking to himself:

“Wang Junshan will definitely be tempted. Next, YouTuan Technology will accept investment from Tencent and be acquired by Tencent in the future, and Wang Junshan will become a senior executive of Tencent. I might be his subordinate in no time.”

Cui Zhen's expression also became uncertain:

"Another formidable rival? And so young, so talented. What do I have to compete with him?"

Unexpectedly, Wang Junshan waved his hand:
"President Yao is joking. Tencent already has a wealth of talent, so I won't cause any trouble. I'll just focus on my own little corner and do a good job with YouTuan Technology."

"I don't have such big ambitions."

Yao Mingchen was somewhat surprised, thinking to himself, "You don't have such big ambitions? Nobody believes that!"

He said, "Steady and reliable, I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

"Okay, we'll talk about the future later."

"Let's talk about investment first."

“I don’t like playing games. I’ll give you the highest price directly, a valuation of 50 billion. Tencent, please accept.”

Yao Mingchen readily agreed: "Tencent will invest 10 billion yuan in Future Technology, acquiring a 20% stake!"

Wang Junshan laughed: "President Yao, I'm sorry, you've misunderstood something."

"The company valued at 50 billion is not Future Technology Group, but YouTuan Technology."

Yao Mingchen frowned: "You mean, YouTuan Technology and YouTuan.com alone, without WeChat or WeChat Farm, are worth a valuation of 5 billion?"

"Yes."

"That's unrealistic!" Yao Mingchen's expression turned serious.

"Admittedly, YouTuan.com is doing well, with daily transaction volume of 1500 million yuan for smuggling goods. But the question is, how long can you sustain this?"

"How long can the popularity of 'WeChat Farm' last?"

Wang Junshan nodded: "That's right, a daily transaction volume of 1500 million for parallel imports can't be sustained for long."

"That's right!" Yao Mingchen greatly approved of Wang Junshan's self-awareness. Just as he was about to say something more, Wang Junshan changed the subject:
"Because in a while, YouTuan.com's daily revenue from smuggling will exceed 2000 million, how can it possibly stay at 1500 million?"

Yao Mingchen: "..."

Xu Tiannian: "!!!"

Cui Zhen: "!!!"

Huo Siying: "!!!"

For a moment, all four of them were dumbfounded. They looked at each other, completely bewildered.

“Mr. Wang, this joke isn’t funny at all.” Xu Tiannian shook his head: “It might drop to 1000 million after a while.”

Wang Junshan waved his hand: "President Xu, you're joking. Siying is familiar with this matter, isn't she?"

"..." Huo Siying's lips twitched, and she was about to say that she wasn't familiar with him, but Wang Junshan laughed:
“Last time I said YouTuan Technology was worth 5 billion, and Siying didn’t believe me. Well, in just one month, it’s already worth 5 billion.”

"This time is no different."

"Could it be that YouTuan.com has some big plans coming up?" Huo Siying thought of her previous experience and was suddenly alarmed.

How familiar this scene is!
"Of course, and it's a big move. Our YouTuan.com's daily revenue will continue to climb," Wang Junshan said with a smile.

Huo Siying's expression became quite interesting, and it was hard to tell how much of it was genuine.

Yao Mingchen frowned, hesitant to make a decision.

The 5 billion valuation that Chairman Ma promised is the valuation of the entire Future Group, not just the valuation of one subsidiary, YouTuan Technology!
That's a huge difference!

Wang Junshan saw through their thoughts and smiled, "It's alright, President Yao, you might as well observe and see. See if YouTuan Technology's revenue declines sharply or rises steadily. Then you can consider what valuation to give it."

"Okay, I'll wait and see," Yao Mingchen replied, though he couldn't make the decision himself.

Everything went beyond expectations. Cui Zhen couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Wang, we at QQ Space are also very optimistic about 'WeChat Farm.' We wonder if we could collaborate?"

"With the support of QQ users, I believe that WeChat Farm will develop even better."

Wang Junshan's expression turned cold. Instead of answering directly, he said meaningfully:
"QQ's open social networking is great. Do you think we should follow suit with WeChat?"

Cui Zhen's expression changed drastically as he instantly understood Wang Junshan's meaning, but he sneered, "Open social networking isn't something just anyone can do?"

"What if we bring in Alibaba or Baidu? I'm sure they'd be very interested," Wang Junshan said with a smile.

"!!!" Cui Zhen's face turned ashen.

He was filled with shock and anger, never expecting Wang Junshan to be so tough!

This is drawing a red line for Tencent!
If QQ Space dares to touch WeChat Farm, no matter what method it uses, WeChat will immediately upgrade to an open social network!
They also want to completely align themselves with Alibaba or Baidu and completely oppose Tencent!

This situation is unacceptable to Tencent and its CEO, Jack Ma.

Cui Zhen couldn't quite accept it.

Yao Mingchen chuckled, breaking the tense standoff between the two sides:
"There are so many games on QQ Space, Manager Cui, there's no need to fixate on 'WeChat Farm'."

"Yes." Cui Zhen was somewhat unwilling, but he didn't know what else to say.

Knowing full well that Wang Junshan's statement meant QQ Farm would not be able to launch, I realized that the game was not going to be available.

"Mr. Wang, then we look forward to YouTuan Technology's next big move!" Yao Mingchen stood up.

“Then I also welcome President Yao to visit again another day.” Wang Junshan extended his hand.

After seeing Yao Mingchen off, Shen Huaijin followed: "Looks like the negotiations failed again."

Wang Junshan nodded: "The second negotiation with Tencent did not reach an agreement, but both sides' bottom lines are clear. This is a big step forward! You could say that a gentleman's agreement has been reached."

"What agreement?" Shen Huaijin asked, full of curiosity.

"QQ will not do a farming game, and WeChat will not do an open social networking game. This is the premise and the bottom line for cooperation between the two parties."

"Will the other party accept it?"

"Tencent cannot accept the future technology completely siding with Baidu or Alibaba!" Wang Junshan said confidently.

If Tencent makes QQ Farm, then WeChat's future will be bleak!
Wang Junshan's only option is to develop WeChat into an open social platform, aligning it with Alibaba or Baidu, and leveraging their resources to compete with Tencent.

It all depends on Tencent's choice.

Of course, Wang Junshan also had a backup plan.

Even if Tencent does launch QQ Farm, WeChat Farm will still maintain a significant lead.

During this time, the WeChat Farm development team has not been idle, but has been developing WeChat Farm version 2.0!

The 1.0 version of "WeChat Farm" was rushed to launch and has a relatively simple gameplay.

It only has the most basic farm gameplay: planting and stealing crops.

However, the 2.0 version currently under development will have significant improvements.

It can be said that it has undergone a complete transformation!
WeChat Farm 2.0 has added weather systems such as sunny, rainy, drought, typhoon, and blizzard!

The farm undergoes various changes as the weather changes.

Sunny days are unaffected, but rainy days are considered as watering crops.

In dry weather, crop growth slows down, requiring more manual watering.

Extreme weather events such as typhoons and snowstorms require protective shields.

It can be said that the 2.0 version of "WeChat Farm" has added a lot of gameplay and more fun.

In addition, there are brand collaboration events where you can redeem various real-world coupons, including coupons from U-Group International, Vipshop, and U-Group Buying.

Even if QQ Farm is launched, the direct release of WeChat Farm 2.0 will still be a game-changer!
Even if QQ has more users, if players see that it's a version behind, they'll still switch to playing "WeChat Farm".

More importantly, version 2.0 of "WeChat Farm" is more complex, and even if you wanted to copy it, it would take several months.

Several months later, while competitors finally caught up with version 2.0 and launched a weather system, First Creation Technology had already launched "WeChat Farm" 3.0 and introduced ranch gameplay.

One step ahead, and you're far ahead.

Of course, the best outcome is for both sides to exercise restraint.

QQ will not have a farm game, and WeChat will not have an open social networking feature.

It's not impossible for Tencent to invest in YouTuan Technology and form an alliance between the two.

The premise is that Tencent offers a price that satisfies Wang Junshan!
Two days later, at the school's intranet headquarters.

Vice President Dai Hede was furious:
"It's been four days, and there's still no progress in the reverse engineering of 'WeChat Farm'?"

"Trash, it's all trash!"

With the strength of the campus network, reverse engineering is a piece of cake.

Flash games like these can be reverse engineered and decompiled in a day or two to extract the core game logic.

But now, four days have passed and they still haven't gotten it sorted out, and both Dai and De are furious.

He had assured the boss that the campus farm would be launched within a month!
The subordinate said helplessly, "President, ShouChuang Technology's 'WeChat Farm' is indeed developed using Flash, but it uses code obfuscation technology, which makes our reverse engineering extremely difficult because we have to decipher it one by one."

"Code obfuscation technique!" Dai Hede's expression changed drastically: "No wonder, we've encountered a master!"

The development environment these days is relatively simple, and there isn't much code obfuscation.

Therefore, the school's intranet can be directly reverse engineered and decompiled.

Basically, it takes one to three days to extract the core game logic, three to five days to capture and analyze packets, simulate communication protocols, apply them, reskin them, and it can be launched in a month!

That's how we've always done it.

But nowadays, encountering code obfuscation is time-consuming and laborious.

It takes 1-2 weeks just to extract the core game logic!
"President, however, the other party's obfuscation technique seems relatively simple. It's just variable name compression and control flow flattening. It's not difficult to crack, it just takes some time."

Dai Hede's eyes lit up: "It's alright, we'll take it slow. I'll get more manpower; we have to break through his defenses!"

We decisively continued to recruit more people and increased investment.

But what Dai Hede didn't know was that the code obfuscation technique used by Wang Junshan, on the surface, only involved variable name compression and control flow flattening, which was not difficult and could be cracked with a little time.

But in reality, there are many logic bombs.

Even if the school's intranet goes to great lengths to get all these things sorted out, it will be met with despair that it's all in vain.

The core logic is all on the server side, while the client side is just for display and has no meaning in reverse engineering.

Furthermore, Wang Junshan encrypted all subsequent communication protocols, making packet sniffing and analysis extremely difficult.

Although the encryption technology used is conventional ten years from now, it is top-tier encryption technology today.

The school's intranet is completely unmanageable.

It's fair to say that developing a WeChat Farm from scratch is easier than reverse engineering it.

With the capabilities of Renren.com, developing it from scratch could probably be completed in three months.

However, even after three months of reverse engineering, they were unable to fully crack the code.

By the time Dai and De discovered the despairing truth, more than a month had been wasted!
If we abandon reverse engineering and start developing "WeChat Farm" from scratch, it will take another three months...

The on-campus farm won't be available until next year.

It was too late for everything.

As the R&D director seventeen years later, Wang Junshan has plenty of ways to outsmart these petty thugs!

As Wang Junshan predicted, there are many teams that perform reverse engineering, just like those on Renren.com.

They've all reached the stage of deciphering obfuscation techniques, and everyone thinks it's just simple obfuscation that can be cracked in half a month!

They are all at a point where they are wasting their time.

Of course, there was one last big surprise, which Wang Junshan had left for them.

PS: Here's the fourth update, 1.6 words in total. Please vote for me and subscribe! I'll be adding more chapters for votes starting tomorrow!
(End of this chapter)