Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

The message has been sent.

Gu Ming did not read the follow-up questions sent from the encrypted number.

Pointless.

A player who can't even get to the gambling table has no right to haggle with him.

Will you use Shen Guodong's connections in Indonesia to save her life?

Naive.

Do you think I can't find them, or do you think those people are worth making an exception for?

You thought this was a swapping game.

Actually, I was playing Civilization.

I want to unveil the fog of war covering this entire map and then write my rules into the underlying code of this land.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the city's night view.

The night view of Jakarta was reflected in his dark pupils.

He picked up his phone and dialed Su Qingying's number.

"Qingying, please arrange an appointment with the head of the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Kominfo) for me."

"After experiencing this content pollution incident, Xingchen Holdings has some ideas about building a content ecosystem, and I'd like to talk to them about it."

Su Qingying on the other end of the phone immediately understood what Gu Ming was going to do.

"Okay. I'll get right on it. They'll be very happy to hear your 'constructive ideas'."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Ming revealed a cold smile.

Yes, they will.

After all, I had just personally presented them with an achievement they couldn't refuse.

Two days later, in a conference room at the headquarters of the Indonesian Ministry of Communications.

Semir, the department head with graying hair, frowned slightly as he looked at the excessively young Chinese man in front of him.

Just a week ago, he was dealing with complaints about vulgar content from influencers under Xingchen, and he had a very bad impression of this foreign company.

Now, however, the other party is sitting across from him in a completely different capacity because they brought down Nanyang Media.

"Mr. Gu," Samir began in an official tone, but with a hint of curiosity in his eyes, "First of all, on behalf of the Ministry of Communications, I would like to thank your company for its contributions to purifying the network environment and protecting our country's traditional culture."

Gu Ming smiled slightly, leaned back in his chair, and relaxed.

"Mr. Minister, this is just what we should do."

"From the very first day we entered the Indonesian market, Star Holdings has been here for the purpose of joint development."

He pushed a beautifully printed report to the center of the table.

"This is the data analysis we conducted using Algorithm 2.0 on the Nanyang Media content contamination incident."

"In just one week, they used vulgar content and plagiarism to pollute more than 3,000 hashtags, causing the rate of exposure to inappropriate content among Indonesian teenagers to rise by 17.4%. Even more frightening is that their distortion of the national treasure IP 'The Cursed Princess' has triggered more than 2 million searches and misconceptions."

"This is more than just a commercial attack."

Gu Ming's voice turned somber.

"This is a cultural invasion."

Samir's expression turned serious.

These data made him realize the seriousness of the problem.

"Therefore," Gu Ming changed the subject, "we believe that blocking is not an effective way to prevent this. Only by establishing a transparent and efficient mechanism for protecting original works, and by having multiple parties work together to address this issue, can we solve the problem at its root."

"Star Holdings is willing to make our Star Shield AI review system freely available to all MCN agencies in Indonesia."

"Furthermore, we propose that the Ministry of Communications take the lead in establishing a transnational content cooperation and protection mechanism, in conjunction with all local practitioners."

It became.

Seeing the light in Samir's eyes, Gu Ming knew that the other party had accepted his proposal.

You want political achievements? I'll give you those. You want to solve problems? I'll provide solutions. You need a tool for managing the industry? I'll be your most useful tool.

"Free? They're giving us the Star Shield system, worth hundreds of millions, for free?"

"They also want to help us form a legal alliance to fight against the financial giants?"

"Boss Gu, you're not kidding, are you? What are you after?"

The simple operations room at StarCraft's Jakarta branch was packed with hundreds of founders of small and medium-sized MCNs from all over Indonesia.

They looked at Gu Ming standing in front of the whiteboard with different expressions; some were suspicious, and some were puzzled.

Not long ago, they were very wary of this company from China.

They witnessed firsthand how Star Holdings quickly made several ordinary people famous, and then used schemes to bring down the local giant, Nanyang Media.

They were uneasy, unsure of what the intruder would do next.

And now, this intruder claims he wants to lead them to build an original content alliance?

What kind of plot is this?

A weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken?

"What am I after?"

Gu Ming smiled.

He looked around the room, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"What I want is a clean and fair environment where I can create content and make money with peace of mind."

"I don't want to be on guard against others copying me every day, nor do I want to watch a group of people use vulgar content to disgust all the users in the market and drive them away."

"Nanyang Media has fallen, but Beiyang and Xiyang will follow. The greed of capital has no end."

"Today they can kill me with plagiarism and pollution, and tomorrow they can kill every one of you here in the same way."

"My proposal is very simple." Gu Ming picked up a pen and wrote two large characters on the whiteboard—Alliance.

"We've formed an alliance. I'll provide the technology, and I'll organize the legal team. We'll share resources and stand united against external threats. Anyone who dares to plagiarize again will be sued until they're bankrupt and blacklisted from the industry!"

The whole place fell silent.

Everyone present was an ordinary person struggling to survive. They had been exploited by platforms and bullied by large organizations, and they understood better than anyone how it felt to have their ideas copied and stolen.

Gu Ming's words struck a nerve with each of them.

"I'm in!" a short, dark-skinned man shouted, raising his hand first. "I've had enough! My team worked so hard on this content, and it was copied by a big company in less than half a day. We don't even have anyone to complain to!"

"I'm joining too!"

Count me in!

More and more people stood up and responded.

Their eyes were filled with trust as they looked at Gu Ming.

In their eyes, this Chinese man was no longer an intruder.

He is the savior.

One week later, at the Jakarta Convention Center.

Countless spotlights and flashes were focused on the podium.

Hundreds of media outlets from Indonesia and Southeast Asia all focused their cameras on the center of the podium.

Gu Ming wore a dark blue batik shirt with traditional Parang patterns, which made him look elegant and proper.

Sitting next to him was the Indonesian Minister of Communications, Samir, and a dozen or so leaders and representatives of local MCNs.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, he picked up a pen and solemnly signed his name on a document bearing the Indonesian flag and the Star Holdings logo.

The Jakarta Initiative for the Protection of Original Content.

Star Holdings was the first foreign company to sign this historic document.

As Gu Ming and Minister Samir stood up and shook hands with smiles, camera shutters clicked incessantly.

This moment was frozen in time forever.

The next day, this photo dominated the front page of all major Indonesian media outlets.

The Jakarta Post's headline read: "A Historic Handshake! Chinese Tech Giant Empowers Indonesia's Content Industry, Ushering in a New Era of Cooperation!"

Indonesian national television commented in a more emotional tone: "He comes from China, yet he has built a solid bridge for Indonesia's digital content industry; he is the bridge builder of the digital content Silk Road of this era!"

"Bridge builders?"

In her hotel suite in Jakarta, Su Qingying looked at the news on her tablet and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "They really know how to flatter you. I think they're more like tollbooth attendants."

Gu Ming shrugged noncommittally.

What you call yourself doesn't matter.

The important thing is that from today onwards, everyone who creates content on this land must run on the path I've built.

Anyone who wants to collect tolls on this road must first ask me if I agree.

Just then, Su Qingying's expression changed slightly, and she turned the tablet towards Gu Ming.

"There's been a response domestically."

On the screen is an urgent industry analysis report from a top domestic securities firm.

The title is in bold red font.

—[Warning! Star Holdings is forging a new path; its "rule-maker" overseas expansion model may disrupt the industry landscape!]

At the end of the report, a brief news flash was attached:

According to reliable sources, senior executives from Tencent and Ali Group held separate emergency strategic meetings this morning. The core issue was whether to immediately follow Star Holdings' Southeast Asian expansion strategy.

Gu Ming looked at the message without any expression on his face.

Just then, his personal cell phone, which he used exclusively for domestic communications, suddenly vibrated.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar landline number from Beijing.

Gu Ming pressed the answer button.

A man's voice came from the other end of the phone, his tone calm and polite, but with an official air.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Gu Ming from Starry Sky Holdings?"

"I am."

"Hello, Mr. Gu. We have noticed that your company has recently gained some very valuable experience in the governance of content ecosystems overseas."

"Next Wednesday, we will hold a small-scale closed-door symposium in Beijing on the healthy development of the online content ecosystem."

"I wonder if Mr. Gu has the time to attend?"