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

The countdown has reached zero.

Apocalypse Entertainment's official website is currently hosting a grand global live stream.

Wang Tianqi stood on the stage without a prepared speech.

Welcome back!

By burning through money, he declared to the entire industry that he was not only alive, but thriving.

"I know that many people have been laughing at me for the past 72 hours."

"They say Tianqi is finished, that I, Wang Tianqi, have suffered a complete defeat. But today, I will show you what the true next generation of virtual life is!"

Wang Tianqi suddenly waved his hand.

On the huge LED screen behind them, a brand-new virtual idol image slowly emerged.

"Her name is Yao, the Yao of Tianqi."

As soon as she finished speaking, "Yao" moved.

The flashbulbs at the scene instantly went off one after another.

The media reporters and industry observers in the audience, who were used to seeing those "wooden beauties" on the market, were speechless.

It's so realistic.

The chat in the live stream went crazy.

[Holy crap! Alive? This thing is actually alive!]

Compared to this, Star Media's "zero" is practically a defective product!

[Mr. Wang is awesome! This is real technology! This is the future!]

Wang Tianqi enjoyed this reaction, and his smile grew wider and wider.

He dropped the first bombshell.

"The character 'Yao' is equipped with Tianqi Entertainment's independently developed 'Soul Engine 1.0,' for which we have applied for a total of 132 core patents both domestically and internationally!"

Then came the second one.

"At the same time, I am pleased to announce that Apocalypse Entertainment has received a joint investment of 500 million from Wall Street and Middle Eastern royal funds!"

The scene immediately erupted in chaos.

If the previous reaction was merely shock, now everyone in the hall stood up.

The reporters below the stage pushed forward like madmen, throwing countless questions at Wang Tianqi.

"Mr. Wang! May I ask which companies are the specific investors?"

"Mr. Wang! Does the 'Soul Engine' mean that Star Media's technological approach is completely outdated?"

The live stream chat was flooded with comments like "CEO Wang is going crazy" and "Star Media is doomed."

Almost at the same second the press conference started, Tianqi Entertainment's stock, which had been dormant for three days, surged to the daily limit the moment the market opened!

Countless retail investors who were trapped in their positions were so excited they almost cried, and they rushed to add more funds, ready to witness a stunning reversal.

All the onlookers were amazed, saying that Wang Tianqi was incredibly lucky.

……

At the same time, Star Media.

The office was deathly silent.

Su Qingying stood in front of the huge monitoring wall, which was divided into dozens of small screens, broadcasting in real time the press conference of Tianqi, the headlines of major financial websites, and that eye-catching limit-up K-line.

"Gu Ming, the public opinion is completely out of control." Her voice was a little hoarse. "Our official accounts are full of mockery and insults, and several partners have called to subtly ask if we really leaked technology."

Her palms were sweaty.

Even though she had 100% confidence in Gu Ming's plan, the scene before her still put her under tremendous pressure.

However, in another corner of the monitoring room, Gu Ming was sitting quietly in front of the tea table.

Before him was a set of purple clay teaware. Boiling water was poured into the gaiwan, and a wisp of tea aroma rose.

It's this year's pre-Qingming Longjing tea.

The tea leaves slowly unfurl in the water.

Gu Ming picked up the teapot and poured the first brew of tea onto the tea pet, his movements slow and leisurely, as if everything happening outside had nothing to do with him.

"Don't rush." ​​He didn't even look up, just stared at the clear tea in his cup. "Let him fly."

As Su Qingying watched Gu Ming's retreating figure, the anxiety in her heart actually subsided somewhat.

This man always seems to find the calmest state of mind even in the most dangerous situations.

Just then, Gu Ming's personal cell phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, answered the call, and immediately put it on speakerphone.

"Bro! Did you see that? That bastard surnamed Wang is having a party! He even dared to say our technology is outdated? I'm going to hack his live stream right now!" Shen Lian shouted on the other end, with the sound of keyboard slamming filling the background.

"No." Gu Ming uttered a single word.

"what?"

"Not only should you stop attacking, but right now, immediately, have your people remove all physical power outages to Apocalypse Entertainment."

Shen Lian was stunned: "Brother? Are you sure? We finally managed to pin him down, and now that we've let go, he'll really be out of control!"

"Let go." Gu Ming repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"...Okay, I'll do as you say." Although Shen Lian was puzzled, she immediately complied.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Ming picked up his phone, calmly typed a message, and sent it to the company's public relations manager.

A few minutes later.

Just as Wang Tianqi's press conference reached its climax, Star Media's official account posted an update.

The content is ridiculously simple.

[Congratulations to Mr. Wang of Tianqi Entertainment on his major technological breakthrough! We look forward to healthy competition and working together to advance the industry. @TianqiEntertainment]

This post stunned everyone online.

【Wait, am I seeing things? Star Media has backed down?】

This isn't admitting defeat, it's begging for mercy on your knees!

[Hilarious! Wasn't Gu Ming so arrogant before? Why is he acting like a coward now?]

[Oh no, my stocks related to the "Starry Sky" concept are about to hit their daily limit down...]

The news quickly reached the press conference backstage.

"President Wang! President Wang! Gu Ming has given in!" Technical Director Zhao Lide rushed excitedly to Wang Tianqi, holding his phone.

Wang Tianqi was taken aback when he saw the congratulatory post, then burst into laughter, the sound echoing backstage.

"Hahahaha! Gu Ming! You little bastard! You've finally met your match!"

He was blinded by this huge victory.

The outside world interprets this as Gu Ming "admitting defeat and seeking peace".

This inflated Wang Tianqi's confidence to the extreme.

He snatched the walkie-talkie from his assistant and yelled at the host on stage, "Tell everyone! To celebrate the birth of 'Yao,' Tianqi Entertainment will be investing ten times more computing power! Tonight! Tonight alone! We're going to have 'Yao' doing a non-stop interactive live stream on all platforms across the internet!"

The finance director behind the scenes turned pale and was about to dissuade him when Wang Tianqi glared at him fiercely.

"And another thing!" Wang Tianqi turned to his waiting legal team. "That betting agreement, sign it! Sign it immediately! Unlimited joint liability! I want to see who dares to say I, Wang Tianqi, wouldn't dare to gamble!"

Wang Tianqi's eyes were bloodshot, and he was no longer willing to listen to any advice.

He was going to bet everything on this one move.

Meanwhile, in an underground machine room tens of kilometers away.

Gu Ming looked at Wang Tianqi's face, which was contorted with excitement, on the monitor screen, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.

"It's almost done."

He nodded to Chen Mo beside him.

Chen Mo understood, and with a light tap of her slender finger on another control screen, she sent out a line of instructions.

[Emotional Compensation Coefficient: 99.9%]

The conference site.

The virtual idol "Yao," who was interacting with the host, suddenly paused.

She slowly raised her head and looked up at the dazzling sea of ​​lights on the dome, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears.

Then, a crystal-clear "tear" slowly slid down her flawless cheek.

Facing the camera, she spoke softly, almost in a dreamlike voice, tinged with a sob, "Thank you... thank you everyone... I can feel... your love..."

This scene left everyone stunned.

A virtual idol, under the gaze of millions, displayed an almost miraculous spirituality.

The entire internet was instantly flooded with posts about it.

[I cried! She actually cried from being moved! Is this AI? This has to be a real person!]

[A revolutionary product! Today marks the beginning of the era of virtual life!]

Even Musk is getting restless! This technology is terrifying!

The market value of Apocalypse Entertainment broke through its historical high the moment this "tear" fell, and it is still rising wildly.

Backstage, Wang Tianqi had already popped open a bottle of champagne and was shouting recklessly at Gu Ming's photo on the screen: "What do you have to fight me with! What do you have to fight me with!"

The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire financial world.

Even Shen Guodong, who had been observing from the sidelines, called personally. His first words were: "Gu Ming, have you gone too far?"

It was impossible to tell whether his tone was one of concern or a test.

"Don't worry, Uncle Shen." Gu Ming's voice was calm. "Before pulling in the net, we always let the fish struggle a little longer."

hang up the phone.

Chen Mo handed over a report, on which several IP addresses were marked with red lines.

"Boss, internal access violation report. Right after the Tianqi press conference started, three senior engineer accounts were frantically copying 'Zero's' non-core database."

Gu Ming took the report but didn't even glance at it, his eyes still fixed on the main screen.

There, real-time monitoring footage of several workstations within Star Media was displayed.

In the video, several men wearing glasses are watching the live broadcast of Apocalypse's press conference while furtively operating their computers, their faces revealing undisguised excitement and greed.

They believed they were about to pledge allegiance to a new king and embark on a bright future.

Gu Ming looked at the surveillance footage, a cold smile curving his lips.

He turned to Chen Mo beside him and gave the order in a low voice.

"Look, these 'heroes' are working overtime all night to prove their loyalty to their new master."

"Notify Su Qingying to prepare the liquidation agreement and lawyer's letter."

"We need to clean house."