The world is in trouble

Chapter 255 Surrender! Let's put an end to this!
Renren Group held another board meeting.

"Perfect World can no longer be operated; if it continues to decline like this, it will truly become worthless."

"The closed beta test has ended, and it has been announced that the game will undergo a complete and thorough upgrade."

Everyone agreed, because this way there was still some dignity left. If the number of online users plummeted to an extremely ugly level, then there would be no remaining value.

"And then what? What do we do?"

All the shareholders present fell silent.

Yes, are we really going to recruit a professional team to redo it from scratch?

That's impossible, that would cost so much money.

"Sell it. While 'Perfect World' still has some remaining value, try to get a good price." Liao Feng.

Miyazaki: "How much will it cost?"

Liao Feng thought for a moment: "A price of one hundred million?"

Everyone felt a sudden toothache.

The investment in this game from start to finish, including advertising, servers, and the purchase of all the equity in the game at a super premium, cost several hundred million yuan.

Sell ​​for 100 million.

We really lost a lot of money.

………………

Next, Renren Group began contacting various parties, wanting to sell "Perfect World" in its entirety.

Their primary targets are Sina, Sohu, Tencent, and NetEase.

Because the policies for mobile service providers are becoming increasingly stringent, everyone is striving to transform their businesses and has set their sights on the goldmine of online games.

Liao Feng had high hopes for Sohu because the two companies were strategic allies, and Sohu was also one of the major shareholders of Renren Group. If Sohu bought the game, it would be a transfer from one hand to the other.

Moreover, although Liao Feng was unwilling to admit it, he had a vivid memory of one particular scene.

That is, Wu Lingxi persuaded Zhang Chaoyang to hand over the charm of merging Chinaren and Lingxi Island's social departments.

So, he kind of wanted to replicate that scene.

"Mr. Zhang, I won't hide it from you, the number of online players for this game has dropped below 100,000, to only around 86,000," Liao Feng said. "But it has a huge potential user base, and it has achieved tremendous success. If we completely rework it, there is still a great chance for it to be successful."

"Furthermore, because Lightning Group set a very bad example, the development costs of online games in China will continue to rise, while Perfect World has already completed a large part of it, making it much easier to rebuild on that basis."

"So a price of one hundred million is really not expensive."

Zhang Chaoyang didn't say a word from beginning to end.

Liao Feng: "Mr. Zhang, the price is negotiable."

After a long pause, Zhang Chaoyang slowly said, "It's not a matter of price, but rather that I won't buy it."

Liao Feng: "Why?"

Zhang Chaoyang: "Even if I were to enter the online gaming industry, I would start a project from scratch. That way, I could feel the pulse of the entire industry and also train an excellent team."

"Therefore, I will not buy this game."

"Of course, there is another important point: I... am filled with apprehension about cooperating with you."

………………

After suffering a setback with Sohu.

Liao Feng went to Shanda and to The9.

All of them were rejected.

They made it very clear that it wasn't about the price, but rather their concern that acquiring the game would damage the company's reputation.

Because this game has been dying out at an alarming rate lately.

Sina and Tencent also showed little interest.

Ultimately, it was Mr. Chi from Hongen Online who extended an olive branch, offering to buy the game, improve it, and then start operating it.

This game was originally created under his leadership, but it was later bought by Liao Feng for a large sum of money.

but……

The price offered by Boss Chi completely broke Liao Feng's defenses.

Ten million!

The other party is only willing to offer ten million.

I'll fuck your grandpa.

Your investment in this game was only a few tens of millions, but I spent a staggering 100 million to buy back a portion of your shares.

So now you want to buy it back completely, but you're only willing to spend ten million?

Even if it rots completely in my hands, I will absolutely not sell it to you.

........................

When Liao Feng returned to the company, another piece of bad news came.

Renren.com's traffic has plummeted.

Liao Feng summoned Chen Yizhou: "You've always been the co-CEO, so why did Renren's traffic plummet after Wu Lingxi left?"

"Is her ability really that strong?"

"Did the effects become so immediate after she left?"

Chen Yizhou said slowly, "President Liao, there are two reasons."

"The first reason is that Renren's foundation has never been as strong as Facebook's. It was entirely due to Wu Lingxi's personal ability to forcefully boost its popularity and launch one big move after another to stabilize the traffic and create its peak."

"And the CCTV Spring Festival Gala was the last resort. After that, it actually relied on paid traffic to maintain this superficial prosperity."

"After the upheaval, her entire team resigned, so... the internal operating system also collapsed."

"Many activities to maintain Renren.com's traffic have stopped, and spending money to generate traffic has also stopped."

"That's the first reason."

"The second reason is that after the huge changes at Renren Group, a large number of celebrities stopped operating their accounts. A large number of official organization accounts also shifted their focus to Facebook."

"Of course, these celebrities have signed contracts with us and have content targets. But before, their management teams were willing to put some effort into creating content, but now they're just going through the motions. So the traffic in this area is also declining."

"Of course, the most important reason is that we haven't built up enough semi-acquaintance social genes, so the stickiness is never enough."

"In addition, there's Renren Video."

Liao Feng: "What's wrong with Renren Video now?"

Chen Zhouyi said, "The reason we competed with Lin Xiao's YouTube before was because we announced a grand plan, claiming that we would also spend hundreds of millions to support content creation. Of course, we were just making empty promises at first, and in reality, we didn't spend nearly that much. But at least we were spending money. After the changes, we... no longer have the money to support these things."

"As a result, Renren Video's traffic also plummeted."

Liao Feng: "Don't we have a large number of TV series and movie copyrights?"

Chen Yizhou: "If we rely entirely on film and television copyrights, we need to constantly update the content. We may even need to produce our own content in the future. Otherwise, although our copyright library looks large, it is actually insignificant in terms of user demand."

Liao Feng turned on his computer and looked at the traffic curve of Renren.com.

It's really steep!
It's just that the drop was steep.

It just kept falling.

Previously, Wu Lingxi had clung to power on Renren.com and refused to relinquish it, which caused Chen Zhouyi to complain.

Only after he actually took over did he realize how difficult it was to maintain the business, and how much effort Wu Lingxi had put in to keep it prosperous for over a year.

“We are different from Facebook. It has built a mature social media DNA, so it achieves twice the results with half the effort no matter what it does. We, on the other hand, achieve half the results with twice the effort, requiring a continuous influx of money, but now…”

Where does the entire Renren Group have any money now?
Last time, Liao Feng said that to preserve the remaining assets of Renren Group, more money would be needed, at least three or four hundred million yuan. Until now, these shareholders have refused.

Now, even shareholders are unwilling to add money to operate World of Warcraft, let alone Renren.com, which is an even bigger money-devouring behemoth.

………………

In contrast to the dire situation of Renren Group, Lightning Group is thriving.

Although "Bright Sword" did not choose CCTV, it was still sold to several allied TV stations.

Five major TV stations bought the first broadcast rights for a sky-high price of two million per episode.

This action was not exactly rational.

Because there is a significant overlap in the viewership of the three satellite TV channels in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, a fierce competition among them is likely to occur.

but……

The ratings were still phenomenal.

Even with five channels broadcasting simultaneously, Zhejiang TV's highest viewership rating has already exceeded 10%.

Even the lowest ratings for Guangxi TV still exceeded 5%.

It's another phenomenal work.

Lightning Group has once again proven to everyone that there are tremendous benefits to strategically partnering with them.

This year, Flash Entertainment has three major dramas scheduled to air.

In addition, there are four variety shows.

The five major satellite TV channels all have incredibly high viewership ratings throughout the year.

Jiangnan TV, in particular, has directly entered the ranks of first-tier satellite TV channels.

Meanwhile, on Zhejiang TV, "The Voice of China" is about to premiere.

Immediately afterwards...

A piece of news came out.

SoftBank Group will acquire a 20% stake in Lightning Entertainment for a record $3 million.

This price announcement sent shockwaves through the domestic entertainment industry once again.

are you crazy?
$3 million for just 20% of the shares?
Does SoftBank Group have too much money to burn?

With so much money, how many TV series and movies could you make?

In the future, who can compete with Flash Entertainment in the domestic market?

........................

Upon receiving this news, Renren Group once again faced existential questions.

You, Masayoshi Son and Yang Zhiyuan?

The entire Renren Group is valued at only around one billion US dollars, which is less than Flash Entertainment?
They kept their prices very tight.

Are you being so generous to Lin Xiao?
But these high-level capitalists aren't blind; everyone thought Masayoshi Son had overpaid. Only he himself, and Lin Xiao as well, knew that the price was actually very cheap.

Renren Games has not yet started making money, while Flash Entertainment accounts for more than 80% of the group's revenue, and it is growing rapidly every year.

We should be grateful that such core assets can be put up for sale.

As for Renren Group...

Another life-or-death decision is looming.

This is already the umpteenth board meeting.

Because Renren's traffic has been declining, one of the shareholders said something again.

"Or, let's sell Renren.com!"

Good guy!
Everyone was stunned when these words were spoken.

We are doing everything we can to preserve the value of Renren Group, and its core asset is Renren.com.

As a result, you have to sell it.

However, after the initial surprise, everyone's thoughts came to a head.

why not?

Why did everyone create Renren.com in the first place?
It's about creating a platform and then developing other industries. More importantly, it's about packaging it, attracting investment, and ultimately going public.

According to the previous logic, traffic was everything.

Now, facing this dramatic change, major investments are no longer possible, and an IPO seems a long way off.

Moreover, the social networking site's profitability is a long way off; instead, it requires continuous investment, possibly for several years.

Even with Facebook's incredible success, it's unlikely to turn a profit for several years; it's just that Lightning Group has a cash cow to feed it.

"In the social networking arena, there's no room for two giants; the winner takes all, and the loser is condemned," said Xiong, CEO of IDG. "Now, does anyone still have the courage to surpass Facebook in traffic on Renren?"

Even now, Facebook still doesn't release its traffic data.

But everyone knows that it has definitely exceeded that, and by a great deal.

Mr. Xiong: "To be frank, we don't have the courage anymore. The last battle was a do-or-die situation, and it exhausted all our strength and even all our expectations. We lost that battle, and Renren.com will never be able to recover. Because we can't afford to spend any more money, and now everyone should understand what Wu Lingxi meant by 'social genes'."

"Everyone has come to a deeper understanding of the saying that the initial strategic direction determines the success or failure later on."

"From the very beginning, Facebook has been methodical, working hard to solidify its social moat and build its core social network based on acquaintances, without daring to be reckless. Even a few months ago, at a critical stage of the battle, it directly spun off the video website YouTube, just because it was worried about damaging Facebook's social network."

"So, sell it!"

"Although the traffic has been nearly halved now, it is still very, very high, and at least it is still very valuable."

"Let's admit one thing: the most valuable asset Renren Group has right now is the exclusive operating rights to World of Warcraft."

"According to our contract with Blizzard, we still need to invest tens of millions of dollars to improve, modify, and promote the game."

"Of course, there is some good news regarding servers. The servers that are available for Perfect World can be used for World of Warcraft."

"If World of Warcraft can achieve the same success as in the US market, then Renren Group still has a future."

If everything goes smoothly, that's certainly true.

At its peak, World of Warcraft generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually.

"Now, asking shareholders to pour in tens of millions of dollars is definitely not something they'd be willing to do. So, we might as well cut our losses and sell Renren.com, then put all the money we have into World of Warcraft."

"Completely focused on this game."

All eyes turned to Liao Feng.

He didn't say anything, but left the office and returned to his suite.

Immense pain swept over my entire body once again.

Sell ​​Renren.com?
That would mean utter failure.

The key point is that Renren.com still seems very strong now; it's just that all the shareholders have lost confidence and are unwilling to invest any more money.

Even if I can't be number one, being number two is fine too, right?
Once upon a time, his focus was on Lingxi Island e-commerce, but seeing how successful and glorious Renren.com was after Wu Lingxi integrated it, he couldn't wait to come and seize power.

As a result, he completely shifted the focus of his career to Renren Group.

In less than a year and a half, it ended up like this?
Is Renren Group still Renren Group after selling Renren.com?

Once it's sold, all that's left is World of Warcraft.

The shareholders didn't give Liao Feng much time; just three days later...

As a shareholder representative, Miyazaki made a direct phone call to Liao Feng.

"Mr. Liao, all shareholders except you have unanimously agreed to sell Renren.com."

Liao Feng was furious.

I didn't say I disagreed; I just need to take it slow.

Are you all in such a hurry?

And, have you forgotten something?
To take revenge on Wu Lingxi!
Previously, everyone was united and determined to put pressure on the Lightning Group and force Lin Xiao to hand over Wu Lingxi.

What's the result now?
This is what Lin Xiao meant when he said that anger is worthless.

At first, anger might cloud judgment, with only revenge in mind. But as time goes by, preserving assets becomes more important.

The money lost every day is astronomical; time is truly precious.

Preserving assets is the most important thing.

Liao Feng: "Sell it, sell it."

Miyazaki: "We plan to have Mr. Xiong handle the negotiations."

IDG is an international giant with many assets in China, and it doesn't have the resources to waste on Renren Group. Therefore, it needs to act decisively and cut its losses as soon as possible.

Liao Feng: "Who are you going to talk to?"

Miyazaki: "Tencent, because it is also in the social networking field, Renren.com has the greatest value in its hands."

Liao Feng: "How much?"

Miyazaki: "I plan to ask for $2 million."

Liao Feng was speechless for a moment.

This price is definitely a loss, because Renren.com is the core asset of Renren Group and the part that has received the most investment.

From the merger of the two stations, to the first strategic move of CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, to the entry of celebrities, to Super Girl, to the second CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and then to the daily maintenance fees.

They literally burned money to drive traffic to its peak.

Even if it sells for two hundred million dollars, it will still be a huge loss.

But... if it really sells for $200 million, then all the shareholders will be popping champagne.

Although I will still lose money, at least I won't lose everything.

................................................

As partners, Mr. Xiong and Mr. Ma of Tencent are very familiar with each other.

"Two hundred million US dollars, a clearance sale at a loss." Boss Xiong couldn't help but say, "Lightning Group sold its mobile SP business alone for one hundred million US dollars."

Mr. Ma couldn't help but say, "Lin Xiao's assets are worth 100 million US dollars. It's not expensive because it's a high-quality asset that's likely to generate profit."

"Mr. Xiong, you know that you can't look at the cost when it comes to this kind of thing."

IDG's CEO, Mr. Xiong, certainly knew this all too well.

Regardless of the cost, the key to an asset is whether it is needed. If it is not needed, it is worthless.

From Renren Group's perspective, the only company that needs Renren.com is Tencent, because Tencent is the dominant player in the social networking field.

Mr. Xiong: "To be frank, Renren.com can be your biggest weapon to counterbalance the Lightning Group, allowing you to attack or defend as needed."

Tencent and Lightning Group still have a very good working relationship.

Although Lightning Group has created YY Voice, it has not shown any signs of expansion or any intention to offend the social software industry.

The most crucial point is that Tencent doesn't lack traffic, but it lacks profitability.

With QQ as its largest traffic portal, Tencent has always been a true traffic behemoth, but the challenge lies in monetizing that traffic into money.

Previously, they could make a lot of money from mobile service providers, but the policies of mobile operators are becoming increasingly strict, and Tencent has begun to focus on new revenue streams.

When Future Mobile proposed an unequal treaty, Tencent was the most resolute and decisive, directly severing the large-scale cooperation between the two parties.

However, purchasing Renren.com would mean redundant traffic generation.

It won't bring any incremental benefits; at most, it can serve as a defensive weapon.

Moreover, Tencent's current strategic focus is on shifting towards gaming, and if it acquires Renren.com, it will need to continuously invest in it.

Of course, if Lightning Group were to engage in a major battle with Tencent, then acquiring Renren.com would be absolutely necessary.

A moment later, Lin Xiao received a phone call.

"Mr. Lin, YY Voice is doing very well lately, with its user base exceeding ten million," Mr. Ma said with a smile.

Lin Xiao: "Compared to QQ, it's a drop in the ocean. And it's highly unlikely that it will transform into a true instant messaging platform."

The meaning is clear: we currently have no intention of entering the instant messaging field. But if Tencent buys Renren, then a major battle between us is inevitable.

Then we'll have no choice but to switch YY Voice to instant messaging. Even if we can't beat QQ, we'll make you pay a huge price.

Mr. Ma: "Understood."

Although the two didn't fully discuss their relationship, Lin Xiao's reputation remains impeccable to this day, and he almost always keeps his word.

..........................................

IDG's CEO Xiong has returned to Renren Group.

"Tencent won't buy it, not even a bargain, they just won't buy it."

The entire Renren Group shareholder group was once again devastated.

If Tencent doesn't buy it, then we're in trouble.

Not only does it cost a lot of money to buy this thing, but the key issue is that it requires continuous investment afterward.

Moreover... as long as Renren.com is acquired, it will inevitably become an enemy of the Lightning Group.

How to do?
Now that everyone is of one mind, we definitely have to sell it.

People are no longer willing to spend money on this track that they are destined to lose.

Next, Renren Group contacted many other companies.

Since Tencent wouldn't buy, they set their sights on Sina, because they have the money, with annual revenue already approaching $200 million.

Moreover, since the obsolescence of portal websites is now an inevitable fact, and Web 2.0 has been proven to be the future of the Internet, Sina is also actively transforming itself.

So, Mr. Xiong went to see Mr. Wang from Sina.

Mr. Wang was slightly tempted, because Sina is indeed embracing Web 2.0, but they already have their own direction and will launch Sina Blog in the next few months.

Renren.com is indeed attractive to them.

However... the cost of buying it is too high, and the future costs will also be too great.

The key is to be an enemy of the Lightning Group.

In this arena, Renren Group has already gone all in, but it still can't beat Facebook, and even after Sina Group was acquired, it still can't beat them.

The key question is how long can the revenue from mobile SPs be sustained? Even if Sina has the money now, it doesn't want to make such a large-scale investment.

Thus, Renren Group suffered another defeat.

................................................

"Such a high-quality asset, such a high-traffic website, how come it can't be sold?"

Liao Feng suddenly asked, "Should we buy from Yingke?"

Miyazaki: "Yingke will definitely not buy it. They are more pragmatic. They will either buy something very cheap or something that can make money. Renren.com is a typical example of an internet company with heavy assets, so they will definitely not buy it."

Chen Yizhou: "Traffic volume is still declining, it's decreasing every day."

"Facebook is likely experiencing a surge in traffic every day."

By this time, Happy Farm had completely broken out of its niche, and the "stealing vegetables" phenomenon had become incredibly popular.

However... he missed the battle.

Because before Lin Xiao could even show off his skills in stealing vegetables, he had already won.

As a result, the entire situation reached a complete stalemate!

It's been on sale for over half a month now, and not only has no one bought it, but no one has even tried to bargain.

It's like this heavy asset is about to become a complete liability in their hands.

Liao Feng is particularly strange today.

His eyes were bloodshot, he looked slightly crazy, and he seemed to have been drinking.

Their gazes were almost predatory.

Moreover, his eyes kept flickering, as if he were making a final decision.

"Renren.com's price is dropping every day, exceeding ten million RMB daily. I've already tried offering 10 billion RMB, but still no one is willing to take it over."

"We really can't delay any longer; the longer we wait, the less valuable it will become," the shareholders discussed amongst themselves.

Suddenly, Liao Feng slammed his hand on the table.

The entire room fell silent, all eyes turning to him.

Liao Feng slowly said, "Right now, there is only one person who has the ability and the willingness to buy Renren.com."

"That's Lin Xiao from the Lightning Group!"

"That's the Lightning Group, and that's Lin Xiao!"

"Let him buy Renren.com and then merge it completely with Facebook!"

I am!

That would be an utter disgrace!
He ruined us, he made us suffer so much, and now we're begging him to buy Renren.com?

Why would you offer yourself up to be humiliated?

This...this is surrendering on your knees.

Mr. Liao, weren't you the one who cared most about your reputation before? Weren't you the one who cared most about winning or losing against Lin Xiao? When did you come to your senses?

but……

After a long while, everyone fell silent.

Because this is indeed the solution.

Mr. Xiong said, "I agree with this resolution."

Then, he simply raised his hand.

He just wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible and then get busy with other things; he didn't want to waste time on this.

Immediately afterwards, the other shareholders raised their hands in agreement.

This most outrageous resolution was passed in the shortest possible time, which just goes to show that money can make the devil turn the millstone.

..........................................

Liao Feng shaved his beard, changed into a suit, and led his team into the Lightning Group's office building.

Then, the two sides held talks.

Liao Feng: "President Lin, we are willing to sell Renren.com to Lightning Group for two hundred million US dollars."

"In exchange, we agreed not to pursue Wu Lingxi's responsibility and were willing to tacitly approve her becoming the head of Facebook overseas."

"Mr. Lin, you've won. I'll settle this once and for all!"

Two hundred million dollars? Are you kidding me? Lightning Corporation may be rich, but it's not going to burn money like that.

Lin Xiao slowly said, "President Liao, my purchase of Renren.com is completely redundant and meaningless."

Liao Feng: "You acquired Renren.com and then merged it, resulting in a total of over 100 million registered users. This is a huge symbol of victory."

Lin Xiao: "The so-called 100 million registered users are mostly duplicates. And this symbol of victory has no meaning for me."

"However, I am not interested in Renren.com, but I am interested in Renren Video."

Because Renren Video has a rich copyright library, and when Liao Feng bought these film and television copyrights, the price was very cheap. In a few years, he will make a fortune just from these copyright fees.

As you can see, although LeEco is paralyzed, thanks to the copyrights it had accumulated, the remaining LeEco employees are still doing quite well.

Liao Feng: "We don't sell them individually. If you want to buy, you have to buy the entire Renren website. How much are you willing to pay?"

Lin Xiao poured the other person a cup of tea, then smiled and said, "Two hundred million RMB!"

"This is the price I paid for Renren Video, and even if you were to sell me the entire Renren website, it would still be the same price!"

Hey!
Deceiving too much!

I asked for two hundred million US dollars, and you bargained down to two hundred million RMB?
Even killing someone by destroying their spirit shouldn't go this far.

Liao Feng said slowly, "What you said before was right. Anger is worthless as long as it can still be sold."

"Compared to taking revenge on Wu Lingxi, everyone wants to recover this investment as much as possible."

"So I came here as a defeated general to sue for peace, and even to accept this great humiliation."

"However, there is a saying that goes, 'Enough is enough.'"

Lin Xiao: "President Liao, I didn't mean to humiliate you. I really only want Renren Video, and I can only offer 200 million."

"And I believe that no one outside can offer more money than me."

In 2009, Shanda wanted to acquire LeTV, offering 300-400 million yuan. Jia Yueting's side insisted on 600-800 million yuan, and the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war, ultimately failing to reach an agreement.

So Shanda turned around and bought Ku6.com for $44 million, even though Ku6 was already listed in the United States at the time.

Therefore, in 2005, Lin Xiao's offer of 200 million RMB to buy Renren Video was definitely a high price.

However, looking back a few years later, this price seems very reasonable.

Liao Feng: "President Lin, even a cornered beast will fight!"

"Don't push us to the brink, or it will lead to a lose-lose situation."

"You should know that I have a fatal weakness in your hands, but I didn't use it before because of political reasons."

"But if you push us to the brink, then I'll have no other choice."

Lin Xiao slowly said, "Oh? A fatal weakness? I'm quite curious."

"But I still want to say that I may have flaws, but I have never had any fatal weaknesses."

"I don't care about the fish dying and the net breaking, and besides, even if the fish dies, the net may not break."

"Mr. Liao, two hundred million RMB, that's my final price!"

"If you're willing, we'll make a deal. Once I buy Renren Video, I'll shut down Renren.com and make it disappear."

"If you don't accept, then I'm sorry, the door is right over there!"

....................................

Note: I've been having terrible insomnia lately. Please let me get a good night's sleep tonight! Any benefactors with monthly passes, could you spare me a few to help me fall asleep? Thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)