The world is in trouble

Chapter 266 A Big Day! A Huge Success!
Lin Xiao finally arrived at the company at 10:30 p.m.

Just like her habits back home, Wu Lingxi treated the company as her home and bought a suite upstairs.

"Just this?" Lin Xiao asked, puzzled.

In the lavish living room, candles were lit, and each person had a plate of pasta.

"I originally wanted to pan-fry steak, but it's bound to get stuck in your teeth, which is a bit unseemly." Wu Lingxi: "It's good enough to have something to eat, why ask for so much?"

After the two finished their pasta, she brought out a cake, a very small one.

A candle was lit on top, and after blowing it out casually, each person ate half of it, finishing it in two or three bites.

Then, she went into her room.

About twenty minutes later, she came out of the room, wearing a beautiful dress and light makeup.

A CD was put on, and music filled the house.

She pulled Lin Xiao up and made him dance softly in the living room.

Her whole body carried a faint, captivating fragrance.

"Have you still not won over those two girls?"

Lin Xiao: "It won't happen that quickly. Things will work out if we take our time. We need time."

Wu Lingxi: "Where did your courage go when you sexually harassed me? I thought you were a radical, but I didn't expect you to be a conservative."

That's not me at all.

Lin Xiao: "In terms of writing, I am incredibly fierce."

Of course, he couldn't say that the person who had been flirting with him was Xia Xi, otherwise, given the woman's personality, she would definitely get angry and embarrassed.

Wu Lingxi: "In Hong Kong, capital is paramount, so things are much better in this regard."

"But in the end, worldly rules can still be overturned, but you always think of it as harmless, so it will eventually take time."

"You're still incredibly arrogant."

"But for me, feelings are optional."

Lin Xiao: "You're a monster, how can they compare to you?"

Wu Lingxi: "I only have impulses, not emotional needs."

"Our All-America Campus Beauty and Handsome Guy Contest starts tomorrow and will last for about two months. Are you planning to go on stage at Facebook Night in America?"

Lin Xiao: "I'm not going!"

“I might not even be sitting down there.”

"I've said it before, Facebook in the US is yours, Facebook outside of East Asia is yours, and I'm not going to steal your thunder."

"I'm afraid you'll bite me."

Wu Lingxi sneered: "You're really boring in real life. You're not nearly as wild as you are in the text messages. You're so uninteresting."

She mocked Lin Xiao as she pressed herself against him, rubbing her body against his skin.

Then, she rested her face on Lin Xiao's shoulder and bit Lin Xiao's ear.

"You're up... You're quite fierce."

She even squeezed it together with her thighs, quite forcefully.

Her movements became more and more intense, and she suddenly bit Lin Xiao's ear.

It really bit hard.

It was extremely painful.

"It's midnight, my birthday's over, you can get lost..."

Then, she walked to the dining table, poured herself a glass of wine, lazily swirled the glass, and looked at Lin Xiao with a playful expression.

"This is your punishment."

"What I disliked most was your arrogant and thuggish attitude before."

"They flirt with me, harass me, without any bottom line."

"It's like they've got me cornered."

Lin Xiao raised his middle finger at her and then walked out the door.

As she reached the door, Wu Lingxi suddenly called out, "Lin Xiao."

Lin Xiao stopped and turned around.

Wu Lingxi ripped off the shoulder strap, revealing a snow-capped mountain.

He quickly ripped it off and then quickly put it back on.

From beginning to end, it takes no more than half a second.

The shape is indeed perfect.

"Get lost, get lost..." she waved her hand again.

After Lin Xiao left, she hummed a little tune, in a very cheerful mood, and went to her computer to continue working while holding a glass of wine.

………………

Inside a hotel coffee shop.

Susan Collins was holding a manuscript and waiting.

She is in her thirties this year, mature and beautiful.

"Forest……"

"This is a gift for you, since it's our second meeting." She handed over a gift box.

Lin Xiao: "Thank you."

He also placed a gift on the table.

“This novel was a tremendous challenge for me, but a huge breakthrough for my career.” Susan Collins: “I’ve been writing children’s plays and children’s literature for over a decade, and the feeling is indescribable.”

"Your book, The Graveyard Book, has really inspired me. It looks like children's literature, but it is actually very profound."

"Unlike my book, 'Chronicles of the Underground,' which is entirely aimed at children around ten years old."

Next, she handed the completed manuscript to Lin Xiao.

"I'll go back and check," Lin Xiao said.

Susan Collins: "You know what? I've actually watched almost all of your work recently, I mean the movies, of course."

"Then I have a question for you."

Lin Xiao: "Please speak."

Susan Collins: "What do you think is the most fundamental difference between Chinese and American films and television dramas?"

Lin Xiao thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "I can't think of anything."

The other party was taken aback.

She originally thought Lin Xiao would say that one was flamboyant and the other was reserved, or that one was individualistic and the other was collectivist, and so on.

Lin Xiao: "If you want to talk about the differences in culture, the differences in writing, or even the differences in the core of civilization, I can tell you."

"But if you ask me what the essential differences are between Chinese and American films, I feel like I can say a lot, but it's hard to get to the heart of the matter."

Lin Xiao: "Of course, the most important thing is that, at least for me now, I am more inclined to pursue the similar parts rather than the special parts."

"For popular culture products, I try to make them similar at first, and then gradually make them unique."

Susan Collins: "You're really not what I imagined, you know? In America, almost everyone wants to express their uniqueness, to be one of a kind, as if they were born different. You're the only one talking about pursuing the greatest similarity. You're so ambitious."

“This is the attitude of a conqueror, Mr. Lin Xiao.”

Lin Xiao: "Whether it's an individual or a nation, it's certainly good, very good. Otherwise, the world would be too mundane and lack diversity."

"Whether in business or art, even the most obscure works will strive to explore some commonality deep within everyone's heart."

Susan Collins: "Do you consider yourself unique?"

Lin Xiao: "Perhaps I am walking on a unique path. This may be a result, but not the essence. Whether it is talent, ability, or personality, I am far from unique. There should be many people similar to me, but they are not walking on my path."

Susan Collins: "You are very, very wealthy, even in the United States, you are among the very, very successful. You even control a business empire, but you recently gave it up. Why is that? What gave you such great courage to give up such great power?"

Lin Xiao: "Susan, are you a reporter?"

Susan Collins: "No, no, because I'm a writer, I love studying people too much. Did my question offend you?"

Lin Xiao: "I think that no one in this world would willingly give up their power and wealth entirely on their own initiative."

Susan Collins: "And what about the Duke of Windsor?"

Lin Xiao: "Losing the throne was the price he paid for his indulgence, not a voluntary one."

Susan Collins: "And you?"

Lin Xiao: "I'm doing this to pursue a higher goal."

Susan Collins: "Now, I might be a little offensive with this next question."

Lin Xiao: "Go ahead."

Susan Collins: "You think that, purely from an aesthetic point of view, Asians and Caucasians..."

Halfway through her speech, she felt as if she had been a bit too outspoken, and that the topic even touched on racial discrimination, but she really wanted to discuss it.

"Okay, do you think aesthetics is subjective or objective...?"

She originally wanted to discuss whether white or Asian people are more attractive, but felt that the topic was a bit risky, so she shifted to the subjectivity and objectivity of aesthetics.

But this is a debate topic that has been around for thousands of years, and there has been no conclusion after thousands of years of discussion.

Moreover, both sides have a large number of experts on their respective positions.

Lin Xiao: "I think it's objective."

“Wow…” Susan Collins: “You know what? Your answer, in a sense, has already answered my potentially offensive question.”

"But I think that anyone who is objective is truly very powerful."

“It’s quite a coincidence, and I also think this is objective.”

"For example, many people say that white people cannot distinguish the appearance of Asians, as they all look similar. But in reality... that's not the case."

“At least I think you are very beautiful. Not only do I think so, but the waitress who served us coffee and the lady who just passed by also think so.”

"But if a certain degree of universality emerges in cognition, then it has a certain degree of objectivity."

"Can I express a very bold opinion?"

Lin Xiao: "Please speak."

Susan Collins: "I think that you Asians, people who are very, very good-looking, will have some features of Caucasians. Conversely, many very, very good-looking Caucasians will also have features of Asians."

"OK OK."

"That's enough. If I keep going, I might end up being sued."

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

Sure enough, the same event generated a much stronger response in the United States.

Facebook in the US has just announced a nationwide beauty pageant for college boys and girls, with the entire event costing $1.1 million.

Four hundred people will share a $2000 million prize pool.

The top-ranked school beauty will become the female lead in the movie "The Hunger Games," which will have a budget of $7000 million.

The number one heartthrob will become a co-lead in Breaking Bad, with a $20 million budget for the first season.

This announcement came out.

Instantly... the whole of America was in an uproar.

The speed at which it spread was much, much faster than in China.

Then, with almost no pre-event promotion, various media outlets flocked to the scene.

The first person surrounded for an interview was Amy Pascal, the president of Columbia.

"That's right, the female winner of the Facebook talent show will become the female lead in 'The Hunger Games,' a movie that doesn't even have a male lead."

"Acting skills? I have more faith in the judgment of American college students. Inner qualities, personality, and charm are more important. Acting skills can be trained."

"Many famous actors in Hollywood are not professionally trained."

"Turning an ordinary female college student into a superstar is an incredible challenge in itself, isn't it?"

Then, the number of registered users on Facebook in the United States grew at an absolutely phenomenal rate.

This growth rate is many times faster than that of Facebook in China.

Because the rewards were so generous, major television stations and media outlets were completely focused on it.

Of course, these media outlets have a mixed opinion about this competition.

Most media outlets believe that Sony and Columbia have fallen from grace, now serving an internet company.

An investment of $7000 million is still enormous. To make a movie specifically for a talent show completely goes against the spirit of Hollywood.

Internet forces should not excessively infiltrate Hollywood.

The quality of a film produced because of a glamorous event is predictable.

If the $7000 million came from Facebook, then Sony Columbia has sacrificed its own style for a production fee.

Various viewpoints were debated endlessly.

Meanwhile, The Faces, which was already embroiled in internal strife among its founders, immediately sensed trouble upon seeing Facebook's massive nationwide talent show in the US.

Then, they paused their internal strife and began discussing countermeasures.

The final result of the discussions was whether or not to hold a competition of the same level.

If that's the case, then it would require an investment of over 100 million US dollars.

Without a parent company, The Faces absolutely could not afford this amount of money.

Of course, Google can afford to pay that amount.

Zuckerberg immediately contacted Eric Schmidt of Google.

Google could easily come up with the money at that time, as its market value had already surpassed Yahoo's.

However, Zuckerberg backed down.

Because if Google puts up this money, it's considered an investment, and it will also take away most of the shares.

And most importantly, even if he were willing to give up a lot of shares and get more than 100 million US dollars, could he achieve the same effect as the Facebook talent show?

That requires in-depth cooperation with Hollywood.

Both Google and The Faces have historically had a relatively distant relationship with Hollywood.

As a result, the two sides held meetings and discussions continuously.

Moreover, they came up with a plan in the shortest possible time, and even found a rough script, whether it was a movie script or a TV series script.

They even found Hollywood film companies and television stations to collaborate with.

Only one question remained: whether or not to do it. And it was at this moment that The Hunger Games, published by Scholar Press, was officially released.

The authors are Er Gou Jiaozhu and Susan Collins.

This publisher primarily targets teenagers; the Harry Potter series is one of their publications.

Originally, this book was already a bestseller as soon as it was published.

And in this world, it's even more popular.

Because Facebook's nationwide talent search was in full swing, countless people had already heard of the book even before it was published.

Almost immediately after its release, it soared to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, the most authoritative list ever.

In the second week, they surged to first place!
And then... it never came down, it stayed at the top of the charts!
The Hunger Games became a very well-known IP in a very short time, which further boosted Facebook's nationwide talent show.

Meanwhile, The Faces and Google were still in a meeting discussing whether to hold a similar event to counter their attack.

but……

They gave up just two weeks later.

To follow suit now would be nothing more than a poor imitation.

The talent shows on Facebook are really taking off.

In just half a month since the campaign started, Facebook’s registered users in the United States have skyrocketed to four million!
It jumped directly from 200,000 to 4 million.

And it's still skyrocketing.

At the same time, sales of "The Hunger Games" also skyrocketed.

Susan Collins became incredibly famous because she was always the only one who came out to give interviews.

"I must clarify that I am not the first author of this book; the entire story was conceived by Lin."

"He was already a very good author; his Graveyard Book won the Hugo Award."

"The gunman is even less so."

“He was fully capable of writing this book better, but because the protagonist of this book is a girl, he needed a female perspective even more, which is why he found me.”

"The reason he came to me was because he had read my book, 'Chronicles from Underground,' which, God, is a children's book."

"Lin, you can openly admit that it's because of my beauty."

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

11 Month 11 Day!
The X Research Institute is officially established!

Actually, they had been working for almost two months, but today they chose this special day for the ceremony.

Perhaps in the future, this day will be quite significant!
Masayoshi Son, J.Y. Yang, Mengsong Liang, Warren East of ARM, Richard Templeton of Texas Instruments, and others were present.

Ambassador Zhou was even present at the scene.

The entire X Research Institute has 149 people.

More than 60 of them are Chinese.

These core Chinese members will return to China next year to establish the X Research Institute's China division.

Then, the two places began to exchange information intensively.

Lin Xiao did not give a speech, but instead let the various bigwigs speak.

"Lin, is this all you'll be doing from now on?" Masayoshi Son asked.

Lin Xiao: "Yes, for many years to come, it will be my only career."

Masayoshi Son, however, saw it as a money-shredding machine, which, despite having only a couple hundred employees, was burning through large amounts of US dollars every day.

Even for Masayoshi Son, who is extremely wealthy, it was a bit of a financial strain.

Because the previous investments in Lin Xiao quickly yielded returns, and even several times the initial investment.

The only exception is the X Research Institute, which requires continuous and constant spending.

“If only this X Research Institute could develop as rapidly as Facebook in the United States,” Masayoshi Son said. “Your choice is absolutely correct.”

Then, Masayoshi Son looked at Jerry Yang and said, "Yang, we've always said that the United States is the most mature and developed internet market in the world. But we need to change that statement, because Facebook in the US completely copied Facebook in China, and as a result, it achieved even easier success."

More than a decade later, the Chinese internet market will be the most competitive market ever. Those who win here are all monsters who dominate the global market immediately after going overseas.

After Ambassador Zhou finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted.

Then, everyone's eyes turned to Lin Xiao, the nominal dean.

"Do you want me to speak?"

"I wasn't prepared."

Lin Xiao stepped forward and looked at the one or two hundred people below, almost all of whom were PhDs.

"I don't know much about technology!"

"But I can see into the future."

"I can see five years from now, ten years from now."

"Perhaps I am a natural-born helmsman."

"Google is watching us, Microsoft is watching us, Nokia is watching us."

"Say hello to them, and salute them!"

Lin Xiao doesn't usually wear a hat, but he wore one specifically to take it off this time.

Facing roughly the direction of Microsoft, he removed his hat and gave a slight bow.

But everyone present knew that this was not a tribute, but more like the salute given by gentlemen before drawing their guns in a duel one or two hundred years ago.

Because this is America.

What we want is to be flamboyant, to embody individual heroism.

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

night!

Lin Xiao communicated with Richard Templeton of Texas Instruments.

Upon hearing Lin Xiao's request, the other party shook his head frantically.

"No, no, no!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Lin Xiao's request was simply absurd; he demanded that X Research Institute, Texas Instruments, and ARM collaborate to design a state-of-the-art chip for the next two years.

The requirements are to surpass Qualcomm's most advanced chip two years from now.

Moreover, it must be designed according to the 45-nanometer process specifications.

In addition, this chip must be supplied exclusively to Lin Xiao's mobile phone company and cannot be sold to other companies.

Furthermore, it is required to be able to drive a 480P high-definition screen.

And so on and so forth, a whole series of requirements.

“Mr. Lin, no one can meet your request. Texas Instruments will absolutely not accept such a condition.”

"In fact, you don't understand technology at all, and the requests you're making are very amateurish."

"First of all, TSMC, the most advanced foundry, only started trial operation of the 65-nanometer process this year."

"Secondly, no mobile phone has yet gone so far as to adopt a 720*480 resolution screen."

Lin Xiao knew, of course, that the screen resolution of the first-generation iPhone was only 480*320.

"Moreover, as far as I know, your mobile phone operating system is still in its infancy."

"But in your plan, this is a very large operating system, far exceeding the size of any other operating system on the market."

"And you also requested that a 500-megapixel camera be installed."

Do you know how crazy all these demands are?

“Your mobile phone brand is still just a concept, and you haven’t even started a factory yet, but you’re making such high demands on us.”

Lin Xiao slowly said, "I will purchase more than five million."

Richard Templeton's voice suddenly stopped, and he felt even more strongly that the person in front of him was a madman.

Your phone is just a concept right now, you don't even know what brand it is, you're starting from scratch, yet you want to purchase five million units?

This means that the first phone you produce needs to sell more than five million units.
How much investment is needed?

How much risk is involved?
But... for Texas Instruments, this deal is quite interesting, even very interesting.

That's an easy deal, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Texas Instruments' revenue for the entire year is less than three billion US dollars.

Most importantly, he now clearly sees that the entire mobile phone industry is upgrading. Texas Instruments was quite strong in the 2G era, but it has gradually fallen behind. It can no longer survive without transformation and upgrading.

The key is that upgrading and transforming requires a lot of money and costs, and it's still unknown whether it will be successful.

Now Lin Xiao has given a very simple and straightforward goal, which... isn't that a direction?

The key point is that the other party is willing to pay, greatly sharing this cost.

“Mr. Lin, your demands are still too outrageous.” Richard: “But I am still very interested in our cooperation, and I need to go back for a meeting to discuss it.”

"In addition, I also hope to have a thorough discussion with your team to come up with a more realistic goal."

"Today we also have experts in the chip industry and senior executives from TSMC. You can also communicate with them."

………………

Lin Xiao then began to travel around again, only to encounter setbacks everywhere.

The next major trip is to Japan, to customize mobile phone screens and cameras.

Lei Jun and Luo Yonghao have both said that when they were making mobile phones, they were practically begging and pleading with the supply chain.

Lin Xiao's starting point was already very high because of his very close relationship with Sony Entertainment.

Therefore, when he went to Sony Electronics, he received VIP treatment.

However, when he made his request, he was still treated rather rudely.

The electronics industry is changing rapidly.

The other party meant that you can use whatever products we have available.

Why are you making this request now?

Moreover, the demands you're making now are rather unrealistic.

However, for Lin Xiao, all he wanted was for his product to have specifications that surpassed those of the first-generation iPhone when it was released.

Otherwise, what's the point?
From today's perspective, it seems very difficult.

Historically, it's not actually that difficult, because the industrial chain develops very quickly, and it does require a forward-looking perspective on products.

In 2008, the specifications of the first-generation iPhone were already considered outdated.

Whether it's screen resolution or phone camera, etc.

The iOS system is so excellent that other brands can only pile on specifications.

Moreover, the key point is that everyone starts from the same point, so stacking parameters is really useful.

After leaving Sony Electronics, Lin Xiao visited Sharp and reached the same conclusion: the resolution of Sharp's mainstream flagship screen this year is 320*240.

The screen specifications Lin Xiao requested are certainly not impossible to make; they can definitely be produced.

But what about the cost? What about the purchase price?

Meanwhile, Li Shuang also flew to the United States.

She represented Dream Vision to promote their new TV series, "The Squid Game," in the United States.

The drama has already been filmed and sold to Japan and South Korea, but it hasn't aired yet.

The key market to promote is North America.

Chinese-language films are still achieving success in the North American market, but what about television dramas?

Absolutely not.

Let alone achieving success, even entering the North American market was extremely difficult.

It truly is a breakthrough from zero.

"Squid Game" is the first TV series from Fantasy Vision to be presented internationally.

Historically, this show even topped the charts in the United States!

Of course, this is related to Netflix itself; it was its original production, and Netflix was already very powerful at the time.

At that time, internet television was not yet widespread, and television networks still reigned supreme.

It's incredibly difficult for Li Shuang to get "The Squid Game" aired on a North American television network.

Even though one of the three major shareholders of Dream Vision is Sony Columbia.

But Sony doesn't control the TV network.

CBS, or Columbia Broadcasting System, is one of the three major television networks in the United States, with a national viewership of around 31%. However, it is no longer affiliated with Columbia Pictures.

At this time, Lin Xiao's mobile phone business was still in its infancy and facing numerous difficulties.

Li Shuang's promotion of TV dramas in the United States was basically the same.

Only Wu Lingxi's American Facebook account has made rapid progress and is thriving.

Many American media outlets exclaimed that they had never seen a website rise so quickly and so fiercely.

To be precise, they are not the same company.

It's two companies.

Alongside the meteoric rise of Facebook in the United States, YouTube video website has also experienced rapid growth.

…………

Lin Xiao continued to travel all over the world, even visiting Samsung. It should be noted that at that time, Samsung's mobile phone screens were not considered strong, and could not compare with Sony and Sharp.

Lin Xiao then visited various industry giants.

He almost earned the nickname "the whimsical madman".

Especially for the major mobile phone giants, there is even a deep sense of absurdity.

I was flying around for about a month.

December!
Lin Xiao had just returned to China and traveled from Hangzhou back to Linshan, where he appeared before Xiao Momo once again.

Because Bubble is about to give birth.

This was the first time Bubble had ever seen Lin Xiao like this.

His face was weathered and his beard was unkempt.

………………

Note: I don't know how many hours I've been writing, but I'm finally finished! If you have any monthly passes, could you please reward me with a few? Thank you so much!
(End of this chapter)