Restart life

Chapter 454 0444 [New Game Closed Beta]

Since Liu Qiangdong couldn't get any benefits from the old shareholders, he could only try to find a solution from the new shareholders.

Ultimately, Tiger Fund agreed.

Tiger Global's $1.5 million investment resulted in shares that were all convertible redeemable preferred stock.

In other words, these shares enjoy various preferential rights, and even in JD.com's bankruptcy, they were liquidated first. However, they have almost no daily voting rights—unless they fall under the stakeholder clauses in the supplementary terms.

To put it bluntly, Liu Qiangdong wants absolute control over his company.

The original shareholders were also invited to discuss the matter, and they all agreed that they did not want to continue entangled with Liu Qiangdong.

Chen Guiliang's Xiyi Investment Company also invested an additional $1500 million in JD.com, and the newly acquired shares are also "convertible and redeemable preferred shares".

"How long do you think JD.com can burn through this $1.65 million?" Chen Guiliang asked with a smile.

Lu Zhihui shook his head: "I can't explain it. I've never seen a company that burns through money like this before."

Chen Guiliang said, "I estimate it will burn for at most a year and a half."

“But he spent it very wisely, using it all where it mattered most,” Lü Zhihui said. “JD.com’s performance this year was simply astonishing, and it has completely transformed itself successfully.”

More than 60% of Chen Guiliang's HarmonyOS A1 phone sales come from the official HarmonyOS flagship store on JD.com.

Incidentally, there is currently only one third-party store on JD.com, namely Chen Guiliang's HarmonyOS official flagship store.

JD.com originally planned to open its online store to third-party brands in the fourth quarter of 2010. It was only after Chen Guiliang, using his position as a shareholder, personally negotiated with Liu Qiangdong that JD.com agreed to open a flagship store for HarmonyOS.

The success of HarmonyOS phones has given Liu Qiangdong a sense of potential, and he is about to officially open up the platform to third-party users—more than six months ahead of the original timeline!

Chen Guiliang said, "ByteDance should issue new shares. How many do you think would be appropriate?"

“That depends on what President Chen thinks,” Lu Zhihui said with a smile. “To put it bluntly, President Chen, you are actually the same kind of person as Liu Qiangdong. You have a perverse desire to control the company.”

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "You're absolutely right."

With the rapid growth of ByteDance's Weibo platform, its monthly profitable financial reports, and the outstanding performance of its subsidiary HarmonyOS, ByteDance's stock price has soared in the past two or three months.

It has now risen to around $31!

Of course, it is still far behind Baidu, whose stock price has been rising for more than a year.

Baidu underwent a stock split last year (1-for-10), and the adjusted stock price reached $41 in January. Now it has risen to nearly $60.

Baidu's stock price recently surged again because Google withdrew from China.

No matter how much Chen Guiliang dislikes Baidu, he has to admit that Baidu has drawn more attention from American investors to Chinese concept stocks. ByteDance is one of the beneficiaries.

Chen Guiliang then asked, "How are your search for map companies going?"

Lu Zhihui said, "Amap and NavInfo are out of the question. The prices are just too high, and they might not even be willing to sell."

“Kailide is a good company, with a high market share in the car navigation market. It is relatively small in size, has excellent profitability, and also has a Class A surveying and mapping qualification. However, it is profitable on its own, so the acquisition price will not be cheap.”

“Lingtu Software also has a Class A surveying and mapping qualification, but the market is showing signs of fatigue, and revenue is declining year by year. I feel that their management is at a loss. If we acquire this company, we may need to replace the management. Its founder has a background in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the company shares also contain a small amount of state-owned capital. I suggest that we do not replace the management for the time being, but instead provide them with a clear development strategy.”

“Changdi Wanfang belongs to the national team and is a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping. If Mr. Chen has connections, he could try to acquire it.”

"besides……"

Lu Zhihui had done his homework thoroughly and knew these companies like the back of his hand.

Although HarmonyOS phones come pre-installed with ByteDance Maps, the data for this map software comes from NavInfo.

NavInfo also provides map data to Baidu and Tencent.

If the CEO of NavInfo suddenly goes crazy one day, map software from companies like ByteDance, Baidu, and Tencent will have to be taken down.

Both Baidu and Tencent want to apply for surveying and mapping qualifications, but have been unable to obtain approval.

Chen Guiliang applied twice but then gave up, planning to directly acquire a qualified company and change its name to ByteDance Map Software Technology Co., Ltd.

"Let's contact Careland first and see if they're willing to be acquired," Chen Guiliang said.

Lu Zhihui said, "This is a rapidly growing company. Investing in it is easy, but acquiring it is difficult."

Chen Guiliang said, "Let's give it a try. Even if we can't make the acquisition, we need to have enough say in the shareholding. If all else fails, we can look for other targets."

Map software is very important; in the future, we can rely on it to develop various functions for other applications.

For example, WeChat's Shake feature.

With the rise of smartphones, map software will be used in more and more places. As long as the management is of sound mind, they can make a fortune just by providing LBS services.

The longer the delay, the harder it will be to acquire map companies with surveying and mapping qualifications, and the acquisition price will continue to rise.

Buying it now would be incredibly profitable.

……

Back at Peking University Science Park, Chen Guiliang went straight to Youke.

The closed beta test for *Oracle Era* begins today, with fifty players invited to our company for on-site testing. The main focus is on testing user experience, interface usability, and new player onboarding. Next, we will conduct remote closed beta testing, where hundreds to thousands of players will sign confidentiality agreements and play from their own homes. This will primarily test server load, performance compatibility, game balance, and various bugs.

"Mr. Chen!"

"Haha, Old Master Chen is here."

"Old Master Chen, I love you!"

"..."

GameTech set up a dedicated game testing lab, not located at GameTech's headquarters. These fifty players were there to sign confidentiality agreements; they were accommodated in a hotel and would be required to conduct tests in the lab for three days.

Youke only covered travel and accommodation expenses, without providing any testing compensation, yet countless players still rushed to sign up.

There are gaming experts and complete beginners.

Tao Xue applied to participate as a complete novice, purely for fun. However, she could represent the opinions of young women who don't play games much.

Tencent is already localizing League of Legends, and the next step is to apply for a game license from the State Administration of Press and Publication.

Whether it's Tencent's "League of Legends" or Youke's "Oracle Era", both have mature environments in mainland China this year.

Since last year, mainstream computers have been undergoing overall upgrades to their CPUs, memory, graphics cards, and hard drives. Mainstream internet speeds also fully meet the requirements for gaming.

The only headache is network stability, especially for Great Wall Broadband users. Sometimes the game runs very smoothly, and sometimes the latency is extremely high.

Chen Guiliang shook hands with dozens of players who participated in the test, and then chatted with Tao Xue: "Aren't you busy writing your graduation thesis? Why did you come to sign up for the game test?"

"I was so tired of writing my graduation thesis. I just got back from a field survey in Xihai," Tao Xue said, pointing to her face. "Look how rough my skin has become from all the wind and sun."

Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "She's naturally beautiful and hasn't become rough."

“Tch,” Tao Xue said, “I’m submitting my paper next week, and I’ve already revised it several times. I’m bored anyway, so I’m signing up for the test. I haven’t played games for months.”

Seeing the two chatting and laughing, other players began to speculate about their relationship.

As the players who participated in the test came downstairs one after another, Xu Fengyin floated over like a ghost: "President Chen has a lot of female confidantes."

Chen Guiliang said, "You've met her before."

“I know, she’s Mr. Tao’s sister,” Xu Fengyin said. “She’s been working really hard lately, so she’s coming with me to the movies this weekend.”

"Okay, I'll treat you to something." Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Xu Fengyin said irritably, "I don't need your reward. You're just here to keep me company and help me relax."

After chatting with Xu Fengyin for a few minutes, Chen Guiliang went to find Qu Guohao: "Hasn't the publishing license for 'The Oracle Era' been issued yet? Should I go to the publishing bureau myself?"

Qu Guohao said, "I made a phone call to sound them out, and it should be fine to get the publishing license before summer. The reviewers at the State Administration of Press and Publication are indeed very busy."

The State Administration of Press and Publication strengthened the game license system at the beginning of last year, and further clarified the division of authority with the Ministry of Culture at the beginning of this year. A large number of games are waiting for review and license issuance, and the relevant personnel are working themselves to the bone; in this situation, further urging is largely useless.

Qu Guohao said in a low voice, "I received some uncertain news. It seems that Director Kou is going to be reassigned. Maybe...maybe, he won't be in charge of online games anymore."

“It’s normal. He’s been doing this for so many years, it’s time for him to be promoted,” Chen Guiliang said.

Qu Guohao said, "A promotion is definitely in the making, but whether it's a high one or not is hard to say. The State Administration of Press and Publication and the Ministry of Culture have had such a falling out, it seems that the higher-ups are angry... Of course, it's all just rumors."

"Don't talk nonsense," Chen Guiliang warned.

Qu Guohao said, "I'm not stupid. I was just chatting with you for a few minutes. How could I dare to go around telling everyone?"

Chen Guiliang nodded: "Let's take it one step at a time."

Chen Guiliang also drove to the game testing lab, intending to personally try out Youke's game, which is comparable to "League of Legends".

There are currently only 30 heroes, half of which are based on design ideas provided by Chen Guiliang.

Although Garen from League of Legends hasn't been released yet, he's almost here. The corresponding hero in Oracle Era has been completely revamped.

Chen Guiliang changed his profession to sword cultivation.

Flying on a Sword: Removes the slowing effect on yourself, increases your movement speed, and then shoots a flying sword to silence the opponent.

Sword Aura Protection: Gain a shield, reduce damage taken, and stack dual resistances upon killing a unit.

Sword Sweep in All Directions: Summons eight flying swords that rotate around the user to injure enemies.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to One: Ultimate Move. Thousands of flying swords merge into one, falling from the sky to kill the enemy.

The background setting for this thing is that it's a sword-wielding mode created by the hero, and features like sword flight are still under development. For now, it can't fly very far, focuses primarily on melee combat, and is positioned as a tank.

The 50 players each found a computer and sat down. They didn't immediately start playing against each other, but instead completed the tutorial missions first, and then played against the AI.

Chen Guiliang stood behind Tao Xue: "Write down any parts that you find inconvenient to operate in your notebook."

“Yes, I know.” Tao Xue started registering a game ID called “Old Ancestor Chen is a Big Bad Guy”.

(End of this chapter)