Chapter 521: A Long‑Planned Breakout

June 1, 2011, 38th floor, Shenzhen Wanxiang Dasha.

Outside the conference room's floor‑to‑ceiling windows, the outline of Fenghuang Mountain was faint in the morning mist. Eleven people sat beside the long conference table, each with a Fenghuang Fifth Generation phone in front of them, the screens lit, showing the same interface.

It was the internal test version of Fenghuang Broadcast.

Zhang Yuan stood in front of the projection screen, clutching a remote, his palms sweating. Three months ago, Li Yaozong said he would make a live streaming software. Three months later, that software was literally lying in everyone's phones.

"Mr. Li, everyone," Zhang Yuan began, his voice a bit tense, "the Fenghuang Broadcast internal test version ran successfully today."

He pressed the remote.

A live stream appeared on the big screen—a young girl speaking in front of the camera, comments continuously popping up below, and occasional gift effects floating across.

"This is our test anchor, in the third‑floor live studio of the Shenzhen R&D Center. The picture you see now has a 1.2‑second delay."

Li Yaozong stared at the screen, saying nothing.

In the video, the girl picked up a bag of snacks and shook it toward the camera. Three seconds later, a comment popped up: "Want to eat."

Two seconds later, a gift effect swept across the screen—a star, the Fenghuang Broadcast gift icon.

Li Yaozong watched the star and suddenly recalled the boot screen of the Fenghuang Phone ten years ago. It was the same star, rising from the bottom and hovering at the center of the screen.

He lifted his head.

"What capture does the anchor side use?"

Zhang Yuan switched to the technical page.

"The capture uses Camera2, native Android. But we performed deep optimization, making startup speed thirty percent faster than native and heat generation fifteen percent lower,"

He pointed to the data below.

"The beauty module directly uses Fenghuang Cut's algorithm. Twenty filters, five levels of skin smoothing, face slimming, big eyes, whitening—all supported."

Zhou Ye added from beside.

"Encoding uses H. 264 hardware encoding, directly supported by Fenghuang Chip No. 3. Power consumption is forty percent lower than software encoding, with no difference in picture quality,"

Li Yaozong looked at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng nodded.

"On the chip side, we tuned the hardware encoding module for three months. Now 1080P live streaming uses less than ten percent CPU."

Li Yaozong flipped to the next page.

The streaming protocol column read: RTMP as primary, SRT as backup, WebRTC for linked mic.

"How stable is the streaming?"

Zhang Yuan was already prepared.

"We deployed thirty test points nationwide, simulating various network conditions. In 4G, stutter rate is 0.3 percent. In Wi‑Fi, 0.1 percent. In weak networks, it automatically switches bitrate, dropping to a minimum of 480P to ensure no freeze."

Li Yaozong hummed.

Wang Bo opened his notebook beside him.

"Mr. Li, the ecosystem side is also almost ready,"

He recited a string of numbers.

"The first batch of contracted anchors totals 320 people: 120 talent type, 80 gaming, 70 lifestyle, 50 e‑commerce,"

"For creator revenue sharing, we set three tiers. New anchors, platform takes fifty percent. Over ten thousand followers, forty percent. Over one hundred thousand followers, thirty percent,"

"Payment system, Lin has already integrated it. Tips are credited in real time, withdrawals processed within twenty‑four hours,"

Lin Jiawen nodded beside him.

"Banking system integration is complete; peak capacity can handle ten thousand transactions per second. Tips, gifts, e‑commerce revenue sharing can all be settled in real time,"

Li Yaozong watched their reports one by one, his face expressionless.

After everyone finished, he finally spoke.

"What about live stream moderation?"

The conference room was quiet for a second.

Zhang Yuan cleared his throat.

"We have integrated a third‑party content moderation system. Image, voice, and text recognition, monitored in real time. Sensitive content is automatically cut off, with manual secondary review,"

He paused.

"The moderation team currently has thirty people, three shifts. It will expand later according to traffic,"

Li Yaozong stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, Shenzhen's sky was brilliantly blue. In the distance, the South Mountain R&D Center's building complex glittered in the sunlight.

He stood for a long time.

Then he turned around.

"June 18, go live."

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Yuan blurted out.

"Mr. Li, seventeen days left…"

"Enough," Li Yaozong said, "If we delay any longer, others will get ahead."

He walked back to his seat.

"On the promotion side, Fang Wenshan is already preparing. June 18, Fenghuang Broadcast will officially launch. Fenghuang Chat splash-screen ads, push notifications, creator mass messaging, all will be employed."

He looked at Zhang Yuan.

"Are the servers enough?"

Zhang Yuan nodded.

"Enough. We prepared one hundred servers, capable of supporting five hundred thousand concurrent users."

Li Yaozong shook his head.

"Not enough. Add two hundred more servers."

At 10 a. m. on June 18, Fenghuang Broadcast officially launched.

Li Yaozong sat in the office, staring at the real-time data on the computer screen.

At 10:01, the concurrent online count: 80,000.

At 10:05, the concurrent online count: 230,000.

At 10:10, the concurrent online count: 470,000.

Zhang Yuan's Telephone rang.

"President Li, the server load is a bit high. The online count is rising too fast."

Li Yaozong glanced at the data—580,000.

"Add another hundred servers."

"It's already being added. But scaling up takes time…"

"Then let them wait," Li Yaozong said, "The data must not crash."

At 11:00 sharp, the concurrent online count surpassed one million.

Li Yaozong stared at that number, silent for a few seconds.

Then he stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, Shenzhen's sky was still that blue.

One million.

This is only the beginning.

At 3 p. m., Fang Wenshan knocked and entered.

"President Li, the media has responded."

He placed the tablet on the desk.

The screen showed screenshots of several reports.

The first was from Ti Media: "Fenghuang Broadcast reaches one million concurrent viewers three hours after launch."

The second was from 36Kr: "Live-streaming Jianghu welcomes new players, can Fenghuang Broadcast break through?"

The third was from Tencent Technology: "Li Yaozong's live-streaming ambition: from chatting to selling goods, the ecosystem's closed loop begins to appear."

Li Yaozong read through them one by one.

Fang Wenshan said beside him.

"Overall it leans positive. But a few outlets are still watching, saying they'll write after the data stabilizes."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"That's normal."

He returned the tablet.

"Keep watching."

At 8 p. m., the first day's data came out.

Peak concurrent online: 1,730,000.

New registered users: 3,200,000.

Total live broadcast duration: 47,000,000 minutes.

Total gifts: 8,300,000 yuan.

Merchandise transaction amount: 12,000,000 yuan.

Li Yaozong looked at these numbers, not speaking for a long time.

Zhou Ye asked softly beside him.

"President Li, are these results… good?"

Li Yaozong gave him a glance.

"What do you think?"

Zhou Ye thought for a moment.

"Better than I expected."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Then that's good."

The next day, an incident occurred.

At 9 a. m., Fenghuang Broadcast's comment section was suddenly flooded with a large number of negative remarks.

"It freezes, three freezes in five minutes."

"The picture quality is as blurry as a mosaic."

"The host's speech and the video are out of sync, the experience is terrible."

Zhang Yuan rushed into Li Yaozong's office, flustered.

"President Li, someone is steering the rhythm."

Li Yaozong took the tablet and flipped through those comments.

The IP addresses were concentrated in a few locations, and the posting times were highly synchronized.

"Troll army," he said.

Zhang Yuan nodded.

"It must have been done by a competitor."

Li Yaozong returned the tablet to him.

"Is there really such a problem on the tech side?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head.

"No. The data we monitor shows a lag rate of 0.5%, an average bitrate of 1,500 kbps, and audio‑video sync error under 50 ms."

Li Yaozong stood up.

"Then let the data speak."

He walked to the window.

"The tech department should issue a notice and post the real data. No need to delete comments; let users judge for themselves."

At 2 p. m., the technical notice was released.

Concurrent‑user data, lag rate, average bitrate, audio‑video sync error… all were made public.

The comment section's tone began to shift.

"I just used it for a day and never experienced lag."

"The picture quality is pretty good, clearer than the neighboring service."

"Those who complain about lag, are they on a 2G network?"

At 8 p. m., the next day's data came out.

Peak concurrent users: 2.11 million.

New registered users: 2.80 million.

Total tips: 9.6 million yuan.

Live‑commerce transaction volume: 15 million yuan.

Zhang Yuan looked at the numbers and let out a sigh of relief.

"President Li, stay steady."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"This is only the beginning."

On the third day, Fang Wenshan brought news.

"President Li, people from Taobao have contacted us."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"What is it?"

"They want to discuss cooperation. Integrate Taobao's products into Fenghuang Broadcast so hosts can sell Taobao goods directly in the live room, with revenue sharing proportionally."

Wang Bo's eyes lit up beside him.

"It's a good opportunity. Taobao's supply chain, our traffic—a win‑win."

Li Yaozong was silent for a few seconds.

"What are the terms?"

Fang Wenshan opened his notebook.

"They proposed two conditions. First, transactions must use Taobao's payment system, not Fenghuang Payment. Second, they take 70% of the commission, we get 30%."

The conference room fell silent.

Wang Bo's smile vanished.

"This isn't cooperation; it's a takeover."

Li Yaozong stood up.

"Reply to them: we won't cooperate."

Fang Wenshan was momentarily stunned.

"President Li…"

"We have our own payment, logistics, and merchant resources," Li Yaozong said. "Why should we make a wedding dress for them?"

He looked at Fang Wenshan.

"Tell them, if they want to cooperate, they must follow our rules: use Fenghuang Payment and split revenue 50‑50. If they disagree, that's that."

There was no further reply from Taobao.

But a week later, another company came knocking.

JD. com.

JD. com's people were much more straightforward than Taobao's. They sent a vice president named Liu, in his early forties, who spoke bluntly.

"Mr. Li, we'd like to cooperate with Fenghuang Broadcast. Use your live streams to sell our goods. Payment can go through you, and the revenue share is negotiable."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Why approach us?"

President Liu smiled.

"Because you have many users. Three hundred million daily active users, more than all of JD. com's registered users combined."

He paused.

"Also, your live‑stream experience is excellent. I tried it myself: no lag, clear, smooth interaction."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"What are the terms?"

President Liu took a document from his bag.

"This is our draft cooperation plan. Transactions use Fenghuang Payment, revenue split 60‑40 in our favor—your side gets 60, we get 40. Goods are supplied by JD. com, logistics handled by JD. com, and after‑sales by JD. com."

Li Yaozong took the document and flipped through it page by page.

When he got to the end, he put the document down.

"Director Liu, we have approved this proposal."

He extended his hand.

"Pleasant cooperation."

Director Liu grasped his hand.

"Pleasant cooperation."

July 18th marked one month since Fenghuang Broadcast went live.

The data summary was placed on Li Yaozong's desk.

Peak concurrent online users: 4.23 million.

Cumulative registered users: 57 million.

Total live‑streaming duration: 1.2 billion minutes.

Total tips: 230 million yuan.

Merchandise transaction volume: 410 million yuan.

Li Yaozong stared at the numbers and remained silent for a long time.

Then he picked up the Telephone and dialed a number.

"He Xiao, get the car side ready. Next month, host a live broadcast on Fenghuang Broadcast."

He Xiao was momentarily stunned on the other end of the Telephone.

"Live broadcast? Selling cars?"

"Right," Li Yaozong said, "let the users watch the car drive, watch it stop, watch it drive itself. Watch closely, then place an order directly."

He Xiao was silent for a few seconds.

"Will this work?"

Li Yaozong smiled.

"We'll know once we try."

August 18th, Wanshang Automotive special live broadcast.

He Xiao appeared on camera personally.

In the live room, a Fenghuang Smart Car was parked on the test field. He Xiao got into the driver's seat, pressed the autonomous‑driving button. The steering wheel turned on its own, and the car slowly drove out of frame.

Comments flooded the screen.

"Whoa, really no hands needed?"

"How much is this car?"

"Can it park automatically? My wife needs that."

He Xiao answered each question to the camera, one by one.

"Price: 188,000. Intelligent driving standard, automatic parking standard, automatic braking standard."

"Order now and receive three years of free maintenance."

"Those who order in today's live room get an extra 5,000‑yuan charging card."

Two‑hour live stream, 3,700 orders.

Transaction volume: 690 million yuan.

After the broadcast ended, He Xiao gave Li Yaozong a call.

"Li, it's done."

Li Yaozong held the Telephone, saying nothing.

Outside the window, Shenzhen's night was deepening.

In the distance, the lights of the Nanshan R&D Center resembled a field of stars.

He stood for a long time.

Then he hung up the Telephone and continued to look at the data report.

Fifty‑seven million users.

Four hundred million in merchandise sales.

This is only the beginning.