Chapter 272: 150,000 Employees? Just Getting Started! 1.5 Million Daily Orders, No Problem

Ten minutes later, Lei Yijun gritted his teeth and agreed.

"If it's too much trouble for Director Lei, we can skip cooperation." Chen Yansen chuckled.

"Not trouble at all. I have full faith in Orange Tech's R&D strength—licensing the SpeechAnalysis development platform's patents is absolutely worth every penny."

Lei Yijun rolled his eyes, his face twisted in pain.

Logically, with Xiaomi Tech's capital and technical reserves, plus recruiting a batch of engineers from Baidu, Google, and Microsoft labs, they could build their own R&D team and develop a smart voice system within a year or two.

But doing so would first miss the golden window of the smart voice market, and second, the performance of a self-developed voice system remains unknown.

Third—and most crucially—the algorithmic theories of 2012 were still immature, and talent in speech recognition, natural language processing, and speech synthesis was scarce.

Chen Yansen succeeded primarily through his own ability, and secondly by "conning" over a hundred top-tier programmers from Europe and America.

For example, Zhou Chuangxi, a protégé of the father of computer vision in the Lighthouse Nation, possessed extraordinary expertise in speech recognition and algorithmic modeling; Daniel was a legendary god of future AI voice technology, mastering every aspect from speech recognition tools to smart voice system development.

"I'm glad Director Lei is satisfied," Chen Yansen said lightly, smiling.

The two then set the signing date for the licensing contract and hung up quickly.

Lei Yijun believed that although the self-research path was difficult and time-consuming, he secretly decided to first establish a framework for an AI laboratory, launching smart voice system development while accumulating algorithmic technology in machine learning.

After dealing with Lei Yijun, Chen Yansen stood up and walked out.

"Boss!"

"Sen-ge!"

As he passed through the first-floor lobby, people kept greeting him—June's salary and quarterly bonus had both been credited, and everyone wore satisfied smiles.

"Huh? Sen-ge, are you heading back to school?"

Just outside the door, he ran straight into Wang Zihao, who was walking in.

Beside him stood a tall, fair-skinned girl with a pure, lovely face, wearing a red crew-neck short T-shirt and tight jeans that accentuated her slender, straight thighs.

On her feet were sandals, revealing plump, rounded toes.

"So she's here?" Chen Yansen frowned, glaring at Wang Ziyan.

"Ziyan's on summer break—Mom and Dad sent her to visit Xucheng for a few days," Wang Zihao grinned, answering honestly.

"I'll give you extra days off—take her to Shanghai, Beijing. What's there to do in Xucheng?"

Chen Yansen shook his head, speaking casually.

After saying that, he was about to get in the car and leave, his gaze barely landing on Wang Ziyan the entire time.

"Chen Yansen, aren't you going to accompany me?" Wang Ziyan grabbed his arm, pouting in annoyance.

"Little brat, I'm busy," Chen Yansen wrenched free and slipped into the Bentley's driver's seat, speeding out of the tech park in a flash.

"Bro, Chen Yansen is such a jerk!" Wang Ziyan muttered under her breath.

"Sen-ge is just really busy. Don't treat us like kids anymore. Come on, I'll treat you to some cold drinks," Wang Zihao explained helpfully.

He then led Wang Ziyan to the tea room of Shangcheng.

The room spanned over eighty square meters, lined with refrigerators packed full of ice cream and drinks, every kind of snack available, and even a barista standing behind the counter.

A flicker of surprise passed through Wang Ziyan's eyes—she planned to eat several ice creams and get sweet revenge on Chen Yansen.

"I heard from Dad you're planning to skip grades?" Wang Zihao asked.

"Yeah, high school material is simple and limited—there's no point spending three years on it," Wang Ziyan replied as if it were obvious.

Simple? Limited content?

In an instant, Wang Zihao—the struggling underachiever who barely scraped into a second-tier university—was hit by a ton of emotional blows.

"So, have you decided which school to apply to?" Wang Zihao forced a laugh, changing the subject.

"Shanghai Jiao Tong or Huazhong University of Science and Technology—I haven't decided yet, but definitely not Tsinghua or Peking. Too dry, too far from home," Wang Ziyan answered.

It sounded like showing off, but given her consistent top ranking every year, it was simply stating facts.

Sigh. Same mother, same blood—why such a massive gap in intelligence!

Wang Zihao sighed inwardly.

"Bro, didn't you say Chen Yansen has a girlfriend? Can I meet her?" Wang Ziyan suddenly asked.

Which one do you want to meet?

Wang Zihao froze.

Meanwhile.

Chen Yansen returned to Room 0418, plopped onto the sofa, and summoned his system panel—June's Human Dao Fire value hit a new high: 177,049 strands, enough to synthesize 1,770 strands of Divine Dao Fire.

Yunsu Express, after absorbing personnel from Yunda and Zhongtong, now had 107,000 employees, with labor costs of 1.18 billion;

Orange Phone Factory employed 23,000 workers, with labor costs of 220 million;

KuaiPao had 11,000 employees, with labor costs of 140 million;

The remaining companies—Shangcheng, Gao De Maps, Orange Tech, Today Tech, Orange Pay, Kuaide Taxi, ByteDance—combined had 9,274 employees and labor costs of 230 million.

The total workforce under Senlian Capital's subsidiaries had reached 150,000!

Express delivery, food delivery, and ride-hailing—no doubt the industries providing the most jobs. Had KuaiPao and Kuaide Taxi not yet fully ramped up, employee numbers would have increased by another 100,000.

"Synthesize! Add points!"

Chen Yansen focused his mind, converting 177,049 strands of Human Dao Fire into 1,770 strands of Divine Dao Fire.

A vast, majestic golden mist suddenly materialized and shot instantly into his third eye.

Chen Yansen was already accustomed to the subtle changes during point-adding—his mind felt like soaking in a hot spring, exuding supreme comfort.

As he absorbed and digested the golden mist, the black hole visualization above his head grew increasingly bizarre, as if it were pulling in even the surrounding light.

Yet upon closer inspection, he decided it was merely an illusion caused by his surge in spiritual power.

Within mere seconds, his mental stat rose from 55.64 to 73.34!

His spiritual perception expanded further, stretching from over fifteen meters to over seventeen meters—every movement within the three-hundred-square-meter vicinity now lay under his control.

Chen Yansen waved his hand, and the refrigerator automatically opened; a dozen drinks floated in midair, and by rough estimate, his maximum object-control weight limit was around fourteen jin.

A significant improvement compared to May.

Chen Yansen focused his mind, and the drinks flew back into the cooling compartment; the refrigerator snapped shut with a "pā jī."

Seeing this, he couldn't help thinking: "In at most three months, my mental strength will break through 100—this damn system, what kind of talent will it grant me?"

Telepathy?

Mental control?

Or mental creation?

Chen Yansen squinted, faintly anticipating.

At that moment, Wang Zihao called to ask if he wanted to have lunch together—along with Wang Ziyan and Meng Jie.

"Shuangqing Restaurant? Too low-class! Go to the Sky Garden. Wait for me at the East Gate." Chen Yansen thought for a moment and agreed outright.

Wang Ziyan? Just a brat—no need to avoid her.

Shuangqing Restaurant? Too low-class!

Wang Zihao blinked in surprise, silently cursing: Damn Chen Yansen, he's got a girl and no loyalty—when we ate together before, you never said anything about low-class.

Meanwhile.

Beijing, Baidu headquarters.

"Out of money again? How did Cheng Wei manage this?" Li Yanhong showed surprise for the first time regarding the Didi project.

From late May to early July—less than forty days—Cheng Wei had burned through the 200 million yuan from Didi's Series C funding.

Yet Didi's operational coverage still only included Beijing, Changshan, and Tianmen.

The peak daily order volume was only 500,000!

At this expansion rate, Baidu would have to invest at least several billion yuan.

If Didi raises another round of funding, Baidu will become the largest shareholder.

"Boss, the ride-hailing industry is too money-burning. I heard Kuaide's marketing expenses are even worse—now it's just a race to see who cracks first."

Liang Zhixiang, Baidu's vice president, frowned as he spoke.

Li Yanhong winced and demanded: "Where's Cheng Wei's operational strategy? Just throwing money around?"

Liang Zhixiang sighed and remained silent.

True mastery appears foolish; real internet giants fighting are no different from elementary school kids brawling.

Without burning money, without price wars, will users follow you?

Tencent vs. 360, JD. com crushing Dangdang, Suning, Guomei, and Pinduoduo ganging up on JD. com, Yunsu versus the "Three Passes and One Reach"—all prove that price wars are the most effective business strategy.

This time, Li Yanhong's pace of spending slowed noticeably; after a moment's thought, he called Ma Wenteng.

"Pony, let's sit down and talk," Li Yanhong proposed.

Ma Wenteng adjusted his glasses and sneered inwardly—he didn't even want to respond to Li Yanhong.

Last month, Liu Zhiping had intervened to pause the subsidy war between Didi and Kuaide, but Li Yanhong insisted: "Keep fighting!"

Only a month passed, and now he's already giving up?

Ma Wenteng smirked and retorted: "Robin, you were the one who wanted to fight, and now you want to stop? Tencent holds little equity in Kuaide—I'm not in a hurry."

You're not in a hurry—I am!

Didi's current equity structure: Cheng Wei holds 40.3%, Baidu holds 40%; for every 10 million yuan lost, Baidu must pay 4 million.

From Cheng Wei's financial statements, Didi's daily subsidy cost has surged to 8 million yuan.

Though Baidu has money, he doesn't want to be a sucker.

Li Yanhong's face stiffened, but for his own interests, he patiently reasoned: "Pony, investment is about making money. Ride-hailing is an industry with extremely low gross margins—every 10 million yuan lost requires months of profit to offset. Keep fighting, and both sides will be ruined."

Hearing Li Yanhong's urgent tone, Ma Wenteng smiled slightly: "I can reach out to Chen Yansen, but I can't guarantee he'll agree."

Though Chen Yansen's net worth doesn't match his or Li Yanhong's, he controls Pinduoduo and Sister Chengzi Tech—two printing presses—so he's not short on cash and naturally has the capital to keep fighting.

"OK, Pony, thanks for your effort," Li Yanhong said.

From a business perspective, Ma Wenteng also hoped Chen Yansen and Cheng Wei would sit down—whether through merger or ending destructive ground promotions and subsidies—would benefit everyone.

As Li Yanhong said, investment aims for substantial returns, not for fighting.

Half an hour later, Chen Yansen received Ma Wenteng's call in the Sky Garden's private room.

"Peace talks? Brother Pony, I think the timing isn't ripe. Didi and Kuaide together cover less than 5% of the national market. What if another Tada Taxi emerges—do we talk again?"

Chen Yansen stepped out of the room and rejected Ma Wenteng's suggestion.

At least wait until Didi and Kuaide control one-third—or even half—of the national market.

Someone will crack first!

Compared to Li Yanhong, Chen Yansen isn't afraid of losing money; compared to the torch of the Dao, this money is nothing.

Ma Wenteng frowned slightly—he hadn't expected Chen Yansen to refuse—but after a brief pause, he understood Chen Yansen's meaning.

The market is too vast; Didi and Kuaide have captured too little. Even if the subsidy war paused, peace would last at most a month—then one side would inevitably crack and reignite the conflict.

"Alright, I understand. Notify me when Kuaide starts its Series B funding," Ma Wenteng replied.

In other words, Tencent would back him—even if Chen Yansen chose to burn cash to seize territory, Ma Wenteng was willing to invest more.

"Thanks, Brother Pony," Chen Yansen replied politely.

Li Yanhong soon learned the news: Senlian Capital rejected peace talks—the ride-hailing war must continue.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Wei felt deeply conflicted, but the intense competition left him no time to dwell—he turned back to drafting new marketing plans.

On July 4th, Kuaide expanded into Anci and Tang Cheng.

But Didi, lacking funds, could no longer curb Kuaide's expansion.

The question now facing Baidu, Gao Ling Capital, Today Capital, and Hillhouse Capital is: abandon Didi, or invest more?

For a moment, Li Yanhong hesitated.

Just then, the head of Junlian Capital, Zhu Nanli, took the initiative to find Cheng Wei and proposed leading the D-round financing of Didi Taxi.

This move greatly eased the pressure on Li Yanhong, Zhang Lei, and others; they all breathed a sigh of relief and agreed to follow the investment.

Cheng Wei understood that Didi Taxi had once again weathered a crisis, but the proportion of shares he held was also shrinking dramatically.

At this time, Kuaidi Taxi, relying on markets in Hangcheng, Jin Ling, Luzhou, Yanjing, and other places, pushed its daily order volume to 1.5 million orders, leaping to become the leader of the ride-hailing market.

On July 9th, Didi Taxi publicly announced that it would complete its D-round financing in mid-July, led by Junlian Capital, with Qiandu, Gao Ling Capital, Today Capital, and Haina Asia following, planning to raise 600 million.

Once the news broke, the gray-industry studios went wild with joy, and Brother Hui's Xiao Nai Niu short-order software sold another six copies that very day.

That afternoon, Kuaipao launched a "Group Buy" channel on both its PC and app sides, officially entering the group-buying field.

Meituan, Dianping, and Lashou were instantly panicked!

(End of this chapter)