Chapter 283: Chen Wei: Li Yanhong, this trash! Why hasn't the new version launched yet!

Beijing, No. 6 Jiuxianqiao Road, 360 Headquarters.

"Let him sue! The longer we drag it out, the more it benefits us!"

Zhou Hongyi said carelessly, his eyes slightly narrowed, a mocking smile hanging on his lips.

"Boss, currently 360 Search's market share is 10.34%, far exceeding Sogou Search's 7.09%; our growth mainly comes from Baidu and Google."

Chen Daofang, the R&D head of 360 Search, replied with a smile.

"How much did Google Search drop?" Zhou Hongyi pressed.

"Before August 3rd it was 5.61%, now it is 3.73%, a total shrinkage of 1.88%." Chen Daofang answered immediately.

"That is to say, 360 Search snatched 8.46% of the market share from Baidu? No wonder Li Yanhong can't sit still."

Zhou Hongyi grinned, his expression extremely smug.

"Lingxi Search's market share is around 3%, so Baidu Search's user churn rate exceeded 11%."

Chen Daofang added quite rigorously.

He had previously served as an algorithm expert at Baidu and knew Baidu's search engine technology very well; this was also the main reason 360 Search could easily crawl Baidu Knows, Baidu Baike, and Tieba data.

Facing his former employer, Chen Daofang held nothing back.

"Why doesn't Baidu send a lawyer's letter to Byte Technology? This is unfair!" Zhou Hongyi heard this, frowned, and cursed indignantly.

"Perhaps Lingxi Search's methods are more covert and did not hijack Baidu's traffic."

Chen Daofang thought for a moment and said.

To counter Baidu's ban tactics, 360 simply hijacked Baidu search results within the 360 Browser, showing users only 'web snapshots'.

Simply put, users could not even jump to Baidu's original pages.

This way, Baidu lost a portion of its external traffic sources; traffic equals ad revenue, so Li Yanhong naturally got desperate.

"Chen Yansen is indeed smart!" Zhou Hongyi shook his head and sighed with a look of helplessness.

This was equivalent to him and Chen Yansen stealing Li Yanhong's watermelons together; after being discovered, Li Yanhong beat him to death, while Chen Yansen stood aside eating melon like nothing had happened.

How could Zhou Hongyi's heart be balanced?

Actually, Li Yanhong had considered similar ideas, wanting to take Byte Technology to court as well, but Lingxi Search's offensive in the PC search field was not fierce and had not yet touched Baidu's limit of tolerance.

As for 360 Search, every move struck Baidu's vital points.

Cutting off someone's money is like killing their parents.

Once 360 Search's market share exceeds 20%, Li Yanhong will absolutely force users into a 'choose one of two' situation, pushing the 3B War into a grand showdown of 'use Baidu or use 360'.

It is nothing more than re-enacting the 3Q War!

At 9:30 PM, the US stock market opened.

Since Baidu Search's market share fell from 75.44% to 64.17%, Baidu's stock price plummeted; when it closed at 4 AM, it recorded the largest drop in nearly ten months, with a surge in decline reaching 7.1%.

360's stock price soared straight up, surging 17.6% in a single day.

Early the next morning, Li Yanhong arrived at the company; upon learning this news, he felt his eyes go black, and he, who rarely cursed, couldn't help but greet Zhou Hongyi's relatives and friends.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yanhong took out his phone and called Lei Yijun, Ma Wenteng, Zhang Chaoyang, and others, linking up all of Zhou Hongyi's 'enemies'.

However, Zhang Chaoyang refused the joint proposal, replying only: "Robin, Sogou remains neutral; come find me for a drink when you have time."

After speaking, he hung up the phone.

Li Yanhong let out a speechless laugh, but he did not truly take Zhang Chaoyang for a drunkard; he understood the other man's calculations, which were mostly to sit on the mountain watching the tigers fight and reap the fisherman's profit.

Although Sogou refused to join the fray, companies like Jin Shan and Penguin agreed very readily.

At 10 AM, the Baidu Security Alliance was established, declaring it would crack down on phishing websites.

Users using Baidu Antivirus, Penguin Manager, Jin Shan Guard, and other products were surprised to find that every time they cleaned ad plugins and system junk, a series of 360 products would be directly uninstalled.

Including the 360 Wallpaper software that was usually hard to uninstall completely!

Even the 360 Navigation set as the browser default would be marked as a dangerous website, prompting users whether to change the navigation to hao123.

Only then did users realize that the Security Alliance's target was actually 360.

At this moment, the internet users' words were truly apt: "Day after day shouting about user experience, saying users are your father, your mother, but when it comes to critical moments, you play with your father and mother!"

A ruffian fighting a hooligan; neither is a lamp that saves oil!

Obviously, Baidu and 360's practice of treating users like fools for commercial competition aroused the dissatisfaction of most people.

At this time, Zhang Yiming, in his capacity as Byte Technology CEO, accepted an interview with IT Era Weekly, first clearly expressing an attitude of 'not participating', and then promoting Lingxi Search.

In Zhang Yiming's words, Baidu was one monopoly, the other a hooligan, while Lingxi was different; it was a safe, clean, ad-free search engine product.

Zhang Yiming gave people the feeling of a non-competitive, product-focused technical CEO, instantly winning a huge wave of user goodwill.

But privately, Lingxi Browser's advertisements went crazy; on the homepages of 91 Assistant, Wandoujia, Yingyongbao, Xiaomi, and Sister Chengzi's Shangcheng, there were eye-catching posters everywhere.

In just two days, Lingxi Browser's download volume hit a new high; with nearly ten million new users, it pushed Lingxi Search's market share up another point.

"Tsk! This guy is truly shameless!"

After seeing Zhang Yiming's report, Zhou Hongyi almost laughed from anger; those who ignored the robots crawler protocol were not just 360.

The dirty deeds Lingxi Search did behind the scenes were no less than 360's.

So 360 is a hooligan, and Byte Technology is a white lotus?

Zhou Hongyi immediately wanted to start blasting, but after a moment's thought, since 360 Mobile's development still relied on Sister Chengzi Technology, he could only force his anger down.

Seeing this, Li Yanhong hesitated for a long time, unable to make up his mind to formally attack Senlian Capital.

To put it plainly, Baidu has a competitive relationship with Senlian Capital in the electronic map navigation and ride-hailing industries; but in the information distribution and mobile app pre-installation tracks, the two are in a cooperative relationship.

If Baidu suppresses Senlian Capital as well, it will immediately push the other party into the 360 camp.

Furthermore, Sister Chengzi Mobile's shipment share in the domestic smartphone market is about 25%; if it tears up relations with Chen Yansen, Baidu's mobile traffic will decrease by more than 20%.

This is extremely unfavorable for Baidu's strategic implementation of seizing the mobile internet entry point!

In addition, Chen Yansen's relationship with Lei Yijun, Ma Wenteng, and others is quite close, whether in private friendship or business cooperation.

If the gun barrel were pointed at Senlian Capital, the Security Alliance might just be disbanded.

After weighing the options, Li Yanhong made up his mind: take down 360 first, then deal with the rest.

Meanwhile. In Xucheng, at the Zhuxianzhuang Technology Park, inside the conference room on the top floor of Building Eight.

Chen Yansen sat by the tea table, boiling water, brewing tea, and pouring tea; the entire sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water.

"Thank you, Boss Chen." Zhou Shouzhi accepted the tea cup and nodded in gratitude.

"You've arrived just in time. Old Gao is so busy he can't even touch the ground with his feet. You take over the CFO position at Chengzi Technology for now."

Chen Yansen lifted the hot tea, took a sip, and said.

Outside the window, it was a scorching summer day with temperatures over thirty degrees, but inside, the central air conditioning kept the temperature at only twenty degrees, with refreshing cold air circulating and blowing through the room.

"No problem." Zhou Shouzhi readily agreed.

Chen Yansen's subtext was clear to him: start as CFO, use the opportunity to grasp the operational status of every department at Chengzi Technology, and once the timing is ripe, assume the role of CEO.

"Five days from now is the new product launch for Chengzi Technology. This time is different from before; besides the Chengzi C3 and Chengzi D1S, we must also highlight the Mo Si voice interaction engine and the core members of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. You will be responsible for overall coordination, and Wang Teng will handle execution."

Chen Yansen set down his tea cup and said calmly.

"Understood, Boss." Zhou Shouzhi nodded in response.

From being a co-founder of DST Capital's Greater China region to becoming the CFO of Chengzi Technology, the massive shift made him ponder for a full two days before finally making up his mind.

"Regarding the current development status of Chengzi Technology, what are your thoughts?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

Zhou Shouzhi immediately sat up straight. Facing the new boss's first question, he answered quite riskily: "Chengzi Technology is clearly lacking in capabilities regarding product diversification, brand building, and market expansion, resulting in revenue levels that have yet to reach those of international first-tier mobile phone manufacturers."

This statement was undoubtedly a negation of the joint efforts of more than two thousand people at the Chengzi Technology headquarters.

But Zhou Shouzhi knew clearly in his heart that Chen Yansen had offered him a huge annual salary not to let him coast to victory, but to achieve results; at the very least, he needed to raise Chengzi Technology's revenue capability to the entry threshold of a Fortune Global 500 company.

Being timid and submissive, blending in with the dust, would only cause one to lose the drive to advance.

"Speak in detail." Chen Yansen smiled and said, unconcerned.

"First, expand product categories. Although Chengzi Technology's products cover mobile phones, power banks, Bluetooth earphones, smart speakers, and mobile phone accessories, achievements in smart wearable devices are basically zero. We can add smartwatches, wristbands, and other goods to enrich the product line."

"Second, brand positioning is unclear. The Chengzi D1 is priced at 799 yuan, and the Chengzi C2 at 2699 yuan. I suggest adopting different series or spinning off a sub-brand to separate high-end and low-end models."

"Third, accelerate overseas market layout. The consumption potential in Southeast Asia, Tianzhu, and the European and American markets cannot be underestimated. Focusing only on the East African market makes it easy to miss development opportunities. We must value the offline market, layout offline stores and experience centers in advance; they can serve as sales windows while also improving brand reach and user stickiness."

Zhou Shouzhi finished speaking in one breath, with clear logic and distinct organization, without a single pause.

"Draw up a plan. You will be responsible for pushing it forward; you have free rein to call upon all the company's resources." Chen Yansen arranged without hesitation.

Everyone understands the grand principles; whether they can be implemented on the ground and yield results is the true test of ability.

Zhou Shouzhi nodded heavily, realizing clearly in his heart: although his position is CFO, he must also do the work of a CEO.

Do well, and your status advances further; do poorly, and you're out immediately.

Both men were smart; some things did not need to be said too explicitly.

"I'll take you to tour the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory." Chen Yansen stood up and said.

Zhou Shouzhi hurriedly put down his tea cup and followed Chen Yansen out.

Passing through the office area, curious glances were constantly cast their way.

"Eh? Isn't this Mr. Zhou from DST Capital? Why is he in the company? Does the company need financing again? I haven't heard anything about that."

"I heard Boss Gao Xin poached Zhou Shouzhi with a high salary. The HR department has even written the appointment email; they are just waiting for Boss Chen's notification."

"Damn! No way?"

Several employees from the Marketing Department, heads bowed, discussed in low voices.

Chen Yansen and Zhou Shouzhi arrived at the floor where the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory was located.

Zhou Shouzhi looked around, a trace of astonishment appearing in his eyes; he never expected that Chengzi Technology's headquarters was hiding over a hundred foreign R&D engineers.

"Mo Si and Alexa voice interaction engines' speech recognition, natural language processing, and speech synthesis technologies were mostly handled by them." Chen Yansen explained with a smile.

Due to the enormous differences between Chinese and English in semantic richness, language structure, character sets, word segmentation, and data richness, the algorithm training models were divided into two groups of personnel during development.

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

Zhou Chuangxi and Daniel actively approached.

"Let me introduce you two. This is Zhou Shouzhi; he was formerly the co-founder of DST Capital's Greater China region and now serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Chengzi Technology."

Chen Yansen said unhurriedly.

Zhou Shouzhi extended his right hand and greeted Zhou Chuangxi and Daniel respectively.

When he learned that Zhou Chuangxi was a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UIUC and a student of the father of computer vision in the Lighthouse Country, he was only slightly surprised; but after hearing Daniel's resume, he was immediately dumbfounded, his face filled with shock.

He instinctively turned his head to look at the wheat fields outside the window; this place also hid a professor from Johns Hopkins University, a god-level researcher in the field of speech recognition?

The magical sense of dislocation gave Zhou Shouzhi a feeling of unreality.

Immediately after, Zhou Chuangxi led him on a tour, and only then did Zhou Shouzhi realize that there were also R&D engineers who had participated in the ImageNet (Visual Recognition Challenge) competition, senior researchers from the Stanford University AI Laboratory, algorithm designers from Carnegie Mellon University, and technical giants from Google and Microsoft Laboratories.

Zhou Shouzhi looked completely bewildered; if Chen Yansen hadn't been following him, he really would have wanted to ask: "How much money did Chengzi Technology actually pay to get you guys to cross the ocean and come work in Huaguo?"

He didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked.

At four o'clock that afternoon, an all-staff email was sent to everyone's inbox: Effective immediately (August 13), Zhou Shouzhi will assume the position of CFO at Chengzi Technology.

Chengzi Technology has entered a phase of rapid running!

On the other side.

With the assistance of Gao De Maps, Kuaidi Dache steadily advanced the 'Thousand People, Hundred Cities' plan, expanding its operational scope from initially some cities in East China to gradually covering regions such as Yanjing, Beihe, and Tianjin.

The daily average order volume broke through 2 million orders!

Meanwhile, the daily fulfillment volume of Didi Dache still hovered between 400,000 and 500,000 orders.

It wasn't that Cheng Wei wasn't working hard enough; rather, behind Kuaidi Dache stood traffic support from Gao De, Kuai Pao, Chengzi App Shangcheng, Lingxi Browser, and Toutiao. It looked like a 1v1, but was actually a 1v6.

Because Yunsu couriers, when delivering packages, would also casually slip a Kuaidi Dache promotional poster to users.

"That trash Li Yanhong! Why isn't the new version of Qiandu Maps online yet!" Cheng Wei, waiting anxiously, couldn't help cursing under his breath.

(End of this chapter)