After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future-Chapter 171 - 170: High-End Gameplay

At the end of March, during the EP9 launch event in London.

Because a Douyu streamer had live-streamed adult content, the related video went viral across the internet, attracting the attention of the "Anti-Pornography and Illegal Publications" office.

A sudden internet crackdown swept across the entire web, investigating and shutting down over 2,500 illegal websites.

Douyu received special scrutiny, and the heads of several other leading live streaming platforms were successively called in for talks by the relevant departments.

"My dear Liang, help me~~"

That afternoon, Wang Xiaocong rushed to the company, seeking financial assistance from Lu Liang.

He had always been extravagant with money, and so had his company, of the thirty million US Dollars he'd raised, barely anything was left.

He had hoped to start Series B funding in May, but the sudden internet crackdown had completely disrupted all plans.

The state's heavy-handed approach targeted just the top platforms like Douhu Cat, ordering the closure of over 3,500 live streaming rooms.

Venture capital firms also downgraded their expectations for the live streaming industry; Panda, originally valued at four hundred million dollars, was now cut down to just two hundred and fifty million.

With the current situation, the temporary Series B funding plan set for mid-May would likely be canceled, and money was extremely tight.

Lu Liang replied with disinterest, "Tianxing Phase One's lock-up period has ended; you can now request redemption."

Little Wang still had eight shares, each worth two million US Dollars, easily able to cash out a hundred million dollars with little effort.

Little Wang's face darkened, licking his face in desperation, he said with a forced smile, "How about you lend me some money to tide things over?"

"Sure," Lu Liang said with a smile. Little Wang was elated, but before he could celebrate, Lu Liang added, "I'd lend you, even ten billion if you want, but to Panda, no."

The internet crackdown swept across the network, and he wasn't blind; various institutions were implementing a 40-60% valuation markdown.

Even if he was bullish on the live streaming industry, he had to consider market conditions, and besides, he wasn't confident in Little Wang's entrepreneurial skills.

Little Wang had always epitomized the saying 'doesn't know the cost of firewood and rice until becoming head of the family'; no sooner had he come into a bit of money than he wanted to get involved in every field.

Although he had certainly made a splash, his ability to withstand unknown risks was almost nil—as evidenced by the current situation.

Wang Xiaocong smacked his lips and sighed, "Then I guess I'll have to figure it out on my own."

The company was the company, and he was himself; because of Panda, he had already taken on a thirty million dollar bet.

It would be insane to pour more money into it.

Lu Liang suddenly said, "How about I show you a clear path?"

Little Wang was startled, and although he guessed what Lu Liang was suggesting, he would've rejected it outright before; but now, he hesitated, "Let's hear it."

"Find a suitable opportunity to cash out."

"We'll see when the time comes."

"Take care."

Lu Liang chuckled to himself, noticing a change in Little Wang's attitude.

Some people won't turn back until they hit the south wall, and when they do, they want to break through it; Little Wang represented the former half of that sentiment.

Since returning home, he'd had smooth sailing until now, the internet crackdown completely messed up his original plans, igniting a desire to withdraw.

In short, his spirit was broken.

"After all, with dad being so rich, wouldn't it be great to just relax as a super-rich second-generation?"

Lu Liang couldn't understand; countless examples show that 'outdoing the master' happens only in a minority of cases; the common scenario is that they end up embarrassing their parents instead.

"It seems Douyin has also been hit hard." Lu Liang suddenly felt that Byte might really have some destiny on its side.

Tomorrow Watermelon Video was going online, and this cleanup was like clearing obstacles for them.

Because of the crackdown, not only live streaming, but all entertainment and social platforms across the network were required to self-inspect or were called for talks.

Douyu was specifically taken care of in the live streaming field, Kuai Shou particularly so in the short video field, especially with its crackdown on illicit behavior.

Unwittingly, Lu Liang's image in Yang Zhenyuan's mind became even more imposing.

Douyin was merely warned to avoid crossing lines in the future. If it hadn't already abandoned current affairs and social hotspots, it would have faced a heavy blow too.

That evening, Lu Liang received a massive package.

Half an hour ago, NIO ep9 held its new car release event in London, earning the nickname "Mai Kai Wei".

The remaining five limited edition supercars were also delivered to the company entrances of every founding investor.

With a blue body and falcon wing doors, it indeed looked even cooler than the Pagani Zonda by a fair margin just from the exterior.

Lu Liang had no intention of driving it, so he simply snapped a photo to upload to Weibo and Twitter before tossing it into the parking lot to gather dust.

After all, not even crash tests were done, and besides, Li Bing had said in the group chat that he didn't recommend they drive it—it was meant as a keepsake.

Lu Liang didn't have a death wish, so why would he go seek his doom?

Right after the ep9's release event in London concluded, the company's market valuation skyrocketed by 20 times, hitting two billion US dollars in an instant.

Lu Liang also gradually understood this play: it was way more sophisticated than mere fundraising for development, with much more enormous returns.

To say NIO was valued at two billion US dollars wasn't because it genuinely had that valuation; it was because they wanted it to be valued at that.

Because the institutions bumping up the valuation were Redwood, Tencent, Tokyo, and Gaoling—all of whom were NIO's founding investors.

Only when they invested did other institutions and the market investors believe NIO's valuation.

What they, as founding investors, needed to do was to keep talking it up and investing money before it was recognized by the market.

Until NIO's valuation was accepted by the market and even went public, becoming a real market value.

Lu Liang owned 10% of NIO, and for the next round of two hundred million dollars in funding, if no outsiders followed suit,

These few venture capital firms would need to pool together the full two hundred million dollars according to their shareholdings to solidify NIO's valuation.

Until NIO was recognized by the market,

They could then retire triumphantly and simply wait for the IPO.

NIO wasn't the only one playing this game; Li Xiang operated similarly, and probably Xiao Peng from afar off in Yangcheng was on the same track.

The difference was that over at Li Xiang's, some couldn't afford to play and wanted to bow out mid-way, which is why Li Xiang turned to Lu Liang to take over.

In the next round of funding, Lu Liang could get involved by just contributing 1% of the capital for 10% equity.

Because those who couldn't afford to play had to pay the price; with this mode of operation, you couldn't just come and go as you pleased.

Unless it was recognized by the market and someone took over, giving up midway on following up with the funds meant losing everything.

The next day, on the 1st, Watermelon Video launched on schedule.

Byte's in-house jokes, Toutiao, and Feishu all vigorously promoted Watermelon Video's one billion dollar support plan.

The amount of capital invested was a hundred times that of Douyin's, and in just half an hour after launch, user registrations broke the hundred thousand mark.

Approaching noon, registration numbers already breached one million, and the platform was brimming with all types of short and medium-length videos.

Lu Liang also contributed one registered user using his company's phone, browsing the edge-skimming content he loved most on ordinary days.

"Damn this network purification."

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

Lu Liang sighed heavily, ever since the cleaning of the net, the ladies' outfits had become more conservative, no longer revealing as much as before.

Now they even covered their chest while bending over to prevent wardrobe malfunctions, whereas before, they almost couldn't wait to show off to the audience.

Ten minutes later, Lu Liang also experienced the terrifying nature of Byte's algorithm and recommendation system.

He had merely liked a few posts,

Spending a bit longer on them than others.

And it kept pushing the same type of content creators to him.

It was irresistible, making one want to keep watching.

He also realized how big the gap was between Douyin and Watermelon.

Because Yang Zhenyuan had said that cultivating a user's viewing habits required at least two hours of algorithm simulation, but Watermelon only needed ten minutes.

"That's at least a 12-fold difference."

Lu Liang marveled, exclaiming that it was terrifying, effectively issuing a critical condition notice to Douyin.

Now his only hope was that Douyin could last a little longer, so he could sell it for a nice price.