The rise of Mobile Dream Network had become one of the most critical turning points in the development of Mainland China's internet industry.
It had officially launched in December 2000, and by May 2001, it had already entered its commercial phase.
In his previous life, Luo Zheng clearly remembered that Tencent had not chosen to deeply integrate with Mobile Dream Network during its early stages, nor had it fully committed to large-scale cooperation with telecom operators.
Part of that was because of strategic caution.
But the biggest reason was far simpler.
Tencent had no money.
Brother Ma and the two senior executives sitting beside him understood this problem better than anyone else.
Still, none of them interrupted.
They continued reading the proposal in complete silence.
The deeper they read, the more shocked they became.
QQ emoticons.
QQ Show.
Q Coins.
Personalized signatures.
Simple online communities.
Every proposal looked bold, almost unbelievably imaginative for this era.
Yet every single one of them perfectly targeted user psychology.
More importantly, all of them revolved around one central point:
profitability.
Not just profit, but profit through entertainment, personalization, and addiction.
It was a business model designed to make users willingly spend money.
Twenty minutes later, the three of them slowly lowered the documents in their hands.
Their expressions had completely changed.
The sheets of A4 paper no longer looked like ordinary documents.
To them, they now resembled a secret martial arts manual capable of changing Tencent's future.
The three men raised their heads and stared at Luo Zheng with eyes filled with disbelief and admiration.
Genius.
This was what true genius looked like.
Young.
Handsome.
And terrifyingly talented.
Completely different from ordinary people.
Luo Zheng smiled calmly and leaned back against the sofa.
"So, what do you think?" he asked. "Any questions?"
The three exchanged glances.
Brother Ma was the first to speak.
"President Luo… we do currently have cooperation with Mobile Dream Network, but it has not been profitable so far. If we deepen the integration, the biggest issue is funding…"
His voice trailed off awkwardly.
He did not need to finish.
Luo Zheng already understood.
Tencent was running out of money.
Rapid user growth had brought enormous traffic, but instead of becoming an advantage, it had become a burden.
Server maintenance costs alone had nearly drained the previous year's investment.
Tencent urgently needed fresh capital.
Luo Zheng nodded lightly.
"I understand."
He paused for a moment before dropping the sentence that instantly stunned the room.
"So, I plan to invest another five million US dollars."
The moment those words fell, the three men nearly jumped out of their seats.
"What?"
"Five million more?"
"In dollars?"
The questions came one after another.
Luo Zheng, however, did not answer immediately.
He simply stretched his arms across the sofa and watched them calmly.
Only after they gradually settled down did the room regain silence.
Brother Ma quickly apologized.
"Sorry, President Luo. We got too excited."
Luo Zheng waved his hand with a smile.
"It's fine. I understand. We're all doing this for the company."
Then his expression became more serious.
"You heard correctly. Another five million dollars."
He leaned slightly forward.
"But on one condition."
"I want each founding shareholder to transfer ten percent of their original shares."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Brother Ma's expression turned grave.
"This…"
The three exchanged looks.
After a long pause, Brother Ma spoke carefully.
"President Luo, it's not about the money."
"If we give up another ten percent, the founding team's total shares will fall below fifty percent."
"That would create an imbalance in the company's control structure."
Luo Zheng smiled faintly.
"But you can buy back shares from HIM later, can't you?"
One sentence.
Direct hit.
Brother Ma froze.
His prepared words were cut off completely.
Before he could respond, Luo Zheng lightly tapped the proposal on the table.
"And besides…"
"As a shareholder, what I bring to Tencent is far more valuable than money alone."
Silence.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Brother Ma let out a helpless sigh.
At this moment, he finally realized something.
He had already walked straight into Luo Zheng's trap.
And worse—
he had done so willingly.
This was an open scheme.
Even if he had seen it beforehand, it would still have been difficult to resist.
Because compared to the strategic roadmap Luo Zheng had laid out for Tencent's future, five million dollars almost seemed insignificant.
Finally, Brother Ma nodded.
"Alright."
"I'll persuade the senior management and shareholders to agree."
The moment he said it, a strange sense of relief washed over him.
Luo Zheng's smile widened.
"Brother Ma, you really do have courage."
Inside, he was extremely pleased.
Five million dollars for ten percent of Tencent's original shares.
This deal was a huge win.
After all, last year HIM had spent 12.6 million dollars to acquire only twenty percent from PCCW.
Now, his position as the dominant shareholder was becoming even stronger.
Once the investment discussion ended, the atmosphere immediately relaxed.
The three Tencent executives eagerly began asking about the other concepts mentioned in the proposal.
QQ Zone.
QQ Pet.
Virtual communities.
As Luo Zheng explained each idea in detail, their expressions gradually shifted from admiration to something closer to reverence.
At that moment, they all shared the same thought.
Just what exactly was inside this young man's head?
—
The meeting ended pleasantly.
Three days later, Brother Ma called.
He had successfully convinced the company's senior shareholders.
The contract could now be signed.
The funds could be transferred.
Luo Zheng immediately began preparing the promised five million dollars.
But the truth was—
he didn't actually have that much liquid cash on hand.
Although Marvel's corporate account still held the fifty million dollars Old Karl had lost to him, that money officially belonged to Marvel.
He did not want to touch it casually.
That capital was reserved for his future expansion plans in Hong Kong and the Mainland.
After some thought, Luo Zheng came up with a solution.
He decided to sell the villa.
The villa he had originally bought from Old Karl for one hundred thousand dollars was sold back to the same man for six million dollars.
When Liu Xiaoli heard about it, she couldn't help laughing.
"You really are determined to keep fleecing the same sheep."
She warned him that it might damage goodwill.
Luo Zheng only laughed.
"What goodwill?"
"This is Wall Street venture capital."
"As long as I can keep making money for him, forget fleecing him—he'd probably cheer even if I carved off a piece of meat."
Once the funds arrived, Luo Zheng kept one hundred thousand dollars for personal expenses and transferred the remaining five million into his investment company's account.
Soon, the contract was signed.
The money was officially transferred.
And then—
unexpectedly—
Brother Ma accidentally leaked the news.
The result was immediate.
The entertainment circles in both the Mainland and Hong Kong exploded.
Newspapers and media outlets rushed to report the same headline.
Five and a half million US dollars invested into an internet company!
Was it reckless extravagance?
Or was there a deeper strategy behind it?
No one knew.
But one thing became clear.
Luo Zheng was rich.
Very rich.
Rich enough to casually shock the entire industry.
Almost overnight, countless people began thinking about how to get close to him.
Even many celebrities who had attended the recent banquet regretted not introducing themselves sooner.
Meanwhile, Luo Zheng himself remained in an excellent mood.
With this investment completed, he now officially held forty percent of Tencent's original shares.
His position as the largest shareholder was completely secure.
HIM no longer had any chance of overturning the situation.
Still, peaceful days never lasted long.
Liu Xixi, who had been having the time of her life these past few days, suddenly became extremely resistant to joining the cast of The Story of a Noble Family.
This nearly drove Liu Xiaoli mad.
She was so furious that she almost resorted to strict discipline.
Faced with the mother-daughter conflict, Luo Zheng wisely chose not to interfere.
After all, his relationship with Liu Xiaoli had been gradually improving.
Besides, this time Xixi really was in the wrong.
In the end, the little rebellion failed.
After being firmly handled by Liu Xiaoli, mother and daughter returned to the Mainland to officially join the production team.
The sudden silence around him left Luo Zheng feeling strangely unsettled.
Fortunately, he still had important matters to deal with.
One day, while he was busy writing a new script, his phone rang.
The moment he saw the caller ID, his eyes lit up.
It was Huo Wenxi.
He answered immediately, starting with a teasing smile.
"Sister Wenxi, I thought you had already forgotten what happened that day."
On the other end of the line, Huo Wenxi glanced awkwardly at Albert Yeung sitting across from her.
Her tone turned deliberately formal.
"Ahem… President Luo, please don't joke."
"Chairman Yeung would like to meet you."
The moment he heard that, Luo Zheng understood everything.
He smiled.
"Alright."
"Then tonight, I'll host dinner at the Peninsula Hotel and wait for Chairman Yeung's arrival."
If it had been anyone else daring to poach talent this openly, Albert Yeung would have already used every trick in the book.
But this person was Luo Zheng.
Someone he wanted to build ties with.
He did not want to offend him.
Yet he also did not want to lose his most capable right-hand woman.
So the only option left was negotiation.
Simply put—
he wanted to see what price Luo Zheng was willing to offer.
And Huo Wenxi understood that better than anyone.
The moment she ended the call, a complicated feeling rose inside her heart.
A little sadness.
A little nervousness.
But more than anything—
anticipation.
She wanted to know exactly how much weight she held in this young man's heart.
Just how much he truly valued her.