Xiaoke spread faster and faster. Its adorable design, seamless human-AI conversations, unbelievably effective virus detection and removal, and minimum membership fee of just ten yuan a month turned Xiaoke into an instant legend.
But the market was only so big. Xiaoke's arrival delighted the public, yet left some companies staring into the abyss.
361 Company headquarters, conference room.
Half an hour after Xiaoke's release, every executive and shareholder had arrived.
The atmosphere in the company shifted abruptly. Everyone became exceedingly cautious, terrified that any mistake would make them an example.
The roaring from the conference room also left the entire company uneasy.
"What the hell am I paying you for? Huh? It's been a month, a whole month, and you're telling me you don't even have a basic direction for cracking it?" The speaker was 361 Company's chairman, Zhou Hongwei.
It had been a month. Ever since Origin Accelerator had first been released, he had noticed the software and wanted to acquire it. However, the developer of Origin Accelerator refused without even asking the price. Left with no alternative, Zhou Hongwei learned that Origin Accelerator had not registered a patent. Thinking Origin Company had simply been careless, he instructed the company's programmers to crack it and see whether there was anything they could "learn from."
At first, he checked in every three days, then once a day. Now that Xiaoke had been released, its terrifying performance had finally made the sharp-nosed Zhou Hongwei panic.
"I'm sorry, Chairman. Many people are trying to crack Origin Accelerator. I heard that overseas hacker groups have even posted bounties for it. But so far, aside from counterfeit accelerator software, not a single one has been cracked. The technical methods used by Origin Accelerator are simply far too advanced!" The manager of the technical department was also a programmer, and he greatly admired whoever had developed the software.
Listening to his own technicians admit they could not figure out their rival's software—and even express admiration for it—only made the anger in his heart flare up again.
"Enough, Xiao Zhao. Sit down first. Old Zhou, calm down too. There's always a solution. Let's put our heads together and discuss it."
The speaker was Tang Xingsheng, who had founded the company alongside Zhou Hongwei and was also his old friend.
Hearing his old friend's words, Zhou Hongwei gave a somewhat dejected smile.
"Old Tang, you don't need to comfort me. You know the situation now. The company is at a matter of life and death."
Zhou Hongwei slumped in his chair and sighed.
Tang Xingsheng had never seen his old friend this despondent. Even during the great battle against Penguin Company, Zhou Hongwei had remained calm and composed, directing everything with ease. When had he ever looked so thoroughly defeated?
"Old Zhou, 361 Company was founded in September 2005. We have grown into one of China's largest internet security companies, with a top-tier security technology team of leading domestic scale. Our products, including 361 Security Guard, 361 Antivirus, 361 Safe Browser, 361 Safe Desktop, and 361 Mobile Guard, have all been well received by users. We are the undisputed leading brand in cybersecurity."
Seeing Zhou Hongwei begin to rally somewhat,
Tang Xingsheng rose to his feet and continued, "As of September 2012, 361's PC products and services had reached 442 million monthly active users, with a user penetration rate of 95%, making us one of the country's largest internet security companies.
The total number of smartphone users using 361's mobile security products and services has reached approximately 149 million, accounting for roughly 70% of China's smartphone security product market.
361 Browser has 303 million monthly active users, with a penetration rate exceeding 65%.
361's personalized start page and its affiliated pages average 89 million unique daily visitors and approximately 451 million daily clicks.
In August 2012, 361 launched a search engine service with independent intellectual property rights and has steadily maintained a market share of over 25%. Guangnian Accelerator, meanwhile, has existed for barely a month. And Guangnian charges money, while we are free. Even if some customers are taken from us, we still have the advantage!"
Even after hearing his old friend's words, Zhou Hongwei's heart remained heavy.
"Old Li, I understand everything you said."
Rubbing his tired brow, Zhou Hongwei explained, "Old Tang, you've tried Xiaoke too. Tell me, would you give it up just because it costs ten yuan a month?"
Tang Xingsheng froze for a moment but said nothing. He had fought alongside Zhou Hongwei for so many years—how could he not understand?
Ten yuan could increase the performance of computers and phones tenfold, reduce resource consumption, detect and eliminate viruses, free up your hands, act as a thoughtful personal assistant, and chat with you in real time.
People these days were always busy, and many had no true friends. Finding a sincere friend was incredibly difficult, yet Xiaoke solved that problem. It was practically ushering in a new era for the internet.
The changing of capital was always accompanied by the fall of old capital. Hadn't 361 itself risen by stepping over their corpses?
How much market share did Kingsoft and Rising still have now?
Origin Company was like a fierce tiger charging into the internet's territory. Zhou Hongwei was now like those other antivirus programs of the past—unable to resist. He could abandon antivirus software, but without antivirus software, would 361 still be 361?
The conference room fell into a strange silence once more.
"We can't keep waiting. If we wait any longer, we'll be on a dead-end road. Since we can't beat them, we can only cooperate!"
Zhou Hongwei made the final decision, and Tang Xingsheng agreed.
With the first and second largest shareholders both in agreement, no one else objected. Everyone understood that 361 stood at a crossroads. One misstep would mean destruction.
At that moment, Zhou Hongwei's personal secretary rushed in.
"Chairman, this is bad! The company's stock price hit the daily limit down as soon as the market opened!"
"What?" Everyone's hearts jolted. Stock prices concerned their personal assets; without them, their wealth would be worth nothing.
Seeing everyone's bleak expressions, Zhou Hongwei noted that every antivirus company's stock had hit the daily limit down, while the entire technology sector was in the red.
"No, we can't wait any longer. Send word out. Have the heads of the legal department and technical department come with me to Origin Company. We're going to meet this Origin Company!"
Just as Zhou Hongwei could no longer wait to head for Origin Company, many other companies elsewhere were also making their choices.
Some, like Zhou Hongwei, chose cooperation. Others decided to smash the pot and make a desperate final stand.
The chairmen or presidents of a whole series of antivirus software companies, including Penguin, Huorong, Kingsoft, Rising, and Cheetah, all led their companies' elite teams toward Origin Company.
Meanwhile, overseas companies such as Kaspersky, BitDefender, Norton, and Avira—internationally renowned antivirus companies—also sent their Asia-Pacific presidents or senior executives to lead company teams to Origin Company.
Before the stunned eyes of Origin Company's reception department, it received visit requests from more than thirty world-leading antivirus companies. Those companies also formally announced their schedules to visit Origin Company through official channels.
The media that received the news also submitted interview requests. More than three hundred media outlets had initially applied, including heavyweight domestic outlets such as CTV and Renren Daily, as well as foreign media such as Reuters, AP, and CNN.
Origin Company, together with Chu Feng, agreed to their requests on its official website and Weibo, extending them a welcome.
This left the people of China overjoyed.
When had a company ever been this impressive? The list consisted of some of the top antivirus companies and news media outlets both domestically and internationally. Chu Feng and Origin Company's official Weibo account received over 999 comments.
Zheng Yun was so excited that he personally came to discuss with Chu Feng how to receive these domestic and international guests.
"No need to get too excited. They're the ones coming to ask us for help. We just need to handle the reception properly and not embarrass ourselves."
Chu Feng was not surprised in the slightest. If they did not come, he would truly look down on them. In an era where technology was king, with such a vast technological lead over them, if they still could not see the situation clearly, what need was there for them to exist?
Chu Feng directly had the company arrange client reception at the famous Haiyan Grand Hotel in Hailing District. It had both guest rooms and a large conference hall, making it perfect for receiving clients.
When Haiyan Grand Hotel learned that Origin Company would be holding its meetings and reception there, it immediately began preparing.
This was an opportunity for Haiyan Grand Hotel. Such opportunities were rare in Hailing, so the hotel reciprocated by giving Chu Feng a platinum card that allowed him to stay in the presidential suite at Haiyan Grand Hotel for free.
Things had been rather busy lately, and I don't know whether anyone is still reading. If you have recommendation votes, I hope you can cast them. My thanks.
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