Tai Chi

Han Luyi woke up before seven.

Sight opened, and the energy panel hovered at the edge of his consciousness.

[Lv.3｜Energy: 500/500]

After leveling up, his recovery speed had improved considerably. One full night's sleep had filled it completely.

He focused on the problem he had been unable to solve last night. Step 4: channel breakthrough. Targeted compilation.

The thought took shape. The new section deep in his brain began to heat up.

[Path Compilation · Targeted · Initiated]

[Target: BugKiller Channel Breakthrough: Exclusivity vs. Multi-Cloud Neutrality]

[Compiling...]

It took longer than last night's global compilation. Five seconds. Ten seconds. The data structures on the panel fell into place piece by piece like a puzzle.

[Path Compilation · Targeted · Complete]

[Path A: Exclusive Binding (Single Cloud Platform)]

[Long-Term Survival Rate: 34% (-)]

[Risk: Channel dependency → loss of pricing power → no way out when platform policies change]

[Path B: Multi-Cloud Neutrality (Non-exclusive · simultaneous presence on multiple platforms)]

[Long-Term Survival Rate: 78% (↑↑)]

[Optimal Execution Sequence: Second-tier cloud (letter of intent) → first-tier cloud (leverage) → close the net in reverse]

[Reverse Execution (first-tier cloud first) Success Rate: 23%]

[Key Leverage: VC proactive contact rate before multi-cloud partnerships: 12% → after partnership: 67%]

[Energy Consumed: 183]

The lower-right corner flickered.

[Lv.3｜Energy: 317/500]

He wrote "34" and "78" in his notes, then closed the notebook.

A little after nine, the doorbell rang.

Han Luyi's hair was still a mess when he opened the door for her. She stood there for a second, holding two cups of coffee.

"Didn't sleep well last night?"

"I stayed up a little late thinking." Han Luyi took the coffee. An iced Americano.

"Got any new ideas?"

"About channels."

Su Niannian pulled over a chair and sat down.

"You wrote in your proposal that we should get onto cloud marketplaces," Han Luyi said. "Which ones were you thinking of?"

"Qingyue or Tianshu. They have good reputations and lower barriers to entry. We could also talk to Kunlun, but their terms definitely won't be easy to negotiate."

"What if they ask us to sign an exclusivity agreement?"

Su Niannian considered it. "If the terms are good enough, exclusivity isn't completely out of the question."

"We can't accept it."

"...What exactly did you think of yesterday?"

Han Luyi did not answer immediately.

He took a sip of coffee and set the cup down.

"Signing exclusivity is a dead end. At best, we'll end up the same way Zhao Wenyuan did."

Su Niannian looked at him.

"I thought about it all night and ran the numbers," Han Luyi said. "Dingsheng tying CodeSafe to its own cloud looks like an advantage. They have 150,000 enterprise clients who can access it at zero cost, and their channels crush ours.

"But look at it the other way around. It means CodeSafe can only be used on Dingsheng Cloud.

"Right now, there are only two proven AI code review products on the market. One is locked to Dingsheng, and the other is us. For developers on Qingyue Cloud, Tianshu Cloud, Kunlun Cloud, and those other platforms who want AI code review, how many choices do they have?"

Su Niannian froze.

"One."

"Dingsheng has done the market education for us."

Su Niannian set her coffee on the table and leaned forward.

"You mean it's not us who need the cloud platforms. The cloud platforms need us."

"The tighter Dingsheng binds CodeSafe, the fewer alternatives the other clouds have. The greater its channel advantage becomes, the scarcer we become to every cloud competing against it."

"Tai Chi," Han Luyi said. "The harder it pushes, the more it pushes us into the arms of all its rivals."

Su Niannian stood and paced around the room twice before returning.

"How exactly do we do this?"

"Start with the second-tier players. Qingyue or Tianshu, whoever we can reach first. Get a letter of intent, then take it to Kunlun. Kunlun is Dingsheng's biggest cloud rival. If it sees a second-tier player bringing in BugKiller, it'll get nervous. Dingsheng has CodeSafe, Qingyue and Tianshu have BugKiller—what does Kunlun have? That signal can pry Kunlun loose."

"And if Kunlun signs?"

"Then Qingyue and Tianshu will be even less willing to miss out. We sign all three."

"What about the terms?"

"Revenue sharing, channel recommendations, homepage traffic. We can hammer out the details later."

Su Niannian frowned. "Your plan sounds like tightrope walking."

Han Luyi smiled. "It is."

"I'm worried about two things." Su Niannian held up two fingers. "First, would Qingyue and Tianshu even be willing to give us a letter of intent? And even if they do, what if they use us as a weapon against Dingsheng, then turn around and demand exclusivity too?"

Han Luyi pressed one of her fingers down. "First, let's address the first issue. What they fear is that nobody will use them. What they need most is a star tool that can keep developers on their platforms. Dingsheng has already done the market education for them. If they won't take us, we'll go elsewhere."

"Then how do we make sure we aren't used as a weapon?"

"That's why we need all three settled at roughly the same time," Han Luyi said. "We're not begging Kunlun. We're making Kunlun realize that if it moves any slower, it'll really have nothing left. Once it sits at the table, it won't let the game become 'bind to me.' That would be handing Dingsheng a free kill."

"What if they build their own?"

"From project approval to launch would take at least half a year. With Dingsheng's current promotional momentum, there isn't enough time for in-house development."

Su Niannian looked at him. "Are you sure they'll follow your logic?"

"No," Han Luyi said. "But I am sure that if we sign exclusivity, we'll be following theirs."

Su Niannian sat down, opened her laptop, and began typing.

"Channel outreach." She did not look up. "Do you have any connections? I have a few former colleagues, but none of them are in relevant roles."

"No need to go in circles," Han Luyi said. "I have direct contacts at Zhongdun. Both sales and project managers. Weak ties are actually useful—they aren't taking sides within cloud vendors. They only care about closing deals."

"Fine." Su Niannian tapped the keyboard twice. "Then we'll open things up through Zhongdun."

"What's our floor in negotiations? How much revenue sharing do we want? What about minimum guarantees?"

"We'll need to calculate that. It depends on each cloud's developer base and how many customers we already have on them." Han Luyi thought for a moment. "I'll leave that to you. Honestly, I'm not great at pricing."

Su Niannian stopped and glanced at him. "You sound less and less like a programmer these days."

Han Luyi looked up at the ceiling. "Just being a programmer isn't enough anymore."

"I've drafted the framework." Su Niannian turned the screen toward him.

There were four pages: an execution timeline, outreach priorities, negotiation milestones, and a draft revenue-sharing model. Han Luyi read them from beginning to end.

"There's one more thing." Su Niannian scrolled to the final page. The title was bolded: Brand Upgrade.

"If we're going onto cloud marketplaces, we need a respectable brand. In the eyes of enterprise clients, BugKiller is just a GitHub link and a website with default colors. We're talking to cloud partners and meeting investors, yet we don't even have a proper logo."

Han Luyi said nothing.

His gaze shifted to the side of the monitor.

Two paintings were pinned side by side on the wall. On the left was Duoduo's crayon drawing: crooked stick figures, with an enormous red ladybug crouching beside them, taller than the people. On the right was Lin Wanqing's fabric-framed painting: a tiny seven-spotted ladybug resting on a rust-speckled doorknob, its wings slightly spread.

Ladybugs.

"I know who to ask."

Su Niannian followed his gaze and saw the two paintings.

"The artist next door?"

"She's a freelance illustrator. We'll do this as a formal commercial commission—brand visual design, paid at market rate."

"Are you sure? Brand design isn't quite the same as illustration. We could find a professional design firm."

"She is a professional."

Before leaving, Su Niannian sent the final version of the execution plan to the Lark group. Han Luyi read it and gave it a like.

Han Luyi opened WeChat and found Zhou Yan's chat window.

They had only signed the audit contract yesterday, and he was already asking for resources today. The pace was a little fast. But the sooner they started channel outreach, the better, even if it was only to test the waters.

"Mr. Zhou, I wanted to ask you something. Among Zhongdun's clients for security audit services, do you have any cloud platforms? We'd like to discuss getting listed on cloud marketplaces later on."

Two minutes later, Zhou Yan sent a voice message. Han Luyi opened it and listened once.

The gist was: Yes. Qingyue Cloud and Tianshu Cloud were both clients. But Mr. Han, it probably wouldn't work to approach them directly at this stage. They would want to see qualifications. Once your audit report is ready, I can introduce you. Going in with the report will be far better than going empty-handed.

"Understood. We'll push the audit forward as quickly as possible. I'll contact you as soon as the report is out."

Zhou Yan: "Don't worry. About two and a half weeks. I'll set up a meeting for you then."

Han Luyi exited the chat.

Two and a half weeks. Only after the audit was completed would they qualify to sit at the table. Path Compilation had given him a direction, but the pieces still had to be placed one move at a time.

His phone rang. It was Zhang Haoran.

Han Luyi answered.

"Old Han, busy?"

"Not really. What's up?"

"There's someone you should meet." Zhang Haoran lowered his voice slightly, as though he were secretly making a phone call in the office. "His name is Lu Mingzhou. He works in FA and is a senior manager at Huachou Capital."

"FA?"

"Financial Advisor. He helps startups raise funding. This guy has a pretty extensive background. He graduated from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, worked in audit at Deloitte for three years, got his CPA, then moved to investment banking before switching to FA. He's looked at hundreds of early-stage projects. I met him playing basketball before, and we grab meals sometimes. I casually mentioned you guys over lunch today, and he questioned me for twenty minutes on the spot."

"What did he ask?"

"Product tech route, business model, current stage. I told him I didn't understand any of that and that he should talk to you directly." Zhang Haoran paused. "He said he's free this weekend and wants to chat first. Not a formal pitch, just coffee."

"Sure. Send him my WeChat."

"Already did," Zhang Haoran said. "Oh, and he speaks pretty bluntly. Don't take it personally."

After hanging up, Han Luyi checked WeChat and found a friend request waiting for him. The profile picture showed a stock exchange. The nickname was simply his real name: "Lu Mingzhou Frank." His status read: "Numbers don't lie."

He accepted the request.