Chapter 168 Cooperation Achieved (Part 2) (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

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Near Nangong University, there is Tengwang Pavilion Hotel.

Sun Cheng was holding a glass of wine in a room on the hotel's second floor, engrossed in a lively conversation with several young people.

The dinner party was nearly coming to an end.

"...It's a rare occasion to have everyone gathered here. It's my honor. I apologize for not being able to provide a more enjoyable drinking experience for everyone due to my low alcohol tolerance..."

Inside the room, after consuming another round of drinks, Sun Cheng, who was slightly intoxicated, maintained a clear gaze. His eyes occasionally landed on the young people in the room, showing subtle fluctuations.

These young individuals were all brought together by Yang Fei, and they were all students majoring in computer science at Nangong University. If we were to talk about geniuses with great reputation within the university, none of them were present here. Apart from two individuals who, like Sun Cheng, were fourth-year students about to graduate, the rest were merely his peers from the same cohort.

There's a saying that can be used to describe present-day university students!

Freshmen are busy playing, sophomores are busy with love, juniors are busy studying, and seniors are busy breaking up.

While this description may not be accurate for every college student, it certainly applies to a significant portion of them.

However, the absence of extraordinary individuals does not imply that these people have no merits. Otherwise, Sun Cheng wouldn't have known them.

During his previous entrepreneurial endeavors, he couldn't claim to personally know all the talented individuals at the university. However, he had made considerable efforts to inquire about them, especially those students who were known for their achievements in the field of computer science. Sun Cheng had extensively gathered information about them.

For instance, among the young people Yang Fei had invited on his behalf, almost all of them had received at least one scholarship in the field of computer science. They were academic achievers, even if they were considered bookworms who simply studied hard, their knowledge surpassed that of their peers.

Among these individuals, Sun Cheng was particularly interested in a fourth-year student named Lu Nan.

This person was somewhat extraordinary. He had even applied for venture capital support from the university for his project, which revolved around voice-controlled technology.

Voice control wasn't a novel concept; Microsoft had already explored it long ago. However, since Apple's 'Siri' gained immense popularity, though it may not be considered ubiquitous anymore, it had caught the attention of ambitious individuals. At least three Chinese internet companies had emerged, specializing in voice-controlled technology. Even Nangong University couldn't resist the trend, as they had several voice-controlled projects within their supported initiatives.

With the increasing number of projects, the competition had undoubtedly become more fierce. According to Sun Cheng's inquiries, Lu Nan's project wasn't as promising as his own. It had failed within a little over a month. Rumor had it that Lu Nan had been working odd jobs since then, solely to repay the debts incurred during his entrepreneurial venture.

"Cheers..."

"Sun Brother, you're being too modest."

The meal was thoroughly enjoyable, and with everyone feeling fully satisfied after eating their fill and drinking to their heart's content.

Sun Cheng also knew that it was time to get things done; otherwise, he would have spent seven or eight hundred dollars on this meal not just to chat and socialize with his classmates.

The others were obviously waiting for him to speak. Although they had opened three bottles of liquor, no one was truly drunk, and they were all waiting for him to address them.

Seeing that everyone had put down their chopsticks and cleared their throats, Sun Cheng took out a few documents from his bag. Instead of immediately handing them over, he started by saying, "Today, I asked Yang Fei for help to gather everyone here for a very simple reason: to start a business together, utilizing the collective power of all of us. You don't need to worry about the funding; I have managed to secure an investment. Although I cannot disclose the exact amount, I can assure you it is a seven-figure sum. Furthermore, I have signed a gambling agreement with the investor. If we achieve good results in the initial stage, within three to six months, we will receive a follow-up investment of no less than eight figures directly deposited into the company's account!"

In everything, it is important to be reasonable and logical. Even though Sun Cheng had made a substantial profit from trading Bitcoin using Safeguard, he couldn't immediately come into the limelight. Otherwise, it would raise suspicions easily.

For instance, when he previously purchased the mountain, although he was personally involved, all the documentation was falsified. Fortunately, Safeguard was able to help him hack into the relevant department and modify the information.

These statements were all part of his preparation to avoid exposure.

In the room, there was an immediate silence upon hearing these words, followed by a few quiet gulps.

Sun Cheng scanned the room and noticed that Lu Nan's expression changed the most among the young people present. Lu Nan, who had clearly been involved in entrepreneurial projects before, understood better than anyone else the difficulty of obtaining funds for promising start-ups.

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Nan couldn't resist asking, "Sun Ge, can I ask about the company's future development direction?"

Throughout the previous meal, Sun Cheng had tried his best to blend in with their small circle as an outsider. While he occasionally slipped up in his remarks, he deliberately refrained from discussing the details of the entrepreneurial project. He wanted to ignite their curiosity and then provide a comprehensive explanation.

Upon hearing this, Sun Cheng's lips curled slightly. He had indeed investigated Lu Nan's background, and with the help of Safeguard, he had even infiltrated the school's student records database.

However, it was evident that Lu Nan didn't know him well. Now, by addressing him as "Sun Ge" (Brother Sun), he displayed both a desire to fit in and a sense of surrender.

He smiled and replied, "Of course, I will explain it to everyone in detail. Let me put it this way: the reason I invited all of you is because the company aims to make progress in the field of storage products..."

"Storage products... Are you referring to shared products like network disks and cloud storage?"

Before Sun Cheng could finish speaking, Lu Nan interrupted him with surprise, and disappointment filled his eyes.

"Network/cloud storage..."

Sun Cheng smiled faintly, "You could say yes, or you could say no..."

Lu Nan's change in expression was evident to him, and he understood the reason behind it.

Net disks and cloud disks can be considered as among the earliest forms of free shared products on the internet. However, although the technical requirements for these are very low, to the extent that any internet company can easily recruit a few developers and create a similar product within a few days, they impose high hardware demands on companies because they heavily rely on servers.

Naturally, Lu Nan's disappointment was not due to this reason.

Rather, it was because it has been almost a decade since the inception of internet/cloud disks, and the hype surrounding the concept of these disks has long passed.

Consequently, across the globe, an increasing number of internet/cloud disk companies are facing significant setbacks.

In China's internet industry, there were a total of 34 companies providing network/cloud disk services in 2014. The number peaked in April 2015 with 67 companies venturing into network/cloud disks.

However, starting from May 2015, following the announcement of the permanent shutdown of network/cloud disk services by the first domestic internet company, the number of surviving network/cloud disk companies in China has reduced to less than 20.

Judging by the remaining network/cloud disk technology providers' feeble state, it is conservatively estimated that this number will further decrease by half within the current year.

Ultimately, it is highly likely that there will be no more than five domestic internet/cloud disk companies left, and these are expected to be under the umbrella of a few internet giants.

"The transition to a paid model for shared network disks is not well-received, strict content censorship results in a significant loss of popularity, while being too lenient attracts government criticism... Have you considered these factors?" Lu Nan asked in a serious tone. Evidently, this highly talented computer science student from Nanjing University of Technology was far from uninformed.

Sun Cheng continued to look at him with a pleasant expression, showing some satisfaction on his face.

Lu Nan's mention of these two points was crucial, as it is precisely due to these factors that numerous internet/cloud disk companies are facing significant difficulties.

He nodded with a smile, about to patiently respond to him.

Suddenly, Sun Cheng's phone rang from his pocket.

Taking it out, he realized it was a call from Xu Chun. To his surprise, he had been waiting for this call for ten days.

Though somewhat displeased, he still smiled apologetically at Lu Nan and the others, and promptly answered the call, "Hello, instructor. I've been waiting for this call. So, has the school carefully considered the collaboration?"

"Apologies, Sun Cheng. The school has responded positively. The principal wishes to meet and discuss with you in person. What do you think?"

Soon, Xu Chun's voice came through, filled with cheerful tones.

Sun Cheng let out a hearty laugh, "Sure, you can decide on the time and place, but let's not drag it out too long. I have other matters to attend to!"

After ending the call, he pondered silently for a while, then lifted his head to reveal a wide smile to the people in the room. He promptly handed them the items he had prepared and said, "I have provided detailed information about the company and your compensation in these documents. It's getting late, and I have commitments tomorrow morning. How about this? Take a look at the documents and if you find no issues, get in touch with me then!"

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 169 Cooperation Achieved (Part 3)