After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future-Chapter 227 - 226: We Are All Friends

Zhongguancun may be called a village, but it's actually a park.

North to the Northern Fifth Ring Road, south to the West Second Ring Road, the total area is 217 square kilometers, occupying one seventy-fifth of Beijing.

The Beijing office of Tianxing Technology, even though in the same Zhongguancun as Li Xiang Automobiles, takes over half an hour to drive between them.

"How's it going?"

A group of people surrounded a computer on the car hood, discussing heatedly, and even Li Xiang managed to get a few words in now and then.

Lu Liang felt like an illiterate when it came to computer technology; he only knew to reboot if something couldn't be fixed, and if rebooting didn't work, then to reinstall the system.

Li Jiahui, always mindful of Boss Lu, stepped out from the crowd and whispered, "Mr. Lu, just as I thought, Li Xiang is using the Linux system."

Linux is a free operating system available for use and distribution, and his recent claim that it would cost five million to outsource to a team was an overestimate.

Just offer a million-dollar bounty, recruit a few relevant engineers, and within two months, they'd have the system adapted to the car.

The degree of smart driving is virtually nil; it's just a voice control system used mainly for operating functions within the cabin.

Such as playing music, raising and lowering windows, seat heating, seat massaging, interior lighting, and other auxiliary entertainment functions.

"So you're saying our system is better than theirs?"

Lu Liang didn't understand, but he heard the arrogance in Li Jiahui's voice.

Li Jiahui pondered and explained in terms Lu Liang could understand: "The ONE is equipped with a 14nm Snapdragon 820A chip, if the fluidity of executing the Linux system is rated at 70%, then using STOS would be over 90%."

The focus was mainly on improving smart driving; with system optimization, they could at least reach 110%.

Lu Liang understood: "Then I have a clear idea now."

He didn't take to heart Li Jiahui's comment that they were still far from interfacing with the power and braking systems.

If auxiliary entertainment functions experienced lag or were slow to respond, no big deal, but if that happened when connected to the powertrain, it would be life-threatening.

Lu Liang didn't dare let them use it for reasons Li Xiang might not have considered.

Soon, Li Xiang also stepped away from the discussion, exclaiming, "Mr. Lu, I didn't expect you to give me such a surprise."

"Mr. Li, this system isn't mature yet; it's merely passable," Lu Liang humbly smiled, appearing quite indifferent.

"To have such results in just six months is already quite remarkable," Li Xiang said with a forced smile, cursing Lu Liang a hundred times in his heart.

With less than 48 hours to go before the press conference, he truly wanted the TSOS system to be installed on the Li Xiang ONE.

He knew very well the nature of the Linux system—if it lagged or didn't respond during the conference, it would be embarrassing.

Li Xiang could only brace himself and asked, "Mr. Lu, about the cost, what are your thoughts?"

"We are friends," Lu Liang said generously, "What need is there for money? Besides, it's an immature car system."

Lu Liang was magnanimous, offering everything free of charge, including future system updates.

As Li Jiahui had said, the current version of the car system may not be able to interface with the power system, but it could act as an observer, collecting driving data, and lay a good foundation for future smart driving.

Li Xiang saw what Lu Liang intended and chuckled, "If Mr. Lu is being so generous, then we won't be polite."

"We're friends," Lu Liang beamed.

He was already planning to get his hands on Luo's Hammer OS as soon as possible, then to properly optimize the central control before finally following Tesla's lead in offering free access.

As long as everyone got used to their system, when the smart driving edition was released, they could reap a considerable harvest.

But there was a prerequisite: they must stay far ahead, encouraging carmakers to think it's better to buy than to build.

If the lead in car system performance was not significant, they would definitely choose self-development, like NIO's Li Bing.

However, for the next three or perhaps two years, no one would likely bet heavily on this area, giving them enough time.

Because the new energy market was still small and its prospects unclear, newcomers to car manufacturing spent all their energy just surviving, let alone having spare funds to develop their own car systems.

Just like the current phone market, it's only been in recent years that domestic systems like Boundaryless, Pengpai, Xiaomi, and HongMeng have started to emerge; earlier, these manufacturers simply used Android.

After a while, Lu Liang left Li Jiahui and a few scientific researchers at Li Xiang to assist with system fine-tuning before the press conference.

He went to Jile Tang in Beijing with Wen Chao and his security entourage, renting out a large pool and waiting for Zhu Hu to arrive.

"Lu, how come you're free tonight to invite Hu over for a hot spring?"

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Old Zhu was all smiles, having heard that Lu Liang had shorted the Dow and made a pretty penny; he knew he could worry less this year.

Golden Sand River, like a private equity fund, managed about 2 billion US dollars in assets and had invested two hundred million dollars in Lu Liang.

If Tianxing could earn more, Golden Sand River could afford to earn less, and the pressure for performance wouldn't be as great.

"There must be no smoke without fire," Lu Liang said with a laugh as he waved the service staff away from the poolside.

Seeing this, Zhu Hu restrained his smile and sat down by the pool to soak his feet. "If you need help, just say the word."

Lu Liang sat next to Zhu Hu, soaking his feet together. "How much do you know about Hammer Technology?"

He had arranged to meet Zhu Hu that evening specifically to discuss how they might dismantle Hammer Technology.

Zhu Hu thought for a moment. "Not much, I just felt Luo was good at stirring up trouble, so I casually invested a bit."

Luo Yonghao was known for his extravagant style; each time there was an announcement, it would be held at the national conference center.

Although renting it for a day would only cost hundreds of thousands, laypeople wouldn't know that. Seeing the name of the national conference center, they would think he was incredibly impressive.

So even though Zhu Hu knew Luo was just fishing for attention, he took the bait and led the Series C funding with 70 million, which wasn't particularly a lot.

"How are their finances now?" Lu Liang asked again.

"I remember taking a glance last month; there was less than five hundred thousand in the account, and they owed over a billion in payables."

Zhu Hu was surprised. "You're not interested in Hammer, are you?"

If Lu Liang was interested in Hammer, then he would also have to re-evaluate the company.

Douyin had completely conquered the southern market and threatened Kuai Shou in the north; its international version had also made significant waves in Southeast Asia.

The market valuation for Douyin was skyrocketing from 800 million dollars all the way to 1.8 billion dollars, already surpassing Byte's valuation.

This was enough to prove that Lu Liang's eye for finance was sharp, and his sense for the internet was top-notch.

Although the new energy sector he was most optimistic about still looked half-dead, industries always take time to develop.

Lu Liang was forthright. "I want Hammer's operating system. What are the chances that Luo would sell the entire team?"

Zhu Hu asked tentatively, "Planning to switch to car software?"

Lu Liang nodded, not worried about revealing his intent and sparking a scramble for the target because the mobile phone market landscape had essentially solidified. Surviving manufacturers all had their own systems.

Whether it was OV, Xiaomi, Meizu, or other brands, if they used Hammer's system, they'd be laughed to death by their rivals.

As for the auto industry, the saying still holds: the market is too small and uncertain, so no one would invest significant effort in car software.

Zhu Hu pondered. "Luo is rather stubborn. Asking him to sell the operating system is tantamount to selling the whole Hammer."

"So you're saying there's no room for discussion?" Lu Liang narrowed his eyes. If words fail, he thought, don't blame me for getting tough.

He could just push Hammer Technology into bankruptcy, and then, whether Luo liked it or not, he'd have to sell.

Zhu Hu coughed a few times. "Actually, Hammer still has some brand value."

If Hammer went bankrupt, 70 million would be down the drain. Although Luo would lose money, Zhu Hu wondered when Luo could afford to pay.

The best-case scenario would be for Lu Liang to take over and quickly go public by wrapping it in a shell company. With his influence in the financial market, it could easily turn into 700 million in minutes.

Lu Liang looked unimpressed and glared. "Pick up a mouse and open an internet cafe?"

Hammer was in debt for over a billion, the company's account was empty, except for a warehouse full of outdated stock. The mobile phone ecological niche had been pretty much divided up; he would have to be insane to take over Hammer.

Zhu Hu coaxed, "Well, you can't put it that way. You know, the car software, it's like a phone in a car, there are similarities."

Lu Liang shook his head outright; he had looked into Hammer's information. They even outsourced phone production to Foxconn, with no industry to speak of.

The staff was barely over 400 people; they had nothing, really, except that the system patent might be worth something. The rest was worthless.

Lu Liang stopped Zhu Hu from going on. "Hu, are you going to help me or not?"

Zhu Hu was at a loss for words, his reply swallowed back, and he nodded emphatically: "I'll help."

The account loss of 70 million was nothing compared to Lu Liang's friendship.

After all, when Lu Liang had brought him on board Douyin, with the current valuation, he had made more than five times that amount in profit.

Besides, Hammer looked beyond redemption, and this doomed investment might as well be a favor to ensure good relations.

After all, Zhu Hu was still eyeing Tianxing Technology.