Chapter 210 - 168: Zhao Shao: Didn’t You Say You Only Wanted to Create a Water Army?

Completely oblivious to Chu Bamboo’s dark thoughts, Lin Xia grew more excited the more he spoke, and his idea seemed more reasonable with every passing moment.

"I know a lot of TV shows adapted from big IPs have flopped... but we don’t need to get fancy. We just need the AI to create a 100% Reproduction of all the novel’s content, add your insanely handsome face... and that’s all it takes!"

"I’ve looked into it. For copyrights from novel websites, if you’re making a primetime TV series, the rights are incredibly expensive... but for a short-form drama, it’s much cheaper! Plus, we can offer a revenue-sharing model, which could even let us avoid paying a licensing fee altogether..."

"The biggest problem with adapting novels into TV series is that a lot of content has to be cut to get past the censors... but we’ll be releasing short videos, so we don’t have to worry about that! Compared to primetime TV series, the only drawback of short-form dramas is that each one earns too little. But we can make up for that with sheer volume!"

"Novels, anime, and live-action short-form series! You know what this is? This is a complete pipeline! It’s a whole industrial chain."

Chu Bamboo, who had been about to knock Lin Xia unconscious, froze. A flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind, piecing together the blueprint. Then it dawned on him.

No wonder this whole speech from Lin Xia sounded so familiar!

’Aside from Lin Xia’s ridiculous idea of having me personally star in them—and using sheer volume to build a personal IP for me worth tens of billions—isn’t this the exact same strategy that Penguin has been trying to push, but has never managed to successfully implement?’

At this thought, Chu Bamboo took a sharp breath. "My god, you son of a— ahem, Xia, you’re an absolute genius..."

’This was a path that not even the top corporate giants had fully conquered—and now, it looked like Lin Xia was planning to use Z to leapfrog them all. And from the looks of it, it was... completely viable. At least, in theory!’

"No, it was mainly because you told me to think outside the box... So really, the credit is yours," Lin Xia said with a shrug. He met Chu Bamboo’s eyes, and though no words were spoken, the meaning was perfectly clear—

If Z couldn’t even achieve this, how could it ever become the future Heaven-Supporting Jade Pillar, the cornerstone of their enterprise!

Only by being able to effortlessly trigger revolutionary changes in various industries, to truly empower them, could Z be called a great company!

Chu Bamboo fell silent. ’That’s right... Only then would Z be worthy of being compared to Celestial Net Company—the company that practically ushered in a cyberpunk era and was vying for global dominance—and C Company.’

’The power of Z is, in essence, a revolution! It’s a technological revolution. What are industry giants in the face of that? Amidst such a revolution, they are insignificant!’

"But if we’re talking about an entire industrial chain, that’s a deal worth tens, maybe even hundreds of billions, hmm..." Chu Bamboo mused for a moment before dialing a number again. No answer? He dialed again.

"...Ah Zhu! Are you trying to work me to death so you can inherit my Z Company?" Zhao Shao’s voice drifted from the phone, sounding like a vengeful ghost.

"I promise I won’t bother you tomorrow!" Chu Bamboo said calmly. "Get over to the office. Now. I’ve found a... completely new revenue stream, separate from gaming!"

Chu Bamboo paused, then added meaningfully, "And this has nothing to do with slowly updating Z and milking our customers bit by bit... This is a channel where we can secretly use the full-power version of Z to spin up several companies worth tens of billions, the kind that generate quick cash and focus on pure cash flow... interested?"

There was a brief silence.

"...I understand." Zhao Shao’s voice was suddenly wide awake and clear. "I’m on my way."

...

「5 PM.」

Chu Bamboo, Zhao Shao, and Lin Xia were huddled around a computer desk.

They looked at the strategic blueprint on the screen—the result of the three of them throwing out ideas, one by one, completely unleashing their imaginations... and then having Z summarize it all.

"AI idols! AI animation! AI short videos! Developing derivative IP! Audience acquisition..." Zhao Shao ticked them off on his fingers, his mind reeling. "Let’s hold off on actual film and television for now! Even though Z can produce primetime-quality works, getting them through the censors would be a huge pain! Our main goal is to make money."

He looked back and forth between the other two, truly stunned. ’Weren’t you guys just here to hire some online shills? How did things escalate to this?’

"My god... What you said earlier, it’s actually real!" Zhao Shao frantically ran his hands through his hair. A few strands came loose, but he paid them no mind.

Honestly, Zhao Shao had really thought Chu Bamboo was just being whimsical and messing with him. Now he just kept muttering, "These three ventures... they could really generate a market cap of tens of billions! Tens of billions... And it’s quick money, too. Entertainment companies are nothing if not quick money!"

"And most importantly, by focusing on these entertainment ventures, we don’t have to worry about any major problems..." Lin Xia added.

’Making batteries means going head-to-head with industry giants! I have to admit,’ he thought, ’although I was stubborn at first, after I went home that night and really thought through the implications... even with Jinling University backing us, I still feel a chill run down my spine...’

’Thank god we’re in the Divine Continent. If we were in the land of the White-headed Eagle, I’d have to worry about getting blown up in a ’mysterious accident’!’

’But what’s there to worry about with entertainment? The industry is famous for being a soft target where the money flows fast... they’re easy to push around. And besides, it’s not like their own hands are clean.’

Zhao Shao leaned back in his chair, his mind racing faster than ever. He let out a long breath. "This changes everything! This completely saves us."

"Yeah, with the current situation, if we just release public upgrades for Z bit by bit, combined with the lack of computing power and the limited resources allocated to individual users... Z might not have a decisive advantage over other AIs..."

"But with the full-power version of Z we use in-house, we could totally spin off and nurture several new companies!"

"No, it’s more than that... There are so many other possibilities! We’ve just only happened to think of this one for now..."

"So powerful!" Zhao Shao repeated, almost in a trance.

"...I have a feeling, if we use our ’big niece’ to spin off a few companies, wait until their market caps are estimated in the tens of billions, and then make a public announcement!" Lin Xia mused aloud. "I bet Z Company’s valuation could break a trillion this year!"

"If we play all our cards, I’d believe you if you said we’d break ten trillion next year!" Zhao Shao grinned. "That one AI company from across the Pacific... its market cap was ridiculous in its heyday. But right now, it can’t even hold a candle to what we have!"

He sighed in amazement. "Junior Chu, this thing you developed is just too overpowered..."

"Ten trillion?!" Lin Xia gulped. How much money was that, exactly? He felt like his brain couldn’t even begin to comprehend the concept.

"It’s just talk!" Zhao Shao glanced at Chu Bamboo before finally saying, "We have no plans to go public!"

"Originally, I figured that since we needed money, we’d make a quick fortune with small games in the early stages! Later, depending on Ah Zhu’s opinion, we could start providing our services to other game companies..."

"But now, it looks like we can just enter the entertainment industry ourselves... With these extra cash flows, we could become a corporate giant in three years, maybe even less."

"Exactly!" Lin Xia nodded, then instantly switched into negotiation mode. "Alright then, Senior Zhao! Let’s discuss... the names for these three entertainment companies, and their cross-shareholding structure!"

Lin Xia had the gall to say, "Our C Machinery Co., Ltd. should get at least half the shares in these companies, right?"

"???" Zhao Shao stared blankly for a second, then, after processing what he’d heard, he let out an exasperated laugh. "You’re relying entirely on Z for this whole operation, and I only get half? What am I, some kind of beggar asking for handouts?!"

"Isn’t Bamboo your company’s majority shareholder too? It’s all the same owner, be a little more generous!" Lin Xia waved his hand, his tone firm and confident.

"?? How are those the same thing?" Zhao Shao was completely baffled. ’Is this how you negotiate?’ he thought. ’Aside from using Junior Chu as a shield, what else do you even have?’

"I heard from Bamboo..." Lin Xia gave Zhao Shao a pointed side-eye. "You’ve made all this money and you’re not planning on giving Ah Zhu any dividends! Have you no shame? And you’re the one who said Z was created by Ah Zhu, right? Ah Zhu needs money now. If he can’t get some cash from my company... can you live with yourself?!"

"Besides, Z is an artificial intelligence company! This derivative stuff is just small potatoes... how could you guys possibly be interested in it!" Lin Xia said in a grave, earnest tone. "Didn’t you say it yourself? You were planning to empower gaming companies... so just stay out of this market and empower my new entertainment companies instead! Just take a fifty-percent stake and wait for the dividends to roll in."

"BULLSHIT!!" Zhao Shao exploded, slamming a palm on the table. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Absolutely not! In your dreams."

"...Alright, you two!" Seeing they were about to come to blows, Chu Bamboo suddenly intervened. With lightning-fast reflexes, he caught each of their wildly swinging fists in one of his hands and slowly pulled them apart.

Lin Xia: "...Why am I suddenly getting a sense of déjà vu?"

Zhao Shao: "I think... this is exactly like that scene from the old Three Kingdoms TV series!"

All three fell silent, staring at one another.

The corner of Chu Bamboo’s eye twitched. ’Crap, their comments completely broke my concentration!’ For a split second, he actually felt the urge to suggest they all become sworn brothers. ’Calm down, calm down...’

After a moment of thought, Chu Bamboo offered a suggestion. "You two, why are you so insistent on creating one company and having C Company and Z Company split the shares fifty-fifty?"

Lin Xia: "?"

Zhao Shao: "???"

Both of them turned their gazes to Chu Bamboo, curious to hear what brilliant insight he had.