Chapter 57: Doomed, But Not Quite Doomed

"If you're interested, I can take you to the company in a few days to see how a professional studio builds internet influencers."

Lu Liang remembered that one of the companies Meng Changkun invested in was an MCN agency, which was a studio specializing in the operation of the internet influencer economy.

To put it in layman's terms, it was like a middle station linking influencers on one end and platforms on the other, ensuring the continuous output of content and ultimately realizing the commercial monetization of traffic.

"There's no need to be that professional, right? I'm just playing around."

Li Manli was surprised. She started blogging mostly out of boredom, and upon discovering that it could make money, she threw herself into it with even greater enthusiasm.

She hadn't thought that far ahead, nor did she care about the future.

"It's up to you. If you want to make more money, I'll invest in building a studio for you."

"You can just focus on looking pretty, while dedicated people handle content design, video shooting, and post-production editing."

Lu Liang explained the benefits of setting up a studio. After all, he still had over eighty million yuan and was worrying about where to spend it.

Buying real estate and gold were the most helpless investment channels; he needed to find a good destination for his funds.

Li Manli's head felt like it was about to smoke. She covered her face and let out a soft moan, "You decide. Whatever you think is fine."

"Alright then, I'll help you look into it first."

Lu Liang also recalled that Li Manli was only nineteen this year, and at this time last year, she was probably still in high school.

After finishing dinner, the two went to the shopping mall to stroll around, and incidentally bought some clothes, shoes, and hats for Lu Liang.

"Since you said you're keeping me, you have to follow through to the end."

Li Manli argued plausibly, mainly because she felt Lu Liang had zero requirements for clothing, wearing anything as long as it was wearable.

Clearly very wealthy, he just rotated through a few outfits, as if he had no intention of buying new ones until the old ones fell apart.

So the goddess waved her hand generously and bought him seven or eight outfits and three pairs of shoes, instantly emptying her own little treasury.

On the way back, Li Manli kept muttering, "I'm going to stream and rake in cash tonight, so I can't keep you company."

Lu Liang glanced at her and gave the back of her head a light tap. "What's with the act? Just say what's on your mind."

"Well... my relative is visiting."

Li Manli squirmed, looking terribly embarrassed.

Lu Liang had given her a massive gift, and she should have returned the favor with her body, but the timing was all wrong.

"I thought it was something major. Why be embarrassed about that? It's you I like."

Lu Liang suddenly turned affectionate and felt a wave of relief. He had eaten his fill outside today and really wasn't hungry.

"Brother Liang, why are you so good to me?"

Li Manli choked up, moved beyond words, and fiercely planted a fragrant kiss, leaving a mark on Lu Liang's neck.

When night fell, Li Manli streamed in the living room, complaining to her viewers about the hardships of taking the driving test, and carelessly flashed her Porsche car keys, prompting a chorus of viewers to cry out: "Feed us, rich goddess!"

In the study, Lu Liang was researching the operation model of MCN agencies, and as his study deepened, he found vast potential.

The monetization model of influencers was simply about fulfilling people's childhood dreams—if everyone in the country gave you ten cents, you would become a multi-millionaire.

Unlike traditional celebrities who were placed high on a pedestal by their fans, influencers were willing to stoop and pick up that dime.

Lu Liang pulled up the account data for Li Manli. On a single platform, she had 160,000 followers, 120 captains, and 11 admirals.

Her video content was just cooking. Aside from her pretty face, wealthy background, and love for cosplay, there seemed to be no other notable highlights.

Even so, she managed to attract so many otaku viewers. If they established a studio and applied proper operational strategies, she could very well become Bilibili's pillar.

In the blink of an eye, the chimes of midnight rang out.

Lu Liang froze in a daze, a look of astonishment on his face: "Ofo went under?"

[September 28th, Mobike, Series A financing of 18 million USD.]

Lu Liang felt deeply wounded, not because he mourned losing a few million yuan invested in Ofo, but because this investment was a judgment he had made entirely relying on his own insight, without any outside help.

"But the judgment doesn't seem to have been wrong either."

Lu Liang walked out to the balcony, lit a cigarette, and gazed at the river view. Shifting his perspective on the problem, his mood suddenly improved.

Mobike had been registered in April with a capital of only 10 million yuan. By mid-May, their product hit the market, and by the end of September, they commanded a valuation of 18 million US dollars.

In just over four months, the company's valuation had multiplied eleven times, which was ample proof that he had chosen the right track; he had simply backed the wrong horse.

Lu Liang flicked the cigarette ash, returned to his computer desk, and pulled up Mobike's detailed profile.

Two key figures caught his eye: Hu Weiwei and Li Bin.

Hu Weiwei was the founder of Mobike, a graduate of Hangzhou University's Journalism Department, who later became an automotive reporter and met Li Bin.

Li Bin founded Bitauto in 2005, took it public overseas in 2010, and ranked 125th on the Hurun Rich List last year with assets totaling 7.9 billion.

It could be said that Li Bin was Hu Weiwei's financial backer, and also the financial backer of Mobike.

"Ofo probably hasn't gone under yet; it's just ceded the throne of leadership."

Lu Liang's brow relaxed. There were still more than three months left, and the shared bicycle market wasn't going to determine a victor that easily.

Moreover, Ofo was the pioneer and trailblazer.

To this day, it still held the leading position in the industry.

It had probably just been surpassed, but not completely ruined.

"Xiao Chen, book me a high-speed rail ticket to Hangzhou right now. We leave tomorrow morning, return tomorrow night, and you're coming with me."

Lu Liang contacted Chen Jinchun, intending to go to Hangzhou to see if he could invest in Mobike as a risk hedge.

That way, regardless of whether Mobike or Ofo ultimately won, he wouldn't lose out.

...

Early the next morning, Lu Liang drove to the high-speed rail station, while Chen Jinchun looked half-asleep.

Yesterday, Tang Caidie had taken her out to recruit staff and incidentally gave her a crash course in an assistant's duties.

One of those duties was preparing for business trips with the boss, such as booking tickets, cars, and hotels.

By the time she finished preparing, dawn was breaking, and she had only managed to sleep for a little over two hours before rushing to the rail station.

Chen Jinchun numbly chewed on a steamed bun, but didn't forget to bring one for Boss Lu: "Director Lu, this is for you."

Lu Liang smiled and didn't refuse her kind gesture. Having just woken up, he hadn't eaten breakfast either.

An hour later, the Fuxing bullet train arrived in Hangzhou.

A Mercedes-Benz S-Class sent by the Four Seasons Hotel was already waiting at the arrival exit of the station.

"Why don't you go back to the hotel to rest first?"

Chen Jinchun kept dozing off, and Lu Liang figured that given the impromptu trip, she probably hadn't gotten much rest last night.

"I just dozed off for a bit, I'm much better now."

Chen Jinchun let out a long breath and widened her eyes as much as possible to prove she was full of energy.

After all, today was her first day as an assistant, and she didn't want to leave a bad impression on her boss.

Seeing this, Lu Liang didn't press further and instructed the driver to head to the university town, intending to first observe how Mobike operated.

As the car entered the university town area, seven or eight little red bicycles were parked by the roadside at almost every intersection.

Mobike's vehicle design was noticeably better-looking and more fashionable than the little yellow bikes, and people riding them could be seen everywhere on the streets.

"Stop the car here."

Lu Liang told the driver to pull over and, taking Chen Jinchun with him, scanned a little red bike each.

The deposit for each bike was 299 yuan, and the first top-up came with five hours of free riding time.

The regular hourly rate was relatively expensive at 2 yuan per hour, but they ran many promotional events.

For instance, two days of unlimited riding for 5 yuan, or seven days for 10 yuan.

"I really should invite Dai Wei to come and see this."

Lu Liang rode along the street, pondering the complete set of operational logic behind it.

Profitability didn't matter; with such low hourly rates, they weren't making much money anyway. What they wanted was the customers' deposits.

Get the deposits, expand the market, secure financing, expand the market further, secure more financing—the broader the audience and the larger the market scale, the more deposits they would amass, and the larger the market would grow...

After riding for a short distance, Lu Liang intended to retrieve his deposit, only to be told it would take five working days to process the refund. This further confirmed his suspicion.

Not caring about the deposit, Lu Liang parked the bike by the roadside, beckoned the driver over, and instructed, "To Xiaoshan Creative Park."

Thanks to Li Bin's backing, even though it started later, Mobike owned its own factory and could manufacture its own vehicles for internal use.

Unlike Ofo, which had to rely on outsourced contract manufacturers, resulting in quality control, craftsmanship, and styles that fell far short of Mobike's.

The only advantage was that Ofo's costs were lower than Mobike's, but that was intentional on Mobike's part—its style and materials dictated that production costs wouldn't be cheap.

Otherwise, they wouldn't dare charge a 299 yuan deposit. You get what you pay for, and riding it was simply more comfortable than the little yellow bikes.

Rising to catch up from behind and stripping Ofo of its leadership position was entirely justified.