After Divorce, I Can Hear the Future
Chapter 611: Six Major Sects Besiege Bright Summit

With Lu Liang’s reward of one hundred thousand yuan, the already high-quality video was pushed to the top of Douyin’s hot search list.

However, before netizens could start discussing Tianxing’s Intelligent Driving, a major scandal erupted in the entertainment industry around three in the afternoon.

An L-surnamed male star and a Y-surnamed female star were quietly spotted at the civil affairs bureau in Beijing, suspected of going through divorce proceedings.

The paparazzi photos, as usual, were blurry, and both parties involved were wearing masks and hats.

But those iconic fox-like eyes allowed viewers familiar with the female star to recognize her at a glance.

The corners of her eyes are sharp and slightly downward; the tails slightly lift, giving a charming and graceful impression.

In the entertainment circle, where beautiful women are numerous, her long-lasting popularity owes much to those lively, enchanting, and highly recognizable eyes.

"Damn, could my husband’s video actually be real?"

"How could it be real? If it were, they would have divorced last year, who could endure that?"

"If it were real, how could they have displayed affection on that variety show before the year-end?"

"Heh, reality shows, the key is to show off. They’re all actors, nothing’s impossible."

"The couple’s contract just expired, and they immediately announced their divorce. Doesn’t this prove the videos from last year as true or false?"

"Isn’t divorce among celebrity couples quite common? Don’t maliciously speculate about others, let’s just wish them both happiness."

Around four thirty in the afternoon, the studios of the L-surnamed male star and Y-surnamed female star officially announced their divorce.

The reasons were the usual ones: long-term separation, spending little time together, lacking communication and understanding, etc., all very high-sounding.

But as it reminded people of the video that went viral last year, platforms like Douyin, Weibo, Little Red Potato forums, etc., were successively overwhelmed.

The topic of Tianxing Intelligent Driving matching up to Tesla was just making headway but was quickly obliterated by the wave of gossip-loving netizens.

In today’s entertainment-obsessed world, the progress of domestic car machines is no match for the more appealing scandals of the entertainment industry.

Still, Chen Gang’s test videos were played and analyzed frame by frame for authenticity by various car companies in their meeting rooms.

As the leading automotive media personality, Chen Gang’s fame and influence even surpass 90% of new energy brands.

His videos also have a certain reference value.

"Clearly, both are equipped with Tianxing’s car system, so why is there such a huge difference between the Intelligent Driving of L9 and Tianshu?"

"Is Lu Liang providing a reduced version?"

"It shouldn’t be a reduced version; it’s just that the mismatch between visual technology and radar laser technology resulted in this disparity."

"Because, upon comparing the Intelligent Driving components of both cars, the Tianshu uses self-designed X-8351 auxiliary chips, whereas the Lixiang L9 uses Suteng Juchuang’s XUY-193 auxiliary chips."

This statement plunged the meeting room into silence.

Everyone present was highly astute, and they might not fully understand the technology, but they had some insight into business strategies.

If Tianxing did this intentionally, they split a full product into two parts, with one part offered for free to any company.

The other part, which hadn’t even been mentioned until Tianshu’s launch, had clear motives.

If they want the full version of Tianxing Intelligent Driving, they need to contact Tianxing Technology, and unsurprisingly, they need to pay extra, and surely for each car.

"Damn it, if we had known, we shouldn’t have used their system. What a huge trap they laid."

"Stop with the hindsight; when we took it, didn’t we consider such a possibility?"

The meeting room fell silent again. Initially, they adopted Tianxing’s car system with a hope of finding a better option.

At the beginning, they had nothing to show, and it was hard to face investors without anything, so they needed a product for better financing.

So, the plan was to first use Tianxing’s car system, then research it, and develop their own system.

But people tend to become complacent.

While they were progressing, Tianxing’s car system wasn’t stagnant, and Lu Liang was willing to spend money.

In over two years, they went from nothing to something.

With more than twelve hundred programmers and over eight million DiDi drivers working around the clock feeding experiences into Tianxing’s car machine algorithms, accelerating its growth.

Every time they made painstaking progress, Tianxing advanced two or three more steps from a leading position.

Over time, with no returns on investment in sight, the budget for related departments’ R&D was continuously cut, until no one mentioned self-developing car systems anymore.

"The initial decision was unanimously voted through; discussing responsibility now is pointless."

The Deep Blue CEO paused, then said coldly, "Now, immediately use your connections to find out which other peer companies have noticed this issue and contacted Tianxing; try to get a feel from them."

As many media said, this year is truly the first year for the new energy industry.

Deep Blue plans to release three new models by mid-year and year-end; one of which aims to enter the 200,000 yuan market. .

Intelligent auxiliary driving and intelligent cockpits are two absolute mainstreams in the current market. New cars need these to sell at a good price and gain consumer acceptance.

Now it’s too late for self-research; occupying market share is paramount, and Chang’an will not allocate funds for R&D on car systems, which is meaningless and wasteful.

Deep Blue Automobile’s deep cooperation with Tianxing has become a necessity.

Although Lu Liang considers a car system with just over 10% market share still a sapling that needs nurturing to grow strong, for newly established Deep Blue, it has become a terrifying giant.

If they don’t want to be completely swallowed up, working as labor for others, Deep Blue must ally with other peers to increase their bargaining power, so Tianxing wouldn’t dare to act in an unrestrained manner.

"This day came so damn quickly."

The Deep Blue CEO sighed, knowing this day would come but didn’t expect it to be so soon.

He paused, then called his assistant: "Book me a ticket to Shenzhen for tomorrow and contact Yu Dazui."

Tianxing may currently not dare to be too conceited, but it doesn’t mean they won’t in the future. He needs to prepare for both scenarios.

Though Deep Blue has abandoned the car machine project, it doesn’t mean others will too. For example, Huawei is a potential partner.

Avoiding letting Tianxing dominate alone is beneficial for companies like Deep Blue that don’t want to self-develop car systems as it prevents it from getting bigger.

As soon as he finished speaking, a senior executive said, "We’ve found out that Li Xiang is contacting Tianxing, seemingly discussing cooperation."

"Where are they in the discussions now?" the Deep Blue CEO asked anxiously, and the person replied with a strange expression, "They talked, but seemingly not really discussed. Interestingly, Director Liu of the Ideal Division is quite frank, and even expressed Mr. Li’s desire to meet with you."

The Deep Blue CEO was momentarily shocked, then suddenly laughed, turning to give instructions: "Immediately arrange a trip to Beijing for me, whether by plane or high-speed train. Also, contact Mr. Li and schedule a meeting as soon as possible."

Clearly, he and Li Xiang tacitly agreed on their thoughts, both wanting to unite to increase their bargaining power.

At night, in the Beijing Yizhuang Economic Development Zone, JD’s headquarters building.

Lu Liang was holding a glass of wine, standing on a high-rise, looking at a construction site in the distance, brightly lit like daylight.

He toasted to Daqiangzi and Lei Jun, took a small sip, and smiled: "Mr. Lei, when is Xiaomi’s factory going to be completed?"

Every time he came to Beijing, drinking with Daqiangzi was an indispensable activity, and it happened that Lei Jun was also there today.

He heard Lei Jun was here to inspect the construction site but got caught by Daqiangzi midway and was dragged here to drink with them.

"If things go fast, by December this year; if slower, perhaps delayed until next spring." Lei Jun returned the toast.

Daqiangzi jokingly said with a smile, "Only your presence has such power. When I met Mr. Lei on the way, he was reluctant to come. It was only upon hearing that you were coming that he agreed."

Lei Jun smiled wryly, swallowed his words, filled a couple of glasses: "Mr. Liu, it’s my fault, here’s a toast to you."

Once he finished speaking, he drank the glass in one go, prompting Daqiangzi to clap and praise, "Still as forthright as Mr. Lei."

He glanced at Lu Liang’s glass, still half full, and teased, "Unlike someone who nurses one drink all night; even fish can drink better."

There are no brothers or camaraderie in a drinking venue; if you don’t drink heartily, Daqiangzi wouldn’t care if you’re Mr. Lei, Mr. Lu, Mr. Ma, or Mr. Ren; he’ll roast you regardless.

Lu Liang squinted with a smile, pretending not to hear, taking another small sip.

Lei Jun laughed, diverting the topic: "Mr. Lu, aren’t you worried the six major factions might plan to besiege Bright Summit?"

They at Xiaomi received an invitation from Jihu Lantu, and they believe not only Xiaomi but also Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, Meizu, and even Apple have received cooperation invitations from car companies.

Everyone has long suffered under Android.

But the situation is now set; there is no way to change it. HongMeng and Pengpai were merely improvements based on Android.

It’s not due to a lack of funds or capability to develop a pure domestic mobile system, but the path is blocked, and consumers won’t accept it.

No car companies want the mobile market situation to repeat in the car machine sector.

Lei Jun agreed to Daqiangzi’s invitation, originally intending to test Lu Liang’s stance. Xiaomi has the capability for self-research and is already on that path, but they started too late and need time.

He hopes Lu Liang will open a negotiating trap to anger others, thereby buying time for the Xiaomi car system.