Gao Ming sighed, feeling somewhat unlucky.

How had he been targeted by Tenda and Mr. Pei?

Many internet companies in China were now living in constant fear, worried about being targeted by Tenda.

Because once Tenda set its sights on you, regardless of whether you were a big or small company, you wouldn’t have an easy time!

What was more outrageous was that Tenda’s ambitions were now fully exposed. Previously, they had only dabbled in fields adjacent to gaming, venturing into internet cafés, e-sports, and similar businesses, which didn’t seem to constitute direct competition or conflict with many internet giants.

But now it was different—the plot had been revealed!

Tenda’s policy had completely changed, starting with games and beginning to influence reality!

“Real Estate Agent Simulator” and “Safe and Civilized Driving” were basically showing their hand.

The key was that many seemingly powerful giant companies had suddenly become vulnerable, with no way to counter!

“Mr. Pei is truly a terrifying person…”

Gao Ming couldn’t help but lament that facing off against Mr. Pei was like a nightmare.

Because you never knew what his next move would be!

This situation seemed unrelated to Mr. Pei, since Chi Xing Studio was just a VR game company funded by Tenda and Shenhua, operating independently, and Sloth Apartment was only a sub-brand under Tenda, basically having its own development plan.

But the change in Sloth Apartment’s model, the method of using games to influence reality—which of these could be separated from Mr. Pei?

If someone said this wasn’t directed by Mr. Pei behind the scenes, Gao Ming absolutely wouldn’t believe it!

But knowing this didn’t help. Mr. Pei was too powerful; he never moved unless victory was certain. Other companies encountering this situation could only give up.

Of course, giving up only applied to Sloth Apartment. Against other companies, they would strike even harder!

After racking his brains, Gao Ming provided a countermeasure to the executives.

Sloth Apartment was coming on strong with two powerful weapons: Shenhua Real Estate and “Real Estate Agent Simulator.” A short-term comeback was impossible. If they allowed Sloth Apartment to continue taking the high-end market that originally belonged to Zhujia Group, their market share and profits would inevitably decline, and the stock price would follow…

This was absolutely unacceptable.

So Gao Ming came up with a solution: steal business from other small agencies!

Although Zhujia Group was currently the largest rental platform in China, its market share was only about 60%. There were still other rental brands in the market and numerous small agencies.

These entities also had many clients and property listings.

For Zhujia Group, they probably couldn’t compete with Sloth Apartment in the high-end segment anymore. Going upmarket wasn’t an option, but they could go downmarket.

As long as they could squeeze out these other small agencies, their market share and profits could stabilize!

Of course, this was only a last resort. Once they adjusted their strategic focus downward, with Sloth Apartment cultivating the high-end market, the gap and reputation between the two companies in the high-end market would only widen. There might never be a chance to turn the tables.

But there was no alternative—Zhujia Group had no better choice.

Should they continue fighting Sloth Apartment in the high-end market now, making futile efforts that would lead to further decline in market share and stock price, allowing small agencies to exploit the situation? Or should they give up the fight with Sloth Apartment and go after those small agencies to maintain market share and stock price?

It was a difficult choice, but after so much deliberation, Zhujia Group had realized the former was impossible and could only choose the latter.

If nothing unexpected happened, Gao Ming’s proposal should be approved soon.

“Ah, if only there were no Mr. Pei in this world, how wonderful that would be…”

Gao Ming believed that quite a few company bosses shared his thoughts.

…

Meanwhile, the “instigator” of everything, Pei Qian, was at home trying to resist the temptation of his big TV while continuing to develop his graduation thesis.

On weekdays, he would go to the office to write his thesis, where his efficiency was slightly higher.

But there was no choice—today was the weekend, and the office was closed.

Although Pei Qian could come and go as he pleased, as the boss, he couldn’t set a bad example for employees!

If everyone saw that Mr. Pei was working overtime, they might think the company direction had changed! They would all come in to work overtime, and that would be a disaster.

“Damn! It’s impossible to concentrate on weekends!”

After struggling for a while, Pei Qian reluctantly gave up.

The thesis could wait until Monday.

However, he didn’t succumb to the temptation of the big TV and game console. Instead, he began to consider arranging something meaningful for the weekend, such as finalizing the long-delayed zoo project.

Actually, the evaluation of zoo director candidates had been going on for some time, and he had received many suggestions from Liang Qianfan regarding the zoo’s location and structure.

But Pei Qian hadn’t made any official decisions yet because he had been busy writing his thesis on weekdays.

Now that it was the weekend and he couldn’t focus on his thesis, he might as well spend two days finalizing the zoo project, so he wouldn’t have to keep thinking about it.

After all, the zoo project was a top priority for emergency spending.

After lunch, Xiao Sun picked up Pei Qian and drove him to a private zoo in a county-level city near Jingzhou.

This private zoo had nothing particularly special about it. The reason Pei Qian had come all this way was mainly to evaluate the zoo’s director.

After more than an hour’s long drive, they finally arrived.

“Mr. Pei, we’re here,” said Xiao Sun.

Pei Qian had already taken two naps in the car. He finally turned to look out the window.

Goodness, this place was even more desolate than he had imagined.

Of course, “desolate” might not be the right word, as this looked like a very ordinary suburban area of a small county town. It wasn’t uninhabited; there was a small market nearby with signs of everyday life.

Pei Qian felt this place was desolate mainly because of his preconceived notions.

He had heard that this was a private zoo established entirely by a retired veteran on his own. He had thought that even if it was worse than zoos in some eighteenth-tier small cities, it shouldn’t be too bad.

Now it seemed he had lacked imagination.

The entrance to the zoo was extremely simple, without even a proper gate. On three or four cement steps, there was a wooden table with a handwritten notice board hanging above it, stating that the original ticket price was 20 yuan, with half-price (10 yuan) for children. On the outer walls on both sides of the entrance, one side had a faded animal poster, while the other side listed some precautions after entering.

The white paint on the walls had peeled off, exposing cement pillars on one side and looking mottled on the other. It appeared to be at least twenty or thirty years old.

This matched the information Pei Qian had learned: this private zoo was established around 1979 by a demobilized veteran named Tan Yingjiu, and it had been operating for thirty years.

Behind the notice board sat a man who looked to be in his thirties. Upon seeing Pei Qian and Xiao Sun, he hurriedly stood up: “Hello, are you Mr. Pei? I’m Tan Xinzhang. The zoo director, Tan Yingjiu, is my father.”

During the candidate evaluation, someone from Tenda had already visited. Xiao Sun had also called ahead today, which was why Tan Xinzhang was waiting outside.

Tan Xinzhang never expected Mr. Pei to come in person.

When Tenda staff came earlier to gather information, they had just asked casually without explaining their specific intentions. Tan Xinzhang thought, what connection could a big company like Tenda have with their small zoo?

At most, they might organize a visit for some employees, which would already be tremendous support.

So Tan Xinzhang hadn’t taken it seriously at all.

It wasn’t until Xiao Sun called today that Tan Xinzhang learned Mr. Pei was coming.

Pei Qian shook hands with Tan Xinzhang while looking him up and down.

Hmm, strong build with good strength—he must have done a lot of work around the zoo.

If something were to happen, he should be able to subdue most animals without much difficulty.

“Mr. Pei, please come in. Our zoo is very basic, so please forgive us.”

Tan Xinzhang led Pei Qian and Xiao Sun inside while explaining the history of this private zoo.

“My father served in the military when he was young and was demobilized in 1979. He was originally assigned to work at a cinema. But he didn’t like that kind of work. In his words, he often remembered his commander’s instructions: after returning to his hometown, he should do something meaningful for the local people.”

“My father wondered, what would be meaningful?”

“We’re just a small county town with a total urban population of less than 50,000. It’s isolated and backward, with no zoo. Besides cats, dogs, and other domestic animals, citizens had never seen or recognized wild animals.”

“So my father got the idea of starting a zoo. Initially, he simply hoped to allow people in our county to observe and understand wild animals up close, to encourage those who enjoyed eating wild game to kill fewer wild animals. He felt this was meaningful.”

“Then my father tried it out, exhibiting a small number of wild animals in an available space, and it was warmly received. So in 1988, my father used his own money to establish a formal private zoo right here, and he’s been running it for thirty years.”

“Currently, my zoo has about twenty species of animals, such as pythons, black bears, crocodiles, macaques, and other wild animals, as well as relatively common animals like Tibetan mastiffs, mules, and horses.”

“At our peak, we even kept lions and ostriches, but later, as visitor numbers decreased and expenses grew, we were forced to transfer them to the Jingzhou Zoo.”

“Now we only keep relatively easy-to-maintain animals like pythons, crocodiles, and macaques.”

As Tan Xinzhang introduced the zoo, he led Pei Qian to see these animals.

Although Pei Qian had mentally prepared himself before coming, he was still shocked to see the conditions here.

The so-called animal enclosures were just a few small bungalows, some with fences, others with glass. Wild animals like pythons and macaques were kept indoors, while animals like Tibetan mastiffs and mules were kept outdoors.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, stooped in posture and appearing to be in his seventies, was carefully feeding the animals and cleaning up.