Pei Qian asked about other aspects in detail and finally concluded: the Genius Coming project was temporarily safe.

“Phew… seems I was overthinking things.”

“Similar sharing projects should burn money for a long time during their early stages. How could they become profitable so quickly? That’s simply impossible.”

“Looks like we need to continue burning money urgently and try to break the capital chain as soon as possible!”

Pei Qian relaxed a little.

Now he felt like he was racing against time. The key was whether Genius Coming would become popular first or the money would be burned out first.

Once the capital chain broke with no funds to replenish it, this operation would quickly collapse, and might even generate debt—which would be absolutely delightful.

Pei Qian stood up, preparing to leave.

At this moment, He Desheng’s phone rang.

He Desheng hesitated. By rights, he should see Mr. Pei off first, but after seeing the caller ID, he felt he should answer it immediately.

Pei Qian glanced at him: “Go ahead and answer. Don’t mind me.”

He Desheng nodded and picked up the phone: “Hello? Mr. Li.”

Pei Qian: “…”

An ominous premonition suddenly surged in his heart.

He Desheng listened with a serious expression, then nodded vigorously: “Yes, Mr. Li! No problem, Mr. Li! Thank you, Mr. Li!”

Pei Qian: “?”

An even more ominous premonition continued to surge in his heart.

He Desheng hung up the phone: “Mr. Pei, good news! Mr. Li thinks the Genius Coming project currently has high heat and rapidly growing attention, with great prospects! So, he’s decided to invest another three million yuan!”

“And under his leadership, other investors have also gained increased confidence. We don’t need to worry about funding in the short term!”

Pei Qian stared blankly at He Desheng, a question mark slowly floating above his head.

What the hell…

Every time the situation showed slight improvement, Mr. Li would appear at just the right moment!

Pei Qian was furious.

But on second thought, this seemed reasonable, because Mr. Li had only invested one million initially.

Pei Qian knew clearly that this project was destined to fail and didn’t want Mr. Li to spend too much. So after much persuasion, he had convinced him to invest only one million.

But Mr. Li had been nursing a grudge all along!

Having invested only one million, seeing the current situation, he naturally felt more and more regretful for holding back, so he decided to invest more to earn more money…

Pei Qian felt exhausted.

You people keep coming in waves, will it ever end?!

Pei Qian now felt like a furnace stoker, desperately shoveling coal into the furnace, hoping to burn all the coal so he could clock out and go home.

But these people kept delivering truckloads of coal, making it impossible to burn it all!

Not only that, but the coal was piling up more and more, burning faster and faster, and the fire in the furnace was growing more and more intense…

Pei Qian, who had stood up intending to leave, sat back down.

His expression was grave, feeling immense pressure and caught in a dilemma.

Seeing Mr. Pei’s solemn expression, He Desheng’s eyes lit up.

It appeared! “Mr. Pei in favorable circumstances”!

As everyone knew, when Mr. Pei faced adversity, he would naturally exude an optimistic attitude that infected those around him, allowing everyone to unite and overcome difficulties.

But when Mr. Pei was in favorable circumstances, he would look solemn and fall into deep thought, indicating that Mr. Pei was being vigilant in times of peace, considering long-term plans for the future and potential risks in favorable situations.

Mr. Pei had now entered the state of “reflection in favorable circumstances”!

He Desheng didn’t dare to disturb him and just quietly waited on the side.

Perhaps a casual word of guidance from Mr. Pei after his “reflection in favorable circumstances” would benefit him tremendously!

Pei Qian felt somewhat at a loss, caught in a dilemma.

Move forward and continue burning money?

But what if this project became increasingly popular?

Retreat and sell off all the shares?

Given the current situation, the returns would probably make him cry on the spot…

After two rounds of financing, the Genius Coming project had received nearly ten million in investment from Dream Fulfillment Venture Capital. Pei Qian’s actual controlling shares (including both the startup team and Dream Fulfillment Venture Capital) had been diluted from the initial 90% to around 60%.

But this also meant that the valuation of the Genius Coming project company had ballooned to around 25 million…

Of course, valuation was virtual. Whether it could be converted to cash depended crucially on whether there were buyers.

However, seeing how envious these investors were of this project, Pei Qian felt that if he were to transfer all his shares, someone would buy them…

What should he do?

Too dangerous.

Pei Qian felt like he was walking a tightrope. One wrong step, and below was an abyss of no return.

“Let me calm down a bit.”

“Think carefully, what’s most important for investors?”

“It’s confidence!”

“The reason the valuation of the Genius Coming project keeps soaring is because these investors believe Tenda is backing it, giving them an unrealistic confidence.”

“So, I must find a way to shatter this confidence to break this deadlock!”

“Once everyone’s confidence in this project collapses instantly, they’ll consider finding buyers to escape. When morale disperses, this valuation will avalanche on the spot.”

“Hmm, this seems to be the only way.”

Pei Qian pondered for a moment, roughly finding the direction he needed to pursue.

But how could he make everyone lose confidence?

Create some negative news?

But with the system’s restrictions, he couldn’t engage in those small maneuvers.

Moreover, everyone had invested quite a bit of money, showing how firm their confidence in this project was. Even if Pei Qian actively said this project was unreliable, they probably wouldn’t believe him.

Difficult!

Pei Qian had found the right direction, but wasn’t sure how to proceed.

No choice, he had to ask He Desheng, who was a professional after all.

Pei Qian pondered for a moment, then asked: “If you wanted to make other investors lose confidence in the Genius Coming project, what would you do?”

He Desheng was stunned.

So this was what Mr. Pei had been thinking about all this time?

Why would he want other investors to lose confidence in the Genius Coming project? Wasn’t this something competitors should be thinking about…

Judging from Mr. Pei’s expression, this seemed to be… a test for him?

He Desheng’s expression immediately became serious, repeatedly pondering the deeper meaning that might be hidden behind this simple question.

After thinking for two minutes without discerning any deeper meaning, he decided to answer conservatively: “If it were me, I would continuously transfer shares.”

“Increasing shares indicate we’re optimistic about this project, while continuously reducing shares indicate the opposite. So, transferring shares can undermine other investors’ confidence.”

Pei Qian nodded slightly. That’s right!

Just by reducing shares, he could convey a very clear message: I think this project has reached its peak, and I’m starting to bail out!

Conversely, if he held onto his shares tightly, even if he told others he wasn’t optimistic about this project, they wouldn’t believe him!

But… wouldn’t this mean making money?

Even if he didn’t sell all his shares at once but rather bit by bit, he’d still be profiting.

However, as long as he sold just a little, this kind of profit was still within an acceptable range.

More importantly, it would undermine others’ investment confidence, cool down the project’s heat, and ultimately achieve the goal of burning money and making losses.

With this in mind, Pei Qian made his decision.

“Then let’s sell!”

He Desheng was stunned.

Sell now?

The project’s situation still looked quite good. Couldn’t they be greedy for one more round?

But seeing Mr. Pei’s determined gaze, He Desheng suddenly became alert.

There’s a famous saying in investment circles: never try to earn the last copper coin.

Now everyone was optimistic about the Genius Coming project. Selling now might not be at the highest point, but they could still make a significant profit.

If they continued to be greedy, and the project started to decline with others no longer optimistic about it, it would be too late!

He Desheng couldn’t help but marvel—indeed worthy of being Mr. Pei! Even in such favorable circumstances, he could maintain such a clear mind!

“Mr. Pei, I understand! Leave it to me!” He Desheng patted his chest, full of confidence.

……

……

February 11, Friday.

Endpoint Chinese Network Study Group.

During lunch, the atmosphere was somewhat different compared to before.

Originally, everyone spoke freely at the dining table, discussing all sorts of topics, many unrelated to web novels.

This was normal, just like how authors in chat groups only occasionally discussed writing techniques, spending most of their time just chatting casually.

But today, the situation was different.

Everyone was holding their phones, eating Slackin’ takeout while seriously reading novels.

“I’ve caught up.”

“Brother Cui’s new book is amazing! Can’t compare, can’t compare.”

“Yeah, it feels like Brother Cui has found the right path with this new book. Before, when he wrote Xuanhuan, he did well, but others wrote better than him. But once he changed the genre, he instantly stood out from the crowd! I’ve never seen anyone write an urban theme like this before!”

“It’s been dominating the new book rankings for a week now. Since its release on New Year’s Eve, the data has been surging. Too impressive.”

“The writing style is newer, and the pacing is good too. Worth learning from!”

“You can tell the website is promoting it, too. I have a feeling Brother Cui’s book is going to explode in popularity. It might even break many of the site’s records!”

“At the current updating speed of ten thousand words per day, it will be ready for the paywall by the end of this month. Then we’ll see just how impressive it is!”

“By the way, Mingyu’s book has also been rising in the rankings lately. I checked the readers’ comments, and they all say the recent plot developments are well-written.”

The authors each expressed their opinions.

When a trendsetting, popular book appeared online, authors would study and discuss it, trying to gain some experience from it.

Cui Geng wasn’t here; he was still gathering material at the Tenda Games Department.

Mingyu was present, though. He was reading Cui Geng’s new book “Butterfly Game” along with the others.

Hearing someone mention him, Mingyu sighed: “Yes, I have to say, the Tenda Spirit training from a while back has helped me improve!”

“And it’s not just me. Xiaochong, Dragon Lord, and Chenxin have all participated in the Tenda Spirit training, right? Your results should have improved, too, right?”

Xiaochong nodded: “Yes, my subscription numbers have indeed improved recently.”

Dragon Lord tugged at the beard on his chin: “The data has improved, but I also reached a small, exciting plot point in my story, so I’m not sure if it’s specifically because of the Tenda Spirit. As for other aspects… I’ve been writing more smoothly lately.”

Chenxin kept his head down, eating: “My data hasn’t changed much, but I think that’s mainly because my recent plot arrangement hasn’t been great. After I make some adjustments, there should still be room for improvement in my results.”

The other authors all showed envious expressions.

“It seems like it’s really useful!”

“Yes, Brother Cui was the first to go and also received the position of ‘Observer,’ allowing him to deeply comprehend this spirit, so he’s improved the fastest. Mingyu, Xiaochong, Dragon Lord, and Chenxin have all participated in the Tenda Spirit training, and their results have also changed! Even if the results haven’t changed much, at least their mindset has stabilized!”

“It seems this training works!”

“I’m getting itchy to try it. I’ve reserved a spot for Monday’s Tenda Spirit training, so don’t fight me for it, everyone!”

“No way, I want to go too! May the best person win!”