allonlinenovel Chapter 81 The Visitor
Chapter 81 The Visitor
Xia Kanghao tapped his fingers lightly on the table. This was a habitual gesture he made when making decisions—Su Chen had noticed it first in the video of the media briefing. This time, he made his decision in just two seconds.
"To be honest, after the acquisition of Tianying, we conducted a complete strategic assessment internally. The conclusion was that Tianying's weakness lay in flight control, but addressing this issue was neither costly nor time-efficient. The optimal solution was for Tianying to pursue a path that differentiated itself from Hongyuan."
"Where is it misaligned?"
"Agricultural services. We don't manufacture drones, we provide services. Using Hongyuan's flight control SDK as the underlying layer, combined with Tianying's brand and distribution channels, we'll launch a nationwide plant protection operation service platform. We'll provide subsidies, sign pilots, and handle operations, transforming plant protection from 'selling machines' to 'selling services.' We aim to become the largest plant protection operation service provider in China within three years and go public within five."
Su Chen remained silent for a few seconds after listening.
This is not an illogical idea. On the contrary, it is quite business-savvy. But its fatal flaw lies not in its business logic—but in Hongyuan's ecological security.
If Haotai uses Hongyuan's SDK as its service platform and scales it up to be the largest in the country, then Hongyuan's SDK Open Alliance, painstakingly built over three years, will lose its voice within a year. All plant protection partners will be forced to choose sides, opting to remain members of Hongyuan's alliance or join Haotai's service platform. And the roles of these two—the manager of the alliance ecosystem vs. the monopolist of commercial services—are fundamentally irreconcilable.
Su Chen placed his hands on the table, crossed.
"Mr. Xia, to be frank, I cannot grant this authorization."
Xia Kanghao's smile faded slightly.
"reason?"
"The SDK Open Alliance was not designed to serve the monopolistic platform of a single giant. It's a foundational protocol built collaboratively by multiple parties in the industry. If I were to license the underlying interfaces separately to Haotai, it would be tantamount to selling the alliance's neutrality. That would be a betrayal to the more than fifty clients within the alliance."
"Neutrition is a nice-sounding word. But in the business world, it ultimately comes down to who pays the most," Xia Kanghao said slowly. "President Su, what we're discussing today is a perpetual license, and we can negotiate the price within a reasonable range. The ceiling is one hundred million. Plus, this case will be withdrawn immediately. This isn't a small deal."
"It's definitely not a small business. But even the biggest deal can't get me what I want."
What would you like?
"Three years from now, Hongyuan will still be at the center of this industry."
Xia Kanghao stared at him for a few seconds. His expression gradually turned ugly. Su Chen could tell that this man was not used to being rejected—especially not used to being directly rejected in a formal setting by someone nearly twenty years younger than him.
"President Su, let me put it more clearly. Hongyuan currently only has about two million in cash left, right? This is the tense period after acquiring Zheng's OEM factory. The industrial-grade Southern Power Grid contract hasn't been finalized yet. The thirty million from the Series B funding round is almost gone. At this point—another forty-two million lawsuit, regardless of the final award, will cost over a million in litigation and legal fees alone. How long can Hongyuan hold out?"
Fang Xu moved slightly next to Su Chen, but Su Chen suppressed him with a look.
"President Xia's calculations are very accurate," Su Chen said, his tone unchanged. "But you've overlooked one thing. The two million on Hongyuan's books is liquid cash. The company's overall assets, customer contracts, and supply chain network—these aren't listed in the cash section. If a lawsuit really comes down to it, we can handle it."
"Being able to endure it is one thing. Wanting to endure it is another."
Whether I want to persevere or not is not a decision you can make for me.
Su Chen stood up.
"Judge He, my response is—if mediation fails, we will go back and prepare for litigation. We will examine Wu Zheng's non-compete clause in court. Regarding the trade secret claim, we will provide complete technical timeline evidence. We will accept this case."
Judge He wrote a line in his notebook, then looked up at Xia Kanghao. Xia Kanghao nodded.
"Since mediation failed to reach a consensus, then we will proceed through legal procedures."
Xia Kanghao stood up. He extended his hand. Su Chen also extended his hand. The two shook hands.
After shaking hands, Xia Kanghao's last words were: "President Su, it's good that young people have backbone. But backbone requires the flesh and blood to keep up. I hope Hongyuan's flesh and blood can keep up."
Su Chen replied, "President Xia, every drop of blood and flesh that Hongyuan has shed over the past three years has not been given to us by anyone else."
The two walked out of the mediation center at 4:05 p.m.
That evening, three financial media outlets almost simultaneously released news of the lawsuit.
Haotai Capital v. Hongyuan Intelligent: The Industry Battle Behind the 42 Million Yuan Claim
Former Tianying CTO Wu Zheng's joining Hongyuan sparks legal disputes.
The Flight Control SDK Battle: Round Two – Capital and Technology
The comments section erupted again. Unlike Xia Kanghao's gaffe at the last media briefing, this time public opinion split into two camps.
One side believes that Haotai's claim is a reasonable business right protection - the non-compete clause does exist, and Wu Zheng's departure time is indeed within the cooling-off period.
The other side directly pointed to Xia Kanghao's true intentions—the 42 million was just a bargaining chip, and the real purpose was to obtain the core technology license from Hongyuan.
Su Chen did not respond. He instructed Sun Chen to politely decline all interview requests.
At 7 p.m., he was still in his office having a meeting with Fang Xu, Zhou Ming, and Wu Zheng to discuss their response strategy. Wu Zheng remained calm—he had long anticipated that Haotai would cause trouble after his departure, and before leaving, he had made a complete backup of all relevant documents. These included a list of his code contributions during his time at Tianying, his daily work logs after joining Hongyuan, and complete communication records between himself and the original Tianying flight control team.
"I won't let any of my former colleagues who joined Hongyuan take risks because of me," Wu Zheng said decisively. "Attorney Fang, please keep a copy of this file. You can present it in court if necessary."
Su Chen nodded. Just as he was about to arrange the next step, there was a knock on the office door.
It's Secretary Kobayashi.
"Mr. Su, there's a gentleman outside who wants to see you. He says his surname is Xu, he's from Hong Kong, and he's neither a journalist nor a lawyer. He says he used to work at Haotai Capital."
All four people in the office looked up.
"What kind of identification did he bring?" Fang Xu asked first.
"He gave me a business card and a USB drive." Xiaolin handed over the two items.
The business card reads: Xu Lang. Former Senior Investment Director of Haotai Capital Hong Kong Branch. A line of smaller print in the lower left corner reads: Resigned in September 2019.
The USB drive was in a sealed plastic bag. A handwritten note was attached to the bag: "A small gift. Please check the contents of the USB drive before deciding whether to meet me, Mr. Su. I'll be waiting at the coffee shop downstairs. Two hours. Leave on your own after two hours."
Su Chen handed the USB drive to Fang Xu. Fang Xu immediately plugged it into his portable, isolated laptop—a computer that was never connected to the internet and was only used to view external files.
Three minutes later, Fang Xu looked up. His expression was somewhat complicated.
"President Su, this is Haotai's internal strategic assessment report. The full version. The date is August 15th of this year. It was drafted by a strategic advisor to Xia Kanghao. The content—is far more extensive than what Xia Kanghao told you this afternoon."
"How much more?"
"The report clearly states that if Hongyuan refuses to grant the license, the second step is to join forces with Bosch, TDK, and Sony to pressure Hongyuan's sensor supply chain. Specifically, they will use the combined purchasing volume of Haotai and Tianying as leverage to persuade these three companies to implement differentiated pricing for Hongyuan in the first quarter of next year."
Su Chen smiled after hearing this. It wasn't a happy smile, but a smile that came from finally seeing the whole picture.
"The wall of sensors," he said softly.
"What?" Zhou Ming asked.
"It's nothing. Please let Mr. Xu come up."
Xiaolin nodded and went out.
Fang Xu said in a low voice, "President Su, if the contents of this USB drive are genuine, it would be of great value to us. But it could also be a trap."
"I know." Su Chen nodded. "So let's hear what he has to say first. Why did he give this to us?"
Five minutes later, Xu Lang was brought up.
He was thinner than Su Chen had imagined, in his early forties, wearing a dark gray suit without a tie. As he entered, he extended his hand, saying, "Mr. Su, excuse me."
When they shook hands, Su Chen noticed that his palm was very dry. Not the kind of dryness caused by nervousness or cold sweat—it was the habitual calmness of someone who makes decisions year-round.
The four people sat down on either side of the conference table. Xu Lang didn't exchange pleasantries. He went straight to the point.
"The reason I left Haotai was because I opposed the plan to sue Hongyuan. I objected twice, but Xia Kanghao suppressed my objections both times. After the second meeting where I objected, I submitted my resignation."
He glanced at the USB drive that Fang Xu had put back on the table.
"The contents of the USB drive are genuine. I know you're worried about a trap. But if it were, I wouldn't have walked right into it. I'm here today to ask President Su a question—does Hongyuan need someone who understands capital, understands Haotai, and is willing to help Hongyuan fend off Haotai in the next phase?"
Su Chen did not answer immediately.
He picked up his teacup and took a sip of the now-cold tea.
October in Shenzhen already feels like autumn. Outside the window, the night in Longhua is gradually deepening.