Chapter 97: Investing in You Would Be a Total Loss

“Plagiarized from... ICQ???” Huang He’s words once again fell into a heavy silence in the reception room. Brother Xiao Ma opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but found himself unable to do so.

Because Brother Xiao Ma knew all too well that QQ was a blatant copy of ICQ, and OO indeed looked very similar to ICQ as well. Huang He’s candid admission that his product was a copy of ICQ was undeniable—logically, it was even impeccable.

Moreover, it was tantamount to stuffing a mouthful of rice cake into Brother Xiao Ma’s mouth. Especially that line—brother, if he called OO a copy, then QQ would be his brother, meaning they were brothers united in copying together.

OO, QQ, ICQ—would II and CC emerge next to complete the set?

Brother Xiao Ma felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. That one statement completely stripped him of any footing.

“Hahahahaha!” Masayoshi Son suddenly burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face.

“Interesting—truly fascinating. Mr. Huang, the greatest gain for me today is meeting you and Mr. Xiao Ma!” Masayoshi Son pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes, and after a while, composed himself. “Mr. Huang, Mr. Xiao Ma, Mr. Lao Ma, please have a seat. Since we are gathered here, let us not be adversaries for now. How about we be four newly acquainted friends?”

“Yes, everyone, please sit down. Though business often breeds disputes, why not just be friends this once?” Old Brother Ma tried to smooth things over. Meanwhile, Brother Xiao Ma, who needed help, had no words to argue and obediently sat down. Huang Boss glanced at Masayoshi Son and also took a seat.

“Mr. Huang, you didn’t come here just to quarrel with our Brother Xiao Ma, did you?” Masayoshi Son smiled and asked.

“No...” Huang He had originally intended to say he came to acquire the Forty Thieves and perhaps buy out Tenda as well, which would be ideal. But Masayoshi Son, without missing a beat, said, “That’s right. Mr. Huang must be in need of funds. But it can’t be for OO, can it? If so, I’d be in a difficult spot. How about I invest in both QQ and OO together? That way, we’d be family and could pursue a merger…”

“Wait!” Huang He interrupted sharply, sensing that if Masayoshi Son continued, OO might very well become his. “OO is currently on the rise. I’m not short of money, and I have no intention of seeking financing for OO!”

“I see...” Masayoshi Son’s face instantly soured, but that was normal—a false hope dashed.

“So, the financing you seek, Mr. Huang, is for that phone your secretary holds,” Old Brother Ma suddenly had a revelation and exclaimed.

“Oh, but that’s the camera phone just now!” Brother Xiao Ma had been very observant. Earlier, Leng Zhiruo had only posed with the phone as if taking a picture, yet Brother Xiao Ma immediately noticed the phone’s unique feature.

“I see. Mr. Huang, may I take a look at your phone?” Masayoshi Son asked with surprise.

“Very well!” Huang He had initially wanted to refuse, but then reconsidered. The phone industry was easy for knockoffs, but to become like Apple—recognized worldwide with independent intellectual property rights—was extraordinarily difficult.

If the Tianxing phone could secure investment from Masayoshi Son, it would also gain access to the vast commercial network behind him, which would be invaluable for Tianxing’s development.

An investment from Masayoshi Son would save many detours.

Thus, Huang He changed his mind, deciding it was worth a try.

“Zhiruo, show Mr. Son our product!” Huang He gave a glance, and Leng Zhiruo presented the Tianxing phone to Masayoshi Son.

This Tianxing was the second-generation product developed by Liu Nian, essentially an engineering prototype. After a deep discussion with Huang He lasting over a week, Liu Nian had handed over company management to others, dedicating himself to the next-generation Tianxing phone. Three months later, this handcrafted engineering model was born.

Compared to previous models, this engineering phone was much thicker to accommodate an electronic digital camera.

After Huang He proposed the future of phones lay in combining mobile phones with digital cameras, Liu Nian procured an RB digital camera module and developed this Tianxing phone.

Had RB not released a camera-equipped phone last year, this would have been the world’s first camera phone.

Though RB had beaten them to the punch, this Tianxing was still China’s first camera phone, a point of great pride for Huang He. He promoted the phone investment opportunity while having Leng Zhiruo proudly display it, partly to showcase his technological prowess.

He wanted to give this investment god before 2018 a real shock—after all, the impact of a camera phone was akin to the revolutionary first iPhone.

Deep down, Huang He was confident that once Masayoshi Son saw this stunning creation, investing in Tianxing would be inevitable. His main concern was to limit Son’s investment control below 30% to prevent losing company control.

Yet, to Huang He’s shock, Masayoshi Son, after handling the phone less than a minute, handed it back with a smile and said, “I’m sorry, but SoftBank’s current investment direction does not include the phone industry. I don’t see its investment value, so we cannot collaborate on this.”

“Huh?” Huang Boss was stunned. Was this even a reasonable statement?

The phone industry, destined to be the world’s premier electronics sector, a device owned by everyone, reshaping the 21st century—how could it be dismissed as worthless?

If the man before him were an ordinary investor, Huang He might have thought he was foolish. But this was Masayoshi Son—could he really be so shortsighted?

Perhaps, Son’s post-2018 investment record was indeed poor, but that didn’t diminish his earlier acumen.

“Why? Why do you think phones have no value?” Huang He couldn’t help but ask.

“You misunderstand. I’m not saying phones have no investment value, but that in China, they don’t,” Masayoshi Son replied matter-of-factly. “First, no matter how well you make your phones, you won’t establish a global brand effect. So your phones will ultimately rely on low-price strategies domestically. Your market is confined to China.”

“But in our country, phones are defined as luxury consumer goods, and given your economic conditions, even twenty years from now, 80% of the population won’t be able to afford such luxuries. So your market is limited. Meanwhile, phones require massive cash flow; once funding dries up, my investment is lost. Therefore, I don’t consider phones a sound investment. The risk of total loss is too great,” Masayoshi Son stated decisively.