dhibooks Chapter 479 Going Against the Grain
Chapter 479 Going Against the Grain
Sensing the hostility emanating from various companies, the office area of TUTU Technology's Shanghai headquarters felt as oppressive as the sea surface before a typhoon makes landfall.
No one spoke in the hallway, the keyboard clicks were half as slow as usual, and three people stood in front of the coffee machine in the break room, but none of them touched it; they just stood there.
The receptionist's phone vibrated. She glanced down and saw it was a news notification with the headline, "Shanda officially announces the suspension of all channel cooperation with TUTU Technology."
She flipped her phone face down on the table without opening it.
These kinds of news have been pushed out one after another in the past two days.
Zhou Mingzhe stood at the door of his office, the report in his hand already creased from being squeezed.
The report shows a precipitous curve, plummeting from its peak three days ago with an alarmingly steep slope.
In the past, this line was always rising; this is the first time I've seen it drop so sharply.
The operations manager next to him also looked unpleasant, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"How much has the user base shrunk?" Zhou Mingzhe asked.
"As of 9 a.m. today, daily active users have decreased by 68% compared to the same period last week," the operations manager said in a low voice. "About 70%."
Zhou Mingzhe didn't say anything, folded the report and put it in his pocket, then turned and walked towards the conference room.
There were already more than a dozen people in the conference room, but Lu Ran had not yet arrived.
The chairs on both sides of the long table were filled with heads of various departments. Some were looking down at their phones, some were writing something in their notebooks, and some were leaning back in their chairs staring blankly at the ceiling.
A young operations specialist sat in the corner, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking involuntarily. The person next to him reached out and patted him on the back without saying a word.
When Lu Ran pushed the door open and came in, everyone's eyes turned to him at the same time.
He was wearing a dark gray sweater, his hair was a little messy, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days.
But his steps were steady as he walked in, neither deliberately relaxed nor stiff; he was just walking normally.
He sat down at one end of the long table, placed his phone on it, and looked around at the people in the conference room.
"Let's start with the data," he began. "Brother Zhou, you go ahead."
Zhou Mingzhe stood up, spread the folded report out on the table, and said in a calm voice, "As of 9:00 AM this morning, daily active users have decreased by 68% compared to the same period last week. The WeChat login interface experienced three intermittent disconnections last night, each lasting one to three minutes. Although it has been restored, it has caused a large number of users to be unable to log in normally. Shanda's comprehensive ban announcement was issued yesterday afternoon and took effect this morning. Although NetEase has not issued a formal announcement, their products have completely stopped their joint promotional activities with us. Weibo is also taking advantage of the situation; this morning they pinned an analysis article predicting our downfall to the top of the gaming section, and it has already garnered over a million views."
After saying this, he pushed the report forward and sat down again.
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
Then someone spoke up. It was a middle-aged man in his fifties, Lao Feng from the product department. He had been working at TUTU for almost a year and was considered one of the more senior managers in the company.
He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat: "Mr. Lu, to be frank, the current situation is worse than our worst-case scenario prediction. Three major manufacturers are simultaneously blocking our distribution channels, and the rate of user churn is far exceeding our expectations. If this situation continues for more than a month, our revenue may fall below the level of the same period last year."
The head of the marketing department chimed in, his tone even more urgent: "And it's not just a channel issue. The public opinion environment is changing too. Yesterday afternoon, Tencent contacted several gaming media outlets, and a few have already published articles analyzing TUTU's 'over-reliance on a single product.' They're trying to crush us in the media."
"And there's still hiring," the HR director said, leaning back in his chair and tapping his fingers on the table. "Since yesterday, two candidates for technical positions have called to cancel their interviews. They said they saw the news and felt that TUTU's stability was in question, so they're not considering leaving for the time being. If this continues, our staffing plans for the second half of the year may have to be put on hold."
The meeting room fell silent for a while.
Then someone whispered, "Why don't we shut down two of the servers in Europe to save on operating costs?"
The moment this suggestion was made, it was like a drop of water falling into a hot oil pan—it exploded with a crackling sound.
"Europe cannot be closed. It's the only market that's still rising right now."
"But we can't let domestic business eat up all the profits from overseas operations; our cash reserves won't last long."
"Then let's scale down our domestic operations. Let's halt a few non-core projects for now and concentrate our resources on preserving the core of League of Legends."
"League of Legends is currently the game most severely hampered by Tencent's control. What's the point of concentrating resources on protecting a product whose life is being strangled by its competitor?"
"So what do you suggest we do? Just admit defeat?"
"I didn't say we're admitting defeat. I said we're strategically withdrawing. We'll pull back the front lines first, and then launch another offensive once the situation becomes clearer."
"It's easy to take back what we can't take back. Do you think Tencent will give us a chance to breathe?"
The debate grew louder, with several groups sticking to their own arguments, and no one could convince anyone else.
Old Feng leaned back in his chair, holding his teacup, frowning and remaining silent.
The head of the marketing department drew a bunch of arrows and circles on the whiteboard, with the last arrow pointing to the word "shrink".
The HR director chimed in, "Contracting out is the right thing to do; stabilizing the core team is more important than anything else."
Lu Ran remained silent.
He sat at one end of the long table, with a blank notebook open in front of him, without any words written on it.
He watched the people in front of him arguing back and forth, his gaze shifting from one face to another, as if he were observing something worthwhile.
Finally, Lao Feng noticed Lu Ran's expression.
He put down his teacup and gestured to the others to be quiet.
The noise in the conference room gradually subsided, and everyone's attention returned to Lu Ran.
Lu Ran sat up straight, closed the laptop, and pushed it forward.
He spoke softly, but each word was clear: "I've heard a lot from everyone. Retrenchment, concentrating resources, stabilizing the core business, and waiting for the situation to become clearer before taking action—these ideas are all correct. If TUTU were a normal company, retreating would indeed be the only option when facing this level of encirclement."
He paused, his gaze shifting from Lao Feng's face to the head of the marketing department's face, and then back to the center of the table.
"But TUTU is not a normal company."
The meeting room fell silent.
Some people looked up in confusion, while others frowned and looked at each other.
Lu Ran continued, "Many people say that when a company is facing survival, it needs to scale back to protect itself. This sounds reasonable, but there's a problem—if we scale back now, we've already lost in terms of momentum. Why are Tencent, Shanda, NetEase, and Weibo joining forces? It's because they're afraid of TUTU. They're afraid we'll grow too fast, afraid we'll steal their users, afraid we'll become an uncontrollable force before they can even react. The core logic behind all their actions now is one thing—to force us to retreat."
"If we really retreat, we'll play right into their hands. They'll think this tactic is effective and will use even harsher measures to force us to retreat again next time. One step back is ten steps back, and ten steps back means there's nowhere left to retreat. I think everyone understands this principle."
Some people in the conference room nodded, while others frowned slightly, but no one interrupted him.
Lu Ran picked up his phone from the table, opened a page, and then turned the phone towards everyone.
The screen shows a screenshot of the backend of a recruitment website, displaying job openings for TUTU Technology in multiple cities, nearly double the number from the previous week.
"From now on, the company's core strategy will focus on only one thing—expanding recruitment."
There was a two-second silence in the conference room.
Then Lao Feng spoke first, his voice clearly showing surprise: "Expand recruitment? Now? We've lost 70% of our users, revenue is declining, and four major companies have joined forces to block us. And now you're saying we need to expand recruitment?"
"Yes. Expand enrollment."
The marketing manager chimed in, "Mr. Lu, you're right. Shrinking might make us seem like we're backing down. But isn't expanding hiring a bit... overkill? We have enough cash on hand to last a while, but if we expand hiring on a large scale, labor costs will double. If revenue continues to decline, we'll run out of money and have no way out."
The HR director hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "Moreover, at this juncture, the job market's confidence in us is also wavering. Those two candidates who canceled their interviews for technical positions yesterday weren't isolated cases. I spoke with a headhunting firm this morning, and they said the number of candidates willing to accept TUTU's offer has decreased by almost half compared to last month. Even if we post additional openings now, whether we can find suitable candidates is a problem."
Lu Ran waited until they had all finished speaking before continuing, "I have three reasons for mentioning expanding recruitment. First, we don't need all employees; we need people who are willing to stay even during the company's most difficult times. TUTU's compensation has always been relatively high in the industry, and high compensation should correspond to high loyalty. If employees are eager to leave at the slightest sign of trouble, there's no point in keeping them."
"The second meaning is that expanding recruitment is a statement. Not a statement to competitors, but a statement to the market, to existing players, and to potential partners who are still observing. A company that is truly on the verge of collapse will not expand recruitment at this time. Only a company that is confident in itself will start hiring when everyone else thinks it is going to die."
"The third layer," he paused, "I didn't mention it earlier, but I can tell you now. I have another project that hasn't been launched yet. The scale and market potential of this project are larger than all our current products combined. If it succeeds, TUTU won't just return to its current size; it will leap to another level. But this project needs people, a lot of people, and not just anyone; they need people who can really do the work. So, the current expansion isn't just for show; it's to prepare for that project."
The meeting room fell completely silent.
Old Feng held his teacup in his hand, hovering in mid-air without putting it down.
The head of the marketing department stopped writing the word "shrink" on the whiteboard and didn't move it.
The HR director leaned back in his chair, his expression slowly shifting from confusion to thoughtfulness.
The young operations specialist in the corner removed his hand from his face. His eyes were still red, but the look in his eyes had changed, from a previous dejected look to an uncertain brightness.
The colleague who suggested shutting down the European servers hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mr. Lu, what exactly is this project you're talking about?"
Lu Ran glanced at him: "I can't say right now. It's not because I don't trust you, it's because the time isn't right. When it's time to announce it, I'll lay out the complete plan for everyone to see."
The meeting room was silent for about ten seconds.
Then Lao Feng placed his teacup on the table with a soft sound.
He spoke a sentence, his voice much lower than before, but the wavering in his tone was gone.
"Okay. I believe you."
The marketing manager hesitated for a moment, then put down his pen: "How should we determine the pace of recruitment? Should it be a full-scale rollout or a phased approach?"
Lu Ran said it would be done in batches.
The first batch will recruit technical and operations personnel, the second batch will recruit product designers and project managers, and the third batch will be decided based on the situation.
He asked the HR director to draft a detailed expansion plan, clearly specifying the positions, numbers, priorities, and timelines, and to submit it to him by tomorrow.
The HR director nodded and began taking notes in his notebook.
Old Feng then asked, "Should we do something to ease tensions between Shanda and NetEase?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment and said that there was no need to take the initiative.
If they come to us, we'll talk.
If they don't come looking for you, there's no need to go out of your way to be nice to them.
At this stage, taking the initiative to show goodwill will only be interpreted as a guilty conscience.
The meeting then discussed several specific details for about twenty minutes.
Lu Ran had the operations department produce a new version of the external statement, with stronger wording than the previous version. The core message was: TUTU Technology will not change its development direction due to any external pressure, nor will it back down in the face of any threat.
When the meeting ended, the atmosphere in the conference room was completely different from what it had been two hours earlier.
Some people stretched as they stood up, some were discussing the priority of positions in the expanded recruitment with the people next to them, and some were carrying empty cups to the tea room, their steps noticeably lighter than when they came in.
Lu Ran remained seated, watching everyone leave one by one.
He picked up the blank notebook on the table and flipped through it, but hadn't written a single word from beginning to end.
He closed the notebook, put it back in the drawer, stood up, and walked out of the meeting room.
The lights in the corridor were on, and several colleagues were chatting by the window. Their voices bounced back from the wall, sounding more lively than before.
As Lu Ran walked past them, someone nodded at him, and he nodded back without stopping.
He returned to his office, closed the door, and sat down in his office chair.
He took out his phone and glanced at it. Chen Mo had sent him a message with just a few words: "Aren't you busy right now?"
He replied with an "Mm".
Two seconds later, Chen Mo sent another message: "Zhou Ge and I will come to find you in a bit."
Lu Ran smiled as he looked at the words, put his phone on the table, and leaned back in his chair to wait.
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