Chapter 2266: Boss Zhou Is Very Depressed!

Zhou Hongwei never dreamed that Ma Huateng would play so big!

When Tencent Technology's announcement of the either-or choice was released, Zhou Hongwei was dumbfounded.

Did they really have to go this far?

"Chairman, what do we do?"

Zhou Hongwei's secretary stood before him, looking cautiously at his boss; clearly, the boss was in a bad mood.

"Ignore him!"

Zhou Hongwei pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Keep promoting, say they stole customer data, understand? Seize on that and beat them to death!"

"Yes, Chairman."

The secretary quickly nodded and left.

Although he knew it was slander, at this point it was the only way to snatch victory from defeat.

Besides, whose fault was it that Penguin had so many pop-up ads? If they hadn't had so many, Qihu Technology wouldn't have had a chance to win.

Soon, Qihu Technology issued a statement, denouncing Tencent Technology's announcement as an extremely irresponsible act that threatened users and should be condemned!

And then?

Then there was no and then.

Suddenly, a flood of paid posters appeared online, analyzing Qihu Technology's actions and claiming they were clearly hyping up for their IPO next year.

Some also said that using Qihu Technology's antivirus software couldn't avoid various ads either.

At the same time, Future Technology, the developer of the hottest online game "Dungeon & Fighter," officially announced that the game would be updated.

After the update, "Dungeon & Fighter" would not run on computers installed with Qihu Technology's antivirus software.

The reason was simple: every account for "Dungeon & Fighter" was bound to Penguin chat software.

As soon as this news came out, Qihu Technology was stunned!

"Damn it, what's going on?"

Zhou Hongwei slammed the table and cursed!

He never imagined things would turn out like this.

"Tell me, how do we solve this?"

His eyes swept across the conference room, looking at his confidants, and he asked.

The confidants exchanged glances, but none dared to speak.

"Speak up if you have something to say. I've always believed in the principle: listen to both sides and you will be enlightened, heed only one side and you will be benighted. Even if it's my mistake, you must bravely point it out, so our company can keep improving and moving forward..."

Zhou Hongwei stood there and began his speech.

But the people below sneered inwardly.

Everyone sitting here had followed him for years and knew the ropes; only those who knew nothing or didn't understand Zhou Hongwei would take his words at face value.

What he liked most was to bluff.

Indeed, he wouldn't do anything to those who pointed out his mistakes to his face; he might even comfort them kindly.

But before long, such people would be driven out of the company on various pretexts, unable even to leave with dignity, their reputations ruined.

That was the so-called art of leadership.

"Chairman, I think your decision is not wrong. It's clearly Future Technology colluding with Tencent Technology," a vice president stood up and said to Zhou Hongwei.

"Yes, Chairman, Future Technology is clearly stabbing us in the back!"

With someone starting, others naturally began to denounce the culprit of this incident: Future Technology.

In their view, Qihu's "ambush" plan was about to succeed, but Future Technology jumped out and complicated things—that was the biggest problem.

As for Qihu Technology, of course, it was innocent.

"Tell me, what impact does this have on us?"

Zhou Hongwei glanced around and said slowly.

He had actually taken in what they said, but as they said, things weren't that simple.

What kind of company was Future Technology?

It was a subsidiary of Future Group.

In other words, this showed that Ma Huateng had found an ally.

Zhao Fusheng, the chairman of Future Group, known as China's most mysterious billionaire, must have stepped in!

Otherwise, Future Technology wouldn't have so openly sided with Tencent Technology.

After all, in the previous period, Future Technology had no intention of intervening.

Even when the war of words between Qihu Technology and Tencent Technology escalated to the point of drawing blood, Future Group showed no reaction, let alone publicly taking sides.

More importantly, if Zhao Fusheng was pushed too far, what if he and Ma Huateng joined forces to sabotage Qihu Technology's IPO?

"Chairman, since 'Dungeon & Fighter' has announced incompatibility with our antivirus software, we'll likely face the fact that besides home PCs and office computers, computers in entertainment venues will no longer use our antivirus software," a confidant stood up and said to Zhou Hongwei.

This was a very troublesome issue.

Although "Dungeon & Fighter" was just an online game, the key was that it was very popular among young people. Many played it in internet cafes, and some even at home.

Since Future Technology updated the game to be incompatible with Qihu's antivirus software, many would soon face a choice.

Give up a game they had played for a long time, or give up an antivirus software that had just begun to make a name for itself.

This choice might be difficult for adults.

But for a group of young people, it wasn't hard at all.

After all, they could just log off and leave the computers in internet cafes.

But how could they give up a game account they had played for so long?

"Bastard!"

Zhou Hongwei gritted his teeth and spat out these two words.

He knew that this time, he would probably suffer a complete defeat.

"Chairman, maybe we should quit while we're ahead."

His long-time deputy, seeing Zhou Hongwei's expression, thought for a moment and said cautiously, "We've achieved our goal. Now netizens across the country know our antivirus software is effective. So why not go with the flow and let this matter die down? What do you think?"

"That's possible too."

Zhou Hongwei nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face: "Since you say so, let's do it."

He wasn't stupid; he hadn't proposed it himself only because of face. Now that someone understood his thoughts, he naturally took the opportunity to back down.

He wasn't stupid; he hadn't proposed it himself only because of face. Now that someone understood his thoughts, he naturally took the opportunity to back down.