MC Bookstore Chapter 8 Extreme Timing
Chapter 8 Extreme Timing
"You just need to wait for the result." Without elaborating further, he confirmed again, "So, is it possible or not?"
"...Okay, okay." Ma Chunmei hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded through gritted teeth.
But then she thought of another problem: "But I've already... submitted the original presentation slides."
"That's not important, as long as the overall direction of 'social' remains unchanged. Just resend the latest roadshow PPT to the organizers later."
Ma Chunmei remained silent, which could be considered tacit consent.
She was already convinced that her straightforward approach to the stage would inevitably lead to a disastrous outcome. But as long as she wasn't the one who made a fool of herself on stage, there was nothing to lose.
The only thing that made her vaguely uneasy was the worst-case scenario: what if Geng Zhi deserted his post and quit?
Her name is on the registration form, and she also drew the lots. If no one goes on stage, she will be the one cleaning up the mess and being affected.
The question seems to have come full circle: should we message the organizers now and withdraw from the roadshow competition?
Geng Zhi ignored Ma Chunmei's inner monologue and focused all his attention back on the laptop screen.
He was already very familiar with the standard framework for roadshows; the key was how to fill this framework with persuasive content in a very short time and find sufficiently solid data and case studies to support it.
Most importantly, the content must also be able to arouse great interest in Professor Qi, the vice president, the vice dean of the School of Economics and Management, Zhu Xiaohu, and others, and generate interaction with them.
Time is the most precious thing in this moment.
The laptop's battery icon was already showing less than half full, and it was unclear whether the battery would last until he finished his work.
In the following period, Gengzhi entered a state of "bursting into action" with complete focus.
He first skillfully opened Google Chrome and quickly searched for information on the current state of the domestic marriage and dating market, the financing situation of several major companies, and industry analysis reports.
While quickly browsing Baihe.com's financing reports, Geng Zhi was surprised to find that Jinshajiang Venture Capital had also invested in its Series A and Series B rounds, which delighted him.
After understanding the overall industry situation, Geng Zhi then skillfully navigated to the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics to find macroeconomic data such as the base of the marriageable population, the proportion of people of marriageable age, geographical distribution, and consumption capacity.
Strings of numbers and industry information flowed past his eyes as his fingers danced across the keyboard, pausing occasionally to think before quickly typing again.
Time is passing by, second by second.
While forcing herself to continue listening to the speech on stage, Ma Chunmei couldn't help but flip through her original notes in case she needed them.
But her gaze kept drifting uncontrollably to the straightforward screen, trying to catch a glimpse of progress that would reassure her.
New slides are added one by one, with charts, data, and logical lines... A brand new story outline is quietly taking shape in this race against time and silence.
While adjusting the logic and layout of the PPT, Geng Zhi also kept a sliver of his attention on the presentation on stage.
"Next, please welcome the No. 5 startup team to the stage to present their project, 'Time Management Master,' presented by Qi Junyuan."
When the name "Qi Junyuan" came through the speaker, Geng Zhi's ears twitched slightly.
He wasn't particularly impressed with the "Time Management Master" project itself, but he was quite familiar with Teambition, another well-known collaborative software tool that Qi Junyuan later developed.
Qi Jun was originally a post-90s tech talent who founded Teambition during his junior year of college. A few years later, it was acquired by Alibaba for nearly $100 million. He then joined Alibaba and led the product development of Alibaba Cloud Drive.
Later, he moved to ByteDance and became deeply involved in the core projects of Lark and Doubao.
Geng Zhi's gaze remained fixed on his screen, his fingers never stopping. However, he managed to peek out from the screen and vaguely heard that Qi Junyuan's presentation seemed to have been questioned by the judges because of its "unclear profit model," resulting in a low final score.
As the intermission ended, the host's clear voice rang out again: "Next, let's welcome startup team number 6! Their project is—'Grand Theft Auto Game'! Our presenter is Cai Haoyu!"
"Wow! There are even game-related projects!" Niu Baoguo, a game enthusiast, immediately perked up and couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.
Geng Zhi's attention was also drawn to it. He wasn't focused on the game itself, but on the person standing on the stage—Cai Haoyu.
Could this be Cai Haoyu, the fellow Shandong native who created the Honkai Impact series and the phenomenal Genshin Impact, and the co-founder of miHoYo?
He's actually a student at Jiaotong University?
Geng Zhi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Jiaotong University was indeed full of hidden talents. This seemingly ordinary campus roadshow had already brought together several heavyweight figures in the future Internet field. The entrepreneurial atmosphere was really strong.
Cai Haoyu's presentation was full of passion. After it ended, he specially invited another partner of his to come on stage with him to prepare to answer the judges' questions together.
However, the atmosphere unexpectedly turned cold for a few seconds.
His "Grand Theft Auto" game project was the first game startup project in the history of Jiaotong University's roadshow. Although Vice President Yang did not explicitly oppose game startups, he did not encourage them either. Other judges, such as Professor Gou and Professor Qi, seemed to be at a loss as to where to begin their questions.
Finally, the experienced Zhu Xiaohu broke the silence, asking several key questions about target user scale, monetization design, and marketing strategies. For him, even though he had never invested in games, the underlying investment logic remained the same.
Time flew by during the presentations and Q&A sessions.
The roadshow started at 2 PM, and it's already 5 PM. Team 8's presentation has entered the Q&A session with the judges. Including the judges' scoring time, there are only ten minutes left before Team 9 takes the stage.
Ma Chunmei, who had been trying her best to avoid disturbing him, was now feeling extremely uncomfortable and every second felt like an eternity.
She finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked in a trembling, breathy voice, "Is...is it...okay? The latest PPT needs to be sent to the teachers in the back office right away! It'll be too late if we don't!"
"It'll be done in another three to five minutes," Geng Zhi said calmly without looking up.
In fact, Geng Zhi had already prepared the PPT a long time ago.
But he always felt that if he didn't "check it again," he would feel sorry for Ma Chunmei's sunk cost of "ten thousand yuan" and her "heavy" trust.
Five minutes passed, and Geng Zhi remained calm and composed as he flipped through the pages, organizing his thoughts, but he didn't change a single word.
Seeing that Geng Zhi still hadn't sent the PPT, Ma Chunmei, who was staring at the screen, became anxious and pleaded, "Geng...Geng Zhi, the scoring for number 8 is about to start, there's really no time, please, please send me the PPT quickly..."
Even Niu Baoguo and his roommate Huang Lijuan, who were standing to the side, were so nervous that their palms were sweating and they didn't dare to breathe.
Although they don't need to go on stage, the team's honor and disgrace are hanging by a thread at this moment.
Five more minutes passed, and Geng Zhi still hadn't made any changes. However, he finally responded to Ma's call and dragged the final version of the PPT into the "Busiest Five" QQ group.
But the next second, the host's clear voice rang out from the stage:
"Next, please welcome team number 9, the last startup team of the day, to the stage to present! Their project is a 'University Student Campus Social Platform.' Presenter: Ma Chunmei!"