"What?" Jin stared blankly at Lynn as she revealed how petty the Dungeon Supplier Symposium Committee was.
"They allowed the rejection of the backup site and in return, they requested us not to show our faces in the event." Lynn repeated once more and Jin was exasperated. Did that mean all those efforts creating the Virtual Reality Instance had been meaningless?
"I did say that it was unfair and there was nothing in the terms and conditions that made us unable to continue with the participation even after rejecting to be the secondary site of the Symposium. They obviously wanted to perform a power play against us and Kong Rong said it's either to join them up again or leave. He did recommend leaving though since he reminded me how he had gone through all those trouble coordinating and ensuring there was a way out for us." Lynn could visibly see Jin's frustration but there was nothing much she could do either.
"I get what Kong Rong's underlying recommendation meant as well. If we were to enter the Symposium, it's not just wasting his efforts to get us out but it also meant a victory for the committee for the ability to oppose the almighty Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan. To them, it was a double win and we would be at the losing end." Jin nodded his head with defeat for a moment but Lynn sat beside him and tried to cheer him up.
"Then, let's do the obvious. We create our own Symposium!" Lynn remarked and Jin stared at Lynn momentarily before stifling his laughter. "We do not have time for that! We still have to fight against the Demon Rats and there is not enough time to compete with the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium against them. Not to mention, we do not have sufficient content for a proper symposium. There's no people joining-" Jin suddenly stopped at his tracks and forgot he had a business partner. A major player in the field.
"Yeap. I can already see that your head is churning ideas. You must be thinking of Ke Loong, right?" Lynn started to grin and Jin could never notice Lynn could be cunning in her own special way too.
"I give Ke Loong a call and- What time is it right now?" Jin said as he checked his time and subsequently tried his luck in contacting Ke Loong.
"Yo, Mr Panda Boss. What's up? Oh wait before that, is the rumour true? I heard from a few of my contacts in the Symposium that you are leaving the event right before it started." Ke Loong said, which caused Jin to be surprised that news spread fast.
"Yeah. Sadly." Jin eventually laid out the story to Ke Loong and he too sighed at the bad news.
"Hmm yea. This is not the first time the committee has used its powers to force people to do their own way. I mean it could be beneficial for the smaller shops who used this particular platform to showcase their instances and gimmicks so that more people would not only patronise them but hopefully be able to join the National Dungeon Supplier Associations to get more contacts, discounts and perks. Obviously, those participating required money to join and the Association fees are getting more and more atrocious."
"Ah… so it's something like a business group, a whole bunch of companies under one umbrella, that kind of stuff?"
"Yeah, I think they are hoping to coerce you to join them so that they can get you to share your tech, which is a natural no no. Most stores and dungeon suppliers are unable to get out of that vicious erm…predatory business tactics once they attend the Symposium. You were lucky you could be out of it." Ke Loong said Jin heard that he was talking to his secretary as well.
"That is why, I am asking you if you are able to make it for my Symposium instead. Well, maybe not a full Symposium but a series of events and with a festival kind of vibes. But I understand if you have obligations to fulfil for the National Symposium-"
"I AM IN!" Ke Loong suddenly shouted and was excited for Jin's own personal expo. Even his secretary was caught aback by his reaction but Ke Loong did not care. "What are you exactly planning? I can totally pull out of the Symposium if you want me to."
"Are you serious? Sea Mesh is a major player in the Dungeon Supplier Community. If you pull out, there will be waves of questions, backlash as well as …ohh." Jin too realised what Ke Loong was aiming for.
"Yeap, if you are thinking the same as I was. The media coverage would be rather extensive and let's just say it's fun to flip a middle finger at the National Symposium Committee." Ke Loong said as he never had such fun for a long time.
"And the media will be curious to see how the up and coming major player in Dungeon Supplier Tech supports one of Shenzhen's latest dungeon supplier players who had been in the news for some time."
"Also, I will suggest fully implementing your Panda Inc company and showcase all the stuff you have in full force to make your app go nationwide. Your food delivery services, your comprehensive dungeon related goods etc. From what I know, you have quite a few decent companies living in your 'treehouse'. It's time to make use of their connections and push Panda Inc out."
"I see… And if I can time it right, I might be able to obtain some leverage in terms of money and influence before Kong Rong's protection bubble ceases." Jin considered Ke Loong's opinions for the future of his store too.
"Yeap. And we can start popping up additional stores once we are financially stable and create a chain franchise. I can aid you with that and show those rascals that we do not need to be part of some lame association to prosper." Ke Loong said and Jin could see where the CEO was coming from.
Not to mention, it was a win win for Sea Mesh too. The sales of Virtual Reality Headsets would be coming from this and from what Jin said, there would be a subscription service and thus an extension of Sea Mesh workers would be part of this major opportunity, allowing them to grow too.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get together soon and start planning.." Jin smiled as he thanked Ke Loong for his impromptu advice.
