I Tried to Bankrupt My Company, but It Became a Tech Empire - Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Acquiring Chumiao Technologies and Activating CEO Ma’s System.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully acquired Chumiao Technology Co., Ltd. and activated the Entrepreneurship Safety Net System.]

Inside an upscale café, Ma Nong appeared to be studying the contract in his hands with a cheerful smile. In reality, his attention was entirely focused on the system panel floating in his mind.

‘My path as the protagonist is finally about to begin!’ Ma Nong could barely contain his excitement.

That was right. Ma Nong was a transmigrator. He had transmigrated to a parallel world known as Blue Star.

When he first arrived, he had been extremely resistant to his new reality. After all, in his previous life, he had been a software and hardware engineer with ten years of professional experience. He had struggled for an entire decade in a major city before finally escaping the urban village, earning a promotion and a raise, and buying himself a house.

Yet before he could even move into his new home, he accidentally worked himself to death after staying up too late one night and ended up in this world.

Fortunately, he hadn’t remained despondent for long. The indispensable golden finger of every transmigrator had finally appeared: a system.

The system was extremely simple. It worked almost exactly like the one from that movie he’d watched in his previous life. As long as he started a business, lost money, and completed the system’s missions, he could effortlessly obtain an enormous fortune!

Apart from that, there was something else that attracted him even more. As long as he accumulated ten successful completions, he would receive the legendary Golden Dragon Hook! It would allow him to travel to a mysterious place and fish for a legendary dragon!

As a fishing fanatic with thirty years of fishing experience in his previous life, Ma Nong had believed since childhood that dragons truly existed in this world!

Since the system itself had said so, dragons had to exist!

As a devoted fisherman, he absolutely had to catch that dragon!

Therefore, no matter how he looked at it, he had to complete the missions and activate the system.

And now, he’d done it!

Ma Nong was already imagining his cheat-like future. In one month, he would become a millionaire. In one year, he would become a billionaire. In less than ten years, he would rise straight to the top and become the richest man in the world!

Just as he sank deeper into his wildly exhilarating fantasy, several faint calls gradually reached his ears.

“CEO Ma? CEO Ma? CEO Ma, wake up…”

Ma Nong snapped back to reality and shook his head. Looking at the young and beautiful assistant in front of him, he asked, “Huh? Menghan, what’s wrong? Hmm? Boss Mei already left?”

His assistant, Chen Menghan, pursed her lips and replied helplessly, “He left as soon as you signed the contract and transferred the money to him. He ran faster than a rabbit.”

Her words were still relatively polite, but her thoughts were another matter entirely.

‘Of course he ran! He was probably afraid that if he stayed for even a few more seconds, a sucker like you might come to his senses and regret the deal!’

“Well, if he’s gone, then he’s gone. Haha, the company belongs to us now!” Ma Nong’s face remained filled with the triumphant smile of someone who believed he’d just scored an incredible bargain.

Seeing her boss still looking so pleased with himself, Chen Menghan could only force a bitter smile.

“CEO Ma… there’s actually something I’ve never been able to understand. Why are you so obsessed with this particular company?” Chen Menghan finally couldn’t resist asking.

The company Ma Nong had acquired was a bankrupt software development company. Previously, it had secured several major outsourced projects from a client company, so the former owner had aggressively expanded the business and recruited a large number of employees.

However, one of those projects failed to meet the client’s requirements. The client subsequently terminated their partnership and was even preparing to sue Chumiao Technologies.

Without the client’s advance payments, the company’s cash flow immediately collapsed. The owner could no longer afford to support the employees or even pay their salaries.

By now, fewer than ten employees remained. Even they were only hanging around in hopes of recovering the one or two months of unpaid wages they were owed before leaving for good.

“This company doesn’t even have any basic business operations. There’s no way it’s worth the acquisition price of 1 million yuan!” Chen Menghan finally voiced what had been bothering her.

She had originally been an outstanding finance graduate. Unfortunately, the job market was terrible, and even after searching for several months, she hadn’t found a suitable position. With no better option, she decided to find employment first and worry about her career path later. Somehow, through a bizarre chain of circumstances, she ended up becoming an assistant.

When she discovered that her boss was a fresh university graduate just as young as she was, she had even wondered whether he might be a human trafficker planning to trick her into going to northern Myanmar.

Especially because… when she first joined, the company didn’t even have an office!

Her interview had taken place in a café.

And somehow, after that, she’d simply started working…

The very first mission Ma Nong gave her was to contact this bankrupt company and negotiate its acquisition.

Even until moments ago, when Ma Nong signed his name and directly transferred the money to the company’s owner, Chen Menghan had felt as though she were dreaming.

A company with no active business, no proprietary products, and even unpaid employee salaries, yet her boss had actually spent 1 million yuan to acquire it!

Was he seriously paying 1 million yuan just to buy the company’s name?

If she registered a company herself, she could complete all the procedures for only a few thousand yuan!

‘Does CEO Ma seriously have so much money that he has nowhere else to spend it?’

She couldn’t understand it.

She truly couldn’t understand it at all!

Ma Nong merely grinned at her and said, “Menghan, you don’t understand. This company is a hidden treasure!”

“A hidden treasure?” Chen Menghan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The salespeople couldn’t bring in any business. The technicians couldn’t handle technical work. The maintenance staff only knew how to slack off.

In that sense, it really was quite the “treasure.”

Ma Nong couldn’t exactly explain the truth to her. He couldn’t tell her that this was the company recognized by the system and that acquiring it was the only way to activate his system!

“You’ll understand in the future!” Ma Nong reassured her before saying, “Let’s go. We still have some time, so we’ll head back to the company first. Hmm… call another ride. I’ll reimburse you afterward!”

Inside the car, Ma Nong pretended to close his eyes and rest, so Chen Menghan didn’t disturb him.

However, her mind remained restless.

‘Maybe I’ll have to find another job again in just a few days. Even if the boss is a rich second-generation heir, nobody can survive throwing money around like this. He spent an entire 1 million yuan on a company with absolutely no value.’

Looking out the window, Chen Menghan sighed.

‘When the time comes, I’d better leave this job off my résumé…’

Life was difficult enough these days, yet there were still rich second-generation heirs wasting money like this.

Meanwhile, Ma Nong, whom she had already labeled a wasteful rich heir, was staring at the system panel and planning his grand strategy for spending money.

[Company Panel: Chumiao Technology Co., Ltd.
Company Balance: 1,000,000 yuan
Personal Balance: 345.51 yuan
Technology Points: 0
Settlement Cycle: 1st of every month
Balance Required for Successful Settlement: Less than 100,000 yuan
Technology Points Required for Successful Settlement: Less than 500
Successful/Failed Settlements: 0/0]

‘Hmm. As long as I spend the 2 million yuan given by the system within a month, I’ll directly receive 2 million yuan. Isn’t this system basically giving me free money?’ Ma Nong was completely relaxed, already convinced that victory was in his grasp.

Acquiring the company alone had cost him 1 million yuan. That left another 1 million yuan to spend within two months.

How could that possibly be difficult?

He might not be particularly good at making money, but who didn’t know how to spend it?

‘The company already owes its employees more than 300,000 yuan in unpaid wages. In other words, I only need to spend a little over 700,000 yuan within two months, and I’ll complete the mission perfectly!’

As Ma Nong calculated everything in his head, the corners of his lips unconsciously curled upward.

The ride-hailing car eventually stopped, and Chen Menghan said, “CEO Ma, we’re here.”

After opening the car door, Ma Nong looked around. The industrial park was extremely new and impressive. However, everywhere he looked, he could barely see any company signs.

“Menghan, what do you think of this industrial park?” Ma Nong asked.

Chen Menghan froze, overwhelmed by mixed emotions.

‘CEO Ma, so even you realize what kind of awful place the company you chose is located in?’

Of course, she didn’t dare say that aloud.

“This is Chaoxin Technology Park. Its promotional slogan says it’s supposed to become Maoshi City’s premier high-tech demonstration park. But…” Chen Menghan hesitated briefly before continuing, “over the past few years, 99% of the companies that relocated here have gone bankrupt. That’s why people in Maoshi City also call it the Bankruptcy Park…”

Chen Menghan felt as though the company’s future had plunged into complete darkness.

Back then, the government had spent an enormous amount of money developing this industrial park, only to discover afterward that it simply couldn’t attract enough companies.

There was nothing they could do about it. Maoshi City had never been a city centered around technological innovation. Meanwhile, smaller companies couldn’t afford the expensive rent here, so naturally, few entrepreneurs were willing to establish their businesses in the park.

“Hmm, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.” Ma Nong visibly relaxed.

At first glance, the park looked so modern and impressive that he’d genuinely started to worry.

For a moment, he’d thought he’d been fooled by Qiandu’s advertisements again.

Now it seemed the information he’d found online had been correct after all. This really was the easiest place for a company to go bankrupt.

‘The company goes bankrupt, and I get rich. Hmm, excellent! Absolutely perfect!’

Hearing Ma Nong call this situation excellent, Chen Menghan nearly dropped her jaw in disbelief.

‘What’s excellent about any of this?!’

Each absorbed in their own thoughts, the two eventually reached the 14th floor.

“This building actually has a 14th floor…” Chen Menghan muttered speechlessly.

Ordinary property developers usually avoided unlucky numbers associated with death, such as Building 414 or the 14th floor.

Yet what frustrated her even more was that the former owner of Chumiao Technologies had somehow rented Office 1414 on the 14th floor.

What an unbelievable combination.

The two pushed open the glass doors and entered the office.

The premises weren’t small. The main office area covered roughly 300 square meters, but fewer than ten employees were scattered among the mostly empty workstations.

Every single one of them was playing on their phone or gaming at their desk. Some weren’t even wearing headphones and had their phone speakers playing loudly.

Only when someone entered did they finally raise their heads and look curiously at Ma Nong and Chen Menghan.

A young employee sitting near the front asked, “Sir, Miss, is there something you need?”

Chen Menghan had brought the company’s documents and official seals with her. She took them out for everyone to see before saying, “Everyone, please stop what you’re doing for a moment and quiet down. I have something to announce.”

Her voice was crisp and decisive.

At that moment, everyone raised their heads in confusion and looked at the young, beautiful woman before them.

Seeing their listless, dispirited appearances, Chen Menghan felt her heart sink even further.

‘What exactly does CEO Ma see in this company…? These people really are a hopeless bunch.’

She sighed inwardly. Their first impression was truly terrible.

However, Chen Menghan maintained perfect control over her expression. With a professional smile, she announced, “Everyone, I have an announcement. Chumiao Technologies has officially been acquired by CEO Ma. From this moment onward, CEO Ma is the owner of Chumiao Technologies.”

As she introduced Ma Nong, Chen Menghan briefly explained the company’s equity acquisition to the employees.

Although this was Chen Menghan’s first job as an assistant, she displayed remarkable competence and composure. Even while facing these veteran employees, she showed no trace of nervousness.

However, the moment she finished speaking, the previously quiet office instantly erupted into an uproar.