Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 584 Dimensionality Reduction Strike
"Holy crap, what's going on?" Zang Ai_Lei Hen stared at the screen in astonishment, completely dumbfounded.

The same scene played out simultaneously on tens of thousands of target computers.

Those skilled players who relied on Audition Online were enjoying the thrill of crushing newbies one second, but the next second they were all plunged into great confusion.

They restarted the computer and checked the network, but couldn't find any reason.

The cheat program is still running, and there are no error messages in the logs, but it just doesn't work.

It was as if some incomprehensible force had precisely stripped all the functions of Audition Online.

Inside Microsoft's operations room, there was a deathly silence.

On the large monitoring screen, the patches that were originally representing various abnormal data are changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Those glaring, abnormal color patches were precisely and swiftly erased.

One area after another gradually returned to the green color that represents normalcy.

The speed, scope, and thoroughness of the event sent chills down the spines of all the Microsoft elites who witnessed it.

There was no fierce competition, no clash of techniques.

It's as if God, high above, casually flipped a switch, and the hustle and bustle of the world instantly subsided.

This is a despairing form of dominance.

"Abnormal traffic clearance rate in the Huaxia region...99.7%..."

"Abnormal traffic removal rate in Southeast Asia...93.8%..."

"Abnormal traffic removal rate in the Japan and South Korea region...98.7%..."

……

Emily stared at the fluctuating data, her face showing not joy, but shock.

According to server monitoring data provided by T3, Audition Online's performance has soared and latency has dropped to a minimum.

They succeeded.

They used a power beyond conventional technology to completely crush their opponents in a way that was almost cheating.

David stood in front of the computer, looking at the now incredibly clean green world. He felt no joy of victory, only a deep, unfathomable chill.

This power is so great, it's terrifying.

It might be useful for dealing with a cheat today, but what about tomorrow? Is this really a resource that a technical team should have and utilize?

He knew that they had not truly defeated that mysterious opponent; they had merely used absolute power from the very bottom of the operating system ecosystem to forcibly press the pause button.

Jingzhou City, Computer Operating System Research and Development Center, Handong University.

The screen in front of Lin Qingyin was suddenly covered by a glaring red alert.

The core input method for the Audition Online client has been changed...

[Failed to capture unknown kernel-level driver module...]

All analog input signals are invalidated...

In the encrypted channel, the lunatics at the Gods Network Research Institute all thought Microsoft had gone mad.

[Holy crap? These Microsoft guys can't take a joke?]

[Is this a complete table-flipping incident? Has system privileges been used?]

[Damn, how are we supposed to play this? This is like a complete dimensional reduction attack!]

They're incredibly audacious. If they're discovered, they'll be in serious trouble. They're practically poisoning their own system.

[They're a monopoly, so what can they do even if they're caught? This isn't the first time they've done this; at most, they'll just get a fine.]

Lin Qingyin was no longer in the mood to watch these people bantering. She quickly typed on the keyboard, pulled up the underlying monitoring data, and her expression instantly became extremely serious.

She confirmed the guesses of the people at the Gods Network Research Institute.

Instead of engaging in further technical maneuvering, Microsoft resorted to its ultimate weapon: the supreme privileges of the Windows system itself.

This is a tyrannical, unreasonable force that is almost unsolvable in the current environment.

The people at Gods Network Research Institute might be able to outmaneuver Microsoft's team with technical skills, but they can't fight against the very foundation of the Windows ecosystem.

Microsoft won, won decisively, without a doubt.

This is like a guild war in a game, where the power of the GM is suddenly mobilized.

It's impossible to play.

In the world of Microsoft systems, they are omnipotent gods.

At this moment, Cheng Yi listened to Lin Qingyin's urgent report. Instead of feeling defeated, he slowly revealed a happy smile.

"Great! Excellent! Johnson certainly didn't disappoint me!" Cheng Yi clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "He finally couldn't hold back and used this last trump card. This is truly a godsend!"

Li Weiwei and Lin Qingyin both looked at him in surprise.

They had expected this to be a heavy, bad news, but Cheng Yi was surprisingly excited.

"President Cheng, our cheat program has been completely removed," Li Weiwei cautiously reminded him.

Cheng Yi laughed and said, "My tinkering with Audition Online was not originally intended to destroy the game. If I wanted to destroy the game, I would have a hundred ways to do so. My goal from the beginning was to force Microsoft to use the power it should least use, which is the monopoly power of the operating system itself."

He turned around, his eyes gleaming, and said, "Do you know what this means? Microsoft monopolizes more than 90% of the global operating system market. If they wanted, they could also monopolize all ecosystem software businesses, including online games, browsers, office software, industrial software, and so on."

"The fact that they don't touch these areas much is also the main reason why they are able to maintain 90% of the operating system market."

"But if they use the system's soft power to crush their competitors, all the global ecosystem software giants will panic. Today we are being suppressed, tomorrow it will be their turn."

"Whenever this kind of panic occurs, it represents a huge crisis of trust."

"In 1995, Microsoft only used its system advantage to bundle a browser, which triggered a protracted antitrust investigation and almost led to its split in two..." Cheng Yi said with a hint of excitement, "And now, in order to deal with a plug-in company that is suspected of being related to a competitor, they have actually used kernel-level methods to precisely interfere with the normal operation of a specific software. This is no longer business competition; it is a system-level abuse of hegemony and a serious violation of digital security!"

Cheng Yi looked at Lin Qingyin and said, "Is there any way to obtain concrete evidence?"

Lin Qingyin shook her head and said, "It's difficult unless we have administrator privileges on the Microsoft system. I heard from a teacher at the Gods Network Research Institute that Microsoft actually used the same method in 1995, but Netscape couldn't get the evidence, which is why they were ultimately defeated. However, Mr. Andy also mentioned that Microsoft has a very mysterious Pandora's Plan, which is divided into four levels. Mr. Andy speculated that they must have used this Pandora's Plan." Cheng Yi nodded slowly and said, "Yes, if they dared to use it, they must be confident that they wouldn't leave any loopholes."

“However, now that we know the name of the plan, whether we have evidence or not doesn’t affect the overall situation,” Cheng Yi said with a smile. “We can still play the game whether it’s true or false.”

“Now that our Global Vision system covers the entire globe, it’s time for us to officially put it to use.” Cheng Yi glanced at Li Weiwei and said, “Immediately, Zhao Gang, have his team get to work at full capacity.”

"First, under the guise of anonymous security experts and victimized users, through Universal Vision and all cooperating overseas media, disclose the huge threat Microsoft poses to user privacy and system security, and emphasize the fear of 'Microsoft controls your computer.' Those foreigners are most susceptible to this."

"Second, notify Chen Zhi to have Golden Triangle Digital immediately collect evidence in Southeast Asia and file a lawsuit against Microsoft Asia Pacific, accusing them of abusing their market dominance, engaging in unfair competition, and infringing on user rights."

"Third, have Cao Zhengze's team ignite several topics on major forums and social media around the world, focusing on rumors about Project Pandora, Windows backdoors, and Microsoft spyware."

Li Weiwei quickly took notes, her heart racing. She finally understood what Cheng Yi had been planning all along.

From satellite dishes to Global Vision, from Global Vision to the World Esports Championship, from the World Esports Championship to Audition Online...

This series of seemingly unrelated industries eventually converged at the system level.

While Microsoft has achieved a technical victory, it will suffer a huge blow in the battle for public opinion.

"As for the game..." Cheng Yi said with a relaxed tone, "If Audition Online ends, then Audition Online will also end. A game that relies on the face economy to maintain its prosperity, without cheats, will those face-conscious people still continue to play?"

Soon, a global media storm was suddenly unleashed under the meticulous planning of Momo Group.

A common practice in the media industry is to exchange ad space; I use my ad space to exchange for yours, and it's a win-win situation.

Currently, Universal Vision owns many global print media advertising spaces.

Since the advent of the video era globally in 2005, print media have been struggling, leading to a significant drop in their censorship standards. This has resulted in numerous anonymous experts publishing white papers on Project Pandora technology in their magazines and newspapers.

This so-called Pandora project, apart from having the correct name, was entirely fabricated by Cao Zhengze at his behest. Nevertheless, it still caused an uproar in the global technology and security communities.

Newspapers and television news outlets across Europe and America immediately began reporting on the story, with headlines that were increasingly sensational:
Is Microsoft spying on your computer?

Did Microsoft implant a Pandora's Trojan into users' computers to eliminate its competitors?

……

This has led many users to start checking their systems.

And the software giants are also feeling the pressure.

They finally realized that Microsoft could indeed make their software malfunction at any time.

Although the EU's antitrust authorities and the US Department of Justice have not yet announced whether they will investigate Microsoft, public opinion is already in an uproar, and the impact is extremely negative.

Inside Microsoft's Asia Pacific division.

Johnson and David's team, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, were stunned by the overwhelming negative public opinion.

“How could they know about Project Pandora? And those newspapers are just spouting nonsense! Apart from the names being correct, not a single word of theirs is right!” Johnson roared into the phone, while on the other end was the head of public relations and crisis management at Microsoft headquarters.

"Now is not the time to ask for details, Johnson! The board is furious, and the EU fine could be astronomical."

“We must issue a statement immediately to deny all allegations,” Johnson said in a deep voice.

“I think the best strategy right now is to remain silent. If we speak out now, we will only get dragged into this vortex,” the public relations manager said. “The group headquarters has asked me to inform you that your authorization for the Pandora project is now suspended.”

"Okay." Johnson didn't argue anymore, helplessly put down the phone, and slumped into a chair.

He won the battle, but instantly lost the entire war.

The fact that the public relations crisis manager informed him of the suspension of his authorization is enough to prove a lot.

The biggest problem is that he is no longer trusted by headquarters.

Otherwise, headquarters would contact him personally.

He has now become a pawn in his rivals' efforts to manipulate global public opinion and undermine Microsoft's foundation.

That's fucking hilarious!
The public opinion has been fermenting for nearly a week, and many software ecosystem companies around the world have begun to subconsciously pay people to hype up these existing topics. They are also quite helpless now. Although they all know that this matter cannot bring down Microsoft, they still resolutely joined in.

Even if we can't bring down Microsoft, at least we can make them back down a bit, right?
On the other hand, the channel of Audition Online, which used to be packed with people and had a screen that was so busy that it was hard to see, now seemed unusually deserted.

The room numbers were so crowded that only a dozen or so rooms were still lit up. The chat messages on the public screen only popped up once every ten or twenty seconds. Normally, these rooms would be completely full and impossible to enter, and the chat messages on the public screen would be too numerous to read.

At this moment, in a room called "Nostalgia for the Time of Audition Online," several former masters have gathered.

Their names are still gorgeous, and their costumes are still very beautiful, but the characters stand there blankly, and no one dances.

[Damn it, this game is unplayable. Without the sprites, I can't even complete the 188cm free jump.]

Yesterday, I got completely humiliated by a newbie I used to never even look at. I lost all face!

Without that thing, what's the difference between us and those clumsy people?

Honey, what are we going to do from now on?

[I'm quitting! This game has lost its soul!]

Brother, I'll go with you too.

……

Similar conversations are taking place in countless QQ groups, gaming guilds, and forum corners.

Those who had once built their skills with the help of the Dance Elf experienced a huge psychological letdown after losing their divine power.

They cannot accept the fact that they have become ordinary people again or even disabled, and they cannot bear the ridicule of those they once trampled underfoot.

Quitting the game became their only option to preserve the last shred of dignity.

The more arrogant they were back then, the more pathetic they are now.

They were like Cinderella who had lost her glass slipper, feeling wronged and wanting to cry after the ball ended.

Their departure was like a domino effect.

Many family members who were attached to these experts also followed them away.

The entire social ecosystem of Audition Online began to collapse the moment Audition Elf disappeared.

(End of this chapter)