Electronic Nezha

Chapter 49 Local Snake

I sympathize with Liu Zhenhua's plight, and I am angry at the thief, especially the last sentence on that website, "Thank you for your attention," which sounded like an arrogant mockery.

However, I didn't know how to evaluate Liu Zhenhua's actions at that moment. Later, I put myself in his shoes and realized that if I had that ability, I would have done the same.

The premise is that—

"Will your personal information really not be leaked?" That's what I'm most worried about.

"Don't worry, the sound has been processed. As for the rest, if professionals can pinpoint the location to the province after 10 years of investigation, they'll be considered very skilled."

What are your plans for this website?

"In a place like this, it's better to just leave it as is."

I shook my head and said, "No, although the website's management is bastard, there are still many authors on this website who are creating legitimate content. We can't let innocent people be affected."

“That makes sense.” Liu Zhenhua typed a line on the screen. “Would you mind if I added this to my video?”

The text read: "This video is a stolen work from another site. Please follow us to watch the original." — followed by a link.

"That won't work! Wouldn't that expose you?"

“Yes, I was so angry I lost my temper,” Liu Zhenhua said. “Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll label all the videos that this website has stolen from other sites, just to give them a heads-up. If they still don’t change by tomorrow, I’ll think of something else.”

How do you determine whether something is plagiarism or original work, and what are the criteria?

Liu Zhenhua said, "Search for materials, and if the author name doesn't match the publication time, it's plagiarism."

"This... must be a lot of work, right?"

"big!"

How long will it take to process?

"It will take at least 1 minute and 40 seconds!"

I said speechlessly, "Then why are you still talking nonsense?"

Liu Zhenhua typed a few keys on the keyboard, and a progress bar of a little over a minute appeared on the screen.

"Is it almost done?" I asked.

"Ah."

I thought to myself, "Wow, he did something amazing in just over a minute. If you want to watch an old movie on a video website without a membership and watching ads, it would take this long."

Once the progress bar finished loading, Liu Zhenhua pressed Enter, and the website's homepage immediately displayed numerous headlines highlighted in red, resembling a stubborn, incurable skin condition...

Liu Zhenhua said, "The works marked in red are all plagiarized."

I said, "Won't there be collateral damage? For example, an author might be called Zhang San on one website, but change his name to Li Si on another website. In reality, it's still the same person."

"No, in this situation the author will usually issue a statement or say it privately in the fan group. Even if neither of these is done, the registration information is the same."

I cautiously suggested, "Let's do it this way..."

Liu Zhenhua has already said: "It's illegal, it's all forced interference, and it won't be allowed in the future, but I don't care, who told them to mess with me?"

"So, are you feeling better now?"

"I don't understand, but if they are willing to change, I'm willing to give them a chance."

Just as I was still trying to figure out if what we were doing was right, Yuan Yuan walked in, holding the screwdriver I had left on the shoe cabinet: "Master, is there something that needs fixing?"

Our housekeeper, Cyber, is so considerate. She knows I'm not very skilled, but she still does all the housework, like changing light fixtures and repairing cabinets.

I pushed my chair across from Liu Zhenhua and said to him, "Your dad was being followed just now."

Liu Zhenhua was taken aback. "Clang!" The screwdriver in Yuanyuan's hand fell to the ground.

I picked up the screwdriver and said, "It doesn't have to be so formalized."

Liu Zhenhua asked, "Was it done by those southern bosses?"

It's sad that my social circle is so narrow that even my feuds are predictable.

I said, "I don't know if those southern bosses were involved or not, but I received a call from someone surnamed Chen who said he owns a technology company and told me to be smart."

If what I experienced tonight were placed in a morally upright movie, the plot would be as follows: A father chooses to hide the truth from his son to avoid worrying him, and is then beaten badly. When the son discovers this, he retaliates in anger. The father, worried about implicating his son, endures the humiliation and tries to persuade his son to stop. Things get increasingly out of control, and the father and son waver between morality and the law, ultimately both growing up...

I'm not that kind of father. I'm cowardly and value my life too much. I chose to complain to my son. Waaah!
Liu Zhenhua said, "Give me his phone number."

I gave him the number, and Liu Zhenhua gestured a couple of times on the computer and said, "Hmm, it's a virtual one-way number. There's no registration information. You can't get through to him no matter how many times you call."

I exclaimed, "You've got some skill in this."

“It’s nothing, they use this technology for food delivery too…” Liu Zhenhua said, “This guy who runs a tech company is called Chen Bing. He’s usually very low-key. He doesn’t even allow photos to be taken when he holds meetings with his employees. There’s only his name online, not even a single photo of him. He wasn’t there the day the vice mayor led the inspection team. He’s probably both the middleman who connects those southern bosses with the government and the financier behind the scenes.”

"Well..." I started to worry. It seems I've really run into a tough opponent this time.

Then Liu Zhenhua typed a phone number on the screen: "This is his own phone number." He then added a comment, "Trying to cover it up only makes it more obvious."

I picked up the phone to make the call.

Liu Zhenhua said, "Don't we need to process your voice or anything?"

"No need, I just want him to know who I am."

The call connected, and I said directly, "Mr. Chen, I heard that you sent someone to follow me?"

Chen Bing was momentarily stunned, then asked in surprise, "How did you know my number?" The voice was indeed that of the person who had called him before.

"No problem at all." I thought to myself, this is what my son does.

Chen Bing angrily asked, "What do you mean by making this call?"

I dropped my joking demeanor and said, "If you want fair competition, then let's compete fairly. If you want to play dirty tricks, I'll play along to the end."

Chen Bing snorted and said, "So you're just a local bully. I underestimated you."

I'm a little smug. When did I become a local big shot? This is the first time someone has commented on me like this, and it feels pretty good.

I said, "Give me an answer, how are you going to do this?" Making this kind of call wasn't my original intention. I made a promise to the people in the market because I simply thought that unmanned fruit supermarkets were unreliable. If they were to continue operating through legal channels, I, with my personality, would never resort to underhanded tactics in private. I might even stop Sister Zhao from staging a sit-in at the municipal government or something.

But it's a different story that he sent people to follow me.

You opened it first!
Chen Bing, as expected of someone who had seen the world, quickly calmed down. He said in a deep voice, "So what if you have connections here? Haven't you heard the saying, 'Don't go against capital'? I represent capital. Who do you represent?"

I declared righteously, "I represent the 30 merchants of 'Good Luck'!" In reality, there were fewer than 30.

"Hmph, you rabble, you—"

Then Liu Zhenhua typed out an address on the screen, which was for a well-known restaurant in our area.

I interrupted him and said, "Mr. Chen, you're eating so late? Do you like the local food? The best thing at 'Gongjiangfang' is their free pickled cucumbers. You can ask the waiter for a few more servings."

There was a long silence on the other end, then Chen Bing's vicious voice came through: "You just wait!" The call ended.

Liu Zhenhua asked me, "Dad, does that make you feel better?"

"I don't understand," I said, "but if he's willing to change, I'm willing to give him a chance."

(End of this chapter)