The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

A virus called "anxiety" is spreading wildly across China's 9.6 million square kilometers of land.

It does not spread through the air.

It travels through invisible optical fibers, following the signals from base stations, and precisely penetrates the cerebral cortex of everyone who owns a smartphone.

The Beijing Subway Line 10 during the morning rush hour.

People were packed together.

The air was filled with the smell of chive buns, stale perfume, and the sweat of squeezed flesh.

A programmer wearing thick-rimmed glasses is staring intently at his phone screen.

His fingers clicked frantically on the screen, so hard it looked like he was trying to pierce the tempered glass screen protector.

"Dude."

A middle-aged man with a receding hairline suddenly approached and lowered his voice, as if he were conducting some kind of contraband transaction.

"Does the 'Dedication' Fu card exist?"

The programmer looked up.

His eyes were dark-circled and bloodshot, making him look like a drug addict who hadn't slept for three days.

"If I had that kind of money, would I still be squeezing onto this subway?"

"If I had that, I would quit my job right now."

The middle-aged man sighed and put the phone he had just taken out back into his pocket.

"That Weiguang Group is fucking despicable."

The uncle cursed, spitting everywhere.

"I've even added my elementary school homeroom teacher on WeChat, but I still can't get one. Last night I dreamed that I collected them all, and I woke up laughing because I was drooling."

This is the status quo.

In the past few days, the Chinese greeting has changed from "Have you eaten?" to "Do you have the 'Respectful Blessing'?"

................

Shanghai, Xintiandi.

A tastefully decorated Western restaurant.

A matchmaking event is taking place here.

The man was wearing a designer suit, and his Rolex gold watch gleamed under the lights.

"I own three properties, all within the inner ring road."

"The car is a newly purchased Cayenne."

"The annual salary isn't much, maybe around a million."

He talked at length about his masculine assets, trying to use material possessions to create an advantage in courtship.

The girl sitting across from me had exquisite makeup, but she kept her head down stirring her coffee, with a polite but distant smile on her face.

Clearly, she wasn't interested.

She had seen far too many men like that in Shanghai.

uninteresting.

Greasy.

The man seemed to sense the awkward silence.

He coughed awkwardly and took out his phone to check the time.

Just then.

A pop-up notification appeared in the Weiguang APP.

Congratulations! Your friend has gifted you a "Dedication" card!

The man's eyes widened instantly.

Holy crap!

The outburst of this vulgar language shattered the originally elegant atmosphere of the Western restaurant.

"A 'Dedication Blessing'?!"

The girl opposite suddenly looked up.

The eyes, which had been like a stagnant pool, suddenly burst forth with a searchlight-like light.

"Do you have the 'Dedication' Fu card?"

Her voice even trembled slightly.

"Do you have any extras?"

The man was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

He stared at the gleaming gold card on his phone screen as if it were a tally that commanded the world.

"have."

He smiled.

That smile carried a confident air of being in control of the whole situation.

"A friend just gave me one, and I happen to have an extra one."

"It's yours."

As he spoke, he clicked on the "transfer" option.

The girl's phone vibrated.

At that moment, the aloofness on the girl's face completely vanished. She even reached out and took the man's hand, which was resting on the table, her eyes filled with tenderness.

"Thank you! You're so kind!"

"How about...we go see a movie together later?"

A virtual card.

It broke through class barriers, indifference, and even the defenses of hormones.

................

Shipai Village, Guangzhou.

In a dimly lit rented room.

Old Huang is a professional scalper.

He used to resell iPhones and concert tickets.

Now, he sits in front of his computer, surrounded by more than twenty mobile phones, all with their screens lit up.

"Ding-dong."

"Ding-dong."

"Ding-dong."

The notification sounds from the Xianyu app came in a continuous barrage, like machine gun fire.

Old Huang didn't even have time to drink a sip of water.

"Boss, are the 'Dedication' Fu cards still available? I'll buy them instantly!"

"Brother, would you sell for 900? Urgent!"

"Can you give me a discount? I'll trade you my entire set of Honor of Kings skins!"

Old Huang's fingers flew across the keyboard.

No bargaining.

"Not a penny less."

"Pay first, then use your card."

He watched the transfer records popping up in the background, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his face was filled with absurd感慨 (gǎnkǎi - a complex emotion encompassing both awe and wonder).

"That's insane."

"This world has gone mad."

"In the past, when you were dealing with an iPhone 6, you had to risk it being confiscated by customs, and you could only make two or three hundred yuan."

"You can actually make 800 yuan by dealing with a cheap, intangible image these days?"

He looked at the huge "福" (fortune) character on the screen and thought it was not a Chinese character at all.

This is clearly a money printing machine.

................

The top floor of the Weiguang Building.

Lin Che sat in the large boss's chair, holding a cup of iced coffee in his hand.

The ice cubes hit the side of the glass, making a crisp sound.

His gaze swept over the huge projection screen in front of him.

That's the real-time trending topics list on Weibo.

Of the top ten, six are related to glimmers of light.

The number one topic was followed by a deep red, burning "Explosive" word.

#Where is the Dedication Blessing?#

Open the comments section, and it's practically a nationwide carnival of joke writers.

"I'd trade thirty years of my ex-boyfriend's life for a 'Dedication' Fu card."

"Is the owner of Weiguang (微光) really so immoral? Where did they hide the 'Respectful Blessing' (敬业福)?"

"As long as you give me the 'Respectful Dedication' card, we'll be like brothers, even if we're not from the same father or mother."

"Boss, you're yelling a bit too loudly."

Product Director Lao Zhang stood to the side, looking at the complaint letters in the backend that were almost overwhelming the server, and his legs felt a little weak.

He works in product development.

In his mind, user experience is paramount.

Right now, the gods are collectively cursing Lin Che's ancestors for eighteen generations.

"Someone wrote a complaint letter to the Industry and Commerce Bureau, accusing us of false advertising."

"Some people even threatened to throw paint downstairs at the company."

Old Zhang wiped the sweat from his brow and tentatively asked:

"Should we loosen the restrictions a bit? Even just increase the probability from 0.001% to 1%? To quell public anger first?"

"no."

Lin Che's voice was cold, like a block of unmelting, millennia-old ice.

He put down his coffee cup and tapped his fingertips lightly on the table.

a bit.

Two times.

"Old Zhang, you have no understanding of human nature."

Lin Che stood up and walked to the control panel that displayed "Dedication Blessing Production Rate: 0.001%".

He reached out his hand, as if stroking the restless data through the screen.

"If we release the water now, all the groundwork we laid before will be wasted."

"That moment of satisfaction can destroy all expectations."

"scold?"

Lin Che sneered, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.

"Criticizing also generates traffic."

"The more fiercely they curse, the more they care."

"That's called sunk cost."

"They've already invested time, favors, and even money in this card. If they give up now, they'll feel like an idiot."

"So they can only continue to crave, continue to go mad."

Lin Che turned around, his eyes like knives.

"Continue with regulation."

"Keep it to yourself."

"I want them to hold it in until the very last second, until midnight on New Year's Eve."

"The most dazzling fireworks are those seen only in despair."

................

at the same time.

An office building in Hangzhou.

Xiao Wang is a seasoned bargain hunter.

He heard that Alipay had also launched a red envelope campaign called "Shu Yi Shu".

"BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) are big companies after all, they should be more generous than Weiguang, right?"

With this expectation in mind, Xiao Wang opened Alipay.

The interface is very festive.

A huge button with the words "Shoot it" written on it.

"Get it!"

Xiao Wang stretched out his index finger and frantically tapped the screen.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...

The phone vibrated as if it were powered on.

Two minutes later.

Xiao Wang's fingers almost broke from poking around, but finally a glittering golden treasure chest popped up on the screen.

"I won!"

Xiao Wang excitedly held his breath and opened the treasure chest.

A beautifully designed coupon popped up.

[Maserati ¥5 voucher]

[Eligibility Requirements: Vehicle purchase of 100 million or more is eligible]

The air freezes.

Xiao Wang stared at the screen, stunned for a full ten seconds.

"Go to hell!"

A roar.

Xiao Wang slammed his phone onto the sofa.

"Are you putting on a monkey show?!"

"I can afford a Maserati, why would I need your five bucks?!"

"What utter garbage!"

He picked up his phone, exited Alipay without hesitation, and reopened the Weiguang APP.

Although the "Respectful Blessing" is hard to obtain.

But at least the first four lucky cards in the game can actually yield cash rewards.

"It still has to be a faint light that matters."

Xiao Wang posted a message on his WeChat Moments, grumbling and cursing:

"I need a 'Dedication' Fu card! Even a fake one will do; I need to find comfort in the glimmer of light!"

................

This sentiment is gaining traction across the internet.

Alipay's "Shu Yi Shu" and WeChat's "Shake" have become the best foils to Weiguang because of their complicated gameplay and lackluster prizes.

"Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die."

Lin Che looked at the competitor analysis report, a mocking smile on his face.

He casually tossed the report into the shredder.

sizzle.

The sound of paper being shredded was particularly clear in the quiet office.

"They've lost their composure."

"They only thought about overwhelming me with traffic, but forgot that the core logic of a product is 'satisfaction'."

Lin Che walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window, the lights of Beijing shone brightly.

On the huge electronic GG sign, the red logo of Weiguang Group is flashing, like a beating heart, each beat drawing the lifeblood of this era.

"Three more days."

Lin Che looked up at the huge countdown clock on the wall.

The numbers are ticking away towards zero, second by second.

3 days, 02 hours, 15 minutes and 33 seconds.

That's not a New Year's countdown.

That was the countdown to the collapse of the old order.

"Let the storm brew a little longer."

Lin Che's eyes reflected the neon lights outside the window, his gaze as deep as a black hole, greedily devouring all light.

"The real tsunami will occur at midnight on New Year's Eve."

"That's the moment that decides life or death."