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

9:55 a.m.

Microlight Technology Headquarters, Monitoring Center.

A huge data screen occupies the entire wall.

The curve above originally rose smoothly, representing the number of active users during the morning rush hour.

That's a gold mine built from 1.2 million daily active users.

Lin Che stood in front of the large screen, holding a cup of Americano that had long since gone cold.

"Five minutes left." He glanced at the mechanical watch on his wrist.

Shen Nan stood behind him and swallowed hard.

"Will they really take action?" Shen Nan asked. "If they completely cut off the interfaces, according to the safe harbor principle, our algorithm will automatically trigger..."

"meeting."

Lin Che's voice was very soft.

"There's nothing that monopolists wouldn't dare to do."

10 o'clock sharp.

There was no explosion or alarm.

Only the background logs section on the data dashboard suddenly started scrolling wildly.

The few red error codes that were originally scattered across the screen instantly transformed into a red waterfall.

The screen refreshes so fast that it's impossible for the naked eye to see it.

"They're here!"

The CTO suddenly jumped up from his chair, his knee slamming against the keyboard with a loud crash.

"TME's legal system just launched a batch of complaints! Three thousand per second! No... five thousand! And it's still rising!"

"Our API has been blocked!"

"The content moderation system has triggered its automatic circuit breaker mechanism! Batch removals are being executed!"

The active curve on the big screen seemed to be pressed down hard by an invisible hand, and began to fluctuate strangely.

Lin Che didn't move.

He just stared at the numbers that kept changing on the screen.

350 million.

That's the number of copyrights held by TME.

Now, these 350 million numbers have become 350 million bullets, precisely aimed at every video in the low-light server through fiber optic cables and base stations.

"Mr. Lin, should we intervene manually?" The CTO, sweating profusely, shouted back, "The system is muting all videos suspected of copyright infringement! If this continues, the entire app will be silenced!"

"No interference allowed."

Lin Che took a sip of the bitter, cold coffee.

"Let them close down; that's the bottom line of the safe harbor principle, and we must show a 'cooperative' attitude."

Although he said that, the knuckles of his fingers, which were gripping the paper cup, had already turned white.

……

……

The Beijing Subway Line 10 during the morning rush hour.

The carriage was packed like a sardine can.

The young white-collar worker, Xiao Zhao, struggled to hold her phone up to her eyes.

This was the hardest time of his day; only the funny videos on Weiguang could temporarily make him forget about the perverted boss he would have to face later.

He clicked on a video in his favorites folder.

That was his favorite "office rant" series, with background music usually being that kind of cheeky saxophone.

The screen started moving.

Xiao Zhao habitually grinned, ready to laugh.

No sound.

He paused for a moment, then tapped the side of his phone a few times.

The volume is already turned up to the maximum.

There was still no sound.

Not only the background music, but even the dialogue between the characters in the video is gone.

The entire video turned into a comical pantomime.

Xiao Zhao frowned, exited the app, and refreshed the page.

On the video's cover, a glaring icon appeared conspicuously—

A red horn with a bright red X on it.

[This audio has been muted due to copyright reasons]

The gray text was stuck to the bottom of the screen like a fly.

"What's going on?"

Xiao Zhao cursed.

He then clicked on the next video.

This is a young woman dancing. She was originally moving her waist to the beat of a lively drum, but now that the music is off, her movements look like some kind of strange twitching.

It's that red mute icon again.

He wasn't the only one in the carriage.

A college student-looking boy next to him also made a questioning sound, frantically patting his headphones.

"broken?"

"It's not broken, I can still listen to it on NetEase Cloud Music."

The faint video and sound effects that had been playing throughout the carriage—the infectious laughter and the dynamic rhythms—suddenly disappeared.

All that remained was the rumble of the subway running and the indifferent electronic voice of the station announcer.

An unsettling stillness was spreading.

Frustrated, Xiao Zhao turned off the dim light and opened Weibo.

It's ranked third on the trending topics list; it's already gone viral.

#Weiguang crashed#

Clicking in, the comments section had turned into a major car crash.

"What kind of garbage software is this? Are you watching a silent movie?"

"I just watched ten videos, and eight of them had no sound, so I uninstalled them."

"Is Weiguang out of money to pay its electricity bill? Why is everyone muted?"

"This is what they call a short video giant? You can't even listen to a song. They should just go bankrupt."

The hostility emanated from the screen.

Users don't care about copyright battles or business competition.

All they knew was that they weren't getting any pleasure.

If you're no longer satisfied with an app, it only takes 0.5 seconds to abandon it.

……

……

Top-floor conference room of the Weiguang Building.

The air was so thick it was suffocating.

The rain outside the window finally started, and the raindrops pattered against the French windows.

A thick stack of documents was placed on the conference table.

The general counsel's hands were shaking.

That's not an adjective.

The papers in his hands rustled slightly as he trembled.

"President Lin, this is a supplementary letter that was delivered by a special envoy from TME headquarters ten minutes ago."

The general counsel's voice was dry, as if he had a handful of sand stuck in his throat.

"They...made demands."

Lin Che sat in the main seat, with his back to the floor-to-ceiling window, so his expression was not visible.

"read."

One word.

The general counsel took a deep breath, as if it took immense courage to read the words above.

The settlement agreement regarding the infringement issue involving Weiguang Technology is as follows:

"First, Weiguang Technology must immediately pay the outstanding infringement damages, totaling RMB 10 billion."

"Second, if Weiguang Technology needs to continue using TME's music library (including exclusive agency rights), it must sign a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement."

"The agreement stipulates that Weiguang must pay copyright licensing fees of 10 billion yuan annually."

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

10 billion a year.

This isn't just asking for the moon; it's trying to devour us alive.

While Weiguang's cash flow is currently healthy, its net profit is even lower than that after deducting server bandwidth and promotion costs.

This is working for Tencent.

"And..." the general counsel's voice trailed off, "...the third point."

"Third, all external music links within the Weiguang APP must and can only redirect to Tencent's music platforms (QQ Music, Kugou, Kuwo)."

"No partnership shall be established with any third-party music platform (such as NetEase Cloud Music or Xiami Music)."

"Otherwise, it will be considered a breach of contract, and TME has the right to terminate the authorization at any time."

boom.

Shen Nan slammed his fist on the table.

The solid wood table made a dull thud.

"This is outrageous!"

Shen Nan's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his neck were bulging.

"This isn't a reconciliation; it's a contract of servitude!"

"Once we sign this, Weiguang will be Tencent's dog for life, and they can cut off our food whenever they want."

"And they want us to have an exclusive partnership? They're trying to destroy NetEase Cloud Music!"

No one responded in the meeting room.

The executives all had their heads down.

Anger is anger.

But reality is what it is.

If you don't sign, the current screen full of red mute icons in the app is the end result.

Users are being lost.

Backend data shows that in the past hour alone, the average time spent by daily active users has plummeted by 40%.

A short video without sound is like a soulless corpse.

Everyone was waiting for Lin Che to speak.

Lin Che reached out and took the document.

The paper was light, but every word on it weighed heavily.

He stared at the signature.

Peng Jiaxin.

CEO of Tencent Music Entertainment Group.

"What if we don't sign?"

Lin Che suddenly spoke.

The general counsel paused for a moment, then swallowed hard. "If we don't sign... based on past cases in the Nanshan Court, we have a very high chance of losing. Once we apply for a pre-trial injunction, our app may face the risk of being removed from all online platforms."

"So there's no other choice?"

Lin Che threw the documents on the table.

The document glided a distance and stopped in front of Shen Nan.

"Boss, we can't sign!" Shen Nan's voice trembled with anxiety. "If we sign, we're really finished."

Lin Che stood up.

He walked to the French windows and looked out at the gray, misty rain.

It rained harder and harder.

"Who said I was going to sign?"

Lin Che's voice was cold.

It's even colder than the rain in late autumn.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"They want 10 billion?"

"You want my knees too?"

Lin Che's lips curled into a slight smile, but it wasn't a smile; rather, it was the twitching of some wild beast before it bared its fangs.

"Notify the legal department."

"Activate the Level 1 emergency response plan."

"Use jurisdictional objections, extensions of the evidentiary period, counterclaims... use every legal means to stall this case."

The general counsel's eyes widened: "Drag it out? How long can you drag it out? That's Nanshan's Invincible Pizza Hut..."

"As long as he doesn't die, keep dragging him along."

Lin Che interrupted him.

"I don't want to win, I just want time."

"It might drag on for a month, or even half a month."

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

Ten thirty-five.

He had two hours before he was scheduled to board the plane.

"Shen Nan."

"exist."

"Prepare the car."

Lin Che straightened the collar of his suit, his movements meticulous, as if he were going to attend a grand banquet.

"Where to?"

Hongqiao Airport.

Lin Che strode towards the door, his leather shoes making a "clack-clack" sound on the floor.

"Go see Ding Lei."

"Since Tencent wants to overturn the table."

"Then let's move to another table to eat."

He paused at the door but didn't turn around.

"Tell the tech department not to remove that red mute icon yet."

"Keep it."

"Let the users see."

"That's a pillar of shame."

"It's also a declaration of war."

Outside the window, the rumble of thunder could be heard.

A torrential downpour finally began.