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

In Beijing winters, it gets dark as early as 5 p.m.

Zhongguancun, Danling Street.

The entire street has been blocked off.

The flashing police lights, alternating between blue and red, illuminated everyone's faces, which were purple from the cold.

The queue stretched from the main entrance of the Internet Finance Center all the way to the Haidian Huangzhuang subway station, hundreds of meters away, and even continued into the distance, like a long snake that had died in the cold wind.

This is neither buying train tickets during the Spring Festival travel rush nor the release of a new Apple phone.

This is the most absurd scene in the history of the Chinese Internet.

Li Wenbo stood in the middle of the line.

He took the day off and was wrapped in his thickest down jacket, but the cold air still crept up his trouser legs.

I've lost all feeling in the soles of my feet, and my knees ache every time I stomp my feet.

How much further?

The old man in front of him turned around and asked a question.

The old man held a stainless steel thermos in his hand, and his beard was covered with white frost.

"It's still early." Li Wenbo glanced at the glass door in the distance. "I heard there are only three staff members registering people inside, and they can only process a few dozen per hour."

"What a tragedy." The old man sighed, unscrewed the lid of his cup, and took a sip of hot water, the steam rising onto his wrinkled face. "I don't know anything about the internet, all I know is that if you give someone money, they have to pay you back."

Li Wenbo remained silent.

He looked around.

Some white-collar workers, dressed in suits and carrying briefcases, were pretending to be looking down and replying to emails in order not to appear too disheveled.

There was a young mother pushing a stroller, her baby crying loudly from the cold, and she was wiping away her tears while trying to comfort the baby;

A food delivery guy parked his electric scooter on the side of the road, his helmet still on, anxiously checking the time.

There are no middle-class people or social elites in this long line.

Faced with an IOU for 199 yuan, everyone's dignity was stripped bare.

……

……

"Stop pushing! I can't help it if you keep pushing!"

At the entrance of the building, several security guards linked arms, forming a fragile human wall.

Their voices were hoarse from shouting, and their hats were askew.

"Let me in! I'm pregnant!"

"I came all the way from Tongzhou! I've been waiting in line for six hours!"

"Where are the people from ofo? Where's Dai Wei? Tell him to come out here!"

Anger is a contagious poison.

When the people in front start pushing each other because they are too cold or too tired, this kinetic energy is quickly transferred to the people behind.

wow-

It's unclear who started it, but the crowd surged toward the revolving door like a flood bursting its banks.

The security guards' human wall was instantly breached.

A security guard was pushed to the ground, and countless feet trampled over him.

Screams, cries, and the creaking of the glass door being squeezed all blended together.

Li Wenbo was swept up in the crowd, feeling as if the air in his chest was being squeezed out.

He saw the old man in front of him drop his thermos, which was kicked away and rolled into the middle of the road, where it was run over by the tires of a police car.

This is collapse.

The building's first-floor lobby was instantly occupied.

People rushed into the elevator, only to find that it had long since stopped working.

So they rushed up the stairs, trying to climb to the top floor to settle scores with the legendary Davey.

However, the stairwell door was locked.

Hundreds of people were trapped in a narrow stairwell, and some people were frantically banging on the fire doors with fire extinguishers.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The dull thud traveled along the building, like the dying heartbeat of the structure.

……

……

The top floor of the headquarters of Weiguang Technology.

It's warm and spring-like here, and the humidifier is spraying out white mist.

Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, Lin Che looked at the television screen on the wall.

The news channel is broadcasting live the chaos in Zhongguancun.

In the footage, there are distorted faces, desperate eyes, and "Pay back the money" signs held up in the cold wind.

"Boss, the regulators have stepped in."

Shen Nan held his phone, his expression grave.

"The Ministry of Transport and the Financial Regulatory Bureau just held a joint meeting with ofo executives and issued a strict order: a feasible refund plan must be presented within 24 hours, and mass incidents are strictly prohibited."

"24 hours?"

Lin Che held the teacup and gently blew away the floating leaves.

"Davis can't produce it."

"He now only has two options: either go to jail or sell the company."

"But who dares to buy now?" Shen Nan asked. "Didi withdrew a long time ago, and Alibaba isn't stupid either. With billions of dollars in debt, this is a hot potato."

"Indeed, no one dares to buy it."

Lin Che put down his teacup, walked to his desk, and opened a drawer.

Inside lay a document that had already been printed.

The cover reads: "Asset Trust and Debt Restructuring Agreement".

"Except for me."

Lin Che's fingers slid over the document, his fingertips feeling slightly cool.

"Because what I want is not bicycles, not assets."

"What I want are these 1000 million users who hate him to the core, but are about to be grateful to me."

"Shen Nan, give me your phone."

Shen Nan handed over the personal cell phone.

The screen was completely black, with no movement whatsoever.

"What is he waiting for?" Shen Nan asked, puzzled. "At this point, why hasn't he come to beg you?"

"He's waiting for the final illusion to shatter."

Lin Che glanced at the completely dark sky outside the window.

"He's waiting for those so-called 'allies,' waiting for those capitalists who used to call him brothers to call him back."

"Wait a little longer."

Lin Che sat back down in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Let the bullets fly a little longer."

……

……

It's 11 p.m.

The crowd in Zhongguancun has been evacuated, leaving only a mess.

The crushed aluminum cans, discarded hand warmers, and torn flyers looked particularly glaring under the streetlights.

ofo headquarters, chairman's office.

The lights are off here.

Dai Wei was curled up on the carpet in the corner, his phone lying to the side, the screen cracked but still lit.

Just now, he dialed the last number.

That was a call from Cheng Wei of Didi.

That was his mentor, the older brother who propelled him into the limelight.

The call connected, but only one short sentence was spoken:

"Dai Wei, let go. You've already lost this round. Don't drag yourself down with you."

beep - beep -

The busy sound was like a sharp knife, severing his last nerve.

Lost.

We lost completely.

No one can fill this two billion dollar hole.

When the sun rises tomorrow, he may be waiting in handcuffs from the Economic Crime Investigation Department.

He didn't want to go to jail.

He is a prodigy, and he is not yet 30 years old.

In the darkness, Dai Wei's gaze fell on the name in his contacts.

Lin Che.

The person who warned from the beginning that this was a "graveyard".

The person who stabbed ofo to death with "credit-based deposit waiver".

Ironically, now in all of China, only this enemy has enough cash to save his life.

Dai Wei reached out with trembling hands and grabbed the phone with the shattered screen.

The fingertips spasm due to prolonged tension.

He pressed the number.

The long wait continued.

Every "beep" felt like a whipping of his pride.

Finally, the call went through.

"Feed".

Lin Che's voice was calm and indifferent.

Dai Wei opened his mouth.

It felt like there was a wad of cotton stuck in my throat, and I couldn't make a sound.

Tears flowed silently, dripping onto the carpet.

He took a deep breath, mustered all his strength, and spoke into the microphone the words that made him feel like he was dying:

"President Lin..."

"Give a brother a hand."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then, Lin Che's completely calm voice rang out:

"Come to the China World Trade Center."

"I'll be waiting for you at the Cloud Club."

"Remember, you're coming alone."

beep.

The phone hangs up.

Dai Wei put down his phone and collapsed to the ground.