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

That night, none of the programmers at Sina Weibo were able to go home.

The server first crashed at 20:07.

Only seven minutes had passed since Lao Cui pressed the send button.

The top floor of the Weiguang Building.

Xie Yu turned the laptop screen toward Lin Che, which displayed a red traffic monitoring graph.

The curve is not climbing a slope, but rather rising vertically at a 90-degree angle like a rocket launch, directly piercing the top of the coordinate axis.

"Brother Che, these numbers... are terrifying."

Xie Yu's voice trembled, and his finger pointing at the screen shook. "In ten minutes, it was retweeted over a million times, and the comment section was refreshing three thousand times per second. Sina's servers were expanded three times, but it still crashed."

Lin Che didn't look at the data.

He stared at the "yin-yang contract" on his tablet, which had already been screenshotted and widely circulated.

[4 days, 6000 million.]

These numbers are like barbed whips, lashing hard across the faces of every ordinary person in China.

That was in 2018.

An ordinary person earning 5,000 yuan a month could work for a thousand years without eating or drinking to earn as much as an actor making faces in front of the camera for four days.

Are you angry?

Lin Che looked at the flood of profanities on the screen and asked softly.

Xie Yu paused for a moment, then nodded: "I'm furious, I feel like cursing."

"That's right."

Lin Che put down his tablet and walked to the window.

"Anger is the cheapest fuel in the world, but once ignited, it's nuclear fusion."

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Meanwhile, the Park Hyatt Hotel.

Ten minutes ago it was a glamorous and extravagant world of fame and fortune, but now it has become a pressure cooker.

"Mr. Wang! Check the trending topics!"

The secretary practically tumbled onto the stage and shoved her phone in front of Wang Zhonglei.

Wang Zhonglei was preparing to cut the giant cake that symbolized a "market value of 100 billion".

He frowned and glanced at the screen impatiently.

Just one glance.

The knife in his hand slammed onto the plate with a loud thud.

Speaking the Truth: Yin-Yang Contracts and the Fig Leaf of the Entertainment Industry

The blurred contract in the accompanying picture, with that familiar signature, was like an invisible hand that instantly gripped his throat.

"This is a rumor! This is slander!"

Wang Zhonglei roared into the microphone, his facial muscles twitching, "That madman! That psychopath! Who told him to release this? Where's the PR department?! Where the hell are they?!"

The reporters in the audience reacted like sharks that had smelled blood.

Just moments ago they were praising the "golden age of Chinese cinema," but in an instant they turned their guns on them.

"Mr. Wang! Is this contract genuine?"

Is Ms. Fan really suspected of tax evasion?

"Was Huaying aware of this?"

The flashes of light were like machine gun fire.

Miss Fan's champagne glass fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. Her face turned pale, and she tried to run backstage, lifting her skirt, but was blocked by the swarm of cameras.

"Stop filming! Get out of here! All of you, get out of here!"

Bodyguards shoved reporters, and the scene briefly spiraled out of control.

Screams, curses, and the sound of shattering glasses filled the air, creating utter chaos.

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at the same time.

Wang Zhonglei was hiding in the backstage dressing room, his tie askew, yelling into the phone:

"Get this trending topic down! I'll pay whatever it takes! Fifty million? I'll give it! A hundred million? I'll give it to you! Suppress this thing for me!"

On the Beijing subway, a weary worker stares at his phone, his previously numb eyes suddenly igniting with rage.

"Investigate! They absolutely must investigate! I'm heartbroken even paying my taxes, and they're running away with tens of millions?"

No one cut the cake in the banquet hall; the cream on top began to melt, resembling a puddle of spoiled lard.

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"It can't be withdrawn."

Lin Che glanced at the still-strong "hot" trending topic on Xie Yu's tablet and sneered.

"This is public opinion."

"When everyone is shouting 'Stop thief!' If you cover someone's mouth, it will only make more people think you have something to hide."

"Brother Che, Huaying has responded!"

Xie Yu suddenly shouted.

On Weibo, Huaying Entertainment's official blue V account released a solemn statement.

A lawyer's letter with black background and white lettering.

The wording was extremely strong:

[Formal Statement: Recently, a certain individual surnamed Cui published false information online, maliciously slandering our company's artists. This behavior constitutes serious defamation. Our company has commissioned lawyers to collect evidence and will pursue legal action against him. We warn those who spread rumors: the internet is not a lawless zone!]

Below it is that bright red official seal.

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Lin Che smiled as he read the statement.

They laughed so hard they were doubled over.

"idiot."

He shook his head, his eyes full of mockery.

"Apologizing, admitting defeat, and paying back taxes at this point might at least allow you to leave with a whole body."

"Send a lawyer's letter?"

Lin Che stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked in the direction of the Huaying Building in the distance.

"They think the fire isn't burning bright enough, so they want to pour gasoline on themselves."

In her previous life, Hua Ying died in the same way.

Died from arrogance.

He died because of his contempt for the public's intelligence.

"So what do we do?" Xie Yu asked. "Although the public opinion is in an uproar, many people are still skeptical. After all, it's Huaying Film Studio, and their public relations capabilities are too strong."

"Then help them get a diagnosis."

Lin Che's voice was as cold as ice.

"Hasn't Abyss's 'full-network forensics' been completed?"

"Get me the more explosive ones—the bank statements showing how they've laundered money through the 'Horgos' shell company over the past few years, even if they're anonymous."

"besides."

Lin Che paused, his eyes turning playful.

"Tell Old Cui to shut up. Keep quiet."

"Why?" Xie Yu asked, puzzled.

"Because the silence we have now is the most deafening accusation."

Lin Che picked up the ice water on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

"On this stage, whoever is quick to jump up and down is the clown."

Outside the window, the faint sound of police sirens could be heard.

I don't know where it's going, but in Beijing tonight, the sound sounds particularly jarring.

Lin Che looked at his phone screen.

The comment section under Huaying's "solemn statement" has already backfired.

The top-rated comment had only three words, yet it garnered over 500,000 likes:

[Investigate his mother!]

"Did you hear that?"

Lin Che said softly.

"This is the sound of the old era collapsing."

"Notify Hong Kong to prepare burlap sacks."

"When the market opens tomorrow, Huaying's stock price will be as beautiful as a waterfall."

"Xie Yu, don't blink."

"The real show is just beginning."

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