Someone Was About to Flip the Table

Three days had passed since the hacker attack known as the "Cyber War of the Century."

A download frenzy for Xiaoke swept across the internet. After all, Xiaoke had crushed software from around the world, giving everyone a deeper understanding of its capabilities.

As time passed, many video bloggers began sharing hilarious conversations with Xiaoke, and their view counts soared.

The Xiaoke outfit changes and rank uniforms Chu Feng had originally asked the technical department to develop became a major source of Xiaoke's revenue, leaving Zheng Yun dumbfounded.

It was just a simple matter of changing clothes, yet people had studied it so thoroughly that they had even opened a Tieba forum to show them off.

Only a few outfits were free. The rest cost money.

Zheng Yun had originally thought it was a useless feature. Spending money to buy several outfits with no practical value just to dress up one's Xiaoke—wasn't that completely unnecessary?

Reality proved that there really were bored people. Xiaoke outfit coordination had become a trend among young people.

Everyone was styling their own Xiaoke and showing off their outfit combinations. There were even professional stylists who charged for the service.

It made Zheng Yun sigh that he was getting old and could no longer understand young people.

The so-called membership ranking system and leaderboard left Zheng Yun equally speechless.

VIP Level 1 cost only ten yuan per month and unlocked every feature, but Xiaoke's icon would display VIP Level 1. To raise one's VIP level afterward, one could only keep spending money.

Furthermore, the fees required by the ranking system increased tenfold at each level.

VIP Level 2 cost 100 yuan.

VIP Level 3 cost 1,000 yuan.

VIP Level 4 cost 10,000 yuan.

The highest, VIP Level 8, required 100 million yuan!

And the VIP membership came with Origin Company's technical service support. A Level 8 VIP could enjoy Origin Company's technical support nine times a year...

On the leaderboard, the account ranked first belonged to Teacher Ma, China's richest man. He had directly topped up 100 million yuan, and his first order was to hire Origin Company to design a firewall for his Taobao Bay website...

Wang Jianlin was in second place, also with 100 million yuan. His first order was to hire Origin Company to maintain his ticketing system...

Below them was a whole crowd of Level 8 VIPs, leaving countless onlookers astonished. Rich people truly did not treat money as money...

For a time, this leaderboard was practically comparable to China's Forbes rankings, and those with ulterior motives used it to build connections.

It could be said that Xiaoke's leaderboard had become a new symbol of flaunting wealth, prompting countless keyboard warriors to cry that society had lost its moral compass... But how could keyboard warriors possibly shake a trend that had already taken hold?

Origin Company had become a household name on the internet, and its high-end antivirus system had made hackers sigh that the golden age of hacking was over...

Just as Origin Company was thriving, everyone began speculating whether it would go public.

If it did, Chu Feng's net worth would undoubtedly soar, making him the youngest member of China's billionaire club.

But then a piece of news caught everyone completely off guard.

The iOS system, Android system, and Microsoft system almost simultaneously announced on their official websites that Xiaoke and the Origin Accelerator had not undergone patent inspection and had not received technical filing from Origin Company. Their safety could not be verified; they might contain backdoor vulnerabilities and pose a risk of leaking user information. Therefore, all Origin Company software would temporarily be removed from their platforms, with downloads and use suspended. Unless Origin Company voluntarily submitted technical documentation for inspection, the ban would remain in effect indefinitely.

The news caused an uproar.

IOS and Android had essentially ruled the mobile market, while Microsoft essentially ruled the PC market.

If those three companies jointly decided to ban a piece of software, it would be nearly impossible for it to survive.

Everyone was disgusted by the United States' shamelessness. This was far too domineering and unreasonable. To seize someone else's achievements, they had resorted to such shameless tactics. For a time, the three companies became targets of universal condemnation, but upon careful thought, there truly seemed to be no good solution.

After receiving the news, Zheng Yun felt as if the sky had fallen. Origin Company had won the war and basked in the limelight, but it had also placed itself on the crest of the wave, becoming a target for all.

Everyone in the company was anxious. Although the company had not been established for long, its formidable strength and generous rewards made everyone unwilling to watch it collapse.

But given the current situation, compromise truly seemed to be the only path.

Otherwise, Origin Company faced only bankruptcy. And there were so many Xiaoke users who had paid—no matter how wealthy they were, how could they withstand such losses?

"President Chu, you understand the situation now. They're truly shameless, resorting even to this method. They've finally shown their hand. Is handing over the Basic Artificial Intelligence source code really our only option?" Zheng Yun was somewhat despondent. He had been ready to make a grand showing, only to encounter a situation like this. This was the first time he had faced anything like it. Everything before had merely been minor skirmishes. In a confrontation at the national level, a single company was simply too insignificant.

Lin Lin also looked at Chu Feng with concern. She knew just how lazy Chu Feng usually was, yet he had stayed here for several days because of Origin Company.

Others thought he was calm and unconcerned, but she knew how much Chu Feng had sacrificed for Origin Company.

"Heh, Old Zheng, you've already been defeated?"

There was not the slightest change in Chu Feng's expression. If anything, he seemed somewhat excited.

"They're preparing to flip the table, but would I put all my assets on their table?"

"How ridiculous!" Chu Feng slammed the table and stood up.

"Back then, I merely lacked recognition, so I borrowed their channels. Did they really think such petty tricks could defeat me? They're underestimating me, Chu Feng, far too much!"

Chu Feng's words left both Zheng Yun and Lin Lin stunned.

This was still just a childish little trick?

If any other software company were targeted like this, it would already be the end of the world. After all, Origin Company's foundation was its weakness.

Whether in terms of talent reserves or sales channels, everything was extremely limited. Its software had even been consolidated into just one product.

Now that they had blocked off most of your sales channels, what could you possibly do?

"Since they've taken away the table, then we'll build one ourselves. Since their phones won't let us operate, then I'll build my own phone!"

Zheng Yun and Lin Lin's eyes clearly said, "Stop joking."

Chu Feng did not mind. Designing a mobile phone or computer system was no more difficult for the intelligent brain than one plus one.

As for the phones, the contingency arrangement he had made a few days ago was about to come in handy.

"I had originally planned to take it slowly. Since you dared to flip the table, then there's no more room to play."

"Lin Lin, contact them and tell them that a shipment will arrive in Magic City tomorrow and needs to be handed over." Lin Lin froze for a moment. Seeing that Zheng Yun was still there, she understood what Chu Feng meant. She nodded and went out.

"Old Zheng!"

"Yes, President!" Zheng Yun froze for a moment before hurriedly replying.

"I remember there's a newly completed factory building in the port district. Go get in touch with them and rent an 8,000-square-meter factory first. Contact a ten-thousand-ton-class dock as well. Pay the daily rental fee in advance and keep the dock vacant for now."

"Yes, President."

With no one around, Chu Feng had plans of his own. But he could not let Lin Lin know, so he left a note on the table saying that he needed to secretly go out for a while and telling her not to look for him. He would return tomorrow.