Someone's About to Flip the Table

The hacker attack, dubbed the "Cyber Warfare of the Century," had passed three days ago.

A craze for downloading Xiao Ke had swept across the internet. After all, software that could easily defeat the entire world had given everyone a deeper understanding of Xiao Ke's capabilities.

As time went on, many video bloggers began sharing amusing conversations with Xiao Ke, leading to a surge in viewership.

The costume changes and leveling system for Xiao Ke, which Chu Feng had commissioned the technical department to develop, had become the main source of income for Xiao Ke, leaving Zheng Yun somewhat dumbfounded.

It was just simple costume changes, yet people were so engrossed they were creating threads on forums to showcase them.

Only a few of these outfits were free; the rest were paid.

Initially, Zheng Yun had thought it was a useless feature. Spending money on outfits that had no practical purpose, just to dress up Xiao Ke, seemed superfluous.

In reality, however, some people were indeed bored. Xiao Ke's outfit combinations had become a popular trend among young people.

Everyone was styling their own Xiao Ke, sharing their outfits, and even specialized stylists had emerged, charging fees for their services.

This made Zheng Yun lament that he was getting old and couldn't understand the younger generation anymore.

The so-called membership leveling system and leaderboards left Zheng Yun speechless.

The first tier, VIP, cost only 10 yuan per month and granted access to all features, but Xiao Ke's icon would display "VIP Level 1." Further upgrades required more money.

Moreover, the fees for each subsequent level increased tenfold.

VIP Level 2 required 100 yuan.

VIP Level 3 required 1,000 yuan.

VIP Level 4 required 10,000 yuan.

The highest tier, VIP Level 8, cost a hundred million yuan!

Additionally, these VIP memberships came with technical service support from Origin Company. The highest level, VIP Level 8, entitled users to nine technical support sessions from Origin Company per year.

On the established leaderboards, the top spot was occupied by the account of Teacher Ma, China's richest man, who had directly deposited a hundred million yuan. His first order was to hire Origin Company to design a firewall for his Taobao Bay website.

The second place was Wang Jianlin, also with a hundred million yuan. His first order was to have Origin Company maintain his ticketing system.

Below them were a multitude of Level 8 VIPs, astonishing the onlookers. It truly seemed like the wealthy didn't consider money as money.

For a time, the leaderboards were almost as influential as China's Forbes rankings, and those with foresight began cultivating relationships based on these rankings.

It could be said that Xiao Ke's leaderboards had become a new status symbol for showing off wealth, leading many keyboard warriors to lament the decline of morality. But how could keyboard warriors shake a trend that was already in motion?

Origin Company was now virtually unknown to no one on the internet. Their high-end antivirus system also made hackers lament that the golden age of hacking was over.

As Origin Company flourished, everyone began speculating whether it would go public.

If it were to list, it was predictable that Chu Feng's net worth would skyrocket, making him the youngest member of China's billionaire club.

However, a piece of news caught everyone completely off guard.

The iOS, Android, and Microsoft systems, almost simultaneously and in unison on their official websites, announced that Xiao Ke and the Origin Accelerator had not undergone patent verification nor received technical approval from Origin Company. They could not prove the software's safety and might contain backend vulnerabilities that could leak user information. Therefore, all Origin Company software was temporarily removed, and the download and application of the software were temporarily blocked. Unless Origin Company voluntarily submitted technical data for inspection, their software would be indefinitely suspended.

This news caused an uproar.

These three systems – IOS and Android dominating the mobile market, and the other dominating the PC market – if they were to completely block a piece of software, it would be almost impossible to escape.

However, everyone was disgusted by the USA's arrogance. It was too overbearing and unreasonable. They resorted to such shameless tactics just to seize others' achievements. For a time, these three companies were universally condemned. Yet, upon closer consideration, there really wasn't much that could be done.

Upon receiving the news, Zheng Yun felt as if the sky was falling. Origin Company had emerged victorious in this war, gaining immense popularity, but it had also placed itself in the spotlight, becoming the target of universal criticism.

The entire company was in a state of panic. Although the company had been established for a short time, its immense strength and generous rewards made everyone reluctant to see it collapse.

But looking at the current situation, compromise seemed to be the only way forward.

Otherwise, Origin Company would face bankruptcy. And with so many paying users of Xiao Ke, no amount of money could sustain such a drain.

"Mr. Chu, you understand the current situation. They are truly shameless, resorting to such methods. It's a clear sign they've shown their hand. Do we really have to hand over the source code for the primary artificial intelligence?" Zheng Yun asked, feeling dejected. He had been ready to make a grand display, only to encounter this. This was his first time facing such a situation; previous challenges had been mere child's play. Facing opposition at a national level, a single company was too insignificant.

Lin Lin also looked at Chu Feng with concern. She knew how lazy Chu Feng could be, yet he had been staying here for days dealing with Origin Company's affairs.

While others might see him as calm and collected, she knew how much Chu Feng had sacrificed for Origin Company.

"Heh, Old Zheng, are you already defeated?"

Chu Feng's expression remained unchanged; he even seemed a bit exhilarated.

"They're preparing to flip the table, but do you think I'll place all my assets on their table?"

"Ridiculous!" Chu Feng slammed the table and stood up.

"Back then, we just lacked recognition, so we borrowed their channels. Do you really think I'd be defeated by these petty tricks? That would be underestimating me, Chu Feng!"

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

These were considered petty tricks?

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

Both its talent pool and sales channels were singular, and even its software was consolidated into just one.

Now that their primary sales channels were blocked, what could they do?

"Since they took the table, we'll build our own. Since they're not letting us use our phones, I'll build my own phone!"

Zheng Yun and Lin Lin's gazes clearly said, "You're kidding me."

Chu Feng didn't mind. Designing a phone or computer system wasn't much harder for the Ship's AI than calculating one plus one.

As for the phone, the contingency plan he had set up a few days ago was about to come in handy.

"I originally planned to take things slow, but since you dare to flip the table, then there's no more playing around."

"Lin Lin, contact them and say that cargo will arrive in Magic City tomorrow and needs to be handed over." Lin Lin was stunned for a moment. Seeing Zheng Yun was still there, she understood what Chu Feng meant and nodded before leaving.

"Old Zheng!"

"Yes, President!" Zheng Yun was taken aback but quickly replied.

"I remember there are newly completed factory buildings in the port area. Go and contact them. Rent eight thousand square meters of factory space first. Contact the port for a 10,000-ton berth, pay the daily rent in advance, and keep the berth empty for now."

"Understood, President."

While no one was around, Chu Feng also had his own plans, but he couldn't let Lin Lin know. So, he left a note on the table, saying he needed to sneak out for a bit and for her not to look for him, and that he would be back tomorrow.