Criminal!

Just past nine in the evening, inside Zhou Yuanlei's home in Lingyuan City.

Having just returned from a lavish dinner out, Zhou Yuanlei pulled out his phone once more, glanced at the bank balance on the screen, and smiled contentedly.

Opening the Autohome app on his phone, he entered the BMW forum, logged in, composed a post, and published it in one smooth motion.

"Twenty-five this year, budget of six hundred thousand—should I go for the 3 Series or the 5 Series? Personally leaning toward the 5 Series, but the 3 Series seems adequate too. Hoping the brothers in the forum can offer some advice."

"Broke but love browsing cars—the Cloud Car God here. Personally recommend the 5 Series, go straight for the top trim!"

"Since you've got the money for a 5 Series, why not add a bit more and go for a 7 Series?"

"Only sedans? The Q7 or X5 aren't bad either."

"Another loaded big shot, genuinely envious. When will I ever earn this much?"

After quickly skimming a few replies, Zhou Yuanlei responded in turn.

"Brothers upstairs, just put in a bit more effort and you can do it too. There are plenty of opportunities to make money in this society—you just need to be good at seizing them!"

"Thanks for the model recommendations, everyone. I'll take a look first and check out the 4S store tomorrow."

Phone in hand, Zhou Yuanlei replied to forum posts, unable to hide the grin spreading across his face as he began to fantasize about the envious looks from his friends once he bought the car.

Thump, thump, thump—

Just as Zhou Yuanlei was browsing cars and daydreaming about the future, a knock came at the door.

"Who is it?" Zhou Yuanlei asked, puzzled.

It was already past nine in the evening—who could be coming to see him? A friend?

The knocking continued, but no one answered his question.

"So late..." Zhou Yuanlei got up, shuffled over, and opened the door.

"Don't move! Stay still!" The moment the door swung open, a group of fully armed personnel rushed in. Two officers worked in perfect sync, instantly subduing Zhou Yuanlei and snapping a pair of shiny silver bracelets onto his wrists.

"Who are you people? What are you doing!" Zhou Yuanlei shouted.

Under the room's light, several arresting officers carefully examined Zhou Yuanlei's face and nodded to one another.

"Target confirmed!"

"We're from the Lingyuan City police. Here are our credentials!" The officer held his badge in front of Zhou Yuanlei, letting him clearly see the stamped seal. After a two-second pause, the arresting officer continued.

"You're Mr. Zhou Yuanlei, correct?"

"The police? Why are you arresting me? I haven't broken any laws!" Zhou Yuanlei said, utterly bewildered.

After checking that the body-worn camera was recording, the officer said, "Whether you've broken the law or not, we'll only know after an investigation. Please cooperate with us and assist in the inquiry. I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you must answer truthfully. If we find you've concealed any facts, you will bear legal responsibility. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I'll cooperate fully. I really haven't done anything wrong—please believe me!" As an ordinary person faced with this situation, Zhou Yuanlei was completely terrified.

The officer nodded and asked, "Alright, then let me ask you: this afternoon, did you have a phone call with a man named Ning Yifan, the boss of Shenma Technology Company?"

"Well... I did make a call," Zhou Yuanlei replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Then listen to this—is this your phone conversation?" The officer pulled out a police device and played a recording. It was the part of the earlier call between Ning Yifan and Zhou Yuanlei where Zhou demanded one million.

Hearing the familiar dialogue, Zhou Yuanlei had no way to refute it and said helplessly, "Yes, that's it. But officer, that's not illegal, is it? I took his money to help solve his company's problems and promote their products—it's just normal compensation for labor."

Hearing this, the lead officer shook his head and said, "Looks like you still don't get it. But that's fine. Since you admit this is your call recording, then come with us to the station for further investigation. Don't worry—we won't wrong an innocent person, nor let a guilty one off. We hope you'll cooperate. If you resist or obstruct our normal procedures, you could face heavier penalties. That's all for now. Let's move out!"

The joint task force, composed of officers from Lianhua Police Station and local police, swiftly escorted Zhou Yuanlei to the station.

In the interrogation room, with Ning Yifan's lawyer present as an observer, the joint task force conducted a recorded interview with Zhou Yuanlei. Confession brings leniency, resistance brings severity. The officer in uniform looked solemn and imposing.

After a series of questions about name, age, occupation, and the like, the conversation moved to the main phase.

"Zhou Yuanlei, on September 7th, did you contact the boss of Shenma Technology Company through JD.com's customer service chat? Are these your chat records?" The officer placed several A4-printed chat logs in front of Zhou Yuanlei and asked.

After carefully examining the contents, Zhou Yuanlei hesitated and said, "These are indeed our chat records, but I only wanted to cooperate with their company to promote their products—I had no intention of committing any crime!"

At Zhou Yuanlei's explanation, the officer said sternly, "Whether you've committed a crime will be determined by the criminal law. Before we question you about the case details, you only need to answer 'yes' or 'no' regarding the authenticity of these materials."

"O-okay." The solemn atmosphere around him made Zhou Yuanlei nervous.

Could I really have broken the law? The thought flickered through Zhou Yuanlei's mind, but he had little time to dwell on it. After confirming the authenticity of that material, the police brought out several more documents for him to verify.

These included the phone recording mentioned earlier at his home, the transfer records, and the videos Zhou Yuanlei had posted online that falsely and maliciously slandered Shenma Technology Company.

Faced with the mountain of evidence, Zhou Yuanlei, though deeply reluctant, ultimately did not deny its authenticity.

The materials were clear and unambiguous. After a brief discussion among the officers, one of them addressed Zhou Yuanlei again: "Zhou Yuanlei, your actions constitute attempted extortion, as well as malicious fabrication and dissemination of false facts, damaging another's commercial reputation and product goodwill, causing significant losses. The evidence is solid. Is there anything you want to say about this?"

"I didn't break the law! Things on the internet—everyone just says whatever they want, no one takes it seriously. So many people do the same thing—why are you only arresting me?" Zhou Yuanlei's eyes reddened as he tried to argue desperately.

The officer said in a low voice, "You don't need to say all that. Just tell us if there's anything else related to the case that you need to add—things we might not know about."

"Well..." After thinking it over, Zhou Yuanlei shook his head. "No."

The officer nodded to indicate he understood. "Then it's clear. Based on the investigators' request, we hope you'll cooperate to minimize Shenma Technology Company's losses and strive for lenient treatment. You must show a good attitude of admitting guilt!"

"I... I... I understand." Zhou Yuanlei sat slumped in the chair, utterly defeated.

The process went smoothly. Just two days later, with the police's assistance, Zhou Yuanlei's video account uploaded its latest video.

Dressed in blue-and-white striped prison attire, behind him hung the slogan: Loyal to the Party, Serving the People, Enforcing the Law Justly, Strict in Discipline.

Before the solemn scene, Zhou Yuanlei, who hadn't slept well for two days, spoke up.

"Hello, dear viewers, I am Zhou Yuanlei, the owner of the Boiling Digital Reviews account. Regarding my review video of the Shenma Technology Company's Phantom Projector, released on September 8th, I hereby clarify that the video contained a large amount of false and malicious content slandering Shenma Technology Company."

"In the video, I privately modified the Phantom Projector, preventing it from operating at its normal standard, and released a false review video, causing significant losses to Shenma Technology Company. I feel deeply sorry for this matter, and at the same time, I sincerely apologize to Shenma Technology Company."

"I am sorry. Now I have realized the seriousness of the situation, and I hope Shenma Technology Company can accept my apology."

The video was very short. At the end, the police attached a relevant case briefing.

"On September 7th, the suspect, Zhou, contacted Shenma Technology Company through a shopping platform, attempting to collect 500,000 yuan to promote the company's products."

"After negotiations failed, the next day, Zhou released false information to maliciously slander Shenma Technology Company's products, and used methods such as hiring online trolls and guiding public opinion on the internet to escalate the situation, causing great damage to Shenma Technology Company's commercial reputation and product reputation."

"Ten days later, he again contacted the boss of Shenma Technology Company by phone, threatening to delete the false fabricated Phantom Projector review video online and help restore the company's reputation, extorting 1,000,000 yuan from the boss. Of this, 600,000 yuan was received via bank transfer, while the remaining 400,000 yuan was unsuccessful."

"In this incident, Zhou committed the crime of extortion, as well as maliciously fabricating and spreading false facts, damaging others' commercial reputation and product reputation, causing significant losses to others. He will face due punishment."

"The internet is not a lawless place!"