Miscalculation

"Boss, our computer CPUs are overloaded and have burned out," a member of the internet water army staff said as he moved a computer tower onto the table and pried open the casing.

"The graphics cards are fried too. They're still scorching to the touch—no telling how high the temperature got. Look here, the glue has already melted," the technician dismantling the machines shouted.

"What a loss, what a massive loss! This job didn't even pay enough to cover the cost of these computers. I'm ruined!" the boss slammed his fist down in frustration.

"Quick, check if the hard drives are still intact!" the boss suddenly remembered that the drives contained a vast amount of their account passwords and data, and he spoke in a panic.

The staff removed the hard drives and connected them to a laptop they had just brought over. A few minutes later, everyone shook their heads in despair.

"Boss, the hard drives have physically overwritten themselves. We should have bitten the bullet and bought solid-state drives!" The staff members were on the verge of tears; they had saved quite a few movies on those drives!

"Damn it!" The boss punched the computer monitor in front of him, knocking it to the floor. He had lost his shirt this time; the cost of all this equipment and the loss of his accounts wiped out several years of his income.

However, he didn't know that even greater despair was yet to come. In the final few dozen seconds, the Splitters had used these "zombie" computers to infiltrate several well-known national websites and corporate servers.

Not only that, but they had also deliberately left behind breadcrumbs to expose their own IDs.

A few minutes later, the police, having received simultaneous reports from several major internet companies, immediately dispatched technical personnel to verify the addresses associated with the IDs.

They then contacted the Shangdu City police department directly across state and city lines. Two minutes later, patrol officers near the two office buildings received notice and began rushing toward the target location.

Given the high efficiency of the major media outlets, Tang Shizhe saw a scene that gratified him during the evening news.

"According to reports from our station's field reporters, the police cracked a major cyberattack case today, with all thirty-six suspects arrested."

"In this case, a web company named ** launched simultaneous attacks on several of our country's major platforms and numerous servers, while also spreading rumors about these companies across the internet! This caused severe economic losses for these firms."

"The police have now obtained preliminary information on the person who hired them. According to the confession of the web company's boss, they attacked so many companies solely to provide cover for their attack on Titan Environmental!"

"Currently, police from multiple states have joined forces and are preparing to conduct covert arrests of the criminal suspects who hired this company for the cyberattack!" the anchor announced the major news of the day with a smile.

Tang Shizhe finally understood what a "pig teammate" was; the boss of this web company, in order to lighten his sentence, had directly pushed the bulk of the blame onto the employers.

Tang Shizhe could guess the reason—since their tools for the crime had all been burned, they had no way to deny the attacks weren't their doing, even if they tried to argue. Separate interrogations had already led many company employees to confess the details of their firm's criminal activities.

Once their boss saw that the situation was unsalvageable, he simply confessed to everything and shifted the blame entirely onto their employers—the heads of those air purifier companies.

That very night, as those company heads watched the news, their front doors were already filled with police.

This cyberattack case was dubbed the largest, most arrogant, and most brainless in history.

Titan Environmental, meanwhile, was not only unharmed but saw its exposure skyrocket due to the news, leading to a surge in pre-orders for the Purification Tree.

Seeing that the matter had come to a satisfactory conclusion, Tang Shizhe returned to his mansion in high spirits.

The nearly 200 million in funds had not been spent in vain. The newly constructed supercomputer had played a major role; not only did it resolve the potential issue of future online rumors, but it also flushed out all the hidden enemies and sent them to prison.

The losses this incident caused these "well-known companies" were undoubtedly massive, enough to make them lose everything and spend a few years in jail. By the time they got out, unfortunately for them, Titan Group would likely have developed into a behemoth they couldn't even see the top of.

"The fact that someone dared to launch a covert attack on us means that the influence of Titan Group is still not enough."

"We must accelerate the diversification of our group and maintain sufficient influence in every industry!" In the mansion's dining room, Tang Yi through Tang Shi sat on either side of a long, tempered-glass dining table, with Tang Shizhe at the head.

As the ten Splitters who had followed him the longest, their treatment was vastly different from the newly born ones. Tang Shizhe intended to entrust these ten with heavy responsibilities!

"Serve the food!" Tang Shizhe clapped his hands. Immediately, ten Splitters dressed in butler uniforms pushed food carts out from the kitchen to the side. They skillfully lifted the lids of the carts and placed the pre-portioned dinners in front of everyone.

"The first stage of the group, 'Emerging,' has been completed. Next is the second stage, 'Establishing Success'!"

"I hope you can help Titan Group develop even more rapidly! Come, everyone, let's toast to this." Tang Shizhe raised his glass to the group.

Tang Yi through Tang Shi all raised their glasses, and a nearby Splitter hurriedly took out a camera to capture the moment.

The image of Tang Shizhe and his original ten Splitters smiling as they raised their glasses together was preserved forever in the photograph.

After taking the picture, the Splitter printed it out and placed it into an exquisite frame.

This frame would be stored in the vault at the very bottom of the building, never to see the light of day again.

Thousands of years later, when people discovered this photo, they gave it a beautiful name: The Titan Emperor and His Ten Apostles.

As for why the faces of the ten apostles were so blurred, no one besides Tang Shizhe knew the reason.

After everyone finished the red wine in their glasses, Tang Shizhe also finished the cola in his.

"From here on, the development of Titan Environmental will enter a period of stable growth; we no longer need to worry about it too much!"

"Starting today, your focus will shift to Titan Biotechnology. I need to ensure it makes a stunning debut next month!" Tang Shizhe cleared his throat, rested his chin on his hand, and instructed Tang Yi through Tang Shi.

"Understood, Boss!" Tang Yi through Tang Shi replied in unison.

"We will reallocate our resources. Tang Ten through Twenty will continue to be responsible for matters related to Titan Environmental, Tang Twenty-One through Thirty will handle our network division, and Tang Thirty-One through Fifty will be in charge of our offshore shell companies."

"Fifty-One through Seventy will be responsible for our Titan Biotechnology, and Seventy-One through Eighty will serve as the security force for you and the company." Tang Yi nodded, took out a tablet, and reported the restructured organization to Tang Shizhe.