Chapter Summaries

Zheng Dong ordered Lao Xing to pressure Lin Feng after Lin Feng ignored Dongbei’s lawyer’s letter, but Lin Feng blocked the calls and emails while Zhou Wenyuan identified the intimidation as Dongbei’s doing. After the tactics failed, Zheng Dong reconsidered his approach as public criticism and declining customer traffic threatened the company’s reputation.

• Zheng Dong learned that Lin Feng had not responded to Dongbei’s lawyer’s letter and hired Lao Xing to harass and intimidate him while keeping the tactics apparently legal.
• Lin Feng blocked calls from unknown numbers and filtered threatening emails into his spam folder.
• Two men hired by Lao Xing watched the Zhou Wenyuan Law Firm and photographed its entrance, but property management noticed them and Zhou Wenyuan warned Lin Feng that they were Dongbei’s people.
• Zhou Wenyuan told Lin Feng that Zheng Dong might have reacted so strongly because Lin Feng was right, and recalled a restaurant owner who had lost his business after lying about premade dishes.
• Lao Xing reported that the pressure campaign had failed, and Zheng Dong ordered him to stop rather than escalate further.
• Zheng Dong saw online criticism of Dongbei and a report that public sentiment had contributed to a 3.2 percent monthly revenue decline, then left his office.

At a board meeting, Zheng Dong rejected calls to de-escalate Dongbei’s public controversy and defended the company’s claims about freshly cooked food despite acknowledging widespread use of frozen dishes. He ordered Lao Xing to investigate the two customers and manipulate online discussion, leaving the company preparing to intensify its attack.

• Zheng Dong heard that Dongbei’s revenue had fallen 3.2% and customer traffic had dropped amid the controversy over premade dishes.
• Zheng Dong admitted that many Dongbei locations reheated frozen dishes but insisted that the company could not acknowledge this publicly and must force the two customers to apologize.
• Zheng Dong dismissed the directors’ warnings and said Dongbei would pursue the customers until it won.
• After the meeting, Zheng Dong told Lao Xing to investigate the customers’ home, social circle, and workplace, and offered to double the fee.
• Zheng Dong ordered Lao Xing to flood online discussions with positive comments and accuse the customers of being paid by a competitor.
• Zheng Dong received confirmation that an online water army would begin attacking the customers that night, then wrote a zero-tolerance pledge into Dongbei’s action plan.

A Jie realized Xunda Network Media’s paid attack targeted Lin Feng, a colleague of Uncle Wang’s son, and secretly reported the campaign to his superior. Lin Feng chose to let the attacks continue while K gathered evidence against Dongbei, leaving the online backlash and the investigation still developing.

• A Jie recognized Zhou Wenyuan Law Firm and confirmed that the targeted lawyer’s assistant was connected to Uncle Wang’s son, then reported the water army’s assignment to his superior.
• A Jie continued posting the scripted comments while secretly recording details of the attack for a later report.
• Lin Feng received Wang Jianguo’s report identifying Dongbei Catering, Xunda Network Media, and the suspected client contact Lao Xing, and ordered continued monitoring rather than a counterattack.
• Lin Feng refused Lü Yi’s offer to confront the water army and said K was investigating Dongbei’s supply chain.
• K reported that Dongbei’s central kitchen records were downloading and that frozen-product delivery records had made the evidence chain 70 percent complete.
• Lin Feng told K to seek internal meeting records about Dongbei’s freshly made advertising claims as the online attacks continued.

Zheng Dong launched an online campaign and sent Zhao Bin to pressure Lin Feng through Zhou Wenyuan, but Zhou confronted him with evidence of Dongbei’s harassment and threatened legal action. Lin Feng stayed quiet while an encrypted message reported that evidence of Dongbei’s central-kitchen practices was nearly complete.

• Zheng Dong monitored Dongbei’s promotional campaign, ordered more efforts to control public opinion, and told Lao Xing to keep investigating Lin Feng.
• Zhao Bin and Xiao Liu went to Zhou Wenyuan Law Firm, where Zhao demanded that Lin Feng apologize and hinted at professional consequences.
• Zhou showed Zhao evidence of surveillance and harassment, warned Dongbei against further pressure, and threatened a countersuit and media exposure.
• Zhao left the firm with the evidence and told Xiao Liu they would report back to Zheng Dong.
• Lin Feng and Lü Yi watched Dongbei’s campaign and discussed a deleted post alleging that the restaurants reheated prepackaged meals.
• Lin Feng received an encrypted message saying central-kitchen records and cold-chain contracts had been obtained, with the evidence chain 85 percent complete.

Liu Hai learned that independent media were investigating Dongbei Catering’s central kitchen and premade food, then tried to warn Zheng Dong that customers were rejecting the meals and the company’s advertising. Zheng Dong refused to change course and ordered Liu Hai to investigate the media and any suspected insider, leaving Liu Hai facing a growing scandal and a lie he believed could no longer be contained.

• Zhang Tao warned Liu Hai that independent media were investigating Dongbei’s central kitchen and delivery records and had contacted former employees.
• Liu Hai reflected on Dongbei’s reliance on premade meals, falling customer satisfaction, and misleading reports about fresh ingredients.
• At the regional managers’ meeting, Liu Hai reported declining traffic and a sharp rise in complaints about premade food, and proposed adjusting the menu and advertising.
• Zheng Dong rejected Liu Hai and Old Chen’s suggestions, insisted Dongbei must defend its “freshly made to order” claim, and ordered Liu Hai to investigate the media and possible internal betrayal.
• Zhang Tao identified the media account as Speaking Food Truthfully, and Liu Hai told him to keep quiet while considering how Dongbei’s deception was becoming impossible to sustain.

Lin Feng received K’s evidence that Dongbei relied heavily on frozen prepared dishes while telling customers its food was freshly made. He held off on releasing it, choosing to wait and see what Zheng Dong would do next.

• K sent Lin Feng production records, cold-chain contracts, and employee scripts showing that Dongbei used frozen meal kits and instructed staff to avoid admitting it.
• Lin Feng learned that K was still trying to obtain internal meeting records and could get them within three days.
• Lü Yi told Lin Feng that an anonymous former regional manager had posted an exposé accusing Dongbei of widespread use of prepared dishes and efforts to suppress criticism.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi not to amplify the post and told Zhou Wenyuan to hold off on legal countermeasures until Zheng Dong made further moves.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi he was watching to see when the snow melted, then went to bed.

Lao Xu published an investigation alleging that Dongbei used prepared food while advertising meals as freshly cooked, and the article sparked a viral backlash. Zheng Dong ordered a counteroffensive, while Lin Feng watched the controversy grow and awaited K’s further infiltration of Dongbei’s internal meeting system.

• Lao Xu investigated an anonymous exposé and received screenshots and testimony from a former Dongbei employee about prepared food, cold-chain deliveries, and internal practices.
• Lao Xu published an article examining Dongbei’s prepared-food operation and its response to the service-area video incident.
• The article spread across social media, prompting netizens to share more alleged evidence and demand an official investigation.
• Zheng Dong confronted his executives, ordered them to identify the whistleblower, suppress negative coverage, and arrange a kitchen livestream and favorable reports.
• Zheng Dong learned that Lin Feng’s address had been found but told Lao Xing to wait before taking action.
• Lin Feng reviewed K’s report that infiltration of Dongbei’s internal meeting system had reached 70 percent and expected recordings by the next morning.

Facing collapsing sales and public trust, Zheng Dong ordered Dongbei to open its kitchens nationwide and livestream their work, betting that transparency could save the company. Lin Feng believed Dongbei could not truly cook every dish fresh at scale and saw the campaign as a gamble that could destroy it.

• Zheng Dong heard that Dongbei's reputation and store revenue had sharply declined, and admitted customers viewed its prepared dishes and advertising as deception.
• Zheng Dong ordered every Dongbei store to open its kitchen to media, livestream operations, and stage an overnight campaign showcasing ingredients and on-site cooking.
• Zheng Dong required participating media and bloggers to submit their work for review before publication.
• K informed Lin Feng that Zheng Dong had approved the nationwide kitchen openings and that Dongbei was inviting media.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi that Dongbei's kitchens could not sustain genuine made-to-order cooking across more than two hundred stores and predicted its transparency gamble could fail.

Dongbei’s nationwide transparent-kitchen livestreams exposed frozen ingredients, premade food, and rehearsed answers, triggering a wave of ridicule and forcing Zheng Dong to shut the cameras off. Lin Feng watched the crisis unfold while monitoring a separate operation against a Northern Myanmar compound, as a new video targeting Dongbei’s central kitchen began trending.

• Li Wei prepared Dongbei’s flagship kitchen for reporters, while Old Zhang and the other chefs rehearsed scripted demonstrations.
• Reporters found frozen vegetables and questioned the chefs’ claims about fresh ingredients, and similar problems surfaced at Dongbei restaurants across the country.
• Videos of the kitchens spread online, and netizens mocked Dongbei for its frozen ingredients, premade food, and frequent use of scissors.
• Zheng Dong ordered every livestream shut down as negative public attention mounted.
• Lü Yi showed Lin Feng the viral videos, while Lin Feng read K’s report that penetration of the Northern Myanmar compound’s fund pool had reached 92%.
• A video investigating Dongbei’s central kitchen began climbing the trending list.

After Dongbei’s kitchen livestream ended, netizens turned its scissors, old frozen broccoli, and prepared-food packs into viral memes, driving the company’s reputation and sales sharply downward. Zheng Dong tried to contain the backlash while Lin Feng rejected Dongbei’s settlement offer and warned that Zheng might make a desperate gamble.

• Netizens spread videos, jokes, and parody posts mocking Dongbei’s kitchen footage, and #DongbeiMemeContest reached the top of Weibo’s trending list.
• Zheng Dong ordered Zhao Bin to contact influential bloggers and pay them to delete their posts, but the bloggers refused and the online backlash overwhelmed Dongbei’s PR efforts.
• Lin Feng reviewed internal financial data showing Dongbei’s nationwide turnover had fallen by over 60%, with service-area locations nearly losing all sales.
• Zhou Wenyuan told Lin Feng that Dongbei’s legal department offered compensation in exchange for a statement retracting his review, but Lin Feng refused the money.
• Lin Feng told Zhou Wenyuan that deleting posts would intensify the backlash and suspected Zheng Dong would either admit defeat or make a bigger gamble.

Dongbei’s desperate PR campaign backfired when staged emotional videos became viral targets for ridicule, and Zheng Dong decided to change tactics. Lin Feng learned that Zheng Dong had withdrawn a settlement proposal and was meeting suspected judicial-system contacts, so he asked Lü Yi to stay with him as he prepared for a possible threat.

• Zhao Bin launched a plan to post sentimental videos after Dongbei’s sales collapsed and earlier PR efforts failed.
• Dongbei’s staged videos about a crying boy, an elderly man offering an apartment, and a baby eating a teething biscuit went viral and drew widespread mockery.
• Zheng Dong saw that negative mentions had reached 99.3 percent and summoned Wang Qian and Old Chen to discuss changing tactics.
• Lin Feng learned that Dongbei was paying agencies to delete posts, while some agencies took the money and continued mocking the company.
• Zhou Wenyuan told Lin Feng that Dongbei had withdrawn its settlement proposal and Zheng Dong had arranged meetings with people suspected of being from N Province’s judicial system.
• Lin Feng asked Lü Yi to stay with him for the next few days and considered the Criminal Law’s provision on false accusation and frame-up.

Zheng Dong faced Dongbei Catering’s mounting public backlash, business losses, legal scrutiny, and pressure from shareholders before suffering a medical emergency. After recovering in the hospital, he obtained Lin Feng’s personal information and called him, leaving their conversation about to begin.

• Zheng Dong heard that negative sentiment had reached 99.3%, stores were losing business, and shareholders, media, consumers, and regulators were demanding answers.
• Zheng Dong ordered his staff to provide altered procurement records, settle consumer complaints with nondisclosure agreements, and suspend media appearances and publicity.
• Zheng Dong collapsed in his office and was rushed to the hospital with signs of an acute heart attack.
• After waking, Zheng Dong asked a judicial-system relative to investigate Lin Feng and received Lin Feng’s personal information from his secretary.
• Zheng Dong called Lin Feng and introduced himself as Zheng Dong from Dongbei Catering.

Zheng Dong tried to make Lin Feng stop exposing Dongbei by offering money and threatening him, but Lin Feng refused and said he only wanted to be left alone. After Lin Feng ended the call, Zheng Dong ordered his secretary to contact Old Liu in N Province and carry out their earlier plan against Lin Feng.

• Zheng Dong called Lin Feng from his hospital room and blamed him for Dongbei's collapse, while Lin Feng pointed to Zheng Dong's deception and retaliation.
• Zheng Dong offered Lin Feng one million, then more money and a job, in exchange for a video praising Dongbei, but Lin Feng refused and mentioned evidence of its premade dishes.
• Lin Feng told Zheng Dong to stop bothering him and warned that he could hold him legally accountable for his threats.
• After Lin Feng hung up, Zheng Dong smashed his phone and ordered his secretary to contact Old Liu in N Province and carry out their earlier plan against Lin Feng.

After Lin Feng’s words left him humiliated and desperate, Zheng Dong arranged to use his connections in N Province to have Lin Feng summoned across provincial lines. He ordered his staff to fabricate evidence and send security along, leaving the chapter with Zheng Dong awaiting the attempt to bring Lin Feng to N Province.

• Zheng Dong called Liu Zhenguo and falsely accused Lin Feng of commercial disparagement, asking for help summoning him from S City.
• Liu Zhenguo told Zheng Dong to submit materials to Captain Wang and said he would put in a word, while warning that the evidence and procedure had to be solid.
• Zheng Dong ordered his secretary to assemble a crime report and economic-loss assessment overnight, and to fabricate proof linking Lin Feng to a water army.
• Zheng Dong instructed the secretary to send security personnel to S City to ensure Lin Feng was brought back, then told Zhao Bin to suspend public-relations activity and say Dongbei had reported the matter to police.
• Zheng Dong switched off his phone and waited for the next day, believing Lin Feng would be handcuffed and taken to N Province.

Plainclothes officers from N Province detained Lin Feng on suspicion of damaging a business’s reputation and drove him toward the expressway. As the convoy neared the tollbooth, Lin Feng secretly notified Wei Guanglin, who responded by issuing an order.

• Six plainclothes officers surrounded Lin Feng outside his law firm and showed him a summons warrant.
• Lü Yi challenged the officers, but Lin Feng calmed him and agreed to go with them.
• The officers handcuffed Lin Feng and took him away in a gray sedan, with two black SUVs accompanying them.
• Lü Yi watched the convoy leave, then angrily contacted someone on his phone.
• During the drive out of the city, Lin Feng secretly notified Wei Guanglin, who put down a document and issued an order through an internal communicator.

Lin Feng was being transported out of S City when Police Inspector Zhang and his officers intercepted the convoy, citing another case that required Lin Feng’s cooperation. The two police teams faced off at the expressway entrance as Lin Feng waited in the car, aware that Wei Guanglin had activated contingency plan three.

• Lin Feng rode handcuffed in Captain Wang’s convoy toward the intercity expressway, while he observed the officers and anticipated Wei Guanglin’s response.
• Lin Feng spotted Police Inspector Zhang and several S City officers positioned near the toll station, and Captain Wang ordered the convoy to continue.
• Police Inspector Zhang stopped the convoy, checked Captain Wang’s credentials and summons warrant, and challenged the plan to take Lin Feng out of the city.
• Police Inspector Zhang told Lin Feng that he was involved in another S City case and ordered him to get out of the car for questioning.
• Captain Wang and Police Inspector Zhang argued over their jurisdictions and procedures as Zhang’s officers formed a semicircle around the convoy.
• Lin Feng remained silent in the car and perceived that Wei Guanglin had received the news and activated contingency plan three.

Zhang Zhigang stopped Captain Wang’s N Province team from taking Lin Feng out of S City, citing an urgent local investigation and the procedures for cooperating across jurisdictions. The standoff continued after Captain Wang appealed to his superior, with Lin Feng remaining in S City as the two police teams faced off.

• Police Inspector Zhang told Captain Wang that S City needed to verify Lin Feng’s involvement in another case and would not let him leave.
• Captain Wang ordered Lin Feng out of the car, and local officers positioned themselves around the handcuffed suspect.
• Captain Wang threatened to contact his superiors, while Zhang Zhigang cited Article 246 to justify holding Lin Feng for verification.
• Lin Feng calmly agreed to cooperate with Zhang Zhigang’s investigation.
• Captain Wang’s superior demanded that S City let Lin Feng go, but Zhang Zhigang refused and said he would follow his bureau’s procedures.
• Captain Wang’s officers and Zhang Zhigang’s officers faced off around Lin Feng as the interception continued.

Captain Wang failed to take Lin Feng from the S City police despite appealing to a provincial department director. Zhang Zhigang kept Lin Feng in S City’s custody, leaving Captain Wang to face the consequences of returning empty-handed.

• Captain Wang pleaded with Zhang Zhigang to release Lin Feng, but Zhang refused and demanded that any transfer request follow official channels.
• Captain Wang called Director Li at the S Province Public Security Department, who spoke with Zhang Zhigang by phone.
• Zhang Zhigang told Director Li that Lin Feng’s case required immediate investigation under S City Bureau authority, then ended the call without releasing him.
• Captain Wang recognized that S City’s backing for Lin Feng was stronger than he had expected and ruled out taking him by force.
• Zhang Zhigang’s officers replaced Lin Feng’s handcuffs and escorted him into an S City police car.
• Lin Feng thanked Captain Wang quietly as the S City police drove away, while Captain Wang put away his phone without calling his superior.

Wei Guanglin explained how S City’s local government backing let its police resist N Province’s pressure and arranged for Lin Feng’s release. Back at his apartment, Lin Feng received updates from his allies and secretly ordered his deathsworn to act, leaving his response to Zheng Dong’s cross-provincial attack underway.

• Wei Guanglin told Zhang Zhigang that S City’s local leadership supported the interception and instructed him to release Lin Feng after the required procedures if evidence did not justify further detention.
• Wei Guanglin ordered the publicity division to emphasize lawful cross-provincial cooperation and the protection of citizens’ rights, then wondered who stood behind Lin Feng and replied to his message that he would handle N Province.
• Lin Feng returned to the Splendid Garden apartment, where Lü Yi checked on him and Lin Feng read messages from Zhou Wenyuan, K, and Wei Guanglin.
• Lin Feng reflected on Zheng Dong’s use of handcuffs and cross-provincial arrest, then asked Lü Yi to make food while issuing an order to the deathsworn under his command.

Li Wei faced a succession of inspections at Dongbei's flagship store, and inspectors found serious food safety and sanitation violations that led to a sealed freezer, a fine, and a three-day closure. As a fire brigade inspection began, Li Wei sat motionless and messaged his wife that his wages might not be paid.

• Li Wei rushed the staff to clean the store and prepare its records after the regional manager warned of a possible inspection.
• Zhao Qiming and the market regulation team found an improperly warm freezer and inconsistencies between fish purchases, stock, and sales, then sealed the freezer and ordered corrective action.
• Sun Hongmei and the health supervision team found grease buildup, an expired health certificate, faulty disinfection records, inadequate rodent-proofing, and unauthorized meal kits, then fined the store and ordered it closed for three days.
• Li Wei received a call from the regional manager about the violations, hung up, and told Xiao Wang the store could not open.
• A fire brigade inspection team arrived to inspect the store, and Li Wei sat in the kitchen and messaged his wife that his wages might not be paid that month.