Chapter 70: The Exposure Underway

"Zhou Xuan, Liu Ze actually threw the internet cafe owners out and even laid hands on them!" Deng Cheng exclaimed excitedly over the phone. He clearly hadn't expected Liu Ze to be bold enough to resort to violence at such a critical moment.

Zhou Xuan received the call that evening, knowing full well that Liu Ze had finally taken the bait. "Heh, given his temper, how could he possibly tolerate the compensation terms demanded by those internet cafe owners? It’s only natural he’d fly into a rage. I assume you’ve managed to get the photos you were asked to take? You know what to do next."

Deng Cheng chuckled wickedly on the other end. "Heh, don't you worry about what comes next. I’ll make sure this story sets all of China ablaze. I’m going to make sure Liu Ze is absolutely swamped with trouble this time."

"I hear Liu Ze is currently recruiting computer talent to develop his own internet cafe management software. Check into that. If you can poach those people, all the better. It would be best to prevent him from finishing that software. Even if it wouldn't necessarily cause us much trouble later on, it's better to nip it in the bud." Zhou Xuan anticipated that many management systems would emerge in the future, so he figured the fewer, the better.

Deng Cheng laughed. "Understood, I’ll handle it. Poaching from Liu Ze is exactly the kind of thing I love doing."

After hanging up, Zhou Xuan imagined tomorrow’s newspapers would be quite spectacular, and Liu Ze’s expression would surely be a sight to behold. It was a pity he couldn't see Liu Ze’s frantic, infuriated face in person; that would have been truly entertaining.

The next day, local papers like the *New City Express* and the *Southwest Metropolitan Daily*, along with provincial outlets like the *China Computer News* and the *Southern Metropolis Daily*, all reported on the incident: "Tengfei Internet Cafe Management System crashes after only a few days; owners seeking compensation from Tengfei Network Company are met with violence."

"Since the beginning of this year, internet cafes have been springing up across the country like bamboo shoots after a rain, with dozens opening almost every day. With the surge in cafes, management software has also been developed. However, one 'Tengfei Internet Cafe Management System' has left many owners grinding their teeth in frustration. After paying thousands for the system, it suddenly ceased to function on the night of the 20th, after only a few days of use."

"This led to a total paralysis of services in these cafes. With no way to track when customers should log off, the losses have been massive. Statistics indicate that nearly two thousand machines running the Tengfei system crashed on the night of the 20th, with losses beyond calculation. Yet, the vendor, Rongcheng Tengfei Network Technology Co., Ltd., has yet to restore functionality. Yesterday afternoon, over thirty internet cafe operators arrived at Tengfei Network, hoping for a restoration of service or compensation. Instead of taking responsibility, the management of Tengfei Network assaulted the operators who had traveled from all over."

"Tengfei Network is located in the Tengfei Building, and its boss is Liu Ze, son of Liu Teng, head of the Tengfei Group. It is clear that Tengfei Network is backed by the multi-billion dollar Western enterprise, Tengfei Group. Yet, to ignore the compensation claims of these cafes—this 'sell-and-abandon' approach to service is truly deplorable."

1998 was the dawn of the internet era, and "the internet" had become a buzzword. Consequently, the reports on internet cafes and management systems instantly captured public attention, thrusting Tengfei Network and Liu Ze into the eye of the storm.

Online, the newly emerged web portals were not to be outdone, quickly reposting reports of the incident. Among them were NetEase, founded by Ding Sanshi the previous year, and Sohu, founded by Zhang Chaoyang this past February. As for the predecessor of Sina, Stn.com, founded by Wang Zhidong, it did not report on the matter.

Naturally, the forums were abuzz with heated discussions about such a major event.

"Holy crap, so the culprit behind that incident was Tengfei Network? Their technology seems so weak. The whole system crashed? Talk about bad luck."

"Haha, so that time I got to browse for free for a few hours was actually thanks to Tengfei Network."

"I’m dizzy. So the guy above is one of those 'refuse-to-log-off' people the papers mentioned. Only paid for two hours but stayed for several more just because the system crashed."

"To the guy above, I can only say you’ve got some thick skin. I bet the internet cafe owner wanted to cry seeing a full cafe of people refusing to leave."

"Reading this, why didn't I get such a lucky break? I was online that day too, but my cafe's system didn't have any issues."

"I know why. That day, the cafe owner thanked us and asked us to log off based on our time. He offered a free drink to anyone who logged off voluntarily, so I logged off on time for a drink."

"You’re a fool, man. A drink is only worth a few bucks. Case closed."

...

By the 23rd, more newspapers had picked up the story of the assault, triggering even wider discussion. It was only then that Liu Ze realized the matter had truly blown up.

The individuals assaulted on the 21st hadn't been seriously injured. Although they initially called the police, the case was hushed up under pressure from the Tengfei Group. However, by the 22nd and 23rd, dozens of relatives and friends of the victims arrived, joined by dozens more internet cafe owners, surrounding the entrance of the Tengfei Building to demand answers.

Following the coverage on the 22nd, even out-of-town media arrived on the 23rd, with cameras recording interviews with the crowd. Seeing the families and cafe owners giving interviews downstairs, a sense of dread washed over Liu Ze.

Some of the cafe owners, driven by a desperate greed for money, had actually marched to the headquarters of the Tengfei Group to demand compensation, making exorbitant demands. It was as if they had a death wish. Liu Ze, already frustrated by the prospect of paying out huge sums, lost his temper when he heard them pushing for more in the conference room and immediately ordered security to throw them out.

He had originally thought a simple word in the right ear would end the matter, as per usual. He hadn't given it a second thought. He never expected several newspapers to report on it starting yesterday, turning the incident into a public sensation. Now, Liu Ze was panicking and immediately notified his father, Liu Teng.

When Liu Teng heard about it last night, he realized immediately that this was a trap—a pit specifically dug for Liu Ze to fall into. He berated his son: "It’s just a few million; was it worth hitting people over? And you let it get exposed? You’ve got the brain of a pig!"

Liu Teng wondered if someone was targeting the Tengfei Group. He immediately contacted his connections behind the scenes, asking them to pull strings and suppress the reports.

However, Liu Teng was destined to be disappointed. While the provincial papers were relatively quiet that day, out-of-town newspapers only increased their coverage of the previous day's events.