The world is in trouble

Chapter 259 Liao Feng Escapes! Arrest!

The turmoil has been so intense lately that some originally major events have become less significant.

On February 15th, "Zhu Xian" began its closed beta test, which ended on March 15th.

On April 25th, "Zhu Xian" began a large-scale closed beta test.

Although beta test codes are still available, basically after downloading the mini-program and performing a hardware test, if the configuration meets or exceeds the requirements, a beta test code will be issued.

Meanwhile, Liao Feng kept a close eye on "Zhu Xian" and assembled a team to specifically study the game's bugs.

Be prepared to attack this game at any time.

However, the game's source code was not leaked, and it took more than two years to release.

Of course, there might be bugs along the way, just like in other games, such as World of Warcraft, but those are things that can't be forced.

On the first day of the closed beta, the number of players exceeded 25.

On the second day of the closed beta, the game's peak concurrent users exceeded 35.

On the third day of the closed beta, the number of online players peaked at over 46.

This internal test result once again caused Liao Feng's heart to ache.

Why is it always like this? The achievements they go to great lengths to attain are always easily surpassed by Lin Xiao.

Doesn't the PC configuration requirements for the game "Zhu Xian" seem quite high? How come there are still so many players?

And it broke 46 on the third day, so how high will it break in the future?

Looking at my own "Perfect World" game, it's now just a bunch of cold hard drives.

"Mr. Liao, 'Zhu Xian' will use two charging models: a prepaid card system, 30 yuan for 4000 minutes, or a monthly subscription of 60 yuan."

Liao Feng: "Based on this estimate, how much annual revenue will this game generate?"

"I don't know, because the game has such a good reputation and is extremely attractive to players. Although Lightning Games hasn't done any advertising yet, in the eyes of all players, it is already the number one domestic game and a flag bearer for national games."

Next, the assistant opened the YouTube video website and searched for a comparison between "Zhu Xian" and "World of Warcraft". Immediately, a large number of videos appeared, and many of them were actually videos from overseas bloggers.

"Blizzard has a very high level of technical skill, but they made a lot of trade-offs to try to be a well-rounded player and cater to the largest number of players."

"Lin Xiao's 'Zhu Xian' pursues perfection, so it is slightly better in terms of color and visuals."

"Blizzard has reserved some aspects of the scene design in World of Warcraft, intending to develop them further in later expansions. Therefore, while the various maps are exceptionally well-done—Stormwind, Undercity, and Silvermoon City, each with its own distinct style and characteristics—they are all extremely well-done."

"The game 'Zhu Xian' amplifies this difference even further, and on this basis, it creates a great deal of wonder and a large number of breathtaking maps. So it now has another nickname: the fantasy travel simulator. Many players log in, or even if they don't play the game much, they just ride flying beasts to explore these bizarre worlds."

Liao Feng: "To conclude."

Assistant: "Right now, the only thing limiting the number of players for 'Zhu Xian' is computer specifications. And as word-of-mouth spreads, the number of players will only increase, and we don't know where the ceiling will be."

Liao Feng: "Then just tell me directly how much revenue it will bring to the Lightning Group."

Assistant: "Based on our professional team's calculations, this one game alone will generate over $1.5 million in revenue annually, with a minimum guaranteed $1.5 million."

Liao Feng gritted his teeth.

Lightning Entertainment's cash cow hasn't dried up; on the contrary, it's making more and more money, and now Lightning Games has become a cash cow again.

Lightning Group will only grow stronger by making money from two sources.

..............................

In the evening, Lin Xiao attended a business event in the district.

And tonight's main character is Li Kaifu, president of Google China.

This person once held sway in China's internet industry for many years, invested in numerous companies, and was also a spiritual leader among public intellectuals.

He has planned many things.

One of the things they did was to arrange for Han Er and his group to meet Ma Shuai on the island.

This person can be considered an absolute pawn of Western capitalism.

Of course, there is another protagonist, namely Chen Yongzheng, the new boss of Microsoft Greater China.

This is the man who stayed out of the loop this time and then directly acquired Renren.com for $1.2 million.

Accompanying Lin Xiao this time was Li Shuang, the vice president of Flash Entertainment.

When Liao Feng saw Lin Xiao, he laughed and said, "President Lin, now that you're completely all alone, are you letting loose?"

Lin Xiao: "President Liao, you've managed to turn things around?"

Liao Feng sneered, "President Lin, hiding behind women and letting two girls damage their reputation, dignity, and expose their own wounds to protect your own reputation, is truly something to behold."

Li Shuang chimed in, "There's nothing we can do about it. Our CEO Lin is just that charming; countless girls adore him. Unlike CEO Liao, who's practically a walking meme."

Upon hearing this, Liao Feng's face turned deathly pale.

I don't love you!

This meme has completely become his trademark.

Then, Liao Feng smiled and said, "President Lin, let me introduce you to two friends. This is Mr. Chen Yongzheng, Chief CEO of Microsoft Greater China."

"Now that Microsoft has integrated Renren.com and MSN, they're planning a big push. You two will have to deal with each other more often in the future."

Lin Xiao stepped forward and extended his hand: "President Chen."

Chen Yongzheng shook hands with a reserved air, then smiled.

Liao Feng pointed to another person and said, "This is Mr. Li Kaifu, the soon-to-be president of Google China."

Li Kaifu stepped forward and said with a smile, "Hello, President Lin, your name is widely known."

"We at Google are really paying close attention to your moves."

"I heard you're working with SoftBank to acquire an American Android company?"

Lin Xiao: "Really? I'm not quite sure."

Li Kaifu: "If that's the case, then it's quite a coincidence, as we were thinking the same thing."

"Furthermore, Mr. Lin has ushered in a new era for video websites, which is remarkable. A few months ago in the United States, Chen Shih-Chun and others launched a video website called YouShow, which has seen its traffic soar and has become an excellent video sharing website."

Lin Xiao was certainly aware of this matter as well, which shows how powerful the inertia of history truly is.

The founder of YouTube still went down the path of video websites, and influenced by domestic video websites, he actually started several months earlier.

Most importantly, because of the battle between Facebook and Renren on Lin Xiao's side, video websites experienced a surge in traffic. As a result, Chen Shih-Chun's side avoided many detours and completed the previous year and a half's journey in less than half a year. Moreover, they received investment from Google and are now thriving.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao's journey to the sea has been repeatedly stalled due to a series of incidents.

Liao Feng's introduction of the CEO of Microsoft China and the President of Google China made a very clear meaning: Lin Xiao, you have allies, Yahoo! Group and SoftBank Group, but I also have allies, Microsoft and Google. Aren't we more powerful than you?
Moreover, Lien Cheng is currently under investigation.

This kind of thing, as long as you investigate, you will definitely find out the truth.

If Lightning Group becomes involved in political risks, whether Yahoo and SoftBank will still be willing to stand firmly on your side is entirely unknown.

Then, Liao Feng chatted and laughed with Allen, the vice president of Blizzard.

"We now have enough cash on hand and are fully confident that we can make World of Warcraft an unprecedented success."

Allen: "Currently, 'Zhu Xian' is very popular in the Chinese market."

Liao Feng: "So I plan to use a slogan in the upcoming promotion: 'Zhu Xian' is a knock-off of 'World of Warcraft'. If we repeat this sentence ten thousand times, it will become the truth."

He then whispered, "Chinese players are very insecure and, deep down, still admire foreign things. As long as we create enough public opinion, they will completely agree with this view, and at that time, World of Warcraft will undoubtedly be able to surpass Jade Dynasty."

"Therefore, when World of Warcraft finished its large-scale closed beta test in China, it was time for Jade Dynasty to be canceled!"

Blizzard Vice President Allen raised his glass: "Let's hope so!"

....................................

After the business event concluded, Liao Feng, as the host, entertained Chen Yongzheng and Li Kaifu in a secluded location.

Lin Xiao forged powerful external alliances, and he followed suit.

Microsoft and Google are undoubtedly very powerful outsiders. Liao Feng's system, on the other hand, is a powerful local force, and the two sides seem to be in perfect agreement.

In Liao Feng's view, the most difficult time is over.

The Anti-Lightning Alliance is also gradually being established.

However, this time the ally is much stronger than Sohu and others in the past.

"We at Google were among the first to realize the threat posed by Lin Xiao. When Lin Xiao was still running small, borderline websites, Schmidt treated him like a kid, and the relationship was relatively friendly. But when Facebook rose to prominence and expanded overseas, we became very wary and vigilant."

"What does it mean that Lin Xiao, Son Masayoshi, and Yang Zhiyuan formed an alliance? We've given this group a nickname in private: the Yellow Boys."

Liao Feng understood instantly.

In the eyes of many white people, superior assets belong only to white people.

“The key is that Lin Xiao is from mainland China, which is fatal.” President Li smiled and said, “It’s not impossible, but we have to be careful about his identity and status.”

Liao Feng laughed along.

In the Western capitalist world, people from Singapore, Taiwan, and even Hong Kong are acceptable.

Because in their view, these people have long been vassals of the Western world, and have grown up within their own camp.

And Lin Xiao?!

A mainland Chinese with absolutely no Western background wants to get his hands on the highest levels of internet capital.

No, that's not allowed!
"So, Masayoshi Son and Jerry Yang are doing something stupid."

"Microsoft and Google share a common obligation in this matter."

"Even though there was a brief period of friendship between Microsoft and Lightning Games in the early days."

Liao Feng raised his glass: "Then the domestic battlefield will be left to the three of us."

"cheers!"

"cheers!"

....................................

Around 4 PM on April 28th.

Jiangnan TV, Shanghai TV, and Zhijiang TV suddenly started broadcasting the same program at the same time.

A shocking scam!

This is quite surprising; shouldn't this time slot be for TV dramas? It's prime time!

As a result, after airing one episode of a TV series, this program started airing.

This shocking scam is divided into three parts: upper, middle, and lower.

Today's episode is the first part.

I'm only exposing one thing: the legendary miracle drug Ant Power is a complete fake and has absolutely nothing to do with ants.

The only effective ingredient in it is Viagra.

The reason why this little bit of stuff can arouse a man's virility is because of its effectiveness.

It's a complete and utter scam.

Moreover, the program included authoritative data from Zhejiang University, Aurora University, Japanese laboratories, American laboratories, and European laboratories.

They say this drug is just a bunch of garbage mixed with a little bit of Viagra.

At the same time, numerous online reports began exposing the scam surrounding this drug.

And once again, they implicated the Sanzhu Oral Liquid and the Zhonghua Biejing scam.

Furthermore, it was emphasized that while the previous supplements were useless, they were likely harmless, but this new product would not only be useless but also harmful.

..............................

next day!

This incident immediately caused a huge uproar.

Because of two peculiar phenomena, three TV stations in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai exposed the Ant Power God scam.

Meanwhile, advertisements for this product were still being broadcast extensively on many television stations in the north.

It is happening at the same time.

The North is promoting its message, while the South is cracking down on counterfeits.

Then, a war of words broke out between the two sides.

Many media outlets in the north are criticizing TV stations in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, saying they can't stand seeing domestic brands succeed and are just following the flags of the US, Japan, and Europe. They are completely worshipping foreign things and slandering national brands.

In Japan and Europe, when testing Ant Power, relevant reports were issued, and its sale was prohibited.

When the news reached China, it did cause some controversy. However, it was quelled by the Du Yi Li Shen Group's appeal to national sentiment.

"The Yangtze River Delta region is the most economically developed area, but it is also the area most heavily controlled by foreign capital."

When will the hunt for domestic brands by foreign brands end?

"Have you not seen how Jianlibao and other domestic cola brands were killed by foreign beverage giants?"

"Have you not seen how Zhonghua toothpaste was swallowed up by the foreign giant Unilever?"

"Don't you see how many domestic brands have been hunted down by foreign giants like Procter & Gamble?"

"Now it's health supplements' turn? Is it easy for a famous brand to emerge from our black soil?"

"We advise certain individuals not to become henchmen for foreign companies to hunt down national brands. Such traitors will only be remembered with infamy for eternity."

It must be said that anything elevated to a national level is effective.

The counterattack from the other side was also very swift; in less than twelve hours, various newspapers published articles and experts joined in.

Furthermore, some articles immediately labeled this event as a North-South war, a confrontation between the North and the South.

Because if it escalates to the point of being a North-South divide, it becomes a serious issue that could affect unity, and the authorities would then completely halt the war of words between the two sides.

On the 29th, the three satellite TV stations in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai immediately came under tremendous pressure.

I received countless phone calls.
Some of these calls were to very high-level individuals.

However, the next day, "The Big Scam" was still broadcast as scheduled.

The previous episode exposed the scam behind this product.

CIMC, on the other hand, started a scam involving raising ants.

In the video, many staff members did not bring the ants back to the company after collecting them. The slightly more conscientious ones loaded the ants onto their vehicles and drove them to the wilderness to dump them.

After collecting the ants without properly checking or looking at them, they simply threw them away in the trash can outside the community.

Therefore, these ants were completely useless and were not used to make medicine.

Even staff members of the Ant Power Group said in the video that these ants are completely useless.

It's just a gimmick, a gimmick to scam money.

At the end of the video, the host asked, "Ant Power Group charges farmers 10,000 yuan to raise ants for the group, and then buys back the ants for 13000 yuan after a year. But the farmers just throw away the ants they've worked so hard to raise for a year?"

What secret is hidden here?

....................................

After the second part of the shocking scam finished airing.

The propaganda war on the other side almost immediately came to a halt.

They fell into silence and fear.

At the same time, many TV stations removed all advertisements for Ant Power God.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Xiao also received countless phone calls.

The three satellite TV stations in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai received even more calls.

There were pleas and threats.

"How much money do you want? Name your price." "One billion, one billion, in exchange for you stopping now, how about it?"

"Hey Lin, I know where your woman and your family are. You cut off someone's livelihood, and they'll cut off yours. Do you know how much a life costs these days?"

"You can still back down now, but once it's completely a fight to the death, it will be too late!"

4 Month 30 Day!
The next episode of the shocking scam will air.

This episode revealed all the secrets completely.

This is where many high-ranking members of Ant Power God were secretly photographed.

"It's a Ponzi scheme, how can you blame us? These farmers are just greedy, they just want to earn 30% interest from us every year."

"He was after our interest rate, while we were after his principal."

"Ant Power God is Wei Ge, right? But we've done so much advertising, how much money do we make from selling products?"

"Making money is nowhere as fast as swindling it!" A high-ranking executive, drunk, bluntly stated this in the club.

"How much money have we made so far? I don't know, only Boss Wang knows. It's probably over 10 billion."

The scene suddenly changed, and Boss Wang appeared on screen.

He smoked his cigarette and said slowly, "Afraid? Afraid of what?"

“We have powerful backers; I am now a member of the CPPCC.”

"Do you know Liao Feng, the owner of Lingxi Island and the big boss of Renren Group? If his parents told you, you'd be scared to death."

"He made his money off me. He even invested in our company. His family controls a lot of assets, probably hundreds of billions or even trillions."

“He’s my brother, and he’s also one of my shareholders. He’s taken five or six hundred million yuan from me from beginning to end.”

"I'll stop once I make another 30 billion."

At the end of the program, the host lamented, "This is a classic Ponzi scheme."

"According to estimates, nearly one million farmers have been defrauded, with the amount of fraud involved exceeding 10 billion yuan."

"These billions of yuan represent the life savings of countless farmers, and they've fallen into the hands of swindlers."

"This is the biggest fraud case since the beginning of the new century."

"The amount involved is staggering!"

"The inside story is shocking. I don't know if the famous entrepreneur mentioned here is real or not, but I urge the relevant departments to conduct a serious investigation."

"How could a prominent and notorious entrepreneur become a protector of a fraudster, or even an accomplice?"

"This is the lifeblood of millions of farmers. How are they supposed to survive after they've been swindled out of this money?"

Where is justice? Where is conscience?

..........................................

The following day, public opinion was in complete uproar.

In an instant, it overshadowed all other opinions.

There is indeed a powerful force trying to completely suppress this public opinion, which is why it cannot be seen on many websites.

However, there is another force, a media system, that is causing a huge uproar.

Liao Feng repeatedly met with reporters to refute the rumors.

“I have met Wang Fengyou a few times, but we have no financial dealings.”

"How could I possibly ask him for money?"

"I have already sent lawyer's letters to three TV stations, as well as Facebook and others."

"I will definitely pursue this matter to the end. China is not a lawless place."

"I believe that the law will ultimately give me justice and clear my name!"

"I hereby formally donate 100 million yuan to Project Hope."

Liao Feng, in front of the camera, spoke with complete righteous indignation.

next day!

Wang Fengyou was arrested.

His group was completely shut down.

Countless farmers are filled with anxiety, fearing that their hard-earned money will vanish into thin air.

As a result, countless farmers flocked to the headquarters of Ant Power Group to demand the return of their deposits.

The whole thing escalated.

The number of accidents caused by this is increasing.

It has become one of the biggest storms this year.

....................................

Liao Feng appeared before Lin Xiao once again.

He lost several pounds, and he, who used to hardly smoke, started lighting one cigarette after another.

"Lin Xiao, this ends here!"

"That's it!"

"The investigation into Lian Zheng over there will likely end here."

"A truce between the two sides."

"I am resigning as Chairman of Renren Group!"

"We will no longer pursue any responsibility against Wu Lingxi."

Lin Xiao slowly said, "Back then, I offered 200 million to buy your Renren.com, which was my last chance to end things gracefully, but you refused."

"It's getting late now."

"You even befriended Microsoft China and Google China, trying to form an anti-Lin alliance once again."

"Don't you have any intention of stopping?"

Liao Feng roared, "What else do you want? The allure of politics lies in well-timed compromises. Do you really want to fight to the death?"

"If Lian Zheng is fine, are his subordinates also fine?"

Even if you take me down, even if my family is implicated, so what? So what?

"With this incident, can you bring down my family and the entire system behind me?"

"No, that would only create a deadly feud!"

Do you know what a mortal feud is?

"You've won for someone else now, but a pawn like you who's crossed the river can be sacrificed at any time. If you show mercy now, we'll be lenient with you in the future."

Then, Liao Feng closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, his expression was incredibly sincere.

"Lin Xiao, we've been fighting for years. I've always been superior to you, and I've never truly backed down."

"Even if you won last time, my so-called surrender is still an aggressive move."

"This is my fault, and I formally admit my mistake and apologize to you here."

"Let bygones be bygones."

"Lin Xiao, I was wrong."

"I hope you can be lenient with me, thank you, thank you!"

"That's enough, let's make peace!"

........................

Liao Feng's apologies and pleas for forgiveness were completely useless.

Related evidence and videos continued to emerge one by one.

Moreover, Wang Fengyou has also begun to confess.

The evidence Lin Xiao prepared was only suitable for exposure and for inciting emotions.

The evidence prepared by Wu Lingxi is suitable for submission to the public security, procuratorate, and courts.

Each one is irrefutable evidence.

These documents were handed over to the task force one by one.

Renren Group was furious.

They've clearly recovered; Renren.com sold for $1.2 million, which is more than enough to promote World of Warcraft.

World of Warcraft will be in closed beta in three months.

It is estimated that it will bring in one or two hundred million US dollars in revenue next year.

Now... everything is ruined.

As the fraud case grew larger and involved more and more money, a significant portion of Renren Group's funds were also implicated.

Therefore, everything was suspended, and many assets were seized.

The promotional campaign for World of Warcraft has stalled once again.

Even many servers were shut down.

The originally anticipated closed beta test is now nowhere in sight.

Liao Feng publicly resigned as chairman of Renren Group, but it was to no avail.

If it were only Lin Xiao's side launching an attack, regardless of the scale and destructive power, it would be far from reaching this level.

The other side then targeted Lian Zheng.

That's completely different.

If you did the first thing, don't blame others for doing the fifteenth.

Now that we've started this fight, there has to be a result.

The people over there are not clean; they can't withstand scrutiny.

Both my capital and personnel are relatively clean and can withstand scrutiny.

A truce midway through the battle is impossible.

........................

Liao Feng packed his things, planning to go to the port city.

Go there to lay low for a while, and then see how things develop internally before deciding whether to return or flee overseas.

Even now, he still believes that the other party would absolutely not dare to make a move against him rashly.

Miyazaki sat opposite him.

"The port city is all ready; the house is large and the living conditions are very comfortable."

"The relevant passports are also ready."

Liao Feng sat quietly on the sofa and said in a hoarse voice, "I never expected it to end like this."

“We’re a group of people with status and connections, yet we can’t even beat a country bumpkin from the countryside.”

Miyazaki lit a cigar and slowly exhaled smoke: "It's just a temporary victory or defeat. For our various factions, it's too early to talk about the outcome."

"This madman, leaving no room for compromise, has created a deadly feud. How foolish he is."

Miyazaki leaned back, lost in memories.

He actually had a chance to join Lin Xiao's team. At that time, Lin Xiao gave up some of his shares in Jiayuan.com, but Miyazaki didn't like it and thought Lin Xiao was asking for too much.

Unexpectedly, Masayoshi Son later invested at an even higher price.

What's even more unexpected is that an investment that Masayoshi Son didn't intend to make money from ultimately yielded three or four times the return.

Now, it's all too late.

Both sides' systems are practically locked in a fight to the death.

People invested two to three billion yuan in Renren Group, and almost all of them lost everything.

They only recovered $120 million, and after deducting taxes, everyone involved suffered a net loss of $2 billion.

Miyazaki was the one who suffered the most losses, and the one who harbored the deepest hatred.

They had been hoping that World of Warcraft could help them recover, but now the other side has dealt them a critical blow, causing many of their businesses to stop and many of their assets to be seized.

The restart of World of Warcraft seems a long way off.

That last hope was gone.

We're losing a fortune!
Moreover, seeing the miserable state of Liao Feng, I also felt a sense of sorrow for the fallen.

Miyazaki: "Do you know what the core reason for our failure this time was?"

Liao Feng: "What?"

Miyazaki: "If you and Wu Lingxi had remained of one mind and cooperated sincerely, without being too eager for quick success, then Renren.com would at least be the second largest social networking site, our Perfect World would have been a success, and our World of Warcraft would soon be in closed beta."

"Next year, our Renren Group's revenue may exceed two or three hundred million US dollars."

"Then, without rushing or being impatient, we will list on NASDAQ the year after next, with a market value of three billion US dollars, without any problem."

"Fortresses are all destroyed from within."

“If you don’t seize power, but instead focus on your Lingxi Island e-commerce platform, and Wu Lingxi takes complete control of Renren.com, then the situation will be completely different.”

Liao Feng remained silent!

Is this hindsight? What's the point of saying all this now?
He certainly knows this now, but hindsight is always 20/20. However, if these words had been said before, he would have been furious and reacted strongly, but now he can remain relatively calm.

Because something even worse has happened, one can be relatively at peace with the less terrible things.

Miyazaki: "Get ready, we'll set off tonight. Once we get to the port city, no one can do anything to you. That place will still be our territory. And the Wu family is our ally; they are the real local tyrants there."

Then, he left.

Liao Feng remained inside quietly, hesitated for a long time, then took out his phone and sent a text message.

"How about we meet and have a chat?"

Then, Wu Lingxi replied: "At this point, what's the point of talking?"

Liao Feng: "There are some things I just have to say."

Wu Lingxi: "Okay, you choose the place!"

Then, she put away her phone, went to Xia Xi's office and knocked on the door, and then went to Lin Xiao's office.

He handed the phone directly to Lin Xiao to look at.

"Liao Feng asked me to meet him so we could talk, and I agreed."

“I have a feeling he’s going to flee. If he escapes to Hong Kong or overseas, it will be difficult to catch him. Once things have calmed down, he can come back unscathed.”

"Go report to your superiors and arrest him immediately."

"I'll meet with him to keep him calm, and once he shows his face, I'll subdue him!"

....................................

Note: I have to go on a long trip, but I'll still seize every opportunity to write. Thank you everyone! My benefactors, do you still have any monthly votes? Please give them to me, thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)