The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 204 Done
Zhou Yaqin and Cheng Jin's eyes simultaneously fixed on the eye-catching red slogan.

The surrounding chatter surged like a tide, each word filled with the excitement of watching the spectacle and the awe at the money.

Gao Ya and the other suppliers also stopped in their tracks, their faces filled with surprise.

"A signing fee of two hundred thousand? One million?"

Gao Ya muttered to herself, looking at Zhou Yaqin and Cheng Jin with a complicated expression. She had been in the construction industry for many years and had seen people poached, but she had never seen anyone so blatant as to openly advertise their prices.

"Are all healthcare service businesses this profitable?"

"Is this a legitimate industry?"

"A leisurely stroll up to the second floor..."

Gao Ya stopped guessing, because as a business partner, she had indeed been up to the second floor.

Her increasingly delicate and fair skin is proof of this.

So the technicians on the second floor are really worth that much money.

But what about having six fingers?
Zhou Yaqin sneered and explained Gao Ya's doubts:

"The six-fingered man is certainly not a concern, but the ugly donkey behind him is another story. The power of capital can sometimes be so unreasonable."

Gao Ya said with an air of understanding: "Mr. Zhou, we won't bother you any longer. Let's go check the site first and try to come up with a solution as soon as possible."

Zhou Yaqin and the HR appeared together today. The intelligent Gao Ya could tell at a glance that Zhao Xiaochui, who only knew how to bury himself in his work, had handed over some of the professional manager's affairs to this financial elite.

So she took the opportunity to address Zhou Yaqin as "President Zhou".

Zhou Yaqin did not refute, nodded to the business partner, and then looked at Cheng Jin.

"Shouldn't our legal team start?"

Cheng Jin took out his phone, glanced at it, took a deep breath, and nodded.

What does it look like when an ant confronts an elephant? Today she's going to see it for herself.

The good news is that the elephants have intervened indirectly and are currently at a disadvantage.

The bad news is, she's part of this Ant Group wave.

…………

Ugly Donkey's Beijing headquarters, Donkey Peng Building, is located in a modern office building with a glass curtain wall in Wangjing, Chaoyang District.

It was just past nine in the morning, the busiest time for the company. In the open-plan office area, hundreds of young employees were typing furiously on their keyboards, with phone calls and discussions ringing out all around. The air was filled with the smell of coffee and fast food, making it look like a cyberpunk barn.

The office area is a typical internet workspace – the workstations are so cramped you can smell the receding hairlines of the products next door, the height-adjustable desks are piled with leftover buns, and the monitors have sticky notes that say, "Eating comes first, demand can go to hell."

The corridor walls were painted a glaring donkey-dung yellow, and there were earthy slogans hanging on them such as "Keep digging, mission accomplished." The projector also played a loop of a cold, donkey-braying speech: "We want to be the leading donkey in local life services!"

However, this busyness and noise were completely shattered a few minutes later.

Several officers in Chaoyang District Public Security Bureau uniforms walked into the office area with serious expressions.

They didn't make a loud noise, but their uniforms and waist equipment stood out conspicuously in the crowd. Wherever they went, the chatter instantly subsided, and the sound of keyboards clattered. Everyone's attention was drawn to them, filled with confusion and a hint of wariness.

The leader in uniform walked straight to the front desk and showed his identification.

"We are from the Chaoyang District Bureau, and we are handling a case. We need several company employees to assist in the investigation."

His voice wasn't loud, but it sounded exceptionally clear in the suddenly quiet environment.

The receptionist paused for a moment, then asked nervously, "Excuse me... who are you looking for?" The man in uniform glanced at the documents in his hand and named a few people: "Li and Wang from the technical department, and Zhang from the operations department."

Upon hearing these names, a low gasp of surprise rippled through the office area.

These people were all ordinary employees of the company. Li and Wang were programmers responsible for backend maintenance, while Zhang was in charge of data analysis in the operations department.

How did they get involved with criminal uniforms?

Ignoring the surrounding chatter, she followed the receptionist's directions and headed directly to the area where the technical department was located.

Two programmers, Li and Wang, were sitting at their workstations when they heard their names called, and their bodies stiffened abruptly. They looked up and saw several uniformed officers walking towards them, their faces instantly turning deathly pale.

"Li and Wang, you are suspected of committing crimes such as defamation and damaging business reputation through the internet. Please come with us." The leader in uniform walked up to them, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Li and Wang's lips trembled; they wanted to say something but couldn't utter a sound.

They knew what they had done: the back-end operations, the data manipulation, the collaboration with online trolls... They thought it was just a "business requirement" for the company, a "routine operation" in the internet industry.

They did those things with impunity because they were backed by a major internet company with hundreds of billions in revenue, a company that had provided employment for 500 delivery riders!
They never expected to be forced to wear uniforms.

Meanwhile, another group of uniformed staff found Zhang from the operations department.

Although Zhang was not the business development officer directly responsible for coordinating with online trolls (Yan Xiao has already been detained for harassing text messages), the data analysis and reports he was responsible for were important bases for evaluating the effects of malicious negative reviews and adjusting subsequent operations. He was also firmly held by the chain of evidence from a certain bureau.

"Zhang, you are suspected of participating in criminal activities that damage business reputation. Please cooperate with the investigation."

Zhang's reaction was slightly more intense than the programmers'; he tried to argue, "I only do data analysis, I don't know..."

"We'll talk about it at the station." The uniform didn't give him any more chances and directly gestured for him to stand up.

Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of people, Li, Wang, and Zhang, three previously unknown ordinary employees, were subdued and taken away from their workstations.

They kept their heads down, their steps unsteady, as if all their strength had been drained away in an instant.

The entire office area fell into a deathly silence, with only the sound of leather shoes tapping on the ground as uniformed workers left.

The previous busyness and noise vanished, replaced by a pervasive sense of fear and unease.

No one typed on the keyboard anymore, no one made phone calls anymore; everyone stared blankly at the empty workstations and the direction in which the uniforms disappeared.

They knew this was neither a simple commercial dispute nor an ordinary civil lawsuit.

The direct intervention of the uniformed officers meant that the seriousness of the matter far exceeded their expectations.

Many of them have participated to varying degrees in those "unconventional" operational and technical practices—brushing orders, controlling reviews, fabricating data, attacking competitors, etc. In their view, these are the unspoken "unwritten rules" of the internet industry, the price that companies must pay for growth and market share.

This internet giant, boasting hundreds of millions of users and providing employment for millions of delivery riders, has been virtually invincible in the past, thanks to its massive user base, strong capital backing, and dominant market position. They are accustomed to paving the way with capital, overwhelming users with traffic, and building moats with technological barriers.

In recent years, they have been punished before. They have been fined huge sums for engaging in monopolistic practices such as "choose one of two"; they have also been punished for unfair competition; and there are various compliance issues involving data use, algorithm recommendation, and workers' rights.

They believe that even if they are discovered, the worst that can happen is a fine or a protracted civil lawsuit.

For large companies with substantial capital, fines are merely a part of operating costs, while civil litigation is lengthy, difficult to prove, and often results in a settlement, with limited impact on the company's core business.

A strong legal team and a powerful public relations department are essential for dealing with these troubles.

However, today, neither of the two teams that were once invincible have made their appearance.

The person was taken away.

(End of this chapter)