My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

Xiao Fang felt a chill run down his spine, followed by extreme excitement.

"Brother, I'll contact Attorney Zhao right away!"

Xiao Fang grabbed her phone and rushed out of the guest room.

The guest room became quiet.

Hanikezi sat cross-legged on the bed, still clutching the tablet computer that had just finished playing the full version of the original film.

She looked up and stared blankly at Chen Yi.

"You're going to sue the entire Star Entertainment Media?"

Hanikezi swallowed hard, her voice clearly shocked. "That's one of the top three talent agencies in the industry. Their legal department has dozens of people, and their annual budget for lawsuits alone is astronomical. You're going to fight their entire company by yourself?"

Chen Yi pulled over a folding chair, sat down on the edge of the bed, and casually crossed his long legs.

"The larger the company, the more obvious its weaknesses become."

Chen Yi looked at her, his tone completely flat, "Star Entertainment Media doesn't belong to President Zhou alone. He's just the CEO with less than 20% of the shares. The real big players are the investment institutions behind it that only care about profits."

Hanikezi blinked, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Strike the snake at its vital point."

Chen Yi patiently explained, "If we only sue Liu Qiang, or only sue President Zhou personally, Xingyu Media's public relations department has a million ways to sever ties with them and find a temporary worker to take the blame."

Old Wang stood by the door, nodding repeatedly as he listened.

"Chen Yi is right."

Old Wang chimed in, "This kind of thing happens all the time in the industry. Capital is best at sacrificing pawns to save the king. As long as the fire doesn't affect the company itself, they can immediately issue a statement distancing themselves from the situation."

"Therefore, I will absolutely not give them the chance to cut it off."

Chen Yi's gaze was cold and hard. "Once Star Entertainment Media is listed as a co-defendant in a criminal case as a physical company, the nature of the case changes completely. It will no longer be a gossip scandal in the entertainment industry, but a serious commercial crime."

Hanikezi gasped, finally understanding Chen Yi's logic.

"The stock price..." Hanikezi covered her mouth.

"A direct plunge."

Chen Yi concluded, "Shareholders and investors will absolutely not tolerate a CEO who has caused the company's assets to shrink significantly and even face the risk of delisting continuing to sit in that position."

Hanikezi looked at the young man in his early twenties in front of her.

He was just a nobody who had only been in the entertainment industry for a few months, but when facing a tycoon with a net worth of over 100 million, he showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he proceeded cautiously, stabbing the other party in the most fatal spot.

"How is your brain structured?"

Hanikezi couldn't help but mutter, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration, "Sister Hong said you were like a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river, but I think you're going to tear down the Dragon King Temple."

Chen Yi chuckled and reached out to ruffle the pale yellow beret on her head.

"So, if Sister Hong tries to fool you with a script about being the female lead again, don't be silly and fall for it."

Chen Yi spoke casually, yet with absolute confidence, "Star Entertainment Media is about to be on its own. The resources they promised are worth less than a piece of waste paper."

Hanikezi's cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't pull away from his hand; she just muttered something under her breath.

"I don't care about their resources."

Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Xiao Fang pushed open the door and entered, still out of breath, clutching her phone tightly in her hand.

"Brother! Attorney Zhao just came out of the Dali City Public Security Bureau!"

Xiao Fang slammed his phone down on the table. "He confessed everything! That bastard Liu Qiang is a spineless coward!"

Old Wang suddenly leaned closer.

"What did you confess?"

Old Wang asked urgently.

"When he heard that he was suspected of violating trade secrets, which carries a minimum sentence of three years, he was so scared that he wet himself on the spot."

Xiao Fang spoke very quickly, his face flushed with excitement, "He directly implicated the person who hired him—a deputy director in the public relations department of Xingyu Media!"

Chen Yi showed no surprise.

"Have you found the transaction records?"

Chen Yi asked the most crucial question.

"Found it!"

Xiao Fang slapped his thigh excitedly, "That old fox, President Zhou, thought he was so clever. He had the deputy director give Liu Qiang two million in cash, thinking that without a transfer record, they wouldn't be able to find out."

Xiao Fang sneered.

"But his deputy director is an idiot! When he went to the bank to withdraw cash, to save trouble, he went directly into Star Entertainment Media's corporate account! And the item he filled in was 'Production Crew Publicity Reserve Fund'!"

After hearing this, Old Wang immediately swore.

"A corporate account withdrawing funds to pay hackers' salaries?"

Old Wang, enraged, laughed bitterly, "These capitalists really treat the law like a joke!"

"The police froze the corporate account overnight and issued a notice for assistance to the Yanjing police."

Xiao Fang looked at Chen Yi, "Attorney Zhao said that this transaction record is irrefutable evidence, directly pinning Xingyu Media to the position of the mastermind!"

Chen Yi tapped his fingers twice on the table.

"Has the application to add a defendant been filed?"

Chen Yi issued the order to pursue.

"Submitted! I've received the court's case filing receipt!"

Xiao Fang stood ramrod straight.

"good!"

Chen Yi stood up, straightened the collar of his black shirt, and said, "Contact the media outlets we know. Send them all the case filing receipts for 'Star Entertainment Media is formally indicted for allegedly stealing trade secrets.'"

Old Wang was stunned for a moment.

"Shouldn't we buy some trending topics to promote it?"

Old Wang asked.

"unnecessary."

Chen Yi's lips curled into a cold smile. "The entire internet is watching this. The media craves traffic even more than we do. They'll push this kind of earth-shattering scandal, capable of bringing down top-tier capital, to the top of the trending searches for free."

Chen Yi turned to look at the thick darkness outside the window.

"The stock price of Star Entertainment Media will immediately hit the daily limit down as soon as the market opens tomorrow morning."

Chen Yi said, enunciating each word clearly, "President Zhou's good days are over."

The scene shifts to Yanjing, to the headquarters building of Star Entertainment Media.

The top-floor office was in a complete mess.

Broken pieces of bone china teacups were scattered all over the floor, and scripts and documents were strewn everywhere.

Mr. Zhou's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the trending topics list on the computer screen.

The entire internet is going crazy sharing the full version of Chen Yi and Hanikezi's video.

The tens of thousands of online troll accounts that Xingyu Media bought for 20 million yuan were completely destroyed in the face of the anger of millions of real users.

The public relations department's comment control software has been completely frozen and paralyzed.

"Useless! They're all fucking useless!"

Mr. Zhou grabbed the keyboard and slammed it hard onto the monitor.

The office door was suddenly kicked open.

The PR director stumbled in, his face ashen, and he fell onto the carpet before he could even grip the doorknob properly.

"President Zhou! Something terrible has happened!"

The PR director spoke in a schizophrenic voice, holding a tablet computer in his hand.

Mr. Zhou suddenly turned his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"If you can't suppress the online attacks, fine! What are you panicking about!"

President Zhou roared.

"It's not a matter of online trolls!"

The PR director scrambled to his feet, rambling incoherently, "The Dali police summoned our deputy director from another province! Liu Qiang was arrested and spilled the beans about withdrawing two million!"

Mr. Zhou trembled, his legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the leather seat.

"Didn't I tell him to withdraw the cash from his private account?"

President Zhou roared, his voice trembling noticeably.

"He...he used the company's corporate account to cut his personal credit card limit in order to save time..." the public relations director stammered, "and now Chen Yi's legal team has applied to the court to list our company as a co-defendant in the criminal case!"

The PR director handed over the tablet, his hands trembling like a leaf.

"The case filing receipt has gone viral in media circles! Several partners just called, demanding the immediate termination of all business cooperation!"

"Several of our rising stars, whose agents just came to cause trouble, are demanding contract terminations without penalty, fearing they'll be implicated by the company. The whole company is in complete chaos!"

Mr. Zhou felt a loud buzzing in his brain and his ears ringing.

Finished!

This has become involved in a criminal case, so it's no longer a typical public relations crisis.

He was all too aware of the bloodthirsty nature of the capital market.

The red landline phone on the desk suddenly started vibrating wildly.

That was a confidential hotline specifically used to receive calls from the board of directors and key investors.

This phone rarely rings more than a few times a year, but every time it rings, it means the company is facing a critical decision about its survival.

Mr. Zhou stared at the phone flashing red light, his hands trembling so much he couldn't even hold the receiver.

He took three deep breaths and, trying to appear calm, pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Chairman Wang..."

"Zhou Jianguo, what a mess you've made!"

A furious roar came from the other end of the phone: "The company has been listed as a co-defendant in a criminal case! The pre-market valuation has already evaporated by 500 million! Is this how you manage a company?"

Mr. Zhou was sweating profusely, and the sweat dripped down his cheeks onto the pure wool carpet.

"Chairman Wang, please let me explain. This is all Chen Yi spreading rumors. I will immediately have the legal department handle this..."

"Shut up! The police have already checked the bank account statements, and you're still spouting nonsense!"

The investors didn't give him a chance to explain; their tone was full of contempt and anger. "You used company funds to hire hackers to steal secrets just to suppress an ordinary person! Who gave you the guts?!"

Mr. Zhou opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Half an hour later, an emergency meeting of the entire board of directors was convened."

The voice on the other end of the phone was icy cold, radiating ruthless murderous intent: "You'd better get over here and give all the shareholders a satisfactory explanation!"

The beeping dial tone echoed in the empty office.

President Zhou slumped in his chair, his face ashen.

ps:

[Update complete for today!! Remember to like and comment to encourage more updates and add to your bookshelf!! Your support is my motivation to write!!]