Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

Publicity Department of the CPC Hantong Provincial Committee, Internet Monitoring Center.

The air conditioning in the server room was blasting, but it couldn't mask the restless, sweaty smell that permeated the entire room.

Team Leader Qi stood with his hands behind his back in front of rows of servers flashing red light.

"Has the notification been sent out yet?" He asked, his eyes slanted, his voice as deep as cast iron.

The director of the internet supervision bureau wiped his greasy forehead and quickly pressed the enter key.

"It's out! It's pinned to the top of all platforms!"

On the big screen, a press release immediately popped up with a red seal.

Notification Regarding False Online Statements Concerning the Guangming Peak Project in Jingzhou City.

The content is simple: it blames Li Dakang's "brutal personal work style" for the forced donations.

Team Leader Qi snorted coldly, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.

"Netizens buy into this. As long as a scapegoat is brought out, the fire won't reach our investigation team."

He picked up the teacup on the table, blew on it to cool it down, and felt that he had finally won back a point.

Meanwhile, Jingzhou CBD.

On the top floor of the Lingxiao Media headquarters building, multiple curved screens are pieced together to form a huge data wall.

Hua Linglong wore ten-centimeter red-soled high heels, and her wine-red haute couture business suit accentuated her graceful waistline.

She held a glass of iced Americano, watching with great interest the provincial party committee's announcement that had just popped up on the screen.

"So you're already in such a hurry to cut your losses to save your life? Old Qi's bureaucratic style is really nothing new."

The data director, wiping away sweat, came over, holding a tablet in his hands.

"Boss Hua, all the major platforms have received administrative instructions from the Internet Supervision Bureau, requiring them to push this notice. How should we respond?"

"A strong recommendation?"

Hua Linglong's red lips curved slightly, and a cunning glint flashed in her eyes.

"Master Yan said that today, the internet in Jingzhou is our territory."

She placed the coffee cup on the control panel, the porcelain bottom making a crisp sound as it tapped.

"Add weight locks to the recommendation algorithms of each platform. Cleave the traffic channel mentioned in this announcement completely blocked."

The director's fingers flew across the keyboard, clicking away, and strings of code appeared on the screen.

"It's been added! The exposure pool has been reduced to the minimum; you can't even see it on the homepage unless you search for the full name."

"Just defending isn't fun." Hua Linglong pulled over a high chair and sat down, crossing her long legs.

"Go to the media library and upload the videos we shot this morning."

Dozens of split-screen images instantly appeared on the large screen.

They were all workers from Guangming District who had been laid off, and an old lady in the market who couldn't afford cabbage and was wiping away tears.

"With sad music and Li Dakang's voiceover urging donations, it was pushed to the homepage of all users."

Hua Linglong snapped her fingers, like a queen in control of everything.

"Remember, no photoshopping, no fabricating data, use only real materials."

The legal manager next to him pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and chimed in with a smile.

"Don't worry, Mr. Hua, the text has been reviewed. It's being spread spontaneously by netizens across the internet. Even if we take it to the United Nations, they can't accuse us of inciting trouble."

Hua Linglong nodded in satisfaction, watching the data curve soar like a rocket.

"I love seeing them get so frustrated and helpless."

The camera cuts back to the Internet Supervision Bureau's computer room.

Team Leader Qi paced back and forth, holding a teacup, his leather shoes making a deafening thud.

"How's it going? The report has garnered over ten million views, right? Have netizens calmed down?"

The director of the internet supervision bureau stared intently at the backend data, his face looking worse than if he had swallowed a dead fly.

"Old Qi... his readership is only a little over three hundred."

"How much?" Team Leader Qi suddenly stopped, grabbed the director by the collar, and almost splashed the tea on his face.

"It's been almost half an hour and only a little over three hundred? Is your provincial party committee's account a dead number?!"

"It's not a problem with the account, it's that your data has been hijacked!"

The bureau chief was sweating profusely, his fingers trembling as he pointed at the large screen displaying trending topics on social media.

"Look at the top ten trending topics, they're all short videos of ordinary people crying because they've lost their jobs!"

In the video, an elderly worker in his sixties is squatting by the unfinished pit, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face.

"Lingxiao Infrastructure is gone, and my son's kidney transplant money is gone! Li Dakang, you owe me my life!"

The comments section below refreshes with thousands of messages every second, all of them cursing the ancestors of the provincial party committee compound.

There wasn't even a single comment from an online troll under the official, solitary announcement.

It's like sneezing in a downpour; not a single drop of water splashes up.

Team Leader Qi was so angry that his head throbbed. He shoved the bureau chief away like a mad dog that had gone berserk.

"This is outrageous! This is blatant incitement to subversion!"

He glared with his triangular eyes, slammed his fist on the keyboard, and typed out a bunch of gibberish.

"Lingxiao Media! It must be that vixen named Hua Linglong causing trouble!"

He grabbed the red secure phone on the table and roared out the order.

"Immediately notify the Bureau of Culture and the Public Security Bureau! Seal off the Lingxiao Media building!"

"Smash all their servers! Arrest that Hua Linglong and interrogate her! I refuse to believe we can't deal with her!"

The director of the Internet Supervision Bureau's legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the swivel chair, waving his hands repeatedly.

"Old Qi, we can't seal it off."

"What do you mean by 'can't be sealed off'? In Handong, is there any seal that the police can't put up?"

Team Leader Qi gritted his teeth, wishing he could swallow the bureau chief whole.

"We have no law enforcement power!" The director pointed to the IP nodes tracked in the background, his voice filled with despair.

"Although Lingxiao Media's headquarters are in Jingzhou, their core servers are all located on an island nation in the Caribbean."

"There are only a few compliant data relay base stations in China, with complete licenses and clean tax records than anyone else."

He swallowed hard, his eyes filled with fear, and clung tightly to Team Leader Qi's sleeve.

"Without solid evidence of wrongdoing, if you bring people to vandalize a legitimate base station, a multinational legal team can sue us into bankruptcy!"

Team Leader Qi's vision went black, and he staggered back two steps before plopping down on the metal chassis.

We can't catch people physically, and we can't beat algorithms in terms of public opinion.

Is this even a businessman? This is practically a ghost that has no physical form but is omnipresent!

In this war of public opinion, the authorities lost so badly they couldn't even keep their underwear.

Lu Yike's apartment in a high-end residential area in Handong Province.

In the unlit living room, the television was broadcasting the provincial party committee's dry, fact-checking report.

Lu Yike, dressed in a loose gray tracksuit, sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding an empty beer can in her hand.

Ever since Hou Liangping's audit failed miserably, she argued with Ji Changming in a fit of anger and was ordered to stay home and reflect on her actions.

These past few days, she's been pacing around the house like a caged beast, watching helplessly as Handong is turned upside down.

"Bang!"

Lu Yike slammed the beer can onto the coffee table, and the aluminum sheet dented instantly.

She watched the short videos on her phone of elderly people crying and wailing, and she was so angry that her teeth itched.

"A bunch of unscrupulous businessmen exploiting legal loopholes are using such despicable tactics to incite ordinary people. Do they really think no one can control them?"

Her burning passion for justice surged to her head.

What do you mean by legality and compliance, and what do you mean by overseas servers?

In Lu Yike's eyes, anything that disrupts Handong is an unforgivable crime!

Director Hou is too bookish and only knows how to scrutinize the accounts.

Ji Jian is too slippery; whenever something goes wrong, he fakes a heart attack and hides in the hospital.

The men all cowered, but Lu Yike couldn't swallow her anger.

"No, this cancer must be removed."

Lu Yike suddenly stood up, fumbled for her police ID in the darkness, and clutched it tightly in her hand.

She strode to the window and pulled back the curtains.

The neon lights flashing on the rooftop of the Lingxiao Media Building in the distance seemed to be silently mocking her.

Lu Yike's eyes turned unusually fierce. She took out her phone from her pocket and skillfully dialed a number.

After two beeps, the call was connected.

"Hey, Lin Huahua, wake up! Call all our best buddies right now!"

Lin Huahua's groggy voice came from the other end of the phone: "Director Lu, where are you going in the middle of the night? Inspector Ji told us to avoid causing trouble."

Lu Yike gripped the doorknob, gritted her teeth, and gave the order with a reckless madness in her voice.

"I don't care if Ji Changming pretends to be dead, I'll take the blame for this all by myself."

"Put on plain clothes, grab your weapons, and come with me to kick down the gates of Lingxiao Media!"