Chapter 27: Successful Prosecution

"General Manager, something terrible has happened!"

The general manager of Xuanwei Music was having a rather intimate discussion with his secretary in the office when the door suddenly burst open, leaving the manager instantly deflated in shock.

The editor-in-chief caught a glimpse of an indescribable scene and hurriedly shut the door. Five minutes later, a voice came from the office: "Come in!"

The editor-in-chief hesitated, then stepped inside. The general manager of Penguin Music was now properly dressed, the secretary standing by his side.

"Gulp!" The editor-in-chief swallowed nervously. "General Manager!"

"Wang Gang, if you can't give me a good reason, you can pack your things and get out!" barked the general manager, Xu Mang.

"Sir, you'd better check Weibo," the editor-in-chief replied.

"Spit it out! Don't waste my time!" Xu Mang snapped.

"General Manager, it's like this—you've been caught in a scandal. Right now, Weibo is flooded with news about you!" Wang Gang blurted out.

Xu Mang frowned. "What's our PR department doing?"

"This time is different!" said Wang Gang.

Xu Mang, still frowning, pulled out his phone and opened Weibo, glancing at the trending topics.

He was stunned by what he saw.

Shocking! Xuanwei Music's general manager's peculiar preferences exposed!

Shocking! What beauties are hidden in the general manager's computer?

Shocking! Netizens suggest Xuanwei Music's general manager endorse kidney supplements!

"Who did this?!" Xu Mang roared.

The secretary and Wang Gang jumped at his outburst.

"Quick! Start crisis management—now!" Xu Mang’s face was livid, itching to tear someone apart.

The PR department quickly responded: removing trending topics, deleting comments, hiring paid commenters.

But for every hot topic Xuanwei Music took down, the other side put up another. The hired commenters couldn't even post; their accounts were instantly deleted.

"General Manager, the opposition has hacking skills—there's nothing we can do!"

"Then contact Weibo and have those accounts banned!"

So, Xuanwei Music's PR team reached out to Weibo, who immediately demanded ten million for the service.

"What extortion," Xu Mang muttered helplessly. Company funds couldn't be touched, so he had to pay from his own pocket.

At last, the vigilante's account was banned.

But Jiang Yun possessed hacking skills. If they thought this would end so easily, they were mistaken.

Jiang Yun registered two new accounts: "Light of Justice" and "Justice League."

Armed with hacking prowess, he commanded an army of bots. Within two minutes of posting, he was trending atop Weibo again—this time, the topics couldn't be deleted, and the bots flooded Xuanwei Music's official account, bombarding it relentlessly.

"Xu Mang is morally bankrupt!"

"Xuanwei Music is a garbage platform!"

"Xuanwei Music infringes copyright!"

Faced with this overwhelming onslaught, Xuanwei Music had no room to fight back.

Seeing the chaos, Xu Mang knew it was over.

"It's over!"

After this incident, Xuanwei Music's chairman immediately dismissed Xu Mang and allied with multiple platforms to blacklist him.

In the end, Xu Mang was left with nothing.

Red Romance Café.

"System, open my personal panel!"

"Beep!"

Host: Jiang Yun.
Singing ability: S-level (capable of headlining a grand concert)
Acting: D+ level (you have more talent than a child)
Directing: D level (can shoot a low-budget indie film)
Skills: Special forces physique, master chef, expert pianist, S-level hand speed, clear logic.
Songs: "Words Betray the Heart," "Crossing the Ocean to See You," "Rice Aroma," "Sad Pacific," "Getting Rich," "One Night in Summer Capital," "Blue and White Porcelain," "Soaring Free," "Little Apple," "Brightest Star in the Night Sky"
Piano piece: "Canon"
Items: Three S-level experience cards, one single-use hacker skills card (expired).
Popularity: 653,086

Jiang Yun noticed that the hacker skills card had expired, feeling a twinge of regret. It had truly been useful.

"Jiang Yun? Jiang Yun?" Yu Qing noticed Jiang Yun spacing out and waved her hand in front of his face.

"Huh? What is it?" Jiang Yun snapped back to reality.

"You were distracted," said Yu Qing.

"Oh," Jiang Yun nodded.

"Let's continue discussing the lawsuit," Yu Qing said.

"Alright..."

They talked into the afternoon as Yu Qing organized the litigation documents. Jiang Yun handed over a phone recording, which he'd obtained using hacking skills—a recording of Xuanwei Music's second phone call.

There was also evidence that Xuanwei Music had put up VIP paywalls without permission.

A week later, the lawsuit was successful.

The result: Xuanwei Music had to either remove Jiang Yun's works or pay him fifty percent of the profits, as well as bear the cost of the lawsuit.

Jiang Yun chose the first option. After all, relations between the two parties had completely broken down; keeping his works on Xuanwei Music could only spell trouble in the future.

A week passed. Jiang Yun traveled to Xiaoxiang to record "Yearning for Life."

Seated on the plane, Jiang Yun gazed out the window at the drifting clouds and soon fell into a deep sleep.

When he awoke, the plane had already landed.

Exiting the airport, Jiang Yun saw someone holding a sign with his name. He approached.

Wearing a mask and sunglasses, Jiang Yun was fully disguised.

"Are you Mr. Jiang Yun?" the greeter inquired.

Jiang Yun nodded.

The driver took the wheel while Jiang Yun got into the back of the Cadillac.

The engine started, and they set off toward the countryside, soon arriving at a mountainous area.

"Mr. Jiang Yun, this is as far as the car can go—the mountain road ahead is impassable by vehicle."

Jiang Yun nodded and got out.

"Achoo!"

He sneezed. "It's freezing!"

The production crew had been waiting for some time.

Seeing the setup, Jiang Yun realized filming had already begun.

Hugging his arms, he headed for the destination.

Reaching a fork in the road, Jiang Yun looked at the signpost. Left led to Mushroom House, right to Xiaoqing Village.

The map on the sign was a tangle of thick black lines. Jiang Yun frowned in confusion, unable to decipher it.

"Director, which way should I go?"

The director merely gestured—no hints allowed.

"Can't you give me a clue?" Jiang Yun pleaded.

The staff all shook their heads.

Resigned, Jiang Yun called He Ling.

"Hello? Teacher He!"

"What's wrong, Jiang Yun? Have you arrived?"

"I'm here! It's like this, Teacher He..."

"Go on."

"I'm at a fork in the road and don't know which way to go. There's a signpost here."

"Go left! Walk for about ten minutes and you'll see Mushroom House."

"Alright!"

They hung up, but Jiang Yun was still bewildered by the sign.

Logically, the left side from his perspective should be to his left, but from the sign's orientation, his left was actually the right.

After some thought, Jiang Yun decided to use the sign as his guide and set off to the left, which was actually to his right from where he had come.

He walked for nearly half an hour and still saw no sign of the Mushroom House. Already twenty minutes past what He Ling had said, Jiang Yun realized he'd gone the wrong way.

"Well, I've taken the wrong road."