Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 88 (Part 1)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 88.1 Extra [Sixteen years later III]
After Xiao Chi's username was mocked, he couldn't shake off the frustration and had a restless night. He was consumed with thoughts of how to respond to the provocation.
Seeing him in such a state, Lin Jingzhe felt a pang of sympathy. He wasn't paying much attention to the offensive messages, focusing instead on consoling Xiao Chi and encouraging him not to take the comments to heart. After all, who can go through life without facing some form of criticism?
In truth, they had never concealed their relationship. Both Lin Jingzhe and Xiao Chi had been constantly wearing matching couple rings for over a decade. Even during their wedding ceremony more than ten years ago, nearly all their relatives were in attendance. Back then, the elders of both families were prepared for whispers and gossip. However, perhaps their straightforward attitude left little room for scandal. Within their social circle, their story was common knowledge and hardly worth more than a passing mention. Gossiping beyond those bounds, risking offense to both families for a bit of fleeting talk? Well, such behavior was generally deemed too unrefined and beneath the folks in their close-knit compound. Even someone as simple-minded as Qi Kai knew how to distinguish between close kin and mere acquaintances.
As a result, none of their relatives divulged this fact to outsiders. Besides, Lin Jingzhe and Xiao Chi had no interest in airing their private lives for the world to scrutinize without cause. Moreover, the media considered this matter too sensitive, chose not to stir up controversy and risk disturbing the hornets nest. Over time, their businesses, New Beginnings Real Estate, specializing in commercial real estate, and Flux Realty, focused on luxury properties, began to diverge. Their encounters during work hours grew increasingly rare, aside from occasional large meetings. To many onlookers, they seemed like people from two different worlds, their paths seldom intersecting.
Although, perhaps not quite as infrequent as one might think.
Aren't their two internet companies embroiled in a dispute over offering similar services within the same industry?
If this scenario were applied to two ordinary companies in the same industry, with similar projects, and a history of competition, it was like adding fuel to the fire. A small spark could lead to a spectacular explosion.
Issues like commercial espionage, web portal hacking, and personal conflicts between significant shareholders on both sides could come all into play.
Humans were inherently emotional creatures, and conflicts could arise from inexplicable sources. Celebrities, for example, might appear harmonious publicly but have private reservations about their peers, with whom they had little contact due to their fan bases. This web of intrigue was undeniably sinister.
Fortunately, they possessed a discreet relationship that the public weren’t aware of, which preempted misunderstandings before they took root. Xiao Chi attempted to reach the head of Immortal Science & Technology that night but was unsuccessful. It seemed the person was engrossed in an intense conversation with Liang Pi throughout the night and only returned the call in the early morning.
"Our company had absolutely no intention of engaging in commercial espionage against Best Partner IT!"
The moment the other party spoke, Lin Jingzhe and Xiao Chi knew that their suspicions were well-founded.
The person in charge of Immortal Science & Technology was truly in a bind. First, their own web portal had been abruptly hacked, and all signs seemed to point at Best Partner IT, a company no smaller than their own. This had caused a whirlwind of agitation among their core employees, as they feverishly speculated whether Best Partner IT's actions heralded an end to their previous facade of friendliness. Then, just as the virus on the portal website was being painstakingly eradicated, the head of Best Partner IT, who had previously exhibited peculiar behavior, called directly and posed this gut-wrenching idea of commercial espionage.
The recent app update proposal had come from an employee in the operations department. When the senior management at Immortal saw the unique and innovative plan submitted by the other party, they were genuinely surprised. Several managers even held a special meeting to discuss the possibility of promoting this talented employee in the upcoming quarter's personnel changes. Immortal Science & Technology hadn't given much thought to the matter, but little did they know that an old, seemingly inconspicuous employee who had been with the company for three years was a cog in an interlocking conspiracy. While Immortal was well aware of this, to outsiders, it was obviously not that straightforward. If not addressed, Immortal would undoubtedly be accused of employing underhanded tactics in competition.
The person in charge of Immortal Science & Technology was nearly beside himself upon hearing this. He wished for nothing more than to lay his heart bare and demonstrate his sincerity to Liang Pi.
After Liang Pi realized his misunderstanding, he also firmly asserted that their company would never resort to hiring hackers, deeming it a cheap and ill-advised ploy. What seemed like an insurmountable dispute was resolved with surprising ease. Following their conversation, both bosses felt a lingering unease, akin to the aftermath of a traumatic event. They lamented their hectic schedules and their principal shareholders, who, though technically the bosses, rarely took on any real work. Eventually, they continued their conversation over the phone, chatting until the day drew to a close. They even made plans to meet up for a drink after Liang Pi returned from his meeting.
Of course, he decided to leave out this last part when recounting the conversation to Xiao Chi.
Xiao Chi swiftly laid out a plan, instructing his team to prioritize the investigation of a particular employee. With the amalgamation of crucial information, it was becoming increasingly apparent that something suspicious was at play.
Meanwhile, on Lin Jingzhe's end, Liang Pi was also communicating with him through Best Partner MSG.
Recent years have seen a flourishing era for domestic network technology. New competitors sprouted daily in the same industry. However, skirmishes among smaller companies were typically contained within a certain scope. As the two biggest players in the industry, Best Partner and Immortal had never encountered such a meticulously orchestrated plot before. Initially, blinded by frustration over the appropriation of his latest private idea, Liang Pi hadn't dwelled on the matter too deeply. But with this newfound clarity, he ruminated for a while and compiled a list of individuals who stood to gain from the conflict between Best Partner and Immortal.
The prime suspect lined up perfectly with Lin Jingzhe's initial focus.
The truth unraveled swiftly.
As it turned out, Chen Wenchong was his own worst enemy. While his scheme to cast suspicion on Immortal Science & Technology for plagiarizing Best Partner’s latest software and instigating an onslaught from the partner studios against the Immortal web portal was almost foolproof, Chen Wenchong seemed keen on creating chaos for chaos' sake. This led to the slip-up under the Immortal blog accounts of Xiao Chi and Lin Jingzhe. The most significant clash between the two fan bases had been instigated by a water army, though not of the highest caliber. Gao Sheng immediately sensed something amiss and, upon closer inspection, confirmed it was indeed the work of a professional group.
This wave of IP accepted commissions even from abroad and took part in a wide range of activities involving celebrities and current politics. However, its most fervent involvement was undoubtedly during Wenchong Technology's disputes with its industry peers over various infringement issues.
Wenchong Technology had earned itself quite a reputation for siphoning off the hard work of others, and they were true experts in these legal battles. In their initial skirmishes against smaller companies defending their rights after their games were misappropriated, they gained notoriety for employing every possible tactic without any moral qualms. Earlier in the year, in a bid to promote Wenchong's newly launched mobile communication app, Chen Wenchong had already resorted to underhanded tactics. Their new application essentially combined the best features of two separate pieces of software, Immortal and Best Partner. However, the 200 million USD investment in promotion was no laughing matter. The competition directly injected funds into the market. Their app was well-received by the masses, leaving no room for retaliation.
But this time, Xiao Chi was truly infuriated.
What kind of chaos was he trying to stir up on the Internet? And what's the issue with being 187cm tall? Lin Jingzhe's height of 187cm was perfectly proportioned and pleasing to the eye, so what was there to be ashamed of? And those audacious individuals had the nerve to mock his username, 'Baby Curls'!
That name was personally bestowed upon him by Lin Jingzhe on the day they decided to create couple accounts on Immortal Blog, alright! After using it for so many years, they even extended these usernames to their Best Partner client accounts. There were genuine sentiments attached to these names!
It was like dissing their biological children!
Lin Jingzhe gathered his curly hair in his palm, secured it with a scrunchie, and styled it into a fashionable, tidy look.
As Xiao Chi looked at his incredibly handsome reflection in the mirror, holding the hand of his lover, which had been cold for over a decade, he stated firmly—
"Screw him over."
*******
The news of the Immortal web portal being hacked sent shockwaves across the Internet.
To truly grasp the significance of the Immortal web portal, one must delve into its historical importance. Established prior to the proliferation of both domestic and international Internet, it held a pivotal position in the annals of national Internet development. At one point, it stood shoulder to shoulder with Best Partner Search, cementing itself as a household domain name. Even as the Internet landscape evolved with an influx of competitors, it remained an unparalleled force in the industry, boasting an unmatched daily average traffic volume.
The hacking of such a major website was a deeply concerning event, with potential ripples reaching even the capricious stock market. No internet company could afford to brush off such a brazen act of provocation. However, what puzzled many was that after Immortal Science & Technology restored their network, they offered little more than a customer apology. There was no mention of the perpetrator responsible for the attack.
Both netizens and the media clamored for answers, but the Immortal spokespersons could only repeat the same refrain: "We are currently conducting an investigation."
Just as the furor over this incident had yet to fully subside, an even more dramatic development seized the collective attention of the public——
The promotional content for the latest update of Best Partner's mobile communication software turned out to be an exact replica of the update released by Immortal just a few days earlier!
Those well-versed in the software of both companies, including industry experts, were quick to spot the uncanny resemblance and voiced their concerns. However, Best Partner's IT team, faced with mounting skepticism, responded with a concise update on their official Immortal Blog account the next day—
{When it comes to identifying the true innovator, feel free to assess the evidence 🙃}
They even tagged Immortal Science & Technology!
