Chapter 67 - 58: Retaliation and Reckoning

Evening.

It wasn’t peak time for internet traffic, but it was when the online world was at its most boisterous and active.

Generally, people have an excitement threshold. A single incident quickly loses its dopamine-releasing effect.

But... this news was like a shot of adrenaline.

Forcibly injected into your veins, making it impossible for your own body to resist the overwhelming excitement!

It couldn’t be helped. The news was just too outrageous no matter how you looked at it. If it weren’t for the endorsements from multiple authoritative media outlets, and even a public notice from the court, then... anyone who saw it would have cursed it as trashy journalism.

And the fallout had already begun!

「The next day.」

November 17th.

7:30 AM.

"This is bad, this is really bad!"

"President, the public feedback on the apps commonly used by Lusen City citizens is still okay."

"But on the provincial news network, a whole bunch of people from other provinces are cursing us out!"

Lusen City, Phoenix Newspaper headquarters.

Inside the president’s office.

Chief Editor Qian stared at the backend data, practically dumbfounded. He looked up at President Zhou of the Phoenix Newspaper, who had stayed up all night with him watching the news metrics.

Hearing this, President Zhou, who had been on the verge of succumbing to drowsiness after the all-nighter, was instantly jolted awake, all sleepiness gone.

Normally, as high-level executives of the newspaper, the chief editor and the president wouldn’t pull all-nighters unless there was a bombshell story.

But as luck would have it, the case announced by the court yesterday... was exactly that kind of bombshell!

In an era where newspapers were gradually being replaced by the internet, every single story was enough to rattle the president’s nerves. So President Zhou had forced himself to stay up all night, and for what? To be told... that the comments section was full of people cursing him out!?

"What’s going on!?"

President Zhou’s haggard face was a mask of shock as he hurried to the computer.

"It’s exactly what it sounds like."

Chief Editor Qian, a man in his forties, took a deep breath and pointed to the various comments on the computer. Looking up, the screen was a dense wall of text.

[UglyDuckling: Trashy media! If you’re going to make up news, at least make it a little believable!]

[GojiBerryTea: Is this a joke? I admit some legal aid lawyers are good, but... forget legal aid, for a case like this, a Gold Medal Lawyer would be bragging for life just for getting a suspended sentence. And you’re telling me a legal aid lawyer got an acquittal?]

[GojiBerryTea: I suggest the reporter actually learn about the judicial environment in Dongguo and the overall quality of legal aid lawyers before writing news!]

[CaptainDon’tShoot: Seriously, the public discourse in Dongguo has been ruined by you stinking reporters!]

[...]

President Zhou was stunned. He sat in his chair, leaned close to the screen, and scrolled through page after page with his index finger on the mouse wheel, but there were hardly any positive comments.

After a long moment, a look of bewilderment spread across President Zhou’s face. He snapped his head up, unable to stop himself from looking at Chief Editor Qian.

"What do they mean, ’making up news’!?"

He was getting anxious. "We didn’t fabricate a single word! In fact, we even omitted a lot of details to stop the story from sounding too fake!"

President Zhou had expected the story to generate a lot of discussion, but he never imagined that even after being vetted and toned down, it would still get him cursed out.

In the version he published online, he hadn’t even dared to write that the defense attorney won a one-versus-nine victory. He’d only written about the case, the lawyer’s trial process, and the defendant’s acquittal!

’How can they still call it fake news after I cut out so much!?’

"If this is considered fabricating, then Lusen News..."

President Zhou felt like he had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, unsure of what to do.

Lusen News was Lusen City’s official TV station. During their primetime broadcast last night, the anchor’s words had been far more sensational than his.

’If my toned-down version is considered fabricated, then theirs...’

"Wouldn’t that make them the biggest rumor-monger in Lusen City!?" President Zhou blurted out.

Chief Editor Qian also felt a lump in his throat.

Their past news reports were usually nine parts truth and one part fiction, with a little exaggeration. That was normal, a part of the "media personality’s charm," and no one ever questioned it.

But... this was the one time they hadn’t added a single drop of embellishment!

They’d even cut some details, thinking it was too over-the-top, and written a 100% true story... and this was the time they got called fake!

’Seriously, is there any justice in this world!?!’

"President, it’s mainly because the truth of the story has only circulated within Lusen City. People elsewhere don’t know about the case," Chief Editor Qian said, trying to comfort him.

"Plus, that lawyer... well, he is a bit exaggerated."

Forget the average netizen; if Chief Editor Qian himself hadn’t known about the case, he would have cursed out the "heartless reporter" too upon seeing such a story.

"Should we... take the article down now?" Chief Editor Qian asked.

Hearing this, President Zhou hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

To be honest, the newspaper was state-run, a part of the system, and he was a public servant.

For the online news site, page views didn’t count as a political achievement. Even if daily views were only in the dozens or hundreds, as long as the ideological direction was correct, it was fine.

But then again...

Page views weren’t a political achievement, but running the site well was a huge bonus, a form of "soft" political achievement!

His news wasn’t wrong, and the traffic was dozens of times higher than usual. It was a viral hit on the provincial network, had a real chance of winning an award, and represented a major political achievement!

But the comments were all negative...

Just as President Zhou was hesitating, in the midst of his thoughts, there was a BANG BANG at the office door.

"BANG BANG BANG!"

"President, something’s happened, something’s happened!"

Inside, the two executives were jolted from their thoughts. They quickly looked up at the main door.

"Come in," President Zhou said.

The next second, the door was pushed open from the outside.

"CREAK~"

A woman in her thirties, drenched in sweat, walked in. Seeing her like this, President Zhou’s heart skipped a beat.

"Director Zhao, what’s wrong? Why are you in such a rush?" President Zhou asked quickly.

The newcomer was none other than Director Zhao, head of the newspaper’s distribution department.

"Circulation, the circulation numbers..." Director Zhao was panting so hard she couldn’t speak properly.

"What about the circulation numbers?"

President Zhou frowned, his mind racing.

Their newspaper was a medium-to-large-scale operation. The morning edition’s daily circulation was around 100,000 copies.

The day before yesterday, after getting the news, they held a meeting and made a bold decision.

To print an extra 30,000 copies!

That means, for today’s morning edition alone, they distributed 130,000 copies!

It was a very bold decision. Newspapers were a tough sell; they were mostly ordered by companies and government units. Printing extra copies without pre-orders was a pure loss, and revenue was a political achievement metric. This was a very bold move indeed...

But...

"It’s not cancellations!"

Director Zhao was frantic, blurting it all out in a rush.

"They sold out! All 30,000 extra copies are completely sold out!"

"Now the small retailers, newsstand owners, and bookstore managers are calling to order more!"

As her words fell, bewildered expressions appeared on the faces of the two men, who exclaimed in unison.

"Sold out!?"

"Are you sure?"

Chief Editor Qian was incredulous. "That’s 30,000 copies! We printed nearly a third more than usual!"

Grabbing circulation numbers was tough, especially for the morning edition. Every 10,000-copy increase was a tangible benefit that could be added to one’s resume.

In fact, even the previous circulation of 100,000 was somewhat inflated.

Units like the police department and courts might order 50,000 copies, but in reality, maybe only ten thousand people, or even just a few thousand, would actually read them. In leaner times, the newspaper could only survive on subsidies.

So, gritting their teeth and printing an extra 30,000 copies for retail yesterday was a decision that had taken real guts!

"They really sold out!"

Director Zhao said, "As soon as the story broke last night, public opinion exploded this morning. People are buying it on every street corner!"

"An hour and a half after release, all 130,000 copies were bought. The vendors are calling frantically to order more!"

"We need to print at least another 40,000 copies!"

’Another 40,000 copies!?’

President Zhou’s eye twitched in shock.

In that case, the total increase for the day would be 70,000 copies. His usual daily circulation for the morning paper was only 100,000. Was it really going to see a two-thirds increase today!?

"Wait, at this hour, we don’t have any stock to give them!"

Chief Editor Qian was also getting anxious, and he looked at the president with a hint of exasperated disappointment.

By the time they printed another 40,000, it would be noon. There wasn’t enough time.

’It’s the president’s fault. Still not bold enough, too conservative!’

That was an extra 40,000 copies for the morning edition! The chance to increase the paper’s circulation by two-thirds was being wasted right before his eyes. He was so agitated he wanted to slap the table!

"The evening edition, there’s still the evening edition!"

Director Zhao said hurriedly.

Hearing this, President Zhou and Chief Editor Qian snapped back to reality.

Right, the evening edition was the main event, it sold even more than the morning one!

But...

"How many should we print?" Director Zhao asked.

The usual daily circulation for the evening paper was 160,000. For today...

President Zhou was silent for a long moment. Finally, clenching his jaw, he made a very bold decision.

"Add 100,000 to the evening edition’s print run!"

If 30,000 wasn’t enough to solve the problem... then he refused to believe they could sell through an extra 100,000 copies!

President Zhou was thrilled by his own bold decision.

"And don’t take down the provincial network report... our reporting is completely factual. On what grounds are they calling it fake news!"

...

...

「Meanwhile.」

7:40 AM.

Lusen City, at various street stalls.

"Professional ethics... Yes, this is real professional ethics!"

"I dare where others don’t, I step up where others won’t. Others wouldn’t dare, but I fought one against nine... Now that’s a lawyer!"

"Boss, two more steamers of buns. I’m going to sit here, read, and eat today..."

"This defendant is so damn lucky."

"..."

At that moment, Sun Hao was walking down the street, and every few hundred meters, he’d hear comments like these.

Sun Hao’s breathing quickened. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his palms grew damp.

He forced himself to walk down the street.

Ever since he figured out why Chen Wei had beaten him up, Sun Hao had been pretending to be sick for the past two days.

He couldn’t help it. He was afraid Xu De would report what he’d done, and when that happened, he’d be in for a world of hurt!

He’d thought he could just wait until the other guy’s case was over—perhaps with an unfavorable outcome—and then come back unscathed, but...

He never in a million years expected the guy to win an acquittal!

Criminal case, homicide, a clear-cut murder, acquittal...

Sun Hao could wrack his brain all day and still not figure out how those things could possibly go together!

But, what he could figure out was...

’It’s over, it’s over...’

Sun Hao swallowed hard. The closer he got to the law firm, the more his heart burned with anxiety.

He had already received news of Xu De leaving the firm. Now, at this critical juncture, he was being summoned back to the office by Director Han...

He didn’t need to think to know what was waiting for him!

After all, Director Han had lost such a talent for no good reason. Logically, Director Han should have felt a debt of gratitude for discovering Xu De’s talent, and the two would have certainly become close allies in the future.

But after his little stunt...

Forget strategic partners.

If Xu De didn’t hold a grudge and didn’t try to backstab Director Han, it would be a testament to his magnanimity!

Given such a huge disparity, what would Director Han be thinking, and what would he do...

"GULP~"

Sun Hao stared blankly, swallowing hard. Before he knew it, he had arrived at the law firm’s main entrance.

He was trembling, his body felt weak, and his breathing was shallow. The door he had pushed open countless times now seemed to radiate an oppressive aura.

But there was no escaping what was coming.

He took a deep breath, braced himself, and pushed the door open.

"CREAK~"

The door opened.

Sun Hao walked into Jinmao Law Firm, and the very instant he stepped inside...

He noticed a large shadow looming before him in the main hall.

Bracing himself, Sun Hao looked up, only to see a dark mass of figures standing silently in the hall...

Head of the Civil Division Jin He, Head of the Criminal Division Zhang Youguo, Head of the Economic Division Wang Cai, Deputy Director of the Firm Sha Jian, Special Counsel Zhao Jiaqi...

The firm’s equity partners: Gold Medal Lawyer Wang Guowei, Gold Medal Lawyer Cui Yong, Gold Medal Lawyer Tu Yan...

It was a lineup of people you would rarely see on a normal day—the firm’s core, its highest-level members, all gathered in the main hall!

Suddenly, everyone turned their heads in unison. Icy gazes, wrapped in a bone-chilling pressure, layered over him one by one. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy, suffocating.

Each stare was like a mountain pressing down on Sun Hao, leaving him unable to breathe.

From the crowd, Director Han’s face was dark as he stared daggers at him.

"You’re here?"

The next second, he tossed the object in his hand toward Sun Hao.

"THWACK!"

A ledger fell in front of him.

Sun Hao looked down and saw it was a ledger... a ledger showing that in three months, Xu De had taken on a grand total of three consultations and one case, for a combined total of 3,700 yuan!

Suppressing his rage, Director Han stared coldly at Sun Hao and said:

"Explain this."

Abruptly, cold sweat soaked through Sun Hao’s back. His face turned deathly pale, and his hands and feet went ice-cold, as if he’d been plunged into a frozen cavern.

’It’s... it’s over.’