Chapter Sixty-One: Liu Ze Loses His Temper

Along the First Ring Road in Rongcheng, nestled beside the banks of the Yun River, lies the most bustling district in the city. Standing tall by the river is a thirty-story skyscraper known as the Tengfei Tower. Indeed, this is the new headquarters of the Tengfei Group, a building that took two years to construct and was only occupied by the company this past New Year’s Day.

On the 17th floor, within the office of the chairman of Tengfei Network Technology Co., Ltd., sits Liu Ze, a quintessential rich second-generation heir.

Chomping on a thick cigar, Liu Ze gestured to a middle-aged man in his thirties standing before him. "Liu Ming, any movement from Huanyu Software?"

Ever since his failed attempt to intimidate Zhou Xuan and Deng Cheng yesterday, Liu Ze had been obsessing over where he might have gone wrong. After bribing three individuals to copy the "Huanyu Internet Cafe Management System," he had spent the night having his people modify the software, replacing the logo with Tengfei’s own, before recruiting a team to begin promoting it in places like Yangcheng. To date, they had installed over a hundred sets, generating more than 300,000 yuan in revenue.

Although the Tengfei Group was a massive enterprise and Liu Ze never lacked money, he had never imagined that making it could be this easy. A single system installation fetched 3,000 yuan, and owners of internet cafes and computer rooms were practically clamoring to buy it. It was madness. Having never earned his own keep, Liu Ze had discovered in the past half-month that he was, in fact, a business prodigy.

Even Liu Teng, his father, was speechless with astonishment when he heard that Liu Ze had made over 300,000 yuan in two weeks. In his eyes, Liu Ze, who had only ever known how to fight and cause trouble since childhood, had undergone a complete transformation. Upon learning that Liu Ze was playing in the internet sector and selling high-tech software, he was overjoyed. He immediately granted Liu Ze several hundred square meters of office space on the 17th floor of the Tengfei Tower for his company. To Liu Ze, such support was incredibly empowering.

"Zhou Xuan went straight to the company from Deng Ting’an’s house this morning and held an employee meeting," the middle-aged man, Liu Ming, said cautiously. "At the meeting, he announced that Huanyu Software is immediately expanding nationwide, aiming to push their software across all of China. They intend to capture the majority of the internet cafe management market within six months."

Hearing of their national expansion, Liu Ze immediately retorted, "If they want to go national, then so do we. You need to make arrangements. Our Tengfei Internet Cafe Management System must also be pushed nationwide. Do it immediately."

"Ah, push it nationwide so soon? But our promotional team isn’t fully staffed yet. If we send them out now, I’m afraid there might be issues." Liu Ming had just taken over the promotional work, and the staff were recent recruits—many of whom were former street thugs who used to hang around with Liu Ze.

These men lacked other skills, though they were certainly fast at "promoting." Or rather, it was less about promotion and more about showing up with fists clenched; if a cafe owner dared to refuse the system, it became a question of whether they could even keep their business running. In Liu Ming’s view, if they were to expand to other cities, they needed genuine professionals. The current crew was arrogant in Yangcheng, but if they behaved like that elsewhere, the results would surely be severely diminished.

Liu Ze’s expression darkened. "Aren't they doing a fine job now? Just send them out. I refuse to believe that any cafe owner wouldn't want such a great product. We must seize the market now while there isn't much competition. That’s it. You must send the teams out early to beat Huanyu to the market. Let Zhou Xuan and Deng Cheng eat our dust."

Seeing Liu Ze’s anger, Liu Ming nodded quickly, agreeing to dispatch the teams across the country by the next day.

"By the way, have you found the computer expert I asked for?" Liu Ze was still uneasy about the copied management system. He wanted a master to crack the software’s code. Changing the logo was all they had done, and the fact that the rest was identical to the Huanyu system irritated him. He knew that given Huanyu’s capabilities, they would inevitably upgrade their product, and if his side remained stagnant, the Tengfei system would lose its competitive edge.

Liu Ming’s face fell. He whispered, "The computer industry is still in its infancy, and since Rongcheng is located in the west, such talent is genuinely hard to find. Since you insisted on an expert, we haven't found anyone yet."

"Bang!" Liu Ze slammed his hand on the desk. "If you can't find one in Rongcheng, go look in Shanghai or Zhuzhou! If you don't bring me someone to crack this system by the end of the month, see how I deal with you."

"Yes! Yes! I will find one!" Liu Ming was terrified and agreed repeatedly.

Zhou Xuan was unaware that Liu Ze was plotting to crack his software. Even if he had known, he would have only mocked Liu Ze’s overestimation of his own abilities. Although Zhou Xuan hadn't included a serial number registration feature at the start, he had invested significant effort into the software’s security. He had implemented multiple layers of anti-cracking and anti-decompilation measures; given the current level of computer science in China, it was virtually impossible for anyone to break.

That evening, Zhou Xuan hosted a dinner for Deng Cheng and Wang Ximing at the Qiushui Hotel. The three of them chatted for a while. Having met with Brother Wang, Zhou Xuan surmised that Wang Ximing was unaware of the previous night’s events, so he kept quiet about it.

"Zhou Xuan, I only just found out about the situation with Liu Ze," Wang Ximing said with genuine concern. "I didn’t expect him to be so arrogant. I gave him a warning last time, yet he still dared to do this. Should we tell Brother Jiang? He cares for you a great deal. Besides, the three of us hold shares in Huanyu Software; reasonably and emotionally, we should do something."

Zhou Xuan declined with a smile. "Brother Wang, Deng Cheng and I have already devised a way to handle Liu Ze. We’ll make him pay dearly this time and give him a lesson he’ll never forget. You and Brother Jiang are in the civil service; it wouldn't be appropriate for you to get involved. Besides, you know how rampant piracy is in China—it’s impossible to stop entirely."

"Very well. But if you need anything, just say the word. We will help if we can." Seeing Zhou Xuan’s resolve, Wang Ximing pressed no further.

"Brother Wang, don't worry. This time, we’ll make sure Liu Ze takes a massive fall," Deng Cheng said with a grin, recalling Zhou Xuan’s plan.

Zhou Xuan also smiled, thinking of the next steps. "Brother Deng, remember to send a few clever people to Yangcheng to monitor the situation. As soon as we make our move, they need to act immediately. Make sure to choose high-quality cameras and recorders—I need the footage to be crystal clear."

"Haha, don't worry. I’ll buy the best equipment. I’ll make sure Liu Ze’s sinister face is exposed for all the world to see." Thinking of the blow they were about to deal to Liu Ze, Deng Cheng was particularly motivated.