Chapter Nine: Legendary Figures of the Post-Internet Era

"You want to protect him? Hahaha! Who do you think you are?" The leader burst out laughing the moment he saw Zhou Xuan ignore them and, with a superior air, declare that he would protect Wei Lian. The others joined in, mocking Zhou Xuan for overestimating himself.

"Oh, just a bunch of students like you? Is this really your business?"

"Don’t be fooled by their numbers—eight or nine of them? I alone could lay them all out flat."

"Studying must have made you stupid, huh?"

Zhou Xuan remained indifferent to their ridicule, regarding them as little more than ants. Ever since he began practicing the Minor Celestial Breathing Technique and the Ancient Fist, his physical strength had increased dramatically. Now, even if he faced a special forces soldier, he was confident he could win. These petty thugs were nothing—he could take them all down with one hand behind his back.

With a look of disdain, Zhou Xuan stepped forward and smiled. "I said, I’m protecting him. You can leave now! Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to walk away."

"You’ve got guts, meddling in our boss’s affairs. Tired of living, are you? Get him! Break both his legs and show him what happens to busybodies!"

The leading thug, seeing Zhou Xuan’s arrogance and his refusal to back down, felt his authority slipping away in front of his men. With a wave of his hand, he led three of his cronies in a charge.

"I’ll show you why the flowers are so red!"

Wei Lian was about to say something, but Zhou Xuan pulled him behind and whispered, "Don’t worry. Five seconds."

"Five seconds?" Wei Lian was about to ask what he meant, but what happened next left him speechless.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Like lightning, Zhou Xuan struck out. In just a few swift moves, he had floored all four thugs, leaving them writhing in pain, unable to get up.

Nearby, Zhou Lin, Liu Yixue, and the others were startled and had been about to rush in to help. But before they could react, all they heard were a few screams, and the thugs were already collapsing to the ground.

"You! You! Who on earth are you?" The leader, now terrified by Zhou Xuan’s strength, stammered in shock.

Zhou Xuan turned with effortless poise and replied coolly, "I’m your worst nightmare. From now on, don’t you dare trouble Wei Lian again, or you’ll regret it."

With that, he glanced at the others’ astonished faces and smiled. "We’ve more or less finished eating. Let’s go. Yixue, you all head home first. I have something to discuss with Wei here."

After settling the bill, Zhou Xuan led the group away. Once they parted ways, Wei Lian followed Zhou Xuan to a small teahouse, still dazed and confused about all that had happened.

After ordering two cups of tea, Zhou Xuan finally looked closely at the man sitting across from him, inwardly delighted. He had actually encountered Wei Lian, the legendary figure of the post-Internet era—a stroke of incredible luck.

Wei Lian, a native of Rongzhou in S Province and a graduate student at Rongcheng University of Science and Technology, suffered a family tragedy when his family’s company was sabotaged through underhanded business dealings. With insufficient evidence to fight back, the company went bankrupt. His father jumped to his death, his mother fell ill and, lacking money for treatment, passed away in 2002. Later, Wei Lian seized an opportunity to take revenge on the tycoon responsible for his family’s ruin, leaving the man in a vegetative state and earning a 25-year prison sentence.

Yet, during his time in prison, Wei Lian continued to study computer science and, thanks to good behavior, was released early after nineteen years. Though nearly fifty by then, his ambition remained unshaken. He founded a company.

In the following two decades, China’s Internet industry surged, and the BAT trio—Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent—came to dominate the market. Wei Lian had witnessed the Internet’s early days and, twenty years later, saw the era of the three giants. Countless companies tried to break their monopoly, but all failed.

But Wei Lian brought forth the fruit of fifteen years’ research in prison—the Wei Super Algorithm, a revolutionary creation that would open new frontiers for the Internet.

Incredibly, Wei Lian had spent fifteen years independently overturning existing computer algorithms, creating a radically different new system. Its greatest strength was compression—unbelievably efficient compression. It could reduce a file from 1GB to just 1MB, effectively solving the problem of slow Internet speeds. Especially in places without WiFi, using this algorithm made communication more convenient and drastically reduced data costs.

The Wei Super Algorithm found widespread application in video storage, dynamic algorithms, video compression, shopping traces, banking and surveillance footage, H5 video retrieval, and more. Wei Lian went on to found Guardian Technology. Each of the three major telecom operators invested one billion yuan for a ten percent stake. Within a year, the company soared to global fame.

In just twelve months, Guardian Technology became a super enterprise rivaling the BAT trio, with a valuation exceeding $20 billion. Wei Lian, though already fifty-two, became a legend of the post-Internet era.

Zhou Xuan deeply admired Wei Lian. Despite spending over a decade in prison, he never gave in to despair, but instead delved into technology, ultimately stunning the world with his achievements. His story was even more moving and inspiring than The Shawshank Redemption.

The moment Zhou Xuan heard Wei Lian’s name, memories of his legendary tale came flooding back to him. Born into a happy family and a prestigious university graduate student, Wei Lian should have enjoyed a smooth, happy life. Yet, ruthless competition drove his father to suicide, his mother to illness, and he himself to a desperate act of revenge. In prison, he quietly gathered his strength, and after years of hardship, finally rose from the ashes, dazzling the world.

Zhou Xuan hadn’t expected that a casual inquiry would reveal this man was indeed Wei Lian, bringing him boundless joy. Zhou Xuan recognized Wei Lian’s genius, though he knew that without the grueling years in prison, Wei Lian would not have created the Super Algorithm.

But Zhou Xuan was not concerned. In this era, even without the Super Algorithm, as long as he seized the opportunity, becoming one of the BAT giants would not be impossible.

Zhou Xuan was determined to win Wei Lian over. As for Wei Lian’s current troubles, Zhou Xuan had plenty of ways to help him.

"Hello, I’m Zhou Xuan. It’s a pleasure to meet you," Zhou Xuan said with a smile.

Wei Lian looked puzzled. "How do you know me? And why are you helping me? Those people aren’t to be trifled with. They not only drove my father to suicide, but now my family owes them over two hundred thousand."

Zhou Xuan replied, "A friend once mentioned you in passing. He said you were studying at Rongcheng University of Science and Technology, had excellent grades, were very skilled with computers, and had invented a lot of gadgets yourself. But I never expected to meet you under such circumstances—it must be fate."

"Thank you for saving me, but you should know those people are dangerous. You must be careful," Wei Lian said gratefully, though worried that the thugs might come after Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan shook his head. "Don’t worry. Since I’ve helped you, I’m not afraid of them."

"Thank you! If there’s something you want, just say it," Wei Lian said, a shrewd man who knew Zhou Xuan wouldn’t help for nothing.

"It’s nothing. We’ll talk about that later, after your troubles are fully resolved," Zhou Xuan replied.