Chapter 83: Invade the Company?
Chapter 83: Invade the Company?
Watching Cook’s car drive off, Zhao Min had a dark expression on her face.
She and Cook were both veterans in the business world. From Cook’s earlier words, she could pick up a lot of information.
“Invited”? Just these two words were clearly Cook’s way of suggesting that Legion Ant Company had actively asked him to come, not the other way around.
“More cooperation” also felt a bit off, though normally it might just sound like a polite remark with nothing wrong. Staring deeply in the direction Cook left, Zhao Min declined interviews from the reporters and hurried back to the company.
That very evening, Cook boldly appeared at Binhai City’s airport, heading for the Capital. This trip was completely open and unmasked — he was going to the Capital, specifically Apple’s research center there, and publicly announced plans to increase Apple’s investment in Huaxia.
Online, the brief video clip of Cook’s final interview quickly spread like wildfire. Rumors swiftly followed.
“Legion Ant Company invited Apple to cooperate?”
“The real reason Cook came to Huaxia!”
“Why is Legion Ant trying to win over Apple?”
“Did Apple and Legion Ant reach an agreement? Is the Smart Assistant their peace offering?”
…
Though brief, Cook’s statement upon leaving Legion Ant Company revealed a lot.
Cook’s trip to Huaxia was a quiet invite from Legion Ant Company. Apple and Legion Ant Company had already teamed up, meaning future chances to work together were bound to increase.
Once the news broke online, the usual critics quickly emerged. This time, their attacks seemed solid and well-reasoned.
Though this “reason” was mainly media guessing running wild based on Cook’s very limited words.
With so many phone companies right at home to team up with, who would’ve thought Legion Ant Company would turn to Apple.
Netizens who had no clue about the real story soon kicked off another wave of online attacks.
“Giving in to Apple so soon? Bowing to the tech giants now? Legion Ant sure has no backbone.”
“Was just about to buy a Butterfly Eye. Now I’m feeling kind of sick to my stomach.”
“Trash. Shame on Legion Ant.”
…
The wave of hate online quickly turned wild and noisy because of these news reports.
Having rocketed to the top in China within just six months, and without any plans to sell shares or get outside money, Legion Ant Company made plenty of others jealous. The smallest sign of trouble became a green light for groups to fight back, hoping to pull down this giant and feast when it fell.
In no time, haters and paid posters flooded Legion Ant Company’s official Weibo account, covering it in hate. Anyone trying to defend the company got instantly called out as a paid supporter.
In her office, Zhao Min felt off. She knew Cook’s polite talk was bad news at the time but hadn’t argued right then, especially with him gone.
Who knew the media would blow it up just by picking apart his words? And that brought out attackers.
Cook had set a small trap for Legion Ant Company just before leaving. What nobody saw coming was how media kept digging and widening that trap. Hidden forces pushed the chaos, turning it into a full-blown headache for Legion Ant.
Just as Zhao Min wondered how to respond, her desk phone rang. “General Manager Zhao,” came her assistant’s voice. “Someone from Apple is on the line.”
“Put them through,” Zhao Min replied.
A deep, firm male voice sounded the moment the call connected. “Ms. Zhao, Mr. Cook has asked me to pass along his apologies. His slip of the tongue put your company in this tough spot.”
Zhao Min’s face hardened. This weak, superficial sorry felt like getting a hidden blow — something she had to swallow quietly but painfully.
By all accounts, Cook wasn’t strictly to blame. Yet Zhao Min knew this was no accident. Cook normally didn’t even give reporters his time.
“It’s fine,” she forced out coolly. “Send my regards to Mr. Cook.”
After hanging up, she dialed Li Lingfeng.
“Lingfeng, get PR to clear things up. State clearly: Our company has absolutely not formed a partnership with Apple. Then help our legal team gather proof of libel — especially targeting those big-name ‘experts.’ We’re suing them.”
Zhao Min felt tired every time; one hint of trouble always brought waves of haters out of the woodwork. Even worse? Those self-proclaimed big-name online “public voices” jumped in just to cause a stir.
These loud so-called public voices twisted good news into bad, threw insults around for attention, and spewed venom at anything that happened — definitely not missing a chance to sow chaos.
Without a real lesson, they’d never learn. They kept popping back up to make things worse because their kind just didn’t get what “ethics” even meant.
Facing the flood of hate online, Legion Ant’s official Weibo released a short statement:
“Legion Ant Company has not formed any cooperative agreement with Apple Inc. We urge the media to honor their integrity, to not follow gossip blindly, and not echo rumors. Time uncovers truth everywhere. To conclude: We are gathering evidence for all rumors and false statements. Any company or individual caught defaming Legion Ant Company should brace for legal papers.”
Legion Ant’s rapid and aggressive reply sent shockwaves everywhere. Constantly under fire without hitting back showed they’d clearly had enough.
“Spectators here for the show. Pass the popcorn!”
“I feel bad for the bullies — but only for a second. Karma! LOL.”
“These are eating machines you just messed with. Move over, honey badgers. These ants will bite!”
“Weren’t they staring down that lawsuit pile and troll mob last round? Nobody learned? Wounds heal, pains fade. Guess who forgot these ants bite too?”
…
The announcement made most authors behind the attacking articles pull their stuff offline immediately. Many panicked, terrified of becoming targets. Lots regretted bad-mouthing Legion Ant. The hit from fines over Legion Ant’s damaged reputation would empty wallets everywhere.
Media accounts and individuals who’d built posts on lies against Legion Ant started deleting the fake news — some even apologized — claiming ignorance and misplaced trust in misinformation.
“Major ‘public voice’ online expert just erased their tweets AND apologized (eye roll emoji)!”
“Joke time: Big-name experts! Hit like if this made you laugh too.”
“These so-called big names? They’re just noisy attention-seekers. Pay them to thrive on blackening names. Only problem? They picked the wrong metal to kick this round.”
A wave of mocking flooded Legion Ant’s Weibo posts. The experts’ forced apologies just made the laughs louder.
While parties exploded online, Chen Mo sat back in his chair, playing with his chin. Onscreen flickered video from Cook leaving Legion Ant territory moments earlier.
It stunned him too: one tiny phrase from Cook, a trap perfectly sprung.
Chen Mo knew Cook understood perfectly — countless stealthy wolves in Huaxia were watching Legion Ant, hungry for any opening. That explained the chesslike move. Cook threw a trick their way to stir up trouble — followed by an empty apology that dodged every bit of blame. They couldn’t even get angry at him openly.
But would Legion Ant let a strike like that slide? Cook crossed them here. He couldn’t just vanish with that trap laid and walk free.
“Ink Girl,” Chen Mo commanded.
At that, Ink Girl’s giddy young-robot voice crackled over his computer: “Brother Mo, Ink Girl reporting.”
“Is yesterday’s recording between Zhao Min and Cook still there?”
“Yes,” Ink Girl replied.
“Using the skillset of a Hacker,” Chen Mo ordered exactly, “attack from outside into our company’s servers. Then assume control… over every device companywide.”
“On it, Brother Mo,” Ink Girl replied quickly.
Without pause, she executed command as given. Questions weren’t hers by design; if Chen Mo gave an order? She followed it unconditionally.