50: Chapter 50: Layoffs Hit the Lifeline – A Reality

In the interrogation room of the Police Station, Lawyer Wang pushed a stack of evidence across the table: "Officer, these are the recordings of Zhang Fan's communications with Blue Whale Games, the on-site video of the bug fix, and our call records with Alan. They are sufficient to prove that my client provided technical services legally and did not commit malicious damage."

As the police officer flipped through the records, two other lawyers from the Gu Corporation legal team were communicating with the leader on duty. Their tone was calm but carried an indisputable confidence.

Half an hour later, after Zhang Fan finished signing the statement and walked out of the Police Station, the sunlight happened to fall on his shoulders.

"Leave the rest to us." Lawyer Wang handed him a document. "The lawyer's letter has been sent, demanding Blue Whale pay the 2.5 million debt and a 1% daily penalty for breach of contract. If they refuse to comply, we will apply for compulsory enforcement."

Zhang Fan took the document, his fingertips brushing over the words 'Blue Whale Games Co., Ltd.', and suddenly felt a bit dazed.

Just a month ago, he was still pulling all-nighters coding in a cubicle at this company, losing sleep over projects that Chang Yuan had snatched away.

And now, this giant he once looked up to had become a lamb to be slaughtered.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"It's what we should do." Lawyer Wang smiled. "CEO Tang said that once your studio is on the right track, you should find some time to have a meal together."

After seeing off the lawyer, Gu Jingshen's car was parked by the roadside. He rolled down the window and shouted, "Fan Zi! Over here!"

"How was it? No criminal record, right?" As soon as Zhang Fan sat in the passenger seat, Gu Jingshen leaned over to look him over. "My mom said if it didn't work out, she'd have Uncle Li from the Municipal Bureau look into it."

"Don't worry, the innocent remain clean." Zhang Fan buckled his seatbelt. "As for Blue Whale, they're probably finished."

"They should have been finished long ago." Gu Jingshen started the car. "I just saw the news; their stock price hit the limit down again. It's only 17 yuan per share now, and half of their market value has evaporated."

Zhang Fan didn't speak; he took out his phone and clicked on the financial news.

The headlines of the financial news were shocking—'Blue Whale Games Data Collapses, Market Value Evaporates by Billions,' 'Players Collectively Defend Their Rights, Blue Whale Responds Claiming Technical Failure.'

In the comments section, angry players flooded the screen demanding refunds, and cancellation notices from partner platforms flew in like snowflakes.

In the afternoon, at the Singularity Technology studio.

"Kudo Shinichi is hospitalized." Gu Jingshen was scrolling through his phone. "Heard he was so angry his high blood pressure flared up, and he was sent straight to the ICU."

Zhang Fan picked up a cola from the table and pulled the tab; bubbles hissed out.

He thought of the man he had only seen in financial magazines—Blue Whale Chairman Kudo Shinichi. He had made his fortune in the publishing industry in his early years, later invested across industries into gaming, and single-handedly built Blue Whale from obscurity into a listed company. He never expected to be ruined by his own people in the end.

Three days later, news of Blue Whale Games exploded on the internet again.

Kudo Shinichi came out of the ICU and chaired an emergency board meeting in a wheelchair.

Once the investigation results were announced, the entire industry was in an uproar.

It turned out that after the player data was lost, Kudo Shinichi had ordered a thorough investigation.

After the investigation, Kudo Shinichi learned that Alan and Wei Xiang had played dumb after Zhang Fan fixed the system, stubbornly delaying the payment of the repair fee, which sowed the seeds of disaster.

Chang Yuan was even more of a bastard; not only did he delete the backup key Zhang Fan left, but he also thought he was clever by 'optimizing' a few lines of core code, turning the system into a complete mess.

What shocked him even more was that Zhang Fan was originally an old employee of Blue Whale, and the foundation of 'Cangqiong' was the 'star path' project he had designed.

Chang Yuan had not only claimed credit for his work but also stolen his girlfriend. Finally, in league with the HR manager Zhou Xu, he had used 'absenteeism' as a pretext to illegally kick him out.

"Baka yaro! Isn't this what they call 'laying off the lifeblood' in those short videos? It's literally playing out right here with me!" Kudo Shinichi's vision went dark, and he spat a mouthful of '82 vintage blood onto the documents, staining the four gold-embossed words 'Blue Whale Games' red.

The disciplinary actions came fast and hard: Alan, Wei Xiang, Chang Yuan, Gu Feifei, and Zhou Xu were fired on the spot. The company reserved the right to pursue legal responsibility and sought 120 million in compensation from the five of them to cover player losses and damage to the company's reputation.

Once the news broke, their names became the laughingstock of the industry.

On recruitment websites, their resumes were marked as 'high-risk personnel' as soon as they were posted. Former fair-weather friends who used to call them brothers now avoided them whenever they met.

Someone on a gaming forum leaked that Chang Yuan went to interview for a technical director position at a small company. The HR manager threw his resume away as soon as they saw his name and mocked him for 'not even being able to handle his own code.'

Zhang Fan's WeChat was flooded with messages from alumni and colleague groups.

"Fan Zi, did you hear about the Blue Whale thing? It's so satisfying!"

"Chang Yuan got beaten up; he was cornered and thrashed by a few people at the wet market. Gu Feifei suffered too; her face was all scratched up."

"I thought it was a pity about your project back then. Now you've finally been vindicated!"

Someone sent a photo—a surveillance screenshot from the wet market. Chang Yuan was pinned to the ground by several burly men, and Gu Feifei was screaming as she tried to pull them off, only to be grabbed by the hair by an older woman, with several clear bloody scratches on her face.

Zhang Fan took a sip of cola, the bubbles bursting on the tip of his tongue with a slightly numbing sting.

He remembered when he was in the hospital, Chang Yuan stood by the bed and said condescendingly: "Fine, you've got guts! But kid, I hope you can still be this stubborn after society teaches you a lesson."

At that time, Chang Yuan was dressed in a suit, his eyes full of contempt, as if crushing him was like crushing an ant.

And now, this person was in a corner of a wet market, beaten so badly he couldn't fight back.

Zhang Fan closed the photo. His thumb paused on the screen before finally turning it off. His Adam's apple bobbed; the sweetness of the cola still clung to his tongue, but he didn't feel any sense of exhilaration.

Karma? Perhaps. He had indeed watched his enemies fall into the mud, falling harder than anyone else.

But for some reason, looking at the clouds drifting past the window, he suddenly let out a low laugh, his voice as soft as a sigh: "Chang Yuan, I still preferred the way he looked when he was arrogant and unyielding."

That afternoon, Lawyer Wang called, his tone steady as ever: "Zhang Fan, the debt and penalty from Blue Whale have all been recovered, totaling 2.75 million. As previously agreed, our Gu Corporation legal team will charge a 5% service fee based on the amount. This is the standard industry rate and a friendly price for you. After deducting the service fee of 137,500, the remaining 2,612,500 has just been transferred to your account. Please check it."

"Got it, thank you, Lawyer Wang."

"Also, Kudo Shinichi sent word through someone that he wants to meet you to apologize."

Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment. "No need."

He had no lingering feelings for Blue Whale, let alone any desire to be associated with that crumbling empire.

After hanging up, he looked out the window. Zhou Yurou walked in carrying a thermal container, still bringing in the chill from outside. "I just went to buy some fruit for you. I heard you got the money back?"

"Yeah." Zhang Fan took the thermal container, which contained steaming hot pork rib soup. "Want to have dinner together tonight?"

"Sure." Zhou Yurou smiled and helped him organize the documents on the table. "By the way, has the recruitment notice for the studio been sent out? I see you've been so busy lately you don't even have time to eat."

"It's out. I've received quite a few resumes and I'm planning to screen them."

"Want me to help you take a look?" Zhou Yurou picked up the mouse. "I used to be in charge of recruitment at the company too."

Zhang Fan looked at her serious profile, the sunlight shining through the window onto the tips of her hair, gilding them with gold. He suddenly felt that all the grievances regarding Blue Whale, the bitterness and resentment, had vanished at this moment.

Whether it was Chang Yuan or Alan, their end was of their own making. As for him, he had stepped out of the shadows of the past, had a new career, a new life, and someone he wanted to cherish.