75: Chapter 75 The Fu Family Takes Action to Cut Off the Source of the Problem

Early autumn in Jiangcheng was always wrapped in a damp, cold wind, but the Technology Department of Singularity Technology felt like a steamer.

Liu Ruyan stared at the monitoring screen, her fingertips tapping rapidly on the keyboard, sweat sliding down her temples along her cheeks: "This isn't right! The response latency for the East China server suddenly jumped to 800ms, and players in the North China region are reporting 'connection failed'. The load hasn't been exceeded, so how can this be?"

Wang Chengsi abruptly pulled up the supplier's backend, and a red notification popped up on the screen: "It's a supply cut! The supplier sent a termination notice, stating, 'Following superior orders, we are ceasing bandwidth and server support for Singularity Technology effective immediately'!"

"The Fu Family did this!" Gu Jingshen gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He knew Fu Zhenhai's methods all too well; the last time spreading rumors didn't work, so this time they were striking directly at the foundation, wanting to force star path: reboot to shut down completely.

Zhou Yurou immediately dialed the supplier's manager, but there was only a mechanical busy signal in the receiver.

She tried contacting backup suppliers again, but the other party stammered: "Manager Zhou, it's not that we don't want to cooperate, but the Fu Family has put the word out: whoever dares to work with Singularity will have their capital chain cut... We're a small company, we really can't handle that."

The office instantly fell into a deathly silence.

star path: reboot's test version had been online for ten days, with cumulative registered players exceeding 1.2 million and nearly 100,000 daily active users. Once the servers shut down, not only would the players leave en masse, but the previously accumulated reputation and the cooperation with Liwen Group would all go down the drain.

Zhang Fan watched the "request for explanation" bullet comments constantly refreshing on the screen, feeling like a heavy stone was pressing on his heart—the Fu Family's move was ruthless.

"I'll try asking my mother." Gu Jingshen suddenly spoke, his fingers hesitating on the phone screen for a few seconds before finally dialing his stepmother Tang Wanqing's number.

"Hello, Mom." Gu Jingshen's voice carried a hint of imperceptible urgency, "Singularity is being forced into a server supply cut by the Fu Family. Gu Corporation works with many enterprises; could you help me contact a cloud service provider? You don't need to directly allocate resources, just make an introduction so we can discuss a partnership."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Tang Wanqing's voice came through, still with her customary efficiency: "The Fu Family has recently been competing with Gu Corporation for commercial land in the east of the city, so this matter is a bit sensitive. However, since you've asked, I will have my assistant contact 'Yunqi Technology' in the south. They have no ties to the Fu Family, and since Gu Corporation helped them acquire land last year, they should be willing to grant a favor."

After hanging up, Gu Jingshen breathed a sigh of relief: "My mother said Yunqi Technology is willing to connect with us. Their technical director will call in half an hour to discuss temporary bandwidth."

Half an hour later, Yunqi Technology indeed brought good news—they were willing to first provide temporary bandwidth for the East China and North China regions to hold out for three days, but long-term cooperation would require a face-to-face meeting, and the price would be 15% higher than the market rate.

"Holding out for three days is enough." Zhou Yurou immediately arranged, "Jingshen, you fly to Shenzhen tomorrow to discuss long-term cooperation with Yunqi; I'll stay in Jiangcheng to connect with other backup suppliers, working on both fronts."

But everyone knew this was just a stopgap measure. The Fu Family's influence in the north was deep-rooted; Yunqi Technology's willingness to help was mostly out of respect for Gu Corporation, and once the Fu Family applied pressure, the cooperation could fall through at any time.

The "Jiangcheng Digital Entertainment Summit" three days later became the flashpoint for the conflict between both sides.

In the hall of the convention center, surrounded by the scent of luxury and elegance, industry bigwigs, investors, and media reporters gathered. Just as Zhang Fan and Zhou Yurou walked into the venue, they ran into Fu Zhenhai leading Fu Chengyu walking towards them.

"Manager Zhang, how have you been?" Fu Zhenhai smiled without warmth, his eyes full of contempt, "I heard your servers are about to give out? Why don't you beg me? Maybe I can still let the suppliers leave you a way out."

"No need." Zhang Fan said calmly, "Singularity's path is one we will walk ourselves, so don't bother yourself with it, President Fu."

Fu Chengyu sneered from the side: "Walk it yourselves? I think you're at a dead end! Once we cut off all your cooperation, let's see how you can establish a foothold in Jiangcheng!"

Zhou Yurou tugged at Zhang Fan's arm, signaling him not to get entangled with them. But the Fu Family's provocation had only just begun.

At the roundtable forum after the opening ceremony, Fu Zhenhai spoke as a special guest, his words targeting Singularity throughout: "Nowadays, some so-called 'startups' dare to call themselves 'new industry forces' by relying on plagiarized ideas and hype-driven popularity. But they forget that without a background or resources, they are like rootless weeds that fall with the slightest breeze and will sooner or later be eliminated by the market."

He suddenly raised his hand, pointing at Zhang Fan in the audience, his voice rising sharply, and the eyes of the whole room instantly focused on him: "For example, some 'stray dog'-like teams that rely on stealing Blue Whale's projects, rebranding them, deceiving players and investors, and even daring to challenge the Fu Family! I'll say it here today—as long as I, Fu, am in Jiangcheng for one day, I will never let such a 'thief company' continue to survive!"

"President Fu, please watch your language!" Zhou Yurou stood up abruptly, her tone filled with anger, "star path: reboot is an original project we developed independently, and we have a complete chain of evidence to prove it. You keep spouting 'thief' and 'stray dog', which is an insult to us and an insult to the spirit of originality in the entire industry!"

Fu Zhenhai scoffed: "Chain of evidence? It's nothing but a play you directed and acted yourselves! Without a background, don't even think about making it in Jiangcheng. If you're smart, dissolve the company early, lest you end up losing everything down to your last pair of underwear!"

Just then, Zhang Fan slowly walked onto the stage and took the microphone from the host.

He didn't rush to refute, but instead pulled up the operating data on his phone and projected it onto the big screen: "President Fu says we are 'stray dogs', but Singularity Technology has been established for half a year without relying on any background; we rely on the team's hard work—star path: reboot's test version has been online for ten days, with 1.2 million cumulative registered players, a 78% retention rate, and a TapTap rating of 9.1. These figures are the players' recognition of our originality, not something that can be gained by 'hype'."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the audience, his tone firm: "President Fu says 'you can't survive without a background', but I believe that what the industry needs is not 'giants' that rely on background monopolies, but 'creators' who move players with technology and creativity. Singularity may not have the Fu Family's resources, but we have a technical team willing to stay up late writing code, an art team willing to polish details repeatedly, and players who support us—these are our 'background', and they are more solid than any capital."

Fu Zhenhai's face turned liver-colored, and he slammed the table and roared: "How dare you! Are you even qualified to talk to me about the 'industry'? I'm telling you, as long as I, Fu Zhenhai, am in Jiangcheng for one day, I will never let a 'disruptor' like Singularity Technology exist! Within a month, I will make it so you can't even rent a server, and I will make your star path disappear completely!"

The surrounding guests lowered their heads and whispered; some feared the Fu Family's influence, others sympathized with Zhang Fan's predicament, but no one dared to stand up and refute.

Zhou Yurou clenched her fists and was just about to step forward to speak for Zhang Fan when a series of neat footsteps suddenly came from the entrance of the venue—eight bodyguards in black suits lined up on both sides, their paces as uniform as precision instruments, and a young girl slowly walked in between them.