109: Chapter 109 It is impolite not to reciprocate.

When the "soft" warfare situation abroad was mentioned, Chen Zhi fell silent.

What could he say? That the results were acceptable? The underlying meaning was that they weren't as good as others.

In the minds of the Chinese people, if you don't take first place, it's a failure.

This "bad habit" was practically etched into their bones.

But did they not want to win? They started late, missed the window of opportunity, and on top of that, the other side was truly "gagging" them.

The same tactics were not only laborious and expensive but also failed to gain traction.

Lin Ning looked at him and clicked his tongue, "Tsk tsk tsk..."

"Aren't we the ancestors of this kind of play? You guys are such useless trash."

"Difficulties? Don't talk to me about difficulties; I only want results."

Chen Zhi felt a bit defensive. "I'm not in charge of this area! Why are you taking it out on me?"

He made a move to stand up. "I've seen that you're not dead, so that's enough. I'm leaving, I'm busy!"

Lin Ning grabbed his arm. "Hey, don't go. Let's chat for another ten dollars' worth."

"Why is your official credibility like this? You reap what you sow... Hey, hey, why so excited! I'll stop!"

Fearing Chen Zhi would actually leave, Lin Ning quickly said, "They once created that 'Yi Lin' style. We aren't that shameless, but we can show those foreigners our real lives!"

"It is only polite to reciprocate; we can't be rude! Brother Chen!"

Chen Zhi said helplessly, "Whether it's pointing out the problems in their own society or promoting our strengths, it will all be banned! The battle over TkTk originated from this."

Lin Ning said slyly, "We can let them 'come over' for an exchange. On our turf, can they still be banned?"

Chen Zhi asked, "Hmm?"

Lin Ning said, "With so many domestic apps, why set up region locks? Open them up! Isn't TkTk about to be banned? Don't these domestic apps want to take over? This is the perfect time to use the rebellious psychology of TkTk refugees for product promotion."

Chen Zhi said, "This... the impact might not be large. After all, under their media's propaganda, foreigners aren't interested in us and even look down on us."

Lin Ning chuckled. "How to attract people is the enterprise's business. Guiding what everyone 'exchanges' is your business."

"Besides, any publicity is good publicity! Those arrogant foreigners are useful. And since everyone is just annoying each other, can you really expect this method to decide the winner in one go?"

Lin Ning gave a sinister smile. "Young people use the internet the most; they are the future! Once this gap is opened—people always long for beautiful things."

Having finished giving his wicked ideas, Lin Ning didn't understand the specific operations, so he stopped meddling.

Finally, he summarized: "Don't go through official propaganda; go from the bottom up! Just let the common people make friends. If nothing else, why have pen pals and internet friends always existed? Everyone is curious about other people's lives. Let everyone have a chat!"

Chen Zhi was lost in thought, but seeing Lin Ning's smug expression, he couldn't help but find a bone to pick.

"Aren't you afraid that once people exchange, they'll find out that foreign countries are actually very good?"

Lin Ning was speechless. "What? Have the capitalists in capitalist countries turned vegetarian? Since the Soviet Union collapsed, they no longer need to win over the workers. Not exploiting them to the bone would be a disservice to their title as capitalists."

Lin Ning said, suddenly feeling sentimental, "Come to think of it, we are also somewhat responsible for the miserable lives of the foreign populace; we didn't create the same pressure that the Soviet Union did back then."

Chen Zhi ignored Lin Ning's nonsense; he didn't care if those foreigners died.

He brought up the previous topic again. "What would be a good entry point to guide their specific exchanges? At the very least, it should be something both sides are interested in."

How would Lin Ning know that? But since everyone was just chatting, bragging, and engaging in keyboard politics, they could say whatever they wanted. As long as they didn't back down, they hadn't lost.

"The cultures are different, so just stick to basic life! Food, housing, transport, plus work, spending, medical care..."

Lin Ning suddenly paused as a thought occurred to him. He asked, "Do you know under what circumstances strangers will become highly enthusiastic and quickly cast aside their unfamiliarity and reserve to chat up a storm?"

Without waiting for Chen Zhi to think of an answer, he said impatiently, "When clarifying rumors! Especially rumors about themselves or their hometown!"

He lamented, "Sigh... to think that I was once a shy and introverted lad!"

The corners of Chen Zhi's mouth began to twitch like waves.

With an expression as if the past was too painful to recall, Lin Ning recounted his transformation.

"When university just started and everyone was doing self-introductions, I had just finished saying 'My name is Lin Ning, and I'm from Inner Mongolia,'" Lin Ning looked at Chen Zhi and asked, "Guess what happened?"

Chen Zhi said, "'Do you ride a horse to school?' That's such an old meme!"

Lin Ning glanced at him sideways. "That was six or seven years ago, when it was popular! Throughout my four years of university, I had to answer the same questions from different people: No horses! No horses! No horses! I also had to explain that we don't live in yurts! Mutton isn't cheap! Han Chinese from Inner Mongolia don't get extra points! Wolves don't come into our houses..."

He let out a sigh. "I couldn't be shy and introverted anymore; I had to set the record straight!"

Lin Ning said, "When the foreigners come, you just find people to ask—"

"'Is the pay there really high and the work easy? Can you live in a villa and buy a restaurant after washing dishes for three months?'"

"'I heard your hospitals don't cost money and all medical care and medicine are free. That's so great!' Things like that."

"Everyone is dissatisfied with their own life, so let's compare notes and see whose life is actually better!"

Chen Zhi knew the actual situation abroad, and upon hearing Lin Ning's words...

"..." How wicked!!

The young man's ideas were wild and unconstrained. While they sounded unreliable, they also carried a strange feeling that "it might just work."

He would talk to several departments later; it wouldn't be much trouble anyway.

In reality, Lin Ning had just gotten carried away with the conversation. Once he was done talking and had enjoyed himself, he put it out of his mind.

After Chen Zhi left.

The hospital room fell silent, and Lin Ning let out a yawn.

The chat and bragging had created a good atmosphere, and things seemed to have returned to the way they were before. Those matters that made everyone uncomfortable seemed to have faded away, like wind over water leaving no trace.

Lin Ning counted on his fingers, calculating how much State Security owed him.

He also wondered if Li Xianmin counted as his own performance achievement; he dejectedly realized that it would likely be attributed to Brian An's line.

That would leave only one million.

Lin Ning paused; it seemed the Public Security side still owed him quite a bit of money as well.

He was busy calculating his net worth.

The phone rang; it was Lawyer Zhang.

When the call connected, Lawyer Zhang was as crisp and direct as ever, getting straight to the point.

"Two things. First, next Wednesday, the case with your ex-girlfriend goes to court."

"Second, you lost the arbitration with your former company, and they have directly filed a civil lawsuit. They just want to drag it out to annoy you."

"I'll be there on time next Wednesday. Send me the time in a bit," Lin Ning replied, not particularly bothered.

Suing Liu Qingbei was to make a clean break from the past and also to provide closure for the original "Lin Ning."

After two confrontations, he had already seen what kind of person she was—stupid and greedy. Moreover, since he had the evidence in hand, he just viewed it as a joke and didn't care much anymore.

As for the former company.

A cold sneer played on the corners of Lin Ning's mouth. Originally, it was just a disgusting matter of encountering a petty person at work, and he thought that cutting them for a bit through arbitration would be enough.

He didn't expect them to have a death wish!

It just so happened that he had been a bit irritable lately, so he would have a good time playing with them—

"Since my former company is suing me, of course I have to respond properly. Lawyer Zhang, once again, it's a pleasure working with you!"