Chapter 9: Two Fists Cannot Defeat Four Hands

Waiting for medical test results in a hospital emergency room lounge in the early hours of the third day of the Lunar New Year is a truly rare life experience.

About half an hour later, a doctor in a white coat emerged from the operating room. Gu Cheng and Pan Jieying quickly approached him to ask for an update.

"Doctor, how is the patient? Is her life in danger?"

The doctor took off his mask, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said, "She’s out of danger. The wound isn’t as severe as you imagined; it appears to have been caused by one of those 'Swiss Army-style' multi-tools attached to a keychain. Although very sharp, the blade is short—only about five centimeters. As long as it doesn't pierce the liver, a stab wound to the abdomen isn't fatal."

Gu Cheng, whose mind worked more like that of a science student, remained anxious and pressed for two details: "Then why has she remained unconscious? Can mere pain cause someone to lose consciousness?"

The doctor patted his shoulder: "Don't be suspicious. It’s just shock from blood loss. The knife didn't go deep; the assailant just slashed a few times, severing a couple of blood vessels. Additionally, combined with the blunt force trauma to her lower abdomen, it caused damage to the inferior vena cava. You got her here just in time; once the bleeding is stopped and she receives a transfusion, she’ll be fine."

"That’s a relief, that’s a relief." Pan Jieying had been terrified all night, her heart pounding. Now, hearing that things weren't as dire as feared, she carefully took two stacks of cash from her small handbag, tucked them into a red envelope, and discreetly handed it to the doctor.

The doctor initially declined, looking surprised. After Pan Jieying insisted that money was no object and it was merely a token of appreciation for his hard work during the holiday, the doctor accepted.

Gu Cheng and Pan Jieying sat back down, finally having the mental space to consider other matters. Gu Cheng’s expression turned cold: "Jin Chengze is missing... This must be his doing, but why would he suddenly run away? Have there been any updates from the police?"

While Gu Cheng had been waiting outside the operating room, Pan Jieying had been the one liaising with the police. Upon hearing her younger brother’s question, she naturally comforted him:

"They found that Jin Chengze changed his flight booking online two hours ago. Theoretically, his new flight will be ready for security screening in three hours and will take off in five. However, the bureau has already dispatched two teams of officers to the airport to stake it out. As long as he dares to show up for the flight, he will certainly be apprehended."

Gu Cheng nodded, his mood lifting slightly. He spoke in a contemplative tone: "The major deployment we’ve been working on recently is setting a trap for Park Young-kwan. There’s no reason for Jin Chengze to run away suddenly. Could it be that he wants to defect back to Park? That would be incredibly short-sighted. Still, if he really is determined, we must guard against the threat he poses..."

Pan Jieying, meticulous to a fault, thought for a moment and dismissed Gu Cheng’s worries: "It shouldn't come to that. He’s exposed now; what time does he have to worry about Park Young-kwan? The fact that he was willing to resign in the first place shows he had no real loyalty to Park. Right now, his priority must be looking out for himself. Besides, the police are monitoring Jin Chengze’s phone number. If he dares to make any reckless calls, he will be tracked. He’s a tech guy who deals with network data; he couldn't possibly be unaware of such common knowledge."

Gu Cheng thought about it and agreed: Jin Chengze was acting on impulse, not as a career criminal. In his panic, he wouldn't be thinking about anyone else’s affairs.

The staff working overtime at Legend Entertainment had all been issued gag orders, so Gu Cheng wasn't worried about the scandal leaking for the time being. He called Gan Jiawei and told him to arrive at the company immediately to take charge of all emergency responses.

He sat quietly in the hospital lounge, reflecting as time slipped away.

Two hours passed. Jin Chengze had not yet been caught, and it was time for the shift change at the company.

Before long, unexpectedly, Gan Jiawei called Gu Cheng.

"Director Gu, a GM from the Operations Department has turned himself in to me. He reported that Jin Chengze instructed him to manipulate the 'Legend' server data to skim profits and sell game equipment privately. Do you want to come and handle this?"

"What?" Gu Cheng was deeply shocked by the news. He hadn't expected that only half a year after opening up equipment trading in *Legend*, such an inside job would occur. "I’ll be there immediately to handle it personally."

...

One day later, the morning of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

Che Lizi, her blood pressure having stabilized, finally regained consciousness. She lay in a private ICU room, where it was very quiet.

Fifteen minutes later, Gu Cheng and Pan Jieying arrived to visit. The hospital was nearby, just a short walk away.

"Ah Jie, I didn't betray you. I was just confused for a moment, and I let it slip to Jin Chengze..."

Gu Cheng stroked Che Lizi’s hair with pity: "Alright, don't talk about that now. Just focus on healing. Jin Chengze has already been caught."

A trace of inexplicable sadness flashed in Che Lizi’s eyes: "I really can't figure out... why he would go back to collude with Park Young-kwan. Park never treated us well in the first place..."

Gu Cheng hadn't wanted to explain, but fearing that Che Lizi would dwell on it, he sighed and clarified: "He was involved in other schemes to enrich himself at the company's expense. After Du Ming was exposed, he was afraid of being ferreted out and put on trial."

"So that’s it..." Che Lizi felt a wave of weakness, but the sadness in her heart was at least resolved, and she drifted back into a deep sleep.

This incident had introduced many variables into Gu Cheng’s grand plan.

On one hand, Du Ming was being given a "warm welcome" in the detention center, receiving everything from rubber batons to electric shocks.

They even stripped him naked in the dead of winter, wrapped his hands and feet in silk cloth, hung him in the courtyard, and sprayed him with cold water from a fire hydrant for ten minutes. Then, they took him down, dried him off, and placed him under high-powered metal-halide lamps, holding his eyelids open with medical forceps for half an hour.

These were "civilized" methods that left no visible injuries. Du Ming soon paid the price for his delaying tactics and, without holding back, confessed everything.

On the other hand, the private server scheme by Park Young-kwan and Zhou Hongyi had already begun. During the Lunar New Year, when children had just received their "lucky money," it was the period of peak consumer power. Whoever acted first would reap the benefits.

Major dealers who sold equipment in the *Legend* game used their established channels—through primitive contact methods like QQ—to recommend a "new *Legend* where you can quickly get top-tier equipment and have a blast" to players who had bought gear from them before.

"Leveling speed increased by 20 times! Recharge 50 yuan to experience the 'Judgment' blade, 200 to experience the 'War God' set, and 1,000 to experience the 'Dragon Slayer' sword. Paralysis Rings and Resurrection Rings are all 880~"

Although these advertisements sounded absurd, the concept of a private server was unheard of in China at the time. Many players who coveted high-end gear were incredibly tempted when they saw they could experience the 'Dragon Slayer' sword—something that usually required the strength of someone above ten thousand others—for just 1,000 yuan.

Moreover, Park Young-kwan’s newly developed game was technically more mature, using graphics technology two years more advanced than the original. Naturally, the visuals, sound effects, and systems were all improved.

Seeing that they couldn't get any sense of achievement in the official *Legend* game, many players couldn't resist using their fresh lucky money to test the waters.

Du Ming’s subordinates remained under strict police surveillance as they continued to liaise with Park’s people. They paid a large agency fee and successfully obtained the authority to set up a private server. They then launched the service to make money, step-by-step enticing Park to provide more resources.

However, according to Gu Cheng’s original plan, this "fishing for evidence" operation needed to last for some time to dig up enough damning material to deal Park Young-kwan a fatal blow and implicate Zhou Hongyi as well.

But because Jin Chengze had been caught after committing assault, Gu Cheng couldn't predict how long the news could be kept under wraps—if Park Young-kwan found out about Jin Chengze’s incident and investigated the cause, he would surely discover that Du Ming had been exposed.

Gu Cheng had originally planned to keep the "bait in the water" for at least a month or more, waiting until after the meetings in mid-March, when policies and laws would be firmly established, to detonate the trap.

Now, he clearly couldn't wait that long.

He had to utilize the new opportunity presented by Jin Chengze.

"Ask Team Leader Qian of the Criminal Investigation Division to see if he can pry out evidence that Jin Chengze was acting as a corporate spy for Park Young-kwan. I don't need this evidence to convict Park immediately, but at least it should be enough to have him detained for investigation for a few months."

A confession from Jin Chengze alone would not be enough to convict Park Young-kwan. But if the confession was sufficient, it would be enough to ruin Park’s reputation.

For a businessman, being detained for investigation for several months due to suspicions of violence and corporate espionage—even if he wasn't charged in the end—would be a major blow. His accumulated business reputation and partnerships could potentially collapse as a result.

Especially since Park Young-kwan’s foundation was already shaky.

...

Several days after Jin Chengze was apprehended, the New Year's Golden Week had passed. On this day, Gu Cheng, who had returned to work, finally received good news before leaving for the day: Jin Chengze had confessed to everything in the detention center, perfectly aligning with Gu Cheng’s expectations.

Jin Chengze’s own crimes were undeniable; it was just a matter of whether there was a mastermind behind him. And indeed, before Che Lizi exposed him that day, he had attempted to call Park Young-kwan’s number, though he hadn't gotten through because Che Lizi had stopped him.

With this call record as evidence, combined with the confession, the police had full authority to detain and investigate Park Young-kwan.

Gu Cheng made sure to properly thank the officers working on the case.

He packed up, ready to call his cousin to head home from work and stop by the hospital to see Che Lizi. Her wound was healing quite well; the doctor said she would be able to get out of bed and move around in another half a month.

"Cousin, are you done? Let’s head out."

Pan Jieying didn't react the moment Gu Cheng pushed the door open. She was staring at her computer screen with a furrowed brow, glancing occasionally at text messages on her phone.

"What’s wrong? You look so serious."

Pan Jieying shook her head helplessly: "The keyboard warriors of this era are really something else—the Public Relations department just reported that they saw a trending local news story on the NetEase news portal: 'Arrogant rich second-generation drag racing on downtown streets in the early hours of the third day of the Lunar New Year.' A Mercedes S500 with license plate number XXXXX was driving at 150 km/h on Wensan Road, and someone even filmed a short DV clip!"

"The early hours of the third day? Ah—that was when I was driving Che Lizi to the hospital."

"I wish I had been the one driving that day! You were driving without a license, and you were going so fast." Pan Jieying complained. She still felt a lingering fear when she thought about the night she sent Che Lizi to the hospital. Since the ambulance hadn't arrived in time, Gu Cheng had sped to the hospital himself.

Although there were at least 80% fewer cars on the roads in Qiantang during the New Year, and at 3:00 AM on the third day of the year, an accident was unlikely, being caught on camera was a scandal nonetheless.

There were plenty of people in this world who hated the rich.

Gu Cheng smiled bitterly, yet he didn't regret it: "In that situation, who could worry about that? Should I have followed traffic laws and let Che Lizi bleed for another ten minutes?"

Pan Jieying asked with concern: "Should we have the police clarify the situation and argue 'emergency avoidance'? We can just pay the fine."

"No," Gu Cheng rejected the idea without a second thought. "The fact that Che Lizi was injured cannot be involved right now. Otherwise, Park Young-kwan and Zhou Hongyi will follow the trail and realize that Du Ming and Jin Chengze have been exposed ahead of schedule!"