Chapter 86: A Victory in Stages

When the internet users united against Guo Lin, Li Mu and Zhao Kang watched calmly from the sidelines, until Zhao Kang received feedback from his subordinates: someone had begun deleting posts. Zhao Kang checked and found that indeed some threads had been removed and could no longer be found, including those with hundreds or thousands of replies. Their deletion irritated him deeply.

Li Mu immediately suggested an idea. In the future, "forum explosions" would become common, where users posted so quickly that moderators couldn't keep up with deletions, causing the entire forum to be flooded and even the administrators helpless. Since the methods were similar, why not emulate this and overwhelm the forum that's deleting posts?

At the same time, they could use chat rooms—places for instant commentary—to expose the forum's censorship and rally users to join the attack.

The more Zhao Kang listened, the more excited he became. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I get it! Just watch, I'll ruin them!"

At seven in the evening, the local forum "Enjoy Haizhou" was bombarded by tens of thousands of accounts. Some were Zhao Kang's paid posters, but many were passionate users called to action in chat rooms.

The rich using their money to break the rules has always been a major cause of public outrage.

"Enjoy Haizhou" was founded by Xie Fei, an amateur programmer who bought some code and set up the local forum, running it for half a year and becoming one of the largest in Haizhou. Occasionally, restaurants and shops approached him for minor advertising, providing a steady income. He also frequently organized offline gatherings for users, earning a bit for event expenses.

Because these events were well-managed, many locals liked the forum, and Xie Fei, thanks to it, made about three thousand yuan a month—a respectable sum in Haizhou.

But today, Xie Fei made a decision he'd regret for a long time. When a stranger showed up with five thousand yuan, asking him to delete posts exposing Guo Lin, the money was tempting. He agreed.

And thus, he provoked public fury.

When countless users flooded every section of the forum, Xie Fei's palms sweated. Each thread was filled with copy-pasted accusations against Guo Lin, along with insults for Xie Fei's paid censorship.

Unable to keep up with deletions, Xie Fei banned several IPs, which only incited more anger. Users whose home IPs were banned went to internet cafes to curse him. In the end, Xie Fei had no choice but to temporarily shut down the forum.

Though the closure brought him some peace, he knew he'd offended the users. When the storm passed and the forum reopened, he wondered how much popularity would remain.

The parable about killing the chicken for its eggs described him perfectly.

The closure of "Enjoy Haizhou" after being overwhelmed by users brought a sense of victory to those who participated. Other forums, witnessing the spectacle, dared not delete posts anymore; they realized a little money wasn't worth destroying their livelihood. With "Enjoy Haizhou" now closed, it was the perfect moment to attract new users.

Thus, a forum called "Haizhou Home" began highlighting and pinning posts exposing Guo Lin, taking a stance utterly different from Xie Fei's, quickly drawing a huge influx of users who praised this approach.

At this point, Guo Lin was completely flustered.

Li Mu felt much better and called his father, asking about the training in Wencheng. His father said the training was interesting, he'd learned many new things, and met several fellow trainees. Li Mu asked if he'd heard about Guo Lin's situation; his father replied he had, an old colleague had called, mentioning it with great delight.

His father then asked how Li Mu was doing, and Li Mu assured him all was well. He exchanged a few words with his mother, patiently listened to her admonitions and nagging, then hung up.

For now, Guo Lin had no energy to plot against his father, but Li Mu still lacked a sense of security.

Since his rebirth, his mindset had not always been as cautious as walking on thin ice, but he was far more careful than before. Life’s journey is long, and the longer the road, the more carefully one must tread. Any deviation could lead to irreparable loss, especially concerning his family and friends.

Take his conflict with Guo Yuhang, for example—if Zhao Kang hadn’t received news from his father, Li Mu would have remained in the dark. It was possible that one day he or his mother would receive a call from the police, informing them that his father was detained for suspected theft.

Having lived another life, Li Mu refused to let his family take risks for him. He wanted to eliminate every danger in its cradle.

Thinking of Guo Lin’s family, Li Mu frowned: the current pressure still wasn’t enough!

The three Xue siblings became infamous in Haizhou. After staff from the education bureau exposed their behavior online, the public was shocked by their arrogance within a government agency—even the police felt the pressure.

Xue Guilan's older brother hadn't resorted to violence, so after a warning and some criticism, he was released that evening. The Xue sisters, however, were detained for their assault.

The next day, the assessment of Zhao Lina’s injuries was completed: multiple bruises and swelling all over her body, several scalp lacerations, many cuts on her face, and most importantly, a mild concussion. The final report classified her injuries as minor.

The police asked Zhao Lina if she would accept mediation; she refused outright.

Now that her situation was exposed, Zhao Lina knew she couldn’t stay in Haizhou anymore. But it didn’t matter much; she wasn’t a local, only studied in Haizhou and met Guo Lin there. With her reputation ruined, she could just leave.

What she had gained from Guo Lin amounted to only a few hundred thousand yuan and an apartment worth barely ten thousand. Now, after being beaten by Guo Lin’s wife, with the education bureau’s leadership embarrassed and determined to pursue the matter, Zhao Lina intended to seize the opportunity to extort Guo Lin. If all went well, she could leave Haizhou with the money.

Thinking of Xue Guilan storming into the bureau to hit her, Zhao Lina clenched her teeth and thought: Mediation is pointless; a paltry ten thousand is meaningless. Let Guo Lin name his price!

Zhao Lina held firm, mediation was hopeless, and with mounting pressure from the education bureau leadership, the police decided to detain the Xue sisters for five days. Afterward, they could apply for bail, pending trial.

Guo Lin was dumbfounded. His son was hospitalized, his wife detained, his own face scratched to shreds—he had to wear a mask whenever he went out. It was a stroke of utter misfortune. Most crucially, his affair with Zhao Lina had become common knowledge, and he had no idea how to escape disaster.

Thinking of the mysterious figure plotting against him, Guo Lin shivered.

He’d hidden Zhao Lina so well for three and a half years without incident—even his suspicious wife hadn’t discovered a thing. How did this person know? Did they know about Zhao Lina, and other secrets as well? In the past, enemies wrote anonymous reports to the upper management, but who had ever seen such overwhelming exposure online? It was sinister indeed.

Worried, he called his old boss, Han Lu, to ask whether the superiors were paying attention and to express his desire to transfer to the group once the scandal faded.

Han Lu refused. Xiling Coal Mine was on the brink of bankruptcy, which meant massive state assets would flow out. Han Lu saw this as his last chance to profit before retirement. Not only Guo Lin but others were working behind the scenes; once Han Lu got what he wanted, he'd let Guo Lin retire at the group.

So he repeatedly told Guo Lin that he would handle the group leadership. Guo Lin just needed to grit his teeth and endure. Even if everyone in Haizhou knew about his affair with a university student, as long as the group leadership didn’t intervene, he could stay on as director of Xiling Coal Mine. And if they did, Han Lu could negotiate, framing it as a lapse in personal conduct and settling for a public reprimand.

Guo Lin replied anxiously, "Boss, someone’s clearly out to get me. I’m afraid they have more tricks up their sleeve..."

Han Lu’s tone was stern: "For now, I guarantee you won’t lose your position as director. Keep a low profile, don’t give anyone more ammunition, and handle your own mess!"

Guo Lin sighed, "The chair under me is red-hot now—burning my backside!"

Han Lu said coldly, "Even if it’s covered in nails, you still have to sit!"

Guo Lin, overwhelmed, could only obey. If he listened to the boss, the boss wouldn’t abandon him.

After Xue Guilan was detained, Zhao Kang quickly reported to Li Mu: Guo Lin had abandoned his plan to frame Li Mu’s father.

Zhao Kang’s father had invited the head of the surveying team, Chen Hailong, for drinks. Chen said Guo Lin had called him, instructing him to bury the scheme against Li Daoping and not let anyone know.

Chen Hailong asked Guo Lin directly if he was giving up the plan for good. Guo Lin confirmed it. He really had no energy to pursue it, and the boss had warned him not to stir up more trouble—he dared not retaliate against Li Daoping.

In this secret struggle, Li Mu had achieved a temporary victory and felt more at ease, but he knew the battle was far from over. Guo Lin had only abandoned revenge for now, which was still not enough.

Deep down, Li Mu’s only desire was to topple Guo Lin completely.

An eighteen-year-old soon-to-be university student wanting to bring down the director of a state-owned coal mine—like an ant trying to shake a tree. But Li Mu didn’t think it impossible.

Now, Zhao Lina’s bullet had shattered the opponent’s lower body. What he truly lacked was a bullet that could pierce the heart. Unfortunately, such a deadly bullet was exceedingly rare.