Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Hong Dali, the number one prodigal son in Tianjing City, was actually here!
The legend of Hong Dali, even if the audience had never seen his shows, they must have heard of it at least.
He was generous in everything he dabbled with and had extraordinary ideas that were unrestrained.
From Li Nianwei’s concert at the start to the low-budget popular “Unexpectedly,” to “I Am a Singer” which swept the whole nation off their feet, to the recent “iPartment” and the cute kids in “Where Are We Going, Dad.” The shows produced by Hong Dali were abnormally hot, and his reputation was growing!
Once Hong Dali appeared, the authors were awe-struck.
“It’s Young Master! Young Master came! Young Master is handsome, as always!”
“That’s it. Young Master is always generous, smart, and full of ideas. There is hope for this round!”
“All is good now that Young Master is here, haha. There is fun to be anticipated at Feng Yun website. Young Master’s ability is real!”
When Wada Nakamasa saw Hong Dali walking in, he exchanged eye contact with his lawyer, nodding slightly as he revealed a wicked grin.
Two hours ago, at Feng Yun website headquarters.
Ko Gohan looked at Wada Nakamasa and asked, “Uncle Nakamasa, what should we do if Hong Dali comes?”
Wada Nakamasa smiled coldly and said, “If he comes, we’ll charge him with malicious accusation. Simple as that.”
Shiroishi Kazuma sat on the sofa and sipped his tea. He calmly said, “En, it’s such a huge matter. No matter how nonchalant he is about gains or losses, he will definitely be there. If he comes, our plan will be able to run smoothly.”
Ko Gohan smiled widely and said, “Okay! It’s decided then! I lost to him twice previously. I’ll teach him a lesson this time!”
Wada Nakamasa pouted. “Meaningless gamble.”
Shiroishi Kazuma chuckled and said, “The gamble is between you and him. Our aim is the Hong Family’s Sangle.”
Ko Gohan was unsure. “I know. But Uncle Kazuma, Sangle is not like the little Zhong Dian website. Is it possible? I don’t think it will be that easy?”
Shiroishi Kazuma calmly replied, “Why not? They will not have sufficient evidence. We will then sue them for malicious accusation. Their reputation will definitely take a hit. That will give our Feng Yun website an opportunity to rise. When the number of users reaches a certain number, we will mess around with public opinions. With good publicity, we can then monopolize the search engines.”
Ko Gohan trembled with fear. “But Uncle Kazuma, Sangle’s scale… It won’t be so easy to seize it.”
Shiroishi Kazuma smilingly said, “As long as we have our eyes on this prodigal son Hong Dali, and win the lawsuit, it won’t be just us fighting the war. Sangle has monopolized the market, there must be many more companies waiting for them to go down. It’s inevitable for conflict to happen on the internet. What makes you think other companies won’t sue them for infringement?”
Ko Gohon’s eyes lit up. “That’s true! When the companies combine forces, Sangle’s usage is sure to shrink!”
Shiroishi Kazuma closed his eyes and insipidly said, “Yes. We’ll wait for the good news to arrive. Remember, the gamble is just child’s play. Our real aim is Sangle!”
Ko Gohon chuckled and beamed. “Let him see the power of Toyoda Conglomerate!”
Wada Nakamasa nodded. “Our aim is Hong Dali of the Hong Family. He will be our breakthrough. We’re not afraid if he comes. What we’re afraid of is that he won’t come. Once he appears, everything will be simpler!”
Ko Gohon prayed devotedly. “En. Haha. God bless. He must turn up! Hong Dali must turn up no matter what. Hahahaha!”
…
In the courtroom.
Once Feng Yun website’s lawyers saw Hong Dali, they were stunned. They very quickly cheered up, pointed to Hong Dali and shouted. “Judge! I want to sue Hong Dali for malicious accusation! Zhong Dian website belongs to him. It’s because of him that we’re being accused of piracy! I’m suing him on Feng Yun website’s request!”
Now the tables had turned. Following Hong Dali’s appearance, the plaintiff and the defendant had switched roles!
Hearing what Feng Yun website’s lawyer said, the jury who sided with Zhong Dian website started discussing among themselves. Mu Tie frowned and said, “Oh no, their request to bring a suit on court, regardless of whether we win or lose, we will leave the impression that we are framing them. People won’t care about the outcome since this case has gone on for so long. Once they sue us, people will jump into conclusions and think that we framed them!”
That was certainly not a false alarm.
Most people only had a brief period of enthusiasm. They may not care much about how the case followed up and would only remember what they had experienced themselves. People heard that Feng Yun website sued Zhong Dian website of malicious accusation. The news that started to spread would be that “Hong Dali accused Feng Yun website.” In the end, nobody would remember if it was Feng Yun website who had pirated them and infringed the copyright law, or if Hong Dali had accused them.
Hong Weiguo rubbed his temples. “This kid, Dali. It’s okay that he’s here. But to appear here at this time… Aye, my head hurts! This little prodigal, aye.”
Liu Yihui urged him. “Weiguo, now that things have come to this stage, don’t get worked up. As long as we win, this is just a tug-of-war. It’s not a big problem. It’s fine that we lose a little. I saw Toyoda Conglomerate’s chief lawyer, Wada Nakamasa. He has joined forces with Shiroishi Kazuma. They’re indeed hard to deal with.”
Zhong Dian website’s lawyer’s cold sweat was dripping. It would have been fine if Hong Dali didn’t say anything. He could prepare more proof and continue to battle with Feng Yun website. Now that Hong Dali had appeared, the other party got the chance to sue him immediately!
“Silence!” The judge slammed the hammer and waited for everyone to quieten. The judge looked at Hong Dali and asked, “Are you Mr. Hong Dali? Feng Yun website wants to sue you for malicious accusation now. Do you need time to prepare? Or will you come up the stand straight away?”
Hong Weiguo grasped his fist tightly. “Don’t agree! We’ll go back and prepare some more. At most, we’ll spend more time playing with them!”
Mu Tie and Liu Yihui thought the same.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes were on Hong Dali.
Hong Dali curiously asked, “Prepare? What do I need to prepare? I can go up the stand straight away? That’s good.” Hong Dali looked at Feng Yun website’s lawyer. “What do you want to sue me for?”
“I’m suing you for maliciously accusing Feng Yun website of pirating your smartphone reading app!” Feng Yun website’s lawyer continued word by word. “Your malicious accusation has caused irreversible harm to our website. You have caused us to lose our reputation!”
“Oh, that. What am I supposed to be?” Hong Dali grinned as he said, “Sure!” He whispered to the people beside him. “Everyone, let me through. They want me to go to the stand, let me pass.”
Everyone stood aside spontaneously.
Hong Weiguo became serious. “This… this little rascal! It’s finished now. He actually agreed!”
Mu Tie looked serious too. He shook his head as he said, “This… Forget it, Weiguo. It’s actually nothing. At least we earned ourselves some time.”
Liu Yihui helplessly said, “That’s right. Anyway, our application already has a foundation. We can afford to lose this battle.”
As Hong Weiguo and the two discussed among themselves, Hong Dali walked to the stand by himself. He curiously asked the Feng Yun website’s lawyer, “Mr. Lawyer, you said I maliciously accused them? I didn’t do that. What did I accuse them of doing?”
Feng Yun website’s lawyer arrogantly said, “You did! You sued us of pirating your smartphone reading app, and the results of the inspection are out. The similarity is less than 60% compared to your app! According to Article 183 of the Heavenly State’s Regulations on Piracy on the Internet, as long as the similarity does not exceed 60%, it’s not considered pirating! And now you’re suing us, do you know how much loses this has caused us?! Hence, I’m suing you on the basis of malicious accusation. We ask for a compensation of 30 million yuan for the loss in our reputation!”
When Feng Yun website’s lawyer finished speaking, everyone exclaimed!
This had got to be the biggest case of copyright infringement in Heavenly State in recent years. The money involved in copyright Infringement cases has accumulated to more than six million. But just in this case alone, the plaintiff had sought for a compensation of 30 million for loss of reputation!
Now the situation was bewildering. The audience was getting excited. The reporters who were present had their cameras armed and the flashlights flashed like lightning on a stormy night. It was like a gust of wind and rain. It had never stopped since Hong Dali’s emergence! If you condense those lights into a bundle, the power was comparable to a laser gun in a science fiction world!
Hong Dali said unfeelingly, “Oh, that. I know. But the problem is, I didn’t accuse you!”
Feng Yun website’s lawyer was angered by Hong Dali. “You… you… you! You don’t have any more evidence. Since we did not commit piracy, then you are maliciously accusing us!”
Hong Dali stared with his eyes wide open. “Aye? How do you know we don’t have any more evidence? I have evidence! I just have not taken it out yet.”
Hong Dali’s words were the turning point of the century. Everyone doubted what they had heard.
At this stage, the best thing to do was to review the source code for both parties again. What kind of evidence could Hong Dali have?
