Chapter 69 Tigress and Leopard

ess than those in other schools.Usually when such incidents occur, passersby tend to avoid getting involved. Su Cen certainly wouldn’t concern himself with these juvenile squabbles. But today was diff...Chapter 69: Tigers and Leopards

After the highway department initiated a joint defense plan, there were three consecutive police deployments from Wulong City's traffic police station, Jianyang County Police Station, and Chengdu Highway Traffic Police Brigade. Multiple police cars intercepted Su Cen's group.

The Chengdu Highway Traffic Police Second Squadron had three police cars stationed at the entrance of the Cheng-Wen highway, with Captain Tao Xingjian leading them.

When he received the call, Tao Xingjian didn't hesitate for a moment. He sped off in his three police cars straight to the destination, his face as tense as water all the way. His subordinates were on high alert; everyone knew Tao Xingjian's temperament within the traffic police department and recognized him as someone with extensive connections and a strong background who could stand out like a tortoise among other tortoises in such an environment.

The last time Tao Xingjian had acted so seriously was during the arrest of a major Chengdu motorcycle theft gang. At that time, several hundred police officers from various departments were mobilized to set up roadblocks at national and provincial highway entrances, successfully apprehending the thieves. With such a significant call this time, Tao Xingjian naturally rushed over urgently.

A jeep and a Buick商務車finally arrived at the checkpoint and stopped obediently. Tao Xingjian led the charge, and the Chengdu Highway Traffic Police Second Squadron swiftly took control of the target vehicles.

The call to Tao Xingjian came from an influential leader in the transportation department who asked him to intercept the targeted vehicles. From the caller's somber tone over the phone, Tao Xingjian could tell this was no ordinary matter. Before the incident could escalate and involve other police forces, he personally led his team to intercept them.

However, just as Tao Xingjian was about to display his authority in front of the jeep 212 and Buick商務車, his face couldn't help but relax upon learning who they were.

A seasoned professional, he didn’t overreact after being informed of the individuals’ identities and their courteous explanations. He saluted them and returned all證件 before letting the vehicle proceed with its military plates, allowing Su Cen’s group to drive off unhindered towards Chengdu.

After watching the vehicles depart, Tao Xingjian muttered under his breath, "Today I’ve run into ghosts!" His subordinates didn’t dare say a word more.

Saying he wasn't intimidated would be disingenuous. Despite his imposing stature of over 6 feet, Tao Xingjian felt his legs go weak. He cursed inwardly at the influential figure from the transportation department who had called him, wondering what level of power struggle was involved that he got caught in it and used like a pawn!

Ru Nannan’s group, who breezed through three checkpoints as if no one were there, naturally didn't notice this behind-the-scenes conflict. They sped straight towards Chengdu.

Su Cen sent Lü Yi Yang, Liu Rong, and Guo Xiaozhong to their workplaces at the unit gate and instructed Li Jun and Sun Bing to escort Lin Luoran back to Chengdu Garden Villa. Before parting ways, they slapped hands with each other, and Li Pengyu laughed heartily, "Bros, today we had a disappointment; let's meet up another day."

Ru Nannan pointed at Su Cen’s group and said, "We're having late-night snacks tomorrow night. Don’t forget! It's been ages since we’ve had such fun!"

Lin Luoran then rolled down her car window and waved with a dazzling smile that left Xue Yiyang, Liu Rui, and Guo Xiaozhong mesmerized. "We're heading back now. Too many things happened today, and we’re tired. You should go to bed early."

"No need for your special care; we’ll definitely remember to go to sleep early! Even if Su Cen is too excited to fall asleep, we will firmly execute your instructions!" Xue Yiyang laughed heartily. Guo Xiaozhong wasn’t as familiar with Lin Luoran and shyly looked on enviously from the side.

As these two cars that had caused such an eye-catching incident at West Ridge Snow Mountain drove off down the street, Su Cen noticed Xue Yiyang and Liu Rui exchanging glances at him.

"Are you guys sick"

"Did Lin Luoran hint something to you when she was talking in the car" Liu Rui swallowed nervously and turned to ask.

“So, we really want to know what exactly she’s hinting at,” Xue Yiyang's eyes narrowed like a fox. "You two live together in Chengdu and study in Shanghai; how far have you progressed with each other"

Guo Xiaozhong pondered for a while before adding, “If I were a girl and had feelings for someone, I would definitely be more straightforward…”

Seeing Su Cen looking at him intently, Guo Xiaozhong immediately shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, you want me to keep quiet Fine, from now on I’ll stay low-key and silent."

Liu Rui chimed in, “In my opinion, why bother with hints Just go ahead and be a beast about it; it’s much more straightforward.”

"Is that necessary" Xue Yiyang chuckled. "I think Lin Luoran could easily turn the tables on Su Cen. That woman's strength isn’t something he can resist, so she might end up being the one to flip him over." Deep down, there was a touch of hikikomori fantasy syndrome in his words.

“You’ll be sleeping on the sofa tonight.”

Su Cen said calmly and walked straight into the courtyard.

Two days after the incident at Xi Ling Hot Springs, Chengdu was basked in sunshine.

"The country with the world's largest population is China first, then India. Why can’t Facebook be the third largest nation in the world Of course, it’s not a sovereign state, but it could still be our home."

The private messaging page of Facebook was filled with rapid-fire messages between Su Can and Mark Zuckerberg, resembling lines of code scrolling up. The scene resembled the screens of netizens chatting online in later times, but nobody would have known that most decisions behind the wildly popular Facebook among American college students and white-collar workers were made through these conversations on two remote computer screens.

Zuckerberg was clearly excited; he sent a barrage of messages as if speaking in real life: "Yes, of course. I must admit it’s a new concept and idea, you always know what I’m thinking and want to achieve. We now have one million users, but according to our advisors’ analysis based on the growth curve graph, we are growing exponentially every ten days. If this continues for another year, we might reach tens of millions of users. These people will chat, brag about themselves, and share their real-life experiences here, thus creating a virtual life. We’re truly cultivating an entire nation."

"Do you remember the banquet at Exeter High School It felt like we were crowned as kings together; we are now the kings of our own kingdom."

After typing this message, Zuckerberg signed off. There was a lot to attend to on the American side, and Su Can had grown accustomed to his chatting style. Often, he would send messages halfway through, then take hours or even days before responding again. The next day, he might log back in to tell him about a sudden idea for an algorithmic improvement that either got approved by the technical team or rejected.

Su Can was in his study while Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang were playing computers in a guest room. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting light on the bustling cityscape outside with familiar buildings under construction, giving an impression of vitality and growth.

This easily reminded Su Can of the days he spent as an exchange student in America, where high school dances, orchestral performances, various elite clubs, and a vibrant future vision were fostered. At that time, Zuckerberg was merely an upper-middle-class youth unsure about his future, but now, his name wasn’t unfamiliar to Americans or unknown to students of Harvard and Stanford, as The New York Times put it: "A socially awkward hacker has become the king of social networking."

Even though they had big dreams back then, Su Can was always aware that there’s never room for two kings in this world. They could wear identical royal crowns at their American high schools, but as reality set in and they became richer, more powerful, and more famous, would it be possible for them to coexist peacefully

Su Can didn’t stay in America; instead, he introduced the Chinese version of Facebook into China, hoping to develop a social network system that suits the domestic context. This move also avoided him being based in the same headquarters as Zuckerberg, potentially leading to a situation akin to two kings sharing one room.

Of course, they were still far from realizing their "third kingdom" strategy at this point. The early emergence of Facebook changing the game was somewhat different compared to what happened later on; for now, the internet had not officially entered the social networking era in a single leap forward.

The rapid rise of search engine companies such as Google represented the dawn of the internet’s golden age after surviving the dot-com bubble. As an area revered by investors as divine, Google was indeed developing toward godlike status, launching new products and services one after another with great momentum.

In essence, this was still the era of search engines on the Internet. The emergence of search technologies like Google, Yahoo!, Baidu represented a time when internet information exploded, greatly enhancing individuals' ability to handle information through searching for what they needed, thus satisfying their thirst for knowledge.

This trend was currently shaping the direction of the Internet, with Facebook's rise being somewhat of an outlier.

In a residential area of a factory in Yu City, there is an ordinary-looking apartment building. However, the Lamborghini parked downstairs contrasts sharply with the era of this building. Yet it seems that most people in the neighborhood have become accustomed to such sights.

A three-bedroom house in the second building of the complex.

"How dare you stand before me What did I tell you previously You're not ready and don't have the qualifications to take over everything from me, which is understandable. You need time, and you are still young and playful, so I let it slide. No matter what you do, as long as you don't go too far, I'll recognize you. Did I ever say this" Yi JiaShun pointed at the man in front of him, Yi Lihuan, and scolded him, "You like football; I allowed you to manage it. But what did I hear There's fighting among players and curfew violations, didn't these happen Recently there was an incident in Nanshan. If this continues, I don't see the need to keep up this team."

"Dad, it’s not my fault this time,"

“Shut up,” Yi JiaShun angrily said. "Who called Zhang Binjun Who ordered them to start a fight" In the room was Wan Gui, one of the most highly regarded executives in Yi JiaShun's group, wearing gold-rimmed glasses but feeling awkward in this situation.

Yi Lihuan was momentarily speechless. "Zhang哥told you about it,"

"He could tell you My son turning to the city’s underworld bosses for help is quite impressive! You’re disgracing yourself, who can you blame Do you think your face hasn’t been humiliated enough What will people say about you and your upbringing Go home and reflect!"

Yi JiaShun waved away Yi Lihuan’s crestfallen expression and sat down in front of Wan Gui, his previous anger replaced by a dark cloud. "These people have gone too far! They act lawlessly; who are they"

"Some of them I know. One is the son of Wang Bo, the Secretary of Chengdu City, named Wang Weiwei, and another is Su Licheng's son from Grand Wheel Construction Group, Su Zhan. Both have quite a reputation in Chengdu among the younger generation. The person with the gun doesn’t seem to be an ordinary bodyguard."

Yi JiaShun squinted his eyes. "Su Licheng and Wang Bo’s sons dare to trample on me, is this what you call 'a tiger in captivity' Or are their upbringings so poor that even these little scoundrels dare to urinate on my head Ignorant of the ways of the world, they truly deserve a lesson."

Yi JiaShun looked upwards and muttered, "Wang Bo defeated Liu Cheng with one battle. If this was like two dogs fighting, then recently Tao Changping’s downfall shows that he really doesn’t leave any bones on his teeth. This old dog is getting increasingly vicious and powerful. Do you think I can get my revenge in a conversation and gain the upper hand"

Wan Gui nodded, "With Yi Uncle's standing, there shouldn't be an issue. Making Su Licheng’s Grand Wheel Construction suffer a little or making Wang Bo stumble isn’t impossible; it will just require some sacrifice."

"A few million or even hundreds of millions in losses I can afford that!" Yi JiaShun waved his hand, always straightforward with this man who was both intelligent and crafty. "But what if I cut off Wang Bo’s arm and cause a death in Su Licheng's family to send them a warning Is there any problem"

His eyes gleamed with bloodlust; he showed no signs of aging but had the fierce demeanor of a tiger or leopard.casionally, during PE classes or brief breaks, Xia Zhiyu would exchange a few words with Chen Lingyan, leading people to feel that Chen Lingyan had simply made another good friend of the opposite sex....