Nine AM.
This is the time when young people in the Great Xia Nation prepare to enter the workforce.
Except for a very small number of well-off families or young people who choose to slack off.
For the majority, this exact moment is when they are rushing to work, clocking in, and sitting down at their workstations.
These young people.
Form the backbone of the Great Xia online live streaming rooms.
As Meng Hao started his broadcast.
The viewership surged.
Breaking ten thousand in seconds.
Approaching one hundred thousand just ten seconds later.
In just over a minute.
The viewership surpassed one million, rapidly heading towards two million.
The viewers, who had been waiting for Meng Hao's stream, had mostly entered the live room.
The viewing numbers began to slow down.
"Everyone."
"It's been many days."
"I've missed you all dearly."
Meng Hao greeted the viewers entering the live room with a remarkably calm expression.
"Brother Hao, you're still alive..."
"We thought you'd be crushed and give up..."
"Even if the online live streaming channels are blocked, we still support you..."
Looking at the dense barrage of comments, Meng Hao felt a warmth.
In Great Xia.
The upright, friendly, and sensible young people still held the dominant position.
Before Meng Hao could enjoy his pleasant mood for even a minute.
The influx of haters and keyboard warriors began to spew their venom.
"Yo, Meng Hao, you still dare to stream? This is your last stream, you'll be banned soon... By the way, I recommend the mechs I rave about, produced by AoShi Heavy Industry..."
"Tsk tsk tsk, is this the last show for Hua Rong Industries, Meng Hao? Waiting for your account to be banned... Speaking of mechs, ours are way better, I highly recommend them..."
"Say, wouldn't it be awkward if your stream suddenly got blocked halfway through... Everyone, focus on our company's mechs instead, search for them..."
"..."
...
At the headquarters of Little B Station.
Just after nine o'clock.
Chen Juntal, the executive director and founder of Little B Station, led a group of senior executives into the office area in a hurry.
"Where is the head of the technology department?"
"I called yesterday to remove the announcement post requesting the ban of Hua Rong Industries' live stream."
"Why are there still related posts on the main page?"
Facing the furious Chen Juntal.
The head of the technology department scratched his head, looking wronged.
"Mr. Chen, we've already done as you asked."
"The pinned post has been removed."
"These posts that have trended are all done by paid trolls hired by those mech concept companies."
Still wronged!
Chen Juntal's head ached.
"Didn't you understand what I meant?"
"On Little B Station, remove all negative news related to Meng Hao."
"Even if you have to scrutinize them one by one, use technical means to delete them all!"
The head of the technology department glanced at the head of the public relations department beside him.
The PR head, with a fawning smile, quickly explained.
"Mr. Chen."
"The sponsors behind these paid trolls have given us quite a lot of money!"
"If we remove their trending topics now, wouldn't tens of millions in sponsorship fees go down the drain?"
"Moreover, if we set this precedent, it would violate business principles and affect future sponsorship allocations from our benefactors... The board of directors might not be pleased either..."
"..."
Chen Juntal was getting anxious.
At a time like this.
He was still concerned about mere tens of millions in sponsorship fees.
If they truly angered that terrifying entity in the capital, the suspected big boss behind Meng Hao.
Let alone tens of millions.
The entire Little B Station might change ownership.
Chen Juntal, outwardly successful, was one of Great Xia's top internet tycoons.
But if he truly angered the big shots who held supreme power.
Replacing him would be a matter of minutes.
"Stop spouting nonsense!"
"I will explain to the board of directors."
"What you need to do is immediately delete all negative news related to Meng Hao and Hua Rong Industries from this site!"
"If keyword filtering isn't enough, switch to manual review... Public relations, marketing, sales departments, all personnel should stop their current work and fully assist the technology department in manual screening!"
The head of the technology department dared not argue further.
Anyone with a brain could tell that Chen Juntal was furious.
But, who exactly was this Meng Hao?
Could he be a direct relative of a top-tier Great Xia official who was hiding in plain sight?
He had actually scared Chen Juntal enough to personally oversee the deletion of negative news about Meng Hao!
The head of the public relations department clicked his tongue.
Steeling himself, enduring Chen Juntal's anger, he asked sheepishly.
"Mr. Chen."
"Should we return the sponsorship fees we received from the mech concept companies?"
"After all, it could help salvage some of our reputation, preventing us from being branded as taking money without delivering."
Mentioning those mech concept companies, Chen Juntal's anger flared.
If it weren't for these fools causing trouble.
He wouldn't have been summoned to the capital and severely reprimanded.
Almost losing Little B Station, the "cash cow" he had painstakingly built.
"Return the money?"
"Absolutely not!"
"I'm being generous by not asking them for compensation for damages."
"If they come here seeking explanations, throw them out. Reject all their calls!"
Furious, Chen Juntal casually sat down in an empty seat and logged into the main page of Little B Station with his verified account.
Immediately.
He carefully pondered, meticulously thought, and furiously typed on the keyboard.
In front of numerous department heads, Chen Juntal typed out an "Apology Letter" post—
"An Apology Letter to Hua Rong Industries."
The main body of the letter was phrased with extreme humility... accurate to say, servility, even with a hint of begging for mercy.
[Regarding the previous request for Hua Rong Industries to provide an explanation and the order to suspend their live stream, it was due to an error in operation by our company's technical staff. For this, I, Chen Juntal, the founder and executive director of Little B Station, solemnly apologize. We at Little B Station sincerely welcome the Huazong Industries live streaming department and are genuinely honored. Furthermore, the technical staff responsible for the erroneous operation have been dismissed, and we guarantee that similar mistakes will never occur again. ...By, Chen Juntal!]
Holy cow.
What is going on?
Chen Juntal, the boss of Little B Station, is personally apologizing to an obscure live stream, fully admitting fault, and pleading with them to continue broadcasting on Little B Station, even expressing genuine honor!
This is practically an act of admitting fault and accepting punishment.
Noticing the department heads behind him glancing over.
Chen Juntal impatiently tapped the table.
"Technology Department, immediately pin this apology post of mine on the entire site, for three days... no, seven days... Forget it, I'll notify you when to unpin it..."
"Human Resources Department, find some temporary workers or older employees from the technology department to fire, claiming they were responsible for the erroneous operation... Make sure their severance pay is generous, thirty thousand, fifty thousand, even a million, just give it to them if they ask, and absolutely seal their mouths, prohibiting them from speaking carelessly outside..."
"Oh right, attach the list of the scapegoat employees who were fired below this pinned apology letter. Do it immediately, understand?"