Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

The lights on the stage went out without warning, and the sudden darkness enveloped me like a huge net. The buzzing of the audience's discussions was like countless bees hovering around my ears, making me dizzy. Bai Hanchuan's warm and dry palm tightly grasped mine, and his voice was particularly clear in the darkness: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

His words were like a warm current that dispelled the fear in my heart. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I knew that the more times like this, the more I should not lose my composure.

"Dear guests, I'm very sorry. Due to some unexpected situations, the press conference has been temporarily interrupted. Please be patient and we will solve the problem as soon as possible." I raised my volume and tried my best to make my voice clearly reach every corner of the venue.

However, my explanation did not have much effect. In the darkness, the audience's discussions became louder and louder, and some even started to make noise.

"What's going on? This is a new product launch, how can it be so unprofessional?"

"Yeah, it's a waste of our time!"

I felt Bai Hanchuan's palm gently patting the back of my hand, signaling me to stay calm. He let go of my hand and whispered, "I'll go backstage to check the situation. You stay here to calm everyone down."

I nodded and watched him disappear into the darkness.

A few minutes later, the backup power supply started up and the dim lights came back on, but the sound equipment still did not return to normal. I stood on the stage, looking at the impatient faces below, feeling extremely anxious.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give us a little more time. We will resolve all problems as soon as possible." I bowed and apologized to the audience again.

At this time, Lin Xiao hurriedly ran over from the backstage, her face pale and her expression panicked.

"Jinli, something bad has happened..." She whispered in my ear, lowering her voice, "Someone has tampered with the audio equipment, and it will take a while to repair it..."

My heart sank suddenly and a chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

"Who did it?" I asked in a low voice, with a barely perceptible tremor in my tone.

Lin Xiao shook his head and said grimly: "It's not clear yet, but..."

Before she could finish her words, she saw Bai Hanchuan walking out from the backstage with a dark face. His eyes were sharp, as if he wanted to tear someone to pieces.

"No need to check," his voice was low and cold, "I know who did it." "You know?" Lin Xiao and I asked in unison, looking at Bai Hanchuan in surprise.

He nodded solemnly, without saying anything, but took out his phone from his pocket and quickly browsed something. I saw his fingers sliding quickly on the screen, his brows furrowed, obviously seeing some news that made him angry.

"It was done by the people from Jinxiu Tianyuan." Bai Hanchuan put down his phone and said in a cold tone, "They bribed a technician from our company and asked him to tamper with the audio equipment."

"What?!" Lin Xiao and I both exclaimed, "How could they do this?!"

"Jinxiu Tianyuan" is our company's biggest competitor, and has always been eyeing us covetously. The new product we launched this time poses a huge threat to them. They must be desperate to resort to such despicable means!

"What should we do now?" Lin Xiao asked anxiously, "The press conference has been messed up, and the promotion of the new product has also been greatly affected..."

I was in a state of confusion, not knowing what to do. Then I remembered the mysterious ally who had been helping us secretly.

"I'll make a call." I took a deep breath, turned and walked to the corner, and dialed the familiar number.

The call was connected, and an old and kind voice came from the receiver: "Kid, what's wrong?"

I briefly told him what happened at the press conference and what Splendid Farm had done.

"Don't worry, kid," the old man said calmly, "I already know. What you need to do now is to calm down and not panic."

"But..." I wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by the old man.

"Listen to me," the old man said, "the press conference can no longer be undone. What you need to do is to minimize the losses. You can use social media platforms to publish detailed introductions and videos about the new products to make up for the shortcomings of the press conference."

My eyes lit up. This is indeed a good idea!

After thanking the old man, I immediately went back to Bai Hanchuan and Lin Xiao and told them his advice.

"Okay, let's do it!" Bai Hanchuan said decisively, "Lin Xiao, you are responsible for contacting major social media platforms to strive for maximum exposure. I will find someone to make the video."

"No problem!" Lin Xiao took action immediately.

Soon, we worked out a new promotional plan. However, just as we were about to upload the video to the Internet, something unexpected happened again...

"What's going on?!" Lin Xiao exclaimed, "Why can't the video be uploaded?!"

My heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling came over me. I immediately walked over to Lin Xiao and looked at the computer screen. The upload progress bar was stagnant, and the glaring red words "Upload Failed" were displayed below.

"Is the network connection normal?" I muttered to myself. I felt like someone was strangling me and it was almost impossible for me to breathe.

Bai Hanchuan's face turned pale. He walked to the computer, tapped the keyboard quickly, and his expression became even uglier.

"It's a cyber attack," he said in a deep voice, "someone is maliciously attacking our server and preventing us from uploading videos."

"'Splendid Garden' again?!" I said these words almost through gritted teeth. Apart from them, I couldn't imagine who else would attack us at this time.

"Despicable!" Lin Xiao stamped his feet in anger, "They have absolutely no bottom line!"

Just when we were in a state of panic, my cell phone rang. I picked up the phone and saw that it was the employee in charge of online publicity at the planting base.

"Mr. Mu, this is bad! A lot of negative news about our new products suddenly appeared on the Internet, saying that our products have quality problems, and also saying..." The employee's voice was filled with a hint of panic and fear.

"What?!" I held the phone tightly and forced myself to calm down.

"They said...that our products use banned pesticides, which are harmful to the human body..." The employee's voice became smaller and smaller, almost inaudible.

I suddenly felt dizzy and almost lost my balance. This was a disaster! Our new product, which we had worked so hard to develop, was maliciously slandered by our competitors before it even had a chance to be released!

"I understand. Stay calm first. I'll handle it as soon as possible." I took a deep breath and tried to keep myself calm.

After hanging up the phone, I felt like the whole world was spinning. I leaned back in my chair helplessly, looking at the chaotic scene in front of me, feeling helpless and anxious. Bai Hanchuan came over and gently held my hand. His eyes were firm and powerful, as if telling me that no matter what happened, he would face it with me.

"What should we do?" I raised my head and looked at Bai Hanchuan, my eyes full of helplessness and confusion.

Bai Hanchuan didn't say anything, but just held my hand tightly. He looked out the window. There, the originally clear sky had been covered with dark clouds without knowing when...

The press conference was in chaos, with the invited journalists whispering and talking to each other. Their expectant eyes were now filled with suspicion and distrust. I suppressed my panic, walked to the stage, picked up the microphone, and tried to make my voice sound calm and firm.

"Dear media friends, I'm sorry, due to some technical reasons, our new product launch conference is temporarily interrupted. Please be patient, we will solve the problem as soon as possible..."

Before I finished speaking, someone in the audience asked loudly, "Mr. Mu, people on the Internet are saying that your new product has problems and uses banned pesticides. Is this true?"

"Yes, if you don't give us a reasonable explanation, we will report it truthfully!"

Sharp questions were thrown at me one after another, like sharp blades, piercing my heart fiercely. I took a deep breath and was about to explain, but was stopped by Bai Hanchuan.

He walked over to me, took the microphone, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, we will investigate the rumors online to the end! Our products can withstand any test. Please do not believe the rumors and wait patiently for the results of our investigation."

His voice was low and powerful, with an unquestionable majesty. The crowd gradually quieted down, but their suspicious eyes did not disappear.

"It sounds nice, but who knows if it's just bluffing?" Someone in the audience murmured quietly, but it was like throwing a stone into a calm lake, causing ripples.

My heart was getting heavier and heavier. I knew that just a few explanations would not be enough to calm the storm. We had to come up with more powerful evidence to save the situation.

"Hanchuan, what should we do now?" I asked in a low voice, my tone full of helplessness and confusion.

Bai Hanchuan didn't say anything, but just held my hand tightly. His eyes swept across the suspicious faces in the audience, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"It seems that some people will not give up until they reach the Yellow River..." He muttered to himself, with a hint of coldness in his tone.

My heart moved, as if I had thought of something, I raised my head and looked at him with burning eyes: "You mean..."

Bai Hanchuan did not answer, but just held my hand tightly and strode towards the stage. His eyes were firm and deep, as if he had seen the truth behind the fog.

"Notify them," he said to the assistant behind him as he walked, "Invite them to the base."