Cao Gongzi posted...

Recently, Miracle Group has been making headlines, giving the public plenty of gossip to feast on, while everyone kept their eyes on Young Master Cao, waiting to see how he would respond.

Especially this time.

It was the first time Miracle Group had its funds frozen.

This was tantamount to flipping the table.

In the past, even when competitors fought tooth and nail, they kept their actions within bounds, playing by the rules.

But this time was different.

This time, the game was being shut down.

They were preparing to go head-to-head with Miracle Group.

After a week of escalating tensions, Miracle Group followed standard procedures—lodging protests, submitting documents, and even suing the local financial authorities.

But Young Master Cao remained silent.

Until a week later.

Young Master Cao posted a message.

Instantly, it grabbed everyone’s attention.

Fans, casual observers, entertainment media, and even mainstream news outlets all turned their focus to him.

Even international media took notice of Cao Cheng.

And then…

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone was left speechless.

The content of Cao Cheng’s post was: "Summer break is almost over, so here’s a great movie recommendation for everyone—coming soon to theaters…"

Followed by a video.

The trailer for the film The Eight Hundred.

By now, Cao Cheng had become something of an uncrowned king in the industry. Almost every major film, regardless of budget or star power, would approach him—asking if he wanted to produce, invest, or lend his name as an executive producer.

In short.

At this stage of his career, fame, status, and money were practically handed to him on a silver platter.

What did people want from him?

Nothing more than his reputation, his influence, and his connections.

To put it bluntly.

Any film with Young Master Cao’s name attached would breeze through censorship with slightly less scrutiny.

That alone was a rare advantage.

Not to mention, having him credited as a producer almost guaranteed decent screen time upon release.

...

"Seriously, Young Master Cao, are you for real? They’re practically knocking on your door, and you’re out here promoting a movie?"

"I give up, fine, we’ll watch it, okay? It’s just The Eight Hundred, right? I’ll watch Sixteen Hundred if I have to—just get back to business already."

"This is hilarious…"

"Hubby, hubby, the foreigners are bullying us—aren’t you going to respond?"

"Hubby, hubby… crush those foreign devils!"

"Hubby!!"

The comments were all over the place.

Some were joking, some were exasperated, and others were downright furious.

Of course.

Most were ready for a fight.

Especially the sharp-eyed ones who saw the deeper meaning behind Cao Cheng’s movie choice.

On the surface, it was just a film promotion.

But in reality, it was his way of telling the world: We’re not backing down.

No matter how many enemies there are.

We’ll fight tooth and nail to take a chunk out of them.

"Ah, I see now."

"Overanalyzing much?"

But soon, Cao Cheng liked that comment.

That’s when everyone understood his message, and the media quickly picked up on it.

As for what Young Master Cao would actually do, no one knew.

He wasn’t the type to engage in public spats.

Cao Cheng knew better.

Some things could be discussed openly online, letting the public feel involved.

But other things?

They could only be done, never spoken—not a single word.

Like this situation.

The method Cao Cheng planned to use was simple: "finding a USB drive." And the contents of that drive? Explosive.

It involved high-profile politicians and financial schemes.

Then, leveraging the thousands of small media accounts he’d cultivated in Europe and the West, he’d release the information.

Causing chaos.

Of course.

That was just the surface play. Behind the scenes, there were other tactics—like using AI and his hacking skills to destabilize financial markets.

Hence, some things could only be done in the shadows.

Not even a hint of his involvement could surface.

...

Did they really think Young Master Cao’s money was easy to take?

Sure, the amount wasn’t huge.

But this was about pride.

So,

Cao Cheng didn’t just rely on his own methods. He also mobilized his club, issuing tasks to short the market in a certain country.

Members could profit while earning club points.

Some of those members were old-money families from that very country.

But so what?

Capital has no allegiances.

Besides.

Even if the local elites tried to resist, a coordinated short-selling attack—coupled with negative press and social unrest—would tank the market regardless.

So,

Any thought of resistance from those old-money families vanished almost instantly.

Better to cash in while they could.

...

The preparations didn’t take long.

Three days later.

A minor news story broke.

It might’ve seemed insignificant, barely covered by the media.

But it was the starting gun.

The retaliation had begun.

This little piece of news was also hard to distinguish between truth and fiction.

It claimed there was some dirty laundry within the royal family, just like tabloid gossip, and it was leaked by a self-media outlet.

Those who saw it wouldn’t take it seriously.

Even major media outlets paid no attention to it.

But gradually… the story began to spread on its own.

One day.

Two days!

Three days…

More and more self-media accounts, along with some smaller outlets, started covering the story, and evidence slowly piled up.

What’s more, the evidence began to appear well-founded.

It seemed to be true.

Especially when some seemingly righteous influencers took half-truths and ambiguous "proof," using platforms like the internet, TV, talk shows, and interviews to loudly condemn the royal family’s actions.

How could they be so shameless?

Princesses, queens… damn, the confidential files spelled it out plainly, and there were even photos—they really went wild.

A single spark started a prairie fire.

Suddenly, every media outlet was on the story, especially foreign ones.

Everyone loves a scandal.

Some major outlets seemed to have been prepared, instantly producing evidence that hadn’t even surfaced online yet.

Including proof directly implicating financial institutions, accusing them of insider trading—how it harmed the royals, the nation, and ordinary people’s interests.

That’s when things blew up.

…

After fermenting over a weekend.

Just as the new trading week began.

The financial markets’ networks were suddenly hit with countless cyberattacks.

This wasn’t unusual.

Most networks face such threats daily.

But today was different—because there were insiders helping. In just one minute… the financial markets collapsed.

All the numbers went haywire.

A single wave wiped out a century’s worth of reputation.

The damage couldn’t even be measured in money.