mynovelweb Chapter 282 The Moment of Counterattack
Chapter 282 The Moment of Counterattack
January 21, 1998, 6:30 a.m.
Ling Yun stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of Xingchen Technology's office building, watching Silicon Valley awaken in the morning light.
His face was reflected in the windowpane—he had made a point of grooming himself today, his beard was neatly shaved, and he wore a custom-made dark gray suit with a crisp white shirt collar, the platinum cufflinks An Shiyu had given him peeking out from the cuffs. The engraving "L&Y 1998.5.20" on the inside of the cuffs pressed against his skin, sending a slight chill through him.
Today is a press conference.
I barely slept last night, repeatedly reviewing every word of the complaint with the legal team, rehearsing every aspect of the press conference with the PR team, and confirming the chain of evidence to be presented with the technical team. At 3 a.m., Carly was still revising the wording of the press release. At 4 a.m., Richardson called from New York to confirm that Goldman Sachs' people in Washington had obtained some key materials.
Now, those materials are packed in the black briefcase at Ling Yun's feet. Papers, photographs, printed email records, notarized expert testimonies. They are not heavy in weight, but they are significant.
At seven o'clock sharp, Carly pushed open the door and came in. Today she was wearing a dark blue suit skirt, her hair was neatly tied up, and her makeup was exquisite but could not hide the fatigue under her eyes.
"The media are all here." She handed the tablet to Ling Yun. "Forty-seven of them, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, CNBC, and the BBC. There are also international media outlets, such as Reuters, AFP, and Xinhua News Agency."
Ling Yun took the tablet, which displayed live footage of the press conference hall. The hall, which could accommodate two hundred people, was almost full. Cameras were set up at the back, and reporters were talking in hushed tones. The air was thick with anticipation and tension.
"Is the seating arrangement as planned?" Lingyun asked.
"As planned." Carly nodded. "In the front row are representatives from the UHSB consortium—Jerry Sanders from AMD, Scott McNealy from Sun, a representative from IBM, and a representative from Dell. Jim Barksdale from Netscape will be there in person; his seat is in the middle of the second row."
"What about the councilor?"
"Representative Thompson is already here, in the lounge. His chief of staff, James Lee, said that the state legislature is having a plenary session today, and the representative will leave halfway through the press conference to rush back to Sacramento and submit the bill against discrimination based on nationality on the spot." Carly glanced at her watch. "The estimated time is around 10:45, which is just when we finish presenting our evidence and move on to the Q&A session."
"What about on-site security?"
"It's been reinforced," Carly said. "Zhao Hu brought six men, mixed in with the staff. In addition, the Palo Alto Police Department has two patrol cars on standby nearby, just in case."
Lingyun finished the last sip of coffee. The bitterness lingered in his throat before slowly dissipating.
"Are you ready?" Carly asked.
"Ready?" Ling Yun put down his cup. "Let's go."
The elevator descended to the third floor. When the doors opened, the corridor was already packed with people—StarCraft's senior management team, legal counsel, public relations personnel, and key members of the technical team. Upon seeing Ling Yun, they automatically made way for him.
"President Ling," someone greeted in a low voice.
Ling Yun nodded without pausing. Footsteps echoed in the corridor, like the prelude to some kind of ritual.
The door to the press conference room was ajar. Through the crack, one could see flashing lights and hear the buzzing of reporters talking inside. Ling Yun stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath.
“Remember,” Carly whispered in his ear, “control the pace, stay calm. Let the evidence speak for itself, and let them feel the emotions.”
"I know."
The door was pushed open.
The flashbulbs exploded instantly. A torrent of white light poured down, stinging the eyes. Ling Yun squinted, adjusted his vision for a few seconds, and then walked onto the podium. His leather shoes made no sound on the carpet.
Behind the podium was a dark blue backdrop with the Star Technology logo and today's theme: "Facts and Fairness - Star Technology's Response".
He stood behind the podium, his hands resting on the surface. The audience fell silent, except for the continuous clicking of camera shutters.
"Good morning, everyone." His voice, clear and steady, resonated throughout the hall through the microphone. "Thank you all for coming today. I know there's been a lot of discussion lately about Star Technology and Star Language. Today, I don't want to discuss any of those topics; I just want to show everyone here the facts."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room. In the front row were faces supporting him, in the back were reporters' lenses, and further away were the cold eyes of camera cameras.
"First, I have an announcement to make." Ling Yun took a folder from his briefcase. "This morning at nine o'clock, Xingchen Technology filed two lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The first lawsuit is against The Wall Street Journal and The San Francisco Chronicle for commercial defamation and discriminatory reporting based on nationality. The second lawsuit is against Microsoft for unfair competition, commercial defamation, and damaging a competitor's business reputation through false statements."
As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur rippled through the audience. Reporters lowered their heads and quickly took notes, and flashbulbs went off again.
"I know that suing the media is rare in the United States, and suing a giant like Microsoft is even rarer," Ling Yun continued. "But we believe that when media reports cross the line of fact, and when business competition becomes smear campaigns and discrimination, the law is the only solution."
He opened the folder and took out the first file.
"This is a copy of a Wall Street Journal article from February 20th." He held up the document so the camera could record it. "The article cites an 'unnamed cybersecurity expert' who claims that Xingyu may provide backdoors to the Chinese government. But according to our investigation, the real identity of this 'expert' is—"
He switched to the large screen. A photo appeared: a white man in his fifties, wearing a suit, standing in front of a building in Microsoft's Redmond campus.
"John Miller, a former NSA analyst, retired last June. After retiring, he became a paid consultant for Microsoft, with a contract worth $250,000 per year. This is a notarized copy of his employment agreement."
An even bigger commotion erupted from the audience. Reporters craned their necks, trying to see the details on the screen.
"More importantly," Ling Yun switched to the next image, "this is a record of emails between John Miller and Michael Ross, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. On February 18, two days before the article was published, Miller sent Ross a 'background briefing' containing the very points cited in the article. The email was copied to the head of Microsoft's public relations department."
The email screenshot has been enlarged. The sender, recipient, time, and content are clearly visible.
"The Wall Street Journal's editorial standards allow reporters to use anonymous sources. However, the source's identity and any conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the editorial department, which will then determine whether a conflict of interest exists." Ling Yun looked at the audience. "We don't know if Michael Ross disclosed Miller's relationship with Microsoft. But we can be certain that readers have the right to know this information. And The Wall Street Journal did not provide it."
He put down the document and picked up the second one.
"Regarding the article in the San Francisco Chronicle." The screen switches to a forum screenshot: "The article claims that 'a large number of users' on tech forums have questioned the security of Xingyu. But our technical team analyzed these posts—see below."
Data charts appeared on the screen: the posting time was concentrated between 3 pm and 5 pm on February 19, the posting IP addresses were concentrated in three network segments, the registered emails were all temporary emails, and the posting content was highly similar.
"This isn't a discussion among ordinary users; it's an organized online attack," Ling Yun said. "We tracked these IP addresses, and they belong to a company called 'Digital Public Opinion Management Company.' And Microsoft is on this company's client list."
Another image: the cover page of the service contract, the client name is "Microsoft Corporation", the service content is "online reputation management", and the time period is from January 1998.
"This evidence, along with other materials, has been submitted to the court as attachments to the complaint." Ling Yun closed the folder. "We are asking the court to rule that: first, the two reports be retracted and a public apology issued; second, compensation be paid to Xingchen Technology for the commercial losses suffered as a result; and third, a ban be placed on Microsoft from continuing to use similar methods for unfair competition."