The next morning, Bao Yueqiao arrived at the company a little after ten, leisurely starting his day's work.
First, he checked the online status from the previous day. Active users had decreased by about 4,000, but Bao Yueqiao was very satisfied as this number was in line with his predictions. As time went on, fewer people would be lured away by advertisements, and then the decline would stop. He felt he was truly brilliant.
“Xiao Mu, get me a cup of coffee!” Just as Bao Yueqiao called for coffee, dozens of people suddenly emerged from the elevator in the Lianzhong Games office area. Most of them were wearing security uniforms and looked aggressive.
These people poured into the Lianzhong office area at an extremely fast pace.
“Who are you people? We didn't call security!” As Lianzhong operated in an office building, they did not have their own security personnel but used the building's security system.
However, these security guards usually wouldn't appear on the office floors, so the two front desk staff walked over suspiciously to inquire about the situation, only to be quickly apprehended by two burly security guards.
“Charge in! Take everyone down according to the plan!” someone commanded calmly, and then these security guards rushed into the office area like the wind, scaring everyone into screaming.
“Everyone listen up, stay put and don't move around. Don't touch your computers either. Anyone who touches one, I'll send them packing!” a person who was clearly the security captain shouted aggressively, making the white-collar workers tremble like quails.
“Brother, are we being robbed?” an employee whispered.
“It seems like it, but I've never heard of anyone robbing an office building!” another employee shook his head in confusion, not understanding why he was being robbed while working diligently and slacking off.
However, these security guards had no intention of robbing them. Instead, they simply kept an eye on a few people each, ensuring they wouldn't touch their computers. Apart from that, they did nothing else.
At this moment, however, a group of people in suits entered, led by a young man, and quickly headed towards the executive area.
“Wait, the person leading them looks so familiar!” Suddenly, someone felt that they seemed to have seen the man leading them somewhere before.
“Xiao Mu, what's going on outside? It's so noisy?” Seeing that the secretary who went to get coffee hadn't returned and there was a commotion outside, Bao Yueqiao asked with annoyance.
Then the door was pushed open directly. More than a dozen people entered, startling Bao Yueqiao. When he saw who it was, he smiled and said, “So it’s the Chairman. Why didn’t you give us a heads-up? I could have gathered the colleagues to welcome you and host a reception!”
“No need!” Brother Ma waved his hand and then walked directly to Bao Yueqiao, saying, “Bao Yueqiao, I have one question for you: Will you disable your world chat channel?”
“So the Chairman came to see me specifically for this matter!” Bao Yueqiao’s mouth twitched, and then he said, “Chairman, we are currently working hard to develop a profanity filter function. As for banning world chat, I believe it is completely unnecessary.”
From a normal person's perspective, Bao Yueqiao had no reason to confront Brother Ma at this point.
Firstly, for Brother Ma to show up unannounced, he must be extremely angry.
Secondly, since Bao Yueqiao no longer held any shares and had long harbored the intention of establishing his own venture, there was no need for him to insist on his own ideas. It would be much better to follow the boss's wishes and receive a fixed high salary each month. Why insist on confronting him like this?
Actually, there were two reasons for Bao Yueqiao to act this way. The first was that if Bao Yueqiao conceded now, various directives from the head office would come one after another. From then on, there would truly be an emperor on the "bridge," not just a retired emperor.
Secondly, Bao Yueqiao, or rather, "Explosive Bridge," somewhat looked down on Brother Ma. Bao Yueqiao was a graduate of a prestigious Beijing university, but Brother Ma's diploma, although also from a good university, was a bit questionable. Moreover, he was younger, so Bao Yueqiao felt a sense of defiance towards Brother Ma and felt he couldn't truly obey him.
Of course, Bao Yueqiao's greatest confidence lay in the belief that Brother Ma wouldn't dare to fire him.
“I understand!” Brother Ma nodded and then said, “President Bao, the company has decided to send you to the United States for a year of study. Pack your things and depart.”
“What did you say?” Bao Yueqiao was stunned.
“I said, you will go to the United States tomorrow. The company will cover your airfare, tuition, and living expenses. Go and study for a year with peace of mind!” Brother Ma said calmly.
“Brother Ma, what do you want to do?” Bao Yueqiao shouted angrily. “My education is higher than yours; I don’t need to study!”
“As you wish. Sending you to study is the company's arrangement. If you are unwilling to study, then you are violating company directives and will be considered to have voluntarily resigned without any compensation from the company. The choice is yours!” Brother Ma said coldly.
“I understand. You came here today for a surprise attack to fire me!” Bao Yueqiao finally realized, and he said intensely, “You, the Ma surname, are not qualified to fire me. We agreed in our contract that if I don't want to leave, you can't force me out within five years!”
“That's right, so I'm sending you to study in the United States for a year. This is a work arrangement. You are still an employee of the company and the CEO of Lianzhong!” Brother Ma said. “Also with me are four colleagues from the company's legal department. They are very knowledgeable about the law and have thoroughly studied the contract. You can consult with them. If you believe we have violated any laws, you are welcome to sue us in court. However, for now, Mr. Bao, please leave with me immediately. I will escort you to the plane to go to the United States.”
“You…” Bao Yueqiao pointed at Brother Ma’s nose. He hadn’t expected the other party to play such a ruthless card. Good heavens, sending someone to study abroad, with paid leave, such a malicious move! Who did he learn this from?
Well, this move was actually an original creation by our Brother Ma. In another world, he might have learned it from Old Ma. But since they all shared the surname Ma and were family, it didn't matter who copied whom.
“Surname Ma, I can leave, but if I leave, can you manage this company?” Bao Yueqiao suddenly sneered. He understood that he couldn't stay in the company, but he was unwilling to be driven away by Brother Ma like this. He wanted to retaliate, so he took out his biggest trump card.
“I built the entire Lianzhong from scratch. All the executives here were promoted by me. If I give the word, everyone will follow me, and Lianzhong will instantly become an empty shell. Your three hundred million will all go down the drain!” Bao Yueqiao said sinisterly. He wasn't making empty threats; he was genuinely planning to do it.
“As you wish. However, for now, please leave the office, President Bao. We will pack your personal belongings and send them to you later. As for the company's public property, you cannot take any of it away!” Brother Ma said.
“You…” Bao Yueqiao was stunned, then he lunged towards his computer. A certificate was plugged into the computer, which was likely the certificate controlling the entire company system. Without this certificate, Lianzhong’s backend would be unable to boot up.
Unfortunately, Brother Ma had already anticipated this, which was why he had launched a surprise attack. Two strong security guards immediately subdued Bao Yueqiao and forcibly dragged him out. At the same time, Zhang Zhidong immediately led his team to take over the entire office, securing all critical equipment related to Lianzhong's operations.
On the other side, Bao Yueqiao was dragged out of the office and into the office area. Then he saw his employees looking at him in shock, while dozens of security guards tightly controlled all the company's computers, and the movements of all employees were restricted.
“All colleagues, allow me to introduce myself. I am Brother Ma, the Chairman of Tengda Group, and also your Chairman, your highest superior and leader.”
“I announce that starting today, the entire Lianzhong world will be directly managed by Tengda Company. All authority, everything, will revert to Tengda. As for our President Bao Yueqiao, due to a series of recent work errors leading to a large loss of users, the head office plans to send him to the United States for a year of advanced study. We will see what happens after a year!” Brother Ma said with a stern face, looking at the ordinary employees or executives in the company who were still bewildered about what was happening.
“However, President Bao just said that he wants to resign, and I welcome it with both hands. He also plans to take some of his former subordinates from the company with him. I have no objections to that either. All executives are now suspended for three days. During these three days, you can all consider this matter. Those who are willing to stay are welcome, and those who are not are bid farewell.”
“You don’t need to worry about your jobs either. I have brought Tengda’s most outstanding staff and management personnel. They will take over your work. As for your future arrangements, I guarantee that those who follow me wholeheartedly will not be treated unfairly.”
“Alright, now ordinary employees can return to work, and middle and senior management should go home and rest for three days to consider this matter!” Brother Ma said, waving his hand. Regardless of whether Bao Yueqiao and all the executives were willing, they were all forcibly taken away by security guards, leaving behind the still bewildered ordinary employees and the quickly accepting Tengda elites.
Later, people would refer to this incident that shocked the internet as "The Security Guards Disband the Army."