Chapter 46: We Are Only Laborers Moving Things

“But that’s not the most tragic part. The truly lamentable thing is, you never even intended to steal their user data, yet you were still thrown in jail by T-Tech for that very reason!” Huang He chuckled. “So, since you’ll be locked up in the future for so-called data theft, why don’t we just—well, not steal, but guide their user data over to us? That way, whatever happens, at least we won’t be on the losing end!”

“Chairman, what do you mean by this?” Chen Shoufu was stunned, staring at Huang He in terror.

“As I said, I have three aces up my sleeve to solve our user acquisition problem. The first one, of course, is your Coral Plugin. I’ll give you three days—three days to create a brand-new update package.”

“Well, it’s not really an update package. You could call it a product iteration. Replace the core of Coral Plugin with our OO. As for the name, call it Coral Plugin OO. But don’t overhaul the icon or user interface; keep it almost identical to the original.”

“But Chairman, if we switch the core to OO, the software won’t be able to log in!” Chen Shoufu asked in confusion.

Coral Plugin, to put it bluntly, was just a skin layered on top. Now Huang He wanted to keep the skin but swap out the person inside, which left Chen Shoufu utterly bewildered.

“That’s where some ingenuity comes in!” Huang He explained. “When a user logs in with Coral Plugin OO, the program immediately uses their account and password to create a matching OO account. On the backend, we log them in automatically and import all their contacts into the Coral Plugin OO database. This way, we perfectly replicate their entire friends list!”

“But what about messaging…”

“We can act as a relay station. Our servers transmit messages between both sides, so users can still chat seamlessly. The network is fast enough that they won’t notice any delay at all. And just like that, the user has become our OO user.”

“As the saying goes, ‘We don’t create friends; we’re just couriers of friends!’” Huang He squinted as he spoke.

“Chairman, this is illegal!” Chen Shoufu’s legs went cold. If T-Tech sued, wouldn’t he be looking at ten years behind bars?

“Wrong. You don’t understand the law!” Huang He laughed heartily. “Legally, the only area they can go after us for is copyright. At most, T-Tech can sue us for copyright infringement.”

“But the definition of infringement is using their assets or software for your own profit! Based on that, your previous Coral Plugin was certainly infringing.”

“But Coral Plugin OO is different. We’re using our own code and our own visual assets—nothing of theirs. There’s no intellectual property violation!”

“As for relaying communications via our server, being a courier for users, sorry, that’s outside the jurisdiction of the copyright law. No law currently regulates such conduct, and what the law does not forbid, it allows. So our actions are not illegal.”

“Of course, if T-Tech is powerful enough, they can try to sue for copyright infringement. But I, Huang He, am no pushover. My standing in Wenzhou is no joke. T-Tech may be unbeatable in their territory, but if they come to my Wenzhou, they’ll have to bow down… Ahem, what I mean is, the law is the final arbiter. As long as I, Huang He, don’t break the law, I cannot be defeated!”

When Huang He finished, Chen Shoufu was left speechless for several minutes.

“If you’re still worried, I can have someone set up a shell company and transfer control of Coral Plugin OO to them. That way, you’re completely free of any legal ties. If T-Tech wants to sue, they can only go after the shell company’s legal representative,” Huang He continued.

“But then that legal representative would be taking the fall for me!” Chen Shoufu finally came back to himself, feeling uneasy.

“Don’t worry. I’ll appoint a seventy-year-old man as the legal rep. Even if T-Tech wins, no one’s going to throw an old man in jail—that would only create trouble for themselves!” Huang He grinned wickedly, as if the penguins of the world could sense a deep, malicious intent.

“But Chairman, if we do this, T-Tech isn’t going to just sit by. Within a few days, they’ll likely discover Coral Plugin OO’s secret and block our server ports!” Chen Shoufu pointed out.

“Oh, is that so?” Huang He hesitated. “Is it really that easy to block?”

“With such a large amount of data all coming from the same IP address in Wenzhou, unless T-Tech’s staff are fools, they’ll spot it instantly,” Chen Shoufu replied helplessly.

“I see!” Huang He stroked his nose, mind racing. Soon, he came up with a new solution.

“Then let’s change our approach: the new Coral Plugin OO package won’t display a frontend!”

“When users open Coral Plugin OO, it will still perfectly copy their friends list. Any received messages will be displayed directly in our OO!”

“Haha, now this plan is even more flawless. We save on server costs, and all data is sent from each user’s own computer and IP address. There’s no way T-Tech can discover Coral Plugin OO’s secret. Hahaha!” Huang He laughed triumphantly.

“But doesn’t this mean we’re infringing on T-Tech’s copyright?” Chen Shoufu asked timidly.

“No problem—so what if we are? These cases take a year or two in court. At worst, we get convicted, maybe jailed for three years, but if we offer full compensation, the sentence can be reduced,” Huang He said, utterly unconcerned.

“But Chairman, didn’t you say you’ve always obeyed the law and never committed a crime?” Chen Shoufu asked softly.

“Yes, but it’s not me breaking the law!” Huang He grinned. “It’s Coral Plugin OO and that seventy-year-old legal rep behind it. What’s more, Coral Plugin OO is itself an add-on for our OO software, which means it actually infringes on our own copyright. When the time comes, we’ll sue them for infringing Jiangnan Group’s copyright as well!”

Huang He gazed into the distance, declaring righteously, “I, Huang He, am the most law-abiding of all!”

[PS: I wonder if everyone understands Huang He’s schemes. It should be easy enough to follow…]