Chapter 318 - 295: Before AI, the Network Is a Mere Decoration

Chapter 318: Chapter 295: Before AI, the Network Is a Mere Decoration

In a lounge, Lu Feng saw what was happening in the exhibition hall below.

The venue for the International Skincare event didn’t just have the exhibition floor; there were also dedicated lounges connected to the display booths. The better the booth, the better the lounge.

It was obvious that someone was deliberately causing trouble for the Xuanfeng Alliance.

He just found it strange. Why would someone in France be causing trouble for him for no reason?

Just then, Xiaozhi’s voice sounded, "Master, these women were put up to this. The allergic reactions on their faces were pre-existing. I’ve found clear video footage, as well as their medical records."

"Moreover, they were in contact with people from Ouya. They were paid a sum of money, and I have the transaction record."

"Also, I might know the reason why. The son of Ouya’s person-in-charge for this exhibition holds shares in another skincare company. They had their eyes on our booth space as well."

Hearing this, Lu Feng had a good idea of what was going on.

’It seems I’ve ruined their plans.’

So this was just them being dissatisfied and wanting to teach him a lesson.

Unfortunately for them, their work was too sloppy. Xiaozhi exposed it with ease.

To people back home, this kind of trick would be considered an insult to their intelligence.

But then again, this was France. Even if something happened, the French authorities wouldn’t help investigate Ouya’s people. They would just have to suffer in silence.

Such things weren’t uncommon abroad.

For example, wasn’t there recently news about a Chinese couple found dead in a hotel at an internationally renowned tourist destination?

The couple had open wounds on their waists, clearly inflicted by a sharp object.

Many people might not understand what an "open wound" is. Basically, you can think of it like surgery, where your body is cut open but not stitched back up, leaving the flesh, bones, and organs visible inside.

That’s more or less what an open wound is.

But here’s the kicker: the autopsy report concluded that it was "unknown whether the injuries were self-inflicted or inflicted by others."

Isn’t that a joke?

Both of them were dead. Besides someone else, could it have been themselves?

Did they think a couple traveling together, who booked a hotel room, would go all that way just to give each other a "creative" wound?

Or give themselves a "creative" wound to commit suicide?

Isn’t that just insulting people’s intelligence?

You just have to get used to it. That’s how it is abroad a lot of the time; they just want to insult you.

Unfortunately, if the other party thought they could push Xuanfeng Facial Mask around so easily, they had another thing coming. They’d messed with the wrong people.

"I’ll go take a look!" Yang Ming frowned and led his men out.

Lu Feng instructed, "Cousin, I already know what’s going on. Remember to get that person-in-charge from Ouya—the man—and make him watch the LCD screens in the hall!"

"Okay." Although Yang Ming didn’t understand what was happening, he nodded. Following his younger cousin’s instructions couldn’t be wrong.

Around the best display booths in the venue, a growing crowd was gathering.

Whether they were skincare enthusiasts, various bloggers, or sales agents, they were all pointing at the Xuanfeng Facial Mask booth and chattering.

"This mask causes allergic reactions!"

"I can’t believe they passed the review process."

"Has the France International Skincare event gone downhill? How could a product like this get approved?"

Yang Qingxue grew anxious. She hadn’t expected something like this to happen and quickly explained, "There’s nothing wrong with our masks! We’ve all used them ourselves."

She hurriedly had a translator convey her words.

Lu Feng had put her in charge of the mask company, and she didn’t want a major problem right at the start. Crucially, the Xuanfeng Facial Mask had been tested on all skin types and shouldn’t cause adverse reactions for anyone.

Unfortunately, just as her words were translated, Rost smugly started making trouble again. "Just because you’ve used it without issue doesn’t mean it’s fine for everyone. Perhaps some skin types aren’t suited for this mask."

"Could it be that you at Xuanfeng Facial Mask didn’t even test it on various skin types? Right, you seem to be from the Xuanfeng Alliance."

"That place was war-torn for years. They have no foundation for mask-making technology, so isn’t it normal for something like this to happen?"

These words made the surrounding crowd nod in agreement, becoming even more resistant to Xuanfeng Facial Mask.

"Make way!"

"What’s going on?"

A team of security guards from the venue hurried over.

After all, a crowd was gathering here. Something had clearly happened, and it was their duty to handle it.

Seeing the guards, Rost said with a mocking expression, "This Xuanfeng Facial Mask caused users to have allergic reactions. According to the rules, their product must be re-inspected. Gentlemen, for the sake of order at the exhibition, I think you should escort them out to undergo product testing."

Once a product was sent for re-inspection, there was no telling how long it would take. They would effectively have to say goodbye to the exhibition.

The guards also looked toward the people from Xuanfeng Facial Mask.

According to the regulations, this was the correct procedure. However, under normal circumstances, there was room for discussion and a softer approach could be taken.

But when they saw that Yang Qingxue and the other women had yellow skin, and the one making the suggestion was from one of their own country’s most famous groups, they seemed to decide a softer approach was unnecessary. They would just follow the procedure directly.

Just as a few of the guards were about to step forward, they found three men blocking the front of the booth. It was Yang Ming, along with a Speed Ability User and a Hyena Beastification Ability User he had brought with him.

Yang Ming looked coldly at the guards. "Gentlemen, what’s the rush? We need to get the facts straight first!"

Liao Liyan knew Yang Ming was one of President Lu’s men. Seeing him appear, she immediately helped translate.

Yang Ming then turned toward Rost. "You’re feeling pretty pleased with yourself, aren’t you? Now, take a good look at the LCD screens in the hall!"

Almost simultaneously, the LCD screens throughout the entire exhibition hall, which had been playing skincare ads, all switched to the same image.

It appeared to be surveillance footage. The video showed the three women with the allergic reactions on their faces.

The three women were seen eating some kind of seafood, then suddenly started shouting. This was when the allergic reactions appeared on their faces.

The video was time-stamped from the day before yesterday.

The three women had an allergic reaction from eating seafood and even got into an argument with the restaurant owner.

Then, the footage changed, showing a video of the three women visiting a hospital.

Seeing this, the crowd immediately erupted in an uproar. These three women didn’t get allergies from using the Xuanfeng Facial Mask? They were already having a reaction beforehand.

Liao Liyan finally understood and yelled angrily, "I knew it! So that’s why you were wearing such thick foundation earlier! You were covering it up to frame us!"

The three women were completely dumbfounded. They never imagined the other party could get their hands on such a video. They turned to flee.

Seeing this, the Hyena Ability User beside Yang Ming instantly darted forward, slapping each of the three women to the ground. He then glared coldly at the security guards.

The security guards instantly felt a cold sweat break out on their backs.

That gaze made them feel as if they weren’t being stared at by a human, but by a wild beast.

The men swallowed hard. Without the Hyena Ability User needing to say a word, they subconsciously stepped forward and restrained the three women.

According to the rules, the three women had come to cause a disturbance and damage the event’s reputation. They would undoubtedly be spending some time behind bars.

Rost’s expression changed instantly.

He couldn’t believe it.

’How could they get this kind of video in such a short amount of time?’

’Could it be they knew all along that I was going to find these women to frame them?’

’Impossible. I only decided who to hire last night and then contacted them.’

’Did they really find these videos in just this short period?’

’That’s even more ridiculous.’

’The police couldn’t even do something like this, let alone a bunch of foreigners who aren’t even French.’

While Rost was lost in thought, something appeared on the LCD screens that made his face turn even uglier. The next video was evidence of him hiring the women.

It even included his transaction information and photos.

Even Liao Liyan was astonished by President Lu’s methods.

’How did he do it in such a short time?’

But seeing the situation, she knew to seize the opportunity. She looked coldly at Rost and said, "Mr. Rost, that’s you, isn’t it? And that’s your account, right? I never would have thought that you at Ouya would resort to such tactics against us."

The information Xiaozhi obtained showed that Rost’s son held shares in a skincare company, which explained Rost’s motive for targeting them. But clearly, not all the information had been released.

This was per Lu Feng’s request. After all, since they already had everyone’s attention, why not let Ouya, the world’s number one brand, take the fall? Trampling on the world’s number one to rise up would be much more satisfying, wouldn’t it?

Rost was now completely and utterly stunned.

’How did they get their hands on this kind of evidence, too?’

’In such a short time.’

He was now increasingly suspicious. Did they actually know he was going to retaliate?

’If that’s true, then they’re terrifying.’

But if they had found all this in such a short time, that seemed even more terrifying.

Rost was completely baffled.

Obviously, he had no idea that when it came to anything connected to the internet, there was no such thing as security in the face of an artificial intelligence 70 or 80 years ahead of its time.

Unless you don’t use the internet.

And clearly, Liao Liyan was no fool. She accurately seized the opportunity to promote her own Xuanfeng Facial Mask, shouting loudly, "I can’t believe you at Ouya already knew how effective our Xuanfeng Facial Mask is! You were so afraid we’d steal the spotlight from Ouya’s masks that you resorted to slandering us like this. How unbecoming of the world’s number one skincare group!"

When her words were translated, the entire crowd went into an uproar.

What did the people from Xuanfeng Facial Mask say? Their masks are that effective? Ouya knew and deliberately targeted them?

Thinking about it, it seemed the person in charge from Ouya had been the one making trouble from the very beginning. He was the one who hired people to target Xuanfeng Facial Mask.

"I can’t believe Ouya would resort to such tactics!"

"Yeah, if Ouya felt threatened, doesn’t that mean Xuanfeng Facial Mask is actually really good?"

"If it wasn’t effective, Ouya wouldn’t have needed to frame them!"

"..."

In an instant, the tables had turned again. Only this time, Ouya was the victim.

This sudden change left the people from Ouya baffled. They all had looks of utter confusion on their faces, completely clueless as to what had just happened.

"Mr. Rost, what is going on?" his deputy immediately ran up to ask.

Not only was he baffled, he felt like he was dreaming. The crucial part was that the damn LCD screens had started replaying the previous videos, all of them hammering home one point: Ouya had framed the Xuanfeng Alliance.

"It’s over." Rost, however, just mumbled to himself and collapsed to the floor.

He knew very well that after a mess like this, Ouya’s board of directors would never let him off the hook. Once they started investigating, everything would come out.

Liao Liyan didn’t let the opportunity slip by, seizing the moment to shout again, "Ladies, our Xuanfeng Facial Mask supply is limited! First come, first served!"

Instantly, the women in the crowd were spurred into action, each one rushing to get a mask to try.

Soon after, the entire exhibition would be set abuzz by the Xuanfeng Facial Mask.