Chapter 492 - 404: Bombshell Incident (Part 2)

The official leisurely blew on the floating tea leaves in his cup. After taking a sip with a sigh, he set the cup aside and picked up the report.

As if afraid the official wouldn’t understand, the young woman explained, "Sir, the complaints compiled here are just a portion of those from this public incident. There are many more on the website, and I’ve replied to each one. How would you like to handle these?"

The official listened to her without immediately speaking, instead beginning to read the report carefully.

Complaints: Bluegogo suspected of fraud, refusing to refund deposits!

Seeing that nearly all the complaints were about Bluegogo, the official couldn’t help but gasp. He knew this had blown up.

He knew of Bluegogo. It was a shared bike company operating in several cities in their Hu Province and the neighboring province. He had even followed the trend and registered for Bluegogo himself, paying the deposit.

He clearly remembered their promotional materials stating the deposit was refundable at any time. But looking at the online complaints, he saw the marked waiting times were at least several days, and the deposits still hadn’t been returned.

The official immediately took out his phone, opened the Bluegogo app, and searched for a while without finding the option to refund his deposit. He then said to the young woman standing nearby, "Xiaoli, come here! Help me figure out how to get this Bluegogo deposit back!"

Following his instruction, the young woman stepped forward, took the official’s phone with both hands, and placed it on the desk. She explained the process as she went, quickly helping him select the deposit refund option.

When he saw the words on the screen—"There are 999+ people in the queue ahead of you. Please wait patiently"—the official knew the situation could no longer be contained.

He thought for a moment and said, "Xiaoli! I understand the situation now! This is a matter of great importance. Go back and post an announcement on the website immediately, stating that our department will launch a strict investigation into the deposit issue and will be accountable to the public! As soon as possible!"

After hearing her orders, the young woman immediately turned and left the office.

After she left, the official stood up. He paced back and forth a few times before picking up his phone from the desk and making a call.

"Old Chief! Something major has happened! Listen to me..."

After hanging up, the official heaved a long sigh of relief. He had just called his old chief and explained the severity of the situation. Now, all he had to do was coordinate with other city departments for a joint enforcement action. They would order Bluegogo to rectify the issue immediately, ensuring at the very least that the deposits of their city’s residents were refunded as soon as possible. Otherwise, they could forget about continuing their operations.

As for the other cities, his old chief would naturally handle the coordination.

The official stood behind his chair, gazing at the dark, overcast sky outside. "A storm is coming to the shared bike industry," he murmured.

...

"CUT!" Xu Ke yelled into a megaphone.

The two actors who had been hanging from wires were immediately lowered.

"What kind of acting was that! Haven’t you eaten? This is a fight, not a dance! Put some force into it! Your expressions have to be on point! Let’s go again!"

All cameras returned to their positions, and they restarted the segment of the final battle between the Wild Wolf Gang and the Seven Profound Sect.

Wu Yun stood up, about to observe more closely, when his phone rang. The sound wasn’t loud, but on the quiet set, it was perfectly clear.

"CUT!"

"Whose phone is that?! Didn’t I tell you all to set your phones to silent or vibrate?" Xu Ke turned around, fuming, only to see Wu Yun pulling a phone from his pocket.

Wu Yun looked apologetic. "My apologies, Director Xu! You guys carry on. I need to take this call."

Xu Ke’s expression was a bit awkward. He finally sighed, waved his hand, and shouted, "What are you all looking at! Again!"

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Wu Yun walked through the parting crowd to a quiet spot before answering Li Qiuliang’s call.

The moment the call connected, he heard Li Qiuliang’s excited voice. "President Wu! The deposit bubble has burst!"

The afternoon’s fatigue vanished in an instant. Wu Yun asked in a low voice, "Which one? Little Yellow Car or Mobike?!"

On the other end, Li Qiuliang couldn’t help but facepalm. ’The big boss only has eyes for the two main competitors chasing us.’ "Neither of them," he said. "It’s Bluegogo, our competitor in the central region!"

"And also Kuqi Bikes in the coastal region! Both companies have received a massive number of complaints these past few days, and some people have even reported them to the relevant authorities!"

"Now, the cities in the central region have announced a joint enforcement action, ordering Bluegogo to rectify the situation. They’ve been ordered to refund the deposits of everyone who applied for a refund within one week! Otherwise, they’ll be shut down!"

Bluegogo was now on the razor’s edge.

Wu Yun understood the operations of shared bike companies better than anyone. He knew this was undoubtedly the fuse—the fuse that would ignite a major upheaval in the entire industry!

There was absolutely no way Bluegogo could refund all the requested deposits within the deadline. This uproar would cause other users to panic and scramble to get their own deposits back, making the funding gap wider and wider until, in the end, Bluegogo would just give up and let it all burn.

"What’s the reaction been like nationally?" Wu Yun asked.

"It hasn’t made huge waves yet, because even though Little Yellow Car and Mobike’s refunds aren’t always prompt, they do get back to the users within a short time. It’s just that the funding gaps for Bluegogo and Kuqi Bikes are too massive, which is why they can’t return the users’ deposits."

Wu Yun asked, "Are we ready?"

Li Qiuliang naturally knew what Wu Yun was asking. He said with a laugh, "President Wu, rest assured! We’ve long been prepared to face a massive wave of deposit refunds! All our financial holes have already been plugged!"

Because Wu Yun had never misappropriated much of the deposit money from the very beginning. Coupled with his large initial capital investments and later fundraising, after a year of development, Little Red Car had already plugged its gaps and even turned a profit.

"Then let’s make this fire burn even brighter. We’ll add some fuel to it." The corners of Wu Yun’s mouth curved into a smirk. His cold laugh sent a chill down Li Qiuliang’s spine on the other end of the line.

Still, Li Qiuliang truly admired Wu Yun. ’When he first founded Little Red Car, Wu Yun had already anticipated a future deposit crisis. I have to admit, his vision for capital management and company growth is truly masterful. I’ve seen it with my own eyes in the development of his other companies, too.’

"Haha! President Wu, don’t you worry! I’ve already prepared the article! It’s just waiting to be sent out by some major influencers!" Li Qiuliang said with a laugh, subconsciously glancing at the article on his computer screen that was about to send shockwaves through the industry.

"Excellent! Wait for things to escalate a bit more! Then it’ll be our turn to start trending."

Wu Yun glanced at his watch. "It’s still early. I’m leaving for Rongcheng right away! I’ll be back at the company tomorrow morning!"

After hanging up, Wu Yun walked over to Qi Fei, who was reciting her lines from a script. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Feifei! Something’s come up at the company. I have to go back to Rongcheng right now. You guys take care of yourselves. If you need meals cooked, just hire a cook."

Qi Fei put down her script and asked, confused, "Why the sudden rush? Did something happen?"

’This was the first time she had seen him act like this. Wu Yun was usually so unhurried when he went to the company, never in a rush. For him to be rushing back to Rongcheng now, something major must have happened!’

"Little Red Car... no! The entire shared bike industry is about to have a major shake-up! I have to go back and take charge!"

Qi Fei stood up and came to Wu Yun’s side. She picked up a tissue from the table and gently wiped away the fine beads of sweat that had formed by his ear while he was on the phone.

"Okay, you should go. Be safe on the road. And don’t forget what you promised me! After I finish filming, you’re taking me and Meng Meng to the Capital City!"

"If you run into trouble... oh, never mind. I doubt even my dad could solve it!"

Wu Yun smiled and squeezed her hand. "Don’t worry. Just focus on your filming."

Just then, Wen Meng walked over from the crowd of onlookers. Seeing the state Wu Yun and Qi Fei were in, she asked with a smile, "What’s going on? Why do you two look so serious?"

Because there were so many people on set, Wu Yun avoided any intimate gestures so as not to create a bad impression for Qi Fei. He simply leaned back in his chair and said with a smile, "It’s nothing. Something came up at the company, so I have to head back to Rongcheng first. You stay here and keep Feifei company while she films. I’ll come pick you guys up when it’s time."