Chapter 981: The Final Negotiation

A week later, major news outlets were abuzz with the news that the Haishi Group had violated user privacy. Over a dozen social networking software applications were forced to shut down, and the company's stock fell to its lowest point in history.

In order to expedite this result, Chen Shi also hurried about everywhere, collecting a lot of evidence.

This drastic blow to Hai Guoyang was fatal. His company slid to the brink of bankruptcy overnight. Creditors turned up one after another to collect debts, but Chen Shi felt that this was entirely self-inflicted. Users used these social networking applications to communicate normally but they didn't know that there was a guy who claimed to be an observer of humanity violating everyone's privacy.

Today was the twenty-second day the case was officially filed. Chen Shi went to Hai Guoyang’s company. The huge company was now desolate. The employees had no work at all. They had either quit early to join another company or took a break at home. There was only one middle-aged woman in the deserted hall who still persisted in sweeping the floor.

Chen Shi took the elevator and went straight to the top floor. The president’s office was a mess with documents all over the floor. Hai Guoyang braced himself on the desk, looking out the window. He heard the footsteps, and said without turning his head, “Do you feel very happy ruining other people’s companies?"

"You should ask yourself that. You destroyed it yourself. In order to steal users’ information, you actually hired a whole team to browse their chat content day and night, and filtered out useful information for yourself. Were you really running a company? In my opinion, this was basically a tool for your self-satisfaction."

Hai Guoyang turned his head, his eyes changed from momentary ferociousness to mildness. His face was very pale. It seemed that he hadn't slept well for a long time. He asked, "Are you here to laugh at me?"

"I think it's time for us to have a good talk, observer of humanity."

Hai Guoyang walked to the wine cabinet, picked up a bottle of wine, unplugged it and poured a few glugs directly into his mouth.

The phone in Chen Shi's pocket kept recording, and today's private meeting was just for the purpose of gathering further intelligence from the observer of humanity.

"I have come into contact with many criminals. They are cunning, cruel, and secretive. From this point of view, you’re not a qualified criminal. You treated it as a noble cause, and you were not even willing to cover it up. You lost to your own arrogance."

With a smashing sound, Hai Guoyang broke the wine bottle and said fiercely, "Don't compare me with those criminals. They kill people for money, for vengeance, and because of ugly and low-level animal instincts. I cultivated mission executors allowing Long’an’s crime rate to drop to the lowest level. I protected more people than the police, but you want to stop me and let Long’an return to the way it was before. Your vision is so short-sighted. You guys don’t care about the future and just want to maintain the status quo!"

Chen Shi walked up to him and said calmly, "Why are you so obsessed with this matter? I’ve investigated you. Your parents are both high-level intellectuals. You have a very high level of education. Your life can be said to be smooth-sailing. So why are you suddenly paying attention to the crime rate?"

Hai Guoyang laughed, revealing a trace of madness, "You want to dig out the reason from my past? I'm sorry, but I have no relatives that were killed by criminals. The reason is very simple: because Long’an has many criminal activities of all sorts happening every day. I, living here, hope it will get better. Song Lang, you have solved countless crimes, but before and after you appeared, has the city changed for the better? You weren’t able to do it, but I did. You’re envious of me!"

"Pulling up shoots to help them grow will only bring about negative effects."

"You just resist instinctively. The life functions can't go wrong. I have already proved this to you."

"Yes, I didn't want to believe it at first, but now I believe it. It really is amazing! There is no problem with the life functions. The problem is you!"

"Me?!" Hai Guoyang's eyes widened.

"Yes, it's you. You want to use a quick way to reduce the crime rate, simply and crudely, once and for all. There are countless people like you in history with great ideals. Their personalities were brilliant and majestic, and they held the designs of the heavens but created hell in the end! It’s because human beings are such complicated things. There is no one-click method to eliminate the troubles in the world. You can only counter every move, resolving things step by step. You may retreat a step and take two steps forward. The population is too large and resources are wasted. One might as well snap one’s fingers and kill half of them.[1] Men like to cheat on their partners, so establish a law to execute them directly by firing squad if they cheat. These rough methods sound really great, but they obliterate the possibility of an individual. Even if it’s a small possibility, those who were erased by you might have mended their ways, but you have never given them a chance!"

"What's more frightening is that this one-click method of eliminating crime was in your hands. Hai Guoyang, even if you’re a saint, it will frighten people. It has taken mankind thousands of years to establish laws and systems, and while it’s not perfect, it can be constantly improved. Hundreds of millions of people are protected by it. How can you deny that and think that you’re above it? When the power of life and death is in the hands of one person, it will become a major weapon that will endanger others at any time. In fact, the means to eliminate crimes in advance already exists; that is the deterrence of the law. When a person harbors malicious intentions, those punishments will sound the alarm in his mind and make him think carefully. However, you treated people like orangutans, thinking that they will only do things by instinct, directly destroying the evil orangutans humanely. Using violence to control violence is never a just path, and there is no justification for murder."

Hai Guoyang panted heavily and stared at Chen Shi. "Even if you make it sound nice, I’m the observer of humanity. I am objective and fair, and you will only run over to put up a cordon and investigate corpses afterwards. If you are lucky, the case will be solved. If you are unlucky, the criminals will continue to go unpunished! You want to use the law to persuade me, but don’t forget, what you are is a violent agency that upholds the law! The law uses violence to force people to accept it. That is, the essence of law and the system is violence. There is nothing wrong with my approach. When people accept it, it will exist like law and common sense, and what you get will be a pure land without crime!"

Chen Shi shook his head. "You can't do it."

"No, I can do it!!!" Hai Guoyang roared, his pride wounded.

Chen Shi sighed, took two steps and then turned around. "I’m here alone today to negotiate with you. We currently do not have any conclusive evidence of your crimes, nor a list of your mission executors. Lu Dahai has already been killed, and the impersonator was also arrested. The superficial problem has been solved. As long as you no longer commit any crimes, we can no longer investigate. The task force will soon be disbanded and abandon this 'cause'. You can escape the sanctions of the law! We can't prosecute you without evidence, even if I know, you know and everyone knows. This is the impartiality of the law!"

Hai Guoyang spread his hands. "Escaped? In this state right now?"

"That’s another matter. You violated users’ privacy and the company deserves to go bankrupt. You can continue to be an observer of humanity. As long as you don't push people onto the road, we can live together peacefully."

Hai Guoyang laughed loudly. "Don't even think about it! I will order all executors to take action immediately!"