The richest man's parents were kidnapped, and his adorable son captivated the entire family.

Xie Yumin felt as if she had entered a silent minefield, where she could hear the echo of her high heels on the tiles with every step. She tried her best to keep her steps steady, her back straight, her eyes clear and firm, as if she were unaware of the danger lurking around her.

As she walked towards the water dispenser, a casual remark came from behind her:

"Tsk, you can never truly know a person's heart just by looking at their face. They always pretend to be so aloof and capable..."

The voice belonged to one of the employees, who was facing away from her, pretending to operate the coffee machine. His tone was neither too loud nor too soft, but it reached the ears of everyone present with precision.

Another voice immediately followed, belonging to another employee, whose tone was deliberately raised, carrying an aggressive schadenfreude.

"That's right! The forum has exposed him; he got there by sleeping his way up! Now that his backer has fallen, he's shown his true colors! I heard he even fabricated evidence to frame Vice Chairman Sun? He's really ruthless! The investigation team should investigate thoroughly!"

A few low snickers echoed in the air, piercing Xie Yumin's back like needles.

No one stepped forward, and no one spoke. It was as if an invisible vacuum had formed around her, isolating her so completely.

Xie Yumin remained expressionless, her eyes unwavering, her lips tightly pressed together, and her jawline subtly taut. She walked to the water dispenser, her hand reaching for the cup seemingly calm, but her fingers were actually white from the force of her grip. Each drop of cold water flowing into the paper cup felt like a struggle to control her emotions and the humiliation she was enduring.

She took a sip of icy water, the chill sliding down her throat as if trying to suppress the rising anger and resentment within. But bitterness slowly seeped from between her lips and teeth, filling her heart.

She didn't linger. As she put down her water glass, her movements remained meticulous, as if she were facing not a hostile colleague, but a client at a board meeting.

Before turning away, she didn't look at anyone.

The investigation team followed behind her expressionlessly, like escorting a prisoner.

As soon as her figure completely disappeared through the doorway, the tea room finally erupted in a long-suppressed commotion and snickers.

This time the sound was louder and the content more venomous, but it would never reach her ears again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.

Night fell over the private villa complex, the lawn was dimly lit by the garden lights, but the interiors were quiet.

Ruolan sat on the European-style sofa in the second-floor study, holding a glass of still-warm red wine, the liquid swirling elegantly within. She wore a smooth silk robe and light makeup, but the moment her confidante reported that "Xie Yumin has been taken away by the investigation team," a cold smile immediately appeared on her lips.

"Finally, they took the bait."

She murmured to herself, as if enjoying the sound of her prey being caught in the net.

Immediately, she picked up her phone and dialed Attorney Chen's private encrypted line.

“Chen Lu,” she said, her voice low but sharp, each word like a blade, “the opportunity has come. Xie Yumin, that loyal dog of Gu Yinshen, has fallen into the trap. Beat him to death.”

Attorney Chen on the other end of the phone was silent for two seconds, then replied in a low voice, "Understood. We'll get started right away."

Ten minutes later, the "Ruolan Legal Affairs Department" team quickly assembled in a meeting room. The lights came on, and Attorney Chen, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, stood in front of the projector, speaking rapidly:

"You guys go and gather the materials first. Collect screenshots of the most popular post on the Gu family's internal forum, including the top comments and the 'exposés' in the relevant posts."

"Then we work on the copywriting. We highlight the following keywords: 'data fraud,' 'Gu family scandal,' 'capable female general,' 'power-for-sex exchange,' 'asset transfer,' and 'criminal liability.'"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the team members, his tone icy:

"The wording must be provocative, but not directly defamatory. For example, vague and inflammatory expressions such as 'according to insiders,' 'suspected,' 'maybe,' and 'may involve' must be repeated. The goal is to create the public perception that 'Xie Yumin not only committed workplace fraud, but may also be a front for Gu Yinshen's illegal operations.'"

Another team member quickly typed on the keyboard, and the draft copy was immediately projected onto the whiteboard.

"The storm surrounding the Gu family has escalated again! Former head and 'capable female general' Xie Yumin is under investigation for alleged data fabrication!"

"Suspected of being a 'front man' for Gu Yinshen's asset transfer, more scandalous allegations of power-for-sex transactions may be exposed!"

Attorney Chen nodded in satisfaction and said in a detached tone, "Very good. This copy needs to be packaged into materials within one hour and distributed simultaneously through the designated public relations matrix and public opinion amplification channels."

Thus, under the dual pressure of legal and public opinion, a devastating offensive of "classifying work errors as criminal offenses and then repackaging them as moral stains" has taken shape.

Late at night, after confirming that the materials and copy had been packaged, Attorney Chen immediately contacted "Black Tide," a top operator in the online marketing world, through encryption software.

On the other end of the video, a man with a blurred face and a distorted voice slowly approaches the camera: "What level?"

“Maximum scale.” Attorney Chen’s voice was calm, his face expressionless. “Full coverage across the internet, focusing on finance, gossip, and social news sections. Protagonist: Xie Yumin. Tags: ‘Gu Yinshen’s mistress,’ ‘corruption accomplice,’ ‘front man.’ Smear her; budget is not a problem.”

"Black Tide" chuckled: "I understand, this is my specialty. By noon tomorrow, the entire internet will only have the version you want people to believe."

At the same moment, in a dimly lit but well-equipped underground workshop, the "Kuroshio" command was issued, and the massive online troll system was immediately activated.

In dozens of dedicated control rooms, the walls are covered with monitoring screens displaying the activity of major social media platforms. The technical team begins to manage tens of thousands of "high-quality zombie accounts." These accounts have complete historical posts, personal photos, and lifestyle updates, making them look exactly like genuine ordinary users. At the same time, real-person online trolls distributed across the country receive tasks through a dedicated order-taking platform and push out messages in segments and at controlled times.

First round of press releases launched:

On Weibo, several accounts posing as "financial experts" posted similar exposés.

"Breaking news: Xie Yumin is suspected of being Gu Yinshen's front man for 'handling' assets! The investigation into data fabrication is not the main point; the relationships behind it are truly shocking!"

Short videos were launched simultaneously on Douyin and Kuaishou, with screenshots, blurry audio recordings, and alarmist headlines flooding the screen:

"Can you believe it? She's Gu Yinshen's...mistress or money laundering conduit?!"

"From the genius female general of the Gu family to being investigated for forgery, how deep is the water in here?"

A question appeared on Zhihu: "What do you think of the investigation of Xie Yumin, a female executive of Gu's Group, suspected of engaging in power-for-sex transactions?"

Dozens of accounts below uniformly flooded the screen with "analysis": "rigorous" logic, strong language, and highly suggestive.