168 The Malignant event and Aftermath (1/2)

Chapter 168: The Malignant event and Aftermath

Translator: _Min_Editor: Rundi

October 16, 2015.

It was not an ordinary day for Lingyu Technology.

”What is going on? Tell me what is going on!” Ling Zhongtian clung on to Qian Haiming's collar as he roared out with bloodshot eyes.

Qian Haiming's mouth twitched, but he couldn't say a word.

”Boss, please, please calm down. Our programmers are fixing the server. I have also called the police, the deputy assured me that he would quickly...”

”Quickly my *ss!”

Ling Zhongtian pushed Qian Haiming away as he breathed heavily. He used one hand to hold onto the table, while the other trembling hand pulled out a drawer and he grabbed his cardiac medication.

His shaking fingers took several tries before twisting open the cap.

Finally pouring a few capsules into his hand, Ling Zhongtian stuffed the medication in his mouth and chugged down some water with it.

He closed his eyes to regather his breath before finally opening them again. His emotions seemed to have calmed down.

Seeing that the boss was no longer angry, Qian Haiming who stood on the side afraid to talk, finally let out a breath of air.

But when he raised his head, he was shocked to find that the respectable boss was no longer there.

The person who replaced him was a pale looking old man that lost his ability to speak.

...

Morning.

Players from I am ATM, Dota history logged onto the game as per their usual routine to finish their daily quest. But when they logged in, they were enraged to find out that their account returned to level 0? The diamond they obtained from gold, equipment, and real money...

Were all f*cking gone?

There was only a brief explanation posted on the official site regarding this incident.

<Last night at around midnight, the server received a malicious attack from hackers. Programmers are currently working to restore lost user data and upgrading system security. For the inconvenience it may cause the users, Lingyu Technology express their deepest regret...>

Deep regret my *ss!

The enraged players almost blew up Lingyu Technology's customer service. The customer service representatives would receive another call immediately after hanging up.

However, there was nothing they can do to resolve the complaints of the players since they were not responsible for the operation. They could only follow the procedure of explaining the current situation to the players and asking them to remain calm. As well as assure them that the programmers were currently working to resolve the problem, and for them to please be patient...

But it was futile. For the millions of angry players, the one hundred customer service representative team was a drop of water in the vast ocean.

When the angry players saw that the problem was not resolved and that the helpline was constantly busy, they directly dialed 315 to file a violation of rights against Lingyu Technology.

They have purchased the diamonds, spent their time leveling up, and now it was all gone?

However, these complaints were meaningless against Lingyu Technology as at the time of registration, there was a clause added at the bottom to offset such incidents. The final interpretation of this agreement was up to the discretion of the Operator. Also, Han laws were ambiguous when it came to intellectual property protection, rarely would there be a case where players have won a lawsuit against a game operator.

But the negative reputation caused by the lost user data was hard to erase. Official forums had an influx of complaining players. The moderators had to increase the requirement for posting and began muting and banning people. Not only did this not control the status quo, but the players without a place to express their rage also began to flood into other forums.

Major BBS (1) forums were all pulled into the midst of this event, as the few justice seeking posts were instantly upvoted to the top.

Every post under the influence of the internet army unified their statement, and in the name of holiness, began a crusade on the evil operator.

Protecting their rights!

Everyone selectively chose to forget that Lingyu Technology was also a victim; the real person that made them suffer losses was the hacker that attacked the server.

As to how it escalated to this point, the internet army had their fair share of contribution. Once they swayed the opinion during the first outburst of anger, there was not much suspense in the remaining battle.

Lingyu Technology not only lost in skill but also public opinion.

The players part of the internet crusade realized that the operator did not compensate for their loss. The promised ”1000 crystals for every player” could not compensate the loss of the players that paid for 2000.

The project department's ”lack of action” and the customer service's perfunctory were interpreted as arrogance.

In the midst of disappointment and anger among the players, seeing that their votes by hands were useless, they began to vote with their feet.

The crusade ended, because they had already given up on the game. Instead, they chose a better mobile game.

There were better games on the market. The only reason they stood their ground on an almost out of date game was because of the emotional attachment, as well as the time and money sunk into it. But emotional attachment was certainly a fragile thing as the attitude and response of the operator indeed broke the heart of the players that stood their ground.

Seeing the account that they spent countless hours on being erased was more painful than seeing the game being shut down completely.

Based on market analysis, the server operated by Lingyu Technology lost 89% of their users due to this data postage. While the servers operated by other companies did not receive a malicious attack, the after effect of the event resulted in a significant amount of users being lost.

As if in one night, the Lingyu Technology that forged miracles collapsed.

At the same time, the new Future Technology was using its era-defining - <New Era> to rise to dominance.

The stars seemed to have aligned.

New Era was foretelling the end of the old era.

...

Within the international airport at Wanghai City.

”Come back early...” Yan Xiaoyan's eyes were brimming with tears. She gently bit her lip as she gazed into the teen's eyes.