Under the mirror
Wang Hao's interactions with the "Security Committee" and "Mingyu" were also detected by the surveillance, like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely shattering Li Ming's last shred of hope for "survival within the rules." The "safety net" provided by Zhang Lei was itself riddled with holes for spying. The depth of this quagmire far exceeded his worst expectations.
He could no longer sit idly by and wait for his fate, nor could he entrust the destiny of "Mingyu" entirely to the "protection" or "tolerance" of any external force. He had to have his own trump card, a card that could break the balance at a critical moment, or at least give him leverage in negotiations.
That crazy idea that flashed through his mind in the dead of night spread like wildfire in his heart—to build a "mirror laboratory" completely independent of the existing system.
This laboratory will no longer be bound by the constraints of the "Safety Committee," and will be free to research rejected but forward-looking technological ideas, explore deeper possibilities for data applications, and even... attempt to build a "prototype" with a completely different technical architecture, parallel to the existing "Mingyu Life" platform. It will be the true technological spark and future blueprint for "Mingyu."
The risks are undeniable. This completely violates the spirit of the memorandum, and if Zhang Lei or deeper forces discover it, the consequences will be unimaginable. This is tantamount to walking on the edge of a cliff.
But the benefits are equally enormous. If successful, he will have a technological "second option," escaping his current stifled state of innovation. At some crucial moment in the future, this may be his only hope of breaking free of his shackles.
Having made up his mind, Li Ming began an extremely secretive plan.
His first contact was Wang Hao. In a secure environment where no electronic devices were listening (he even deliberately chose a noisy riverside spot), Li Ming laid out his plan to this key technical expert.
After listening, Wang Hao remained silent for a full five minutes. His eyes behind his glasses flickered with shock and worry, but in the end, they transformed into the excitement and determination of a tech geek facing the ultimate challenge.
“Technically, it’s achievable.” Wang Hao’s voice was slightly hoarse with excitement. “We can use open-source frameworks, rent servers overseas with strict privacy protection, and connect and collaborate through multiple layers of encryption and anonymous networks. The code repository and development environment are all independent and physically isolated from the company’s existing systems. It’s just… funding and personnel?”
“I’ll take care of the funding, using the reserves from that domain name transaction,” Li Ming said in a low voice. “The personnel… for now, it’s just you and me. Ziqing will be responsible for the necessary external fund allocation and cover, but she can’t know the core details; this is a form of protection for her. Liu Qiang… can’t be involved for the time being.”
Wang Hao nodded emphatically: "I understand. The fewer people who know about this, the better."
“The lab’s codename is ‘Mirror.’” Li Ming gazed sharply at the rushing river under the night sky. “Our goal isn’t to overthrow anything immediately, but to preserve the spark and explore the boundaries. We’ll focus on three areas: first, based on our rejected prototype of a personalized recommendation algorithm, we’ll explore higher-level privacy computing technologies (early prototypes of concepts like federated learning); second, we’ll attempt to build a decentralized, user-data-driven community model; and third… we’ll research how to effectively combat and detect that kind of high-level data snooping from the bottom up.”
Each of these three directions points directly to the core of the current constraints, and each teeters on the edge of danger.
Project "Mirror" was launched under absolute secrecy. Wang Hao used all his technical expertise, like a master watchmaker, to begin building the secret workshop hidden in the shadows of the digital world. Li Ming, on the other hand, acted like a cautious infiltrator, using the seemingly legitimate channels established by Li Ziqing for overseas market research, to quietly inject funds, in small increments, into the operation of the "Mirror" laboratory.
Meanwhile, on the surface, Mingyu Technology continued to operate strictly in accordance with the guidelines of the Security Committee. The platform steadily optimized the basic user experience, the community activities planned by Li Ziqing were vibrant and successful, and the number of users grew slowly but healthily. Li Ming acted like a most competent "collaborator," submitting reports regularly, humbly accepting "guidance," and even proactively cutting some minor feature iterations that might cause controversy.
This "dual-track operation" was extremely draining on Li Ming's mental energy. He had to remain vigilant at all times, ensuring that no trace of the "mirror image" would be discovered, while also outwardly playing the role of the submissive one. He became more silent than before, but deep within his eyes burned two distinct flames—one a layer of icy weakness, the other a lava of resistance.
Li Ziqing keenly noticed this subtle change in Li Ming. She could sense that he was carrying a heavier burden in his heart, and she saw the anxious and resolute look that flashed across his brow when he occasionally stared blankly at the computer screen. She tried to probe him a few times, but Li Ming always brushed it off with words like, "The company's development has encountered a bottleneck, and we need to think about how to break through it."
She didn't press him further, but silently handled all the public affairs for him, managing the company's daily operations meticulously, sharing his burdens, and carefully protecting the secrets he didn't want to share. This unspoken trust and support became Li Ming's most important comfort under the double pressure.
However, beneath the calm surface, the undercurrents never cease to surge.
With continuous financial support from Lei Yao Capital, Zhao Zhen's "Zhenhua Commerce and Trade" has become a regional e-commerce leader and is beginning to extend its reach to the broader national market, showing great momentum. Zhou Ruilin's "Kuaituan.com" has also steadily secured its place in the market by relying on its offline resource advantages.
In contrast, while the "Mingyu Life" platform enjoys a good reputation and an active community, it lags significantly behind the other two in terms of monetization and market scale. It seems to have become a "small but beautiful" model, confined to a specific development trajectory.
What made Li Ming even more uneasy was that Zhang Lei seemed to be aware of the situation as well.
During a routine "strategic communication" video conference, Zhang Lei casually remarked, "Li Ming, I've noticed that your platform has recently put a lot of effort into user experience, which is great. However, innovation can't completely stagnate. I heard that your technical team had some ideas about... well, a smarter recommendation algorithm? Although we temporarily shelved it due to the risks, we could try a different approach and continue exploring within a more 'safe' framework."
These words sounded encouraging, but Li Ming detected a subtle probing in them. Zhang Lei seemed to be reminding him, "I know what else you have, and I know your current 'well-behaved' behavior might just be an act."
Li Ming's mind was racing, but he remained outwardly calm and respectfully replied, "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Zhang. We have been actively exploring solutions, but we will always prioritize compliance and safety, and operate within the framework guided by the committee."
After the meeting, Li Ming immediately contacted Wang Hao, requesting that the "Mirror" laboratory enter a deeper state of dormancy, with all research activities suspended and only minimal maintenance maintained.
Just when Li Ming thought he had dealt with the situation and breathed a sigh of relief, a week later, he received a phone call from his father, Li Jianhua, from his hometown of Lincheng.
On the phone, Li Jianhua's voice carried a tone he had never heard before, a mixture of confusion and lingering fear:
“Mingming, today… a few people who said they were from the city’s ‘New Technology Promotion Office’ came to the factory to see me. They were quite polite, but the questions they asked were a bit strange… They asked me if I was particularly interested in radio and computers when I was a child? Did I ever tinker with anything… unusual? They also asked if I had ever talked to them about any particularly advanced… ideas after I went to university?”
Li Ming's hand gripping the phone turned white instantly from the force of his grip, and a chill ran from the top of his head to the soles of his feet!
The investigation, surprisingly, once again pointed to his past and his family in a more roundabout and fundamental way!
What does the other party want to know? Is it to find the source of his "advanced ideas" in his growth trajectory? Or... is it trying to verify some kind of speculation about his "uniqueness"?
This time, even Zhang Lei seemed unable to completely block out this deeper inquiry.
His father's voice pulled him back from his icy thoughts: "Mingming, have you gotten into trouble again outside? Dad isn't very capable, but..."
"Dad, I'm fine!" Li Ming forced down the turmoil in his heart and interrupted his father in the most relaxed tone possible, "It's probably just some ordinary research, don't overthink it. Everything's fine on my end, and the company is doing very well."
After comforting his father and hanging up the phone, Li Ming stood alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, looking down at the bustling yet indifferent city below. He felt that an invisible net was slowly closing in on him and those around him from all directions, in a more refined and harder-to-defend way.
The existence of the "Mirror" laboratory is like a bomb buried deep in the sea. And the other side's new round of investigation seems to have already smelled the fuse.
How long can he keep hiding?
Will this small boat, struggling through raging waves, be able to find the sea where it can truly sail freely before it capsizes completely?
The night was as dark as ink.
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