Reckless Challenge, Overwhelming Retribution
The journalists and press crews who had shown up, trusting in the weight of Ted Turner's name, initially couldn't make sense of what they were hearing. News Corp, a murderous corporation? The "that bastard" he kept referring to had to be Murdoch, Ted Turner's longtime nemesis. But ordering murder? Even for two men known as bitter global rivals, this accusation went far beyond the pale.
"Um, Vice Chairman Turner, if you're going to throw out something like that so suddenly..."
One of the reporters among the press corps even raised his hand to object. It was no wonder—these were journalists from The World, the weekly newspaper that stood behind Ted Turner. When he'd called the press conference, he hadn't left them out, and they'd sent a few people under the guise of covering the event, curious about what bombshell he might drop right in front of them.
"Suddenly? I'll admit I jumped straight to the main point because time is short. But once you all learn the full truth of this incident, I'm certain you'll be denouncing News Corp and that man just as fiercely as I am in a few moments."
Though he'd raised his voice about murderous corporations and murder-for-hire, Ted Turner wasn't speaking out of blind rage. He remained remarkably calm, and his words carried clear logic.
"Let me tell you about an unimaginable incident caused by the weekly newspaper The World standing behind me."
The World. A British newspaper whose history dated back to 1843—making it a publication with a proud 159-year tradition. It was now a proud member of the News Corp family.
"But first, you need to know about the tragedy of one young girl. She became entangled in a kidnapping case and ultimately returned home as a cold corpse. This is something that should never happen again."
The crowd, packed together like clouds, immediately realized which case Ted Turner was referencing. While Britain didn't have an alert system quite as robust as America's Amber Alert, they still treated kidnapping cases with immediate breaking news coverage the moment they were reported.
"The problem is that if the investigation had been handled properly from the beginning, she could have been rescued. But someone's interference created chaos in the investigation, causing it to fail. And the even bigger problem is that the method of interference was illegal wiretapping and hacking!"
The kidnapped girl had, after tremendous hardship, managed to contact her home. But her house was already under surveillance, and the resulting confusion led police to classify it as a simple runaway case. The email account the girl had been using was also hacked and showed as "read," which further convinced the police it was just a runaway. The British police had simply brushed off the computer hacking as well.
"I have powerful evidence proving that the wiretapping and hacking that caused this fatal misjudgment in the investigation was carried out by The World behind me. And I can also prove that the person who gave orders so vile that even the devil of hell would resign in disgust was a top executive at News Corp!"
Ted Turner charged forward like a man with nothing left to lose.
"I watched Fox News yesterday. It was so disgusting to my eyes and ears that I couldn't stand more than a minute before changing the channel, but what a spectacle it was. They criticize China for hacking and cracking, they criticize the American government—and yet here they are, calmly committing wiretapping and hacking themselves just to create sensational headlines. If it had ended at mere sensationalism, I might have dismissed it as typical behavior for that kind of company. But this time, a person died!"
With every word Ted Turner spoke, shock spread through the press corps. The people from The World who had come out of curiosity were especially pale, looking utterly pitiful. Yet not a single person in the press corps offered them sympathy or comfort.
That was because Ted Turner was waving around concrete documents—evidence of the wiretapping and hacking. They were precious pieces of evidence that he had diligently dug up after receiving clues from Yoo Jae-won. The effort Ted Turner had poured into obtaining them was indescribable, but seeing the journalists—especially those from The World—turn deathly pale made all that hard work feel worth it.
"I will immediately submit this evidence to the British police and file charges against that man at News Corp and the journalists at The World! To the British citizens listening to this announcement, I hope you will apply maximum pressure on the police and politicians to reveal the full truth of this incident. So that a tragedy like this never happens again."
Ted Turner felt decades of pent-up frustration draining away cleanly. He immediately got into a waiting car and headed to the police station with jurisdiction over the case to submit the complaint and evidence. Reporters who had followed from the press conference captured the scene aggressively, and it was broadcast in real time.
It was the moment lightning struck News Corp.
— Where Does Yellow Journalism End?
— The 159-Year-Old Newspaper's Survival Secret: Wiretapping and Hacking!
— British Political Circles: This Is Unacceptable!
— Prime Minister Blair Orders Thorough Investigation!
— News Corp "Investigating the Full Details of the Incident, Will Fully Cooperate with Police Inquiry."
— News Corp Chairman Murdoch: "I Have Never Once Issued Illegal Orders!"
Thanks to the combination of Ted Turner's name recognition and the severity of the incident, Britain erupted the moment the press conference ended. The phone lines at The World, which had carried out the wiretapping and hacking, were flooded with protest calls. Their reporters became reluctant to even go out for assignments.
"Should've known when to stop," someone muttered.
Korean journalism was far from perfect, but compared to what The World had done, it was nothing. The scandal was so severe that even Fox News across the ocean in America immediately changed its tone. The same Fox News that had been grandstanding every day about Chinese hacking cases to stoke fear suddenly stopped talking about hacking altogether. They had realized that using hacking to create fear was like spitting in their own faces.
The News Corp executives who had claimed they would "look into the full details of the incident" remained silent. Even Murdoch's venomous tongue—which usually matched Ted Turner blow for blow—stayed firmly shut as if sealed with honey. It was understandable. The evidence Ted Turner had presented was simply too powerful and too direct.
It consisted of confessions and physical evidence from the very people at The World who had personally carried out the wiretapping and hacking on the victim's home. Even Yoo Jae-won found it astonishing. He had no idea how Ted Turner had managed to persuade or coax them, but the individuals who had done the actual work on-site had turned over everything—the operation results, reports sent to superiors, and the exact instructions they had received. It even included voice recordings from the Murdoch family. It was a perfect smoking gun.
A few days later, once the British prosecutors began moving in earnest, things briefly quieted down.
Ted Turner's voice had returned to its usual tone. Whenever Murdoch was involved, his personality seemed to change, and this wiretapping and hacking incident had affected him especially deeply. With an actual victim and clear evidence of News Corp's illegality, he had thrown himself into the fight with particular fervor. He appeared before the media at every opportunity, delivering scathing criticism of News Corp and Murdoch. It wasn't even criticism anymore—he didn't hesitate to launch personal attacks. Normally this would have triggered immediate counterattacks and various restrictions, but since counterattacking was impossible in this situation, Ted Turner ran completely wild.
"It's called karma," he said.
Fortunately, Ted Turner was much calmer today. Having released everything that had been building up inside him, he seemed to have found peace of mind.
"But what's going on?"
"The FCC? Is it a hearing?"
"No, nothing like that. They apparently have some questions about the NBC acquisition. Business plans, capital procurement plans, that sort of thing. Even though it's the Universal-GE consortium, News Corp was actually backing them. Now that Murdoch's in this mess, there's no way they can complete the NBC acquisition properly. That naturally makes you the top priority negotiation partner."
"Understood. Then there's no reason to delay."
Just as expected, the hidden backer of the Universal-GE consortium had been News Corp. Once Murdoch took a fatal blow from the The World scandal, the NBC acquisition hit the brakes hard. That was also why NBC's stock price had plummeted so strangely when the wiretapping and hacking scandal broke in Britain.
The simplest way for prices to rise is when there's only one item but two or more people want to buy it. With News Corp—the invisible force that had been supporting the Universal-GE consortium—now out of the picture due to the British incident, they had lost their driving momentum. Naturally, NBC's stock price, which had soared into the heavens, had no choice but to return to earth.
Ted Turner hung up the phone with a very satisfied voice.
"Uncle Ted might be satisfied with this, but I'm not."
Yoo Jae-won still felt it wasn't enough. News Corp had suffered massive damage to its image from this wiretapping and hacking scandal, and the brakes had been slammed on their predator-like expansion policy. But despite Uncle Ted working so hard to stir things up, there hadn't been any real, substantial blow.
"If you touch me, you have to show that you can get destroyed too. That's only fair, isn't it?"
Yoo Jae-won immediately began the next phase. It was something that would pull out several of the pillars supporting the vast empire called News Corp that Murdoch had built over his lifetime.
He opened the file on his computer containing the report on News Corp's share structure that President Vincent Greenhill had sent him.
News Corp's ownership structure was so solid that under normal circumstances it wouldn't have meant much. But the situation was different now. Murdoch was in the middle of a divorce lawsuit. It was something that had happened in his previous life as well, and it hadn't been a particularly prominent event. It had ended with an appropriate settlement.
There was also the uneasy heir, Lachlan Murdoch. Murdoch's new wife was Wendi Deng, a Chinese-American woman who was nothing short of the embodiment of ambition.
Born the daughter of a poor farmer in Shandong Province, China, she had been adopted by an American couple. She had even married her adoptive father, only to divorce him after a mere seven months. Her approach to Murdoch had been extremely calculated. Though she hadn't been invited to a News Corp party hosted by Murdoch, she showed up wearing an elegant dress. Then she pretended to be drunk and spilled wine on him, drawing his attention. It was a classic ploy straight out of a trashy drama, yet even the great Murdoch fell for it and promoted her to his secretary.
Thanks to a mind as sharp as her ambition, she performed her secretarial duties flawlessly—including interpretation—and even captured Murdoch's heart, leading to marriage. Wendi Deng's ambition was to designate her own child as News Corp's successor. Although she and Murdoch hadn't had a child yet, she didn't even try to hide her intentions.
Lachlan Murdoch, born between Murdoch and his ex-wife Anna Maria Torv, had no choice but to be wary of Wendi Deng. In the original timeline, no child had been born between Murdoch and Wendi, their fiery love had cooled, and after rumors of an affair between Wendi and British Prime Minister Tony Blair circulated, it led to divorce. This had solidified Lachlan's position as successor.
"But right now, nothing is set in stone. Fear grows from uncertainty."
If he shook both Murdoch's ex-wife Anna and Lachlan at the same time, it seemed like a very interesting picture would emerge.
Lachlan! He would take the famous Arthas route. After all, a throne was only sweet when you seized it for yourself, wasn't it?
"Hmm, who should make the first move this time?"
When it came to dealing with News Corp, there was no expert like Ted Turner, but this matter required delicacy. Yoo Jae-won thought of people he could trust. As expected, there was no one more suitable than Remington. He immediately sent a text message.
"News Corp is taken care of for now. Next up is China and North Korea?"
Yoo Jae-won had cleared away all the obstacles to the NBC acquisition. Raising the acquisition funds wasn't difficult either. If he was lucky, the Qing Dynasty bonds alone would be enough. If China stubbornly refused to pay, his backup plan was to take ID Technology public.
There was also the option of collateral loans, but since he couldn't completely trust banks, simply listing ID Technology was the most reliable approach. He had already prepared the business plan long ago, so Yoo Jae-won could comfortably begin his retribution against China and North Korea.
Ding!
An ID Talk notification sounded for Yoo Jae-won. The sender was, coincidentally, Ma Huateng, CEO of China's Tencent.
"First, I must apologize."
"What? What do you mean?"
"It looks like the Chinese release of World of Warcraft will be delayed. The censorship bureau was supposed to grant approval today, but there's been no word. It seems like it's been postponed indefinitely. The same goes for the permit number."
"Ah, is that so?"
The "permit number" was a unique identification code that the Chinese government assigned to games. It was similar to an ISBN for books. China managed games by assigning each one a unique number. Without this permit, service couldn't begin, which essentially meant the application had been rejected.
"I'm looking into what's happening, but it seems we've gotten caught up in the US-China trade dispute."
Ma Huateng's analysis made sense. The Warcraft series released by Blizzard was a globally popular game. Among all countries, China was by far the one where it enjoyed the greatest popularity. If Korea was the country of StarCraft, then China was the country of Warcraft. The e-sports professional leagues and ecosystems had formed around StarCraft in Korea and around Warcraft 2 in China.
That was why Chinese gamers' interest in World of Warcraft was no joke. During the world open beta period, servers had opened first in Korea and the United States. Other countries were scheduled to open servers sequentially due to administrative procedures and server preparation. China was supposed to be able to connect after waiting a few weeks, but they couldn't wait even that long and caused an uproar trying to access the Korean servers. Authentication keys for open beta access were selling for hundreds of thousands of won.
The reaction within China had been incredibly heated. So much so that nearly every major Chinese company had approached them about securing the Chinese rights to World of Warcraft, even knowing it might be an impossible fruit to obtain. Of course, the distribution rights had ultimately gone to Tencent.
After that, they had been steadily preparing for the official service launch, but with the most critical permit number failing to materialize, the release had come to a complete halt. While China loudly publicized major retaliatory measures like imposing tariffs, they were also carrying out widespread invisible retaliatory actions. It seemed World of Warcraft had gotten caught in one of them.
It looked like the US-China economic war needed to end as quickly as possible. And naturally, it needed to end in America's victory.