Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: Banned Everywhere? Then I’ll Buy the Traffic

It was 9 p.m.The tide—Shifted completely.Ethan Cole's livestream on the new platform—Had just hit number one again.Viewers exceeded two hundred thousand.The chat flooded endlessly.The screen was almost unreadable.But at the peak—Suddenly—The stream went black."Livestream ended."The chat froze.Then exploded."What???""Banned again???""What's happening???""The platform took action too??"At the same time—A system notice appeared."Your account is suspected of abnormal traffic.""Temporarily suspended."Ethan looked at his phone.This time—He didn't smile.He stayed silent for two seconds.Then slowly raised his head."So it's a full shutdown now?"Meanwhile—Zhou Cheng stood by the window.A glass of wine in hand.City lights reflected on the glass.Like a giant net.His assistant stood behind him.Voice lowered."Mr. Zhou, both platforms are handled.""His traffic is basically cut off."Zhou Cheng swirled his glass slightly."Good."His tone calm.But satisfied."No matter how capable one person is—""They can't beat the rules."He looked into the distance."Now he should understand."Meanwhile—Online—The narrative shifted again."Banned on both platforms??""Told you something was wrong""That money isn't clean""He's finished"Doubt.Mockery.Returned stronger than before.Skyview Residence.The living room was silent.Ethan stood by the window.His phone screen had gone dark.All access—Cut off.For a normal person—This would be the end.But he wasn't normal.His phone vibrated.The system's voice echoed.[Ding!][Traffic channels blocked detected]The next second—[Advanced permission unlocked]A new option appeared.[Influence → Capital Channel]Ethan's eyes sharpened."Capital?"The system explained.[Influence can be used to directly purchase platform traffic][Including: recommendations, trending spots, ad placements]The air paused for a second.Then—Ethan smiled.Not cold.But slightly crazy."So…""It works like this."He sat down again.Opened his phone.Entered the new interface.[Current Influence: 5200][Convertible Funds: $520,000]Ethan didn't hesitate.He converted all.His phone vibrated.A bank message appeared."Deposit received: $520,000.00"His balance rose again.$11,060,037.62Ethan glanced at it.Didn't stop.Continued.Next step—Buy traffic.He selected:"Homepage Recommendation"Price: $300,000Confirm.Then selected:"Top Trending Spot"Price: $200,000Confirm.In ten seconds—Half a million—Gone.The next second—The internet exploded again.Across multiple platforms.Top post:"He got banned? Here's his response."Trending #1:"He bought his own trending spot"The comment section went wild."What???""He bought it himself??""This guy is insane""What kind of move is this??"The video opened.Ethan stood by the window.And said one sentence:"You can ban my account—""But you can't ban me."The entire internet—Exploded.Meanwhile—In the office.Zhou Cheng's screen refreshed.Top position—Still Ethan.The assistant's face changed."Mr. Zhou… he…"Before he finished—Zhou Cheng stood up abruptly.His glass hit the table heavily.His face turned dark."He's using money to fight?"He stared at the screen.His eyes growing colder."Then—""I'll play with him."The storm—Escalated.