A cup of coffee worth one million dollars, and my year-long journey to seek justice.
All long disputes in the world often begin with an encounter that seems smooth and promising.
On September 8 last year, as autumn set in, the AIW3 project was at a critical juncture. With TGE imminent, we lacked only a stable and professional market-making partner. At that time, I was focused on stability and success, unwilling to let down the team's long-term efforts. So, through a friend's introduction, I sought a reliable and capable professional market-making team.
That same day, I met Nemo Ge Xuantian, the founder of Rasen Market Maker.
Our initial interactions were casual online chats. He eloquently described his past trading experience, citing benchmark projects like AIA and River, building an image of a mature, experienced, and trustworthy industry veteran. Being sincere and trusting by nature, I chose to believe without hesitation—thinking this would be a healthy collaboration to help the project land smoothly. After several rounds of communication, we reached a preliminary agreement on all terms.
On September 11, in early autumn Shanghai, the evening breeze along the Suzhou Creek was gentle.
We met offline for dinner as planned, enjoying a pleasant conversation. He again meticulously packaged his team's professional capabilities, resource levels, and industry depth, speaking with such certainty and credibility. I maintained good faith in the industry, treating people sincerely and offering trust, never suspecting malice. Little did I know that this gentle riverside chat marked the beginning of a year of struggle, conflict, and internal exhaustion.
On September 18, based on complete trust, we officially signed a cooperation agreement with Rasen.
The contract had two parts: $60,000 as a professional listing consultant service fee, promising to open up the complete listing path for the project; the rest was performance sharing for future market-making win-win scenarios. Everything seemed compliant and documented. I thought the project's path ahead was clear and its landing assured.
Fate's turning point arrived silently when the BN Alpha Offer came through.
Based on our project's actual merits, we passed the official preliminary review and secured the Alpha spot. It should have been a happy occasion, requiring only steady progress. However, Nemo told me then: Having just Alpha is not enough. For the project to truly break out and stabilize, it must secure a BN Day1 Perp listing.
At that time, unfamiliar with the deep rules of the chain, I did not know the platform's real approval logic and implementation paths.
It was then that he introduced me to his partner—Zishi (Xia Zihan).
Everyone paved the way for him, claiming he had immense hidden power and high-level connections. He supposedly worked at OKX, held top-tier network resources, could directly contact core platform personnel, and was one of the few key figures who could unlock BN perpetual contract permissions.
In 2025, at the Token2049 event in Singapore.
The city breeze was light, the sky slightly cloudy and cool—the most gentle weather a city can offer.
That was the first time I saw Zishi in person.
He looked like a simple homebody, wearing a camera around his neck and an OKXT-shirt, low-key, introverted, and unassuming. He appeared clean, pure, simple, and harmless.
I was completely deceived by this highly misleading appearance.
During a brief coffee chat, he made a nonchalant promise: he could fully assist the project in securing the BN Day1 Perps.
The cost? One million USDT.
I still remember the silence and weight of that coffee meeting.
A cup of coffee, a million-dollar price tag. For me, focused solely on the project's success, it was a necessary sacrifice for the project's future, a burden borne with gritted teeth for the team's results.
That night, Singapore's skyline glittered. "Tycoons" gathered, lights were bright, glasses clinked, and Zishi moved with ease and confidence.
I did not know that behind this lively joy lay over three hundred days of torment and wasted effort for me.
The story progressed from full prepayment based on trust.
The day after the meeting, based on all verbal promises, network endorsements, and the original intention of sincere cooperation, I paid a deposit of $360,000 upfront.
No excessive suspicion, no layered defenses, purely industry trust—a complete entrustment to cooperation, connections, and verbal promises.
But trust ultimately failed to bring results, and sincerity could not fill the void in human hearts.
After payment, all promises stalled, and all progress vanished into thin air.
Although we already had a compliant BN Alpha Offer ready to accept, which could have led to a smooth launch, Nemo and Zishi repeatedly discouraged us, delaying and stalling. They insisted we not take the existing offer, claiming they were deeply coordinating with "big brothers" on the platform and working hard to get the contract listed, urging us to simply wait for good news.
Day after day, week after week, indefinite delays, excuses, and waiting.
From autumn to winter, from spring to summer.
After a long wait, what finally came was not a successful landing, but a flippant statement: The matter cannot proceed, operation declared failed.
Nothing was done, no effort exerted, no path taken.
Knowing full well that the other party conducted no substantial work or implementation actions throughout, relying entirely on empty promises and delays, I politely, restrainedly, and reasonably raised my request: Since no services were rendered and no results achieved, the entire $360,000 deposit should be returned.
Thus began a long and agonizing tug-of-war.
An entire year.
Over three hundred days and nights.
I communicated repeatedly, negotiated repeatedly, compromised repeatedly, and showed understanding repeatedly.
I contacted Zishi and the "big brother" he mentioned, communicating patiently and negotiating rationally, never becoming aggressive or extreme, always seeking a fair and reasonable outcome in the most dignified manner.
After countless struggles and maneuvers, I recovered only $60,000.
The other party used this to close the case, hoping I would stop pursuing it, drop the matter, and keep the peace.
I chose temporary silence—not compromise, not giving up, but leaving everyone their last shred of dignity.
The real reversal happened in August 2026, another cloudy day.
Zishi, silent for a long time, proactively contacted me again, claiming he wanted to thoroughly settle the remaining refund dispute.
It was on this day that I first glimpsed the complete undercurrents and脉络 of this scheme, learning for the first time that there was another key figure behind the whole affair—Dov, the founder of Mango Labs' project packaging business.
Zishi admitted to me: The $60,000 previously recovered was not returned by the platform, nor compensated by the so-called "big brother," but transferred by Dov on behalf of others.
At this point, the nested relationship chain and the profit chain with layered markups finally surfaced, making everything absurd yet clear.
I finally reconstructed the complete truth:
Nemo introduced his partner Zishi, using top-tier connections and platform permissions as bait to take on my listing needs;
Zishi then connected with Dov, earning referral fees in between;
Dov further bridged to Edison, the founder of Cudis, creating a chain of subcontracting, markup, and profit-taking.
Everyone profited, turned over, and arbitrage within this empty game.
The omnipotent "BN Big Brother" mentioned by Zishi, the so-called contract landing resources, had once successfully helped Cudis complete a BN contract listing.
But everyone knows the ending: Cudis was eventually delisted by the platform. The so-called top resources and hardcore connections were nothing but a bubble.
Looking back, all greed, all scams, all layered harvesting,
originated from that coffee meeting in Singapore valued at one million dollars.
To this day, after a year of entanglement, the remnants are left for everyone to escape.
Nemo, Zishi, Dov, Edison—all those involved, all intermediaries,
have unified their stories, shifting blame, with no one taking responsibility.
Everyone claims: I didn't touch the money, I didn't profit, I'm not responsible.
A year of waste, a year of internal drain, a year of endurance—all losses, costs, and grievances pressed onto my shoulders alone.
I have always been mild, dignified, and yielding.
But kindness is not a weakness to be exploited, and sincerity is not a reason to be betrayed.
Since no one admits fault, no one takes responsibility, and no one closes the loop,
then I will personally uncover all the truths.
Starting today,
the year-long endurance ends.
Endless rumors only aim to cover up the truth, painting me as a mad dog just to muddy the waters.
Take responsibility, recover funds.
Be a man.
