As the largest social forum in the Chinese gaming community, Youtu naturally had a forum area for players to communicate, in addition to commercial copyright transactions and daily game sharing.

There were more than one million people online every day, and almost all first-hand news in the circle came from it.

After the original game design tournament ended last Thursday, the list of winners attracted many gamers. However, the comments on the posts were within the normal range. There were some questions, but not many.

After all, the three award-winning games had not been officially launched, and it was impossible to distinguish absolute advantages and disadvantages based on concept alone.

Then late Friday night, Deng Mufeng, the chief producer of “Dark Blue Sea,” posted a message on his personal page—

“It is a pity that I couldn’t lead Dark Blue Sea and the production team to achieve better results, but I still don’t think that a single ranking can determine whether a game is good or bad.”

“The fact that Mufeng Games has grown from scratch to what it is today is already a success that surpasses others. I hope to stick to the original intention of the game, and hope that my deep love for it will never change.”

“Starting tomorrow, Dark Blue Sea will officially launch! Welcome, everyone, to playing the game with me!”

This update was actually to promote the official public beta of the game. There was nothing wrong with it in essence, but the bad thing was—

Game fans who had been following the internal beta testing firmly believed that there was “something in his remarks,” so they couldn’t help but post questions again on the forum.

“Why are the types of games that won awards this year so similar? How were the organizers and selection team determined? The game categories that were promised should be like a hundred flowers blooming!”

“That’s right, ah! It’s rare to have an ancient style game like Dark Blue Sea in recent years. The praise rate of the two rounds of internal testing are so high. Was this selection team blind?”

“Destroy the Alien Beasts and the Last Fog are both doomsday games. I also think it would have been best to choose one of the two.”

“Is there any inside story, ah?”

“I feel like there’s a shady background. I heard that the two major game companies invested a lot behind the scenes this time. I feel like they’re tainted by the stench of money.”

It was the weekend, and these questioning comments increased even more after “Dark Blue Sea” was officially launched for public beta.

After two nights of fermentation, some game netizens even rushed to the official account of the original game design competition and started to condemn it—

However, the official account pretended to be dead.

The more silent they were, the shadier it seemed.

Just when netizens were convinced of this, another explosive post hit the forum homepage—

“I’m just asking, who doesn’t know that the game architect Will is hooked up to a wealthy boss and has always been a habitual offender who uses back doors to gild his own games!”

The user who posted the message was a forum account named Chasing the Wind. He had been registered for more than five years and had a high reputation in the forum.

After publishing this extremely harsh title, he also added detailed content and graphics on the main page—

“There may be some people who don’t know that the award-winning ‘Traces’ and ‘The Last Fog’ were both written by Will. This has never happened in the previous seven competitions. Is it because of his ability or because of his financial resources?”

“‘Traces’ was sold to Nebula Fun Tour, a subsidiary of Weiyi, and ‘The Last Fog’ is from Will’s own studio.”

“I got the original group list, and in the first and second rounds of screening, the latter was placed in groups where it was easy to break through. Other award winning or highly-popular game projects such as ‘Traces,’ ‘Alien Beasts,’ and ‘Dark Blue Sea’ were all assigned to highly competitive ‘death groups.’

“Was this arrangement really not deliberate favoritism by the organizers and the capital behind them? Wasn’t this just to give a certain game the green light?”

“And I also heard that both ‘Alien Beasts’ and ‘The Last Fog’ participated in the commercial bidding of a certain investment company. It was also because of Will’s improper relationship with the company’s senior management that he went through a back door to squeeze out his opponents and obtain funds.”

In addition, the other party even released a video of the two kissing in the car. It seemed to be a candid shot with specially processed angles and lighting. Two points were particularly obvious—

The luxury car worth nearly ten million, and the exclusive customized beige jacket that Pei Yi wore on the day of the opening ceremony live broadcast.

This post appeared during the evening peak traffic on Sunday, and the number of comments exceeded 100 in just five minutes.

“Holy shit! Is this real?”

“If nothing else, winning awards for two original games at once is really a bit too much.”

“+1! It originally would not be in line with the past award-winning rules for games of the same type to win the award. And if I remember correctly, The Last Fog was the game that won the final award? Reserve the spot for another game!”

“I really don’t believe that a new architect who has been in the industry for less than a year can be so great.”

“Please don’t bring ‘Traces’ into this. The copyright is already in the hands of Nebula Fun Tour, and with Will’s signature, the copyright belongs to them. In fact, the images and creative work have had nothing to do with him for a long time, okay!”

“As a former employee of a certain commercial investment company who has resigned, I can say this quietly — the funding for ‘The Last Fog’ was indeed pre-determined at the time! Will deliberately did not come in that day in order to avoid suspicion. The early setting of ‘Alien Beasts’ was very exciting. It was a pity before, but fortunately, gold shines no matter what.”

“As a pure stranger, I have played ‘The Last Fog 1.0’ and I feel that the overall setting is very diligent, ah. 2.0 will only do better on that basis, right? There is insufficient evidence in this post, everyone, please don’t be led astray.”

“What kind of righteous commenter is upstairs? The producer of ‘Alien Beasts’ has produced good work before, ba. What has YWY done, ah?”

“If you have an ass, then just sell your ass.”

. . . . . . .

Pei Yi read these comments, and the chill in his eyes condensed another degree.

It was a patchwork of revelations, illegally filmed videos, and deliberately vague key points. Even so, the trend of the post had completely changed under the leadership of trolls.

It was clear that someone was maliciously leading public opinion!

After making a call, Bo Yueming gently grasped his lover’s wrist. “Pei Yi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, this verbal criticism can’t beat me down.” Pei Yi’s career mentality remained strong. “Er-ge.”

“En?”

“Just wait and see! I can turn a crisis into an opportunity and find a solution.”

Bo Yueming gently held his hand, devoid of doubts.

When the two arrived at YWY, Li Yuan, who had arrived a step ahead, had already summoned the relevant employees and was waiting in the conference room.

Everyone looked a little surprised when they saw Bo Yueming appear.

Bo Yueming said succinctly, “This matter involves me, so I can’t just sit idly by. Just assume that I’m here to negotiate a solution on behalf of GM.”

Li Yuan and Pei Yi exchanged glances and sat down.

Xiang Nansheng took the initiative to say, “I’ve done some investigation. Many of them are troll comments, but the IP addresses are different, and even the registration dates are different.”

It should be known that the doubts in the forum came first, and the revelations came later.

Even the subsequent posts and revelations contained certain falsehoods, but under the leadership of “netizens” with accounts that had almost no loopholes—

Those actual ordinary game netizens could easily fall into ideological misunderstandings, or in other words, be brainwashed.

“Now, not only the game players of ‘Dark Blue Sea,’ but also the fans of games such as ‘Alien Beasts,’ as well as other games from the production side have all determined that we are the ones who used the back door.”

Since the night before, players had been passionately criticizing YWY Studios.

The staff member in charge of online publicity asked, “Boss Yi, what should we do now? How about we issue a clarification as soon as possible?”

Pei Yi asked in return, “We didn’t do anything wrong, what do we need to clarify?”

Such unfocused clarification would only make players think that they were evading the facts with a guilty conscience.

Another employee said hesitantly, “Can you please…..clarify your relationship with Mr. Bo?”

Bo Yueming shook his head. “My relationship with Pei Yi is not the point. The point is that most netizens now believe that—”

Pe Yi responded, “That me and my studio’s games have gone through a backdoor to win an award and prestige.”

That there was a shady backdoor was the focus of the players’ indignation in the gaming circle.

Of course, the serious nature of their relationship must be made clear to the outside world, but there was no need to worry about it for the time being.

In case the netizens followed the clues to find out Bo Yueming’s identity, just relying on Bo Yueming’s influence in the Imperial Capital circle, it was possible that some misunderstandings might be deepened.

Li Yuan believed in his friend’s ability. “Pei Yi, do you have a plan?”

Pei Yi looked at him. “Pear Garden, who do you think is behind this?”

Li Yuan reported the most obvious answer, “Ke Ming, and Nanchan Games standing behind his studio.”

This public opinion attempt “confirmed” that they used a back door for “The Last Fog.” As a doomsday escape game that was destined to be competitive after its launch—

If they stumbled, then the ones who would benefit the most would be the ones behind “Destroy the Alien Beasts.”

Pei Yi raised his eyebrows. “Yes, but I want to remind you of something.”

Some employees were confused. “What?”

“Today’s netizens are not fools. Even if they are misled for a moment, sooner or later, they will take notice of the subtleties.”

“Destroy the Alien Beasts” seems to be using “Dark Blue Sea” and netizens who are dissatisfied with the award results to suppress me. But in fact, this also puts me on a higher level of exposure and scrutiny.”

“A rising tide lifts all boats, but if the water rises too high, the boat will capsize.”

The ones currently at a disadvantage were YWY and “The Last Fog,” but this was not necessarily a bad thing.

If you climb high, you will surely fall; if you hit the bottom, you will rebound.

—Zizi.

Bo Yueming’s WeChat message vibrated. He clicked on his phone and looked at it, then finally launched the first counterattack for his lover.

“When nothing wrong has been done, a low-profile clarification is far inferior to a high-profile prosecution.”

“I asked my assistant, Lin Zhong, to take screenshots of the user who posted the message, as well as the users on the so-called false news threads. They have now been handed over to the legal team, who will contact your studio later.”

Pei Yi continued to speak of his plan. “Pear Garden, you help me contact Mufeng Games.”

“It would be better to have a video chat with Teacher Deng in person to explain the actual situation. It might not be long before our two families open up to the outside world in unison.”

Mufeng Games was indeed the most innocent victim in this competition, but the the “injurer” wasn’t them.

Li Yuan understood his friend’s meaning. “Okay.”

Lou Yang, who had been listening in, cut to another key point. “Mr. Yi, netizens are currently obsessed with the “Original Game Design Competition” coming forward to explain the situation. What if the officials really dump the blame on us?”

Pei Yi shook his head. “It’s unlikely. At most, they will likely just insist on saying that the results of the competition are fair and just.”

Which official would be willing to give up his or her reputation? How about admitting to their mistakes?

Lou Yang was still worried. “Even if it is as you say, that doesn’t mean that Ke Ming won’t continue to unscrupulously blame us.”

“Sister Yang, don’t worry, I will find a way.”

Pei Yi understood Lou Yang’s concerns, but he already had a plan in mind—

Ke Ming dared to be so blatant because he had the backing of Nanchan Games and the even more powerful Xunya Technology.

What if his two backers were gone? Perhaps they would give up on him for profit?

In the silence, Li Yuan spoke again, “Pei Yi! Look!”

He handed the phone over. “The official account of Chanming Studios suddenly announced that ‘Destroy the Alien Beasts’ will be released tomorrow!”

As soon as these words were spoken, Xiang Nansheng and the others sitting around were startled, and they all took out their cell phones to check on the situation—

“They’re going directly to the public beta?”

“If I remember correctly, they seem to have only gone through the first round of internal testing and confirmed that there are no problems with the game? Aren’t they a little too confident?”

“Confident? Why do I think they are rushing forward too prematurely?”

Pei Yi listened to them discuss, and a subtle gleam appeared in his eyes.

He did not express his own thoughts, but left the evaluation to Xiang Nansheng, who had worked with Ke Ming before. “Director Xiang, what do you think?”

Xiang Nansheng shook his head slightly. “Ke Ming is gambling.”

He still knew some things about his former friend. “Ke Ming is betting on this wave of traffic, hoping to take advantage of the players’ current aversion to ‘The Last Fog’ and establish the favorability and presence of ‘Alien Beasts’ in contrast.”

“If he can win the bet, he will seize the audience in this wave of marketing ahead of us, and the plagiarism involved in the past will become a disadvantage to us due to the time difference of the launches.”

Pei Yi tapped the table twice and said loudly, “In that case, he must lose this bet.”

Pei Yi had long expected that the other party would release the game in advance, and that was why he was willing to hold back the evidence in hand.

But he didn’t foresee that Ke Ming would be in more of a hurry than expected, and move forward a full two months earlier than the scheduled public beta.

He wanted to become fat in one bite? No! He gave them the opportunity to counterattack early!

Pei Yi’s expression turned serious. “All departments, listen. The first round of internal testing originally scheduled in half a month will be brought forward!”

“I request that the number and age groups of the players in the internal beta be expanded. The servers used in the first round must be able to handle the load without any problems.”

“The preheat copywriting and CG animation must be confirmed to be correct, and the media promotion side must also follow closely.”

In order to ensure the playability of the game, Pei Yi would not go online like Ke Ming and ignore the closed beta, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t use the closed beta to seize and attract as many gamers as possible in this wave of exposure.

Let Ke Ming and “Destroy the Alien Beasts” open the way for them in the market first, then step on their shoulders to reach the top. This was called—

The mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole follows behind!

“Everything must be in place before this Friday. The meeting is adjourned, each department must immediately do its own work.”

Pei Yi’s mentality was completely unaffected by the online public opinion, and there was no trace of panic on his face.

Everyone was infected by his leadership, and responded in unison, “Yes!”

. . . . . . .

The door of the conference room closed again, and in an instant, Pei Yi and Bo Yueming were left.

When their eyes met, Bo Yueming smiled first.

“What are you smiling about?”

Pei Yi handed the nearly cold coffee to his lover. “Er-ge, I feel like you’ve been smiling more and more.”

Bo Yueming took it with one hand and pulled the other person in front of him. “I just didn’t expect that my little husband would have this kind of work style.”

It was different from the cute appearance he showed in private, and also different from the cunning way he faced outsiders in daily life.

Pei Yi at work was mature, courageous, and charming, which also fascinated him.

Pei Yi shook his hand and joked, “Big boss, I really have something serious that I need your help with.”

Hearing this unfamiliar address, Bo Yueming felt helpless. “Okay, okay, don’t imitate those who post explosive news and shout nonsense.”

When this wave of public opinion was over, he must find that shameful person who took the photos and let them receive the legal sanctions they deserved!

Pei Yi came closer and changed his words. “Husband, have you ever heard the theory called six degrees of separation?”

Bo Yueming was pleased by the way he called him. “I have.”

A simple explanation was that there would be no more than six people between one’s self and a stranger, and there would be a chain of relationships.

He saw through his lover’s thoughts and said, “Tell me, who is blocking your way?”

“You Chang.”

Facing Bo Yueming, Pei Yi didn’t hide anything. If he wanted Ke Ming to be completely defeated, he had to completely cut off the backing that the other party thought was so amazing.

Xunya Technology had always been hampered by the competition of Weiyi, and it might not be able to truly spend its efforts to protect the copyright of Chanming Studios and “Destroy the Alien Beasts,” a small game.

What Pei Yi really needed to be wary of was Nanchan Games, which was cooperating with Ke Ming, along with the person in charge of it, You Chang, whom he had never met.

Pei Yi looked at Bo Yueming and gave a clear prompt, “Er-ge, don’t you think the surname ‘You’ sounds familiar? I heard that You Chang is also from Wencheng. What a coincidence.”

Bo Yueming understood his meaning. “En, it’s quite a coincidence.”

By chance, there was someone who could help them solve this troublesome person they had never met.

. . . . . . . 

In an office decorated with a technological theme, Ke Ming reclined leisurely in a custom-made office chair, a video call on the bright computer screen in front of him.

On the other side of the screen was a young man with a soft appearance, but cold eyes.

“Mr. You, thank you for your support.” Ke Ming raised the wine glass in his hand, his expression full of self-confidence. “As I said, there’s nothing wrong with going online early.”

Long before participating in the original game design competition, “Destroy the Alien Beasts” had gone through a round of internal testing, and through the special relationship with Xunya Technology, it had obtained the qualifications for official release.

Later, when he met Li Yuan and the other person at the hotel in Haishi, he felt that Will looked inexplicably familiar.

After sending someone to investigate secretly, he discovered a truth that was no longer a secret—

Will was Pei Yi! This was the person who participated in the GM bidding competition and pretended to be a fool! This man had been laughing at him since the beginning!

Ke Ming was shocked and furious upon learning this, and even started a gambling plan.

He must release this long-prepared game early, seize the opportunity at all costs, and defeat Pei Yi and Li Yuan!

Release without further internal testing? How could this be done?

This mad and aggressive idea roused protests from many employees, and even made the team at Nanchan Games dissatisfied. Only You Chang gave absolute support.

After they joined together, they first used “Dark Blue Sea’s” failure in the competition to arouse criticism, then used fabricated materials that were one point true and nine points false to pour dirty water on Pei Yi!

Not only that, but they took advantage of players’ regrets and praise for “Dark Blue Sea” and used professional trolls to gain a wave of popularity and secretly boast about their own game.

Finally, when emotions were at their most passionate in the gaming circle and it was the easiest moment to get ahead, they announced that “Destroy the Alien Beasts” would be released in advance!

One step after another, they walked on their road to gambling, and current facts proved that—

They had made the right bet!

From its launch on Tuesday to Friday today, the number of registered users exceeded 1.2 million, and the number of people online simultaneously exceeded 800,000!

For a mobile game that had only been online for three days, this was definitely a good start worth celebrating!

You Chang on the other side of the screen raised his glass in response. “Mr. Ke, you still must not take it lightly. Don’t forget the initial investment from our two companies, as well as the additional expenses that have been added in recent days.”

In the past, there were trolls to frame Pei Yi and “The Last Fog,” and later, there were paid commenters to build publicity for “Destroy the Alien Beasts.” They had spent a lot of money on publicity.

“Mr. You, don’t worry! We will open a range of in-game transactions for props at eight o’clock tonight.”

Ke Ming raised his eyebrows, estimating the results of his upcoming victory with great satisfaction. “According to this increase in the number of users, we will be able to pay back millions of funds in just two days over the weekend.”

Although compared to the initial investment, it could only be compared to a drop in the bucket, for mobile games, what mattered was long-term investment and market shares.

There were not many apocalyptic survival games of the same type in China. The only one that could compete was “The Last Fog.” Even if it could alleviate public opinion, it had already missed its market opportunity.

Even if they used malicious means, what could possibly happen if someone discovered it later?

Which game on the market today didn’t get involved in right and wrong? Popularity came at a price, and the same was true for games. That was the type of treatment only hot-selling products deserved!

You Chang on the other side started to say something, but the phone on the table suddenly vibrated. He glanced at the caller ID, and his eyes shifted nervously for a moment.

“Mr. Ke, let’s stop here today and talk later when we have time. Please pay more attention to the release of the game.”

“Certainly.”

The video call ended.

Ke Ming glanced at the time in the lower right corner. It was 5:30, only half an hour before the in-game purchase channel was finally opened.

He drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp, and before he could completely let loose the carefreeness in his heart, he was stopped by the sudden sound of the door opening. 

The secretary rushed in with an anxious expression and blurted without thinking—

“Mr. Ke, it’s bad! Something big has happened!”

---

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Chapter Eighty-Four <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-Six