The first three episodes of “The Successor” quickly finished airing.

Although Pei Qian had already watched them once, this was the kind of show that would clearly lose money, so watching it several times still didn’t feel like enough!

He had to admit that watching shows on a TV’s big screen was very enjoyable. Plus, viewing it on the AiLiDao website allowed him to turn on the danmu comments and interact with other viewers in real-time, which enhanced the viewing experience.

Even though some of the initial excitement had been drawn away, and since the show had just started airing, the comment volume might not match some highly anticipated, widely-awaited popular dramas, he could still get a good sense of what the first batch of viewers thought about “The Successor” from the danmu and comments.

“Huh? This blonde guy is really the protagonist? He’s way too cowardly!”

“I don’t understand the point of portraying a rich person as such a clown and failure. I think the wealthy protagonist in ‘Struggle’ was closer to reality. In fact, many second-generation rich people in real life are quite capable, and pure wastes like this one are the minority.”

“Yeah, I also thought Fei Huang Studio would make something similar to ‘Struggle’. Disappointed…”

“This Phil character really makes me uncomfortable. Being scared to the point of wetting himself by criminals is one thing, but he’s not even decent to people around him. He’s just a one-dimensional pure waste… Sorry, I’m out. Even if he has a redemption arc later, I don’t want to watch a person like this!”

“So the protagonist’s character design is basically a complete garbage person wearing the skin of a handsome rich guy, right? Did I understand correctly?”

“You understood correctly. This is the character design the original author decided on. Of course, you could interpret it differently—for instance, he’s not actually that handsome either.”

“What’s with this world setting?”

“Superheroes gaining powers from fans is too bizarre.”

“I think the setting is fine, but the intelligence drop is severe. The ordinary people in this world are all stupid to a certain degree. The crime rate is so high and the superheroes are clearly just putting on a show, but people still blindly trust superheroes? And they’re getting in deeper and deeper? Do they not have brains?”

“I came for Lu Zhiyao. Where is Lu Zhiyao?”

“Both Lu Zhiyao and Zhang Zuting are just making friendly cameo appearances. They’ll probably show up later, but don’t expect too much. These so-called bit roles might appear for two or three episodes at most. Most of the time we’ll definitely only be watching this protagonist…”

“Alas, not my cup of tea. I’m dropping this. See you all next time, maybe.”

“Don’t go! As a fan of the original novel, I think the first three episodes are really good. They’ve captured the original content very well. Just watch two more episodes, I’m sure the plot later on won’t disappoint everyone!”

“They captured the original content very well? Sorry, that’s even more reason to leave! If the later content is still like this, why should I torture myself?”

Looking at these danmu comments and reviews, Pei Qian couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

Not bad at all!

Everyone could immediately see the annoying aspects of this show, which proved people’s thought processes were still normal. That was something to celebrate.

This also proved that Pei Qian’s decision to have Fei Huang Studio invest heavily in adapting “The Successor” was a very wise move.

However…

It still seemed to be missing something.

After going through all these comments, Pei Qian found that—whether because everyone’s conduct was too refined, or because they had an inherent goodwill toward the Fei Huang Studio brand—people weren’t being direct enough with their criticism. Many comments felt somewhat restrained, clearly not harsh enough.

So far, most viewers’ dissatisfaction with the show focused mainly on the protagonist’s character design, the world setting, when bit players like Lu Zhiyao and Zhang Zuting would appear…

These were certainly valid points of criticism, but after venting about them, the effect wasn’t as pronounced as he would have liked.

Take criticizing the setting, for example. While it counted as a point of criticism, its destructive power was completely insufficient.

Moreover, as subsequent episodes aired and the plot developed, the criticism points would gradually change. The current criticisms weren’t enough to stabilize the situation, and there was still the possibility of a reversal in public opinion.

The best criticism would come from attacking the very core of the story directly.

But so far, no film critics had done this.

After thinking about it, Pei Qian realized that since there was a gap here, he should fill it.

If there were no film reviews, he would create them himself!

Previously, Fei Huang Studio had produced quite a few movies, and Pei Qian recalled several influential film critics. He could even find some paid commenters to coordinate with them.

Since Pei Qian’s personal wallet had filled up, he felt much more confident.

“So who should I find…”

Pei Qian pondered for a long time before suddenly finding a suitable candidate.

Money guy!

This person had written a scathing review attacking “Beautiful Tomorrow” from various angles when it was released. Although he received some backlash, the response at the time had been quite good.

Of course, later when Pei Qian had paid him to write exaggerated praise, he really did lay it on thick, and ended up being celebrated…

That collaboration hadn’t gone very well.

Pei Qian considered it; the main issue was that the critic had been too serious with his praise, and had coincidentally praised the advertisements in “Beautiful Tomorrow,” which had backfired.

This time, if he just asked him to write something negative and gave clear direction, it should be quite reliable.

With this in mind, Pei Qian immediately found the contact information for this Mr. Money and decided to pay out of his own pocket to have him write a negative review of “The Successor.”

There was no choice—the system wouldn’t cover it. To ensure “The Successor” would lose money, he had to spend a little of his own blood money.

Fortunately, Pei Qian’s personal savings had gradually increased, and he himself had few expenses, so although spending three or four thousand yuan on a negative review was a bit painful, considering the commission he would get after losing money, it was still very necessary.

Pei Qian was very direct. He plainly asked Mr. Money to write a negative review about “The Successor,” mainly attacking the show’s satirical core. If he felt the content of the first three episodes was insufficient for analysis, he could take a look at the original novel.

For a long time, there was no response from the other side.

“Already asleep?” Pei Qian was a bit surprised. It seemed early; shouldn’t the beautiful nightlife just be starting?

After a while longer, Mr. Money finally replied.

“…I checked our chat history. Aren’t you the investor from ‘Beautiful Tomorrow’?”

Obviously, Mr. Money hadn’t replied immediately because he was checking their chat history.

After checking, he was very confused. Something wasn’t right.

Previously, this person had claimed to be an investor in “Beautiful Tomorrow,” so wasn’t he from Fei Huang Studio?

“The Successor” was also a Fei Huang Studio production, wasn’t it?

Why would he pay to criticize his own studio’s show? Had his brain malfunctioned?

Pei Qian was also stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected Mr. Money to actually check their chat history. This was indeed a bit awkward.

“Ahem, actually, it’s like this. I’ve already left my original company, and my position is a bit delicate now, you understand?”

Mr. Money suddenly realized: “Oh, I understand. That’s no problem then.”

So he had left his original company and developed resentment, no—perhaps he had been poached by a competitor, so now he was paying for a negative review. That made sense.

Mr. Money: “Five thousand, flat fee. You may have changed jobs, but you can’t pay me less than before, right?”

Pei Qian: “…”

This was really a pain in the ass.

Previously, when Mr. Money didn’t want to change his review, Pei Qian had deployed his pay-to-win strategy, increasing the offer from one thousand all the way to five thousand, forcibly making Mr. Money change his evaluation.

Now Mr. Money was demanding money with complete confidence.

You paid five thousand before, so you have to pay five thousand now!

It couldn’t be that changing companies would nullify the previous agreement, right?

Pei Qian’s current feeling was regret, deep regret!

He had been too careless with the system’s funds back then, adding a thousand at a time without feeling any pain. Thinking back now, maybe four thousand five hundred would have been enough?

Forget it, five thousand it is.

They were old acquaintances after all, and there might be opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Pei Qian first sent him a down payment of one thousand yuan, with the remainder to be paid after the negative review was written.

Mr. Money took the money very efficiently: “No problem, I’ll go binge the episodes and novel right away. I’ll have the article for you within three days.”

He had to admit, the customer experience was good.

At least this Mr. Money took the money and got to work, with high efficiency too. Pei Qian felt a bit better.

Since that was the case, he would just wait patiently. In the coming week, “The Successor” would probably continue to be criticized, and then the hype would gradually die down.

Having this review come out in three days to ride the wave of criticism and make “The Successor” cool down faster seemed like perfect timing.

…

…

December 17th, Monday.

The world championships for both GOG and IOI had concluded, and the team members and staff would be returning to China throughout the week.

Of course, Pei Qian hadn’t forgotten to let everyone play around in Europe for a few more days to spend a bit more money, especially the FV team.

After all, the FV team had earned prize money from IOI and would share it with the club, so he needed to find ways to spend it again.

“The Successor” hadn’t caused any major issues and was basically developing according to plan.

While waiting for Mr. Money’s negative review, Pei Qian had nothing much to do and suddenly thought it was about time he visited the Thriller Lodge to see how things were going.

He had mentioned building a roller coaster there long ago—what did this roller coaster actually look like now? Pei Qian wasn’t quite sure.

Mainly because there had been too many other matters to attend to. Thriller Lodge was already quite remote, and the roller coaster construction area was some distance from the original Thriller Lodge area. Transportation wasn’t very convenient, and there wasn’t much to see at a construction site, so Pei Qian had never visited.

Now that the roller coaster was completed and waiting to open, he could come and take a look.

Of course, experiencing it was definitely out of the question. Even though Pei Qian had deliberately emphasized that this roller coaster must be built relatively small and not too thrilling in order to deter visitors, no matter how small it was, it was still a roller coaster and would be a bit scary to ride.

Just looking at it from a distance to get a general idea and determine whether Chen Kangtuo should be included in the next “suffering travel” list would be enough.