“Hello everyone, I’m Yan Qi, producer of the ‘Shuli’ project. Thank you all very much for your attention and love for ‘Shuli.’ I’m deeply honored to receive support from so many players. I will do my utmost to develop ‘Shuli’ to the level of perfection I envision, and I hope this game can meet everyone as soon as possible.”
“I’ve also noticed that many players have expressed concerns about ‘Shuli’s’ financial situation. I want to assure everyone that our development team has the ability to solve funding issues on our own, and we do not plan to open pre-sales. Please don’t read too much into this, and patiently wait for the official release announcement of ‘Shuli’!”
Yan Qi wrote this simple statement and posted it as an announcement on Weibo.
He thought that would be the end of it. “I’ve already issued an announcement saying we don’t lack money, surely you should be reassured now?”
However, unexpectedly, after this message was posted, there were many comments and shares, but the problem was… many people still didn’t believe it!
“Not short on money? Are you pulling our leg? Judging from what was shown in the trailer, this game’s investment must be at least 100 million yuan or more. Does your team really have that much money?? Or are you just planning to make a smaller, cut-down version?”
“Please don’t! Is there such a thing as ‘enough’ development funds? With ‘Shuli’s’ worldview, starting at 100 million yuan isn’t excessive, and even 150 million wouldn’t be too much. Getting more investment to increase the game’s scale wouldn’t be a problem. They’ve already said they won’t interfere with development, so why not take the money?”
“I think as a producer, you should be responsible for the project. Why do you care where the money comes from? As long as you can complete the project, that’s what matters! Don’t be stubborn about money!”
Yan Qi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
What a mess this had become!
He couldn’t distinguish how many of these comments were from paid posters, how many were ordinary people influenced by those paid posters, and how many were genuinely concerned players worried about the ‘Shuli’ project.
There was no way to tell—they were too well disguised!
Because even the paid posters were expressing concern for the project.
As the saying goes, “Don’t raise your hand against a smiling face.” If these were the kind of paid posters who just openly attacked, they’d be easier to deal with. But this kind of paid poster was much more confusing.
If Yan Qi got angry and lashed out now, or pointed the finger at the anti-Tenda alliance, claiming this was all their plot, he would likely hurt innocent bystanders and inevitably give people the impression that he suffered from “persecution delusions,” which would be very inappropriate.
The key issue was that Yan Qi had indeed received investment from Tenda, but Mr. Pei didn’t want that disclosed. So even after issuing an announcement, people still felt he was being vague and evasive. With paid posters pushing things a bit further, even ordinary observers were being led astray.
“Ah, forget it. Believe it or not, it doesn’t really affect the ‘Shuli’ project that much.”
“Brothers, let’s go get lunch, my treat!”
Yan Qi felt that since he had already issued an announcement, there was no need to dwell on this issue.
Issue another announcement? That might just make things worse. As long as he didn’t clarify the source of the money or explicitly state the relationship between the ‘Shuli’ project team and the Tenda Group, the paid posters would always find ways to control the narrative.
So it was better to say nothing more and just go eat first.
Although the promotional video release hadn’t naturally generated buzz as initially expected due to interference from paid posters, judging from the reactions of internet users and players, people generally approved of and liked the ‘Shuli’ game, so the goal had been achieved.
Let the anti-Tenda alliance do whatever they wanted!
……
Afternoon, Shengyun Group.
Nie Yunsheng was also closely monitoring the latest developments in online public opinion, then instructing his subordinates to direct the paid posters they had hired.
The vice president of the Public Affairs Department hurried over and said, “CEO Nie, Yan Qi’s side hasn’t issued any new announcements until now.”
After the previous public opinion incident with Tenda, half of Shengyun Group’s Public Affairs Department had been poached, but fortunately, the highest position that left was only a deputy director. The vice presidents and directors were still there, along with some key employees, so they quickly reorganized and could still function normally.
But the vice president of the Public Affairs Department inevitably received a severe scolding from Nie Yunsheng.
After all, he was the vice president in charge of this department, and having half of his staff poached showed his dereliction of duty.
The vice president had no choice but to work even harder in subsequent tasks to change Nie Yunsheng’s impression of his incompetence.
Nie Yunsheng asked, “Still no news from Tenda?”
The vice president nodded, “Yes, Tenda doesn’t work on weekends. Looking at the current situation, they probably won’t make any response.”
“I strongly suspect that Tenda might not even realize that the ‘Shuli’ issue is targeting them. Mr. Pei might still be completely unaware of this.”
Nie Yunsheng was very satisfied: “Excellent! In that case, we can proceed to the next phase.”
“Launch an attack on Tenda!”
After deliberate promotion, ‘Shuli’ had already gained significant attention and considerable online visibility.
Although Yan Qi had posted on Weibo saying the ‘Shuli’ project wasn’t short on money, he wasn’t a major influencer and didn’t have the numerous fans and extensive influence that Tenda Games had.
Yan Qi’s statement only had limited influence in a small circle. Many players discussing on forums and Weibo had no idea he had posted on Weibo and were still being led by the paid posters.
Based on the current situation, Yan Qi most likely wouldn’t post a second Weibo message, and Tenda hadn’t realized that this surge in ‘Shuli’s’ popularity was actually related to them.
Moreover, since Tenda didn’t work on weekends, these two weekend days were the perfect time to launch an attack!
The vice president immediately nodded: “Yes, CEO Nie, I’ll arrange it right away!”
After confirming the reactions from Yan Qi and Tenda, the next stage was to direct criticism at Tenda, claiming they were indifferent to ‘Shuli,’ that they kept talking about revitalizing the domestic game industry but ultimately only cared about themselves, and hadn’t actually supported other domestic game companies as they had promised!
Tenda definitely wouldn’t be working on the weekend, which meant they could freely criticize for these two days without facing any resistance.
Even by Monday, when Tenda would have reacted, they would have only two choices: either not comment or respond, or actually express interest in investing in the ‘Shuli’ project.
They couldn’t possibly issue an announcement saying someone had hired paid posters to smear them, could they? That wouldn’t have any effect and would only seem like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Nie Yunsheng believed that no matter what Tenda chose, the initiative remained in his hands!
……
Magic Capital.
He An wasn’t at the company today but was leisurely drinking tea at home.
Although he was currently semi-retired, he still visited his company every now and then and kept up with the latest developments in the domestic game industry.
For him, each generation had its talents. With rising stars like Mr. Pei supporting the domestic game industry, the future was bright.
Creators always have their peak creative period, and once that peak passes, it becomes difficult to keep up with trends. So there was no need to force anything—it was fine to retire when it was time and enjoy life.
However, even in a semi-retired state, he still paid attention to the development of the domestic game industry.
“‘Shuli’? Hmm, this game looks pretty good. Another rising star?”
“Choosing the action game genre shows commendable courage—there’s no turning back now. It’ll either become a masterpiece or a complete loss… Judging from the trailer, they were smart not to follow the paths of ‘Turn Back to Shore’ and ‘Eternal Samsara,’ which was a wise decision…”
“Hmm? Discussing ‘Shuli’ is fine, but why are people dragging Tenda into this? This is outrageous!”
“What does this have to do with Tenda! Mr. Pei can invest in whatever game he wants, and if he doesn’t want to invest, he doesn’t have to. How are people playing the moral high ground card now?”
He An had been intensely scrolling through news about ‘Shuli,’ expressing high expectations and interest in the game’s future, but as he continued scrolling, he encountered some discussions that made him very angry.
“The ‘Shuli’ project team seems to be in Jingzhou, and several investment companies have already expressed willingness to invest, so why hasn’t Tenda shown any interest?”
“Exactly, Tenda has always claimed to be committed to revitalizing domestic games, but when it comes time to put real money on the table, they’re silent?”
“Damn, are you sick? Tenda has been making their own games, and they’ve also collaborated with Skyfire Studio to develop ‘Bullet Hole 2.’ Their game production efficiency is prolific, what more do you want?”
“But what has Tenda actually done to support the domestic game industry? How many independent and single-player game developers lack funding? The ‘Shuli’ project is right in Jingzhou, but Tenda hasn’t offered to help them. And with a platform as good as Morning Dew Gaming Platform, Tenda hasn’t even put their own games on it!”
“Tenda never said they would unconditionally help any domestic game developer!”
“But isn’t that what Tenda’s fans have been claiming? The light of domestic games? The only hope for revitalizing domestic games? Tenda can’t enjoy such praise and false reputation while being calculating and only looking out for themselves, can they?”
Seeing these comments, He An felt his blood pressure instantly rise.
What nonsense!
Although there were indeed traces of paid poster activity, there were also people who genuinely thought this way.
Many things are just so frustrating—when a good person does one bad thing, they immediately fall into ruin and disgrace. But when a bad person does one good thing, they’re immediately praised by thousands, as if all their previous misdeeds had been wiped clean.
Even not doing anything wrong isn’t enough for good people. If something happens and you’re slow to do good, you immediately face “character collapse” accusations, with claims that “the fox’s tail is showing.”
People habitually apply the highest moral standards to good people, while lowering these standards to the extreme for bad people.
Take the current situation: those investment companies had never previously invested in any domestic games, but after expressing willingness to invest in ‘Shuli,’ many people felt their attitude was sincere and deserving of encouragement. Meanwhile, Tenda, which had always been held in high regard, hadn’t made any statement about the ‘Shuli’ project—not only had they not offered money, they hadn’t even expressed surface-level support—and this deeply disappointed people.