The two of them looked at each other and smiled, everything understood without words.
You know what I want to say, but you also know I can’t say it. I know that you know I can’t say it, so let’s both not say anything…
Thinking carefully, Yan Qi realized it was normal for Xia Jiang to have figured it out—it would have been strange if she hadn’t.
Because not only was she very intelligent, but she had actually visited Tenda and the Incubator Base!
She had conducted on-site investigations and spoken with those in charge, grasping many details very thoroughly, so naturally she could discover many intricate issues.
Most people online had never been to Tenda, never met Mr. Pei, didn’t know how Tenda operated internally, and couldn’t see the connections between Tenda Group and the Incubator Base.
So they only had speculation, nothing that constituted solid evidence.
That being the case, he would continue to keep it secret according to Mr. Pei’s requirements!
“Alright, now let’s officially begin our interview.”
The equipment had been set up, and Xia Jiang smiled as she asked her first question: “You previously made a mobile game called ‘Empire’s Edge.’ Why did you decide to transition from mobile games to a 3A action game?”
“And what was the inspiration for ‘Millet Departure’?”
Yan Qi: “Uh…”
He thought he had been prepared, but now he realized he wasn’t.
Because these two questions were actually one question, and both were directly related to Mr. Pei!
Originally, Yan Qi had made money from mobile games and, inspired by Tenda and the Morning Dew Gaming Platform, wanted to fulfill his dream of making a single-player action game. But he had no idea how to actually make this game.
It was Li Yada who explained Tenda’s game development methods to him and pointed him in the right direction, which led to the prototype of “Millet Departure.”
In other words, the inspiration for this game should rightfully be attributed to Mr. Pei!
But if he told the truth, wouldn’t that indirectly expose the relationship between the “Millet Departure” project team and Mr. Pei?
After hemming and hawing for a moment, Yan Qi said, “Well, I’ve always been a devoted player of action games and have always dreamed of making an action game. The ‘Millet Departure’ project came about partly because of my accumulated experience and passion for action games, and partly because of some external inspiration…”
He didn’t have many good options, because even though Xia Jiang was asking standard questions, the fact was that the birth of “Millet Departure” was inextricably linked to Tenda!
So even giving straightforward answers would naturally reveal certain things.
If Mr. Pei hadn’t required secrecy, it would have been easy—Yan Qi could have just told the truth and openly explained the relationship between “Millet Departure” and Tenda. But since Mr. Pei had insisted on secrecy, he could only pick and choose his words, speaking vaguely.
He had thought Xia Jiang would be very dissatisfied with this kind of response—after all, if he couldn’t talk about this or that, what was the point of the interview?
But Xia Jiang wasn’t angry at all. Instead, her face bore a faint smile.
“It’s fine, I understand!”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this situation; I’m quite familiar with it.”
“Besides, my blank space interview style is specifically designed for situations like this.”
“Rest assured, I’m a professional journalist. After I get back, I’ll polish the interview content and definitely achieve the best effect.”
“What you need to do is listen to your inner voice and say everything that should be said.”
“So… next question.”
“It’s now confirmed that ‘Millet Departure’ will be exclusively on the Morning Dew Gaming Platform. What’s your opinion of the platform?”
“There are rumors that ‘Millet Departure’ requires an enormous amount of funding, and people are worried that you might cut game content or release it in installments due to budget and cost-effectiveness concerns. How do you address this issue during development?”
…
Xia Jiang asked questions seriously, and Yan Qi answered earnestly.
However, in the course of answering, some issues related to Tenda naturally came up.
Regarding these, Yan Qi could only be vague and evasive, glossing over them.
Fortunately, besides questions related to Tenda, there were other topics he could discuss, such as matters concerning the Morning Dew Gaming Platform.
Yan Qi had been working with the Morning Dew Gaming Platform for a long time, having joined shortly after the platform was established. Whether it was finding bugs or releasing games, he had built a very deep friendship with the platform team.
Even the creative direction for “Millet Departure” and the introduction to Dream Realization Venture Capital were facilitated by Li Yada from the platform.
Yan Qi greatly praised the Morning Dew Gaming Platform’s operational approach, while also repeatedly emphasizing that the “Millet Departure” project had sufficient funding and would not cut game content due to budget issues. He assured everyone not to worry, as the project would definitely be developed smoothly and completely.
The two of them went back and forth with questions and answers, and two hours quickly passed.
Xia Jiang looked at the content in her stenography notebook and nodded with satisfaction: “Good, then today’s interview ends here. Thank you for your cooperation. I’ve got all the content I wanted, and now it’s just a matter of writing up the article so this news can meet everyone as soon as possible!”
Yan Qi let out a long breath, feeling his whole body relax.
Although during the interview, Xia Jiang seemed to be constantly asking indirect questions, and some questions inevitably involved Tenda, Yan Qi had remained highly vigilant throughout and hadn’t revealed the relationship between the “Millet Departure” project team and Tenda Group.
Some content he had glossed over vaguely, and for other content, he had tried his best to use the Morning Dew Gaming Platform as a shield.
After all, it was Tenda that invested in his project, while the Morning Dew Gaming Platform was just a partner—what was wrong with talking about that?
Mr. Pei had said that Tenda’s investment in “Millet Departure” couldn’t be mentioned, which conversely meant that everything else could be discussed, right?
Moreover, this was a good opportunity to gain exposure on the official platform; there was no reason to hide anything.
However, to be safe, Yan Qi still asked one more question: “Editor Xia, there were some things in this interview that I couldn’t disclose. Would that… be a problem?”
Xia Jiang immediately nodded: “Not at all!”
“Don’t worry, I’m a professional journalist, and besides, I’ve seen this kind of situation many times.”
“I have a feeling that after this article comes out, it’s definitely going to be a hit!”
Yan Qi nodded.
Since Editor Xia had given such assurances, there should be no problem.
“Alright, thank you for your hard work, Editor Xia. I’ll wait patiently for the interview article to come out!”
…
Back at the hotel, Xia Jiang began quickly organizing today’s interview content.
Although there was no need to rush such matters—publishing the article within a few days would be perfectly fine—Xia Jiang’s mindset was quite urgent.
On one hand, she had already seen a familiar shadow in Yan Qi’s answers: a hidden thread!
Just like when she interviewed Tenda Group before, there was a hidden thread in the interviews with various managers, which was Mr. Pei’s support and assistance for the entire Tenda Group.
If one wasn’t aware of this hidden thread, the entire interview would seem to be missing something, but once this thread emerged, everything would instantly connect!
In the words she heard while interviewing Yan Qi today, there was clearly also a hidden thread.
The person who influenced his decision to create “Millet Departure,” the person who invested in him—they were all hidden in this thread!
Thinking back to Qiu Hong’s interview from the “Poverty Road Project”…
This made Xia Jiang 99.99% certain that this hidden thread was Mr. Pei!
On the other hand, Xia Jiang had also noticed the current faction-choosing phenomenon in the gaming circle regarding “Millet Departure” and Tenda. Some companies, and even some industry insiders, were trying every means to smear Tenda.
Regarding this, Xia Jiang was naturally indignant.
How could anyone malign someone as good as Mr. Pei? It was absolutely despicable!
But the official platform had to maintain an objective and neutral stance. Even if Tenda had indeed made great contributions to the domestic gaming industry, the official platform couldn’t directly take Tenda’s side—that would set a terrible precedent.
The official platform still needed to be relatively restrained; it could encourage and praise, but it couldn’t directly take sides, or everything would fall into chaos.
So as an editor, Xia Jiang naturally couldn’t go too far on this matter either; personal emotions and work had to be kept separate.
She could only try her best to produce good report content and, through her clear analysis and well-founded reasoning, guide everyone to find the truth and stand on the right side.
“So, should I continue to use the blank space approach for this article?”
“Hmm… it would be safe, but the problem is that this method has been used several times already; it’s not fresh anymore. And with Tenda’s current situation, a blank space report might not be much help.”
“I really wish I could provide direct evidence!”
“Clearly the Poverty Road Project, the Independent Game Incubator Base, and the ‘Millet Departure’ project team are all funded by Mr. Pei. Even the Morning Dew Gaming Platform is very suspicious, yet they all adamantly refuse to admit it!”
“The Poverty Road Project supported domestic independent games, the ‘Millet Departure’ project supported excellent domestic single-player 3A games, and the Morning Dew Gaming Platform supported a positive gaming platform. And Tenda itself has been continuously releasing excellent game works.”
“Mr. Pei’s support and assistance for the entire domestic gaming industry is clearly comprehensive and tireless, and yet Mr. Pei is so low-key and unassuming, not wanting others to know.”
“Such a conscientious company is still constantly being maligned—it’s so infuriating!”
“Is there any way to directly confirm the relationship between these three entities and Tenda…”
Xia Jiang furrowed her brow, feeling she was just one step away.
She had the previous interviews, she had this new material, and she had basically figured out Tenda’s entire layout, but the only problem was that she couldn’t prove it!
Given that these people would never admit it, how could she prove the relationship between Tenda and them?
Xia Jiang paced back and forth, when suddenly her eyes lit up.
“Ah! I’ve got it!”
“If I remember correctly, a National Enterprise Credit Information Disclosure System was just launched in February this year!”
“If there are companies related to Tenda… I should be able to find some clues in this system!”