Shanghai.

Lu Xiaoping was resting in his hotel. Though it was already evening, he felt no hint of drowsiness. He simply gazed at the night view outside the window of his five-star hotel, lost in thought.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Picking it up, he saw a message from one of his subordinates.

“Mr. Lu, Qiao Laoshi has released a new video!”

Lu Xiaoping immediately replied “Got it,” then opened Qiao Laoshi’s new video.

Currently, Qiao Laoshi was a primary surveillance target for the entire Anti-Tenda Alliance. Lu Xiaoping paid special attention to him and had specifically assigned people to monitor his activities at all times.

After briefly analyzing the previous public opinion battles and the comeback of Tenda’s games and films, Lu Xiaoping discovered that Qiao Laoshi had played an enormous role in these processes.

This well-known gaming content creator had built his reputation by interpreting Tenda games. He was a very important card in Mr. Pei’s hand—a secret weapon, so to speak.

To defeat Tenda Group head-on, besides launching frontal assaults, one also had to protect their own rear position and remain vigilant against sudden attacks from content creators like Qiao Laoshi.

However, Lu Xiaoping was surprised that Qiao Laoshi had released his video so early.

“Is he that impatient? Logically, Qiao Laoshi must know that the film adaptation of ‘The Future You Chose’ is about to be released.”

“I thought he would wait until after the film’s release to conduct a comprehensive analysis incorporating the film’s plot. That would generate more buzz, and his arguments would probably be more persuasive.”

“Now that he’s released the game review video, wouldn’t it be awkward if it doesn’t align with the film’s content?”

“Though Qiao Laoshi’s rash move has inadvertently helped him avoid one of our traps—a blessing in disguise.”

Lu Xiaoping had conducted an in-depth analysis of Tenda Group’s promotional plans for both the game and film versions of “The Future You Chose.”

He believed that the game’s release date and the film’s theatrical release had definitely been carefully planned by Mr. Pei. The few days’ gap was designed to allow the game’s popularity to ferment as much as possible, thereby positively driving interest in the film.

From the current situation, the game and film plots must have significant differences. Otherwise, if the game came first and had the same plot as the film, wouldn’t that spoil the film for the audience?

There must be some deep connection between their storylines, perhaps even worthy of profound interpretation.

Lu Xiaoping had in turn used the time gap between these two projects to launch his counterattack.

His approach was to first attack “The Future You Chose” game project. During the period between this attack and the film’s release, Tenda Group or Qiao Laoshi would be unlikely to directly counter such public opinion trends.

Because in the process of countering, they might reveal certain ideas that would spoil the film and affect the audience’s sense of discovery when first viewing it.

Lu Xiaoping’s plan was to launch a massive attack on the game project, then have his own film “My Property” release simultaneously with “The Future You Chose.” With his own film’s guaranteed quality, he would directly suppress the popularity of Tenda’s film.

So regardless of whether Tenda Group responded during this phase or not, Lu Xiaoping had follow-up plans ready.

Comparatively speaking, Lu Xiaoping actually preferred that Tenda Group and people like Qiao Laoshi not respond, as that would give him more room to maneuver.

Qiao Laoshi’s seemingly rash actions had accidentally helped him avoid a trap.

But Lu Xiaoping didn’t mind. He would respond to whatever came his way. He was curious to see how Qiao Laoshi would refute his deconstruction of the core of “The Future You Chose” game.

Could he really turn public opinion around with just one video?

Although Qiao Laoshi had done this many times before, Lu Xiaoping firmly believed that this time, Qiao Laoshi had no chance at all.

…

The video’s title was “Legendary Works Episode 10: What is True Cyberpunk?”

Notably, this video had a lengthy description.

“While uploading the finished video, I briefly looked at the online comments about ‘The Future You Chose’ game.”

“Some players’ criticisms of this game seem to focus on two points: first, the gameplay is relatively monotonous; second, Tenda Group didn’t truly mock itself, and didn’t highlight the real spiritual core of cyberpunk.”

“I completed the video before seeing these comments, but coincidentally, the content I discuss in the video addresses these two issues well. So please watch the video patiently to the end—I believe you’ll find answers to these questions.”

Seeing this, Lu Xiaoping was somewhat surprised.

He had originally thought this would be a video refuting the arguments spread by the Anti-Tenda Alliance, but calculating the timing, there indeed seemed to be insufficient time.

After the game’s release, it took the Anti-Tenda Alliance about a day and a half to recover from their initial shock and correct their earlier mistaken conclusion that Tenda Group had portrayed the Anti-Tenda Alliance companies as villains. Only then did they propose new public opinion strategies.

Judging from the release time of Qiao Laoshi’s video, if he had made this video after seeing the Anti-Tenda Alliance’s arguments gain traction, there wouldn’t have been enough time to release it so quickly.

This meant that while interpreting the game, Qiao Laoshi had coincidentally anticipated the questions that the Anti-Tenda Alliance and some players would have about the game.

That’s why he didn’t change the video content but only added this paragraph to the description.

This made Lu Xiaoping slightly uneasy. If that was indeed the case, it likely meant that Qiao Laoshi had found factors they had overlooked.

And these factors could potentially turn the tables.

Lu Xiaoping calmed himself down and continued watching the video.

Skipping past Qiao Laoshi’s casual chat and preliminary setup with the audience, he went straight to the main topic of the video.

Qiao Laoshi’s distinctive voice and meticulous, orderly thinking quickly brought the audience back into the world of “The Future You Chose.”

“Before formally analyzing ‘The Future You Chose,’ let’s first review the game design philosophy that Mr. Pei has established over time.”

“First is breaking the fourth wall. All gameplay and content designed by Mr. Pei aim to evoke players’ emotions, create resonance with the game’s protagonist, and generate stronger immersion, creating an effect of breaking the fourth wall.”

“The most classic example is ‘Turn Back to Shore,’ which uses suffering-game mechanics to let players experience the feeling of ordinary people struggling in a sea of bitterness. In ‘Eternal Cycles,’ high-level players identify with the invincible martial god, reminding us that sometimes when abilities are too strong, we become arrogant, potentially causing greater disasters.”

“Second, through worldbuilding, metaphors, and the protagonist’s final choices, he expresses a specific philosophy. This philosophy may not suit everyone’s taste or preference, and it may not be entirely correct, but it definitely contains profound implications.”

“For example, the game ‘Struggle’ provides an in-depth portrayal of poor and rich people’s lives, allowing everyone to form their own thoughts.”

“These are the two cornerstones of Mr. Pei’s game development, neither of which can be missing. All other aspects of his games—whether graphics, storyline, music, sound effects, or other elements—serve these two cornerstones.”

“Understanding this point, let’s consider another question: what is true cyberpunk?”

“Actually, as early as in the film ‘Beautiful Tomorrow,’ Mr. Pei had already explored this theme, and similar elements have appeared multiple times in his later games and films.”

“I believe the key phrase for cyberpunk is ‘high tech, low life.’ Its core idea is that technological development and progress don’t necessarily bring happiness to people, but might instead bring new disasters. In cyberpunk themes, large monopolistic conglomerates, homeless vagrants, technological prosthetics, gene drugs, etc., are all just forms of expression.”

“Why doesn’t technological development and progress necessarily bring happiness to people, but might instead bring new disasters?”

“For those who don’t understand, I can give a simple example. Social scientists once proposed that with the rapid development of global productivity, humanity would quickly eliminate poverty, and everyone would live a life free from hunger and want.”

“Theoretically, productivity has indeed developed rapidly, and the food and goods we produce have become extremely abundant. But to this day, not only are there extremely poor countries in the world, but even within many developed countries, there are numerous homeless people living on the streets.”

“So technological development will increase the total wealth of society, but whether it will bring a happy life to everyone is questionable.”

“In the cyberpunk world, when monopolistic conglomerates can significantly widen the gap with ordinary people through more powerful genetic technology and pervasive technological software, the rich and poor will become increasingly like two different species. The tear between the top and bottom of the social pyramid will become increasingly severe.”

“Therefore, true cyberpunk themes must explore the essence of this issue.”

“If one is only obsessed with the surface appearance of the cyberpunk world, focusing all attention on mechanical prosthetics, skyscrapers, neon lights, and black market transactions, it’s like abandoning the essence for the superficial—having the skin but not the soul.”

“Understanding this point makes it easier to understand why ‘The Future You Chose’ is a truly cyberpunk game.”

“What’s important is not to comprehensively display the entire cyberpunk society, but to pinpoint a core aspect of the cyberpunk world, dig deep into it, and touch the true core.”

“In this regard, ‘The Future You Chose’ can be said to achieve the most perfect result possible under the constraints of development capabilities.”