Qiao Liang was completely stunned. He never expected Mr. Pei would answer the question like this.

How was this possible?

Mr. Pei had clearly stated that he made games and movies specifically to criticize himself.

Was it really because he thought Tenda Group’s reputation was too good?

If that were the case, then the current public opinion trend made sense. Mr. Pei was essentially coordinating with the anti-Tenda alliance. They had all released movies, and all of them were criticizing Tenda Group.

Under this double reinforcement, it was only natural that netizens would develop distrust toward Tenda Group.

Seeing Qiao Liang’s expression of existential doubt, Pei Qian secretly laughed to himself.

Oh Qiao, old Qiao, I never thought you’d see this day.

Afraid that he hadn’t been clear enough, he added two more cutting remarks: “You can record what I’m about to say and include it in your video.”

“Actually, I’ve always had one greatest wish: I hope all consumers would view Tenda Group as their greatest enemy.”

“But these consumers insist on viewing Tenda Group as their best friend.”

“I believe Tenda Group is an extremely dangerous and terrifying entity. It’s just that many people don’t fully recognize how dangerous it is.”

“I hope to use games and movies as opportunities to help everyone deeply understand this point. From the current situation, this goal has been perfectly achieved.”

“So, I believe that up to now, the ‘Future You Choose’ project has been a great success, and I have no further expectations for it.”

“If you’re making a video, I hope you can convey this concept to all players and consumers.”

“Tenda Group is the most evil enterprise in this world. Please, everyone, rise up and attack it together, making me lose my investment completely!”

After saying all this, Pei Qian felt refreshed and relieved.

That felt good, really good.

These were words he had wanted to say two or three years ago, but he couldn’t at that time. It would have been pointless.

Back then, Tenda Group was still a small company in its early development stage. It couldn’t possibly be considered dangerous. Even if Pei Qian had said it, no one would have taken him seriously.

But now the situation was different.

Tenda Group had developed rapidly and gained market advantages in many industries. The entire company had grown into a behemoth. It definitely possessed a certain level of danger—this was an indisputable fact.

So when Pei Qian said these words now, they were true to some extent. They could also achieve the desired effect, ensuring this information wouldn’t be misinterpreted or lost during transmission.

Looking at Qiao Laoshi’s expression of existential doubt, Pei Qian smiled slightly.

He was already imagining a scene where love turned to hatred, with Qiao turning against Tenda Group and refuting it in his new video.

If that happened, it would be perfect!

…

Even after returning home, Qiao Liang was still in a daze.

Meeting with Mr. Pei should have been something to be happy about. Hearing Mr. Pei personally interpret the game and movie should have made him even happier.

But these two happy events combined had brought Qiao Liang great confusion.

He was already bewildered, and now he was even more so.

Previously, all of Qiao Liang’s judgments were based on the same premise: Tenda couldn’t possibly be criticizing itself. Whether in games or movies, portraying Tenda Group as the antagonist was just an artistic expression—there must be deeper implications behind it.

But now Mr. Pei had directly confirmed it, saying, “Yes, I am criticizing myself.”

He even provided a recording, saying Tenda Group was an extremely dangerous and terrifying entity, hoping everyone would recognize this and asking everyone to rise up against it.

This was completely baffling.

Qiao Liang had been wondering why he couldn’t figure out the correct answer, but now it seemed he had ruled out the correct answer from the beginning.

Yet this “correct answer” felt extremely absurd to him. What kind of company boss would criticize his own company?

For companies with complex power structures, it might be understandable. The CEO might not have absolute control, and the company’s development might not entirely follow the CEO’s will.

But throughout Tenda Group, everyone was sincerely devoted to Mr. Pei. It could be said that Tenda Group was a direct manifestation of Mr. Pei’s will. Wouldn’t Mr. Pei criticizing Tenda Group be equivalent to criticizing and negating himself?

Could it be that Mr. Pei meant his greatest regret was founding Tenda Group?

Well, Mr. Pei seemed to have said something similar before, but no matter how you thought about it, such words were just for show.

Qiao Liang sat at his computer, very frustrated, deleting all the scripts he had prepared earlier because they were clearly useless now.

But he still hadn’t given up and continued to think hard. Could there be a new breakthrough in the gaps?

“Mr. Pei’s expression was very sincere when he said these words, not at all like he was pretending.”

“What if I use this as a starting point for analysis? Assuming Mr. Pei really wants to criticize Tenda Group, what specifically does he want to criticize?”

“Is he criticizing a specific employee or manager? That’s impossible. If Mr. Pei didn’t like someone, he would have fired them long ago.”

“Is he criticizing the company’s corporate culture and internal atmosphere? That shouldn’t be the case either. These things might be troublesome, but as the CEO, Mr. Pei can gradually change them.”

“Could he be criticizing himself as the CEO? That’s even more absurd.”

“Or…”

“What if Mr. Pei isn’t criticizing these things, but something else within Tenda Group? That is… that intangible will!”

“Perhaps because Mr. Pei saw this intangible will hovering over Tenda Group, he came up with this method to make everyone vigilant against it.”

“Just like I said in my previous video, this is more like self-reflection.”

“Seen this way, Mr. Pei’s fundamental goal in making games and movies isn’t to win the public opinion battle against the anti-Tenda alliance—at least that’s not the primary goal.”

“The true goal is to place restrictions on Tenda Group!”

“From this perspective, Mr. Pei is indeed the biggest mole within Tenda Group. But at the same time, this means Mr. Pei is the one who has been constantly working to keep capital in a cage. What he’s fighting against is actually Tenda Group’s continuously expanding and self-valorizing will.”

“For this, Mr. Pei is even willing to temporarily stand on the same side as the anti-Tenda alliance, using such extreme measures for self-restraint.”

“It all connects now, everything connects.”

“This explains many issues.”

Qiao Liang suddenly realized where his problem lay.

His analysis was too shallow!

Actually, the major premise he had set from the beginning was problematic, so he couldn’t derive the correct conclusion.

But if he negated his previous major premise and elevated the entire concept one level higher, he would suddenly find that all the previously troubling problems were resolved.

Moreover, this would finally establish a deeper connection between the content of the game and the movie.

Once this connection was established, it would place heavy shackles on Tenda Group, but at the same time, it would be the strongest armor and the most noble crown.

With this realization, Qiao Liang immediately decided to pull another all-nighter for a new video.

This time, he wasn’t just going to interpret the game or movie. He wanted to bring this public opinion battle to a definitive conclusion. He wanted to reveal Mr. Pei’s true intentions to the world, and have everyone join Mr. Pei in firmly containing that intangible will!

…

…

September 25th, Wednesday.

Pei Qian was in his office, watching the online discussions, feeling quite good.

The current public opinion trend was very favorable for him. If he could use this trend to further reduce Tenda’s various performance metrics, combined with some money-burning activities, then this cycle’s settlement would be completely secure.

It was only a bit of a pity that the anti-Tenda alliance hadn’t delivered the final blow yet.

It seemed this role could only be played by Qiao Laoshi.

Pei Qian still remembered the shocked, confused, and bewildered expression on Qiao Laoshi’s face after he had revealed his inner thoughts at the coffee shop.

Given that, it should only be a matter of time before love turned to hatred.

If Qiao Laoshi could reform himself, sever his connection with Tenda Group, and make Pei Qian’s recording public, it should have a decisive effect.

That would be a great help for Pei Qian’s business of making losses.

Just then, the AiLiDao website app rang with a special notification.

Qiao Laoshi had finally posted a new video!

“Oh, is my final judgment finally coming?”

With an extremely excited heart, Pei Qian quickly clicked to watch the video.