Back at the hotel, Xia Jiang first organized the content from today’s interview.

The material from her previous interview with Wu Zhicheng in the Imperial Capital was already mostly organized. With the addition of Qiu Hong’s part, she should be able to submit the article within a few days.

However, Xia Jiang’s attention now couldn’t focus on the interview content itself. Instead, she found herself involuntarily drawn to the “mysterious person” behind the incubation base.

After developing an initial suspicion about this mysterious person’s identity, Xia Jiang sorted through various clues—such as the standard game list at the incubation base, the computer equipment they used, the Slackin’ takeout food they ate, the Tuoguan Fitness gym they used…

Combined with the unique atmosphere of the incubation base, she had already determined in her heart that this mysterious investor was most likely Mr. Pei!

After all, Tenda Group’s work environment was so unique, like fireflies in the night, making it unforgettable.

Wu Zhicheng and the other independent game developers had never been to Tenda and had never experienced Tenda’s work environment, so they couldn’t guess; but Xia Jiang had seen Tenda’s work environment and had conducted exclusive interviews with many companies. Companies with environments like Tenda’s were truly one of a kind, leaving a profound impression.

“If the incubation base is really funded by Mr. Pei, then Mr. Pei’s behavior is truly exemplary—a savior of domestic games.”

“Could Mr. Pei be that ray of light for domestic independent games?”

“Mr. Pei has done so much, yet we haven’t shown any particular appreciation. It’s rather shameful.”

“How can I help Mr. Pei? Good-hearted people shouldn’t bleed and cry at the same time.”

“Arrange an exclusive interview for Mr. Pei?”

“Hmm… that won’t work.”

Xia Jiang wanted to do her small part, to do something.

After all, supporting the development of domestic independent games was part of the official platform’s responsibility, but due to various complex reasons, the official platform didn’t have enough capacity to support all independent game developers individually.

Mr. Pei, as a completely unrelated outsider, had already contributed to the development of domestic games by producing so many excellent games. Now he was also “letting the first to get rich help those who come after,” doing his utmost to help those independent game developers with poor conditions—essentially doing the official platform a big favor.

If the official platform showed no appreciation at all, that would be too disheartening!

Xia Jiang’s first reaction was to arrange an exclusive interview for Mr. Pei, as this was her primary job.

But she quickly dismissed this idea because Mr. Pei was already a very low-profile person. During the previous interview, he had reluctantly accepted a written article but didn’t want to show his face. This time, the incubation base matter was kept completely confidential, with no intention of letting anyone know.

If Xia Jiang approached Mr. Pei for an exclusive interview, she would most likely be politely refused, and she wasn’t so insensitive.

“In that case, I’ll apply for more recommendation spots for games related to the ‘Path of Poverty’ project.”

“‘Water Ink Cloud Mist’ is about to be released, and it can also be added to the ‘Domestic Classic Games’ collection.”

“The ‘Domestic Classic Games Collection’ seems to be a joint activity between Tenda and the official platform? Hmm… although the current recommendation spots are already the best I can give within my authority, perhaps the duration could be extended a bit.”

“But then again, I don’t have the final say in these matters. Even if I submit a request through colleagues, it’s uncertain whether it will be approved.”

“How about… interviewing someone else?”

Xia Jiang thought of several approaches, but she was, after all, just an editor-in-chief. Recommendation spots weren’t within her jurisdiction; she could make suggestions, but they might not necessarily be approved.

So Xia Jiang thought she could interview someone else.

Just like the previous exclusive interview with Tenda—although Mr. Pei didn’t get much screen time, they still perfectly portrayed him as the protagonist through interviews with other Tenda employees!

So the question became: who to interview?

Xia Jiang still had contact information for several Tenda employees, but as far as she knew, most of those senior employees she had interviewed before had now been promoted step by step, becoming department heads, and the vast majority no longer worked in Tenda’s gaming department.

If they weren’t working in the gaming department, there wasn’t much point in interviewing them, since the official platform’s interviews only focused on gaming aspects.

Xia Jiang searched through her contacts for a long time and finally decided to call Bao Xu.

He was a Tenda veteran with extensive connections and should have a good understanding of the gaming department’s situation. Finding him would be the right choice.

…

At that moment, Bao Xu was wearing a safety helmet, accompanying Liang Qianfan to inspect the construction site of the Food Market.

The entire renovation of the Food Market was in full swing, and Liang Qianfan came every day to guide the work.

Actually, Bao Xu was still an employee of the gaming department, and helping at the Food Market was quite flexible—he could come when he wanted and not come when he didn’t want to.

But Bao Xu still went there every day, mainly because he didn’t want to leave his colleagues in the gaming department with the impression that he had nothing to do, to avoid being named as a companion on the next outstanding employee evaluation trip.

Since Liang Qianfan wouldn’t drive him away, Bao Xu just hung around, occasionally offering his insights from a gaming perspective.

Sometimes Liang Qianfan would adopt his suggestions, sometimes not, but Bao Xu didn’t mind. After all, he had nothing better to do, so he might as well make his presence known.

After walking around for a bit, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Just then, Bao Xu’s phone rang.

“Editor-in-Chief Xia Jiang from the official platform?”

Seeing the caller ID, Bao Xu was stunned because it had been a long time since that interview. If not for the note in his contacts, he wouldn’t have remembered who this person was.

Bao Xu immediately answered the call.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xia Jiang directly asked Bao Xu about matters concerning Tenda’s gaming department. But she hadn’t expected that Bao Xu was temporarily not responsible for work in the gaming department, so she asked for current head Hu Xianbin’s phone number instead.

After hanging up, Bao Xu was puzzled.

“If Editor Xia has something to discuss, why not contact Mr. Pei directly? Why go through me in such a roundabout way?”

However, Bao Xu didn’t think too much about it and continued following Liang Qianfan to attend to the Food Market matters.

…

After calling Bao Xu, Xia Jiang also called Hu Xianbin, the current head of Tenda Games, to understand the situation better.

She specifically asked about the “Domestic Classic Games Collection” in detail.

“So this Domestic Classic Games Collection plan wasn’t Mr. Pei’s idea, but rather from the new head of the advertising and marketing department, Meng Chang?”

“And this Meng Chang is actually the same Meng Chang who previously drove Cold Noodle Girl into bankruptcy…”

After learning this information, Xia Jiang suddenly discovered an excellent candidate for an interview.

Wouldn’t interviewing Meng Chang be perfect?

From her impression, this Meng Chang seemed to be the same type of person as Qiu Hong, with many similarities, except that Meng Chang’s situation was many times more complex than Qiu Hong’s.

Why did Meng Chang choose to join Tenda after failing with Cold Noodle Girl, and start contributing to the promotion of domestic games?

Xia Jiang still remembered the Tenda employees she had interviewed before, including Huang Sibo, Bao Xu, and others. They all had one thing in common: they were all essentially grassroots—there was a base-level game designer earning only one or two thousand yuan a month, and a gaming-addicted youth who spent years in internet cafes.

When these people joined Tenda, the company was still in its early stages, and under Mr. Pei’s nurturing, they all became pillars of Tenda.

As Tenda grew stronger, Mr. Pei seemed to have turned his attention to people like Qiu Hong and Meng Chang—those who had already achieved some success in related fields but had somehow lost their way—bringing them into his fold.

Did this also represent a change in Mr. Pei’s approach to employing people as the company developed and expanded?

Xia Jiang immediately decided to interview Meng Chang!

Moreover, she also figured out exactly how to help Mr. Pei.

First, she would publish this exclusive interview about the incubation base and Qiu Hong, timed with the release of “Water Ink Cloud Mist,” to generate some publicity.

Then she would publish Meng Chang’s exclusive interview, promoting the story behind the “Domestic Classic Games Collection.”

Finally, she would add “Water Ink Cloud Mist” to the “Domestic Classic Games Collection,” pushing the hints to the maximum!

If players looked at these two exclusive interviews separately, they might not realize anything, but if the two interviews were published one after another, and “Water Ink Cloud Mist” was also added to the collection, players would definitely get this hint, right?

Xia Jiang had no direct evidence to prove that the investor behind the incubation base was Mr. Pei, and given Mr. Pei’s low-key nature, directly stating it would certainly be inappropriate.

But Xia Jiang could use this method to hint at it, and how players interpreted it would be their own business.

“Well, this way I’ll have done my little part!”

The more Xia Jiang thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. She immediately decided to call Tenda’s advertising and marketing department to arrange an exclusive interview.

…

At Tenda Group’s advertising and marketing department.

Meng Chang, who received Xia Jiang’s call, was completely bewildered.

“You’re the editor-in-chief of the official platform?”

“You want to interview me???”

After receiving an affirmative answer, Meng Chang fell into silence, feeling conflicted.

Should he accept this interview or not?

By all reasoning, Meng Chang had absolutely no reason to refuse.

The official platform’s reporter wanted to do an exclusive interview, to be posted on the streaming platform to help promote the “Domestic Classic Games” collection, essentially giving Meng Chang’s marketing plan free publicity. In others’ eyes, how could he possibly refuse?

But Meng Chang knew that the higher the popularity, the lower his commission would be!

Moreover, Meng Chang didn’t want to be too conspicuous.

After all, he was working at Tenda Games under Mr. Pei, which strictly speaking meant he was dependent on others. To repay his massive debt quickly, he had to lower his head while under someone else’s roof.

In reality, Meng Chang had no interest whatsoever in promoting domestic classic games, nor did he have any admiration or loyalty for Mr. Pei. He would rather see all of Tenda’s business cool down so he could get more commission.

But clearly, Xia Jiang had misunderstood. The entire interview would revolve around themes like “a prodigal’s return” and “finding the right path after being lost,” and how could Meng Chang handle that?

Just thinking about the questions Xia Jiang would ask, Meng Chang felt uncomfortable all over.

Of course, with Meng Chang’s eloquence and acting skills, merely playing along for the occasion wouldn’t be a problem, but it would still feel awkward.

Accepting was definitely not an option, but directly refusing would seem very rigid.

After much consideration, Meng Chang said, “Editor Xia, it’s like this. Although I would very much like to accept this interview, I’m simply too busy with work!”

“How about a compromise—you could interview other key staff members from our department instead?”

Meng Chang couldn’t really refuse but didn’t want to participate himself, so he could only pass it on to others in the department.

Without interviewing the main person, this exclusive interview would certainly not generate much attention and wouldn’t affect Meng Chang’s plans. At the same time, it wouldn’t reject the official platform’s goodwill.

Xia Jiang was silent for a moment, clearly disappointed that she couldn’t directly interview Meng Chang himself.

But after thinking for a moment, she said, “Alright, then let’s arrange to interview other people from your department. I hope they can cooperate fully when the time comes.”

Meng Chang was pleased: “Of course, Editor Xia, you can rest assured!”

As Xia Jiang hung up the phone, she thought to herself that it seemed the “blank space” interview method she had used when interviewing Mr. Pei before would be making a comeback!