novelODS Chapter 287 The Ray of Light Shining into the Night
Chapter 287 The Ray of Light Shining into the Night
Shenzhen, TX Building.
Su Ming's office was filled with smoke, as if someone had just set a fire inside.
He and Ziying sat silently in their chairs, neither of them speaking, only the cigarette butts flickering between their fingers as they smoked one after another.
On the computer screen, Jiang Feng's live stream was playing quietly.
West Lake in snow, Broken Bridge covered in snow. Three young people dressed in Hanfu stand by the lake, their white robes exuding a cool elegance, their green robes a gentle grace, and their red robes a passionate intensity, like figures who have stepped out of a painting.
The scenery is beautiful, and the people are even more beautiful.
But they were not in a good mood at all.
"Four million."
Ziying stared at the constantly fluctuating number in the bottom right corner of the screen, her voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping, "It's still rising."
Four million online.
The broadcast started without any warning, without any pre-broadcast promotion, without any publicity, and without even notifying fans in advance.
Jiang Feng simply stood by West Lake and casually started a live stream, and the number of viewers surged to four million.
What does this represent? It represents the will of the people!
They thought they held absolute power. Removing all of Hualong Esports' videos from all platforms, sending lawyer's letters of warning, and banning Delta's broadcasts—these three moves would have made any streamer obediently submit.
If they just play dead for half a month and wait for the public outcry to die down, everything will return to normal.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Feng was far more tenacious and resilient than they had imagined.
The players are also far more united and furious than they imagined.
Public opinion was far worse than imagined.
One trending topic after another.
#Jiangfeng West Lake Hanfu# Hot
#WindGodLiveSnowScene# Boiling
There's even pressure from overseas – on YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch, the name "JiangFeng" has been consistently trending.
Within half a day, Su Ming received three inquiry calls from his superiors.
Ma Ruizhe was called to give a report early this morning and hasn't returned yet.
But what truly broke them was not public opinion.
Bad reputation?
Tencent won't care about something that has never existed before.
What they care about are invoices, whether it's online or not, and transaction records.
Delta's daily active users have plummeted.
The finance department is going crazy with all the invoices.
"Before Mr. Ma went to the board meeting, I submitted a revenue plan for the next quarter."
Ziying took a deep breath, suppressing the dryness in her throat:
"In it, I wrote that we should deeply explore the paid potential of Delta, convert daily active users into paid users, and promised a 50% increase in revenue next quarter. First, stabilize the situation at the top and buy some time."
"Hmm." Su Ming nodded, his voice exhausted. "This is the only way."
"Send a server-wide announcement saying that we will listen to player feedback and optimize the game environment. Send some standard coupons and big red chests in the email, and try to win people back first."
"As long as we can maintain stability, we can easily generate revenue by introducing a lottery wheel later."
"That's still not enough..." Su Ming paused, his eyes darting around, "Then we'll have to listen to the players and make some concessions."
Ziying suddenly looked up, her pupils shrinking sharply.
What are the core demands of players right now?
He should be kicked out!
Only then did he belatedly realize that his unassuming old boss was the real old fox.
He did all the dirty and hard work, took the blame for everything, and was always the first to step forward and take the fall when something went wrong.
And Su Ming? He remains steadfastly in control, reaping all the benefits.
"What do you mean?" Ziying's voice instantly turned cold. She leaned forward slightly, staring intently at Su Ming. "Using someone and then discarding them? We're in the same boat. If I fall, you won't get away with it either."
Ziying sneered: "You don't think I'm completely unprepared, do you? The recordings of our conversation... and the Bitcoin transaction records, are all in my hands."
"If you dare push me out, I'll expose everything. It's better to die together!"
The air in the office seemed to freeze instantly.
Amidst the swirling smoke, the two men stared at each other, their eyes filled with coldness.
The saying "a petty person is always worried" is probably true.
Each had their own ulterior motives and their own backup plans.
Su Ming suddenly laughed: "Ziying, calm down, that's not what I meant."
You better not be.
Ziying turned and left.
Back in his office, he locked the door and pulled a USB drive from the depths of a drawer with a combination lock, his fingers trembling slightly.
Fortunately, he had a backup plan.
Otherwise, that old fox would have really sold me out.
Suddenly, he remembered the fortune he had consulted with a feng shui master in Hong Kong when he was having a bad time and Yi Feng was suppressing him.
In Guangdong, especially in Hong Kong, people tend to believe in, or rather, value, feng shui.
He tried to adapt to local customs, but things didn't go smoothly, so he did some calculations anyway.
The master stroked his beard and said:
His current office faces south, which is fine, but the back window faces the curvature of the road below, which is called "reverse bow evil". The traffic flow is like the back of a knife cutting towards him, how can he not lose money and attract villains?
The original room belonging to Yifeng faced south, with a bright hall in front to gather energy and a tall building behind for support; it was the Azure Dragon position, a place where energy could be stored and gathered. Those who sat there would rise steadily in rank, very securely.
At the time, he scoffed at it, thinking it was just a con artist trying to swindle money.
But now that I think about it, it seems that's true.
Feng shui! It must be a feng shui problem!
We need to move offices! We need to change the feng shui.
Suddenly the phone rang.
It's Ma Ruizhe.
"The board wants you to come in and discuss the revenue plan for next quarter."
Ziying instantly put on a smile: "Coming right away, Mr. Ma."
After hanging up the phone, he walked out of his office and instructed his employees:
"Find someone to move my things to the office across the street. Everything else is fine, but don't touch the desk; it has to be moved as a whole."
Ziying locked the USB drive in the combination lock cabinet on the table, took a deep breath, straightened her tie, and walked towards the conference room.
After explaining the office change, Ziying hurriedly went to a meeting.
His employees were already used to their leader's neurotic behavior, and no one dared to ask any questions.
This dirty and tiring work naturally fell to the new interns.
Several male interns muttered under their breath, "Moving the whole table? Are you crazy?", but they still obediently went to do it.
Suddenly, an intern slipped, and the table tilted violently.
"Holy crap!"
"Stay calm, stay calm!"
The corner of the table hit the ground with a dull thud.
The bottom drawer of the desk, which had a combination lock, was actually shaken open by the violent impact.
The contents of the document spilled all over the floor—files, a pen, a few coins, and a black USB drive.
It rolled everywhere.
Several interns were severely reprimanded by their supervisor and squatted on the ground, looking disheveled, picking up their belongings.
Everything was taken, except for a black USB drive, which rolled into a corner where no one noticed it.
And this corner happens to be the intern's workstation...
…………
Thousands of miles away, at Jiangsu-Zhejiang University of Commerce.
Jiang Feng had just returned to his dormitory and was preparing to start his broadcast.
He glanced at the system panel.
【Task 2: A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire (75%/100%)】
In just one day, the progress jumped from 30% to 75%.
Jiang Feng nodded in satisfaction.
It is what the people want.
All his efforts were not in vain.
But the next second, his gaze suddenly sharpened.
A new task had appeared on the system panel without anyone noticing.
【Task 3: Before Dawn (10/100%)】
[Mission Description: As the gears of fate begin to turn, the roles of hunter and prey will be completely reversed. The evil hidden in the shadows will finally be exposed, allowing the truth to be the first ray of light piercing the darkness.]
Before dawn?
Jiang Feng stared at the line of text, his pupils shrinking slightly.
He walked to the window and looked out at the snow falling heavily.
The snowfall gradually subsided, and the sky began to clear.