Restart life

Chapter 256, page 0253: [The Public Controversy Arising from 26 Seconds]

More and more students gathered in the cafeteria.

Some people came to eat, while others came to watch TV. They heard that Chen Guiliang's event was going to be featured on the evening news, so they all sat there waiting to find out what the event was all about.

Nobody guessed it was the National College League of Three Kingdoms Kill!

Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, twenty minutes passed, twenty-five minutes passed... and still no news about Chen Guiliang was seen.

"Old Chen, did CCTV stand you up?" a classmate asked.

Another classmate said, "That's right, Mr. Chen. I've heard that CCTV often changes its content at the last minute."

Chen Guiliang shouted, "Stop arguing! Everyone here gets a share. After we finish watching the news, I'll treat you to a feast outside the South Gate. Barbecue and spicy hot pot, whatever you like! Eat as much as you want, as long as you don't burst!"

"Mr. Chen is awesome!" someone immediately cheered.

Some people even used references from Hong Kong and Taiwanese TV dramas: "Everyone here gets a share, Mr. Chen is paying the bill tonight."

Someone else lamented, "Damn it, I just ate dinner. I'm so full! Why didn't you say you were going to treat me earlier?"

Chen Guiliang said, "After you've eaten, just pick out a couple of drinks."

"Then I want a nutritional drink!"

"I want Red Bull."

"Hey, you all just pick the expensive stuff? I want a 82 Lafite!"

"..."

A bunch of crazy people who don't go home for summer vacation.

Near the end of the news broadcast, the female host addressed the camera, saying, "Now, please watch a brief news segment..."

"Today, the entire army and WJ units are holding a series of activities to celebrate the 79th anniversary of the founding of the army..."

"The main press center for the Beijing Olympics has been structurally capped, and the Water Cube has completed its membrane structure installation. The Organizing Committee stated that all competition venues will be completed by the end of the year..."

"The 'Peace Mission-2006' joint Sino-Russian military exercise has entered its second phase. Today, a combined land and air combat exercise is being conducted in xx, Shandong Province..."

One message after another was sent out, and there were less than 30 seconds left.

Finally, the female host announced, "The second National College League of 'Three Kingdoms Kill' concluded yesterday at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. A total of 16 teams participated in the offline competition, including six university teams from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, who either participated or were invited to watch the matches. This marks the first time that universities from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have competed together for a domestically produced game..."

Even the evening news program is now referring to "both sides of the Taiwan Strait and three regions".

A short message is usually around 20 seconds long, but some can be as long as 30 seconds.

Chen Guiliang stared at the time at the bottom of the TV screen and calculated that the news of the "Three Kingdoms Kill" National League had lasted for 26 seconds.

In the context of text messages, this is considered quite prestigious.

The news footage mainly showed leaders shaking hands with the contestants, enthusiastic exchanges between contestants from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, cosplay performances, and shots of the competition and the audience. The camera also panned across the front row, showing Chen Guiliang and Tao Chenggang, among others, appearing on screen for approximately two or three seconds.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

In the rented room, Xu Fengyin cheered softly and called her family again, wanting to tell her parents that she had appeared on the evening news.

But when she looked through her contacts, she didn't dial the number.

She appeared on stage cosplaying Zhen Ji, which was slightly suggestive of showing too much cleavage, and the camera even lingered on her for a second.

How should I tell my parents?

Forget it.

My parents are both old-fashioned.

Xu Fengyin currently rents a small, old apartment in the Zhongguan West District. The landlord was formerly a bigwig at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. However, the landlord and his family have long since moved to a better place. This dilapidated tenement building was built in the 70s, and even finding a public toilet requires going outside.

The main reason is its proximity to the company; otherwise, who would rent this place?
Xu Fengyin had lived there for more than half a year and decided to move. She didn't care if it was more expensive or farther away.

She is now a senior artist at Game Science, and her monthly salary has risen to 7500 yuan. This is considered above average in the industry, but Xu Fengyin's performance bonus is particularly high.

Because her Three Kingdoms-themed illustrations and character skins sell well!

Her savings of a year and a half were enough for her to make a down payment on a mid-range apartment in Beijing.

"Sigh, should I rent or buy a house?" Xu Fengyin lay on the peeling old sofa, feeling inexplicably troubled.

She didn't share an apartment with anyone; she always lived alone.

The main reason is that I often draw erotic comics and I'm afraid my roommates will see them.

The room was a mess all day long, with sketches, tools, and personal belongings scattered everywhere. If an outsider saw it, they would think the house had been burgled.

"so boring!"

Xu Fengyin enjoys living alone most of the time, but occasionally she feels bored and wants someone to be with her.

Just read comics.

As a seasoned user, Xu Fengyin had a collection of forums. For example, forums like Manyou and Tianxiang Xiaozhu, where users could download compressed files of certain comics by paying points in hidden sections.

If you hang out in those places for a long time, you can get to know some big shots who are rarely seen, and you might even be able to order genuine but not serious comics from "Little Life" by mail.

Has his dark past been exposed?

That exposed alternate account is nothing; Xu Laosiji has many more alternate accounts.

Xu Fengyin hugged a comic book and quickly became engrossed in reading it. There seemed to be bugs in the dilapidated house, so she squirmed and twisted on the sofa.

……

As expected, the print media reacted very quickly, even without Chen Guiliang's initiative to promote it.

But some very amusing scenes also occurred. Newspapers typically have a responsible editor or page editor who is in charge of the initial review of manuscripts and verification of facts. However, before printing, they must be submitted to the duty editor for review, and only after the duty editor signs off can they be published.

The editor-in-chief of Guangming Daily frowned and called the reporter who wrote the article: "What exactly is 'Three Kingdoms Kill'? It seems to be an online game in your article. How could this thing be on CCTV's News Broadcast?"

The reporter explained, "Sanguosha was originally a board game, a card game played on a table. Unlike poker, it has its own characters and rules. Mahjong and poker can be ported online, so board games can naturally be too. Therefore, Sanguosha can now also be considered an online game."

The editor-in-chief on duty suddenly realized: "Is it similar to bridge? Hmm, the bridge played online."

"This... doesn't quite seem like it either," the reporter racked his brains, unsure how to describe it, and could only explain in detail, "In the game 'Three Kingdoms Kill,' there are general cards derived from historical figures of the Three Kingdoms period, such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan. These generals also have skills. Liu Bei has two skills, called Benevolence and Provocation. Benevolence is giving two cards to others. Provocation is getting Shu generals to help you attack the enemy."

“Oh, I see,” the editor-in-chief on duty praised. “This game is different. It incorporates historical and cultural elements and even attracts students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. No wonder it was featured on CCTV News. Okay, no problem, I’m hanging up now.”

Actually, that reporter was just learning on the spot.

The reporter certainly knew Chen Guiliang and had heard of the game "Three Kingdoms Kill," but he had never played it.

When he wrote the article, he specifically searched the official website of Three Kingdoms Kill, where there are detailed gameplay and card introductions.

After some research, the reporter finally understood what was really going on with the Three Kingdoms Kill game.

When Chen Guiliang criticized "Wolf Totem" last time, "Guangming" initially spoke up for "Wolf Totem", but immediately shut up when the wind was blowing in the wrong direction.

In the past year, Guangming Daily has been relentlessly attacked by Fang Zhouzi, who is known for his outspoken criticisms.

The incident stemmed from a report in Guangming Daily about a major domestic scientific achievement. While the achievement itself wasn't fabricated, its significance and importance were exaggerated. An extremely ordinary achievement was touted by Guangming as a global breakthrough.

Fang Zhouzi and Academician He both stepped in to expose the fraud.

These two anti-fraud activists are quite amusing. They teamed up to expose this academic fraud, yet their articles contradict each other. If Fang's article is true, then He's article is essentially nonsense. They seem completely oblivious to this problem.

To put it bluntly, it's just two academically mediocre people teaming up to criticize a Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher who's bragging.

The stance of "Guangming" is all about boasting. First, they praised "Wolf Totem," then they praised that researcher, and now they're praising Chen Guiliang's "Three Kingdoms Kill."

This time, "Light" has touted Three Kingdoms Kill as the pride of national games.

The news about the overseas expansion of "Three Kingdoms Kill" was already embellished on the official website. A reporter from Guangming Daily, seeing the news on the official website, further embellished it using their imagination.

According to this reporter, the game "Three Kingdoms Kill," which incorporates elements of Chinese history and culture, has not only become popular in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, but has also caused a sensation in Japan and South Korea. Players in Japan and South Korea are learning about Chinese history and appreciating the profoundness of Chinese culture through the game.

The Singaporean game distributor not only introduced the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" to Singapore, but also promoted it throughout Southeast Asia.

The reporter also fabricated an online interview with a Singaporean netizen: "I especially love 'Three Kingdoms Kill'. After playing this game, I specifically bought 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' to read. I hope to study in China in the future..."

Do state media reporters not make things up?
Reporters from Xinhua News Agency always fabricate interview content!
Besides Guangming Daily's enthusiastic promotion, Strait Herald also gave its full support, but tried to downplay the online game element. Its article title was: "Three Kingdoms Kill board game becomes a cultural bond, students from both sides of the strait and Hong Kong gather together."

The Beijing News, which sided with Chen Guiliang last time, has now started to sing a different tune.

It seems that both "Guangming" and "Xinjing" are constantly switching back and forth.

Actually, that's not the case; they have their own firm stance.

The former is responsible for showering people with compliments.

The latter is responsible for generating buzz and boosting sales.

The Beijing News deliberately ignored the focus of the CCTV Evening News report, instead directing its criticism at online games and internet addiction: "E-sports Competitions: Sportsmanship or a Debauchery?"

Newspapers in various regions held these two attitudes.

First, it's all about blowing, blowing, blowing.

Secondly, the discussion revolved around gaming and internet addiction, questioning why CCTV should have reported on online gaming news.

Clearly, the second type of report is more eye-catching.

Some newspapers even criticized Chen Guiliang, saying that he was very inspiring before the age of 18, but after the age of 18 he made games that harmed children.

Some newspapers don't even know how to play "Three Kingdoms Kill," and they even say that some children steal money from their families to buy equipment.

Chen Guiliang: How come I didn't know I sold equipment?
There are many similar memorable scenes these days.

The most classic example is Ding Sanshi, who was berated by a parent at a summit forum: "My son is addicted to online games, his grades have plummeted, and he didn't even get into a good school... Once, I looked for him for three nights in a row. If I had seen you three years ago, I would have shot you dead!"

Ding Sanshi thought to himself, "I wasn't making games three years ago." So he asked, "What games does your son play?"

The parent gritted their teeth and said, "Legendary!"

The situation is similar now; many parents read the newspaper and wrote to the newspaper to complain and condemn Chen Guiliang. Actually, her son was playing World of Warcraft, but she thought the game belonged to Chen Guiliang.

Chen Guiliang: As long as it's mine, that's fine.

For several days in a row, there have been increasing reports criticizing Chen Guiliang for neglecting his studies and failing to study properly despite being admitted to Peking University.

But the greater the controversy, the greater the exposure.

Many ordinary people who don't play "Three Kingdoms Kill" or have never even heard of it go to search for what kind of game "Three Kingdoms Kill" is out of curiosity.

Many people have fallen into this trap.

The reporter from China Youth Daily arrived quickly and conducted an exclusive interview with Chen Guiliang.

Reporter: What is your opinion on the current public criticism?
Chen Guiliang: Actually, some newspapers and parents have misunderstood. The average daily online time for players of "Sanguosha" is only 45 minutes, and our game is not even available in internet cafes; it's mainly for users with their own computers. Those kids who are addicted to internet cafes have absolutely nothing to do with "Sanguosha".

Reporter: But this kind of thinking is hard to correct.

Chen Guiliang: There's no need to correct it. When the internet becomes more widespread and everyone has a computer, those parents will also play games. I think the current public opinion environment is actually fine.

Reporter: Why?
Chen Guiliang: Because everyone is concerned about children's healthy growth. It's just that there are some misunderstandings. Misunderstandings can be resolved gradually, but focusing on children's healthy growth is a lifelong commitment.

The reporter thought to himself, "You really know how to talk."

(End of this chapter)