Wu Youming knew that Cangqiong Games had unusual connections with the local political and police circles. Therefore, as soon as they entered the city, he suggested abandoning the motorcycles and switching to other means of transportation. They should neither return to Nan Gongchong’s nor his own home, to avoid being silenced permanently.
Regarding this, Meng Qi fully agreed and then smiled, saying, “First, let’s find a company that employs online commentators; otherwise, our popularity will rely purely on luck.”
“An online commentators’ company?” Wu Youming’s expression turned puzzled, while Nan Gongchong became even more dazed.
He even knew about this?
It was as if he had lived here for over a decade as a native!
As a core member of Cangqiong Games, Wu Youming, a network professional with a certain status, was no stranger to companies like this. After a moment of thought, he explained, “Black-and-white PR Company. They purchase and control a large number of account identities, specialize in publicity campaigns, take any task regardless of its morality, and fear no violation of conscience. Their office is nearby.”
The current internet operated under a real-name system, but as long as one “communicated” well with the police, there were always ways around it.
Guided by Wu Youming, Meng Qi and others met the head of the Black-and-white PR Company—a mustachioed man who enjoyed red wine.
“We’ve produced a groundbreaking movie and hope you can help promote it. Here are the related videos. Have your people insist it’s real and argue from various angles that the events depicted are genuine,” Meng Qi briefly explained.
The mustachioed man chuckled, “A simple matter. Why did Mr. Wu have to come in person? He could have just called me and sent the video over.”
Such promotional tactics were basic in this trade. In the last century, people had already used “authentic ghost video footage” and “real ghost encounters” to sell movies and books successfully or gain fame.
Then, under Nan Gongchong’s bewildered and numb gaze, Meng Qi fiddled with his personal portable terminal, registered an account on a major forum using Wu Youming’s identity, accumulated enough points, and posted the video in the most popular “Exposé” section, titling it:
“Explosive! ‘Empress’ Arrives at Cangqiong Games, Battles the Leader of Cangtian Sect, ‘Old Demon of Black Mountain’ Turns Out Real!”
The Empress possessed power, charm, individuality, and status. She was the most popular character in ten years of the “Old Demon of Black Mountain” game. Men admired and loved her; women worshipped and admired her, aspiring to become someone like her. Except for those who disliked her personality or were envious and resentful, she had broad appeal. Using her in the title was the most attention-grabbing choice.
Under this sensational headline, only one line of text read: “What Was Witnessed Secretly Inside Cangqiong Games.”
Following this text were two videos. The first showed the entry and fighting scenes, while the second was the earlier conversation between Wu Youming and Meng Qi, roughly explaining the origin and process of the events through a question-and-answer format.
In the news department of this major website, staff members constantly monitored the “exposé” section for potential news leads. Today, the intern on duty was Zhang Donghai.
Seeing this utterly absurd yet intriguing headline, he instinctively clicked into it and opened the video.
“What are they promoting?” Zhang Donghai, one hand holding his teacup and the other stroking his chin, suspected it might be a stunt by Cangqiong Games themselves.
The video played smoothly without loading. Zhang Donghai saw the alluring back of the receptionist and the videographer secretly following her into the elevator.
“Won’t they be scanned and executed on the spot?” Zhang Donghai was first puzzled, then grew intensely curious.
No outsider had ever entered Cangqiong Games before. Even during high-level inspections or foreign visits, outsiders were only given superficial tours, restricted to certain areas. Thus, this kind of secret infiltration was highly intriguing. Already curious, he focused intently, eager to see what would happen next.
The footage was slightly distorted and shaky, seemingly affected by magnetic interference, but the anticipated scanning lock didn’t occur, nor were any weapons activated.
Zhang Donghai changed posture, set down his teacup, and watched intently, speculating, “Either they found a way to block the sensors, or Cangqiong Games is deliberately leaking this for promotion…”
Outside the elevator was a metal wall with a laser corridor in the middle. Across the corridor was a glass door guarded by heavily modified, exoskeleton-enhanced security personnel.
“So there’s more than one layer of defense inside…” Zhang Donghai watched with fascination.
In different places, at different network terminals, countless others were watching with similar intensity.
“Huh? How could they make themselves invisible in front of the guards…” Zhang Donghai furrowed his brow. How could professionally trained guards miss the videographer trailing right behind the receptionist?
Had they developed human invisibility devices, overcoming the greatest technological hurdle? While speculating, Zhang Donghai increasingly leaned toward the idea that this was a promotional video from Cangqiong Games.
Only this explanation made sense!
Passing the glass wall, opening the room door, they saw Wu Youming seemingly asleep.
“No breathing, no heartbeat, already dead,” a deep voice entered Zhang Donghai’s ears at this moment.
This was the first time the videographer spoke! Professional journalistic instincts kicked in, making Zhang Donghai memorize the voice while observing Wu Youming’s face to determine if he was truly dead.
Suddenly, he heard the receptionist say inexplicably, “Time’s up,” followed by a metallic, cold reply. Then he saw silvery-gray threads extend, binding Wu Youming’s corpse, restoring it to flesh and blood, a horrifying scene of bodily reformation.
This… Zhang Donghai slightly opened his mouth, first feeling a powerful impact, then inwardly muttering, “Special effects! Editing! It’s definitely a promotional video from Cangqiong Games!”
Only with this explanation could he feel his own reality, so he was unusually certain.
The helmet descended, Wu Youming “revived,” and conversed with the videographer. This segment was affected by “strong magnetic interference,” preventing viewers from discerning Nan Gongchong’s identity and appearance.
The group left the room, exited through the glass door, and the elevator across opened. Out stepped a familiar woman—one who had appeared in many people’s dreams!
“The Empress!” Zhang Donghai was both surprised and delighted. He had never seen someone so perfectly resembling the Empress—her appearance, demeanor, clothing, and style were identical!
“Top-tier cosplay! Or maybe it’s a virtual reality simulation inserted into the promotional video…” Zhang Donghai had interviewed “virtual idols” and was no stranger to such technology.
Zap! A spark of electricity flashed by. Zhang Donghai saw a leg resembling a whip, trailing afterimages, strike the metal wall with a loud crack, denting and breaking it, exposing wires inside.
Then, a hand reached out, twisted the wires off, and grabbed them, releasing a surge of silvery-white electricity.
The lights went out, plunging everything into darkness. Zhang Donghai inhaled slightly, his expression both shocked and excited, “The special effects just now were indistinguishable from reality, surpassing any big-budget movie. Is this the technological breakthrough Cangqiong Games is promoting?”
Bang! In the darkness, he heard the sound of someone crashing into a wall, saw arcs of electricity wildly flying, melting the walls. Then the perspective shifted, revealing a slightly weathered man in a green robe grabbing two people, engaged in fierce combat with the Empress on the outer wall of Cangqiong Games.
Their balance was exceptional. Using railings and protrusions on upper and lower floors, they continuously leaped downward, sometimes reversing direction to climb, swirling back and forth. Their limbs moved incredibly fast, far surpassing ordinary humans, nearly leaving only afterimages. Constantly emitting explosive sounds from their clashes, they impacted the outer wall, denting and breaking it, even causing chunks to fall.
Zhang Donghai watched intently. He had never seen such intense fighting in any movie before.
Zap! Electricity appeared. Flames spread. The green-robed man transformed into a thunder god, while the Empress became a fire-wielding figure. Their battle rapidly scorched and blackened the outer wall, sparks and electric serpents flying everywhere, igniting the grass below, creating a dazzling and magnificent scene.
Only when Meng Qi transformed into an electric current and fled did Zhang Donghai slowly close his gaping mouth, “This isn’t a promotional video… This is a big-budget movie—the theater version of ‘Old Demon of Black Mountain’! The Empress comes in reverse to the game company, helping them resist the leader of the Cangtian Sect!”
“These special effects are beyond words!”
As a die-hard fan of “Old Demon of Black Mountain,” he was too excited to contain himself. He hurriedly rewatched Wu Youming’s conversation with Meng Qi.
“Reversely crossed over from the Old Demon of Black Mountain world… a game simulated from fragments… the Ten-Year Anniversary Edition… Oh, so this is the grand background? It feels so real! Interesting, interesting!” Zhang Donghai was extremely excited and quickly scrolled to the replies to discuss with fellow fans.
“OldBeard”: “First reply!”
“Ten Years of Life and Death”: “Not bad! These effects surpass all current films!”
“The Empress is so cool, I want to worship her!” said “Empress’s Pet.”
“The leader of the Cangtian Sect can nearly match the Empress. Is this a new boss?” asked “Xiaobai Not Dog.”
“Love Nie Xiaoqian” quickly replied, “Someone mentioned encountering the hidden boss—the previous leader of the Cangtian Sect—on another forum yesterday. So this was all hype for today! Hats off to the uncle party!”
Similar comments flooded the replies, but Zhang Donghai read them with great interest, a sentiment shared only among true fans.
Suddenly, a user named “Terminator” replied, “This isn’t a movie! I passed by Cangqiong Games and saw this with my own eyes!”
“Get lost, online commenter!” everyone replied in unison.
“I saw it too. The traces on Cangqiong’s outer wall are still there. If you don’t believe me, go check now! Or have the government release satellite photos!” “Sweetie” insisted firmly.
“Really? This is easily verifiable. If it’s a lie, may lightning strike me!” “SneakThief” expressed doubt.
With the power of three people saying the same thing, some hesitated slightly, while others remained firm. The matter quickly escalated, spreading across the internet.
At this moment, a phone call reached a certain department. The head smiled as he answered, then responded, “A small matter. No need for you to call personally.”
Then he instructed his secretary, “Notify all major websites to delete all videos of infiltrating Cangqiong Games and issue an announcement. Hackers have stolen a theater version movie Cangqiong was secretly producing. To protect commercial interests, we’re deleting it. They will also send legal notices simultaneously.”
Inside Cangqiong Games, a high-ranking official looked at the Empress before him and chuckled, “Your Majesty needn’t worry. The leader of the Cangtian Sect doesn’t belong to our world. Even if Wu Youming spreads this online, we can ensure no one believes it and delete all videos, preventing him from spreading his words!”
“Yes, the police have already begun hunting them with high-level authority.”
What was there to fear from some local cops!
…
The videos were deleted, but the discussion didn’t stop. Instead, the deletion made many suspect hidden secrets—a common human reaction.
“What do we do next?” Nan Gongchong felt the videos had been useless.
“Go to a major news company—one that can reach your country’s top leadership,” Meng Qi smiled calmly. “With the videos’ hype, they probably know what’s going on and won’t misunderstand. Now it’s time for this old man to personally meet them.”
“This old man himself is the evidence!”
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