That afternoon, an announcement was posted on Tengda's official website. The announcement, written in a formal and serious tone, informed everyone that their QQ level system had been conceived six months prior and had been continuously refined and enriched. To prove this, Tengda also released a photograph of a page from their "QQ Development Prospect Report," which detailed the plans for the QQ level system.
Tengda then stated that this plan was submitted to SoftBank during their financing rounds at SoftBank's request, serving as the best evidence.
Soon after, SoftBank issued its own announcement, acknowledging Tengda's statement.
This effectively meant that SoftBank was publicly vouching for Tengda with its reputation. The public opinion began to shift, with many QQ fans launching scathing attacks on oo, accusing them of copying QQ's ideas.
In response, oo also released a statement claiming they had no personal investments in RB individuals, hence no opportunity to obtain such evidence. However, oo guaranteed that their new feature was original. As for whether Tengda had copied, they claimed only Heaven knew for sure.
With oo's statement, the public outcry gradually subsided. Both sides now had their own level systems, and it seemed unlikely a clear winner would emerge anytime soon.
Meanwhile, a dispute erupted within Tengda.
"Boss, why are you refusing to launch the invisibility feature and emoticons? These are highly attractive features, and we need to add some rewards to our own QQ level system!" Zhang Zhidong had been trying to persuade Pony Ma to launch these two features for the fifth time, but each time, Pony Ma had brushed him off.
This time, however, Zhang Zhidong was determined not to let Pony Ma get away with it. He directly blocked Pony Ma's office, demanding an answer.
"Sigh!" Pony Ma sighed and said, "Zhidong, why don't you understand? The outside world is full of accusations that we at Tengda are copying. We were already severely criticized before. If we launch invisibility and QQ emoticons now, we'll be even worse off than last time. Do you expect me to ask SoftBank to create a second document to prove our innocence?"
Speaking of SoftBank, Pony Ma's feelings were complex. Although SoftBank's statement had helped QQ escape the barrage of criticism, SoftBank was ultimately lying. He had spent less than two months in total contact with SoftBank, and four months ago, Pony Ma hadn't even heard of Masayoshi Son's name.
To say all of this was a lie, and that SoftBank had proactively proposed the lie, using its reputation to take the blame for Pony Ma.
From this perspective, Masayoshi Son seemed like a great person, but Pony Ma was unimpressed. SoftBank invested in Tengda, and Masayoshi Son stepping forward to take the blame was for his own investment, having nothing to do with being a good person.
Some might think that SoftBank was playing with its reputation and that there would be major problems if the truth ever came out.
This was overcomplicating things. Not only was it unlikely for such a matter to be exposed, as outsiders would never obtain any evidence, but even if it were exposed in the future, so what? At most, they could resort to the "craftsman's spirit." Japanese steel mills directly sold ordinary steel as special steel, and all they did was bow and apologize, with no official penalties. It was utterly inconsequential.
Moreover, SoftBank was an investment company and did not directly face consumers, nor did it have to worry about the damage caused by reputational harm. On the contrary, companies that SoftBank invested in would likely be even more moved upon learning that SoftBank had helped them in this way, crying and begging SoftBank to invest in them.
Beyond that, the primary reason SoftBank assisted Tengda was likely Masayoshi Son's hatred for Huang He himself. After all, Huang He's mouth was incredibly foul, and he had probably angered Masayoshi Son to no end.
However, Pony Ma was still unhappy because he hadn't copied in the first place, yet he had to cover it up with a lie. This had wounded Pony Ma's pride.
Therefore, Pony Ma had refused to agree to Zhang Zhidong's repeated requests to launch the invisibility feature and QQ emoticons this time, not wanting his pride to be further wounded. He didn't want to rely on SoftBank to take the blame for him again, and even if SoftBank was willing, users might not believe them a second time.
"Boss, please reconsider. I think this feature is very important!" Zhang Zhidong earnestly pleaded.
"No, these two features are not important!" Pony Ma was becoming annoyed. He slammed his hand on the desk and said, "Not only are these two features unimportant, but they even have huge drawbacks!"
"Firstly, once the invisibility feature is enabled, many users will display themselves as invisible. This will undermine user trust and reduce the interest in chatting between users. It might even reach a point where as soon as a user logs in, all their friends appear offline, or the user themselves is shown as offline. Do you think such a feature is truly a good one?"
"Actually, when I saw oo launch this feature, I felt like laughing. They are digging their own graves!"
"And what about oo's emoticons? Can these pictures with unclear meanings really enhance the chatting experience? No, I don't see them enhancing the experience; instead, they just make people feel confused. Seeing oo's emoticons makes me not want to chat with the other person anymore! What attracts people is text, not some crude emoticons!!" Pony Ma berated Zhang Zhidong, making him turn pale, and he could only leave dejectedly.
After Zhang Zhidong left, Pony Ma actually felt a bit of regret. He knew that he had been overwhelmed by anger and had lost his composure, leading to impaired judgment.
Of course, what Pony Ma didn't know was that this was also due to his deep-seated suspicion of Zhang Zhidong. Once suspicion arises towards someone, everything that person does begins to seem suspicious, and one instinctively resists everything they propose, even if it's the right thing to do.
Fortunately, Pony Ma's intelligence was still intact, so he added to Zhang Zhidong's retreating back, "Invisible mode is absolutely out of the question, but you can develop our QQ emoticons. These are somewhat useful for girls!"
"Yes!" Zhang Zhidong nodded.
"But tell the art department that our emoticons must be completely original and must not resemble these oo emoticons that look like beans. We cannot bear the stigma of plagiarism anymore!" Pony Ma added.
"Yes!"
"Oh, right, boss. Many people are still criticizing our Starry Sky system online, saying it's inferior to oo's Immortal system. Should we..." Zhang Zhidong suddenly remembered something and asked.
"That's meaningless!" Pony Ma waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's just a name, with no actual difference. Besides, if we were to truly compare, wouldn't any single one of our stars be far more powerful than any immortal?"
Meanwhile, on the Tianya forum, someone named Liu Xiaoqiang posted his book title, "Floating Dream," on the forum.