Chapter 1 Screenshot Revelation

Screenshots of the chat log between the two were quickly posted in the book club group for *Eternal Reincarnation*, and then forwarded to Qiao Laoshi’s big group.

"Confirmed! It's confirmed!"

"Look at the dog author's wording and attitude. Something is definitely up!"

"Wait, how did you guys figure out it's confirmed? Didn't the dog author say your guesses are wrong?"

"He said, 'Some guesses are wrong'! That means the general direction is right!"

"Ah, but which specific guesses are wrong?"

"Let me check the chat log... Qiao Laoshi is really playtesting *Turning Back is the Shore*'s new game; this new game is developed based on the plot of *Eternal Reincarnation*, which should also be true... Then there's only the last sentence left! 'Every term of the Inspiration Class will have a work made into a game' is wrong!"

"So, there's more than one work?"

"Exactly! It's definitely not just *Eternal Reincarnation*. Aren't there several other books undergoing major revisions? That means the books being heavily revised might all have plans for copyright development?"

"I just got back from Pigeon Spirit's group! He didn't directly reply to me, but the way he's dodging, something's definitely up!"

"Everyone, stop asking. Clearly, this matter is to be kept secret, and there's definitely more than just this one work being developed. The authors in the Inspiration Class all know about it!"

"I understand now why these authors are all so energized. If only *Eternal Reincarnation* were being adapted into a game, they might not be so excited, but with so many works having plans for copyright development, the other authors must be especially stimulated!"

"It all adds up! It all adds up!"

"Hey, now that you mention it, wasn't that promotional poster for the Qidian Chinese Network's Inspiration Class at the time actually meaningful?"

"What's meaningful about it? That poster simply listed the achievements of some of the books in the Inspiration Class, right? And the results weren't even good; it was exposing their weaknesses."

"You're only thinking on the first level. What if we go up a level? Actually, this poster is showing, look, the achievements of these books in the Inspiration Class are indeed garbage, but they can all be developed for copyright, made into games or other forms. Awesome, right?"

"Ah? You can even interpret it that way?"

"Of course, that's the only way to interpret it! That advertisement was everywhere, online and offline. Think about it, Qidian Chinese Network's advertisements must be vetted by the people in charge there. Even if the people doing the promotion don't understand this data, can't the people in charge at Qidian Chinese Network understand it? But this poster was still released and hung up for more than half a month. Doesn't that prove the point?"

"So that's how it is. This poster was promoting and building momentum for the Inspiration Class in advance!"

"And do you guys remember the content that many water armies were spamming after this poster came out?"

"Oh, I remember. The content was pretty much the same, 'The Inspiration Class is a cradle of great gods, a source of inspiration, a place to fulfill dreams,' etc. The format was about the same, too embarrassing."

"Thinking about it now, weren't those things the water armies were spamming actually quite accurate? Talking about the probability of works being developed for copyright, what other place can compare with the Inspiration Class? The water armies repeatedly spammed this content; on the surface, it was high-end trolling, but every sentence was actually the truth!"

"Isn't this the 'performance art style promotion' from *Game Producer*? By constantly repeating some exaggerated advertising slogans, forming a fixed impression in the minds of netizens, achieving a very good communication effect..."

"And the most crucial thing is that these don't involve false advertising; the content is all true!"

The intelligence of netizens is unlimited. After finding a breakthrough, everyone worked together and quickly found more breakthroughs.

Many things that seemed unrelated before were connected one by one, forming a very complete chain of logic!

Thus, the truth became very clear.

Although the works of Qidian Chinese Network's Inspiration Class don't achieve great results, they have a very high chance of being adapted for copyright. *Eternal Reincarnation*, which was written as fanfiction and became the official orthodox novel, is a very good example.

The promotion of the Inspiration Class is obviously focused on this aspect. On the surface, it is emphasizing that the data for these works isn't good, but in reality, it's expressing "even if the data isn't good, they can still be developed for copyright," highlighting the uniqueness of the Inspiration Class.

And *Eternal Reincarnation*, as the first work to be adapted, the game is almost finished, and Qiao Laoshi, as a veteran player of *Turning Back is the Shore*, has even been invited to playtest it!

In just one afternoon, netizens, like detectives, peeled back the layers, piecing together what they believed to be the truth through various clues.

This "truth" quickly spread like wildfire.

Because *Turning Back is the Shore* itself has a large number of die-hard fans.

Although it is already a game from two years ago, because high-difficulty games are too scarce, and the "Pudu" (salvation) and other content in *Turning Back is the Shore* has left players with too many memes, it still has extremely high popularity.

Until now, the sales of *Turning Back is the Shore* haven't fallen below one-fifth of the month after its release, which is enough to show its popularity.

All the new and old players are looking forward to its sequel.

And now, the news of the sequel has come out. How can people not be excited and thrilled?

Of course, they want to immediately share this good news with everyone!

As netizens discussed, major game media also followed up.

Because these media all know that as long as it involves the keyword "Tengda's new game," the number of clicks and views will definitely explode, and the level of discussion and popularity will definitely not be low!

Many unscrupulous media outlets added fuel to the fire, and the titles of the clickbait articles were more outrageous than the last, doing everything possible to attract people to read them.

And this outrageous content would flood the entire internet within a day or two, spreading the news to more netizens...

The situation instantly became uncontrollable!

…

…

June 16th, Saturday.

Qiao Liang was at his residence, clicking his mouse to browse the reports that were going crazy online, looking completely bewildered.

* "Shocking News! Million-Fan UP Master Qiao Laoshi Exclusively Reveals Tengda's New Game!"
* "Turning Back is the Shore Sequel Exposed! Exclusive Look at the Original Novel of Eternal Reincarnation!"
* "The Inspiration Class's Promotional Poster Seems Unremarkable, But It Hides Such a Huge Secret..."
* "The Most Difficult Domestic Game Sequel is About to be Released! Are You Ready to Suffer?"

He was completely dumbfounded.

What was all this about?

Who told you guys that I was playtesting *Turning Back is the Shore*'s new game?

I was playtesting Chixing Studio's *Animal Island VR*!

*Turning Back is the Shore* has nothing to do with this!

But looking at what these media articles wrote, he seemed to be the source of the leak.

Qiao Liang even started to doubt himself, thinking that he had let something slip, and specially went back to check the chat log.

The chat log was written very clearly. Qiao Liang only said that he was playtesting Tengda's new game, and didn't say anything else.

He didn't mention the Inspiration Class or *Turning Back is the Shore* at all!

But continuing to scroll down, seeing the discussion records in the group, Qiao Liang understood.

It was a misunderstanding!

This group of people combined his previous playtesting of *Turning Back is the Shore* and the major revision of the *Eternal Reincarnation* novel, and after a series of complex deductions, thought that he was playtesting the sequel to *Turning Back is the Shore*!

It was originally just a guess, but everyone thought it was very reasonable, so it became true as it was passed around...

Spreading misinformation, who can you reason with!

Qiao Liang was helpless, but there was nothing he could do.

Coming out to clarify now would give people a feeling of trying to cover something up, and it wasn't even necessary!

After careful consideration, Qiao Liang decided to ignore it.

Let them discuss it however they want...

Moreover, he didn't even consider this leaking secrets. He didn't even mention the name of *Animal Island VR*.

Meng Chang's requirement at the time was for Qiao Liang to keep the *Animal Island VR* project a secret. Qiao Liang felt that he had kept it very secret. The netizens didn't even know about the existence of this project.

It's just that everyone mistakenly thought that Qiao Liang was playing the sequel to *Turning Back is the Shore*.

The netizens over-imagined and misunderstood, can I be blamed for leaking secrets?

Qiao Liang thought about it. Even if there was blame for this matter, it shouldn't be on his head. So, he continued to play the game with peace of mind.

…

At the same time, Meng Chang was also checking these reports in his residence.

He was obviously not as calm as Qiao Liang, and the hand holding the mouse was trembling slightly.

Every report was stabbing his heart.

"What's going on? What exactly is going on!"

"Where did these messages spread from!"

"Damn it, I could have gotten my base commission after this weekend, why!"

"Calm down, calm down."

"It seems there's still a turning point."

"Find the source of the leak. President Pei gave me a written guarantee. If the internal leak causes the promotional effect to explode, then no matter the result, I can get 30,000 commission!"

"This is actually more cost-effective than sticking to the 2,000 commission for two weeks!"

In this critical moment, Meng Chang's brain became clear instead.

He first found the written guarantee that President Pei had given him and carefully confirmed the content on it.

That's indeed what it said!

Then the next step was to determine the source of the leak.

Meng Chang quickly found two of the most critical points of transmission: one was the screenshot of Qiao Liang's chat in his fan group, saying that he was testing Tengda's new game; the other was the screenshot of Yu Fei's private chat with one of his managers.

"This should be considered an internal leak, right?"

"Although Qiao Laoshi isn't a Tengda employee, he's playtesting the game! Yu Fei is a contracted author of Qidian Chinese Network and a direct participant in the Inspiration Class. He definitely counts as a Tengda insider!"

"Uh... but Qiao Laoshi didn't playtest *Eternal Reincarnation* either. He playtested *Animal Island VR*, which is completely unrelated..."

"Forget it, I don't care. It's definitely an internal leak anyway!"

Meng Chang decided that he would go to President Pei on Monday and talk to him properly. He would take this written guarantee and definitely get the 30,000 yuan!

…

…

June 18th, Monday.

As soon as Pei Qian arrived at the office, Meng Chang knocked on the door and entered.

"President Pei!"

"I first want to declare that this matter is 100% an internal leak, and it's definitely not a problem with my promotion plan!"

"We had a written guarantee for this at the time!"

Meng Chang waved the small piece of paper in his hand, much like a creditor holding an IOU to collect debts, very confidently.

Pei Qian didn't pay attention to this matter over the weekend and was still a little sleepy early in the morning. For a moment, he couldn't really synchronize with Meng Chang's emotions.

He made a cup of tea and said, "Don't worry, take your time. If it's really a leak, I will definitely keep my promise."

Meng Chang told the story of what happened over the weekend, emphasizing that it was the leak by Qiao Liang and Yu Fei that caused a chain reaction, leading to the failure of the Inspiration Class promotion.

After a weekend of fermentation, the matter of copyright development for the works of the Inspiration Class authors had been hyped up, especially the development of *Eternal Reincarnation* into a game as an official sequel, which made countless authors jealous and all squeezed their heads wanting to enter the Inspiration Class.

And the popularity accumulated before by Meng Chang's ugly poster had also exploded.

Judging by the current standards, this promotional plan was definitely a failure. It didn't even last two weeks, and he didn't get a penny of commission.

But if it was a leak, President Pei would have to give Meng Chang 30,000 commission as written on the written guarantee.

This was Meng Chang's last hope.

Pei Qian silently took a sip of tea. "You said that they two leaked secrets, how exactly did they leak secrets? Do you have evidence?"

Meng Chang immediately nodded: "Yes! I have screenshots here!"

After speaking, Meng Chang handed over his phone, showing Pei Qian the two screenshots.

Pei Qian looked at them and fell into deep thought.

With just these two pictures, it was obviously not enough to restore the truth completely.

"You sit here and wait a moment, drink some tea. I'll make a couple of calls and thoroughly investigate this matter! If it's really an internal leak, I'll definitely give you justice!"

Pei Qian said it righteously, and Meng Chang was even a little moved.

"Okay, President Pei! I'll wait here!"

After Pei Qian finished speaking, he pushed the door open and went out.

He planned to call Qiao Liang and Yu Fei respectively, and then ask those who knew the inside story to fully restore the truth.

He couldn't just listen to Meng Chang's one-sided story, after all, Meng Chang was now doing everything possible for the commission, and adding fuel to the fire was a very normal thing.

It wasn't that President Pei was reluctant to part with the 30,000 yuan, the key was that if there was no leak, this money couldn't be given out at all.

Pei Qian's agreement with Meng Chang was regarded by the system as "a special employment agreement," and the money paid to Meng Chang had to be recognized by the system. In this "special employment agreement," the money could be paid in a non-conventional way, but it had to comply with the terms agreed upon in the employment agreement itself.

In other words, the system had special standards in this regard, which were far more flexible than other employment agreements. Pei Qian could come up with many bizarre operations, but these bizarre operations were still not completely free and were subject to some restrictions.

Like this time, it had to be a real leak for the money to be given, and he couldn't turn a blind eye.

Pei Qian sympathized with Meng Chang, but there was no way around it. The rules were the rules.

…

Meng Chang waited anxiously in President Pei's office.

About half an hour later, President Pei came back.

"How is it, President Pei?" Meng Chang immediately stood up, extremely concerned.

Pei Qian coughed lightly, signaling him to calm down and sit down first.

"I'm sorry to say that after consulting with many parties and communicating with the two people involved, I finally confirmed... This doesn't count as a leak."

"Qiao Laoshi only said that he was testing a new game. He didn't mention *Animal Island* or the Inspiration Class and *Turning Back is the Shore*, so this doesn't count as a leak. Yu Fei's case is even less of a leak. Not only did he not leak secrets, but he also hinted that the netizens were mistaken and that Qiao Laoshi wasn't testing *Eternal Reincarnation*."

"The problem this time was mainly because the netizens misunderstood and had some wrong associations, using the wrong known conditions to deduce the correct conclusion..."

"So... unfortunately, according to the regulations, this commission can't be given because it's not a leak."

Pei Qian looked at Meng Chang with a look of grief on his face.

"However, think about it on the bright side, your base salary this month is 5,000 yuan..."