The entire article almost seemed to refute his previous post point by point. The other side had even bluntly pointed out that he was meddling in affairs that did not concern him—like a dog trying to catch a rat.
Such an explosive statement nearly made Yang He faint from anger.
They were all civilized people, so couldn't he use some civilized language?
After all those years of compulsory education, was all he had learned a bunch of ***** filthy curses?!
Looking at the countless comments beneath the post, Yang He was furious.
Yang He paced back and forth around the office, utterly livid.
That post at the top of the trending searches was practically cursing him by name. How could he possibly endure that?
After a long while, Yang He edited another post and published it on Weibo.
A certain creator is utterly shameless. He actually hired online trolls in an attempt to confuse the public!
After posting it, Yang He picked up the phone without another word.
"Hello, Director Zhang. This is Yang He."
Yang He sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, speaking leisurely into the phone. "Yes, I want to get on the trending searches again. Name your price."
"Mm-hmm... All right."
"Happy working with you!"
After hanging up, Yang He wore a cold smile.
Hiring online trolls?
Did he think he was the only one who could hire online trolls? Everything he was doing now was something Yang He had already played with eight hundred years ago.
He wanted to hire online trolls and face him head-on? How childish and foolish!
Yang He could almost see Fang Zheng's furious expression. Humming smugly, he picked up his phone and dialed another number.
"This time, I'll give you five hundred thousand. I have only one request: make Fang Zheng the target of the entire internet. If you can't do it, don't even think about staying in the online-troll business."
Yang He hung up, and his entire body relaxed.
He got up and personally poured himself a glass of red wine, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Once someone experienced the convenience money brought, it was difficult to give it up. The feeling was truly addictive.
Thinking back, he had wracked his brains to exploit the anime's popularity and stir up attention, only to nearly fall into a ditch.
But now, he no longer needed to rack his brains to piggyback on trending topics. He only needed to make two phone calls, buy a trending search slot, and hire some online trolls. Everything would be taken care of.
This was the power of money!
Yang He took a sip of wine and sat on the sofa in a state of intoxication.
He liked this feeling.
"Heh-heh, now this is big news!"
Yang He was luxuriating in his office, but he failed to notice a masked person sneaking away from outside the office. The person's footsteps were extremely hurried.
"Hey, Reporter Liang, weren't you here to interview Professor Yang?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, yes, I'm done with the interview." The person being called Reporter Liang was the one who had hurried away from outside Yang He's office.
He had interviewed Yang He several times before. As a 'beast' who wanted to become famous, Yang He naturally never refused a reporter's interview.
His assistants naturally knew this about him. Besides, Reporter Liang was practically an old acquaintance, so they had let him in without informing Yang He.
"I have to go back and finish my article, so I won't stay any longer. Bye-bye!"
"Take care, Reporter Liang. Remember to describe our professor in plenty of detail!"
Reporter Liang nodded in agreement, but he sneered incessantly inside.
"I certainly will describe him in plenty of detail. This is big news. If I didn't elaborate, I'd be doing a disservice to my profession!"
Before long, the official account of Shanghai Entertainment Quarterly published an article online. The title was quite interesting as well.
You hired online trolls—and even more than I did! (Audio recording attached)
Shanghai Entertainment Quarterly had not originally been a particularly famous publication. However, at this critical moment, with Fang Zheng being attacked across the entire internet, the words "online trolls" were especially eye-catching.
Soon, interested parties dug up Shanghai Entertainment Quarterly's report and reposted it across various forums and social media platforms.
"Pfft, hahahaha! I'm dying. How does Professor Yang know how to add so much drama?!"
"Professor Yang: Fang Zheng, you actually hired online trolls, and even more than I did?!!"
"The person above knows how to talk. Keep it coming—you really captured the spirit of it!"
"Oh no, even online trolls have fakes and originals now. Hurry and summon Tathagata Buddha!"
For a time, netizens widely mocked Shanghai Entertainment Quarterly's report about Yang He. In particular, it included an audio recording of Yang He, so no one had any reason to doubt the report's authenticity.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shanghai Entertainment Quarterly's popularity shot upward like a rocket, and the company's manager laughed so hard he nearly went mad.
As the greatest contributor, Reporter Liang naturally received his due compensation and was promoted, ascending to the pinnacle of life.
Online, many of Fang Zheng's fans were overjoyed when they saw the report.
Yang He actually thought they were online trolls?
Many busybodies reposted the article to A Company's forum. Some even went to Weibo and repeatedly tagged Fang Zheng, urging him to come take a look.
When Fang Zheng heard about it, he also found it both amusing and absurd. He had not paid much attention to what was happening online.
As he had said himself, before the authorities made a statement, their so-called online flame war was merely child's play and completely meaningless.
But seeing the situation reverse so quickly, Fang Zheng suddenly felt as if he had not even exerted himself before his opponent had already fallen.
"Director Fang, your fans really have gone to so much trouble for you~"
Zhang Siyu entered Fang Zheng's office with a smile. Seeing him staring at the computer with an expression caught between laughter and tears, she teased him a couple of times.
Perhaps it was merely her imagination, but she always felt that the relationship between Fang Zheng and his fans was extremely subtle.
This subtle relationship differed from that between any other public figure and their fans. If they were die-hard fans, they always liked arguing with Fang Zheng and periodically declared that they would come to Qinghui Building in Shanghai to show him some "love."
But if they were anti-fans, then whenever Fang Zheng held an event, those fans would still show up to support him and even promote him of their own accord.
Zhang Siyu had never been able to figure out exactly what sort of relationship Fang Zheng had with his fans. Take this incident, for example: from beginning to end, Fang Zheng had not made a single statement online.
Apart from subtly taking Fang Zheng's side during the forum battle, A Company had not participated in anything outside its own forum.
As a result, Fang Zheng's fans had actually fought their way through the internet by relying on their own strength, displaying something of the spirit of debating a hundred scholars with a single tongue.
In the end, Shanghai Entertainment Quarterly had even delivered Yang He a fatal backstab. With his fans' help, Fang Zheng had completed a total reversal from the brink of defeat.
From beginning to end, Fang Zheng's role could practically be said to have been zero. It had been entirely his fans organizing and fighting.
Looking at Fang Zheng, who remained remarkably composed, Zhang Siyu shook her head with amusement.
Just as she had said, Fang Zheng's fans had truly gone to extraordinary lengths for him. Zhang Siyu even suddenly felt that the way they treated Fang Zheng was exactly like a father treating his own child.
We can fight him, but if an outsider dares touch a single hair on our kid's head, that's unacceptable!
Previously, because of Akame ga Kill!, Fang Zheng had been flamed to a crisp by his fans, and many hot-tempered men had declared that they would come to Shanghai to demand an explanation.
But the moment Yang He jumped out, those fans immediately turned their guns outward and united against him.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and they advanced and retreated in orderly fashion, as if they had discussed it beforehand. It was utterly astounding.
Hearing Zhang Siyu's words, Fang Zheng smiled and shook his head. "These fans really have exceeded my expectations."
With fans like these, Fang Zheng felt that he could probably rest his hands on his hips and act awesome for a while.
Across the entire internet, there probably wasn't a second group of fans like them~
"Since the fans have all taken a stand, we can't let them go to all that trouble for nothing."
Fang Zheng tapped his fingers rhythmically against the desk. After thinking carefully for a moment, he said, "Have someone compile a list of every fan who participated in this activity. Then reward each of them with a one-month membership."
Zhang Siyu nodded and agreed.
Although giving every one of so many fans a month of membership would cost the company a considerable amount of profit, people ought to repay kindness.
When they had been targeted by the entire internet, this group of lovely fans had stepped forward and sheltered them from the storm. To be honest, a one-month membership reward seemed rather inadequate.
Unfortunately, the company needed funds to operate. Adding more rewards could very well make the already poor finances even worse.
"Also, compile the accounts of these fans. To commemorate their contributions to A Company, I've decided to give them a special title."
"A title?"
Zhang Siyu looked puzzled. She did not understand what Fang Zheng meant.
"Yes, a title!"
Fang Zheng already had a good idea in mind: adding a special title to these fans' accounts.
Although it would not offer any tangible reward, it would at least serve as a symbol of identity.
A Company had only just gotten started. As he produced more anime in the future, A Company's reputation would grow, and its user base would expand.
As users who had supported A Company from the very beginning, these fans deserved an honor that belonged exclusively to them.
Fang Zheng explained his idea in detail to Zhang Siyu, making her eyes light up.
Everyone had a competitive streak. If someone else had something, they wanted it too. If they had something others lacked, that became a symbol of their status.
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