Perfect Public Relations, Market Value Skyrockets by Billions of US Dollars Overnight!

The atmosphere in the office was as oppressive as the deep sea, the air seemingly congealed into blocks of lead.

The Nike executives standing behind Phil Knight barely dared to breathe. They could only watch helplessly as the founder of this business empire crushed an expensive Cuban cigar into a mangled pulp.

The media storm they had meticulously orchestrated should have been the final straw to break Li-Fly, the rising dark horse. Yet in just a few hours, it had been completely dismantled by their opponent in a manner that was almost humiliating.

What was more, Li-Fly had ridden that momentum to execute a textbook-perfect piece of brand-building, turning a "crisis" into an "opportunity."

Just as Phil Knight was still burning with rage over his miscalculation, the Sports News broadcast on TNT switched scenes, bringing the camera to the entrance of the training facility outside Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant, fresh from training, wore a full set of Li-Fly training gear, sweat soaking the curls over his forehead. He was surrounded by reporters, their cameras and microphones nearly poking him in the face.

"Kobe! Regarding the accusations that Li-Fly operates 'sweatshops,' as one of the brand's most important endorsers, what are your thoughts?" An ESPN reporter squeezed to the front and thrust a microphone toward Kobe's mouth.

Kobe stopped. Without the slightest impatience, he wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and calmly swept his gaze across the reporters before him.

"My thoughts?"

He echoed the question, with a faint trace of barely concealed disdain in his voice. "My thought is that some people might need to get their eyes checked. They can see only how astonishingly much Li-Fly has achieved in just a few years, but not Li's nearly obsessive pursuit of perfection in his