Chapter Twenty-Seven: Tit for Tat

"Mm, not bad, not bad."

Wang Chuan was absolutely delighted as he scrolled through the netizens' comments.

He really loved the folks here—their words were just too sweet.

In high spirits, Wang Chuan decided to check out the comments supporting Tian Boxun.

After a careful search, he did find some.

After all, the guy was a moderately well-known producer, and he worked at a big company like Penguin.

"Even if the game genre is the same and the name is similar, that doesn't make it plagiarism, right? It's just inspiration at most!"

"Tian Boxun, keep it up!! Even if The Stanley Parable was the first of its kind, so what? Once the numbers are beaten, doesn't someone else always come along to surpass it?"

Skimming through, Wang Chuan noticed these comments were all pretty mild and rational—nothing extreme.

The buzz was just right. Some people were having a reasonable discussion without stirring up too much public opinion.

This level of debate was actually the most appealing.

After all, bystanders don't want to get caught up in some over-the-top drama either~~~

"Penguin really lives up to its name, huh. This promotion strategy, tsk tsk tsk~~~"

Suddenly, Wang Chuan shook his head, feeling quite impressed.

He'd already figured out Penguin's game plan.

"Manager Wang, what's wrong??"

Zhao Jing couldn't hold back her curiosity and leaned in to ask.

What was going on? He looked at the link, then the forum, and just shook his head with a smile.

"Haha, look—Penguin's publicity, and this buzz."

Seeing Zhao Jing lean in, Wang Chuan cheerfully explained to her.

"From what Penguin's doing, they're tossing this topic out there to ride the coattails of The Stanley Parable."

"They keep the discussion within reasonable bounds, then let it cool off, and later hype up The Parable of Illidan again."

The goal here was to win over the fans already hooked by The Stanley Parable.

If they pushed a hard sell or just directly promoted The Parable of Illidan, the core fans of The Stanley Parable wouldn't follow along.

But with this move from Penguin, they maximized the payoff at minimal cost.

All I can say is, Penguin is still Penguin—they know how to play the game!

After hearing Wang Chuan's explanation, Zhao Jing was utterly amazed and couldn't help but gasp:

"Manager Wang, you're really incredible."

"Haha, just average, average—third best in the world~~"

Well, Wang Chuan felt a bit embarrassed seeing Zhao Jing, usually so reserved, looking at him with such admiration.

"By the way, Manager Wang, so we're just going to do nothing?"

Suddenly remembering something, Zhao Jing huffed indignantly.

"Of course not. It's not like only they know how to stir up trouble!!"

In response to Zhao Jing's question, Wang Chuan flashed a sly grin.

If Penguin were just riding the buzz, Wang Chuan wouldn't have said a thing—that's normal.

But riding my buzz while stepping on me? That's going too far.

Under Zhao Jing's puzzled gaze, Wang Chuan opened his social media, logged into his verified account, and posted a message.

"Good grief, making a game these days is way too hard. Forget the funding and design—the real killer is the unexpected trouble that comes out of nowhere, impossible to guard against~~~"

After sending it, Wang Chuan tagged every media outlet he knew.

"Oh right, that Kindness of Strangers!"

Suddenly, Wang Chuan remembered the special item he'd drawn earlier.

Kindness of Strangers—a crowd of onlookers, watching and suddenly feeling sympathetic, then rallying to his side to call out Penguin.

Just imagining it was hilarious!

Thinking this, Wang Chuan actually went ahead and did it.

He opened the Item Section, found Kindness of Strangers, and used it without hesitation.

"Hmph, you want to ride my buzz and put me down? Then slip away scot-free? No such luck!"

Wang Chuan chuckled, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

It wasn't just about Penguin—the promotion issue was solved too.

If he blew this Penguin interview out of proportion, wouldn't that be promotion in itself?

Since Penguin wants to stir up trouble, leaving without leaving something behind just won't do.

"Ah!! Manager Wang, if you send that message out, you're really going head-to-head with Penguin~~~"

Zhao Jing, watching Wang Chuan's actions firsthand, suddenly let out a loud cry, drawing the other three over.

But he didn't pay it any mind, his face full of worry instead.

"What's wrong?"

Huang Shanshan came over and asked curiously.

"Shanshan, just take a look at this message."

Zhao Jing's face fell, helplessness in her voice.

She was starting to blame herself a little—if she hadn't shown that interview to Wang Chuan, this wouldn't have happened.

"Haha, Manager Wang, well done! This whole thing was Penguin's fault to begin with. Good on you for calling them out."

Zhou Wei waved his hand excitedly, clearly pleased.

"Oh, come on, how can you all be like this? This is going to make Penguin hold a grudge!!"

Zhao Jing was suddenly at a loss for words—why was everyone so happy?

Didn't they realize that Huangtu Game Company shouldn't be picking fights with big corporations right now?

"Haha, Zhao Jing, don't worry too much. It's just Tian Boxun, not some crown prince of Penguin. He can't speak for the whole company. Just watch how I handle it."

Wang Chuan was in high spirits—having employees like this, who truly cared about the company, was a good thing.

"Zhao Jing, go whip up some soft articles now. I'll send you some info on the new game later. When you're doing PR, just let it slip casually."

"As for you, Liu Qiang and Zhou Wei, things are different now. Get in touch with the outsourcing team and make sure our platform is built as fast as possible."

"This is the moment that tests us. As long as we crank up the buzz and leak the game info, we won't have to worry about promotion anymore."

Wang Chuan looked completely confident, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Yeah, that's right—after seeing that interview earlier, he'd already thought of this plan.

No connections? Then make connections.

No buzz? Then create buzz.

As long as he could get the next game out there, his goal would be achieved.

"Manager Wang, then... what should I do?"

Huang Shanshan watched everyone brimming with energy, but after waiting a long time with no task assigned, she couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.

"Uh..."

Wang Chuan heard Huang Shanshan's timid voice and hesitated.

Hmm, looks like he accidentally forgot about her.

What now? There's no task left!

"Ahem, how about this—there's one very important task, and it has to be you."

Wang Chuan looked at Huang Shanshan with a serious expression.

Like he was about to hand over a magical wand.

"What task?"

Huang Shanshan was full of anticipation—what could be so important?

"Cough, give my shoulders a rub!"