Young People Are Supposed to Be Passionate, Aren't They?

"How infuriating! How can there be people like this!" Ruan Ningxue looked thoroughly indignant.

After all, the "Magic Mirror" was something she had a hand in too.

"This guy's a sly one, just chasing clout—whether it's hate or support." Yang Xin spoke up to calm Ruan Ningxue.

"That's right, this kind of person isn't rare; they exist in every industry." Chen Xu said with a smile.

"Then Chen Xu, are we just going to pretend we don't know?" Ruan Ningxue felt a bit stifled.

If they didn't fight back, this guy was practically riding on their heads.

If they did fight back, wouldn't that be playing right into his hands?

"Of course not. He wants a fight, doesn't he? Let's give it to him!" Chen Xu chuckled, then opened his official Weibo and sent out a message.

'To certain self-proclaimed old-timers: games are art, but they're also commodities. Just like movies, there are art films and commercial films. The "Magic Mirror" has never claimed to be art.'

'Of course, certain old-timers who claim their works are art must have been attacked by young people who don't respect the old ways. After all, if something truly qualifies as art, its ratings wouldn't be so lacking!'

After posting the official Weibo message, Chen Xu also updated the store description for "Magic Mirror" on the side.

Mainly because his official Weibo had way too few followers.

Scarcely over a thousand, most of whom had followed him from his earlier comics.

After all, while "Magic Mirror" had decent sales, most gentleman players didn't pay much attention to the game's creator.

Seeing Chen Xu's official Weibo post, Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue were both stunned.

"Chen Xu, didn't you say he was doing it on purpose? Isn't this giving him what he wants?" Ruan Ningxue asked, confused.

"When someone's riding your face, not responding would make me look too cowardly, wouldn't it?" Chen Xu spread his hands with a smile.

But Yang Xin beside him lit up: "The scale of 'Undertale' isn't that big. If we put in some overtime these days, we can get the asset production on track!"

Chen Xu nodded: "Exactly. I was wondering how to promote it before, but now... this traffic delivered to our doorstep is free for the taking."

"But everyone will have to work hard for the next few days." Chen Xu said.

Just like in the marketplace, when the top dog and the second fight, it's often the third that dies.

The game industry isn't all that different.

The scariest thing isn't being criticized—it's being ignored.

And as for the quality of "Undertale," Chen Xu was quite confident.

While Chen Xu and the other two went into full-on crunch mode.

Chen Xu's official Weibo post began to slowly gain traction.

Even though Chen Xu's Weibo didn't have many followers.

"Magic Mirror" still had a huge number of players at the time, who logged in and directly drove traffic.

Plus, since Zhong Mei had been targeting "Magic Mirror" all along, plenty of people were quietly watching to see how "Magic Mirror" and Chen Xu would react.

What they didn't expect was that they actually caught something.

At first, Zhong Mei's official Weibo post was seen by many as a joke.

After all, it wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.

But Chen Xu's official Weibo following right after changed the nature of things entirely.

Anyone could see that Chen Xu was clearly taking a jab at Zhong Mei.

It takes two to make a quarrel, and Chen Xu's response instantly attracted countless spectators.

Various media outlets rushed to report on the matter, and plenty of gaming fans jumped into the fray.

Everyone was buzzing with discussion.

'Holy shit, what's going on?'

'They're fighting, they're fighting!'

'So Chen Xu is the creator of "Magic Mirror"!'

'Bro upstairs, does this designer named Chen Xu have some background?'

'No, why?'

'Then why are you making a big deal out of nothing?'

'Haha, Chen Xu's words are absolutely brutal.'

'No lies there. Zhong Da Pao did make two decent games, but they're nowhere near being art.'

'I'm backing Chen Xu on this one. What's wrong with liking gentleman games! Sequel and DLC new characters ASAP!'

'I actually think Zhong Da Pao has a point this time. Gentleman games really don't belong in the spotlight.'

'Pfft! Easy to talk tough with your pants back on! Didn't Zhong Da Pao start this whole thing?'

With Chen Xu's reply, the buzz around the matter shot straight up, drawing the attention of a huge crowd of players.

Among them, there were quite a few players supporting Chen Xu, after all, Zhong Mei's reputation wasn't great in either the game industry or among players.

However, there were also some who disliked Chen Xu and sided with Zhong Mei, since the game type of "Magic Mirror" was indeed prone to controversy.

But one thing was certain: both Chen Xu and Zhong Mei instantly became the focus of many media outlets and players.

Calling it the entire game industry was a bit of an exaggeration, but under the fervent coverage by various media, most players who followed the recent indie game scene basically knew about this matter.

Chen Xu's official blog account also gained over a hundred thousand followers overnight.

Meanwhile, in the office of Hepatitis Culture and Sports, Zhong Mei learned of this news through his assistant's reminder.

But he wasn't angry; instead, he was brimming with excitement.

"Good! This is exactly the kind of young designer I should look for—newly emerging, with a bit of fame. That's what young people are! Full of fire! If they're not fiery, can they even be called young?" Zhong Mei's face was full of delight.

What was the point of that online interview earlier?

Wasn't it for hype!

Look now, wasn't the hype here?

How long had it been since someone jumped out to cooperate on their own?

Having someone cooperate versus no one cooperating—these were two completely different concepts!

Look at how actively the media were reporting now. Before, to stir up this topic, he had deliberately bought some traffic.

But it hadn't caused much of a stir. And now?

With a response, the traffic came on its own without him lifting a finger!

But he still needed to fan the flames and make this heat burn even brighter!

With a smile, Zhong Mei opened his official blog and posted a message: "Some game designers are quite skilled at taking things out of context. I never said my own game was art; I'm just a designer hoping to develop a game that could be called art."

"But judging by the games certain designers have developed, they might never understand in their lifetime how to truly develop a real game, instead of relying on some cleverness... petty cleverness."

After sending the official blog post, Zhong Mei specifically tagged Chen Xu.

But what surprised Zhong Mei was that the other party replied very quickly—in about five minutes, he was already tagged back.

'Those words are exactly what I should be saying. My new work "Undertale" will officially launch on July 15th. Perhaps certain designers could come take a look and see if this game can be considered a real game, and whether it has any artistic merit.'

Zhong Mei's smile suddenly froze on his face.

This move... looked so familiar!

Thanks to 'Dimension Within Me' for the 500 donation.