Xu Na's face was filled with anger, her eyes almost shooting fire.
Her fists were tightly clenched, knuckles turning white.
"I'm telling you, Zhang San, I won't stand by and do nothing. If they really dare to do this, I'll make it known to everyone. Let the players know that their beloved character is about to be ruined!"
Zhang San was taken aback by Xu Na's sudden outburst.
He hurriedly stood up, trying to calm his agitated colleague.
"Calm down, Xu Na, calm down,"
Zhang San lowered his voice, with a hint of pleading in his tone, "We still need to be rational. Shouting like this will only get you in trouble."
However, Zhang San's persuasion did not have the desired effect. On the contrary, it seemed to further infuriate Xu Na.
"Calm? How can I calm down?"
Xu Na scoffed, a dangerous glint in her eyes,
"My Tao Yao wife is about to be ruined, and you want me to calm down? Zhang San, if you want to be a coward, be one yourself! I'm not going to serve this group of bastards anymore!"
Xu Na's words struck Zhang San like a dagger in the heart.
He stood there, struggling with his thoughts.
On one hand, he understood Xu Na's anger;
On the other hand, he was worried that this action would bring unnecessary trouble for everyone.
But seeing Xu Na's determined gaze, Zhang San suddenly felt a wave of shame wash over him.
He realized he had always been too weak, always choosing compromise. And Xu Na dared to fight for her beliefs.
Finally, Zhang San gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
"Let it explode!"
He suddenly said, his voice trembling slightly, but filled with determination.
After saying that, Zhang San really rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a nearby chair, and got ready to take action.
This sudden move left Xu Na stunned.
"What... What are you doing?"
Xu Na looked at Zhang San in confusion, frowning deeply.
Zhang San was also stunned, looking at Xu Na in puzzlement:
"Weren't you the one who said to let it explode?"
Hearing this, Xu Na couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.
She rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "I meant we should leak the news secretly. Find a way to blow this thing up and let the players' anger spray that group of management to death. Not go fight, you idiot!"
Zhang San finally realized he had misunderstood, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over him.
He coughed awkwardly, trying to mask his awkwardness.
"Ahem... I didn't say I was going to fight. I meant... we could think of a way together."
Xu Na looked at Zhang San's awkward expression and couldn't help but smile.
She shook her head and pulled out her phone from her bag.
"Surely you have some planning documents over there, right? Related to the new version?"
Xu Na suddenly asked, her eyes sparkling with cunning.
Zhang San nodded, answering somewhat uneasily:
"There are some... What's up?"
Hearing this answer, Xu Na revealed a meaningful smile on her face.
She let out a small snort and said:
"Hmph, that's perfect. I also have some initial sketches from the art department here. Let's integrate these things together and then find an appropriate opportunity to leak them."
Hearing Xu Na's suggestion, Zhang San's heart jolted.
He hesitantly spoke up: "But... would that be considered leaking business secrets?"
Xu Na sneered at this.
"What's there to be afraid of? At worst, we'll just get sued, right? If anything happens, I'll take the blame!"
Her tone was filled with determination. "If I didn't like Tao Yao's style so much and want to learn more, I wouldn't have come to this crappy company. Anyway, I'm all in; what about you?"
Zhang San was intimidated by Xu Na's momentum.
He looked at this petite girl in front of him and suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of courage.
"If a younger sister can go this far, how can I, as a man, back down?"
Zhang San thought to himself.
So, he gritted his teeth and said,
"Alright, I'm all in! If I die, I die!"
After saying that, Zhang San also took out his phone, preparing to send Xu Na the internal documents about the new version.
However, just then, Xu Na suddenly froze.
Her finger hovered above the screen, and her expression changed from determination to confusion.
"Wait a minute!"
Xu Na suddenly shouted, halting Zhang San's actions.
Zhang San was baffled by this sudden change.
"What's wrong?" he asked in confusion.
Xu Na's face looked a bit strange as she stammered:
"You... You look at the hot search... it seems... someone has already leaked the news before us..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang San quickly opened his phone's trending page. Sure enough, he saw a shocking trending topic:
"Shock! Will the new version of 'Fairy Journey' introduce a five-star male character?"
This trending topic was like a bombshell, instantly igniting the entire gaming community.
The detailed content of the hot search mentioned that the new chief planner of 'Fairy Journey' seemed to intend to introduce male characters in the game, possibly pairing them with the popular character Tao Yao.
Here is some relevant information I collected.
...
Zhang San and Xu Na looked at each other, seeing shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.
"What... What is going on?"
Zhang San muttered, "Is there someone else in the company who is dissatisfied with this decision?"
Xu Na furrowed her brow, reading the hot search content carefully.
Xu Na's eyes lit up instantly, excitement evident on her face.
She stared at her phone screen, quickly scrolling, greedily absorbing every piece of information.
The corners of her mouth involuntarily rose, her face displaying a hint of admiration.
"Wow, these leaks are too detailed!" Xu Na exclaimed, her voice trembling, "Look at this 'Pink Fairy'. She must be a big shot inside our company; otherwise, she couldn't possibly reveal details even we weren't aware of."
She raised her head, her eyes sparkling with excitement:
"Zhang San, do you think this 'Pink Fairy' could be someone we know? I really want to meet her! To make such a big fuss about things, she's simply my idol!"
Zhang San couldn't help but show a wry smile upon hearing Xu Na's words.
He shook his head, recalling the past.
"Pink Fairy?"
Zhang San said thoughtfully, "This isn't her first leak. Remember when the old Floral Language version was just updated? She caused quite a stir online back then."
He paused and continued:
"This 'Pink Fairy' should indeed be some big shot from our company."
"It's just that she hides very well, and no one has ever found out her true identity."
After hearing this, Xu Na's excitement grew even more.
She excitedly waved her arms and shouted:
"Hiding well! It should be like this! Let those executives taste the feeling of being ambushed!"
After that, Xu Na turned her attention back to the trending post.
She read the content of the post carefully, her expression gradually turning serious.
The content of the post was indeed shocking.
It not only detailed the company's decision-making process for introducing male characters, but also attached some so-called "internal concept art."
Although these images were blurry, it was vaguely clear that it depicted a very handsome male character.
With arms crossed over his chest, wearing a conical hat, he was both mysterious and cool.
At the end of the article, there was a simple statement about the planner's intention to pair Tao Yao with a male character in future versions.
And at this moment.
The comment section below the post was already boiling.
Angry players were expressing their dissatisfaction:
"What the hell is this? We play 'Fairy Journey' to admire beautiful girls. Who wants a male character?"
"Tao Yao is my wife! Who dares to touch my wife?"
"Fairy Technology? Heh, why not call it Betrayal Technology? So, you're backstabbing us old players, huh?"
"My precious card-pulling method! Just like that, it's gone?"
"Is the planner out of their mind? This was originally a card game focused on female characters, and there isn't even a male character among the main roles, let alone in the card pool. And now out of nowhere, they come up with this?"
"I'm out! Goodbye! I'm going for a refund right now!"
"I'm refunding too! If I can't, I'll just make invoices to mess with them!!"
The comment section was filled with various voices of anger and disappointment,
And it was almost impossible to find a single comment supporting this change.
Players' anger seemed to be on the verge of erupting,
And from the current situation, it looked like it could easily evolve into a large-scale boycott.
As the trending topic continued to ferment, the players' anger erupted like a volcano, unstoppable.
On social media and in major forums, criticism of this decision regarding 'Fairy Journey' was rampant.
Some players even began to organize joint boycotts, calling on everyone to uninstall the game as a form of protest.
Some extreme fans even expressed their intent to demonstrate at the company's door, demanding a reasonable explanation from the development team.
This wave of anger quickly spread from the virtual world into reality.
The workday quietly came to an end.
Zhang San and Xu Na stood by the company's building window, looking in shock at the scene below.
The originally spacious and tidy company entrance was now surrounded by angry players, not a single person could pass through.
Among the players were both men and women, holding various signs with all kinds of shocking slogans.
Angry shouts erupted from time to time, deafening.
What was even more shocking was that some emotionally agitated players started throwing various things at the company building.
Banana peels and eggshells were scattered all over, and some even threw several plastic bottles filled with water, which hit the building's outer walls with loud thuds.
The high-end image that Fairy Technology prided itself on was utterly annihilated at this moment.
The once glamorous company building now looked wretched, as if it had fallen from heaven to hell overnight.
Zhang San looked at this scene and couldn't help but gasp in shock.
He murmured:
"Wow... the fighting power of these players is too fierce! This is a riot!! Don't they fear getting arrested for doing this?"
Xu Na crossed her arms over her chest, a smug smile curving her lips.
She snorted lightly and said:
"Heh, what's so strange about that? While it's not rational, the power of players has always been underestimated. Do you think they only vent their anger on their keyboards? If you really touch their bottom line, these people will do anything."
She turned to look at Zhang San, her tone carrying a hint of instruction:
"Remember, the first step to being a good planner is to respect the players. If you don't do something good, players can really drown you."
Zhang San nodded blankly, his mind still replaying the crazy scene he had just seen.
He muttered:
"I... I understand. It seems that in the future, we really need to be more cautious when making strategies."
Xu Na glanced at her watch and then peeked at the still-boiling crowd below, saying:
"In this situation, it's definitely not possible to go out the front door. Let's exit through the underground parking lot."
Just as the two were about to leave, Zhang San's phone suddenly vibrated. He pulled out his phone and his face turned pale instantly.
"What's wrong?" Xu Na asked in confusion.
Zhang San forced a smile and shook his head, helplessly saying:
"The chief planner wants me to work overtime. Looks like I can't leave tonight."
Xu Na patted Zhang San's shoulder sympathetically and said, "Take care of yourself. I'll head out first; be safe on the way."
Zhang San nodded, watching Xu Na leave before taking a deep breath and turning back to the office.
Thus, under the immense pressure of public opinion, many employees were forced to work overtime late into the night.
Even so, the buzz regarding this news continued to soar on the internet, with no signs of declining, but rather escalating. 'Fairy Journey' again topped the trending search charts, and the insults directed at it showed no signs of weakening, only intensifying.
Meanwhile.
In the world of the game, Tao Yao watched the current trend on the internet, her face showing a knowing smile.
Yes, the internal whistleblower known as "Pink Fairy" was none other than her online pseudonym on the Blue Star Internet.
This secret was known only to her and Xiao Xiao, no one else.
Originally, Tao Yao intended to let things unfold naturally.
She had planned to focus her attention on the upcoming version's performance and constantly think about how to influence future developments.
After all, it was wise to endure a moment of calm and not create such a big fuss over the game.
She indeed took a step back, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
The thought of being paired up made her skin crawl.
She was feeling miserable.
In the end, she thought this situation should be left to the players to judge.
Thus, she decided to expose the matter.
At this moment, the system sprite Xiao Xiao was floating beside her, also watching the trend on the internet.
Xiao Xiao spoke up:
"Master, isn't what we're doing a bit unethical?"
Tao Yao shrugged dismissively at Xiao Xiao's question. She chuckled lightly, her tone playful:
"What's unethical about it? It was those tool people who acted recklessly first. While I can't stop them from modifying the game, I can still leak the news."
"That's true."
Xiao Xiao angrily replied,
"These tool people actually dared to recruit planners recklessly, allowing such planners to come up with such outrageous changes. It's just too bad that the Goddess isn't here. If she were still around, they wouldn't dare!"
Xiao Xiao's tone was filled with anger, but then it switched to sadness.
However, this emotion came and went quickly.
Suddenly, Xiao Xiao seemed to think of something, hesitatingly saying:
"But the problem is, the entire internet is slamming the game..."
"If the game dies because of this... it will affect us, right?"
Tao Yao needed a substantial amount of popularity.
This was not only a mission bestowed upon her by the Goddess but also something she personally wanted to achieve, the path she chose.
Especially after realizing that there were many dangerous and evil fairies in the game world,
She wanted to try even more.
However, to achieve this goal, she first relied on her popularity in the eyes of the players.
According to Xiao Xiao, the production of popularity had a complex formula.
It was mainly related to heat and similar to belief.
In other words, she needed to be liked by the players and liked by the whole world.
The more people who liked her or the more people who increasingly liked her, the higher the heat she produced.
Consequently, the relative popularity would also increase, allowing her to do more things.
And all of this depended on the game 'Fairy Journey.'
So if anything happened to 'Fairy Journey,' the greater the number of players quitting due to negative issues, the more it would affect her.
Tao Yao fell into deep thought, and after a moment, she slowly spoke:
"Well... you do have a point."
"Yes, Master!"
Xiao Xiao said eagerly,
"If those tool people in the game company don't understand and can't calm down the players' anger, wouldn't your leak be self-inflicted harm?"
Tao Yao thoughtfully considered and then said:
"Don't say that; based on my experience, the official game company will most likely come out to refute it, and they will probably say it's not true. And if all goes well, they might send ten fairy flowers, trying to make the players forget this incident to quell this matter."
Xiao Xiao looked bewildered,
"Huh? But to first refute and then send ten draws... Is that really going to make the players' memories disappear?"
Tao Yao seriously analyzed:
"It's quite possible! After all, the formal version hasn't gone online yet, and the memory on the internet is fleeting. As long as such things don't happen afterward, it will naturally be a thing of the past."
Just as if to verify what Tao Yao said, a trending post quickly popped up in front of her:
"'Fairy Journey' Official Statement: No plan to introduce male characters; thank you for the players' support."
Clicking on this trending post revealed the relevant information sent out by the game official.
"Dear players:
The recent rumors regarding 'Fairy Journey' introducing male characters are pure fabrication.
We have never had such plans and will never deviate from the core concept of the game.
'Fairy Journey' has always been committed to providing players with a wonderful gaming experience, and we deeply understand the players' love and anticipation for the game. Here, we solemnly promise: We will continue to adhere to a main character lineup focused on female protagonists, bringing everyone more exciting content.
As a gesture of gratitude for the players' support over the years, we will distribute 10 fairy flowers via email; please check them carefully.
Thank you once again for your attention and support. The Fairy Journey project team will continue striving to present better game content."
It was a very formulaic public relations message.
Seeing this message, Xiao Xiao angrily said:
"How can they do this! This is too perfunctory to the players, right?! What about that new chief planner? Shouldn't they be fired?"
"Is this kind of solution really going to be accepted by the players?"
After listening to Tao Yao's analysis, Xiao Xiao's eyes widened with disbelief.
She spun around in the air a few times, as if trying to shake the information she just heard out of her head.
"This is infuriating! Is it going to end like this?"
Xiao Xiao's voice was filled with disbelief,
"Are they just going to gloss over things like this?"
Filled with questions and anger, Xiao Xiao controlled the light screen to scroll down, eagerly opening the comment section.
The first comment she saw was from the well-known blogger Sakura Fubuki:
"Waking up this morning and seeing this leak shocked me; I didn't stream all day... Turns out it was fake? I said, how could they suddenly introduce five-star male characters into a game focused on female characters? That's great; my favorite game still looks the same!"
Seeing this comment, Xiao Xiao was dumbfounded.
Her wings froze mid-air as if she had been hit by a freezing spell.
After a moment, she recovered and angrily spoke:
"Wait, what does this female streamer mean? Is her brain stuck in a door? Does she really believe such an obvious public relations stunt?"
Xiao Xiao's voice was filled with disbelief and anger. She continued to scroll down and found that Sakura Fubuki's comment already had numerous replies:
"LOL, Snow Dog really didn't disappoint me."
"You dog streamer, consistently stupid!"
"Snow Dog, have you become the official's poodle?"
"It can't be true, can it? No one could really be bribed by ten fairy flowers, right?"
The discussion in the comment section grew increasingly intense, various voices emerged one after the other:
"That's it? I still prefer you when you're untamed."
"What are you thinking upstairs? Does that look like kneeling to you?"
"Is there really someone who believes that leak was fake?"
"What happened to the plan for pairing Tao Yao with a male character? Not a word about it, right?"
The comments were filled with various dilemmas, some were angry, some sarcastic, and some were confused.
What perplexed Xiao Xiao the most was that there were indeed some who believed the official statement.
"I thought it was real... Better that it's fake."
"Ten fairy flowers? Not bad! Can't refuse something for free."
Xiao Xiao turned to look at Tao Yao, hoping to see her disappointed expression.
However, there was not a trace of disappointment on Tao Yao's face.
Xiao Xiao couldn't help but ask:
"Master, aren't you angry?"
Tao Yao gently tapped Xiao Xiao's head, her tone warm:
"I actually find it a bit silly and very cute."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao immediately felt her wings stand up in anger:
"No! These players are so annoying!"
Tao Yao smiled, shaking her head, and continued:
"In this world, no one is perfect; you're not, and I'm not either."
"After all, from the very beginning, weren't we just selfishly trying to gain popularity from the players? Given that, what right do we have to dislike them?"
With a smile on her face, Tao Yao methodically continued:
"Even though we're not perfect, we must repay the players' love as much as possible, expressing our gratitude and returning it with real actions."
Xiao Xiao listened, confused, and asked:
"Repay? How do we repay?"
Tao Yao thought for a moment and then spoke:
"Xiao Xiao, what do you think about me holding a virtual live broadcast for players in the new version?"
Once this topic was mentioned, Tao Yao immediately became very enthusiastic.
"I want to use this preview live broadcast to communicate face-to-face with the players!"