Chapter 134: With a Song, I Forge the Future!

Inside the conference hall, everyone gathered had a grave expression on their face.

As citizens of the Empire, they were well aware of how formidable the Empire’s internet trolls could be. Every time a rumor surfaced, these people would emerge to lash out at the dark side of the Empire or the incompetence of its leadership. They attacked everything; even when faced with positive news, they could always find a flaw to exploit.

In truth, if they were merely scattered individuals, it would be of little consequence. But if, as Wen Run suggested, this was a calculated and organized smear campaign orchestrated by rival entertainment companies, they had to take countermeasures immediately. It is said that three people can create a tiger; if random trolls spread rumors, even the fans who initially stood by Ren Qian might begin to harbor doubts.

The situation was already dire. Regardless of the news, as long as it involved Ren Qian, the comment section would inevitably be flooded with negativity.

"Selfish trash, hogging all the resources of Gunshi Entertainment! Newcomers have no chance to succeed! You are the scourge of the entertainment industry!"

"Garbage Ren Qian. The whole company writes songs for him, and yet he still monopolizes the songwriting credits! Without his family’s money, what would he even be?"

"Jiangnan Satellite TV has long been disgusted with Ren Qian; why else would they have been so slow to voice their support? Everyone hates a bully like Ren Qian who monopolizes all the resources!"

"We call for a boycott of trash celebrities, a boycott of negative influences, and a boycott of selfish stars!"

"If each of us listens to one less Ren Qian song, he will steal one less resource from a newcomer. How many aspiring singers are being deprived of their chance to shine?"

"I am a newcomer, and I have my own dreams—to become a top-tier star, to rely on my own talent, and to write songs and release albums for the fans who support me. But at Gunshi, they discriminate against and suppress newcomers. If you don't have connections or rely on nepotism, you will never get ahead. Out of desperation, I have to work at a market every day and squeeze in whatever time I can to study music. But with Ren Qian blocking the way, when will we newcomers ever have our chance?"

Comments like these were utterly absurd. Yet, there was no way to stop them; there were always mindless people who would believe these lies and tirelessly spread them, convinced they were champions of justice, robbing the rich to help the poor.

In reality, it was just jealousy. They were envious of Ren Qian’s boundless glory, and they possessed that perverse mentality of "I am weak, therefore I am right." Because they were weak, poor, and faced unfair treatment in society, they blamed it all on successful people playing dirty and lacking a conscience. For someone like Ren Qian, who had a net worth of over a hundred million at such a young age, they viewed him as a soulless, disgusting villain who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

Trolls always view the world with the greatest malice and attack society with the same venom. Now, a group of prominent figures had stepped forward to echo their sentiments, causing their negative emotions to explode. With such leaders, they were no longer just small fry; their influence had begun to affect reality.

Gunshi Entertainment was caught in the crossfire. After all, they were the company colluding with Ren Qian—how good could they be? With other companies meddling behind the scenes, Gunshi suffered a major setback.

"We need to find a solution as soon as possible, but this is no longer a simple smear campaign. This is a commercial war where dozens, if not hundreds, of industry veterans have joined forces on Weibo to attack Ren Qian. Many of them are relics from the era of the 'Gods of Song.' Their words are both inflammatory and deceptive. In other words, these trolls have leaders. Their destructive power should not be underestimated," Wen Run added. Following her insightful analysis, the others no longer dared to underestimate this young woman. Many furrowed their brows, deep in thought.

"Then let's target the leaders and make them shut up! If we muzzle them, the trolls will be easier to handle," a lean, middle-aged man suggested, clearly proud of his proposal.

"But... how can we make these powerful, stubborn old relics stay silent? Since ancient times, everything has been about interests. Are we supposed to pay them off? With so many of them, Gunshi might go bankrupt!" someone retorted with a sneer.

"In my assessment, there are three points they are attacking. First, that Ren Qian is squeezing out newcomers. Second, that Ren Qian has lowered the quality of music, and they consider his work trash. Third, that Ren Qian has not contributed to improving the domestic music environment. If we address these three points and leave them with no ground to criticize, we can naturally silence them. If they continue to troll after we've done that, then we will have grounds to take some of them to court."

During the debate, a fifty-year-old man in a sharp suit stood up. His name was Chen Yi, a veteran executive at Gunshi who had helped the company weather two significant crises in the past. He had some capability. Wen Run listened intently; his analysis sounded reasonable, but it was incredibly difficult to implement.

The first point could be cleared up by publishing the commercial performance and endorsement data of the company's artists. But the second point was tricky. Could Ren Qian's songs be declared "classics" right now? Without the test of time, the public wouldn't call them classics; at most, they would call them popular. But popularity does not equate to a classic. As for the third point, that was even harder...

Perhaps Chen Yi also realized the situation wasn't so simple, so he shook his head, offered an apology, and sat back down. Who would have thought that Gunshi, which had been sailing smoothly, would suddenly encounter such a massive crisis? Wen Run sighed inwardly. When she joined Gunshi, she should have considered that a tall tree attracts the wind; being forced into a defensive position was truly troublesome. She glanced at her father and Aunt Feifei, who were watching her quietly, as if leaving everything in her hands.

...

Ren Qian was also aware of the crisis. This time, unlike the minor squabbles he could ignore until the right moment to turn the tide, this was a commercial media war meticulously planned by conspirators for profit. If they could smear his reputation and use various tactics to trip up Gunshi, the company would never be able to maintain its market share.

Ren Qian could no longer sit still. He couldn't let Gunshi suffer just because he had drawn jealousy—especially knowing that Wen Run was bearing the pressure on the front lines.

He immediately headed into his private recording studio. This counterattack would begin with a single song. Did they pride themselves on traditional style and look down on innovation? Did they have the arrogance of old-school musicians? Then he would mock them—mock them so thoroughly they would have nothing to say. He would show them what a song with true national spirit sounded like, and what it meant to carry on the traditional virtues of their ancestors.