Offside game

Faced with Shenzhou Software's relatively tough stance, Lechang Network's negotiation intentions ultimately broke down.

So, as soon as Lechang Network received the court notice, major media outlets ran headlines like "Shenzhou Sues Lechang, Demanding Exorbitant Compensation," and this sensational news quickly became a focal point in the IT industry. Several companies providing similar services, such as Tencent, were also quietly monitoring the spread of this topic. No one expected that Shenzhou Software would immediately target the largest online gaming platform in China.

When this news broke, some were optimistic about Shenzhou Software, since they were using the banner of protecting their rights, which made them seem more righteous. Others were optimistic about Lechang Network, arguing that in the current imperfect legal system, such lawsuits are difficult to win and could easily drag on indefinitely. In that case, although neither company is afraid, the outcome itself would be extremely advantageous to Lechang Network.

In response to the negative news released by Shenzhou Software appearing simultaneously in various media outlets, Dream International's public relations department immediately issued a statement: Lechang Network's gaming platform exists solely as a user communication platform and does not support piracy or other infringing activities. Lechang Network also did not rule out the possibility of filing a countersuit against Shenzhou Software, the owner of the China Game Interactive Platform, for unfair competition.

Immediately, before the court hearing even officially began, the two companies had already started a war of words in various media outlets.

Foreign media have also reported on this incident, but for reasons unknown, most are pessimistic about Shenzhou Software. The main reason, in their words, stems from China's current poor intellectual property policies and weak administrative enforcement. Of course, this is entirely understandable; many foreign media outlets often exhibit a schizophrenic approach when considering Western and Chinese events.

Just as many IT media outlets were getting excited about the lawsuit between two influential companies, a person claiming to be a former department head at Shenzhou Software appeared on a very influential online community in China. He exposed many of Shenzhou Software's unethical practices, including forging genuine CD keys and selling them to players who bought genuine copies in order to siphon off the company's profits. This caused many players to encounter problems when using these CD keys to log in to Battle.net, which requires CD key verification, and thus were unable to play the game normally.

The post immediately became a hot topic, sparking enthusiastic responses from players who had purchased legitimate copies of the game but encountered the problems pointed out by the poster. Many immediately began cursing the infamous Shenzhou Software. Simultaneously, the post was reposted on numerous forums, spreading rapidly across the internet.

As this topic emerged, some media outlets speculated that the person behind it might be Lechang Network, which was sued by Shenzhou Software. However, Lechang Network's public relations personnel immediately denied this.

Despite the doubts, it is undeniable that many of the issues listed in this post do exist among many legitimate users. The veil of justice that Shenzhou Software has always touted was immediately torn off by many angry players, making it the target of condemnation.

After joining the dream team, all members began intensive training. Their next goal is the WCG China Qualifier, which will begin on August 16.

This year marks the second WCG. According to the information already released, the WCG finals will be held in Seoul, South Korea in October. The competition includes six games: Counter-Strike, Quake III, Unreal Engine, Age of Empires II, StarCraft: Brood War, and FIFA 2002. Dream Club has already registered its members for three of these games: Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and FIFA 2002.

Under the wine-red lights and soft music, Zhang Cheng looked at the beautiful and dignified woman sitting in front of him. So many years had passed, yet she still vaguely resembled the little girl who used to play behind him, but with the passage of time, she had exuded a mature charm.

When he first learned she was married, he was devastated and spent the whole night drunk. Now, after the cycle of life, they face each other again, but everything has changed. Can they return to where they started? Thinking of Mo Yuqing's indifferent attitude over the years, even he, who was usually so confident at the company, seemed to have suddenly become a naive young man experiencing love for the first time, feeling completely uncertain.

"How's the lawsuit between you and Lechang Company going?" Mo Yuqing had only heard Zhang Cheng invite her to dinner, and since he had invited her many times before, which she had always declined, she didn't want to be too rude to him, so she agreed today, given the good relationship between their families. She hadn't expected to be invited to such a famous French restaurant in Yanjing; it seemed Zhang Cheng had put a lot of thought into tonight's dinner. Feeling a little uncomfortable in such a romantic French atmosphere, she started a conversation.

"There hasn't been much progress. Although we're in the right, they are, after all, a very powerful company with a good relationship with the government. So far, things are still at a stalemate. Even the media is losing patience and reporting on it less." Hearing Mo Yuqing bring up this unrelated topic, Zhang Cheng was still thinking about how to make his feelings clear in this atmosphere, so he spoke rather casually.

Mo Yuqing was quite concerned about the lawsuit when she first learned about it, and even went to Su Yi to ask him about it in detail. However, he didn't seem to care at all and didn't seem nervous at all. At first, she was afraid that he was deliberately putting on such an act to comfort her, but later she consulted her lawyer friend and asked about this high-profile case in the industry. She finally learned that Lechang Company was not at a disadvantage at the moment, and the most likely outcome of the lawsuit was that it would end without a result. Therefore, she finally felt relieved.

Upon meeting Zhang Cheng and considering his identity, Mo Yuqing wanted to try to find another way to resolve the issue, since going to court is a stressful affair.

"Do you remember Jin'er's godfather? You met him at my house during the Chinese New Year," Mo Yuqing asked tentatively.

"Oh, is that college student named Su Yi? What a coincidence. I heard that the major shareholder of Dream International, the parent company of Lechang Company, is also named Su Yi," Zhang Cheng joked. He had only met Su Yi a few times, mostly at Mo Yuqing's house, and they hadn't had any deep interaction. In his memory, Su Yi was a very handsome young man. At first, he had suspected a relationship between Su Yi and Mo Yuqing, but judging from their appearance, it didn't seem likely, given the significant age difference. Later, he couldn't help but think he was being a bit paranoid. Su Yi's vague impression in his mind was just a freshman at Jinghua University. Although he had seen reports in the newspaper that the major shareholder of Dream International was also a Chinese man named Su Yi, he only thought it was a coincidence and never connected the two people. After all, one was the richest man in China with the greatest assets among Chinese people, and the other was just a freshman in college. Anyone with a normal mind would find it hard to imagine that they were the same person.

But then, after speaking, Zhang Cheng suddenly realized something. Thinking about the timing of Mo Yuqing's words, a strange idea began to form in his mind, and he finally superimposed the two figures onto each other…