I will be stronger after the remake

Ma Yiming also brought over a copy of the People's Daily newspaper and asked curiously, "So, what exactly is going on?"

"I'd also like to know the answer."

Hu Ze grumbled for a moment, but after calming down, he analyzed: "There are only three possibilities. Either it's really just a coincidence, or the country already had a plan to develop the game industry. You can see from the policies and regulations mentioned in the news that they were obviously not hastily introduced. The ministry had already decided on them. They just happened to come across 'Invisible Guardian,' thought it had a good image and high popularity, plus a provincial newspaper had explored the path, and our founders are also upright and can be set as an example, so they just gave it a hand."

"Either you've met a benefactor, or one of you, stop pretending and come out and lay your cards on the table. Stop treating us like ordinary people. If you've used connections, just say so. We're not ungrateful; we'll all remember your kindness."

"Or it's a combination of both: the government supports the gaming industry but lacks a representative, and then a benefactor we know casually mentions it, and the two sides hit it off immediately."

Yuan Ji asked, "Which possibility do you think is more likely?"

Hu Ze said without hesitation: "The first type, the idea of ​​a benefactor is too illusory. When the time is right, everything works together. This situation is not uncommon. For example, those pigs that fly when the wind blows. Of course, we have real skills and don't rely entirely on the wind, so we can get the approval of the higher-ups."

Tang Ping said, "I also think it's the first one, but my reasoning is different from the director's. I think the key is that we are all psionicists, and we are officially employed psionicists. Naturally, we are more likely to be noticed by the higher-ups and considered as promising talents. It would be reasonable to cultivate them as a matter of course."

Ma Yiming wasn't interested in these analyses, saying, "In short, our game should be a huge hit, right?"

Ma Feiyan, an insider in the field, was sent to a psionic training base, so no one laughed at his amateurish remarks.

Tang Ping nodded and said, "Definitely. Our game has gone mainstream, and once anything goes mainstream, the inherent statistical rules no longer apply. The first day's sales can no longer be used as the basis for estimation. What the final sales will be is beyond our control. Let's wait and see."

Hu Ze quickly said, "Others can wait patiently, but you can't. The provincial propaganda department just called me, specifically asking to interview you. I asked them for help before, and I couldn't refuse, so I took the liberty of agreeing on your behalf."

"It makes sense. The higher-ups have given their approval, so it would be strange if the propaganda department remained indifferent. They don't even know how to seize political achievements. They should just retire to the CPPCC. Besides, this matter can further enhance my reputation and increase my number of fans. I have no reason to refuse."

Yuan Ji exclaimed, "Your progress in developing your spiritual essence must be skyrocketing, right?"

Tang Ping smiled and said, "In the past few days, Ling Ge has been restless. His soul has been so stimulated that he can't sleep at night. I estimate that after a few more days of preparation, he will be able to complete the first transformation."

"Advancing to the second stage in less than half a year is an outstanding speed even among geniuses. It's a pity that you didn't choose the most suitable spirit type back then." Hu Ze couldn't help but sigh with regret.

Tang Ping, on the contrary, was quite open-minded: "It's all about timing and fate. If it were a different spirit, the way of development would be different, and it might not be as efficient as it is now. The kingly way of cultivating spirits is to take shortcuts, and 'fox spirits' are particularly good at taking shortcuts."

Just as Hu Ze was about to praise the other party, his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it, grinned, and clicked his tongue in disdain.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Ji asked, "What's wrong? Have the creditors come to the door?"

"It's really hard to say who the creditor is."

Hu Ze did not return to his office; instead, he answered the phone in front of everyone.

He listened patiently to what the other side had to say, and then retorted without any politeness: "You made a mistake in your own judgment, and you can blame it on others? Did Tang Ping force you to agree to let the actors participate in the profit sharing? He told you the whole story from beginning to end without hiding anything."

"In the end, it's your own fault for being short-sighted. You were unwilling to put in the effort when planting the trees, and you made excuses when it came to watering and fertilizing them. Now that the fruit is ripe, you've come running here with ladders. There's no such logic in this world!"

"Don't blame me for being harsh. What's rightfully yours, we won't take. And what's not rightfully yours, don't try to take it. I, Hu Zexing, am upright and honest. Even if this goes up to the higher-ups, I'll say the same thing. Let's see who ends up in trouble first!"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Tang Ping wasn't stupid; she immediately guessed who had called.

At this moment, the person on the other end of the phone seemed to be pleading for forgiveness. Hu Ze's expression softened, and he finally snorted and said, "It would be best if you could understand. This is a win-win situation. Let's all work together to make the pie bigger. In the end, we can achieve both business success and political achievements. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

After he hung up the phone, Yuan Ji asked without any hesitation, "Did the people from Youxing Entertainment come to reap the benefits?"

"They're not that stupid. Instead, they're indirectly asking us to say nice things, hoping we'll go easy on them when we give official interviews. They're just using this as a pretext to back down. Of course, if we don't understand the situation and are weak-willed, they won't mind taking advantage of us and picking up a few more peaches."

Hu Ze casually explained a couple of things, then asked Tang Ping, "The other party is willing to spend another ten million on the game's promotion and marketing to maintain its popularity, and also give up five percent of the profits as an investment in your personal career. Although there won't be a signed agreement, don't worry about them breaking their promise, unless they decide to leave the industry."

Since Youxing Entertainment Company has an official background, it's impossible for them to directly give five percent of their profits to Tang Ping, as that would be considered a transfer of benefits. However, if they were to invest an equivalent amount, it would be beyond reproach, since Tang Ping is an artist of the company, and it's only natural for them to spend money to cultivate artists.

Tang Ping was not like Long Aotian, and stated, "Cooperation is mutually beneficial, and I have no objection."

"Okay, I'll reply to them later. Let's give them a break first, so they don't think we're easy to talk to."

"A pointless test."

Yuan Ji gave a disdainful look, then asked Tang Ping curiously, "Are you planning to continue making games, or switch to the entertainment industry and become a star?"

"I'll think about it after I advance to the second job advancement."

Chapter Sixty-Two: Winning People's Hearts

"It's a live stream."

Tang Ping glanced at the photography equipment in the room, somewhat surprised. He had thought it was the kind of written interview that would be edited and refined before being published online.

"We have to keep up with the times. With videos, why would modern people bother to read written reports?"

The respondent was a woman with delicate features and a clear voice, who was also the reporter responsible for interviewing Tang Ping today. Her name was Lin Zhaoran.

To look good on camera, she wore makeup, with natural light pink lips and a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, giving her a gentle smile even when she wasn't actually smiling.

To ease the interviewee's emotions and to make the subsequent interview less abrupt, Lin Zhaoran chatted with Tang Ping for a while, making full use of his eloquence to try to take the lead.

But she soon discovered that although Tang Ping didn't talk much and seemed passive in conversation, her words were always to the point, and she could even detect that she was not being sincere. She was not the kind of person who would be led by the nose and feel very satisfied afterwards, thinking that she had found a confidante.

Before the interview, Lin Zhaoran had harbored doubts about Tang Ping's age, thinking that it was impossible for her to write sincere and relatable works about the Republican era. Now that she knew that Tang Ping had real talent, she immediately adjusted her mindset, and the conversation became more superficial and enjoyable.

"Before the interview begins, I would like to apologize to you, Professor Tang."

"Oh why?"

"Because I once made a bet with my colleagues that you couldn't possibly be as handsome and have such good skin as in the game, but after seeing you with my own eyes today, I realized that I was shallow. It turns out that there really are people who are even more handsome in real life than on screen, and there really are guys with skin as smooth as an egg. Handsome young men really exist. Someone online claiming to be from the game's post-production team said that he didn't edit your picture, and now I believe he's telling the truth."

Tang Ping touched her face, unconcerned, and said, "Being a pretty boy wasn't a good compliment in the past. Teacher Tang Guoqiang thought it was the audience criticizing him for not having acting skills."

He knew perfectly well that Ling Ge's acting skills had increased dramatically in recent days, leading to a further enhancement of his charm, which gave him the illusion that he was even more handsome in person than on screen.

In reality, when looks reach a certain level, it's difficult to judge who's more handsome based solely on appearance. For example, whether Daniel Wu or Vincent Chiao is more handsome depends on the evaluator's preference; there's no objective consensus.

Eye contact, demeanor, speech, and posture—all these can enhance how others perceive a person's attractiveness.

Tang Ping vaguely sensed that Ling Ge was influencing his behavior, making him subconsciously avoid displaying any inelegant mannerisms, and that every move he made was geared towards becoming a heartthrob.

"Others might be worried, but Teacher Tang is well-read and full of talent. The fact that the title of 'pretty boy' has fallen on you only makes people wonder why God is so unfair."

"Haha, say a little more. I'm a very shallow person, and I love to hear compliments."

Tang Ping sighed inwardly. No wonder some plagiarists lose themselves. They really think they are very talented, and they put on a farce of going out to find inspiration, only to come back and continue to plagiarize. With others praising you like this every day, it's hard to stay sober.

Lin Zhaoran was about to continue flattering Tang Ping when he saw the director make a gesture to start. He immediately straightened his back, coughed, and gestured to Tang Ping with his eyes to begin the formal interview.

Tang Ping also adjusted her posture, suppressed her smile, and became serious.

Lin Zhaoran: "Hello everyone, welcome to this interview program. Today we are very honored to have invited Mr. Tang, the screenwriter, producer and male lead of the highly anticipated interactive video game 'Invisible Guardian,' who is both talented and handsome. Welcome!"

Hearing the order of the titles introduced, Tang Ping roughly guessed the reporter's preferences; she clearly preferred talented men to handsome men.

He remained expressionless and, in cooperation with the camera, said, "Hello everyone, thank you very much for the invitation from the program team."

Lin Zhaoran: "Since its launch, The Invisible Guardian has won the love of many players with its unique narrative style and profound historical background. First of all, could you please briefly introduce the original intention of creating this game?"

Tang Ping: "Of course, the inspiration for 'The Invisible Guardian' comes from our love of history and our exploration of interactive narrative forms. We hope that through the ninth art, players can personally participate in historical events and feel the complexity of that era and the inner struggles of the characters..."

Lin Zhaoran: "It's clear that the team put a lot of effort into the details. The multiple endings in the game give players a strong sense of immersion. How did you come up with these different endings?"

Tang Ping: "We hope that players are not just bystanders in the game, but can influence the direction of the story through their own choices. Each ending reflects different values ​​and life choices. Some endings may leave players feeling regretful, while others are full of hope. We hope that through this approach, players can still think after the game ends—what would I do if I were in their shoes?"

……

The opening interview mainly focused on "The Invisible Guardian," and the content was all pre-arranged; there was even a teleprompter hanging behind the camera.

After delivering the formulaic content, the next step, according to the schedule, is to interact with the live stream audience.

Of course, overly pointed questions were filtered out, and the remaining questions were left for Tang Ping to choose from; she could simply ignore those she didn't want to answer.

The propaganda department had no intention of offending anyone for no reason, especially since the other party had received praise from People's Daily.

"A question from netizen 'Blood Sea Emperor': The game description of 'Invisible Guardian' mentions that you and another game designer named 'Yu Shujiang' co-created the game. May I ask who this Yu Shujiang is?"

"She's my sister."

Tang Ping didn't hide it, after all, her sister had always wanted to be a famous game designer.

"Oh, I didn't expect that the game design was done by the brother and sister. That's really rare. At least I've never heard of it before."

Lin Zhaoran covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes filled with surprise.

If it weren't for the reminder from the Three-Eyed Spirit, even Tang Ping would have believed the other party's acting skills.

"To be honest, my sister is the real game producer. She studied game design in college, while I am an outsider. I only came up with ideas and did not actually participate in the coding."

"So that's how it is. The brother is a planner, while the sister is a programmer, which is the exact opposite of gender stereotypes."

At this moment, a flood of comments appeared, densely packed across the screen, with largely similar content:

"Where is your sister? Why don't you interview her?"

"If the brother is incredibly handsome, the sister must be stunningly beautiful. Let her come out quickly, we want to see this beautiful young lady!"

"Since the brother is the male lead, will the sister also have a role? I think the female characters in the game, Chunlan and Qiuju, are all charming and they are all amateurs. None of them have any debut works, except for Zhao Yeman."

"By the way, am I the only one who noticed that the brother and sister have different surnames? Is there something special going on behind this?"

Lin Zhaoran only touched on the topic briefly and did not follow the audience's wishes by asking questions such as "Why do you two have different surnames?" She was an official reporter, not an entertainment paparazzi.

However, Tang Ping wanted to make her sister famous, so she said a few more words.

“My sister didn’t have a role. From the initial planning and filming of ‘The Invisible Guardian’ to the game’s release, it took less than two months. My sister doesn’t have superpowers. She can’t act during the day and come home at night to code, can she? I’d be a real swindler!”

"My sister is indeed very charming. If she were to travel back to a prosperous ancient era, she would probably be a strong contender for the title of one of the Four Beauties."

"Why are the surnames different? It's simple, my mother's surname is Yu."

The brother and sister have different surnames; the sister takes her mother's surname.

Based on these two points, most people would naturally conclude that the older brother takes the father's surname.

Tang Ping didn't want to lie on camera or let others gossip, so she simply gave a misleading but truthful answer.

"A suggestion from netizen 'Gui Ta Xi': Related game videos have appeared on a certain video website. Due to the special nature of 'Invisible Guardian,' once the videos are watched, many players will lose their desire to purchase the game. It is recommended that the development team sue the video website and demand that the relevant videos be taken down."

After reading the comments, Lin Zhaoran looked worried and said, "This is indeed a big problem and will seriously affect the game's sales. Professor Tang, do you have any solutions for this?"

After considering for a moment, Tang Ping slowly said in a magnetic tone, "Actually, I also experienced the era when game piracy was rampant, so I can understand the feelings of some pirate players. Some were indeed short of money, while others thought the games were not good enough and not worth spending money to buy."

"Some people might argue that if you're not willing to spend money, just don't play games. I won't comment on whether this view is right or wrong for now, I'll just share my personal opinion."

"I believe that as long as game developers treat players with sincerity, players will also treat games with sincerity. It is my honor that you are willing to play the games I make. It doesn't matter if you are short of money. When you have money in the future, you can make up for it."

"I'll say something that will make the investors angry: more than how much money I make, I hope that more players can play my game, even if you're just a casual player. I welcome you to join the discussion about the game."

Lin Zhaoran was shocked because she could tell that the other person genuinely meant it and wasn't just saying nice things insincerely.

Are there still such pure people these days?

Can a pure person succeed these days?

Even the experienced reporter Lin lost his composure on the spot, not to mention netizens. Comments were growing at a visible speed. If tipping hadn't been turned off beforehand, gifts would probably have been flying everywhere.

"Oh no, this guy really knows how to please the players!"

"He's not only handsome, but also so talented. And not only talented, but also considerate and emotionally intelligent. Oh no, I can hear the sound of my heart fluttering."

"Even I, a man, am tempted. No wonder he can play the male lead. He's really suited for infiltration. If I were Muto Masao, I'd probably be charmed into entrusting my wife and children to him after just a few words."

"Stop talking, I'll buy it! I'll buy it, okay? I'll just buy a couple more to give to my friends. Don't make it so sentimental. I'm a nearly forty-year-old gamer, and I'm almost in tears listening to this."

Chapter Sixty-Three: Promotion to Second Job Advancement

After two hours of live streaming, the interview came to an end.

Lin Zhaoran posed a concluding question: "Before the interview ends, I'd like to ask Mr. Tang one last question: What are your thoughts on the success of 'The Invisible Guardian'?"

Tang Ping said, "I am very grateful for the support and love from the players. This is a great encouragement to us. It allows more people to learn about that period of history through the game and feel the spirit of the unsung heroes. This makes me feel that all our efforts are worthwhile. In the future, we will continue to work hard to create more high-quality works."

On the other side, the director signaled the end of the broadcast.

Lin Zhaoran stood up and shook hands, saying, "Teacher Tang, thank you for accepting the interview."

"No, I should be thanking you for promoting me."

"Look, it's just time for lunch. Why don't you stay for a meal?"

"No, I have something to do at work, I need to go back right away."

Seeing that the other party was still trying to persuade her to stay, Tang Ping quickly said, "I'm not making excuses. I would be very happy to stay and experience the food at your station. But I really have something to do and have to go back right away."

Remembering the other person's sincerity, Lin Zhaoran sighed and said, "It's such a pity. I hope I'll have the chance to treat you to a meal next time."

"Definitely next time."

Tang Ping greeted the person in charge, then hurriedly took a taxi and left, his destination being the cooperative supply and marketing cooperative.

He really didn't make any excuses. Just now, during the interview, he suddenly felt that his spiritual transformation was complete, and compared with his extraordinary future, everything else could be put aside.