74: Chapter 74 The Fu Family Declares They Will Block Qidian

On the fifth day after the beta version of "star path: reboot" went live, its TapTap rating remained stable at 9.1, and the number of new players on the servers exceeded one million. UGC content created spontaneously by players flooded social media platforms. In the office area of Singularity Technology, everyone wore an unconcealable smile on their face.

Only Zhang Fan sat at his desk, his brows slightly furrowed, because the red intelligence popped up by the system in the early hours of the morning was still fresh in his mind: [Warning: Fu Chengyu plans to collude with internet trolls to spread the rumor that "star path: reboot" plagiarized Blue Whale Games' "Firmament." He has already contacted 5 self-media outlets to prepare distorted videos, which are expected to be launched within 3 days.]

Since Fu Chengyu had made a move again, it was time for him to accept the challenge.

Zhang Fan tapped on the conference table. The sound wasn't loud, but it was enough to make everyone quiet down: "Everyone, please stop for a moment. Let's hold an emergency meeting."

In the conference room, Zhang Fan got straight to the point: "Now that 'star path' has just built up its reputation, I've received news that someone has set their sights on us. 'star path' being where it is today is the result of everyone pulling countless all-nighters, so we absolutely cannot let rumors take us down. Once the rumors ferment, not only will players be lost, but the cooperation with Liwen Group may also be shaken. Therefore, we must be prepared in advance. Our public opinion guidance must be fast, accurate, and ruthless, and the chain of evidence must be solid enough to leave the internet trolls with no room for refutation."

Zhou Yurou immediately replied: "I will contact Lawyer Wang right away to prepare legal evidence; at the same time, I will connect with the media outlets we have previously collaborated with to prepare clarification materials in advance, so we can counterattack as soon as the rumors appear."

Wang Chengsi also nodded: "I will go organize the original materials for 'star path'—from Zhang Fan's original design drafts to the development logs after our team was formed, I will clearly mark every timeline node to prove that 'star path' is our original work."

Liu Ruyan added: "I will prepare the engine side of things. The Sok Engine belongs to Blue Whale, but we are currently using the independently optimized 'Star Core Engine.' The core code and rendering logic are completely different. I can create a technical comparison report that will make it clear to anyone who knows the industry."

Gu Jingshen patted his chest: "Leave the public opinion guidance to me! I will contact a few big influencers in the gaming circle and have them help monitor the movements of the internet trolls. Once there is any false news, they will immediately speak up to clarify."

Over the next three days, the Singularity team stood in full battle array.

Fu Chengyu indeed could not hold back. At eight o'clock on the morning of the third day, the topic "'star path: reboot' plagiarizes Blue Whale's 'Firmament'" suddenly rushed to the hot search list. Internet trolls flooded forums and comment sections: "Everyone at Singularity jumped ship from Blue Whale. They took a Blue Whale project, changed the name, and claimed it was original!" "The so-called self-developed engine is just a reskinned Sok Engine, scamming players out of their money!"

Several self-media outlets also followed suit by releasing distorted videos, editing the space scenes of "star path" and "Firmament" together, deliberately ignoring the differences in plot and gameplay between the two to mislead the audience: "These two games are exactly the same. Singularity Technology has zero innovation!"

Although many players who had played both games retorted: "'star path's exploration gameplay and AI NPCs are much better than 'Firmament's'; they aren't even the same thing!" but the number of internet trolls was too large, and the negative voices quickly drowned out rational discussion. The contact person from Liwen Group even sent a message asking if the situation was true, their tone filled with worry.

At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, Singularity Technology's press conference began on time. The conference room was packed with media, and the live broadcast cameras were aimed at Zhang Fan and Zhou Yurou on stage.

"First, I want to clarify a fact: 'star path' is not a Blue Whale project, but an original IP that I personally started planning two years ago." Zhang Fan took out a yellowed notebook and opened it to a hand-drawn star map. "This is the original setting for 'star path' that I drew in my college dorm in 2022. The galaxy distribution and core gameplay inside are exactly the same as the current 'star path: reboot'."

He then displayed a resignation certificate and arbitration documents: "In 2023, I joined Blue Whale with the 'star path' proposal, seeking resource support, but I had my credit stolen by the then technical director, Chang Yuan, who renamed 'star path' to 'Firmament.' I was fired for refusing to cooperate. This is the labor arbitration judgment, which clearly states that 'Chang Yuan engaged in embezzlement of duties'."

Wang Chengsi then took the stage and displayed the technical comparison report: "Everyone look, 'star path: reboot' uses our independently developed 'Star Core Engine.' The core code has 23 patent applications, and the rendering logic uses layered lighting technology, while 'Firmament' uses the basic version of the Sok Engine. The technical architectures of the two are completely different. Here are code snippet comparisons; friends who understand technology can verify it themselves."

Liu Ruyan also added: "Our plot team spent three months polishing the storyline. The growth arc of the protagonist, the 'Starship Commander,' and the background setting of the Interstellar Alliance are all original content and have no connection whatsoever to the 'space battle' main storyline of 'Firmament'."

With piece after piece of evidence laid out before them, the media on site couldn't help but applaud—in an era where plagiarism is rampant in the gaming industry, Singularity Technology's independent research and development seemed exceptionally precious. Netizens watching the live stream were even more outraged: "So 'Firmament' was stolen! Singularity was so wronged!" "Support original work! Fu Chengyu, get out of the gaming circle immediately!"

After the press conference ended, Singularity Technology's official social media account simultaneously released a lawyer's letter, attaching the entire chain of evidence, and @-ed all the self-media outlets that participated in spreading rumors. In less than an hour, 12 self-media outlets successively deleted their posts and apologized, and the 3 that refused to admit their mistakes had their accounts banned by the platform; the internet troll team hired by Fu Chengyu was also exposed, and the police have intervened to investigate.

But Zhang Fan knew that Fu Chengyu would not let the matter rest. He opened an encrypted folder, which contained the video Gu Jingshen had previously captured of Fu Chengyu and Liu Mengqi kissing at the entrance of a hotel, as well as footage of the two intimately feeding each other at a restaurant.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he sent the video to the Jiangcheng Financial News and several well-known gossip accounts—he didn't want to go looking for trouble, but since Fu Chengyu kept provoking him, he had to pay the price.

On the afternoon the video was exposed, the Fu Family was in total chaos.

Fu Chengyu was the youngest son of the Jiangcheng Fu Family. The Fu Family's main business was finance, and while they could be considered a ten-billion-dollar enterprise in Jiangcheng, they were merely a branch of the Beijing Fu Family.

The fact that Fu Chengyu was able to have an arranged marriage with the eldest daughter of the Beijing Qiao Family was entirely due to the Beijing Fu Family acting as matchmakers. For the Jiangcheng Fu Family, this marriage was the key to opening up financial channels in Beijing.

But now, the video of Fu Chengyu cheating with Liu Mengqi (the former prospective daughter-in-law of the Lin Family) had spread throughout the business circle, and the Qiao Family immediately declared: "If the Fu Family doesn't give us an explanation, the engagement will be cancelled immediately!"

Fu's father called Fu Chengyu into the study and threw a table full of documents: "You idiot! If the Qiao Family cancels the engagement, our layout in Beijing is completely finished! Do you know what this means? It means the Fu Family will lose at least tens of billions!"

Fu Chengyu's face turned pale, and he still wanted to argue: "Dad, it must be Zhang Fan framing me! He released the video on purpose!"

"Framing you? If you didn't do such filthy things, would he be able to get hold of evidence?" Fu's father was so angry his chest heaved. "From today on, you are grounded! Also, send out a notice: all enterprises cooperating with Singularity Technology must terminate their cooperation immediately; companies under the Fu Family's industrial chain are absolutely forbidden from having any dealings with Singularity Technology! I want to let them know the consequences of provoking the Fu Family!"

The order was quickly executed.

The payment channel company that Singularity Technology cooperated with suddenly sent a notice of termination, citing "strategic adjustment" as the reason.

Several gaming peripheral manufacturers that Zhou Yurou contacted also politely declined, hinting that they were "under pressure from the Fu Family"; even the property management of the incubator park came to ask "if we want to renew the lease early," their tone filled with probing.