562: Chapter 562 No Cutting Until the Red Line is Found

On the third floor of the China Writers Association headquarters, in the Network Data Monitoring Center.

He Yuanda stood in front of the main screen, gripping his marker pen tightly.

He stared at the four IP ranges marked in red, his expression shifting from shock to confusion.

"Chairman."

He Yuanda turned around, his voice tight with suppressed frustration.

"Since we have long possessed the chain of evidence, why didn't we ban them the moment the internet trolls started their attack?"

His finger pointed to the curve on the large screen that had been suppressed to a very low level.

"From twelve noon to four in the afternoon, for four whole hours."

"The work pages of thirty students from the Qinglan Project have been under continuous assault by over three thousand eight hundred abnormal accounts."

"The comment sections are filled with malicious negative reviews, and the voices of real readers have been pushed almost to the very bottom."

He Yuanda's voice grew tighter.

"Those children have just entered the literary world; their foundations are still shallow."

"If the Writers Association could have acted sooner and cut off the troll matrix directly, they wouldn't have had to suffer such a great grievance."

He paused and placed the marker pen on the desktop.

"I'm worried that if this malicious siege drags on for too long, it will break the pens they have just begun to hold."

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan did not answer immediately.

He stood at the head of the long table, his gaze fixed on the two parallel curves on the large screen.

The effective reading completion rate of qin opera was still rising.

76.8%.

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan set down his thermos, turned, and walked to the large screen.

He raised his finger and tapped firmly on the resilient curve of qin opera.

Then he turned his head to look at He Yuanda.

"Yuanda."

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan's voice was calm, but every word carried heavy weight.

"We did not send them into the snowstorm naked."

"Privacy breaches, personal threats, system tampering, blocking access for real readers—should any of these lines be crossed, the Writers Association will draw its blade immediately."

He Yuanda was stunned.

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan continued:

"Trolls can be banned; matrices can be blocked."

"But as young authors move to larger stages in the future, they will encounter even more hidden hands."

He moved his finger away from the curve of qin opera and pointed instead to the declining completion rate curve on the left.

"Shen Jiangping posted his creative discussion today, and Huanyu Publishing Group pushed it simultaneously."

"The click volume rebounded in a short time, but what about the completion rate? It dropped from thirty-three to twenty-five, and it's still falling."

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan's voice lowered.

"Readers will vote. Whether the main text can hold up, the data will speak for itself."

"These things cannot be changed by the Writers Association banning a few accounts."

He Yuanda opened his mouth but didn't speak.

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan walked back to the long table and picked up his thermos.

"The literary world is not a greenhouse."

He took a sip of tea; the sound of the cup base hitting the table was very soft.

"The real literary world has capital oppression, smear campaigns, and undercurrents at the judge's table."

"The Writers Association guards the bottom line, but they must face the snowstorm themselves."

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan's gaze swept over everyone present.

"What we want to see is whether their pens will waver when they face injustice head-on for the first time."

In the video feed, Tao Zhiyan's breathing paused for a moment.

Gu Changfeng leaned back in his chair without speaking.

He Yuanda stood next to the console, slowly withdrawing his fingers from the keyboard.

He suddenly remembered something.

"Chairman, you just said... all of this was in the contingency plan?"

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan nodded.

"Yes."

He Yuanda's heart skipped a beat.

"When was the contingency plan finalized?"

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan did not give a direct date, only a milestone.

He simply cast his gaze toward the large screen, his voice very low.

"When the children of the Qinglan Project first set out for their field research."

...

Time shifts backward.

The students of the Qinglan Project had just received notice of their immersive field research, confirmed their intended locations, and were preparing to depart.

At the same time, a meeting was taking place in a top-secret conference room on the seventh floor of the China Writers Association headquarters.

The conference room door looked completely ordinary from the outside. A gray fire door with only a number on the plate, no name.

Pushing the door open, inside was a long, rectangular conference room with excellent soundproofing.

A dozen people sat on both sides of the long table.

Chairman Xue Hongchuan of the China Writers Association sat at the head of the table.

On his left, Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan and four other vice chairmen in charge sat in order.

On his right was Lu Liye, Vice Minister of the China Ministry of Culture.

Further down were Dai Shengzong, Dean of the Qingbei School of Literature, and the two associate deans, Lü Shi and Xia Zhengping.

At the end of the table sat Xu Zhengqing, Elder Cui Wen, Su Mubai, and three other elderly gentlemen.

On the main screen of the conference room, a document marked "Top Secret" was projected.

The title of the document read: "Kunpeng Youth Literature Award · 18th Edition · Contest Data Analysis Report."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan turned the document to the third page.

"Everyone has read this report."

His voice was not loud, but everyone in the conference room was listening.

"The number of applicants for this Kunpeng Youth Award is the highest in history."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan's finger tapped on a set of numbers on the screen.

"In previous years, the number of applicants was usually between three hundred and five hundred."

"Of course, this year we opened up to the public and added a submission channel, but the quantity is far higher than expected."

He paused.

"As of the day of this meeting, the number of applicants has already approached one thousand. Based on the submission trend, there is almost no doubt it will break one thousand."

"The traces of the New Tide faction already confirmed are close to thirty percent."

"If we only look at the increase brought by the public submission channel, this proportion will go even higher."

The conference room was silent for a few seconds.

An elderly man frowned.

"Is New Tide planning to expand by laying the groundwork in advance?"

Another elderly man chimed in.

"It's not just laying the groundwork."

"Over the past year or so, they have held three grassroots literature competitions, two newcomer training camps, and a long-term youth author support Program."

"Every project has prize money, publishing contracts, and resource allocation."

He pushed the supplementary material in his hand to the center of the table.

"These people have already been screened once before entering the Kunpeng Award."

Tao Zhiyan's voice came from the right.

"Those old authors won't be happy."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan nodded.

"Yes."

He turned the document to the next page.

"What's more troublesome is that the proportion of independent applicants has already approached forty percent. The preliminary review structure, which was dominated by publisher-submitted authors in previous years, will be directly disrupted."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan looked up at everyone present.

"This proportion is enough to influence the composition of the preliminary review list."

Dai Shengzong leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"Since the pool is so large, why not let the children of the Qinglan Project join in the fun?"

Everyone's gaze turned to him simultaneously.

Dai Shengzong continued:

"The students of the Qinglan Project have just come into contact with the literary world; their foundations are still shallow."

"Even if they don't achieve any results this time, they won't be too attached to winning or losing. Consider it training."

Elder Cui Wen immediately chimed in.

"I agree."

His voice was straightforward.

"That kid Lin Que chose the old factory area in Southern Shaanxi; I'd like to see if he can bring the mud and rust to the award table when he returns."

Su Mubai also nodded.

"This batch of children has been polished through a few rounds, and they went down with questions in mind. As long as they truly immerse themselves, their manuscripts will at least have roots."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan and Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan did not express an opinion.

Dai Shengzong looked at Chairman Xue Hongchuan, his voice calm.

"Chairman, any concerns?"

Chairman Xue Hongchuan did not answer.

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan, who was nearby, spoke up.

"Actually, Chairman and I have discussed this issue."

"What we are worried about is that once this batch of children enters, they will be targeted by capital."

He opened the document.

"New Tide has its layout, and Huanyu Publishing Group, as a regular of the Kunpeng Youth Award, naturally won't stay idle."

"Once the students of the Qinglan Project register, they will become the most obvious targets."

Lu Liye spoke up.

"Do you mean to let them enter the arena, walk on their own on the surface, while the Writers Association guards the bottom line from the shadows?"

Chairman Xue Hongchuan nodded.

"Yes."

His voice was heavy.

"We can protect them for a while, but not for a lifetime."

The conference room became quiet again.

Chairman Xue Hongchuan stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"The literary world is not a greenhouse."

He looked at the capital city outside the window.

"The real literary world has capital operations, smear campaigns, and undercurrents at the judge's table. These things must be faced sooner or later."

He turned around and looked at everyone present.

"Rather than letting them be stunned on a higher platform in the future, it's better to let them experience it now."

Lü Shi slapped the table heavily.

"I understand."

His voice was loud.

"Use this Kunpeng Award to teach them a lesson."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan nodded.

"Not just a lesson."

He walked back to the long table.

"I want to see whether these young people, when facing capital strangulation and smear campaigns, will collapse and tear each other apart, or hold fast to their original intentions."

Dai Shengzong's eyes lit up.

"A touchstone."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan did not deny it.

"Yes."

He placed his hands on the table.

"The chain of evidence is locked in advance, and the technical team can cut off the matrix at any time."

"As long as they don't cross the four red lines, we will first let the works and readers have a real collision."

Lu Liye frowned.

"What if they really can't hold up?"

Chairman Xue Hongchuan looked at him.

"If they can't hold up, they can retreat to the classroom to continue honing their skills."

"The award can be lost, but the person cannot be destroyed."

"But they must eventually learn to sit firmly at this table themselves."

His voice was calm, but every word carried heavy weight.

"What the literary world needs is not geniuses in a greenhouse."

"It is people who can stand firm in the snowstorm."

No one else in the conference room spoke.

Chairman Xue Hongchuan sat back down.

"For this Kunpeng Award, the Writers Association will monitor the entire process."

"Troll matrices, IP ownership, behavioral clustering—all data will go into the risk control backend."

He looked at Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan.

"Old Zhou, you keep an eye on the technical team."

"The chain of evidence must be complete, but don't act unless it's absolutely necessary."

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan nodded.

"Understood."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan paused.

"We also need to pay attention to the movements on New Tide's side."

"Wang De'an will know his limits, but New Tide has pushed out too many newcomers. Once the old order strikes back, they will easily be rolled up and become targets."

Vice Chairman Zhou Wenyuan acknowledged.

"I will keep an eye on it."

Chairman Xue Hongchuan stood up.

"Everyone, for the children of the Qinglan Project, this Kunpeng Youth Award is not just an award competition."

"It is a true baptism in the snowstorm."

"Whether they can hold up, we shall wait and see."