Chapter 560: This Xiaohei—why can’t I get in touch with him?!

In the blink of an eye, it was October.

October, the National Day Slot, was once again a time for various studios to battle for supremacy, but it didn't have much to do with Xiao He and his team.

However, during this period, the nominations for the Golden Flower Award were also announced, with the final awards ceremony scheduled for early November.

As expected, the *No Bait* production team continued to dominate the Golden Flower nominations.

This was also an anticipated outcome. Netizens on the internet weren't particularly surprised by this. Even the marketing accounts were busy targeting this year's National Day flops for traffic and roasting, with no time to spare to pay attention to Xiao He's nomination. As a result, Xiao He's public relations team actually found themselves with some unexpected free time.

As for Xiao He himself, he continued to immerse himself in the *Super Spacetime Confrontation* production team. When he had scenes to shoot, he focused on filming. When he didn't, he used the leftover materials from making the mechanical arm to continue his wildly imaginative modifications. He simply had no time to concern himself with other matters.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, the talent manager at the United States branch of Shield Screen Pictures was currently nursing a headache.

"Still haven't been able to reach him?"

"Okay, okay, I understand."

"How did it go?"

The technical department Person in Charge beside her quickly inquired.

"No, there's been no reply at all."

Sai Enya shook her head. "It's been nearly half a month since the competition ended. The organizer still hasn't been able to contact the person. I don't know what's going on with this guy."

"Tch, if you ask me, that guy is definitely feeling guilty!"

Another somewhat balding middle-aged Asian man said quite arrogantly. "His work has been causing such a stir online for so long. I don't believe he hasn't seen any of it! I suspect it's most likely something secretly produced by some studio, trying to use this opportunity to make a name for themselves. Then, after being spotted by sharp-eyed netizens, they immediately went into hiding, trying to avoid the spotlight."

"But regarding the issues with this work, we haven't been able to reach a conclusion yet, have we?" Sai Enya said. "The theory about it being a team effort is just speculation by netizens."

"Moreover, you've all seen the project files. There aren't any problems with them."

"Hehe, you've also seen the creation timestamps on those files. The entire process took less than a week from start to finish, and the final presentation rivals the workload of nearly a month from their team over there. And you call that 'no problem'?"

The balding Asian man snorted dismissively, crossing his arms and giving Sai Enya a scornful look. "I'm the professional here. Don't I know better?"

Sai Enya's expression remained neutral, but inwardly, she gave a cold, mocking laugh.

Several teams under the department had developed lazy habits, their work ethic far from proactive. Stretching a week's worth of work into a month wasn't exactly a rare occurrence.

Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't!

"Actually, if we strictly calculate based on time, it might not be an insurmountable problem," another staff member specializing in rendering explained. "Maintaining highly efficient production throughout could allow completion within a week. However, that would still pose a significant challenge for an individual. If it were a team, the success rate of such an approach would be much higher."

"Then it must be a team," the balding man chimed in persistently from the side. "Or else it's AI."

"Whether it's a team or AI, the quality of this work is exceptionally high. It still holds significant value for recruitment," Sai Enya pondered. "The Chinese team we frequently collaborate with has already returned to their country, leaving a considerable gap here. If possible, it would be best to poach their team."

"Those Chinese people are nothing but trouble. I said from the start we shouldn't cooperate with them. And look what happened now. They learned our technology and then turned around and went back to their country. It's disgusting."

"Mr. Ashikome, I must ask you to choose your words carefully. Please refrain from making such clearly biased statements here," Sai Enya narrowed her eyes, issuing a cold warning. "Back then, they brought their equipment, and we shared our technology. It was a mutually beneficial, equal exchange. For you to say such things now is simply going too far."

Ashikome Ichirou, the balding man, fell silent.

"Alright, let's not argue here anymore," another manager suggested. "The fundamental issue right now is whether we should continue searching for this contestant. I think it's been nearly half a month. Perhaps the other party simply forgot. Why don't we just have the organizer send the award and the procedures over, including our company's contact information? If he sees it, he's bound to reply to us."

He was confident. As long as this contestant saw their company's name, he would undoubtedly rush over eagerly to join their team. After all, they were Shield Screen! The most dazzling company in Hollywood. No one in this industry would refuse their offer!

"I think that's a terrible idea," Ashikome Ichirou interrupted. "No response for nearly half a month. You can't possibly expect this offer to sail across the ocean, and then you all wait like fools for another half month, only to end up with nothing, right?"

The manager whose suggestion was shot down instantly became angry. "Oh, this won't work, that won't work. What's your brilliant idea then?"

"I think we should just look for someone else," Ashikome Ichirou stated frankly. "This guy has been completely unreachable for nearly half a month. That alone shows what an unpunctual, untrustworthy person he is! I believe this goes against our company's philosophy! Therefore, I think we should simply give up on him and choose from the first or second-place contestants!"

It must be said, Ashikome Ichirou's words held some merit.

The others present fell into thoughtful silence.

Actually, this whole matter started about a month ago.

The World 3D Rendering Competition, as one of the most influential global 3D rendering events, attracts attention from industry peers both domestically and internationally, and even from people in other fields, every year at this time.

Although it began as a competition event independently established by a foreign websites blogger with a million followers, over time and with the expansion of the event, this competition gradually evolved into a more official and authoritative major international competition. Each session sees participation from creators in over a hundred countries worldwide, numbering in the thousands, and attracts significant attention and support from industry insiders. This includes top Hollywood studios, renowned game and advertising companies, and more.

There have been instances where winning contestants were successfully invited to participate in the rendering and animation work for well-known sci-fi films and famous game animation projects.

Therefore, such a competition is undoubtedly a stepping stone, a crucial opportunity for many to leap directly into renowned domestic and international studios.

This year was naturally no different. The moment the competition requirements were announced, industry veterans showcased their skills, creating one impressive work after another.

And among these works, one entry was an exception.

It was a submission titled "xiaohei."

This work didn't possess profound depth or much of a narrative.

But this work simply went viral.

—No other reason. It was purely a show-off work.