Chapter 700

This ruling had no impact on ordinary people and generated no buzz whatsoever—it was essentially a struggle between capital interests.

The claim that live-streamed game footage falls under copyright has had a major impact on the live-streaming industry.

This means Swan Castle can demand licensing fees from all platforms that live-stream their games, as well as those broadcasting their esports events.

Previously, everything grew wildly unchecked, but now it must be regulated.

It also set an example for other game developers: their games can now collect content licensing fees too.

But their games lack the high live-streaming appeal and massive influence that Swan Castle's games have.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was a groundbreaking game mechanic that prompted every internet cafe to upgrade its hardware, bringing significant economic benefits.

As soon as the court ruling was announced, major live-streaming platforms like Huya, Douyu, Dragon Pearl Ring, and Kuaishou fell silent and gathered at Swan Castle to negotiate licensing terms in advance.

It's better to be honest and secure a license—everything's settled then; if you don't, and get treated like Panda Entertainment, it's not worth it—you won't even be able to survive.

The mainstream esports titles are all Swan Castle's, and they've also created a cohort of idle social individuals who live-stream gaming, some of whom have made money and accumulated great wealth.

But saying they achieved financial freedom is exaggerated.

As most live-streaming platforms gathered at Swan Castle for negotiations, Xiao Wang naturally knew his fate.

He filed an appeal—that is, he demanded a second trial; if there was a second trial, he could delay things further, even until next year.

A first-instance verdict cannot be enforced if appealed.

But second trials rarely overturn rulings, which left Xiao Wang frustrated and emotionally unstable again.

He posted several Weibo rants: "Some company controls the game while banning other platforms from live-streaming—isn't that just disgusting? @Principal!"

"A game company runs its own league, sets its own rules, sells its own copyrights, divides the pie, and calls it building an 'ecosystem'—isn't that just monopolization?"

"Panda Entertainment isn't weak—this is only because we refused to bow to hegemony!"

He portrayed himself as morally righteous, but netizens merely watched—some supported him, some didn't; netizens always say everything.

"You won't bow down even to them, yet you free-ride on their game and accuse them of bad manners—how hypocritical!" Liu Tianxian, furious, directly posted a Weibo rebuttal.

This thrilled netizens, and her fans enthusiastically praised: "Liu Tianxian is tough—this is how it should be!"

"Who cares about the Principal? Fight him to the death!"

Yet Xiao Wang didn't back down either, posting again: "Been played by the Principal for years, now thinks he's something."

"None of your business—lose the lawsuit, admit it, and go back to your dad!" Liu Tianxian posted on Weibo.

Their public feud drew massive online attention; netizens were thrilled—when had Liu Tianxian ever gotten into such a heated fight before?

Xiao Wang was always fighting people; everyone knew he was a foul-mouthed jerk.

"Same breed as the Principal," Xiao Wang posted on Weibo.

Before Liu Tianxian could respond, Wang Xiaofei stepped forward: "Tianxian, ignore him—he's a total idiot; without his dad, he's nothing—a little brat!"

"The little idiot dares to act up again on my turf!" Xiao Wang fired back angrily.

He never used such language toward Liu Tianxian—he went straight for verbal abuse against Wang Xiaofei.

A singer named Aidai also posted on Weibo: "Is this guy just spewing shit everywhere?"

The post included a photo of a raised middle finger.

"Dare not even tag me—only brave enough to shout from dark corners," Xiao Wang posted, tagging her.

Xiao Wang had stirred up a hornet's nest—many online users began condemning him.

A female internet influencer named Zhu Shengyi also posted: "You're nearly thirty. Your father's successful, yet he never takes you to social events or exposes you to real life—instead, he lets you be a joke-teller on influencer and model Weibos. Pathetic!"

"You sold out your best friend to get into a drama, had abysmal character as a child, were kept by older men, introduced classmates to other older men for kickbacks, and since high school have been clinging to rich men—how many green hats have you put on your boyfriend? Can you even count?" Xiao Wang, still not satisfied, posted again.

He then posted another Weibo accusing her of hooking up, being a call girl, and pimping—attached images totaling over a thousand characters.

"You want to hook up with me? I won't even look at you, yet you slander me? The Principal can sue you—I can sue you too," Zhu Shengyi fired back without hesitation.

"How pitiful—your boyfriend in the United Kingdom has no idea how many green hats he's been wearing."

Now Xiao Wang was acting like a madman, attacking everyone everywhere.

But this was because the Principal had broken his defenses—he could only vent online, which was his trademark.

Netizens just laughed, watching Xiao Wang feud with everyone.

About this obscure little girl, some said she was tough, others said she was a hostess or a call girl.

Unexpectedly, what started as a fight between Liu Tianxian and Xiao Wang pulled in everyone else—but it made sense, since Xiao Wang had offended the Principal.

The Principal isn't a nobody; with his backing, you have nothing to fear, and you can show loyalty to him.

Look how we defend your wife—won't you show some appreciation? Some people are quite astute, while famous stars are too slick.

So many people he's insulted haven't dared to speak up—but internet influencers have the guts to fight back.

Actually, these two fought last year over this very issue, and now they're fighting again—they even claimed that back then, this woman had cheated on her boyfriend and slept with someone else, getting beaten up by her official boyfriend at school until teachers arrived.

It was all extremely explosive—and later, she went into acting and became quite popular, a minor actress.

"Your Panda Entertainment is nearly bankrupt—what right do you have to tell others what to do? Don't mistake reckless speech for honesty, or meanness for humor—etiquette is a required course."

"And don't mistake bullying with power for genuine personality!"

Liu Tianxian's final line was directed at netizens: Xiao Wang is just a rich kid who uses his father's influence to insult people and gain attention.

He's bullying with power—what genuine personality? Maybe some exists, but very little.

This man has no respect for others.

As Liu Tianxian once again clashed with Xiao Wang and netizens waited for his reply, Xiao Wang gave no response at all—he seemed to have gone quiet.

"General Manager Wang, the company's assets and your personal assets have been frozen by the court," the financial manager said.

"How? We filed an appeal, didn't we?" Xiao Wang was confused—this would ruin his dating life.

Although they lost, after an appeal, the first-instance verdict is not enforced until the second trial's outcome.

The logic is mainly to prevent the second trial from overturning the ruling.

"Chang'e applied for asset preservation during litigation," the financial manager said.

This is to prevent the losing party from transferring assets or evading enforcement, so their bank accounts, real estate, or vehicles are frozen or seized in advance.

We'll deal with it after the second-instance verdict.

Who knows if you'll run off after the first-instance ruling? That's why your assets were frozen—you can't use them. The logic makes sense.

"That bastard Principal." Xiao Wang muttered under his breath.

It's too harsh—even his car was frozen. Panda doesn't just owe Fang Hong this much.

Their entertainment content—music, films, and videos—also requires royalty payments. They owe not only Yutu, but also iQIYI and Tencent.

But this sum is like a goods payment—it can be deferred, paid later.

There's also esports tournament rights, which fall under entertainment media and require royalty payments too. Fang Hong just turned a blind eye before.

If they're serious, they'll have to pay.

Live streaming has a special loophole: streamers broadcast by playing games themselves.

"So how do we unfreeze it?" Xiao Wang asked.

Even though it doesn't affect his ability to travel or spend money much, being frozen still causes a lot of inconvenience.

"You can only negotiate with the other side, or pay part of the debt to unfreeze." The accountant said.

"Go to hell! The Principal would never negotiate with me—he won't even respond." Xiao Wang knew his place.

He knew the Principal would never mediate with him.

Indeed, Fang Hong and Swan Castle don't lack that money at all—there's no chance of mediation. They just want him frozen.

Even though they know it won't really affect him, they still want him frozen.

The accountant paused, then added: "There's another issue—the account is empty. Major suppliers and service providers are all demanding payment, including streamers and some employees."

Now it's not just Fang Hong chasing debts and freezing assets—many companies are also hunting Xiao Wang and Panda for payment. Yet Xiao Wang still has the leisure to argue online, as if completely unaware of the debts.

They're just warning this rich kid: how can he have zero sense of crisis?

Rich kids like him have had their parents clean up after them since childhood—how could they ever develop crisis awareness?

These debts include network distribution providers, server hardware suppliers, third-party tech services, advertising agencies, payment channels, office space, legal and financial services—all chasing Panda for payment.

Employee salaries and streamer revenue shares are also unpaid, conservatively estimated at hundreds of millions.

He expanded too fast, signing each streamer for tens of millions as if money were endless. The revenue shares for over a thousand streamers aren't a small sum.

The network distribution providers are Kingsoft Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and others; server hardware suppliers are Huawei, Dell, and others; third-party tech refers to video encoding and live-streaming push technologies;

The accounting firm is PwC!

There's also entertainment and film content—so Panda doesn't just owe Fang Hong 400 million. That 400 million is only the compensation awarded to Swan Castle for game losses in court.

The esports tournament rights haven't been settled with Swan Castle yet, and adding film content alone would at least double the total.

Total liabilities are around 2 to 3 billion.

This is why Xiao Wang couldn't respond to Liu Tianxian immediately—he nearly lost his mind upon hearing his assets were frozen and suppliers were demanding payment.

Some investment firms could only accept losses; those who made bets could still demand compensation from him.

It was the Principal who started this—all service providers and investors, knowing Panda was doomed, smelled blood and came to demand money.

Some streamers have even filed labor arbitration to recover their pay!

This is a chain reaction—no one sees any chance of Panda's comeback. Now every live platform is demanding licensing, every game is demanding licensing—just look at the examples.

The reason is that authorities have issued documents strengthening oversight of "authorized network content distribution."

This provides legal backing for game live-streaming copyright disputes—meaning even in the second instance, Panda cannot win. They're just buying time.

Authorities saw this case as an example and plugged the loophole. If similar cases arise, they'll apply this logic directly.

This year's copyright crackdown will for the first time use Big Data monitoring—if infringement occurs, not only the platform bears responsibility, but cloud storage providers and advertisers will also face joint liability.

So copyright enforcement is getting stricter, leading to the shutdown of countless infringing websites and advertising chains.

In fact, these competitors are paving the way for authorities—any gaps or weaknesses they spot get filled in.

Panda now has many bad debts waiting to explode.

Xiao Wang could never possibly shoulder these debts.

"Where's Zhang Juyuan? Why are you reporting all this? Where is he?" Xiao Wang asked.

"I don't know!" the accountant stammered.

This rich kid is hard to please—he's about to fly off the handle again.

"."

Just as Xiao Wang was about to speak, his phone chimed. He pulled it out and saw:

"Due to the company's unresolved funding gap, failed investor negotiations, and the General Manager's complete inaction—only emotional outbursts—I have decided to resign. The road ahead is long; may we meet again."

This was a public letter from Panda's Chief Operating Officer, Zhang Juyuan—directly exposing Panda's problems to the world.

It meant Panda was finished, and he was fleeing first.

This public letter sent shockwaves through Panda's staff—everyone was stunned, adding more fuel to Panda's instability.

"Is the company going to collapse?" Pessimism spread rapidly through the entire company.

If even the Chief Operating Officer has left, the company's crisis may be truly beyond saving.

They weren't unaware of the company's problems—they just relied on Xiao Wang's status as a rich kid, his father Lao Wang Zong, and the belief that money would fill the holes.

Xiao Wang was furious—he called Zhang Juyuan immediately, but the man didn't answer. He hung up.

If he answered, he'd definitely get screamed at!

"Fucking idiot." Xiao Wang could only rage helplessly. With Zhang Juyuan gone, no one was left to manage the company.

No one was left to clean up the mess—this made him even more overwhelmed. He'd enjoyed brawling online, but in reality, everything was a disaster.

He immediately called Lao Wang Zong: "Dad, the guy you got for me ran off."

This man was the one his father had brought in specifically to manage the company for him.

"I know, he went to Chang'e," Lao Wang Zong said, looking perfectly calm.

"The Principal again? Then why didn't you stop him?" Xiao Wang gritted his teeth.

This was a direct poaching of his core personnel.

"How could I stop him? You hit the man and cursed him too — it'd be strange if he didn't leave."

Lao Wang Zong rebuked him: "I'm not saying this just to pick on you, but can't you sit still for a moment? Why are you brawling with people online again? I told you not to provoke Liu Tianxian, yet you just had to go and provoke her!"

"I just can't swallow it," Xiao Wang said.

"Can't you just endure it if you can't swallow it? Look at the state you're in now — the Principal is still your creditor. Can't you learn anything?" Lao Wang Zong said helplessly.

"It's only a few hundred million, we can pay him back," Xiao Wang said grandly.

"Is it really just a few hundred million? Have you actually sat down and done the math? It's not just a few hundred million in compensation — that's only the court's ruling. Have you broadcast their films and television? Have you broadcast their events? Those licensing fees are the payments you've been defaulting on." Lao Wang Zong was truly frustrated that iron couldn't be turned into steel.

The son wasn't clueless — he was actually quite clever, he just didn't apply himself.

He went on: "Right now the Principal is collecting on your personal guarantee debts, and your personal gambling debts. Let me tell you, even if your Panda goes bankrupt, he's still your creditor — you can't run from it."

This made Xiao Wang a little panicky. He had actually been planning that even if things went all the way, at worst the company could just directly file for bankruptcy liquidation.

Even if he bore joint liability, it was only joint liability for part of the responsibility — he'd still only need to repay part of it. For example, if the company owed a billion, he might be able to settle his personal debt with just one or two hundred million.

This was also the result after the company's bankruptcy liquidation. The company had no money to repay — that little bit of assets couldn't cover it, so what could be done? The debts could only be allowed to vanish.

As for those creditors, suppliers and the like, they could only consider themselves unlucky.

The reason Wanda later wouldn't allow bankruptcy was exactly this — once bankruptcy liquidation was permitted, the company's liabilities would exceed its assets, and the debts that couldn't be repaid could only be wiped out.

And the individual would only need to bear a very small portion.

This was also why in his previous life Xiao Wang's Panda owed tens of billions, yet he himself walked away with just a few hundred million in personal debt.

Corporate debt is corporate debt; personal debt is personal debt.

But the guarantees he personally signed for the company, and the gambling-debt portion — for those he bore joint liability.

Not only him personally, but even his Pusi Capital bore joint liability. Pusi was also Xiao Wang's — Pusi had participated in it back then, so it also bore joint liability.

Capital isn't stupid — when it gives you money, it definitely keeps a hand to guard against you.

"Th-then what do we do?" Xiao Wang was starting to panic.

"What can we do? I told you to keep a low profile, not to provoke that madman, but you just wouldn't listen." Lao Wang Zong was also angry at his son's failure to fight for himself.

Just seeking a moment's satisfaction, a moment's thrill, cursing away online with reckless abandon, completely ignoring the consequences,

"Dad, you've got money — help me pay off those debts," Xiao Wang said.

"Wanda isn't mine alone. Wanda has Shareholders too, and a board of directors. How could I possibly appropriate Wanda's money to pay off your debts?" Lao Wang Zong said.

If he did that, he would surely face opposition from the Shareholders, and might even lose control of the company.

In '24, he lost control of Wanda, and it changed hands to a capital firm called PAG. That's why capital isn't so easy to talk to.

If you can't do it, they'll bring you down.

This time, competing with the Principal for his son's sake, he was also under enormous pressure. Fortunately, under his leadership Wanda was now in its prime, and he could hold things steady.

Few were like that freak the Principal — Yutu, Chang'e, Tu Piaopiao were all like his own, to do with as he pleased, completely unconstrained by any person or capital.

(End of chapter)