Chapter 60

"Fuck!"

"Report it! Support Tianyu to go tell these bastards—after watching this shitty movie, who the hell are we supposed to sue for mental damages?"

"Man, damn it, this movie 'Sun Wukong vs Superman 2' is genuinely fucking mind-numbingly awful... After watching it in the theater, I feel like I’ve gone blind!"

"But wait, hold on—you’re right, you’re absolutely right—this movie is genuinely original in its plot. Otherwise, you bastards, go ahead and plagiarize! Originality this eye-searing? I support suing too, to fight for our mental damages after watching this crap!"

"Exactly!"

"Fuck..."

"I laughed my ass off—what the hell is Zhou Yang planning? Wait, what did he say? He’s actually going to make 'Tiao Ren: Reboot'? Build his own superhero universe?"

"Oh my god! Please, don’t ruin people’s lives anymore—I beg you, just give me your bank account number, I’ll send you five bucks, just don’t make this movie..."

"..."

In the office of the Movie Home forum.

The site administrator Yang Bo stared excitedly at Movie Home’s traffic.

From its launch in April until now, Movie Home’s forum traffic had remained average.

Until July, when the movie 'Sun Wukong vs Superman 2' suddenly appeared on Movie Home’s forum board...

Netizens with nowhere else to vent flooded into Movie Home en masse...

As of 10 p.m. on August 8...

Movie Home’s registered users had approached 30,000!

Yes, on July 19, total registered users were only 8,000; less than half a month later, on August 8, they surged by 22,000!

In this emerging era of the internet, especially in the movie section, this was already an astonishing miracle!

Yang Bo stared excitedly at each comment and data point.

He saw that over 60% of users were discussing topics related to 'Superman 2'; among those 60%, nearly 80% were ranting about Zhou Yang’s despicable behavior and how incredibly awful 'Sun Wukong vs Superman 2' was!

Today, Movie Home’s active traffic went insane—among 30,000 registered users, active traffic neared 15,000!

Especially after the '1819' segment aired, more and more netizens eager for drama rushed to Movie Home to join the frenzy...

Gazing at this torrent of traffic!

Yang Bo trembled with excitement!

"Yes, yes! Make Zhou Yang a trending topic! Yes, and '1819'! And Zhou Yang’s terrible acting—no, his pitiful expression—give it a big cover close-up!"

"Got it!"

"Then, keep tracking the segment..."

"By the way, let’s also tag 'Tiao Ren: Reboot'! The discussion around this movie is picking up..."

"No related data on this movie?"

"Search for it. If you can’t search, make it up. And figure out how to contact Zhou Yang—no, I’ll contact Zhou Yang myself, and follow him with text and photos to livestream the heat of this infringement case..."

"Yes, yes! Yes! What’s Zhou Yang’s phone number? Where’s his address? The police station?"

"Alright! You guys handle the site traffic—I’m going to Xuan Shi Entertainment myself..."

"Late? Doesn’t matter if it’s late..."

"..."

11 p.m.

A taxi pulled up outside Xuan Shi Entertainment.

Yang Bo hurriedly got out—and was stunned to find the entrance of Xuan Shi Entertainment already swarming with reporters.

Among them were several familiar faces.

From China Movie Daily, from Weekly Movie, from Entertainment Era...

The internet’s wave of discussion, combined with the lawyer’s notice, Zhou Yang’s pitiful yet defiant TV appearance that seemed like a declaration of war against Tianyu, and the insane online buzz around the abysmal 'Sun Wukong vs Superman 2'—all of it exploded into a media frenzy!

Everyone, like cats smelling blood, surged toward Xuan Shi Entertainment in excitement.

The entertainment industry is inherently a fame-and-fortune arena!

Wherever there’s a focal point, there are reporters.

Lin Liwei from the '1819' crew was at the front, personally carrying a camera, lens locked on that figure.

"I never expected—I truly never expected—that we’d get this much attention..."

"This much attention is putting immense pressure on me..."

"But I know all you media friends are eager to help me resolve this matter..."

"After much thought, since we’ve hit a wall and have nowhere left to retreat, we can’t afford to be afraid. I believe avoiding the issue won’t help—I want to resolve it through dialogue..."

"Today, we’re exhausted. We can’t give you a proper response yet..."

"It’s late. We need rest."

"But tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow, I will personally visit Tianyu, with the utmost sincerity, to resolve this matter..."

"..."

Zhou Yang looked at each media outlet.

His gaze was sincere, profoundly genuine.

After speaking, he refused further interviews, stepped slowly into the company, ignoring the throng of reporters, and firmly shut the door.

When Zhou Yang stepped inside...

His expression gradually turned serious.

Under the stunned gazes of Shen Long and others, he silently pulled out a book titled 'Intellectual Property Legal Provisions' and began reading.

About ten minutes later...

He took out the poster for 'Sun Wukong vs Superman 2' and the poster for his new movie 'Tiao Ren: Reboot', staring at them for a long time.

Finally, he picked up his phone and called Li Dongqiang, the guy who’d previously handled piracy.

"Hey, Li Zong, I remember today's legitimate revenue share was 20,000 RMB—pay me first tomorrow..."

"Right!"

"What do I need to do?"

"Li Zong, you’ve seen the online uproar, right? I just thought it over and checked—there are indeed some minor infringement issues, like our poster being a bit too similar..."

"Right!"

"Tomorrow, I plan to personally visit Tianyu in front of the media, carry thorns on my back to apologize, and resolve these disputes through negotiation. If necessary, I’ll even pay some compensation..."

"???"

The other party froze upon hearing this.

Shen Long beside him was also stunned.

Stared at Zhou Yang as if seeing a ghost.

August 9, morning.

Deng Hairong, half-asleep, answered his company’s call.

Then...

He was utterly stunned.

"Didn’t I agree to let it cool down?"

"What? What did you say?"

"That bloodsucker, he’s bringing a whole army of reporters here, demanding to meet us face-to-face to clear up the misunderstanding?"

"What?!"

"Wait!"

"Say that again!"

"You’re telling me this bastard is demanding we accept compensation for mental damages? He’s showing up with cash in hand?"

"???"

(Reads have surpassed 4,000 and climbed to #8 on the new book chart—decent results. Next week, we’re entering the Sanjiang list, likely Tuesday, the day after tomorrow—when we go premium, I’ll increase updates. Free period just can’t offer much.)