Chapter 114 Let them fall from the highest point.
The long-dormant official Weibo account was updated not with text, but with a video.
The video cover features the four dreamy artistic characters "Summer Wonderland," with a line of smaller text below: "[Creative Notes: The Birth of a Dream]."
At the press conference for Creative Arts, the flashbulbs were as bright as day.
As Fatty Wang was passionately denouncing Lexing Island's "shameless behavior" to the media, the phone of the public relations director behind him suddenly started vibrating wildly.
The PR director glanced at the trending topics popping up on the screen, his expression changed drastically, and he whispered a few words in Fatty Wang's ear.
Fatty Wang's speech came to an abrupt end, and the fat on his face twitched.
He glanced at the phone screens of the reporters below the stage that lit up instantly, and his heart skipped a beat.
The video, once opened, revealed not some weak and feeble written explanation.
It is a carefully edited short film.
From the first rough concept sketch to dozens of discarded character designs, and then to the meticulous polishing of every accessory... Ruan Yao's focused profile while drawing, her figure explaining her ideas in the meeting room, and even the clips of her taking a nap on the table after staying up all night, were all recorded.
Most importantly, every manuscript and every video clip has a clear and unmissable timestamp in the lower right corner.
The earliest manuscript dates back three months.
The video ends with a freeze-frame on a copyright registration certificate issued by the National Copyright Administration. The certificate clearly lists "Ruan Yao" as the copyright holder of the "Summer Wonderland" series, and the registration date is a staggering two months ago.
After a brief silence in the comments section, the sentiment began to subtly shift.
[This... the timeline doesn't seem to match up? The design drafts for Lexing Island were three months earlier than the Creative Arts launch event?]
[Don't be fooled, upstairs. Anyone can Photoshop a picture. It's definitely fake evidence made overnight by Lexingdao because they saw Creative was going to be popular!]
[Exactly! Copyright certificates can be forged! Support Creative Arts in protecting its rights!]
Fatty Wang breathed a slight sigh of relief as he looked at the comments. He cleared his throat and forced a fake smile at the camera again.
"Everyone, I believe this crude method of forging timestamps won't fool the discerning eyes of our netizens. We at Creative Arts..."
Before he could finish speaking, all the media outlets in the venue simultaneously received a special push notification on their mobile phones from a mainstream news app.
Huo Jing, director of 'Lexingdao' under the Huo Group, launched an emergency online press conference.
The next second, the huge LED screen behind Fatty Wang, which was originally playing the "Summer Fantasy" promotional video, suddenly switched to a live broadcast room.
In the live stream, Huo Jing's beautiful yet cold face appeared.
Huo Jing, dressed in a smart black suit, sat in the conference room of the Lexing Island headquarters, with the Huo Group logo behind her.
"Hello everyone, I am Huo Jing, the project director of Lexing Island under Huo's Group."
The scene erupted in uproar.
Fatty Wang's face instantly turned a deep liver color.
Huo Jing didn't look at the camera; instead, she spoke to the air.
"Release the video."
A high-definition video immediately began playing on the screen.
The video is set in an ordinary conference room on Lexing Island.
Wearing a simple white T-shirt, with her hair in a ponytail and her face bare, Ruan Yao stood in front of the whiteboard, facing the camera. She was a little shy but couldn't hide her excitement as she explained in detail the entire creative process of "Summer Wonderland," from its world-building framework to its core storyline and the design of each character.
"...Therefore, its core worldview is an adventure story about a little elf searching for memories of summer. We're not just selling a toy; we're inviting every buyer to participate in the creation of a dream..."
The girl in the video is radiant and full of love and passion for her work.
In the lower right corner of the image, a red timestamp clearly shows the shooting date, which is a full two and a half months earlier than the project's launch date claimed by Creative.
The impact of this video is greater than that of all one hundred design drafts combined.
It directly proves that the "plagiarist" who was insulted by the entire internet is the true creator of this fantasy world.
Fatty Wang's face turned deathly pale instantly.
He slumped into the chair, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
After the video finished playing, the camera switched back to Huo Jing.
There was no joy of victory on her face, only a cold indifference.
"Next, here are some documents that our legal department has already submitted to the police."
On the screen, slides of the PowerPoint presentation flipped through one by one.
The first page contains Zhao Yan's personal resume.
Page two contains the call log between Zhao Yan and Wang Hai, CEO of Creative Toys.
On the third page, there are screenshots of surveillance footage from which Zhao Yan copied core data from the company.
On page four, there is a record of a 500,000 yuan transfer received by Zhao Yan's personal account from an anonymous account.
On page five, the source of funds for this anonymous account is traced—ultimately pointing to a shell company under Creative Toys.
The chain of evidence is complete, clear, and interconnected.
For the sake of a few million in profit, Zhao Yan personally sold the S-level project he had painstakingly participated in to his competitor.
Creative Toys, from beginning to end, is a commercial fraud where the thief cries "stop thief!"
The evidence is irrefutable.
The entire internet completely exploded.
#CreativeToysStealsFromChineseCompanies#
#HeartbreakingForLexingdao#
#Zhao Yan, a corporate spy#
Three topics swept the trending topics list at an explosive speed.
The netizens who were previously the most vocal in their criticism have now turned against the company the fastest. They stormed into Creative Toys' official Weibo account, venting their anger at being deceived with language ten times more vicious than before.
Holy crap! The biggest plot twist of the year! They're crying wolf and throwing a celebration party – where's their shame?!
[They stole someone else's child and then turned around and accused them! Give us our money back! What a garbage company!]
[Stealing both the creative ideas and the marketing plan, and then turning around and blaming others—amazing! Creative Toys, please, just admit you're a poor company.]
[My heart aches for the designer! Her painstakingly crafted design was stolen and she's now being attacked online! She's devastated!]
The stock price chart of Creative Toys showed a brutal, almost vertical green line on the screen, plummeting to the bottom.
The press conference for Creative Toys was already in complete chaos.
The reporters, like sharks smelling blood, frantically shoved their microphones at the already pale-faced Fatty Wang.
"Mr. Wang! What is your interpretation of the evidence presented by Ms. Huo Jing?"
"Has Creative Toys been deceiving consumers from the very beginning?"
"Is your deal with Zhao Yan real?!"
"Mr. Wang! How can you still laugh?"
Wang Pangzi's assistant and security guards held off the reporters, helping him escape the scene in a disheveled state.
At the victory celebration banquet, there was a deathly silence.
The aroma of champagne had not yet faded, but it already seemed like a dirge for this defeat.
As Zhao Yan looked at the incriminating evidence against himself on the screen, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
He's finished.
His life is over.
Just as he was feeling lost and disoriented, the banquet hall doors were pushed open.
Two uniformed, serious-looking security personnel walked straight through the crowd and stood in front of him.
One of them spoke without any expression.
"Mr. Zhao, please come with us."
*
The top-floor office of the Huo Group headquarters.
Huo Jing leaned back in her chair, looking at the monitor wall in front of her, at the disastrous collapse of Creative Toys' stock price and the overwhelmingly positive reviews online. A cold smile finally appeared on her lips.
She picked up the internal phone.
"The Ministry of Justice has formally submitted the indictment."
After hanging up the phone, she opened Huo Yanzhi's chat window and sent him a message.
[The crisis is over. Call your little hero back and treat us to dinner.]
Night has quietly fallen on Moonlight Island.
The sky was filled with stars, like diamonds scattered on the deep blue velvet.
The sound of waves gently lapping against the beach.
Ruan Yao leaned against Huo Yanzhi's chest, lying on a beach chair on the terrace, holding a small twig in her hand, tracing the shapes of constellations in the air.
"Look, that's Orion. My brother taught me to recognize it when I was a kid."
She turned her head to look up at him, her eyes sparkling with a light brighter than the stars.
"Yanzhi, this place is so beautiful! Let's come here every year from now on, okay?"
"Okay." Huo Yanzhi lowered his head, kissed the top of her head, and pulled her closer into his arms.
His phone, which was in his pocket, vibrated silently, the screen lit up and then quickly went out.
It was a message from Qin Feng.
Boss, everything has been taken care of.
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