Reboot the heyday

Chapter 3482 Almost a Spy

Goodbye, goodbye.

Wang Taika waved and watched Pei Baicai enter customs.

Last night, I did nothing, because there was nothing I could do. I never imagined that my momentary soft-heartedness would lead to such consequences.

Damn Qingyang chili peppers, they gave Wang Taika a real spicy chicken dish, and he only survived the rest of the night by soaking in the bathtub.

Although Bae Baek-chae left with a face full of apologies, it didn't seem very sincere. If it weren't for Bae Baek-chae's subsequent attempts to appease and soften her stance after causing trouble, Wang Tai-ka would have found it very difficult to forgive this guy.

This time, Pei Baicai really went too far with her joke. Mainly, she hadn't expected that thing to be so fragile. It usually seemed so powerful, so why was it failing so easily?
That makes sense, considering it was magic damage this time.

Pei Baicai realized that Wang Taika was really angry, so she naturally didn't dare to cause any trouble. She tried to coax him all night, but the matter still didn't end there.

Finally, Pei Baicai had no choice but to make a final decision: "All the things you did before are wiped clean! I will never bring up the past again."

"A word is settled!"

Although Wang Taika was still angry, the offer was indeed very tempting. Okay, that's settled then.

After seeing off this nemesis, Wang Taika didn't forget that the idiot Jiongjing was still waiting for him.

Perhaps they didn't even wait. According to the staff who stayed behind, the two sisters had a great time and even managed to film the first and second episodes of the second season of their sister variety show.

From this perspective, Wang Taika is indeed a bit narcissistic.

Since that's the case, there's no rush to go back. Wang Taika actually has quite a few things to deal with during this trip back to China, so he can take this opportunity to handle them all at once.

Many of the things are small, but very trivial. For example, we need to urge the company to quickly sue a large number of bloggers, regardless of the platform, as long as they cover or dance to songs or dances by Korean groups, immediately suing them for copyright infringement and demanding exorbitant compensation.

On all major platforms, regardless of whether it's copying or forwarding, especially rewriting lyrics for Korean songs and singing them with Chinese lyrics, those without copyright should be immediately sued, and those with copyright should be restricted from dissemination as soon as possible.

Because we already have cooperation agreements with major platforms, which is within the framework of this agreement and can help strengthen the domestic entertainment industry, the major platforms are willing to cooperate.

Wang Taika did this in order to better monopolize the market and the channels for Sino-Korean exchanges.

In this process, even many free translation groups suffered a strong impact.

Although Wang Taika himself believes that these unpaid translation groups are among the most morally upright and selfless people in the world, capital, driven by profit, doesn't care about such things. Furthermore, Wang Taika believes he's doing the right thing—protecting the market—which seems reasonable, right?

I originally intended to recruit these translation groups, but they are basically all formed spontaneously by fans for their idols, purely out of love, so it's difficult to influence them through profit-driven channels. It must be said, Chinese fans are definitely the most tolerant and best-natured fans in the world.

But the more he acts this way, the less he is appreciated. Because Wang Taika feels even more strongly that what he is doing is right.

By suppressing the prevailing sentiment across major platforms, the likelihood of K-pop groups secretly spreading their influence will decrease. This will lead to more fans using VPNs to access foreign websites. However, this is also a good thing, as fans who can access VPNs are generally older, thus preventing the fanbase from becoming too young. While VPNs are officially prohibited, unless people actively seek them out, the government won't really intervene. Because it's impossible to completely stop such activities.

Wang Taika may seem to be doing something monopolistic, but in reality, these are things that the authorities want to do but dare not do for fear of public opinion. Therefore, although some of Wang Taika's actions are illegal, the relevant departments are turning a blind eye.

If Wang Taika is the biggest beneficiary of this incident, then the second biggest beneficiary is the platform that owns the trending topics ranking, such as Weibo.

Since trending topics can be bought, and this implicitly restricts public opinion surrounding K-pop groups, the few remaining opportunities for exposure are various trending charts.

Korean groups have spent a lot of money on this before; a female idol changing her clothes or putting on nail polish can make headlines. It would be impossible without spending money.

The relevant departments have been scrutinizing such matters very strictly lately. Wang Taika's domestic company actually has a dedicated department that mobilizes resources to report any Korean groups that intend to engage in activities in China to the relevant authorities.

Because Korean tour groups are all looking to make a quick buck and leave, they mostly try to use tourist visas that skirt the law. Not only do they lack work visas, but they also don't have permission from the cultural and tourism authorities, so they're easy targets for reports—their methods are extremely insidious and ruthless.

In short, Wang Taika's series of actions have had a very noticeable effect. Although some small teams are still trying to make money, they are all very cautious. They hold their meetings with fans like underground gatherings, sneaking around, not daring to advertise, not daring to go public, and not even daring to stay in one place.

All of these are private autograph sessions; they won't even reveal the city or province before they begin. Only at the very last minute will a small group be notified.

Even worse, some events, which were initially planned to be held in Shanghai, were changed to Suzhou next door after fans gathered at the designated location, fearing being reported. Fans were forced to charter buses to attend the event and then return on their own afterward. It was like guerrilla warfare, all to avoid being reported.

Wang Taika has recently been acting like he's filming a spy drama, leading his subordinates everywhere to gather information, having people infiltrate fan groups to gather intelligence, reporting on things everywhere, and helping the relevant departments to dismantle the activity dens of Korean groups.

The department has a complete intelligence division and an activity team. The intelligence division is responsible for collecting specific information, while the activity team is responsible for widespread reporting. It's practically a Kuomintang secret service agency; the only thing missing is that its subordinates are called Station Chief Wang Taika.

Just as Wang Taika was enjoying himself playing the game of catching "spies," new troubles began to arise.

An unidentified South Korean man pinpointed Wang Taika's location and called to request a meeting.

Wang Taika was somewhat surprised by the phone call and asked, "Who are you? Why do you want to meet me?"

“Mr. Wang, some things must be said face to face, otherwise, as the saying goes, walls have ears.” The person on the other end of the line was fluent in Mandarin, speaking quite well, though some accents revealed that he was Korean.

But Wang Taika wasn't buying it, and bluntly said, "At least tell me who you represent, otherwise there's no need for us to meet. After all, not just anyone can meet me."

“Mr. Wang’s reasoning is very reasonable. Well, I’m representing a mayor. Didn’t you have a great time working with Vice Mayor Park and Representative Kim before? Now that they’re all finished, I think you really need a new partner.”

Wang Taika raised an eyebrow; this was a completely unexpected answer. He had initially assumed it was a lobbyist sent by some company, but it turned out there was a deeper connection behind it.

But it doesn't matter. This isn't South Korea. While Wang Taika doesn't have the power to break the law, the other party doesn't have the ability to cause any major upheavals either. This is good; it's safe for both of them.

"Okay, then come find me."

(End of this chapter)