The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

Chapter 335 Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

The first day that the LeShi video page was officially and completely changed to MoHen Video.

Countless onlookers were stunned by a visually striking splash screen poster when they opened the webpage.

This is an official announcement from Inkmark.

Inkmark Video Promise:

All benefits of the original LeShi TV members will be retained, with no reduction in time or benefits.

In addition, to thank our loyal users and welcome new friends, we are also launching this event.

Starting today, all new and existing registered users will automatically receive a 31-day membership.

The news caused an immediate uproar.

"Holy crap, what kind of amazing boss is Shen Mo?"

"I thought my membership fee was going to go to America with Boss Jia, but it turns out Inkmark is taking over for me?"

"It's true! I just registered an account using my partner's phone number, and they really gave me a free membership!"

"I'm here, I'm here! I got my boyfriend and family to register new accounts."

"This is such a great deal!"

"I declare that from now on, Ice Cream TV will be the only video website I pay for."

The nickname "little ice cream cone" quickly became a viral sensation online.

In this almost extravagant way, Shen Mo instantly transformed the millions of resentful zombie users left behind by Jia Yueting into devoted fans overnight.

Immediately afterwards, the official Mohen account dropped another bombshell: Mohen Video announced that the first phase of special funds of 70 billion yuan had been in place.

On the one hand, server optimization is being carried out, with the aim of solving the persistent problem of insufficient bandwidth and buffering on video websites.

On the other hand, we need to launch the "Ink Trace Studio Project" to produce our own film, television and variety show content.

The headquarters buildings of the three major video platforms, Tencent Video, Tencent Video, and Tencent Video, fell silent at this moment.

In a coffee shop in Zhongguancun, industry insiders are frantically dissecting this set of data.

"This is insane! Shen Mo's really going head-to-head with Tencent! Is he planning to take on all three BAT companies single-handedly?"

"It's hard to say. Although BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) has money, it's impossible for them to support the development of video websites indefinitely. It's just part of their ecosystem, and if they lose too much, their headquarters will hold them accountable."

"Mohen is different. Besides investments, it also has Mohen Media, Mohen Pictures, Mohen Cinemas, and Mohen Animation in the film and television sector. It can be said that Mohen Video is a very important supplement to this system, and its support is definitely stronger than that of the three BAT companies."

"Shen Mo doesn't need to care about anyone's opinion. He is the financial backer himself. For him, this is not about burning money, but about building a moat for his empire. In this battle, Goose Peach Pants may have really kicked a steel plate."

"Does Inkmark have that much funding?"

"Heh! You underestimate Shen Mo. Don't let his acting and movie work fool you into thinking he's just a minor celebrity!"

"Shen Mo's name appears on the Forbes list every year, and his net worth only goes up, not down."

"Just look at the companies he's invested in: Xiaomi, Meituan, Toutiao, Pinduoduo, Xiaomoushu, Paopaomate, Mihoyo—which one of them isn't a unicorn company now?"

"Thinking about it, I saw in the news that Meituan, Bilibili, and Pinduoduo are all preparing for their IPOs. Doesn't that mean Shen Mo's net worth will double again?"

"So, in this video platform war, it's really hard to say whether Tencent Video can beat this little ice cream cone."

Cai Huaijun sat in the CEO's office of Mohen Video, with a long list in front of him.

Shen Mo placed unprecedented trust in him. Of the 12 billion hunting profits, after deducting acquisition costs, Cai Huaijun had absolute control over the remaining 6 billion yuan.

After all, the three BAT companies have invested a total of four to five billion yuan in Tencent and Taobao in the past two years to expand their market share.

The amount Shen Mo planned to invest seemed impressive, but it wasn't actually that much.

"Be fast, be steady, be ruthless."

This was Shen Mo's only requirement for Cai Huaijun.

Cai Huaijun adjusted his glasses and dialed a number for Malanshan.

"Old Chen, it's me. Stop nitpicking about your government salary."

"The structure for Ink Trace Video is all set up. I'll give you three times the director position, stock options, bonuses, and production budget. Most importantly—"

Cai Huaijun paused, his tone revealing an unprecedented ambition.

"There are no complicated approval processes here. As long as you produce results, nothing is impossible."

"Boss Shen values ​​content the most."

That night, the signal at Malanshan was exceptionally busy.

This was the first thing Cai Huaijun had planned to do before taking office: poaching talent.

No one can poach talent faster than his former employer, Hunan TV. After all, he's been there for so long and knows exactly who the talent is.

Moreover, while the area is teeming with talent, its upward mobility and wealth distribution mechanisms are stagnant.

What he needed to do was to dig them out one by one, from producers and directors to key publicity and distribution personnel, and even those amazing editors hiding in the post-production room, and poach them as a whole.

Those passionate young people who were once frustrated at Hunan TV submitted their resignations almost without hesitation when they heard the names Mohen Video and Shen Mo.

Jia Yueting, far away in America, was so angry after seeing Shen Mo's act of giving away money to raise funds that he smashed the newly replaced porcelain cup in his villa.

He finally realized that Shen Mo not only swallowed his assets, but also planned to completely erase the last trace he had left on the Internet.

Shen Mo stared at the text message Cai Huaijun had sent him on his phone, which read "The core team is in place," and muttered to himself.

"2016 marked the beginning of the great new era of long-form video."

"Gentlemen, please prepare for the challenge."

The war in the long-form video field began with the establishment of Mohen Video.

A few days ago, Tencent Video, Tencent Video, and Tencent Video all took measures such as reducing the exposure of artists and works from the "Ink Trace" group and lowering the project ratings. They even claimed that they would ban artists from the "Ink Trace" group from their new works.

Just as industry insiders were speculating about how Shen Mo would retaliate, Mohen Video used a series of release date posters to directly overturn the table in the opponent's face.

At 10 a.m., three thunderclaps rang out first.

The official Weibo account of "Running Man" posted: "Running never stops, our original aspirations remain unchanged. In June, the new season's entire cast will reunite, exclusively witnessed by Mohen Video!"

The official Weibo account of "Go Fighting!" posted: "Is this fate? No, this is choice. In July, watch the Men's Team return to the world of martial arts with Ink Trace Video!"

The official Weibo account of "Back to Field" posted: "Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, I leisurely see ink traces. In August, we've moved to our new home, and the 'Ink Trace' video is waiting for you to come home."

These three announcements are tantamount to stabbing Goose Peach in the Achilles' heel.

These variety shows are the cash cows that each company relies on for survival. Now that they've left without warning, they're not only taking away members, but also sponsors who are priceless.

The operations director of Tencent Video was so angry that he was trembling when he saw these Weibo posts.

"Damn it! You bastard!"

"They were still having a meeting with us last week to discuss the launch, what a delaying tactic!"

"I should have signed the contract first and pocketed your breach of contract penalty!"

The relocation of the variety show was something everyone could have predicted, given that it was produced by Mohen.

So the upcoming release date announcement will be a real, head-on battle.

Mohen Pictures directly posted the schedule of its new dramas for the next few months on its official Weibo account, with each drama aligning with the new dramas that will be launched on the three major platforms.

First battle: July 11th.

Mohen presented "The Lonely and Great God," starring Zhang Ruonan, Meng Ziyi, Zhang Ruoyun, and Zhu Yilong, which premiered simultaneously on Hunan TV.

The game "The Long Ballad of Beautiful Rivers and Mountains" starring Lin Xinru is being launched to compete with kiwifruit.

Second battle: August 18th.

Mohen sent out Shen Mo and Bai Lu to star in "Love O2O", which was simultaneously launched on Tomato TV.

The film, starring Yang Le and Chen Yao, is being released on Tencent Video.

Third battle: September 6th.

Mohen brought out the "New Five Beauties" of Liu Tao, Jiang Xin, Li Lin, Bai Lu, and Tian Xiwei in "Ode to Joy," which was simultaneously launched on Blueberry TV.

Battle Pants is producing a hugely expensive fantasy epic called "Ice Fantasy," directed by Guo Jingming and starring Feng Shaofeng.

All three dramas were released on the same day as new dramas on the three major platforms.

"That's more like it! A real fight, then we'll see who should be calling whom 'daddy'!"

A veteran film critic wrote this on his WeChat Moments.

"Shen Mo chose opponents who were all favorites of various platforms. He was telling the entire industry: all suppression is useless, only the works can speak for themselves."

"As for whether the work will be a success or a failure, given the consecutive hit dramas produced by Mohen in the past, I'm on Mohen Video this time. I hope that Tencent Video doesn't suffer a third consecutive loss, or that would be a huge embarrassment."

Of all the matches, the most anticipated was "The Lonely and Great God," which is considered the pioneering work of Mohen Video.

For this drama, Shen Mo not only mobilized the top production team, but also took the publicity and promotion to a whole new level.

At the kiwi headquarters, Gong Yu watched as the discussion surrounding "The Lonely and Great God" on various social media platforms increased exponentially, then turned to look at his deputy beside him.

"Did you buy the trending topics for 'The Long Ballad'?"

The deputy was sweating profusely: "We bought it—but—but the discussion about the plot of 'Goblin' overshadowed it all."

Inside Hunan TV, Wang Qing, the deputy director who had been observing, made a decisive decision after reviewing the public opinion report.

"Replace all the promotional space originally allocated to other dramas with 'Goblin'!"

"Since Shen Mo dares to challenge us on this stage, let's go crazy with him!"

Shen Mo's meaning had reached everyone's ears.

In this battle between long-form video platforms, he doesn't want to play dirty tricks; he wants to launch a full-scale attack on the other side at the same time.

Follow the path of righteousness and win the battle.

Let's see who the true king of the Chinese entertainment industry is!

The results will be revealed on July 11th when the market opens!

In a forgotten corner of the internet, a news item caught the attention of some people in the entertainment industry.

Several blurry mobile phone videos quietly went viral in a few private fan groups.

In one video, several handsome young men are seen chatting and laughing with a few scantily clad girls before entering the same suite in a hotel.

Another video begins with a glimpse of several young people's faces, then the screen goes black, leaving only some indescribable sounds.

The fan who posted the video also commented, "The brothers have a lot of fun in private."

When the news about these four people came out, the general public was stunned.

Who is this?

They post all sorts of weird and awful news online, does anyone care?

However, those in the industry know that these four people are none other than Chen Xingxu, Li Yunrui, Yu Shi, and Chen Muchi. They were the first to defect from Mohen when Shen Mo got into trouble.

Because Huayi collapsed, the group remained silent for a while.

Then, by chance, Yue Shi and Mo Hen disagreed with them, which allowed them to join the cast of "Investiture of the Gods".

The four were summoned immediately to cooperate with the investigation.

That afternoon, Wu Ersan, the director of "Fengshen", was dismissed by the production company Mohen Pictures due to mismanagement, and was replaced by Lu Yang, the director of "Brotherhood of Blades".

None of the five people involved in this incident are particularly famous, and it did not generate much public reaction.

However, people inside the entertainment industry were terrified.

Shen Mo is too ruthless!

They don't even wait overnight to get revenge; this directly ends the entertainment industry careers of all four of them.

Logically speaking, such things should usually be suppressed by their management company, but the fact that it was still exposed can only mean that there are people pulling the strings behind the scenes.

As for Wu Ersan, how can this be considered a dereliction of duty? This is Mohen using him as a sacrifice!

Besides, when something like this happens on set, someone has to take the blame. If he doesn't step down, who will?

With Leshi Pictures being acquired by Mohen Pictures, the "Fengshen" project has now changed hands to Shen.

He was the flag that Boss Jia and the Beijing circle put forward to fight against Shen Mo, and now Shen Mo is going to stomp on this flag.

Lu Yang, who succeeded him, was a direct descendant of the Mohen faction.

This change not only involved a change of director, but also completely secured the last remaining lucrative opportunity in the Beijing film industry for "Fengshen" under Shen Mo's control.

Meanwhile, in Shen Mo's office.

Feng Xiaogang, who was once arrogant and outspoken in the Chinese entertainment industry, and whose sharp words were so often used to attack the entire internet, is now as humble as a primary school student who has made a mistake.

He was no longer as arrogant as before, and even his signature black-rimmed glasses were slightly askew.

"President Shen—" Feng Xiaogang said in a dry voice.

Shen Mo didn't look up, but simply replied with a faint voice.

"Director Feng, is there something you need?"

Feng Xiaogang took a deep breath. He thought of the newcomers whose escape routes had been cut off, of Wu Ersan who had been kicked out, and of "Youth" which he had invested in through LeShi.

Originally, after the collapse of "1942" and "Mr. Six" and Huayi Brothers, he had already softened his stance towards Mohen through Chen Daoming, but unfortunately, Le Shi gave him too much.

He used to think that he was just acting and had nothing to do with the competition between Mohen and Leshi, but now he's scared.

If Shen Mo wanted to mess with him, his old grievances could send him straight to work on a sewing machine, after all, Shen Mo had sent people to jail before.

The next second, Feng Xiaogang put his legs together and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"President Shen, I, Feng, was blind before, thinking that I could act superior in front of you just because I had a few more years of experience."

"I hope you will forgive my petty mistake."

"Just draw a line for me. As long as the project can continue and these old guys can make a living, I, Feng Xiaogang, will be a brick in Mohen's wall. Wherever you move me, I'll go."

Shen Mo slowly raised his head, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He knew that the backbone of the Beijing elite circle had been completely broken at this moment.

As for Feng Xiaogang, he doesn't intend to target him; on the contrary, he wants to give him a push.

We can't just make an example of someone; we also need to set a good example.

We need to tell the outside world that not only will those who oppose Mohen suffer bad consequences, but those who sincerely submit to Mohen will also reap rewards.

When the news spread, everyone in the entertainment industry fell silent.

"To kill someone is to destroy their spirit."

The usual lively atmosphere in the Beijing elites' group was gone, replaced by inquiries: "Does anyone still have Shen Mo's private contact information? Please pass on a message for me; I have a project I'd like to collaborate on with Mohen."

When the artists on set heard the news, they all straightened their backs a little more.

Only then did they realize the confidence they had as artists with ink marks.

As usual, I'm asking for your monthly votes!

If you're passing by, feel free to give your child a monthly pass!

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