I really don't want to make bad movies!

"Has a pirated copy of Transformers 5 been leaked?"

Liu Bo, a junior at Jinghai University, had just gotten up and was about to browse Bilibili when a video popped up on his homepage.

It has been viewed over a million times!

"Really?"

He clicked on the video with a skeptical attitude, but after seeing the screenshots of the video content, it really did seem plausible.

With a willingness to share, Liu Bo first forwarded the video to the dormitory group before clicking on the website via the video link.

"Isn't this the iQiyi website?"

Just when I thought I'd been tricked, I glanced at the search bar next to me and saw "Transformers: Bumblebee" prominently displayed.

He didn't look closely and thought Bumblebee was going to be the main character in this movie.

"Holy crap! It really exists!"

Liu Bo was extremely excited and decided to check out the movie's quality first. If the special effects were good enough, he would then go to the cinema and buy a ticket.

Without saying a word, I clicked on the video.

Sixty seconds later, a female host appeared on screen holding a microphone and making a broadcast.

"Recently, UFO attacks have been frequently occurring near the town..."

"What is that? A flying saucer?"

The opening video was a bit blurry, which he thought was a bootleg version, which is understandable.

But what does UFO mean?

Cybertronian new technology?

As the host stretched out his arm, the camera panned to reveal a flying saucer on screen.

If it weren't for the voice-over narration, he would have thought it was a dog dish.

And this thing is clearly not on the same layer as the other images!

"Did Bollywood switch to producing the fifth season?"

He was about to patiently read on when a WeChat call suddenly popped up on his computer screen.

It was his roommate.

The moment I clicked to connect, my roommate's roar erupted: "You sent your own shit!"

Liu Bo was baffled: "If you don't want to look, then don't look, why are you being so fierce?"

"I hope to see videos shared in the group first thing in the morning that are elegant academic pieces or videos of beautiful women, not videos of a low-quality, pixelated robot attacking my eyes with free explosion effects!"

This long and complicated sentence stumped Liu Bo.

He realized that his roommate had watched the video he had forwarded, as well as a pirated version of Transformers 5, and even fast-forwarded through it.

He also tapped the progress bar, and a male face appeared on the screen.

Like a prisoner's confession photo taken in front of a white wall, the actor said expressionlessly, "I am Jason."

This isn't Transformers 5!

Liu Bo realized he had been tricked. He exited the full-screen mode and saw that the movie's title was "Transformers 5: Hornet".

Nima!

He went back to Bilibili and opened the previous video, only to find that the video did not mention "Transformers".

It's either "Transformers 5" or it says "Transformers 5" in the title.

No one lied to him; he simply misjudged the situation!

"That's fucking insidious!"

Liu Bo was convinced.

Looking at the dormitory group chat again, I saw that my roommates were taking turns tagging me and sending me friendly greetings.

He became increasingly angry and went back to the iQiyi website, giving "The Big Hornet" a rating of 1.0.

The same scene is playing out wildly across the country.

Traffic is an invisible driving force, making the news of "Big Hornet" appear in every corner of various platforms.

Of course, most people only see the words "Transformers".

When they clicked on the iQiyi website and played the video, they realized it was a borderline case.

"Is Kiwi Fruit desperate for traffic?!"

"Can this kind of movie even be released? Won't Paramount sue it for copyright infringement?"

"First of all, you have to admit that this thing is a bumblebee."

In an instant, the terms "Transformers" and "Transformers" topped the trending search list, and the discussion was extremely heated on both video platforms and social media platforms.

……

What exactly is the Transformers 5 Hornet?

Looking at the strange movie that was at the top of his website's trending list, Huang Xuke rubbed his eyes repeatedly to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

At first, he thought it was a Transformer, until his subordinate reminded him that he realized it was a Transformer.

Is this a movie directed by my junior?

Has my alma mater's educational guidance deviated slightly?

After a brief moment of surprise, Huang Xuke quickly returned to work.

Seeing the still-rising click count in the backend data, he immediately instructed his subordinates to prepare for a meeting.

Meanwhile, a conference call popped up on iQiyi's internal social media app, initiated by the CEO of Content.

When a website produces a hit product, the CEO usually doesn't get involved.

However, the appearance of their own website's name on the trending topics list could be treated as a public opinion crisis.

Huang Xuke didn't dare to delay and immediately sat down and clicked to connect.

The first thing the leader said made Huang Xuke's heart stop.

Who reviewed the film?

After a brief internal struggle, Huang Xuke rubbed his temples, decided not to let his subordinate take the blame, and raised his hand, saying, "I put it there."

He was prepared to be given a severe scolding.

The emergence of such low-quality films that try to ride the wave of popularity is indeed a result of him using connections.

"With nearly ten million views in five hours, why haven't I seen any business collaborations for a film of this scale?"

The leader's second sentence caught Huang Xuke off guard.

However, having been in the workplace for many years, he understood his boss's meaning in the next second.

Do investors care about the quality of this movie?

Traffic is the real problem!

The number of clicks approached 10 million in five hours, and the growth rate is still increasing!

Use the data to discuss business!

The most valuable initial contract is out of the question.

Only before a video is uploaded to the platform can a first-hand revenue-sharing contract be signed, with payments made based on the number of clicks.

However, if you have strong business skills, you might be able to negotiate a second contract based on the increase in clicks.

For example, the search bar label GG, or the pop-up window that appears midway through a video GG.

Don't worry about the fact that the average viewing time is less than five minutes.

Just look at how fast the click-through rate is!

Transformers 5 is really going to be released in a couple of days, and this movie might become a minor hit again.

Huang Xuke immediately instructed his subordinates to draft a contract, then grabbed his suit jacket and left the office.

……

Huang Xuke didn't get out of the drinking party until late at night.

He didn't close a single deal.

"The Big Hornet" came out of nowhere; no one expected it to become a hit.

The sixty seconds of the opening segment are all from GG (Girls' Friends) who have long-term contracts with big sponsors, and it's impossible to change them just like that.

As a second-best option, we tried negotiating with Google through the search page, but we couldn't agree on a price.

Other companies aren't stupid; why would they sign a million-dollar contract for this kind of quick traffic by riding the wave of popularity?

As for the pop-up issue, the average viewing time of "The Big Hornet" is ridiculously low, so how can we even begin to discuss it?

The short video section does have tags like "GG" and "Comments GG," but the volume of those tags doesn't meet Huang Xuke's expectations.

I'm sure I'll get a good scolding from my boss tomorrow.

Exhausted, Huang Xuke returned home, took a shower, and sat down at his desk, only to realize that he had never watched the movie "The Big Hornet" from beginning to end.

He clicked on the most popular video, "The Big Hornet," and started cleaning up his email inbox.

The mouse numbly scrolled across unread emails. Huang Xuke took a big gulp of cola and watched "The Big Hornet" playing on another screen, his gaze involuntarily focusing on the movie's title.

"Transformers 5: Hornet?"

He muttered the title to himself, somewhat dazed, and then glanced at his email.

I think I've seen this title before?

Huang Xuke then recalled that the email from his junior in the morning seemed to be about this short film.

He immediately swiped down and found the email.

If you open the email and look closely at the poster, you'll find that it's not a Transformers poster at all.

It's a damn Transformer!

The content below the picture left Huang Xuke speechless.

[Hello senior, I'm Xia Ming, a freshman at Jinghai Film Academy. My film, "Transformers 5: Hornet," which I directed, may be uploaded to the iQiyi website where you work in the next few days, and I estimate that it will exceed ten million views.]

[Before the release of Transformers 5, you can delay the release of my film and have two days to negotiate a business contract. We can then discuss cooperation matters.]

"This isn't a scam email, is it?"

"What you're saying is all true!"

Huang Xuke clutched his head and wailed.

This one misjudgment of mine has cost me at least three million in GG revenue!

He broke down.