They surrounded me right after the breakup.

The film festival's popularity hasn't waned.

The hashtag "Starry Night Private Party" trended on social media for two whole days, and the company was bombarded with calls from various media outlets requesting interviews from morning till night.

Jiang Han made Fang Chongwen decline all of them.

"Two official media outlets from the film system will remain, the other one will be nowhere to be found," he said.

Fang Chongwen nodded, took his phone, and went out to refuse.

Shen Qingning went to the film and television city in the morning and brought back some materials.

"Dumpling sent a voice message late last night saying that the beginning of the sequel has been drawn." She put the file on Jiang Han's desk.

"He's even more anxious than I am," Jiang Han said, turning two pages.

"That's how people who win awards are; they're eager to prove they didn't just rely on luck," Shen Qingning laughed.

"Let him work out the script thoroughly first; there's no rush to release the concept art. If we release it now, people will say I'm using the hype to grab market share."

"You think it's not happening now? Someone already said that Xingyue is going to lock up the entire science fiction market." Shen Qingning walked to his side and pointed to a page of the document.

"It's better to lock it up than to let it rot in the ground." Jiang Han leaned back in his chair.

The office was quiet for most of the day.

As darkness fell outside the window, the buildings began to light up in clusters.

When Fang Chongwen pushed open the door, his steps were faster than usual.

He placed the tablet in front of Jiang Han, and all the relief on his face vanished.

"Chairman Jiang, United Capital has made its move."

Jianghan bowed his head.

The poster is in shades of gray and blue, with a tall building emerging diagonally from the ruins.

The title, "The Fortress of Shanghai," is prominently displayed in large, bright red characters at the top.

A line of small print next to it reads: "Taking the baton from The Wandering Earth, Chinese science fiction takes another step forward."

"We officially announced the wrap-up last night, and it's rolling out across all platforms today," Fang Chongwen said.

"This headline alone is aimed at us." Shen Qingning stood behind the chair, her voice calm.

Jiang Han picked up the tablet and swiped to the wrap-up special.

The footage lasted for about thirty seconds.

Several interior scenes, a mecha silhouette, and the final shot focuses on the male lead's stand-up collar jacket and his neatly combed bangs.

He paused the game.

"Finished filming?"

"Filming is complete. The release date is set for the 9th of next month."

"So rushed," Jiang Han said.

"It's all about riding the wave of popularity. The longer it's released, the more viewers will compare it to 'The Wandering Earth,' and they can't afford to wait any longer."

Jiang Han put the tablet down.

"Teacher Fang, didn't we prepare something for him?"

"It's all ready," Fang Chongwen said.

"Then what are we waiting for? He starts taking over, and we start taking over."

Jiang Han sat up, picked up his phone, and twirled it in his palm.

"Which option should we follow?" Fang Chongwen asked.

"Don't start by commenting on the film itself. Let's start from the production level and compare our studio, our sets, and our props."

"You mean, let people see what the real science fiction production process looks like first?"

"Yes." Jiang Han looked up.

"Let everyone who needs to see see clearly what 300 million should actually look like."

Fang Chongwen closed the tablet, turned around, and went out to make arrangements.

Shen Qingning walked around the desk and sat down opposite him.

"You're calmer this time than last time," she said.

"I was angry last time because they treated the audience like fools. This time, I'm going to make them stand on the stage and expose their true colors," Jiang Han said.

"So they don't even want to use the media, and just let the MCN matrix release the materials."

"Viewers trust their own eyes, not the press releases from any company."

"What about Teacher Liu?" Shen Qingning asked.

"Don't touch him. Let the audience compare for themselves. Those who truly want to protect this path don't need us to hand them a knife."

That morning, the first batch of materials leaked from Wangyue Culture's account.

One is a short film shot on location at Xingyue Film City.

The camera pans down from the giant ceiling, passing a physical engine model, wire scaffolding, and costume and prop warehouse.

Finally, it stopped on the exoskeleton used in "The Wandering Earth".

The caption was only one sentence:

Science fiction isn't filtered; it's something that comes from the ground up.

Half an hour later, a tech-savvy account from Jiaming Media posted a comment.

The video breaks down the wrap-up special of "The Fortress of Shanghai" into more than a dozen frames, highlighting each frame in red.

The background buildings are poorly lit, and the proportions of the characters and the space are out of balance.

The so-called heavy industrial style mecha even has its spiral patterns blurred into a mess.

The comments section exploded immediately.

"Xingyue has left its opponents no way out at all."

"Today I've truly witnessed the truth behind the entertainment industry."

"A 300 million investment for this? Even wedding photo sets look more realistic."

"President Jiang didn't personally get involved, but every single pixel is saying, 'You think you're qualified to take the baton?'"

Shen Qingning was updating data in real time at the company.

"The first video is almost 300 views," she said.

"Let it fly first." Jiang Han lit a cigarette by the window, not looking at his phone.

"We'll release the second round of comparisons later. Let the hype build up on its own," Shen Qingning said.

Jiang Han nodded.

United Capital's response didn't keep Jiang Han waiting long.

At 2 p.m., they released a 15-second trailer.

Explosions, mechs, cities collapsing, and quick-cutting devices piled up everywhere.

The ending displays a large line of text: "A 300 million yuan investment, ushering in a new era for Chinese science fiction."

After reading it, Shen Qingning only replied with one sentence:

"The more they emphasize money, the more insecure they seem."

Jiang Han did not comment.

He sent a message to Fang Chongwen.

"Keep an eye on it, there's more to come."

Fang Chongwen replied with a "good" and then added a sentence.

"They contacted several theater executives, saying we were engaging in malicious competition and wanted to get back at the screening next week."

"Then let them drive," Jiang Han said.

"Once they finish showing the film, we'll invite those executives to Xingyue to see how the post-production was done."

"Okay," Fang Chongwen replied readily.

It was evening.

Jiang Han's phone vibrated.

Liu Cixin posted a new update.

No picture included, just three short lines.

"Don't rush to take the flag."

"You have to walk your own path."

"Some time really can't be saved."

Jiang Han handed the phone to Shen Qingning.

After she finished reading, she raised her eyebrows slightly.

"This weighs more than 10,000 of our videos."

"That's why I say the sharpest knife is often not wielded by ourselves." Jiang Han turned off his phone and looked out the window.

The sky had already turned gray.

The city lights stretched out in a continuous line, as if someone had turned the entire city of Jingzhou upside down in the night.

Shen Qingning walked to his side and asked in a low voice:

"Guess what Lu Chengze is doing right now."

"He swears in the office," Jiang Han said.

"The more he curses, the more anxious he gets. We just need to slow down the pace and leave the rest to time."

Shen Qingning followed his gaze and looked out the window.

"I'm afraid he'll do something desperate," she said.

"Jumping over the wall is good," Jiang Han said.

"Only by jumping over the target can you see the vital points clearly."

The night breeze squeezed in through the cracks in the window, blowing a few strands of hair off Shen Qingning's shoulders.

Jiang Han reached out and tucked it behind her ear.

"I'm home," he said.

I want to eat your soup tonight.

Shen Qingning chuckled softly.

"Whether I cook or not, you still have to go home. There are six people in the family who can cook now, what's the difference if I cook one more pot?"

"Bad," Jiang Han said.

"Your outfit today looks like you just borrowed it from a movie set. Go home and change into an apron, then you'll look like the real Shen Qingning."

Shen Qingning rolled her eyes at him and walked towards the door first.

Jiang Han stubbed out his cigarette and followed.

As the elevator descended, he glanced down at his phone.

Fang Chongwen sent a new message.

"Lu Chengze has called a screening meeting for next Monday, and he's summoned the scheduling managers from several major cinema chains in Jingzhou. Should we send someone?"

Jiang Han is typing.

"No, I'm not going. He's going to show the film, right? After it's over, you invite the theater people here and say I'm inviting everyone to watch the unreleased 60-minute behind-the-scenes featurette of 'The Wandering Earth'."

He thought for a moment, then added:

"By the way, have Jiaozi cut out the deleted scenes from 'Ne Zha' as well. They want to schedule screenings, so I'll show them something truly valuable."