They surrounded me right after the breakup.

On the day "The Fortress of Shanghai" was released, it rained lightly in Jingzhou.

No one in Xingyue's office mentioned their rivals.

Jiang Han arrived at the company early in the morning, first going over the progress of the second phase of the film city's investment promotion with Fang Chongwen, and then reviewing several early concept drafts of "The Three-Body Problem".

When Shen Qingning brought in the coffee, she also casually included a message.

"The animation has started."

"What time is it?"

"The midnight showing had less than 20% attendance."

"That's terrible," Jiang Han said.

"It's lower than we estimated at the time."

"Have him send over the real-time data," Jiang Han said, pointing to the screen on the wall.

Fang Chongwen connected the data, and several lines of numbers appeared.

The midnight screening of "The Fortress of Shanghai" grossed 1.3 million.

During the same period, a re-released animated film grossed over four million.

"This figure doesn't even cover a fraction of the advertising and promotion expenses," Fang Chongwen said.

Jiang Han didn't reply, but simply picked up his cup and slowly took a sip.

By noon, its reputation across the entire internet had completely collapsed.

It opened with a 4.2 rating on Douban, and then dropped all the way down.

The first popular short comment only has five characters.

"I'd really appreciate a refund."

The second one is shorter.

"I went with my girlfriend, and she broke up with me afterwards."

The third one starts using memes.

"The Wandering Earth opened the door to science fiction, while Shanghai Fortress welded it shut."

"It is suggested that in the future, movie tickets should be printed with the following message on the back: If there is a green screen edge in this film, please request a refund."

"Three hundred million was spent on a large-scale collection of special effects bloopers. That money would have been better spent on building two more studios for Xingyue Film Studio."

The comment section exploded like a floodgate had opened.

Some people posted their ticket stubs, some searched for continuity errors frame by frame, and some even dug up the photos of Lu Chengze falling on the day of the screening.

The topic's popularity soared to the top of the trending searches.

Shen Qingning sat opposite Jiang Han and turned the tablet around.

"They tried to suppress it, but they couldn't."

"The more you suppress it, the more it gets hotter," Jiang Han said.

"Deleting posts is no longer effective."

Where is Lu Chengze?

"Still at the company. United Capital is having an emergency meeting tonight; several investors will be there."

Jiang Han nodded.

He asked Fang Chongwen to call the public relations department and only gave them one instruction.

"Today, all official Xingyue accounts are prohibited from posting any content related to 'Magic City Fortress'."

"Not a single word mentioned?" the public relations department confirmed.

Not a single word was mentioned.

"Yes, Chairman Jiang."

At 9 p.m., the headquarters of United Capital was brightly lit.

Media outlets have photographed Lu Chengze's assistant.

The young man came out of the side door carrying a large stack of documents. He walked quickly, and his face was pale in the car headlights.

The photo was posted online with the caption: "United Capital is still awake in the early hours of the morning."

Comments flooded in instantly.

"What's the point of being awake? The film is already dead."

"Does this mean we sent them to the ICU as well?"

"Hilarious, the assistant looks more like a refugee than the lead actor."

"Is this a hasty escape or a desperate attempt to escape overnight?"

"Who let the media take pictures!" he shouted at the door.

Zhao Qiming stood with his head down: "There was no one at the side door originally; the cleaning staff led us in."

"What about PR? Let PR handle that!"

"We've already contacted the platform, but the photos are spreading too fast."

"I don't care what methods you use, I don't want to see this again before tomorrow morning!"

No one spoke in the meeting room.

Several investor representatives sat on either side of a long table, their expressions increasingly cold.

United Capital held an emergency meeting overnight, with only one topic on the agenda: what to do.

Zhao Qiming said he has contacted a lawyer and is preparing to sue several influential figures who spearheaded the use of memes.

Lu Chengze made the decision.

"Sue! Let's first steer public opinion back on track!"

The news spread very quickly.

United Capital is suing influential online figures.

Netizens are all laughing at it.

"Can't I say a movie is bad?"

"Go ahead and sue us. After you're done, you'll have to pay us back for the tickets."

"They wouldn't have to squeeze out 300 million for lawyer fees, would they?"

"I give this PR move a zero."

"Now you know you're getting a sore throat? Where were you before?"

"Go ahead and sue the audience, and see if the cinemas will increase your screenings."

Xingyue remained silent.

Shen Qingning stood by the window and saw that the rain outside had stopped.

"Lu Chengze has made another mistake," she said.

"That's the only way he can go," Jiang Han said.

"When you have no cards left in your hand, the last card you play is the 'accuse' card."

"But that will only make things worse."

"That's why I said they'll bury themselves."

Jiang Han took the phone and sent a message to Fang Chongwen.

"Post that picture."

Fang Chongwen quickly replied with three words.

"receive."

Five minutes later, Xingyue Media's official account posted an update.

a photo.

The exterior of the film studio at Xingyue Film City, which has just been painted.

The sky was a clear blue, and the steel structure of the roof stood in neat rows in the sunlight.

There was no text, no poster.

The caption contained only four words.

We continued filming.

Comments flooded in instantly.

"President Jiang is indeed President Jiang; even his counterattack is so quiet."

"While others are suing influential online figures, he's making a movie."

"The scope has been broadened."

"Hilarious, this picture is more effective than ten thousand press releases."

"Xingyue didn't mention a word, so why do I think they won?"

"They didn't win; they weren't even on the same battlefield."

Shen Qingning placed the phone in front of Jiang Han.

"Posting this picture is more impactful than any statement."

"That's exactly the effect we wanted," Jiang Han said.

"We won't criticize, mock, or comment. We'll let everyone see what Xingyue is doing."

"Will Lu Chengze be even angrier when he sees this picture?" Shen Qingning asked.

"That's the right way to get angry." Jiang Han leaned back in his chair.

"Anger will lead to continued mistakes."

"You knew he would sue the big V," Shen Qingning said.

"I didn't expect that," Jiang Han shook his head.

"I just know that some people, when faced with problems, only look for the cause in others. After searching and searching, all they end up with is a piece of paper."

Shen Qingning didn't say anything more.

The night is already deep.

Jiang Han stood up and took his coat off the hanger.

"Go home," he said.

"Tomorrow, there will probably be a lot of people wanting to interview you," Shen Qingning added.

"Then let them wait."

"Let's continue filming."