Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

Old comrade-in-arms?

AME?

How could these two words be linked together?

Am I doing business or acting in a spy drama?

Gu Ming's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes turned cold.

He was reborn and knew the direction of development for the next ten years or so, thinking that everything was under his control.

But now, he discovers that there seems to be another plan unfolding in secret, one that he is unaware of.

He, and his father, were both involved.

That feeling of being watched by a higher power returned.

This time, a murderous intent surged within him.

No matter who you are, whether you're AME or BME, if you dare to mess with my family, I'll kick you out.

"Continue investigating this matter, using the highest level of authority."

Gu Ming's voice was calm.

"I need to know everything about AME: its members, its funding sources, and its history. I won't let any clue slip by."

"But let's deal with the immediate issue first."

He turned around, his gaze falling on the lights of Beijing's CBD, as if he could see Shen Guodong's smug face.

"Does Shen Guodong want to wage a copyright war? Does he want to organize a regular army?"

"hehe."

"Then let him see what...asymmetric warfare is all about."

He had no intention of competing with Shen Guodong on the same level.

The most effective way to fight is to bombard the entire battlefield to the ground while the enemy is still preparing for close combat.

"Notify Wang Min and the other two to bring the filming crew. See you in the editing room in five minutes."

"Boss, now?"

Chen Mo glanced at his phone; it was already 1 a.m.

"Yes, right now."

A cold smile curled at the corner of Gu Ming's lips.

"Before dawn, I want Shen Guodong to know that the alliance he spent money to build is nothing but a joke."

……

The editing room at Xingchen Holdings headquarters was brightly lit.

The air was filled with the aroma of Red Bull and coffee.

The three sisters, Wang Min, Liu Liu, and Zhang Hong, looked tired.

They had just finished a long day of intense filming and were now being called here.

They were all surprised when they saw the raw footage on the monitor.

It was filmed in an abandoned factory in Hegang.

The walls were gray cement, the railings were rusted, and the ground was covered in dust and trash.

Wang Min was wearing an old jacket, her hair was tied up in a mess, her makeup was very unfashionable, and her eyes were both confused and stubborn, like a young, spirited girl from a few years ago.

"Boss...is this...usable?"

Liu Liu asked cautiously, unable to reconcile the image before her with their identity as digital soul architects.

"It's too ugly. If this gets posted online, I'll be too ashamed to go back home."

Zhang Hong covered her face and groaned.

Gu Ming ignored them.

He sat at the control panel, his hands rapidly typing on the keyboard.

"Look at the screen."

He said it without turning his head.

The three sisters' gaze returned to the monitor.

The next second, they all opened their mouths in surprise.

Gu Ming tapped a key on the keyboard, and the screen changed dramatically.

Simply adding a filter changes the overall texture of the image.

The originally gloomy factory has become cold and heavy in color, giving it the style of an industrial wasteland.

The texture of the wall was magnified, and the rust appeared to have a dark red texture.

"Light and shadow frame interpolation, parameter 75".

Gu Ming read the instructions softly.

hum-

A virtual light source shines down from the top of the screen, passing through the gap in the window and forming clear beams of light in the air.

The unseen dust particles floated in the beam of light, each one clearly visible.

"Me...going?"

Wang Min couldn't help but say.

"Boss, is this what the run-down factory we're filming in looks like? I don't remember it."

This is neither editing nor color grading.

This is simply magic.

Gu Ming did not stop.

He dragged the timeline to a key frame in the video.

On the screen, Wang Min, dressed in a dowdy style, is stepping towards a data stream aperture projected onto the ground by a projector.

"Begin the reshaping."

He pressed the Enter key.

An astonishing scene unfolded.

Wang Min's body underwent a smooth transformation the instant she passed through the aperture.

The old jacket she was wearing, its fabric texture beginning to flow, transformed into a sharply tailored black suit.

Her messy hair was pulled back and styled into a neat updo.

The makeup on her face faded, revealing a sophisticated, elite look.

The biggest change was in his eyes.

One second ago, those eyes were filled with confusion and stubbornness.

The next second, the moment she stepped out of the halo, her eyes had turned cold and confident.

In the blink of an eye, he was a completely different person.

In the editing room, no one spoke.

The three Wang sisters were stunned, staring intently at their familiar yet unfamiliar selves on the screen.

They held their breath, their hearts pounding.

Looking at their own powerful image on the screen, and then looking down at their current appearance, a certain longing ignited in their eyes for the first time.

Video title: "Reshaping".

"Released on all platforms."

Gu Ming stood up, his tone calm.

……

Four o'clock in the morning.

While most people were still asleep, a video went viral online.

The video "Reshaping" was released without any prior promotion.

One minute later.

Beijing, ByteDance headquarters.

The door to Zhang Yiming's office was kicked open, and the technical director rushed in, looking agitated.

"Mr. Zhang, something terrible has happened."

"There's a problem with our backend recommendation algorithm."

Zhang Yiming looked away from the screen and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"A newly released video has gone viral."

The CTO's voice trembled.

"Completion rate is 210%, sharing rate is 85%, and like rate is 92%. Abnormal data alerts keep going off, and the algorithm has allocated 30% of the site's traffic to it."

Zhang Yiming's pupils contracted.

He snatched the CTO's phone.

Fifteen seconds later.

He watched the video.

I watched it a second time.

The third time.

In the office, only his increasingly heavy breathing could be heard.

He stared intently at the smooth transition in the video, at the light and shadow rendered in real time by the algorithm.

He finally understood.

What Gu Ming said a few days ago about the future of algorithms and the aesthetics of content was not just a concept.

That was something he had already created—a product manual from the future.

Zhang Yiming slowly raised his head, looked at the dark night sky outside the window, and murmured to himself.

"So... this is the real... algorithm."

He understood Gu Ming's signal.

This is not just a video, but a declaration of war.

A declaration of war issued to all content creators of the old era.

Your era has ended.

……

24 hours.

The data from "Reincarnation" has gone viral across the internet.

Within an hour, it garnered over ten million views.

In six hours, it surpassed 50 million.

Within 24 hours, the total number of views across the entire network exceeded 100 million.

The comments section was full of praise:

"Holy crap, what the hell is this transition? My eyes can't keep up with my brain."

"Was this really filmed in that run-down factory in Hegang? I'd believe you if you told me it was a trailer for The Matrix 5."

"Stop exaggerating, this isn't special effects at all. A friend of mine who works in post-production in Hollywood watched it on his knees and said that with current technology, the cost per second to create this effect would be enough to buy a house in Hegang."

"This isn't just a short video, this is art. Please stop showing me those internet celebrities, I want to watch this, I want to watch it every day."

The public is very excited.

The entire MCN industry remained silent.

The WeChat group for the "Short Video Content Regulated Army Alliance" that Shen Guodong had just established was completely silent.

Just a few hours ago, they were discussing how to use copyright to block Starry Sky Holdings.

Now, no one can speak.

Beijing, the headquarters of an MCN company.

The boss locked the company's core team in a conference room for an entire day, with only one task: to imitate.

A day later, a replica was produced.

Although it's a factory, the photos taken there have the feel of a cheap karaoke bar.

It's the same idea of ​​changing clothes, but the result is just a stiff jump cut, which is very awkward.

The boss, enraged by the counterfeit video, smashed his brand-new iPhone 7 Plus on the ground, shattering the screen.

"Useless, a bunch of useless trash."

He roared.

"What are they using? Why can't we do it? Why?"

He was the CTO, earning an annual salary of three million, and walked over with a pale face and a hoarse voice.

"Boss... can't replicate it."

"That smooth transition, that high-end rendering... can't be achieved by people or equipment alone."

"That's... an algorithm."

"The gap between us and Starry Sky Holdings may be... an entire era."

……

Gu Ming's office was quiet, isolated from the noise of the outside world.

He calmly looked at the backend data.

His gaze swept over the soaring number of views and finally settled on the application portal for the "Star Creator Platform".

Within 24 hours of the release of "Reincarnation", the site received more than 100,000 applications to join.

Many talented ordinary people were attracted by the technology shown in the video and flocked to it.

That's his goal: to build his own content ecosystem.

"Qingying".

He dialed Su Qingying's internal phone number.

"I've seen the data, Gu Ming. You've accomplished another remarkable thing."

On the other end of the phone, Su Qingying's voice was filled with excitement.

"This is just the beginning."

Gu Ming said calmly.

"Start the Star Hundred Talents Program. I want you to select one hundred promising talents from these one hundred thousand applications."

"What are the standards? Number of followers? Or content quality?"

"Neither."

Gu Ming said.

"There is only one standard: ambition."

"I want people whose eyes shine, who refuse to be mediocre, and who are willing to fight tooth and nail for success. Algorithms will help you identify the emotions conveyed in their text and videos. What I want to build is not an MCN, but a cradle that can mass-produce top creators."

Hang up the phone.

He turned off the screen where the view count was still ticking.

Chen Mo had already silently appeared behind him without him noticing.

Gu Ming looked out the window. The wind in the capital city made the glass windows rattle, but inside, it was very hot because of the server running.

He spoke, his voice not loud, but cold.

"The bait has been laid out."

"The real fish is about to take the bait."