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

Wang Tianqi's pupils contracted: "You... what else do you want...?"

"I don't want anything to happen."

"I just want to tell you that it is this era that is judging you."

"The game isn't over yet. Don't rush to die, watch carefully. Watch what you lose."

"you……"

beep.

The call was disconnected.

Wang Tianqi stood frozen in place, the cold wind blowing away his body heat.

The game... isn't over yet?

……

Underground studio.

Gu Ming casually tossed his phone onto the table.

He glanced at the monitor screen.

Now, it's time to bring this farce to a close.

He had just picked up his coffee when the sound of police sirens grew louder as they approached.

Chen Mo's report came a step ahead of the sirens: "Boss, the joint enforcement team from the city bureau and the district bureau is 500 meters away. Accompanying them are interview vehicles from more than a dozen mainstream media outlets."

coming.

They finally arrived.

Gu Ming took a sip of coffee and instructed through the intercom: "Have the security guards at the gate lower their guard, open the gate, make tea, and welcome the leaders and reporters to inspect our work."

"Huh?" The new administrative manager on the other end of the phone sounded panicked. "President Gu, what... what do we do? They're definitely here to arrest someone!"

"What's the panic?" Gu Ming's voice was calm. "We are law-abiding citizens, and cooperating with the investigation is our duty. Remember to be enthusiastic and considerate, and show the professionalism of Star Media."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Upon hearing the news, Su Qingying and Shen Lian came out of their respective offices, their faces showing a hint of solemnity.

"Why are the police here? Wang Tianqi's case hasn't reached the point where they need to raid us yet, has it?" Shen Lian frowned, sensing something unusual.

"It's public opinion," Su Qingying said. "The 'Search for the Young Woman' has become too popular, turning from a commercial dispute into a social issue. The police need to take action to maintain their credibility. This is all a performance."

"Acting?" Shen Lian looked at Gu Ming. "Then we..."

Gu Ming smiled and pointed to the monitor screen.

"Don't worry, the script, the director, and the lead actors are all my people. They're just extras."

The voice just fell.

boom!

The door to the underground workshop was smashed open by two SWAT officers using a battering ram.

Flashes and camera lenses flooded in.

"Don't move! Police!"

Leading the group was Zhang, the deputy head of the city's criminal investigation division. He had an upright appearance and sharp eyes. He immediately locked his gaze on Gu Ming, who was standing in the center of the hall.

However, the expected scene did not occur.

The entire studio was brightly lit.

Dozens of employees sat at their workstations, typing away. They merely glanced up at the group of people who had burst in, then continued working.

Even the girl at the front desk with a ponytail actually carried a tray with more than a dozen cups of hot tea and walked over politely.

"Distinguished leaders and fellow journalists, thank you for your hard work. Our General Manager Gu is waiting for you in conference room A-3. This way, please."

Deputy Captain Zhang and the group of reporters behind him were completely stunned.

What's going on?

This was a raid.

This script is wrong!

Gu Ming looked at the expressions on their faces.

He winked at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo understood and tapped the keyboard lightly.

"Click".

The wall facing the police and reporters suddenly slid open from the middle, revealing a huge space.

It was a tiered teaching demonstration hall.

Everyone's attention was drawn to it.

At the very front of the demonstration hall, a holographic projection of the virtual idol "Zero" was rotating.

In front of the architecture diagram stood three young women dressed in white suits, exuding a capable and efficient demeanor.

One of the short-haired girls was holding a laser pointer, pointing to an algorithm on the architecture diagram, and speaking clearly to the dozen or so elderly people with gray hair sitting below the stage.

"...Therefore, we added a reverse compensation mechanism for emotional thresholds to the underlying logic of the Soul Engine. When the input of positive emotions exceeds the critical point, the system will automatically call the underlying database of sadness and anger to offset it. This is the core reason why Zero can have the Soul Bug."

Her words, transmitted clearly through the microphone, reached the ears of everyone at the door.

It was very quiet at the entrance.

Deputy Chief Zhang and the police officers and reporters behind him were all stunned.

What did they see?

Those three girls...aren't they Wang Min, Liu Liu, and Zhang Hong?

But the three men in front of them were wearing suits and looked very capable.

The dozen or so elderly people sitting upright in the audience, taking notes... several of them were professors in the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence in China.

A group of professors are listening to three young women give a lecture?

This world is crazy.

"I... so this is the Soul Engine." A reporter carrying a camera muttered unconsciously, forgetting that he was broadcasting live. "This is much clearer than what my university professor explained..."

His voice, broadcast live, reached across the entire internet.

After a ten-second pause, the live stream chat exploded with comments.

"Holy crap! What am I seeing?! What happened to being kidnapped?!"

"That woman in the white suit giving a lecture, is that Wang Min?! The Wang Min who does the 'flower hands' dance?! Didn't she only graduate from junior high school?! How come I, a graduate student in computer science from a top-tier university, can't understand a single word she's saying?!"

"Upstairs, you're just mistaken! This proves he's truly talented! That demeanor, that speech, that gaze... he's a chief architect!"

"So, their so-called disappearance was actually a closed-door training program conducted by Star Media to protect them?! Holy crap, this plot twist... my brain is fried!"

On the podium, Wang Min seemed to have noticed the commotion at the door as well.

She stopped explaining, turned her head, and calmly glanced at the people at the door.

Her eyes shone with confidence and composure.

She smiled at the camera.

"It seems that our three-month Phoenix Rebirth Project has indeed alarmed quite a few people."

Behind her, Liu Liu and Zhang Hong also stood up. They were no longer timid shadows, but partners standing shoulder to shoulder with her.

Liu Liu bowed deeply to the camera, her voice still a little nervous, but her words were clear: "I'm sorry that our seclusion has caused unnecessary panic in society. But it was necessary, because we are carrying the soul of Zero."

Zhang Hong crossed her arms and smiled, "We've heard the rumors circulating outside. But we don't have time to pay attention to them, because our mentors told us that strength is the weapon against rumors."

tutor?

Everyone's eyes instinctively began to search.

Wang Min's gaze also passed over the crowd and landed on the man standing in the shadows with a calm expression.

She bowed deeply again in Gu Ming's direction.

This time, her voice trembled slightly.

"Here, we want to thank someone. Our boss, who is also our mentor, Mr. Gu Ming."

"It was he who discovered the value within us that we ourselves were unaware of when we were lost."

"It was he who, despite everyone's incomprehension and doubt, created a learning environment for us that could isolate us from distractions."

"He taught us that true spirit isn't about being rustic or vulgar, but about an indomitable, defiant spirit. He told us that this spirit is the precious soul of this era!"

"He didn't treat us as tools, but as works of art that reshaped souls."

Wang Min's words struck a chord with the entire online audience.

The volunteers who had protested in front of Star Media were staring blankly at their phone screens.

They remembered the slogans they had shouted and the insults they had hurled at Gu Ming, and their faces turned bright red.

At this moment, public opinion has completely reversed.

#From a naive young woman to a chief architect#

#Gu Ming, the Mentor Who Reshapes Souls#

#We owe Star Media an apology#

The new trending search terms instantly dominated the charts on all social media platforms.

At this moment, Star Media's corporate image was imbued with ideals, warmth, and sentiment.

This war of public opinion, which Gu Ming ignited and then extinguished himself, has now come to an end.

In a corner of the audience.

Chen Mo quietly watched the three transformed girls on the stage, and for the first time, a hint of "gratification" appeared in his eyes.

She remembered what Gu Ming had said to her back then.

"I want to make them not only stars, but also their own gods."

Boss, you did it.

……

The press conference had already ended, leaving only some staff members cleaning up the venue.

Gu Ming stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the night outside, which had returned to calm.

Everything is within the calculation.

Just then, my phone vibrated slightly in my pocket.

He picked it up; it was a text message.

It came from a number he recognized, his father, Gu Yuanshan.

The message was very short, containing only four words.

"Go home for dinner."