Shi Peiran called Lin Qingwan.
Seeing the caller ID on her phone, Lin Qingwan frowned. "That's all for today. You may leave now," she instructed the subordinates in her office.
"Yes."
After they left, only Lin Qingwan remained in the office.
She pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear. "What is it?"
"President Lin," Shi Peiran cautiously glanced around, ensuring no one was nearby before continuing in a hushed tone, "Tianmu Group's 'King's Pesticide' has finished development. They're planning to start the beta test today."
"What? So soon?" Lin Qingwan's eyes widened. "What's going on? Why am I only hearing about this now?"
"President Lin, just two days ago, they mentioned there were still minor bugs to fix and that it would take at least two weeks. I have no idea why they suddenly decided to launch the beta test."
Shi Peiran hastily fabricated an excuse and added, "You're the eldest sister of our boss. You know how strong his programming skills are. He visited the company yesterday—maybe he fixed all the bugs then."
"Alright, I understand."
Lin Qingwan's brows remained tightly knit.
After ending the call with Shi Peiran, she immediately strode in her high heels—click, click, click—toward the chairman's office.
Lin Chang was still reviewing documents, with Lin Li also present.
"You've done an excellent job with this report," Lin Chang praised with a smile.
"Thank you for the compliment, Dad. It's all thanks to your guidance." Lin Li responded with humility.
Lin Chang looked at him with satisfaction.
Lin Li was talented and filial—if not for the fact that he had become a eunuch, he would have been the perfect successor for the company.
What a shame.
Lin Chang shook his head.
Lin Qingwan pushed open the door and entered the chairman's office.
"Wan'er, what brings you here?" Lin Chang frowned in confusion.
"Dad, I have urgent news."
Since Lin Li was family, Lin Qingwan spoke directly. "Shi Peiran just contacted me. Tianmu Group is about to begin beta testing for their game, 'King's Pesticide.'"
"What?"
Lin Chang abruptly stood up from his chair.
"Our game has only just been completed," Lin Qingwan suggested. "Should we also start beta testing?"
"No, it's too late for that," Lin Chang rejected the idea.
"Our game is identical to Tianmu Group's. If they launch before us, they'll flood the market with promotions, especially with their platform, Hu Yin, backing them. They'll dominate the market in no time. All our efforts and investments over the past year would go to waste."
"Our entertainment division is already struggling against Tianmu Group. We can't afford another misstep in gaming!"
Moreover, if Tianmu Group's game succeeded, they would rise to unprecedented heights.
Starlight Group would never be able to compete with them again.
And any hope of forcing Lin Xuan to return to the family would vanish entirely.
Lin Chang's expression darkened.
Lin Qingwan frowned. "Dad, then how do we beat them to the market?"
Lin Chang said firmly, "Skip beta testing. Release the game directly, backed by massive marketing. That way, we'll secure the user base first."
"But Dad, what if there are issues with the game without beta testing?" Lin Qingwan voiced her concern.
"There shouldn't be any problems," Lin Chang asserted confidently.
"We hired top-tier programmers and spent over a year developing this game. How could anything go wrong?"
"Still..." Lin Qingwan remained uneasy. "Dad, I think we should play it safe."
Hearing her words, an inexplicable sense of foreboding crept into Lin Chang's heart, as though something ominous awaited.
He relented with a nod. "Fine, I'll be cautious. But we won't waste time on beta testing. Instead, I'll hire internationally renowned gaming and programming experts to inspect the game. If they find no issues, we'll launch immediately."
"Alright."
Lin Qingwan didn't object further.
This was indeed the best course of action.
"Dad, I'll get back to work now."
She left the chairman's office, her expression clouded with worry.
Under her breath, she murmured, "Xiao Xuan, don't blame your elder sister. Starlight Group is Dad's life's work. I only acted against your company to protect it."
"Your company's Hu Yin, entertainment, and literature divisions are thriving. Losing 'King's Pesticide' won't hurt you much. Xiao Xuan, you're so capable—you'll develop another game."
As she spoke, the weight in her heart lightened somewhat.
She was in the wrong this time, but she would find a way to make it up to Lin Xuan later.
Lin Chang personally spent a fortune hiring world-famous programming and gaming experts.
He tasked them with identifying any potential flaws before the official launch.
Meanwhile, Lei Hui had been monitoring Starlight Group's movements on Lin Xuan's orders.
He immediately reported their actions to Lin Xuan.
"Boss, they've brought in experts to inspect their game. What if they find the hidden flaws?" Lei Hui asked anxiously.
Lin Xuan smirked coldly. "The vulnerabilities I planted aren't something they can easily detect."
"Let them search all they want. All we have to do is sit back and watch their game collapse on a massive scale. Then, we'll reap the rewards."
This way, they wouldn’t even need to spend on marketing.
A dark glint flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes.
The program he had embedded appeared flawless on the surface.
But once he triggered it with a few lines of code, the game would crash—permanently.
This would teach Lin Chang and Lin Qingwan the consequences of stealing someone else's work.
Hearing Lin Xuan's words, Lei Hui finally relaxed.
Of course. Why should he doubt his boss?
"Got it."
Lei Hui nodded, then couldn't resist adding, "Boss, you're downright ruthless."
Who else could promote their products without spending a dime—relying entirely on their rivals to do the work?
Take Palm Treasure, for example. It gained fame by piggybacking on Leap Website, not to mention hacking Weibo's backend to secure a top trending spot.
Their movies rode on Starlight Group's promotional campaigns.
And now, this game would benefit from Starlight Group's marketing budget while they swooped in for the kill.
The cost of advertising alone probably exceeded the game's development expenses.
Lin Xuan knew exactly what Lei Hui meant. He chuckled.
"No, I'm a good person. I'm just giving them a taste of their own medicine."
Thank you to... Huaqi..., Huameng Manshuo, Beimu Shuangfeng, Shiguang Yinyu, and other dear friends for your gifts.
Something happened... My heart aches, and I feel like crying. I couldn’t sleep at all last night...
Uu.
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
