Xia Wen got excited all over again.
He immediately planned to contribute some effort himself.
"Huh?"
"Wait, what are you saying!?"
"You want to slander MiHoYo yourself?" Ayaka's eyes widened—she never expected such a move.
"Why not? MiHoYo's biggest hater—that position has to be me!" Xia Wen declared resolutely.
-----------------------------
"Hu-Husband..."
"Are you sure this really won't cause any problems?"
Ayaka stared blankly at Xia Wen, feeling something was off. She wanted to object, but in the end, didn't know where to start.
But as a lover...
Ayaka felt that unconditionally supporting her dear husband was the right thing to do.
"Good girl, Ayaka, don't worry."
Xia Wen smiled slightly. It was clear Ayaka was worried about him, and his heart warmed as he comforted her, "Want to come down and have some fun? Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Himeko is already napping in her room."
Ayaka shook her head gently and said tenderly, "You go ahead, my dear husband. I... I'm going to stay here and prepare a few things."
Xia Wen didn't push her further—Ayaka had always had a mind of her own.
Except in bed.
Then, he got up to go find Silver Wolf to talk in detail about the operation of this matter.
After Xia Wen left...
Ayaka stood up and stealthily opened Xia Wen's personal terminal.
She opened a new document.
Then she recalled in her mind those advanced "business war" tactics she had learned before and began to think seriously.
In case the blackmail material on MiHoYo exceeded her dear husband's expectations...
Then maybe her plan could be of help.
She unconditionally believed in Xia Wen, but she still wanted to lend him a hand—even if it ended up being all for nothing, it didn't matter.
Because—
That's Ayaka's love.
...
Downstairs.
After hearing Xia Wen's plan, Silver Wolf's first reaction was, "Huh?"
"Boss, did you fry your brain or something?"
Silver Wolf sat up straight seriously and tapped Xia Wen's forehead.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Xia Wen pushed her hand away and said with a helpless smile, "Open your mind, Silver Wolf. You cheat in games every day—can't you open your mind a little?"
"Friend, black fame is still fame."
Silver Wolf curled her lips, unsure what madness the boss was on today.
But since the boss gave the order, she had to follow it.
She waved her hand casually, saying, "Fine, whatever you say, boss. I just collect a paycheck anyway."
"You brat."
Xia Wen narrowed his eyes, thinking he couldn't let Silver Wolf keep hanging out with the likes of Qingque after servers go down.
She used to be a spirited girl—how did she end up like this?
Looking at the now-lazy Silver Wolf, Xia Wen understood she must think he was joking.
He cleared his throat.
Xia Wen straightened up slightly and explained seriously, "Silver Wolf, do you think the current situation with Honkai is normal?"
"Seems pretty normal?"
Silver Wolf thought for a moment, puzzled.
"It's not—it only looks that way on the surface."
Xia Wen snapped his fingers and pulled out his phone to open Witter.
It was practically dominated by Honkai news.
All ten trending topics were related to it.
"Witter trending is massive traffic."
"Likewise, other social media platforms too."
"Before, this level of exposure would have cost tons of money."
"Now, our single company is occupying over 90% of trending topics. Doesn't that mean others are left with no traffic?"
Xia Wen explained seriously things Silver Wolf had never considered before. "Now the situation is, even if others want to buy traffic, they can't beat our organic popularity. So they'll reduce their spending on trending topics."
"Now, these traditional celebrities who rely on hype and visibility to gain exposure—they're under pressure."
"Next, the social media platforms themselves—won't they be upset since they're earning less from traffic sales?"
"And more than that."
"Do you know, before we came on the scene, local traditional celebrities and flow idols were making money by releasing low-quality junk?"
"But now, with a high-quality show like Honkai, that garbage can't survive."
As Xia Wen continued, Silver Wolf's expression grew more serious.
Hearing it explained like this by the boss—it did seem to make sense.
"So?" Silver Wolf frowned and asked.
"So now, although it looks like everyone is praising us, and the overall atmosphere seems optimistic..."
"In reality, in places you can't see, who knows how many people want us dead!"
Xia Wen smirked playfully: "Before, they didn't have the guts, but now there's a seemingly justifiable excuse—they just might act."
Those traditional celebrities and teams who were squeezed out of trending topics by MiHoYo.
Those entertainment companies who lost money because audiences now demanded better content thanks to Honkai.
Even the social platforms losing revenue from paid traffic.
MiHoYo's enemies are everywhere.
Once Silver Wolf fully understood the current situation, she quickly realized Xia Wen's intention.
"Boss, you're... trying to fish them out?"
A flame flashed in Silver Wolf's eyes as she said excitedly, "You want to provoke them with this planned blackmail attack, to expose those lurking in the shadows—the ones coordinating the attacks!"
"And those celebrities!"
"Drag all of them into the open, so fans, viewers, and bystanders can clearly see what they're up to!"
"And then, after episode three, comes a huge reversal!"
"The more enemies we lure out by smearing ourselves now, the harder they'll attack MiHoYo."
"And the more they pile on, the bigger the shock when the reversal hits the fans and audience!"
"At the same time, it can also severely undermine the credibility of these enemies!"
This plan.
So evil!
But Silver Wolf was thrilled by it.
She just loved the feeling of breaking all the rules!
"Not bad! The kid is teachable!"
Xia Wen nodded with satisfaction, though still slightly embarrassed.
"But I think we can turn up the heat even more."
Silver Wolf suddenly spoke up, her eyes gleaming with an excitement that even scared Xia Wen a little.
"We can ramp it up, keep hyping up the idea that MiHoYo can't land Episode 3 properly, that they're creatively exhausted, and Star Rail is about to fall apart!"
"Then we fabricate some professional-looking financial reports, tell those companies that MiHoYo is going under and they should benchmark Star Rail and get ready to take over!"
"The massive traffic and profits will drive those companies insane. They might trash us publicly while secretly preparing to invest in a competing Star Rail-style series!"
"And then when Episode 3 actually drops—bam! Public opinion flips, and all our shares shoot up!"
Silver Wolf rattled off a whole slew of ideas.
Xia Wen's eyes lit up...
"And the key to all of this is making them believe that Star Rail really is about to collapse."
Xia Wen glanced at Silver Wolf and saw a look of mutual understanding in her eyes.
He coughed and asked seriously, "Silver Wolf, do you think Episode 3 can stick the landing? Can it really turn things around?"
Silver Wolf replied seriously, "No way. From what I can see, Episode 3 is definitely going to end badly. No one has managed to pull off a satisfying ending on such a convoluted plot, why would MiHoYo be able to?"
Xia Wen nodded, "Then MiHoYo must be trying to cash out and run."
Silver Wolf agreed enthusiastically, "Exactly. Who thinks about making a good work these days instead of making easy money? Boss, would you?"
"Of course not."
Xia Wen shook his head like a rattle drum and shot back, "Would you?"
Silver Wolf coolly shook her head too, "Definitely not. Who in their right mind would do that?"
The two of them couldn't hold back any longer and laughed together.
"Sigh!"
"So shameless!"
Amid laughter and banter, the plan between Xia Wen and Silver Wolf was set in motion.
There was still one week until Episode 3 aired.
Plenty of time for Silver Wolf to make her move.
First, she would register a bunch of overseas companies. To make the fake financial firms look professional, she'd need to build fake websites and forge resumes.
Silver Wolf had connections for that—she could make them look completely legit.
Finally, to prevent cautious haters from digging into the shareholder info and discovering MiHoYo was behind it all...
Silver Wolf would use her own network and skills, and Xia Wen would contact his reliable friend Ningguang. In the end, these companies would all cross-own each other and be held under a parent company structure.
All investigations would lead to this parent company.
The location of the parent company? Xia Wen placed it in Russia.
The legal representative? Bronya.
A Russian female executive, of course. This "Bronya" would undergo some tweaks, like photo alterations, to make it seem like just a namesake.
As for the parent company's name?
Of course it would be: "How About We Explore The Area Ahead Of Us Later?"
Perfect.
Leak negative info, use public opinion to paint a picture of MiHoYo collapsing.
And when all those companies trace the source of the info, they'll all be led to this strange parent company.
In this world without Genshin...
No one would suspect that behind such a weirdly named company...
Was MiHoYo.
"Boss, do you think... they'll really fall for it?"
After finalizing the plan, Silver Wolf asked with anticipation.
"Don't give those people too much credit, Silver Wolf. When you know enough, you'll realize..."
"Business warfare is always straightforward, crude—but effective."
Xia Wen, with the air of experience, smiled and said, "And besides, Star Rail is such a big pie, too tempting. Even without all this, they've long wanted to tear MiHoYo apart. We're just pushing the timeline forward and taking the initiative."
Silver Wolf nodded.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
This plan, in the current world, was simply explosive.
"Boss, you're truly evil."
"Right back at you, we're both cut from the same cloth."
"Hehehehe."