“It’s her – she must have done this!”
Seeing Slime Elimination take first place, while his own game’s performance plummeted sharply and he himself was tainted with a stain, Li Zhidong’s eyes were bloodshot. His red-rimmed eyes were fixed intently on the number one spot.
He had learned that the reason the game platform had investigated his game data was because of a report filed against him.
His first thought was that the reporter was the developer of Slime Elimination.
Li Zhidong logged into his social media account, publicly @mentioned Slime Elimination’s official account, and called out to them across the platform.
“Developer of Slime Elimination – you have the guts to do it, but not the courage to admit it? You maliciously reported me, intending to ruin my game and my career as a developer. Let me tell you – I won’t let you succeed!”
Right off the bat, Li Zhidong labeled Jiang Rong’s actions as malicious competition.
As the monthly competition was still ongoing, Li Zhidong had quite a bit of attention on him – especially with the anomaly in his game data attracting many onlookers.
So as soon as Li Zhidong’s statement was posted, it immediately drew attention from multiple parties.
Li Zhidong’s fans were at the forefront. They were shocked, saying, “We never thought the Slime Elimination developer would use such despicable competitive tactics. It’s a shame that while her game quality is good, her character is unacceptable.”
“Our Li Zhidong is so pitiful – his well-deserved first place was forcibly taken away. We have no idea how much he’s suffered behind the scenes.”
Li Zhidong’s fans immediately felt sorry for him.
But more people weren’t swayed by them. “If I remember correctly, the handling of Li Zhidong’s abnormal game data was done by the December Platform itself. What does that have to do with the Slime Elimination developer?”
“That’s right – the Slime Elimination developer is just a competitor in the competition, not part of the December Platform’s official team. How could they have that much power?”
Li Zhidong’s fans were furious. “Are you blind? Can’t you see that the Slime Elimination developer maliciously reported him?”
“If it were truly a malicious report, would the platform have cleared his game data? Even if the report was made, it’s still true that Li Zhidong’s game data was problematic.”
“Even if you’re Li Zhidong’s fans, you can’t just open your eyes and tell lies.”
Li Zhidong’s fans were left speechless. Even if they truly believed Li Zhidong was innocent, the fact that his game data was abnormal was right there for all to see, making it hard for them to deny or refute.
“Could it be that the December Platform is favoring the Slime Elimination developer because her game data is good?” Someone was unwilling to accept it and dragged the December Platform into the matter as well.
Rather than accept that Jiang Rong or the December Platform had a tarnished reputation, Li Zhidong’s fans could not bear the thought of their idol having a stain on his record.
“You really know how to deceive yourselves. If that’s the case, then explain this to us – why isn’t Li Zhidong going after any other developers, but is dead set on blaming the Slime Elimination developer?”
“Back when Li Zhidong was in first place, there were many developers below him. It can’t be that just because Slime Elimination became number one, he’s certain she’s the one who acted against him. What evidence does Li Zhidong have to be so sure?” Someone asked at this point.
Li Zhidong’s indignant fans: “…That’s right – there are so many game developers, why is he so sure it’s the Slime Elimination developer?”
Logically speaking, other game developers were just as suspect.
But Li Zhidong was absolutely certain it was the Slime Elimination developer.
“An anonymous developer who also participated in this month’s competition here – while I’m annoyed at being caught up in this mess, I’m more curious as to why Li Zhidong is so sure? Or does Li Zhidong have any evidence he can show us?”
“Li Zhidong, answer us quickly.” All eyes were now on Li Zhidong.
Li Zhidong, who had been secretly monitoring public opinion, was covered in sweat. He couldn’t answer – after all, he couldn’t very well say that he had specifically targeted Slime Elimination before, and now the developer was just paying him back in kind.
If he dared to say that, the fans currently fighting for him would abandon him on the spot.
With no way out, Li Zhidong could only remain silent.
Because Li Zhidong didn’t respond, all sorts of rumors started spreading – some said he was wrongfully accused, while others said he got what he deserved.
In the end, the commotion grew so big that it alerted the December Platform’s official team.
Seeing that their reputation was about to be dragged through the mud, the December Platform stepped forward.
“Regarding the issue of Developer Li Zhidong’s abnormal game data that everyone is concerned about, our platform will now disclose the full details of what happened.”
Originally, the December Platform had given Li Zhidong some face and hadn’t publicized his actions widely. But now that Li Zhidong refused to admit his mistakes and was trying to whitewash himself through public opinion, the platform – which had been used as a “stepping stone” – was no longer willing to indulge him.
Soon, the December Platform released evidence. It turned out that the reporter was indeed the Slime Elimination developer, but she had only submitted evidence related to the paid posters (水軍 – “water army,” people hired to post biased comments online) and had no idea who was behind them.
Li Zhidong, the mastermind behind it all, was identified after the platform retrieved data from a large number of game accounts.
“Regarding Developer Li Zhidong hiring paid posters for malicious competition, the evidence is conclusive. We hope everyone will keep their eyes open from now on and not be easily misled.” The December Platform concluded their statement.
After seeing the evidence, Li Zhidong’s game fans felt their faces burning with embarrassment, unable to accept the truth.
“Li Zhidong – we trusted you so much, how could you treat us like fools!”
“When your game was criticized and given negative reviews, we worked hard to speak up for you. When you said you were wronged, we believed you without question. But how could you lie to us and make us look like clowns?”
“Wow – I treated you like an idol, but you used me as a pawn. From today onwards, Li Zhidong, I’m switching from fan to hater. I’ll criticize every game you make from now on.”
In no time, Li Zhidong lost a large number of fans.
If even the fans who had believed in him felt this way, it went without saying that onlookers now had an even worse impression of Li Zhidong.
“Li Zhidong really dug his own grave. Without this incident, his future games would still have fans supporting him. Now look – not only did he fail to make a comeback, but he also destroyed the core fan base for his games.” Fellow game developers couldn’t help but sigh.
As outsiders, they could only express their feelings, but for Li Zhidong himself, it felt like the sky was falling.
“You were really unwise.” The paid poster in charge came to see him, and seeing Li Zhidong’s dejected face, shook his head disapprovingly.
Li Zhidong looked up at him, his voice full of hatred. “What are you doing here – to laugh at me?”
“No, on the contrary, I’m here to help you.” The person in charge said.
“Help me?” Li Zhidong couldn’t believe it.
“Our relationship isn’t that close.” Li Zhidong was instinctively wary.
“To be precise, we have no relationship at all. But we share a common enemy – because of the Slime Elimination developer’s report, the December Platform has banned many of our paid poster accounts, causing me significant losses. I can’t swallow this.” The person in charge gritted his teeth.
“So that’s why. But she has no flaws at all – we have no chance of getting revenge.” Li Zhidong let down his guard but didn’t feel any joy.
“I have some information…” The person in charge narrowed his eyes as he thought about his suspicions.
After hearing what he had to say, Li Zhidong became excited. “Is what you’re saying true?”
If it was true, even if he couldn’t make a comeback, he could at least vent his anger and bring her down from her high position.
“Of course.” The person in charge confirmed.
On the December Game Platform, players like Liang Man were thrilled to see Slime Elimination in first place under Jiang Rong’s name.
“Slime Elimination’s downloads are almost at 400,000, and there are still five days left until the end of this month’s competition.”
“We hope that in these last few days, Slime Elimination can achieve even better results.” Liang Man and other players offered their heartfelt wishes.
Upon hearing this, a casual player said, “That might not be easy. The December Game Platform isn’t very large, and while the monthly competition has a fixed player base, the popularity is inevitably spread thin due to the large number of games.”
“So most previous monthly competition champions have had around 400,000 downloads.”
“But there are still several days left until the end of the monthly competition, and Slime Elimination also entered the competition later than other games – what if it can make a final push?”
Of course Liang Man and the others understood this, but it wasn’t the final moment yet.
“Host, our game’s position is secure now.” Jiang Yu looked at the game data and said happily.
At this point, Jiang Rong’s game data had opened up a huge gap with the games behind it. By now in the competition, all the developers had already used every trick they had, so the chance of anyone overtaking them in the last few days was slim.
“Don’t get ahead of ourselves – stay steady until the very end.” As she spoke, Jiang Rong kneaded Jiang Yu, who had a slime skin that was bouncy and cool to the touch. The texture in her hands was absolutely perfect.
Jiang Yu relaxed his body, his jelly-like transparent form seeming to melt like water.
Just then, Bai Yang contacted Jiang Yu. “Jiang Rong, Li Zhidong is causing trouble again.”
Jiang Rong frowned, and Jiang Yu immediately bounced up from her arms, saying angrily, “What does he want to do this time?”
Jiang Rong was also curious. “What other tricks does he have up his sleeve?”
When it came to game data, not only was he no match for her, he couldn’t even compete with the top ten developers.
But besides the game itself, where else could Li Zhidong target her? As she recalled something, Jiang Rong’s eyes turned slightly cold.
“Host, this time Li Zhidong isn’t picking on the game – he’s publicly questioning your eligibility to participate.” Jiang Yu finished reading the information first and summarized it.
Below Li Zhidong’s official social media account, there were no longer any signs of fans feeling sorry for him or praising him like last time. This time, his statements had drawn quite a bit of mockery.
“Li Zhidong is actually questioning the Slime Elimination developer’s eligibility to compete. Even if he’s unwilling to accept defeat, he can’t just smear someone like this – and with such a low-quality smear at that.”
“That’s right – the December Platform isn’t just sitting around doing nothing. How could there be a problem with the Slime Elimination developer’s identity?”
In response to this, Li Zhidong sneered. “If there’s nothing wrong with the Slime Elimination developer’s identity, why won’t she reveal herself publicly?”
“All other developers have their own social media accounts, but the Slime Elimination developer doesn’t. Why is she hiding her identity? It must be because she has something to hide.”
Li Zhidong grew more pleased as he spoke. “The December Game Platform requires participants to be new developers who graduated within the past year. But among all the recent graduates from major game programs, there’s no one whose style matches this game. Feel free to check for yourselves if you don’t believe me.”
The paid poster in charge had claimed the Slime Elimination developer had falsified her credentials. Li Zhidong hadn’t believed it easily – only after careful investigation did he become convinced that Jiang Rong’s identity was questionable.
“Actually, what Li Zhidong says does make some sense. The Slime Elimination developer is quite mysterious.”
“True – right now there’s only the official Slime Elimination account online, no personal account for the developer herself. So many fans want to follow her but can’t.”
“Could it be like Li Zhidong says – she’s involved in falsifying her game credentials?”
At first, people didn’t take Li Zhidong’s words seriously, but the more they thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.
“What’s really going on here? Can the Slime Elimination developer respond?” Some people shifted their focus to Jiang Rong.
“I believe in the Slime Elimination developer.”
Just as more and more people were questioning Jiang Rong, game streamer Bai Yang publicly stated her stance.
Although Liang Man and the others didn’t carry as much influence as Bai Yang, they still spoke up within their capacity.
Their clear support left Jiang Rong momentarily lost in thought.
“In a way, what he says isn’t entirely wrong.” Jiang Rong murmured. After integrating her memories, she was indeed no longer purely a “newcomer.”
“Host, you may not be a newcomer, but the new game genre you’ve created is something even interstellar newcomers might not achieve. This issue is trivial to you – there’s no need to worry about it.” Jiang Yu comforted her.
“I’m not worried, just a little emotional.” After all, she wouldn’t do what Li Zhidong wanted just because of this.
As they were speaking, the December Game Platform contacted Jiang Rong.