A male voice came from the other end. "Hello, Mr. Xia Wen. I'm Zheng An from AC Entertainment."
Upon hearing the voice, Xia Wen raised an eyebrow. It was clear that the caller was not friendly!
---------------------------------------------
"Your company's short film and project have recently stirred up huge excitement online,"
"I want to inquire if your company has considered moving to a bigger platform, like joining AC."
Joining AC?
Isn't this just a polite way of asking if they can acquire the company?
The popularity of the short film has been rising steadily, and the view counts on major platforms are nearing hundreds of millions.
And this is just one short film.
Xia Wen had been prepared for inquiries, but he didn't expect AC to be so direct.
It's the same straightforward and aggressive money-flinging tactic.
Xia Wen chuckled lightly, "Sorry, not at the moment. Mihoyo Entertainment still has very ample funds."
Zheng An wasn't in a hurry, and continued, "Are you interested in cooperating with AC? We will offer you the best terms and more extensive exposure."
"You should know that AC platform has overwhelming advantages in this regard."
"We absolutely won't interfere with your production. We will provide you with money, resources, entertainment industry celebrities—everything you can think of."
"And the cost? Merely letting us take a small stake, say around ten percent."
Xia Wen's lips curled up, but he didn't respond.
He knew AC wouldn't be so generous.
Zheng An didn't get a response from Xia Wen. After a moment of silence on the other end, he finally said with a smile, "Occasionally, I mean occasionally, let us handle some unimportant roles."
"This is to exchange for greater profits."
"That's all."
Listening to Zheng An's nonsense, Xia Wen had to hold back a laugh.
He was well aware of AC's antics.
A ten percent stake might sound insignificant, but how many studios have been devoured and destroyed after being absorbed by AC through such a small stake?
Let alone trading unimportant roles for resources.
Ridiculous.
The Mihoyo universe and the Star Rail world are Xia Wen's bottom line!
Just the thought of some four-star characters being replaced by capital-driven young stars made him want to vomit.
"Sorry, there's nothing to talk about."
Xia Wen's tone turned cold.
He couldn't be bothered to argue further with this person.
He hung up the phone directly.
But as soon as he hung up, another call came in.
In just a few minutes,
AD Entertainment and LT Entertainment also called Xia Wen.
But unsurprisingly, all were rejected by Xia Wen.
"Boss..."
Ganyu, standing next to Xia Wen, looked at him with concern and said softly, "You've offended almost all major domestic video platforms."
"Don't worry."
Xia Wen was taken aback and laughed. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, "We should be the ones not afraid. They should be the ones that are afraid!"
Xia Wen wasn't scared at all; instead, he felt an absurd sense of displacement.
When the original "Genshin Impact" came out, it caused a storm of public opinion across the internet.
He didn't believe there wasn't a push behind it.
In fact, Xia Wen believed that at least half of the industry was secretly fanning the flames.
Why?
Because the appearance of Mihoyo changed the industry ecosystem!
Originally, everyone was just rehashing old content, living comfortably in their own circles.
Suddenly, someone called Mihoyo burst onto the scene and created even better content, making things better for everyone.
But the problem is, when everyone was just recycling old content, and suddenly someone came up with something so new, those who had tasted the better content certainly didn't want to go back to the old.
Cutting off people's financial sources is like killing their parents.
Of course, they hated it.
The same logic applied here.
Major platforms churn out hundreds of trash shows every year, with a bunch of traffic stars hyping themselves up to positions they don't deserve.
No one talks about quality or acting.
It's all about capital and money.
When a super anomaly like Star Rail suddenly appears, it naturally causes a crisis for these major platforms.
These people aren't fools; they know what's good and bad.
But because they are savvy yet selfish, they monopolize the market!
Xia Wen had a premonition.
He might have to experience a similar storm of public opinion and suppression as Mihoyo did back then.
And it might be even fiercer.
But Xia Wen had absolute confidence.
Strength can destroy all demons and monsters!
"Speed up the filming!"
Xia Wen put down his cup and immediately threw himself into work.
"Hey Boss, aren't you going to take a break?"
Ganyu hurriedly followed him.
"No time for a break! I'm going to use the Star Rail train to smash their rice bowls into pieces!"
Xia Wen chuckled lightly, his gaze firm.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side...
AC Entertainment, AD Entertainment, and LT Entertainment, along with other major platforms, were holding a meeting online.
The focal topic of the meeting:
Xia Wen's Mihoyo Entertainment.
"It's just as expected; this guy rejected all of us outright,"
Zhao Bin, the head of AC Entertainment, sneered.
"It's fine. A tall tree catches the wind."
"No matter how well he does, he can't control the traffic and public opinion."
Zheng An said with a smile, "We'll write some negative articles and attack from all platforms. I don't believe he can still make good work under such pressure."
Zheng An was fanatically superstitious about traffic. He always believed that no problem couldn't be solved with a flood of traffic.
"Is it really necessary?"
The boss of LT Entertainment was quite curious. "It's just a short film. Does it really warrant such a reaction?"
"It's not just about the short film, but about the potential,"
"He has shown us a possibility that we can't control the audience's emotions and time. If we can't control them, we can't make money."
"Just the appearance of this possibility is enough to make him disappear."
Zheng An said.
"True,"
The LT boss agreed.
They all knew.
Originally, investing one-tenth of the effort and getting back double the reward, even if criticized, was still profitable.
There was no need to compete by investing ten times the effort for a possible return.
The three companies signed agreements to monopolize the market to minimize risks.
As for the entertainment needs of the audience, it's none of their concern.
Every few years, they'd produce something of acceptable quality, and the audience would be grateful and rave about it for a long time.
Wasn't this a good way to live?
But regardless, AC and AD Entertainment didn't truly take Xia Wen and Mihoyo Entertainment seriously.
Because they didn't believe Xia Wen could actually deliver a complete series.
In their view, the "Honkai: Star Rail" short film must have been meticulously crafted over many years.
It was just a fluke that it became popular. To make a whole series at the same level as the short film?
No one on this planet could achieve that!
"But since you insist on sticking your head out, then we'll target this head."
After the few of them exchanged knowing looks over the screen,
They each hung up the phone.
But what they didn't know was that what awaited them was not a head sticking out but a pioneering train!