"On it, President Qin."
Zhang Chi left the big boss's office at a half-jog.
Qin Ruoxue sat alone behind the white desk, gaze lingering on the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Sea Breeze… that's Li Jing's company, isn't it?"
—
By noon, Snowwind had already pushed a flurry of updates to Fishermen Era to blunt Great Age of Sail's surge: more fish species, a handful of higher-IQ NPCs—plus a blitz of promo shorts shot with non-gaming mega-creators across the platform.
A money-burn like that? Sea Breeze couldn't compete head-to-head.
At Sea Breeze HQ, Li Jing knocked on Gu Feng's door again.
"Gu Feng, Snowwind has started targeting us."
Gu Feng nodded, thumbing past a wall of Fishermen Era ads on his phone. He looked helpless and, honestly, a little amused.
"We ran one stream and spooked Fishermen Era already. Well… they didn't get to number one without instincts."
He'd just finished lunch and was "peacefully" scrolling short videos—per his "if it sails smooth, watch pretty legs" principle—when the dancer on-screen hard-cut to a Fishermen Era pre-roll. He nearly choked. The next few big-name creators? All pushing Fishermen Era.
Fast. Too fast.
Ordinarily, Great Age of Sail was just off the blocks; they shouldn't have set off sirens this quickly. He'd underestimated the leading studio's nose for threat. If they lacked that, they wouldn't have sat atop the industry for a decade.
"Snowwind's only ten years old and they're already first in the field. Clearly, not just bluster."
Li Jing nodded, though something complicated flashed in her eyes. Qin Ruoxue did have chops. And a carpet-bomb promo spend was exactly the play only they could make.
"Gu Feng, with this push we can't book the Ocean platform's top anchors anymore," Li Jing said. "Someone like Kaka? Off the table. Snowwind's offering too much."
Gu Feng's brow tightened. Their combo hit would make promotion tougher, sure. But he believed players knew fun when they felt it. Fishermen Era was sailing-and-fishing only; once the shine wore off, that was that.
Great Age of Sail? Different story.
He smiled, unbothered. "Looks like I'll make a move myself."
"The three extra beta slots—put them on hold. Tonight's showcase stays with the same five streamers as yesterday."
"You got those five under contract?" he asked.
Li Jing's business sense had kicked in last night; she'd signed Kaka and the other four the moment their streams ended. She nodded. "All locked."
"Good. Tonight, give Kaka her own room. Put the other four together in a multi-view room so viewers can watch all four perspectives at once—no hopping between channels."
Li Jing's eyes brightened. "Content-wise? Snowwind will definitely add giant fish to Fishermen Era. Do we need a counter?"
"A counter?" Gu Feng chuckled. "Counter what?"
He waved it off. "Just line up the streamers, and post a notice: we're dropping a promo CG on the official forum later."
"Got it."
Li Jing left without another word.
—
That afternoon, the Sailing Games Competition forum hummed—lurkers and loudmouths alike. For these three months, every entry was in closed beta. No wide access meant pent-up demand; discussion ran hot.
Over on a big anchor's channel—streaming Fishermen Era:
"Brothers, yesterday we did some ocean angling. Today—dual rods at once!"
The anchor Hakimi grinned at the water, both hands on two rods.
"Left side's biting!"
He yanked left. A heartbeat later—
"Whoa, right side too!"
"Watch me bag two at once!"
On deck, he flailed between rods—left, right, left—then ended up catching… nothing. Also: face-first on the planks.
Chat erupted.
[ Hahahaha he's teaching us: chase too many fish and you end up with none. Don't be a player, kids! ]
[ One heart, one hook—LMAO. ]
[ I'm dying. This game is so fun. ]
[ Mom asked where I learned Life Truths. I said "video games." ]
[ Fun? You guys are really into… this? ]
In the middle of the banter, a gut-level comment popped up. After last night's Great Age of Sail streams, this viewer found Fishermen Era… dull. Over there, Benn Beckman was laying down, "If you draw a gun, be ready to finish it." Over here, a sermon about not "playing the field."
He typed what he felt.
[ The hell's your problem? ]
[ Fishermen Era is boring? What isn't boring then? ]
[ Troll alert. You just here to stir trouble? ]
He meant to answer—but realized he'd been muted.
"…Seriously?"
He was about to swap to a burner and keep arguing—when a friendly firebolt flew in:
[ It is kinda boring. Go watch Great Age of Sail. It's not just sailing and fishing—that's a real man's game. ]
—
Scenes like that played out across a bunch of sailing-game streams.
After watching Great Age of Sail last night, a lot of viewers went wandering today. The more they wandered, the more bored they felt elsewhere.
And when something's genuinely good? Plenty of people will praise it from the gut. They're a minority—most folks aren't natural loudmouths online—but out of 3+ million who'd just sampled it, "minority" was still a lot of voices.
In Gu Feng's previous life, these people had a nickname:
Keyboard contrarians.
Formidable in a fight. If they set their sights on you, brace yourself.
This time, though, their target wasn't Gu Feng.
It was Fishermen Era.
And Gu Feng?
He was the one benefiting.
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