Chapter Fifty-Three: Denunciation!

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After a long and exhausting day of studying, Li Shang returned to his dormitory. He was just about to relax with a round of "Spore Evolution," but as soon as he clicked into the game's interface, he noticed a golden medal hanging in the upper-left corner of the game’s cover.

“What’s this...?” he wondered, frowning as he clicked on it. The screen shifted, leading him to the newly updated Achievement Hall on the Qiyou platform. "Spore Evolution" was prominently listed among the honored titles.

Li Shang recalled the platform’s earlier promotion of the Achievement Hall—he knew that any game featured there was either a phenomenal hit or displayed outstanding achievement in a particular area.

“Is it because it placed in the top three of the competition?” Li Shang could only think of this reason for "Spore Evolution" being listed. After all, while the game was indeed fun, its success hadn’t reached the level of a cultural phenomenon.

“My teacher really pulled off something impressive this time,” he murmured. Being inducted into the Achievement Hall meant the game would receive continuous exposure—a permanent recommendation on the platform. Over time, its reputation would only grow.

With this thought, Li Shang immediately returned to the "Spore Evolution" comment section—he had to share the good news.

[Great news!!! Family, "Spore Evolution" has entered the Game Hall of Fame!!!]

As soon as he posted, he refreshed the page and saw his comment had already received replies.

——————

Burn, Chuunibyou Soul: Our teacher is truly legendary!
A Life, A Grain: Was it selected because of its ranking in the sci-fi competition?
Martial Emperor Star Lord: That can’t be it—I’ve checked the Achievement Hall’s standards. Even first place in a competition isn’t enough to qualify, let alone second or third.
Yun Xuan Yi: Exactly. I just checked the Hall myself—none of the other top three competition games are there. There must be another reason for "Spore Evolution" getting in.
Ha-le T-shirt Gold: Doesn’t matter—our teacher is amazing, end of story!
Room High, Housing Price: There’s definitely something fishy going on here.
Team Destroyer Jie Nong: Something’s definitely off.
Ghost-faced Heavenly Lord: What else could it be? There must’ve been some kind of backroom deal—they must have connections.
Lone Moon Shou: Connections, my foot! Check out the Xiahua Education Platform—our teacher is on fire over there, absolutely top class!

——————

“Hm? It’s not because of the sci-fi competition?”

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Li Shang frowned at the last comment. If it wasn’t due to the competition, what did the education platform have to do with it? Could the Ministry of Education actually inform every student to play our teacher’s game? That would be ridiculous.

Puzzled, he opened the education platform. And then—

“What the hell! No way! Damn!”

He stared at the latest headline on the homepage, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Once he confirmed he wasn’t seeing things, he let out a howl of astonishment.

The shock he felt was beyond words. This was the Ministry of Education for all of Xiahua—having a game promoted by them was beyond impressive. This was an honor. A national honor.

“This... this is absolutely monumental,” he muttered, swallowing hard. The initial shock gave way to pure excitement.

He rushed back to the "Spore Evolution" comment section, eager to post again. However, halfway through typing his new headline, he suddenly froze.

He remembered the issue with the sci-fi competition.

“A game endorsed by the Ministry of Education was ranked below some trash game in the competition—Qiyou is really full of themselves.”

With his naturally hot temper, there was no way he could let this go.

Without hesitation, he deleted his original draft and replaced it with:

[Fight! Fight! This is a game recognized by the Ministry of Education—why should some worthless game that couldn’t even make it into the Hall of Fame be ranked first? As both a player and a student, I demand a satisfactory explanation!]

——————

Prosperity Falls Twice: Recognized by the Ministry of Education? Is that even true? Sounds like nonsense. Let me check.
Prosperity Falls Twice: Oh my god! It’s real—this is insane! Not even novels would dare write this.
Engine Hood: Supporting the original poster—anyone with eyes can see what’s going on. Does Qiyou really think players are idiots?
Don’t Even Think About It: I’ve already shared this comment with my social circle. Players alone can’t fight this—let the older generation weigh in. Last time, parents got a popular anime banned, which was just as outrageous.
fresh_ink: With a twist like this, our teacher is truly going wild.

...

Normally, even if there was some issue with the rankings on Qiyou’s competition platform, the officials wouldn’t budge—after all, it would be quite embarrassing for them.

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But this time was different.

Thanks to the Ministry of Education’s publicity, "Spore Evolution"—a previously niche title—had suddenly gone mainstream, capturing the public’s attention. Although most people were just bystanders, spectators have always loved stirring up trouble.

With the massive online community of the Xiahua Star Domain fueling the flames, the controversy quickly grew.

In this era of overwhelming information, such buzz would probably die down in a week or two, but it would still leave Qiyou with significant negative press.

Moreover, since virtual games were a niche interest, unknown to most people, Qiyou’s upper management quickly convened and unanimously decided to issue a public statement promising a thorough investigation.

Though this had its downsides, the benefits far outweighed them—it would bring Qiyou into the public eye, generating more traffic and helping the company’s growth.

...

Qiyou’s Baiqiao Branch

Wang Fafu, having just received the message from higher-ups, strode out of his office with a grim expression. If he hadn’t previously compensated Yin Jian because of Yu Jia, even his position wouldn’t have shielded him from severe repercussions.

“Everyone, report to the meeting room immediately! Emergency meeting!” he announced, activating his neural interface to broadcast the message across Qiyou’s work channel.

...

The meeting began quickly under Wang Fafu’s urging. After giving a brief overview of the events, Wang Fafu stood at the podium, fixing his gaze on Lan Bai, whose face had turned an ashen shade.

“Lan Bai, after investigation by headquarters, it was found that your signed title, ‘Mecha Arms,’ had massive records of data manipulation. Although the fault does not lie entirely with you, as an operator, you failed to properly oversee your assigned games.”

“This is a clear dereliction of duty. Therefore, after careful consideration, the company has decided to revoke your position as Group Three Leader and issue a public apology to the designer of ‘Spore Evolution’!”

“Do you have any objections?”

ps: You guys are incredible—my fan value shot up past 8,900, I’m absolutely stunned!