Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Covert Battle Officially AnnouncedChapter 74: The Official Announcement of "Dark War"

    The filming of "Dark War" was conducted in secret, without even holding a press conference when production started. All the actors who joined the cast signed confidentiality agreements. sea??h thё n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This is a habit of the "Dark War" director. He dislikes having his work excessively exposed to the public eye during filming. Therefore, his projects are only announced to the public after production wraps, including revealing the cast.

    Originally, the director planned to announce this news tomorrow, but Huang Wankai caught everyone off guard. The wrap party scheduled for tomorrow had to be canceled, and the news about "Dark War" had to remain under wraps for now.

    The replacement for the second male lead was also an issue. Fortunately, the director already had a preferred candidate in mind, but he had previously compromised due to industry pressures.

    Early the next day, the director called the agent of the actor he had in mind and asked if he’d be available to step in.

    Upon hearing about this opportunity, the agent quickly agreed. After all, this is a major director’s big-budget production, and the second male lead in this film is no less significant than being the male lead in other movies.

    After ending the call, the agent immediately canceled several collaborations his artist was in talks for. When the artist learned he’d be appearing in "Dark War," he focused all his energy, retrieved the script, and began studying it intently, putting aside everything else.

    Just as the call ended on their side, the assistant sent a message: "Dark War" is trending!

    The director felt a pang of anxiety. How could it be trending? No one on their side had leaked the news, right?

    After pondering for a moment, the director immediately deduced the source of the leak—Huang Wankai!

    As expected, under the "Dark War" hashtag on Weibo’s trending list, Huang Wankai’s name was prominently featured.

    Clicking into it revealed that marketing accounts had posted sponsored articles, as well as behind-the-scenes photos of Huang Wankai during the filming of "Dark War." The photos included ones with the director, ones with Lin Qin and Meng Chao, and photos from the launch ceremony. There was even a screenshot of the official registration document for "Dark War" from before filming began.

    This was indisputable evidence presented to the public. Huang Wankai was indeed part of the "Dark War" cast.

    The marketing posts had already garnered over 10,000 comments, with shares skyrocketing past 100,000.

    Huang Wankai is currently the top traffic star among the younger generation, and his fans are notoriously combative. No matter who collaborates with Huang Wankai, his fans always find an excuse to start drama.

    They relentlessly boast about Huang Wankai’s godlike looks and unparalleled acting skills.

    Now, the comments section was being dominated by Huang Wankai’s fans.

    [My hubby is working with such a great director, please take care of him!]

    [Finally, a major director recognizes my husband? Hahaha! He’s definitely the lead. If not, we’re not watching.]

    Under posts speculating that Huang Wankai was the lead actor, his fans were affirming it with confidence, insisting that with his incredible acting skills and looks, he must be the main character.

    A passerby, unable to stand it any longer, directly countered: "Let’s not even discuss Huang Wankai’s acting skills for now. Didn’t you see the behind-the-scenes photos? Meng Chao, Lin Qin—one nominated for an Oscar Best Actor and a Venice Film Festival Best Actor, and the other a Cannes Best Actor—would they really play supporting roles to Huang Wankai? Some fans are just too delusional."

    This brutally honest comment immediately garnered countless likes and became a hot topic for netizens to discuss.

    However, Huang Wankai’s fans wouldn’t accept it and organized to send private messages to the user who made the comment, flooding their inbox with insults—vulgar language, graphic content, utterly indecent.

    Somehow, the situation escalated, and Huang Wankai’s fans began attacking Lin Qin.

    Yes, Lin Qin became their target. They wouldn’t dare to go after Meng Chao; his position in the industry had been rock solid for years. With a strong fan base and widespread national respect, they knew they didn’t stand a chance against him.

    But Lin Qin was different. He only rose to fame in the past six months. Before that, he was practically invisible in the industry. Despite winning impressive awards, in the eyes of Huang Wankai’s fans, Lin Qin didn’t have a large fanbase, making him an easier target.

    [Isn’t Lin Qin just a talentless hack relying on family connections? Without those, he’d be nothing. Where does he even get the audacity to compete with our Wankai?]

    Comments like this were relatively mild compared to the more offensive ones, which mocked Lin Qin’s social anxiety, calling him a lunatic and urging him to check into a mental hospital.

    Some extremists even tagged Chutian Entertainment to insult Lin Qin’s father through the company’s social media.

    Lin Qin’s fans are usually zen-like in their approach, a reflection of their idol’s low-key personality. Lin Qin is a humble person, and his fans had followed suit, leading quiet lives except for the period when "Together We Stand" aired. During that time, they had joyous interactions with CP fans and Meng Chao’s fans. But once "Together We Stand" ended and Lin Qin went into hiding to film, his fans also quieted down.

    Most of the time, they’d casually post on Lin Qin’s or his studio’s Weibo, asking for small updates or perks, while focusing more on their own lives.

    When they logged onto Weibo this time, they were shocked to find Huang Wankai’s fans had completely taken over Lin Qin’s comments section and image wall, hurling insults at him and his family. This ignited a fury among Lin Qin’s fans like lighting a match to explosives.

    My darling is just obediently filming his scenes. Why does he deserve such unwarranted abuse?

    While Lin Qin’s fans are usually peaceful, their combat effectiveness is astonishing, each capable of facing ten opponents. Their strategy was well-organized: those skilled at subtle jabs posted passive-aggressive "prizes" to mock the attackers; those adept at arguing fought without using profanity; others flooded the public comment section with a stream of praise-filled comments to cleanse the negativity...

    The director, scrolling Weibo and seeing this, couldn’t help but laugh, inwardly praising Lin Qin’s fans as truly talented.

    He knew very well who had arranged for "Dark War" and Huang Wankai to trend. This wasn’t just about boosting Huang Wankai’s popularity—it was also a ploy to use public pressure to ensure the production team couldn’t replace him. After all, now the general public knew that Huang Wankai was part of "Dark War."

    And why were Lin Qin and his fans dragged into this mess? It was likely not the actions of ordinary fans but paid professionals stirring the pot behind the scenes.

    What baffled the director, however, was why Huang Wankai and his team had targeted Lin Qin. Lin Qin had been quietly filming on set, polite and respectful to everyone. What could he have possibly done to offend Huang Wankai’s team to the point where they’d resort to such malicious tactics?

    Setting down his phone, the director called for his assistant and instructed them to log into his Weibo account to post a promotional update about "Dark War," specifically tagging all the main cast members, including the newly-signed replacement actor.

    The assistant quickly understood the director’s intention and immediately posted a Weibo update.

    Xiang Dongpeng v: "Dark War" is coming. Thank you all. @Meng Chao @Lin Qin @Zhang Yue @Han Zhi...

    In this post, a long list of names was tagged, including even Han Zhi, who only had a minor guest role—but notably absent was Huang Wankai, the so-called "lead actor" as claimed by his fans.