The debate between Batman and Superman was entirely manufactured by Luke, intended to spark discussion and maintain hype.
He proved to be full of cunning tricks. Whenever he had a spare moment, he'd use an alt account to sneak into a Superman fan chat, declaring Batman the superior hero. After receiving a wave of "FUCK YOU!" replies, he'd slip into a Batman fan group and quietly drop a single line: Batman's a wimp and can't compare to Superman!
Once the chaos was successfully ignited, Luke would step away, pour a cup of coffee, and watch the storm rage from his computer.
It wasn't a sophisticated tactic, but the results were surprisingly good.
Young people love a fight. Since real life is frustrating enough, why shouldn't they vent online? If you dare displease me, I'll insult your whole family without a second thought.
You insult me, I insult you, and everyone gangs up. That's how a topic blows up. With topics come hype, and Batman and Superman deserve the primary credit for ShowMe's rapid spread among young people.
The two heroes, unsurprisingly, became the first batch of internet celebrities in the DC world. Batman, in particular, saw his follower count soar past 300,000 in just a few days, leaving Superman far behind.
Luke genuinely couldn't understand this. Isn't Superman awesome? Tall, handsome, muscular, and hairy-chested—clearly a real man. Who doesn't like a real man?
A later data analysis revealed the reason: among Batman's hardcore fans, 80% were male, 18% were female, and 2% were non-binary; among Superman's fans, 60% were female, 25% were male, and 15% were non-binary.
It must be admitted that American culture is heavily influenced by British culture.
Crisis on the Third of August
Since the video function went live, miscellaneous problems had multiplied.
After several incidents, Luke had to call an emergency meeting, tasking some technical staff to temporarily handle video moderation.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
On the third day of August, a user named "Black Metal" posted a video depicting the murder of a woman to their ShowMe account. By the time the company noticed and ordered the video taken down, three hours had passed.
The video's spread online created an extremely toxic environment. Major news media covered the story, and all the attention was focused squarely on ShowMe.
In just one morning, Luke received dozens of calls from various government agencies, their words full of accusations and distrust. The FBI and local police demanded the company unconditionally provide all identity information for "Black Metal."
Competitors seized the opportunity to attack, publishing long articles online detailing the various unsavory tactics ShowMe allegedly used during its growth.
Suddenly, panic spread. The overwhelming pressure from public opinion was suffocating the company's employees.
In the conference room, Luke stood at the front, arms crossed, his face expressionless. His eyes scanned the room, and silence followed his gaze.
The atmosphere was one of palpable tension, dead silence, and creeping despair.
"Why is no one talking! Are you shocked into silence, or just scared?"
"You let a small public opinion crisis make you bury your heads like ostriches. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Rowan, tell me, how many users does ShowMe have?"
The young man with the increasingly thick glasses quickly stood up. "We've reached six million."
"Six million users in a little over two months. This achievement is the result of your late nights and hard work. You know better than I how much effort went into this. What? You're just giving up without a fight?"
Cindy stood up and loudly said,
"No one is giving up, but we don't know what to do."
Her statement reflected the feelings of most people there. ShowMe's employees were mostly tech-heads; few had proper university degrees, and even fewer had relevant work experience. After Luke hired them, they focused solely on technology, oblivious to other matters.
These people might be devastating in the hacking world, but when facing real-world difficulties, they were helpless, unsure how to proceed. In short, they were like children immersed in their own world.
"There are many ways to solve a problem. The most important thing is to get your attitude right."
"ShowMe has over six million users. We have to review tens of thousands of videos and images daily, and we only have six moderators, and that's just temporary. Six people versus tens of thousands..."
Luke shrugged and suggested to the burliest man there.
"Massey, interested in being a content auditor? I'll double your salary."
"I wouldn't do it for ten times the salary! What's so great about looking at that stuff? Who here hasn't seen it already?"
Everyone laughed. Luke also shook his head.
"You don't want to do it, and I don't want to do it, but we have to. To prevent similar incidents from happening again, I am now announcing that all ShowMe employees, including myself, will work in the moderation department in rotating groups of nine, until we hire new full-time auditors."
A collective groan went up.
Philip Arthur said, pained,
"I'm almost fifty. Do I have to be a content auditor too?"
"Think of it as life experience! Besides, not all videos and images are of men; some are of women. Some female users have pretty nice figures."
Philip looked at Luke with a speechless expression, unable to describe his current feelings.
After this exchange, the atmosphere in the conference room started to lighten.
Luke continued,
"In fact, this incident is a fantastic opportunity to establish our corporate image. We are a young company, and we must have the courage to own our mistakes. If we were wrong, we apologize. We shoulder the responsibility. As for all those demands for 'rectification' and 'suggestions' online, they can go to hell. This is our platform, and they don't get to decide what we do. And as for that 'Black Metal'..."
At this point, Luke took a deep breath and said with a cold expression,
"Zac, take your team and dig up everything about that guy, all the way to his ancestors. I want to know exactly where that video was filmed."
Zac nodded forcefully.
"Don't worry, Boss. He won't get away."
The other technical employees also chimed in, expressing their intense hatred for the perpetrator.
Luke looked at his watch.
"The meeting is over. Cindy, stay behind. Everyone else can go."
The Standoff with Investors
The crowd gradually left. Soon, only Cindy and Luke remained. Cindy knew why the boss had kept her. Before he could speak, she immediately said,
"After the news broke, the contacts from all the institutions called to ask what happened. Although they didn't explicitly say so, they all indicated they would postpone the negotiations. I'm very worried they'll use this incident to drive down the price."
"They won't 'might,' they will."
Luke knew the nature of those banks and venture capital firms well because he used to work in that sector in his past life.
"If we can't agree, we won't negotiate. Don't make a single call. If they call you, remember two words: Remain silent."
Cindy frowned. "Is that appropriate? Our relationship with them..."
"A relationship is one thing, and profit is another. When the situation is unclear, maintaining silence is the most correct course of action."
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