Chapter 11: Second dice throw

Ethan scanned the comments on Weibo, clearly amused.

"Look at this crowd hyping us up," he chuckled. "Jerry Fowler, enjoy your moment. You'll see soon enough what's going to happen."

He was still savoring the rising buzz when his secretary walked in, looking puzzled.

"Mr. Grave, we didn't actually pay for this hot search. We were still negotiating the price, but it's already in the top ten. Looks like someone else bought it for us!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Really? That explains how it jumped up so quickly. Looks like someone's trying to pull a fast one."

"Who in their right mind would do that?" Annie asked, confused.

"Who else?" Ethan smirked. "Jerry's probably feeling pretty clever. Little does he know, he's actually doing us a favor. Tell the operations team to cancel our original plan. We'll save the funds and use them elsewhere. I might just thank him with a pennant for his 'support.'"

Annie nodded and left to relay the message. Ethan mused, "If I were in his place, I'd probably think the same. Who would have guessed that I've actually got professional bio-designer skills?"

He laughed, clearly entertained. "Annie, you're getting sharper by the day. I Love it."

Given the company's recent struggles and the skepticism around him, Ethan knew most people saw him as a fraud, a wannabe designer with a tainted reputation. But he was content to let that narrative play out for now.

"Let the internet stew for a bit," he instructed his team. "No one needs to respond to the hate. Tomorrow, they'll see the truth."

As the day went on, his private Weibo account saw more activity. Hordes of users flooded his posts with taunts and sarcastic comments. Ethan found it amusing. "No wonder big names cause commotion so often. The trolls really keep the engagement lively!"

That evening, he made one last post to fan the flames

"I Didn't expect a paid boost for us on the hot search list. Hope it doesn't backfire for whoever covered our expenses. Tomorrow, follow our company account for real photos and videos. You might be surprised. As for last time, I stand by what I said: time will reveal the truth!"

The post quickly ignited another wave of reactions, with users flocking to argue, mock, and speculate. Some were even starting to second-guess, seeing his apparent confidence. "Maybe there was more to this than a simple stunt." they thought.

The next morning, Ethan woke early, ready to check on his system. Late the night before, he'd noticed the dice cool-down time was nearing its end and couldn't resist seeing if his luck would change.

The dice sparkled, ready for another roll. Ethan focused and tapped, watching it spin to life.

"Come on, give me something good!" he murmured as it settled on "2."

"Seriously?" he muttered, half amused. "Only a one and a two so far. Not exactly my lucky break."

Shrugging it off, Ethan decided not to dwell on it. With funds tight, he couldn't afford to breed more Pokémon until his bank loan came through. Having mortgaged his assets, he was expecting a few million soon, but the wait was grating.

After he got ready, Ethan arrived at the office to find the team buzzing with anticipation. With the ongoing backlash on Weibo, everyone was eager to prove the doubters wrong.

"Mr. Grave, can we start posting?" asked one of the Weibo account managers.

Ethan nodded. "I'll pull together everything we need. Let's ride this storm and show them what they've been mocking."

With the go-ahead, the team sprang into action, and the atmosphere crackled with energy. For the first time in a while, everyone felt like they had the upper hand, ready to watch the internet be proven wrong.

...

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