Three months ago, a mobile game called Ghosts, Demons, and Evil Spirits was promoted worldwide. During the ten-day campaign, the world was filled with headlines like these:
[Twitter: President of the United States: Donald Trumpless: Games? Nobody understands games better than me.]
[The Great Xia elements in the game must be part of a conspiracy.]
[Presidential decree: American citizens must be on guard against the invasion of Great Xia culture and must watch the game’s promotional videos. They contain the latest cultural weapon developed by Great Xia.]
[LINE: Japanese Prime Minister: Jiro Tsuchida: Great Xia is about to become the world’s strongest nation, and it has its sights set on our Sakura Isles. A cultural and ideological clash is imminent. Start resisting the fake propaganda for Ghosts, Demons, and Evil Spirits by studying it.]
[Great Xia Anti-Fraud App: Friendly reminder: Ghosts, Demons, and Evil Spirits may be using false advertising, but don’t forget to watch it every day.]
[We have reason to suspect that this is a new wave of cultural invasion launched by foreign powers.]
[Study your rivals, arm yourself, surpass them.]
[…]
Three months later, the game faded from public view, then suddenly announced its arrival in the real world. Great Xia’s reaction looked like this:
[The Anti-Fraud App pops up automatically every five minutes, for half an hour.]
[Don’t spend money. Don’t spend money. Don’t spend money.]
[Spending feels great once, and spending forever feels great forever.]
[Please spend within your means…]
[The relevant authorities will arrest the staff of the Ghosts, Demons, and Evil Spirits game company tomorrow.]
