Epic's Gaokao Post Backfires: Slave Ship Image Swapped for Genshin Impact's Layla

On the first day of the Gaokao, Epic Games' official Chinese account posted a well-intentioned message to students, only to face immediate backlash over an inappropriate image. Users pointed out that the ship depicted was a historical slave ship. Epic quickly scrambled to swap the image for a screenshot of Layla from Genshin Impact, attempting to smooth things over.

The comment section, however, quickly turned into a comedic debate. Fans noted that the chosen screenshot actually shows Layla struggling with a paper near her deadline (often referred to as 'DDL' in Chinese gaming circles). Others joked that Layla's 'study hack' is just sleeping and letting her second personality handle the test. Netizens quipped that at least it was better than using an image of 'Ding Zhen' (a popular internet celebrity meme), while others jokingly warned about spoilers for the game's hangout events.