Chapter 25: Insane Promotion Poster! (Second Update!)

Night.

Deepened.

In the rented apartment.

Shen Long smoked cigarette after cigarette.

In just a moment, he had smoked nearly two packs.

But…

But his eyes were fixed rigidly on the copy of “Sun Wukong vs Superman 2,” his gaze bloodshot.

In ten days, this movie…

Fuck!

Let’s just call it a movie!

Strictly speaking, it’s nearly fifty minutes of video footage—now I have to stretch it to an hour and a half…

How insane are these materials?

The filming is utterly chaotic—it makes your scalp tingle!

What about the lead actor’s performance?

Are you kidding?

Just getting the plot cut into something halfway coherent is already a miracle!

The key is, we need to stretch it to an hour and a half…

We have to endlessly loop the same actions, insert all kinds of close-up slow-motion shots, and on top of that…

The key is!

Movie 11 is premiering!

They’ve got only three days!

What can you do in three days?

Edit the plot, fix the VFX, do audio post-production, rework the subtitles…

“Fuck!”

“I can’t do it, Boss Zhou, I really can’t!”

“…”

In the rented apartment.

Shen Long’s mind completely shattered.

Fine. Since shooting this movie, his mental state has collapsed countless times already.

Right now, he kept tearing at his wild hair, then finally called Zhou Yang, nearly in tears.

“Director Shen, I believe in your talent. On the path to chasing dreams, setbacks and twists are inevitable—but gold will always shine!”

“Boss Zhou! I used to think I had talent, but since working with you on this movie, I’m not even gold—I’m a rock in the toilet! I feel like I should quit and go farm!”

“Director Shen, have confidence! After the premiere, I’ll give you a huge bonus. Gotta go now—I’m in the middle of a business call!”

“…”

Zhou Yang hung up.

Shen Long stared blankly at the phone, then blankly at the computer screen, littered with chaotic footage…

The more he looked, the more he felt his life was over.

At that moment, his phone rang—it was the cinematographer, Zhang Yunyi…

“Director Shen, I can’t do it—I can’t handle the VFX…”

“Director Shen, I suddenly feel I have zero talent—I’m just shit…”

“Aaaahhh, Director Shen! I’m being asked to make ten-thousand-yuan-level footage for a hundred-yuan job—how am I supposed to do this? I feel like I’m going bald… Do you know, Director Shen? I think I’m going insane…”

“…”

The familiar voice of collapse echoed in Shen Long’s ears.

For some reason, Shen Long imitated Zhou Yang and offered comfort: “Gold will always shine…”

“I’m dog shit—I’m not gold! You’re way too kind to me! Aaaahhh!”

“…”

On the other end of the line.

The cinematographer Zhang Yunyi’s mental state seemed to be deteriorating.

…………………………

Night.

Gradually deepened.

【Feihe Cinema】.

The street singer Shen Hu didn’t go to Tianqiao with his guitar as usual—he followed Zhou Yang into the 【Feihe Cinema】 office.

No choice: his loudspeaker for begging had been confiscated by Zhou Yang. Without amplification, the wind on Tianqiao blew too hard—no one could hear what he was singing.

“The movie premieres on the 11th? Where’s the rough cut?”

“Still editing…”

“Finish it in three days?”

“Yes. Finished.”

“Then why are you here today, Boss Zhou?”

“I’m here to plan the promotion. I want 【Feihe Cinema】 to cooperate with the movie and help promote it over these three days!”

“Promotion?”

In the 【Feihe Cinema】 office.

Zhang Muxue stared at Zhou Yang, feeling dazed.

Was it her imagination…

Hadn’t the movie just started filming?

How could it already be finished?

“Yes, promotion. I brought a cassette tape—listen to this…”

“Huh?”

Zhang Muxue watched as Zhou Yang silently handed her a cassette. After a pause, she finally inserted it into the tape player.

A moment later…

“Good news, good news! Filming’s done! Filming’s done! Our movie’s finished!”

“Good news, good news! Starting tomorrow, come to 【Feihe Cinema】 to buy tickets! Half-price tickets! Yes, half-price!”

“Good news, good news! China’s first fantasy sci-fi epic is about to premiere, about to premiere…”

“Stunning visuals, awesome martial arts, ultimate special effects, cosmic battle!”

“Don’t miss it! Don’t miss it!”

“…”

Hearing the cassette loop the crude, market-hawker-style voice, Zhang Muxue flinched.

“You’re… promoting it like this?”

“Yes!”

“Also, I had a special shirt made for you—our movie’s battle robe. Try it on, see if it fits…”

“???”

Zhang Muxue watched as Zhou Yang, smiling, pulled out a pile of bright red shirts from Shen Hu’s bag.

She instinctively took one.

The first thing she saw was a giant pair of characters: "Superman 2."

Then she saw the bold line beneath it:

【Global Blockbuster, July 11, 【Tiao Ren 2】 Epic Premiere!】

Wait.

Superman 2!

The longer she stared…

Zhang Muxue felt something was off about the character “ Chao ” in “ Chaoren .”

Wait.

Fuck!

Superman?

Tiao Ren?

Fuck!

It’s Tiao Ren, not Superman!

It’s 【Tiao Ren 2】, not 【Superman 2】!

“Starting tomorrow, place this speaker outside the cinema and loop it nonstop!”

“All staff must wear these shirts from the premiere onward, and hang the 【Tiao Ren 2】 poster in the most visible spot!”

“This is my carefully prepared poster!”

「……」

Zhang Muxue stared blankly as Zhou Yang finished speaking, then smiled and pulled out a large poster!

The poster slowly unfurled before Zhang Muxue…

She stared at the familiar-looking poster!

Zhang Muxue was stunned!

She leapt to her feet, then opened her computer and searched for the promotional poster of the upcoming Hollywood blockbuster Superman 2…

On the computer screen, the muscular Superman raised one hand, bent the other, and flew through the sky!

And on the desk, the poster showed the same muscular Superman, one hand raised, the other bent, flying through the sky.

The poster looked exactly like it had been copied and pasted from the computer, then enlarged!

The only difference was…

Wait!

The only difference was…

The man’s face on the poster was different…

On the computer, the lead actor was Hollywood’s famous star Christopher, the handsome man dubbed a goddess-snatcher in Hollywood…

But on Zhou Yang’s poster, Superman’s face had been photoshopped with an East Asian face that matched the original by ninety percent—if you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t notice at all!

Is this even possible?

Zhang Muxue drew in a sharp breath, staring tightly at Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang pushed his glasses up with one hand, smiled, stood slightly upright, gazed into the distance, and said seriously:

“From now on, we’re going to crush Hollywood!”