Chapter 29: Premiere

July 11.

Saturday.

At four-thirty, when the sky was just beginning to lighten…

Outside the 【Feihe Cinema】, a crowd had already gathered.

These people…

Were all staff from 【Feihe Cinema】 and the film crew of 【Sun Wukong vs Superman 2】.

At this moment, they stared anxiously at the alley nearby.

Zhang Muxue hadn’t slept a wink all night, enduring every minute and every second in agonizing wait!

How could she possibly sleep!

The movie was set to premiere in just a few hours!

But can you believe the film’s source material still hadn’t arrived?

Even more absurdly, this movie was reportedly still in post-production!

Chen Jianfeng, dressed in 【Tiao Ren 2】 apparel, paced like a ant on a hot pan…

Yesterday, they’d sold a lot of tickets, despite their conscience.

Thanks to the influence of 【Superman 2】…

Fans’ anticipation for this film had reached unprecedented heights…

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment…

He no longer hoped this film would surprise the audience—he only wished it could at least screen, otherwise they’d be fraudsters!

In fact, it wasn’t just him…

Almost everyone harbored this thought deep inside.

Around five in the morning, a red glow appeared on the horizon; dawn’s light pierced through thick clouds, falling upon the ancient city of Yanjing.

Just as everyone’s hearts were in their throats…

They finally heard the sound of an engine approaching from afar.

Zhou Yang, driving the familiar Audi A6, stepped out from the passenger seat and hurried over with a pile of copies!

“Check these—any problems? …Never mind, if there are, we’ll go to the next cinema right away!”

After blurting this out, Zhou Yang quickly climbed back into the Audi A6’s passenger seat, watching as An Xiaoshi, her expression complex, drove off in the direction he indicated.

Inside the car.

An Xiaoshi stared at the scattered copies on the floor, her inner turmoil beyond words!

These guys actually planned to screen this movie!

“Zhou Yang, can I skip the premiere? I’ve got some things to handle with my crew…”

“Director An, you’re the investor and sponsor of this film—how can you not come?”

“But… I… maybe I really shouldn’t go? Whatever you need, just tell me—I’ll support you from behind. This premiere… Zhou Yang, your film’s artistic depth is simply too high for someone like me…” An Xiaoshi’s face flushed deeper with every word, until her voice faded to a whisper.

Although she hadn’t seen the final version of this film.

But…

Even with her toes, she could imagine how unbearable its visual horror would be!

She could even picture the mental state of fans walking into the theater!

Just thinking of it, she realized she simply lacked the courage to step through the theater’s doors…

…………………………

Eight-thirty in the morning.

About half an hour remained until the film’s premiere.

The once-empty 【Feihe Cinema】 was now packed with people.

Street reporters from all directions, residents from nearby neighborhoods, and students from schools were all slowly streaming in with tickets.

…

Deng Hairong stood among them, his gaze complex as he stared at the cinema’s promotional posters!

Originally…

He had zero interest in coming to watch this movie.

It was obvious from a glance—hanging out a sheep’s head to sell dog meat.

But for some reason, last night, as soon as he fell asleep, his eyelids kept twitching.

So he’d come with his lawyer, determined to see what kind of garbage this film really was!

“Remember—we’re here to gather evidence. Once we have it, make a clear example of them!”

“Got it!”

Beside him, Fan Qiang, head of the Legal Affairs Division and Anti-Piracy Unit at 【Tianyu Entertainment Group】, nodded and gripped his camera tightly.

“Photograph this poster!”

“Got it!”

“Do you think this poster infringes copyright?”

“Let me see…”

In the sunlight…

The words 【Superman 2】 on the poster were glaringly prominent!

The poster matched almost exactly those online and on theater walls—Deng Hairong was stunned.

Are these pirates now this insane? Openly infringing like this?

“This doesn’t look like Superman 2…”

“Huh?”

“There’s a small line of text on the poster…”

“What small text?”

After taking the photo, Fan Qiang stared intently at the poster, then froze.

He looked up again at the poster…

The largest text was clearly 【Superman 2】—but upon closer inspection…

His spirit jolted!

What did he see?

He saw, beside the giant 【Superman 2】 characters, a tiny line easily overlooked!

The tiny text clearly read 【Sun Wukong vs】!

And when he stared again at the massive poster, he was utterly stunned!

Fuck!

This isn’t 【Superman 2】 at all—it’s 【Tiao Ren 2】!

One character different: a “tiao” instead of a “chao.”

And…

Although the poster completely copied their 【Superman 2】 design, the key actor faces had been photoshopped…

One was a Western face, the other a distinctly Eastern face!

It was Li Kui and Li Gui, pure and simple!

…

Seeing this, Deng Hairong also froze: “Does this count as infringement?”

“At most, it’s similar—but infringement?” Fan Qiang paused, then shook his head: “Actually… it doesn’t.”

“…”

Hearing this, Deng Hairong took a deep breath, the urge to slap someone rising uncontrollably.

These bastards were infuriating!

Just then…

The crowd around them grew larger, denser.

He and Fan Qiang were crushed uncomfortably in the throng.

Looking at those expectant eyes…

He felt suffocated!

These goddamn bastards!

They’re completely riding the 【Superman 2】 hype!

“Isn’t this fraud?”

“Fraud has a broad definition… strictly speaking, as long as the film plays, it’s not fraud…”

“…”

Realizing it couldn’t be classified as fraud, nor clearly as infringement, Deng Hairong suddenly felt a crushing weight in his chest…

He didn’t know what to say.

Then…

The two of them pulled out handwritten tickets.

They joined the queue in the crowd.

Soon after, tickets were checked one by one, and people filed in, sitting on chairs whose leather had nearly turned to rags, reeking of mildew.

“How can this cinema be this outdated?”

Looking at the ancient facilities and then at the screen ahead, Deng Hairong felt his worldview had been shattered.

“According to the latest data, since 1995, this cinema has completely fallen into a state of idle decay… The owner has always wanted to sell it, but after several changes of ownership, no one was willing to pay, leading to its steady decline… This is also why major theater chains look down on this cinema—even the cheapest buyout offers are rejected.”

“…”

Deng Hairong didn’t know what to say anymore.

Finally, his gaze silently fixed on the distant big screen…

The screening room was nearly full.

He looked closely and realized over half the audience were parents with children.

Almost every child held a bucket of popcorn and an ice cream, sitting eagerly, staring at the big screen…

More than ten minutes passed!

The dim, distant screen finally lit up.

The movie…

Had begun!

Deng Hairong straightened up and watched the film in silence!

Then…

He heard a sudden uproar in the cinema!

“Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2!”

Bold movie title text appeared before everyone’s eyes!

Many faces turned green!

Then…

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