Chapter 42: What? Build Our Own Superhero Universe?

"Fuck, what the hell is this supposed to be in Superman 2?"

"Shit, where’s the Hollywood blockbuster they promised? Turn on the TV and suddenly you got some Chinese idiot fighting a masked Sun Wukong on a battlefield?"

"I fucking—"

"Is this really the Superman 2 everyone raved about? I’m furious—I spent 30 yuan on the premium version and what came out was pure shit!"

"Shit, this is so bad—how could Superman 2 possibly be this insanely terrible? It’s just a scam! Fuck, I was stunned after watching it!"

"Wait, something’s wrong—why is the Superman 2 I watched different from the one you all watched? Where the hell did Sun Wukong come from?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"…"

"…"

2003.

It was the year when China’s internet experienced its most vigorous growth.

In the first half of the year, China’s internet user base surged past 79.5 million, shocking many and officially becoming the second-largest in the world, behind only the U.S.

Although China had no true movie rating sites in the first half of the year, online forums were filled with movie enthusiasts who spontaneously formed small groups and periodically posted reviews to recommend films to other netizens.

Three months ago, Yang Bo, fresh out of Tsinghua University, noticed more and more like-minded netizens online, and the rampant proliferation of fake DVDs masquerading as real films, and gradually conceived the idea of building a website to help more users avoid scams.

Two months ago, he and several friends founded a movie recommendation site called 【Movie Home】. The site quickly attracted a large number of movie lovers, and within just two months, its user base had surpassed four thousand, growing steadily at dozens of new users per day.

But starting July 11, 【Movie Home】’s user numbers suddenly skyrocketed!

After the movie 【Sun Wukong vs Superman 2】 leaked onto the DVD market, pirated films exploded in number!

Within just a few days, fake versions of 【Sun Wukong vs Superman 2】 flooded the market everywhere.

These films all rode the hype of Superman 2, spreading wildly to small county towns and leaving countless viewers utterly shocked and disgusted.

Online, users who had been scammed flocked to 【Movie Home】 to vent their rage, causing the site’s daily traffic to double overnight.

…

July 19, Lingchen .

After a long day’s work, Yang Bo logged onto 【Movie Home】.

He found the site unusually lively—almost everyone was discussing the movie called Superman 2, and total registered users had nearly reached 8,000!

Every single comment was an insult.

After reading them, he felt confused.

Why did netizens seem to be talking about two different versions of Superman 2?

Just as he was baffled…

There was a knock at his door.

A figure walked in, excitedly holding a disc labeled 【Beast Superman】, grinning lewdly.

"Check out this awesome movie!"

He blinked in surprise.

Then he inserted the disc into his computer.

And then…

His eyes widened!

He suddenly understood why it was so terrible!

…………………………

Morning.

Deng Hairong hurried into the crowded 【Dingjin Electronics City】 with his lawyer, heading straight for every video stall.

In just a few days, nearly ten thousand pirated discs had been sold across China—an astonishing number.

When he arrived at the electronics market, he was stunned!

Almost every video shop displayed a poster for a movie called Superman 2!

No!

It was a fake called 【Tiao Ren 2】!

Worse, these ads were brazenly displayed right at the storefronts, boldly proclaiming 【Official Film License】!

The lawyer and his team confronted the shop owners…

But the owners just looked unconcerned.

"Illegal? What’s illegal? We have official licensing—when did we break any law?"

"Right, the movie that’s playing is Superman 2, ours is Tiao Ren 2—what’s wrong with that? Hey, I’m confused—what law says we can’t name our movie Tiao Ren 2?"

"Infringement? How are we infringing?"

"Posters? You’re weird—Americans wear red suits with underwear on the outside, why can’t we?"

"Besides, look at the underwear brand—it’s all Chinese brands! Even the clothes don’t infringe!"

"Deceiving consumers?"

"How are we deceiving? At worst, our discs aren’t pornographic—so what’s deceptive? We’re promoting healthy films!"

"Go ahead and sue us!"

"Besides, why should we care that your Superman 2 is getting trashed? We only charge two yuan per disc…"

"…"

Watching the shop owners’ defiant, unrepentant expressions,

Deng Hairong turned livid with rage.

Looking at the bustling 【Dingjin Electronics City】, he scowled: "Is there really nothing we can do about these people?"

The lawyer hesitated for a long time, repeatedly comparing the posters, then finally said, with a complex expression: "Legally speaking… they’re actually in the clear?"

"So we just let them ruin the reputation of our Superman 2?"

"I think they’re just making quick money—tricking a few gullible users, nothing more than a temporary thing. Our priority should still be cracking down on piracy, stopping Superman 2 pirated films from spreading further across China… but…"

"But what?"

"Fuck, this shit movie is everywhere pretending to be Superman 2—it’s raised our anti-piracy costs invisibly!"

"…"

The lawyer took a deep breath, staring at the 【Beast Superman 2】 disc he’d bought for two yuan, then sighed deeply: "Fuck, we didn’t even know which ones were just riding the hype and which were actual bootlegs when gathering evidence!"

A young man beside him frowned at the movie, then hesitated before asking Deng Hairong: "Mr. Deng, should we…"

"Tell every production team and every person involved with our film: absolutely no one is allowed to use it!"

"Understood!"

…………………………

July 21, morning.

The morning sun shone into the rented apartment.

Shen Long stared at the cash in his hand, his expression complicated.

Zhou Yang had sent him another “big red envelope.”

As of this morning, their total disc sales and purchases nationwide had reached nearly 12,000. After deducting the 0.5-yuan burning cost and disc price, plus theater splits, they’d made a total profit of around 76,000 yuan—and Shen Long’s share was nearly 12,000 yuan…

Twelve thousand yuan was enough to significantly improve his life.

But…

"Mr. Zhou, can we stop making these shitty movies?" Shen Long quietly looked at Zhou Yang, who was reading a magazine. Zhou Yang sighed faintly.

The past few days of backlash had left Shen Long, whose mental resilience wasn’t strong, sleepless night after night.

Thinking of the upcoming 【Lin Daiyu vs Lu Zhishen】, he felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

This movie would almost certainly become another flop.

Zhou Yang said nothing, still reading 【Movie World】 magazine, as if deep in thought.

Seeing this, Shen Long fell silent.

About ten minutes later…

A knock came at the apartment door.

Chen Jianfeng walked in, dusty and tired, holding several movie tickets…

Zhou Yang put down the magazine, glanced at the tickets, then stood up.

"We can’t keep making shitty movies. We’re going to build our own personal blockbuster IP!"

"Personal blockbuster IP?" At this, Chen Jianfeng and Shen Long froze.

He looked out the window, his expression serious: "Yes. I’ve thought about it carefully. We can shoot 【Lin Daiyu vs Lu Zhishen】 and the new film together. The new film’s title will be 【Tiao Ren: Reboot】…"

"What?! Shoot two at once? We…?" At this, Chen Jianfeng and Shen Long were stunned!

What made them think they could do this?

One movie was already insane enough!

Two at once?

This isn’t…

"I’ve thought it through. Before, we had no money, so we had to take risky shortcuts. But now—we have money. We can pursue two projects simultaneously. You know, America has superhero movies, right? Let’s make an anti-superhero movie. They build a superhero universe—we’ll build an anti-superhero universe. They shoot straight, we shoot backward!"

"???"

Shen Long was speechless!

Our own anti-superhero universe blockbuster?

What’s right?

What’s wrong!

Fuck!

What the hell is Zhou Zong planning to do!

Zhou Yang looked at the two men with dazed eyes and smiled, squinting: “For this movie, we can increase our investment—we can use wirework, rent our own locations, and even create our own special effects. I’ll handle the funding. As for the plot, let’s first go watch Superman 2 at the cinema…”

“And then what?” Chen Jianfeng swallowed hard, asking instinctively.

“Take a little inspiration, then make a movie better than theirs!” Zhou Yang adjusted his glasses, revealing a sly smile.

“???”

Shen Long widened his eyes.

Wait!

Zhou Zong, maybe you should check what you’re saying?

Make a movie better than theirs?

Us?

Better than them?

Us, these misfits?

Are you sure it’s us?