Chapter 57: We Are the Legitimate Ones!

August 6.

Morning.

The weather was gloomy.

Deng Hairong, wearing a mask, hurried behind his lawyer into the audiovisual sales area of Zhongguancun.

Although it was still early…

Yet at this moment, Zhongguancun’s [Dingjin Electronics City] was packed with noise.

They squeezed left and right through the crowd, nearly suffocating.

Finally, as they pushed into a stall named [Audiovisual Little World], they stopped.

He saw an acrylic board standing on the stall, clearly printed with the words “Authorized Zhengban of Superman 2,” glowing brightly under the lights.

A sea of people, everywhere were customers buying discs…

They walked into the stall.

They saw a chaotic array of discs on display, with the most prominent item being a disc labeled “Authorized Zhengban of Superman 2.”

The area was packed with young people, frantically buying the authorized Zhengban disc of Superman 2…

Listening to the chatter around them, they learned that the authorized Zhengban disc of Superman 2 had sold out within just an hour of arriving at the stall.

What remained were a few rental discs not for sale.

Such explosive sales should have made Deng Hairong happy, but at this moment, his heart grew colder and colder.

Yesterday, many at [Tianyu Company] had secretly investigated major audiovisual stores, ultimately arriving at an infuriating statistic.

In reality, many audiovisual stores reported far higher sales of Superman 2 than the DVD distributor had reported to them, yet the final reported figure was only 50,000 copies.

According to the data department’s conclusion, pirated copies of Superman 2 had completely flooded the market—while 50,000 Zhengban were being sold, at least 100,000 pirated copies were circulating.

Besides the piracy…

What was even more infuriating!

On the market, the terrible film “Tiao Ren 2,” masquerading as Zhengban and riding Superman 2’s coattails, was sucking blood from Superman 2.

“Boss, Superman 2 is sold out—should we consider Tiao Ren 2? This movie is wildly popular online, and it’s also officially authorized Zhengban …”

Deng Hairong stared fixedly at the stall owner’s smiling face, then secretly slipped him a copy of Tiao Ren 2…

“Here’s fifteen yuan—that’s enough. Under the authorized Zhengban Tiao Ren 2, there’s a bonus exclusive bonus…”

“… ”

Deng Hairong stared at Tiao Ren 2. Though his fury burned white-hot, he finally nodded, paid fifteen yuan, and bought a copy of Tiao Ren 2.

…

Half an hour later, back at the company, he opened the authorized Zhengban Tiao Ren 2…

When he saw what was called the “exclusive bonus”!

His eyes widened!

What did he see?

He saw a poster included inside the Tiao Ren 2 disc!

What did he see on the poster?

A close-up of a sexy female superhero in a plastic bodysuit, accentuating her perfect buttocks!

Below it, a line of text: 【Tiao Ren 2: Reboot, Coming Soon in Stunning Fashion!】

Wait…

This was the so-called “exclusive bonus”?

After a long silence, he lowered his head and stared at the data on the poster.

August 4, 2003.

After the authorized Zhengban DVD of Superman 2 entered the market, countless discs labeled “Authorized Zhengban of Tiao Ren 2” sprang up overnight across China’s DVD and VCD sales districts.

In the primary market, under official supervision, all audiovisual stores complied strictly—the titles of Superman 2 and Tiao Ren 2 were clearly labeled, with explicit notes distinguishing the two, making it instantly clear to buyers…

But…

What shocked Deng Hairong!

Even with such clear labeling, the number of buyers for Tiao Ren 2 in the primary market remained substantial…

On August 4, Tiao Ren 2 sold 8,000 copies, with over 2,100 sold in the primary market…

On August 5, that number had doubled to over 15,000, with nearly 4,500 sold in the primary market—even though buyers knew full well this film was not Superman 2, knew it was a terrible movie, yet still bought it…

Seeing this data, Deng Hairong’s face turned terrifyingly dark.

“These people know it’s trash, a pile of shit, yet they still come to see just how bad it is? Are they insane?”

“Boss, China has over a billion people—even the most niche movie has a base audience… especially those curious types—even some disgusting, repulsive discs we can’t even look at have people secretly buying and watching them, let alone…”

“… ”

Deng Hairong stared at the torrent of Masheng on the internet site [Movie Home], then took the data and checked the box office for [Sun Wukong vs Superman 2] over the past two days!

Nationwide, eight movie theaters were screening [Sun Wukong vs Superman 2]…

These days, every theater attracted curious fans.

Each day, they contributed thousands—even over ten thousand—in box office revenue…

He then read the comments on [Movie Home].

“I went to the theater—sure enough, it’s terrible!”

“Holy shit, it’s mind-bogglingly bad!”

“Damn… it’s really awful. Netizens weren’t lying!”

“… ”

Looking at each comment…

Deng Hairong closed his eyes.

At that moment…

A knock came at the office door!

Then…

A young man from the data department rushed in!

“Boss Deng!”

“Tiao Ren 2 sales in the secondary market have gone insane! In some places, it’s selling for more than our original Zhengban !”

“… ”

Deng Hairong took the data in shock!

Seeing the figures, his pupils shrank sharply!

Secondary and tertiary markets!

Mostly small counties across the country.

Authorized Zhengban Superman 2 sold for 20 yuan per disc.

But Tiao Ren 2, labeled as Zhengban and bundled with an “exclusive bonus,” was selling for a staggering 22 yuan per disc!

Worse still, a huge number of people actually bought it—stupidly!

After reading it…

Deng Hairong leapt to his feet!

Slammed his fist on the desk, face ashen!

He knew!

If this continued!

The entire Superman 2 project would be ruined!

“Fawu Force!”

“Give me a draft legal notice!”

“I’m suing them!”

“I’m going to sue them to death!”

…………………………

“Friends!”

“Time is money!”

“Speed, speed!”

“Remember, we’re in the legitimate, lawful business!”

“We must shed all guilt—speed, speed!”

“But beyond speed, we must closely monitor every move of Superman 2—website updates, news, real-time data, Superman 2 project box office, and all decisions and market feedback…”

“They move fast—we move faster!”

“On the bonus posters, we need even more ‘exclusive’ content!”

“I’ve seen the online comments—everyone thinks this promotional poster is awesome!”

“But we must not be complacent—we must keep improving!”

“Yes, we don’t do pornography—but we can legally skirt the edge; the more edge, the better, the more ‘exclusive,’ the better!”

“… ”

[Xuanshi Entertainment]!

Li Dongqiang sat with a group of young people who made pirated DVDs in the office of Xuan Shi Entertainment.

They watched Zhou Yang, spitting saliva as he held up the legitimate DVD of 'Tiao Ren 2,' tirelessly explaining the upcoming 'technique' for 'Tiao Ren 2.'

At that moment…

A series of knocks echoed through the office.

Immediately after…

Director Shen Long, who was shooting 'Tiao Ren: Reboot,' rushed over from the set, breathless, carrying a lawyer’s notice.

'Zhou Zong, it’s bad—they’ve sued us!'

'...'

Zhou Yang took the lawyer’s notice and frowned slightly.

Then he asked Shen Long a question completely unrelated.

'Shen Dao, our 'Tiao Ren: Reboot' releases on August 15—is there any problem?'

'No problem, Zhou Zong. I follow your lead. We’ve been pouring money into it—equipment is all set, and with this film, we have a detailed shooting plan. The issues shouldn’t be big… As for the VFX, we have three teams working almost daily. It’s not top-tier, but it’s definitely better than 'Sun Wukong vs Superman 2.' Zhou Zong, this movie is absolutely not garbage!'

'Good!'

'Zhou Zong, what about this lawyer’s notice…?'

'Don’t worry. Go ahead and shoot. We live in the light—right nearby is the Gongan Bureau. No one dares touch us!'

'But we…'

'Remember—we’re in the legitimate business!'

'...'