Chapter 79: So Cool!

Although the Sydney Film Festival doesn’t have as many sections as Berlin, it still divides its screening areas by genre to make it easier for audiences to watch films.

Wu Yuchen didn’t know whether it was his Berlin Golden Bear that had some effect, or if a judge had taken interest in their film, but they’d been given a fairly decent slot in the Fantasy section for *The Night the Comet Came*.

But this time Wu Yuchen had no spare time to take Jiang Qin to watch various films—he and Tang Yu pulled their suitcases out, took out the promotional posters printed in China, and personally stuck them up one by one.

For an unknown small crew, promotion has to be done themselves—there’s no clout to make the organizers handle everything for you.

This time Wu Yuchen prepared far more thoroughly than his last trip to Berlin; besides posters, he also had flyers—overall, he’d spent a small sum on promotion.

Jack was a thriller fanatic, and while wandering this section, someone handed him a flyer—he took it and read:

“Golden Bear Director’s Sci-Fi Thriller Masterpiece!”

“The Most Brain-Burning Sci-Fi Thriller of the Year! Challenge Your Intelligence!”

Golden Bear director? Most brain-burning? Challenge your intelligence?

That immediately piqued Jack’s interest—he walked toward the screening hall.

At the hall entrance, he saw several display boards with different posters—some showed eight people together, others featured Jiang Qin alone as the female lead, with a meteor streaking across the background; all shared a unified style emphasizing suspense.

Each poster carried a different tagline:

“Do you want to know if there’s another version of you out there?”

“A must-see for sci-fi fans!”

“You won’t guess the ending until the very end!”

“A $10,000 indie film that shatters your worldview!”

Several others drawn in by the posters couldn’t help asking:

“Can you even make a sci-fi film for $10,000?”

“Of course! If after watching you still don’t think it’s sci-fi, you can complain to the organizers!” Wu Yuchen said confidently beside them.

These promotional lines were all about hype—first draw people in, then explain later.

A short film Golden Bear is still a Golden Bear—he spent less than $20,000 to shoot it; round it off and it’s $10,000.

Honestly, the promotion worked—by 7 p.m., the entire theater was full, packed with people lured in by curiosity or competitiveness.

Jack was now seated in the theater, determined to see what this so-called Golden Bear director’s $10,000 sci-fi thriller *Coherence* was really like!

As the film began, Wu Yuchen kept watching the audience’s reactions. Though he’d adjusted the first ten minutes, he still kept all necessary setup—he feared The Comet might, like in his past life, drive viewers away in the first fifteen minutes.

Seeing ten minutes had passed without anyone leaving, Wu Yuchen exhaled—he at least knew his adjustments had worked.

Jack watched ten minutes of the eight people chatting over dinner; though he found it dull, as a thriller fan, he had patience. Besides, subtle details had already caught his attention—like the cracked phone, which would surely matter later.

When the villa lost power and accidents began, the audience perked up—sure enough, from that moment, the plot unfolded, each twist drawing attention, conflicts and suspense mounting, tugging at nerves, forcing minds to race.

When Schrödinger’s cat and parallel worlds were introduced, some gasped, others suddenly understood.

When Fu Dalong revealed none of them were from the same world, the entire audience was stunned—a chill ran down their spines. Fu Dalong’s subsequent attack by his own doppelgänger sent waves of tension and fear through the crowd.

Jack grew more excited as he watched—he wasn’t unfamiliar with parallel worlds or time loops; films like *Groundhog Day* and *Back to the Future* had already used these elements.

But this director had made people from different parallel timelines converge, triggering chaos and fear he’d never imagined—this was a genius idea! He was now trembling, goosebumps rising all over his body!

Only now did he realize how many details had been planted—but he had no time to recall them; he could only follow the plot.

Watching the female lead Amy shift from numbness and disappointment to a cold, dark gaze, some viewers sensed what was coming. Sure enough, as eerie, suspenseful music swelled, Amy turned evil—the audience followed her steps and gaze as she approached each of the eight identical figures from different worlds, choosing the one smiling the happiest…

Amy successfully replaced her perfect-world self.

Finally, under Jiang Qin’s sweet smile, Huang Haibing looked at his phone: “This is weird… you called me…”

He picked up the call, his expression froze, then he immediately turned to look at his girlfriend.

At that moment, Jiang Qin’s smile vanished—her face darkened as she stared at Huang Haibing.

The screen went black—the film ended.

“WTF! What kind of brain did this come from?! I’m actually scared of myself now!”

“Oh my god, they killed themselves!”

“I killed me—so am I still me?”

“No! I won’t look in a mirror for the next two days!”

These were viewers frightened by the film’s horror elements. In the 1990s, horror tropes like *Triangle*—where one kills oneself—were rare or nonexistent, so its appearance shocked audiences.

Of course, there were also many praises:

“My god! This movie is so cool! I didn’t even notice when everyone had switched worlds!”

“How many times did the parallel timelines intersect? My brain is completely overloaded—this is definitely the most brain-burning film I’ve seen this year!”

“I thought it was boring at first, but now I realize every moment was setup and detail—I have to rewatch it several times!”

At this point, Wu Yuchen, Jiang Qin, and Tang Yu stepped onto the stage to thank the audience.

The audience erupted in loud applause—this film had truly given them immense surprise and shock!

As the applause subsided, before Wu Yuchen could even speak, someone couldn’t wait to ask:

“Director, how many times did the timelines cross?”

“After leaving, can you return to your original room?”

“Will Amy kill her boyfriend in the ending?”

“How many Amys exist in the final timeline?”

Wu Yuchen wasn’t flustered by the barrage of questions—he raised his hand to quiet them, then said:

“I can reveal a few things:

First, the timeline convergence caused by the comet began before the gathering started;

Second, passing through that dark zone leads you into another timeline;

Third, every choice creates a new parallel timeline;

…

I can only tell you this much—the rest, I believe discovering on your own is the fun part~”

Hearing the director say this, no one asked further—they sat in thoughtful silence, replaying the film’s details—this was precisely the film’s charm.

Then came another round of applause, followed by a loud cry:

“*Coherence* will definitely be one of this year’s top ten films!”