Chapter 782: 《The Wandering Earth》, Released!

Time passed, and the day for *The Wandering Earth* to be released had arrived.

Yesterday, the global box office figures for *Doomsday Apostle 2* could be considered quite stable, at 46 million USD.

That is to say, the total box office for this film had already approached 100 million USD.

Judging by the momentum, the second installment of the *Doomsday Apostle* series was better than the first.

If it hadn't missed out on such a large film market as Huaxia, it would likely have had a chance to make a name for itself on the charts and break into the top 100 in film history.

But as it stands now, it's a bit uncertain.

However, the director, Jeffrey, felt there was still hope.

Films released globally like this sometimes have a magical effect of blooming on the other shore.

It's just like the latest few *Transformers* films on Earth; their box office in North America was actually quite sluggish, and they could no longer compare to other well-known major IPs, but in places like Huaxia, they still achieved impressive box office results.

In fact, many Hollywood films would actually lose money if not for the counterattack of the Huaxia box office.

Currently, there are still several countries and regions that did not synchronize the release of *Doomsday Apostle 2* immediately.

The India market is among them.

Jie Dao feels there is still a chance to make a name for himself in film history!

The impressive global box office results allowed Director Jeffrey to let out a long sigh of relief; his mentality, which had been slightly collapsing a few days ago, was now completely stabilized.

He is now just waiting for *The Wandering Earth* to flop.

In fact, after *Doomsday Apostle 1* was released previously, many Huaxia science fiction directors threatened to defeat it and produce better local science fiction works!

Under the overwhelming publicity, it even incited the patriotic emotions of many viewers, who ran into cinemas to pay for the film.

However, after watching the film one by one, they all fell into deep confusion.

"Was I being used?"

How could he have the nerve to challenge others after filming such a piece of shit? You wouldn't happen to not know that what you filmed is a piece of shit, would you?

After being repeatedly tossed about by a few such rotten science fiction films, the anger of many Huaxia viewers was ignited.

What the hell, cheating domestic viewers by inciting emotions to scam money on one hand, while losing face abroad on the other?

If it weren't for the fact that *The Wandering Earth* came from the hands of Luo Mo, many viewers would likely be resistant and unwilling to walk into a cinema to watch it immediately.

Of course, based on a lack of trust in domestic science fiction, there were indeed some viewers who didn't even buy Luo Mo's account and insisted on waiting and seeing first.

Spending money is a small matter, but spending money to look for trouble is just too disgusting!

At this moment, several Huaxia viewers bought tickets for *The Wandering Earth* today with great confidence.

The leader of the group was none other than Huo Yuan, who keeps the sorrow for the readers and the happiness for himself.

This time, just like last time, he brought Yao Yu, Cao Tong, and others into the cinema together.

Cao Tong, a literary master sitting in a wheelchair, was originally not interested in science fiction films.

He wasn't just uninterested in Huaxia's science fiction films; he was uninterested in most science fiction films.

But did Huo Yuan care whether he was willing or not?

Our literary squad is moving out as a group, you must come!

——"You must conform"!

"Kidnapping" you, someone in a wheelchair, isn't that easy?

Along the way, Huo Yuan even swore: "The movie is definitely good; my daughter-in-law guaranteed it to me!"

Yes, as the father-in-law of Mrs. Zhong Lin, he had specifically asked Zhong Lin if this new film by Luo Mo was good.

As a team leader in the Review Department, she certainly wouldn't spoil the plot, but she personally felt that the film was very good and strongly recommended that Huo Yuan go to the cinema to watch it.

Back then, these literary bigwigs went to the cinema together to watch *Let the Bullets Fly*, and then publicly praised it heavily, which could be said to have given this film a huge boost!

The film's word-of-mouth even increased slightly because of this.

Many people on the internet just like to be different and go against the crowd.

Many people say *Let the Bullets Fly* has depth, but he insists on saying it doesn't.

"I think *Let the Bullets Fly* has no depth at all!"

"But Huo Yuan, Yao Yu, and the others all say this film has a lot of depth, eh!"

The counterattack suddenly became a bit more powerful.

After arriving at the cinema, Huo Yuan pushed the wheelchair with a smile.

He always scrambled to do this; he wouldn't let anyone else push, hehe, I just love to push!

He just liked to watch Cao Tong sitting in the wheelchair he was pushing, and then see his terrified expression when they hit some uneven ground and he got jolted.

After a few old men wearing masks checked their tickets and entered, they sat down in the most spacious last row of the cinema; it was more convenient to support Cao Tong this way.

And as everyone knows, the last row of many cinemas is specially set up as couple seats.

Huo Yuan raised his hand with a smile: "Cao Tong and I will be a couple!"

Cao Tong: "..."

Is a twisted melon really that sweet?

Now, some students are already on summer vacation.

The students sitting in the cinema probably never dreamed that the authors on the required reading lists compiled by their Chinese teachers were sitting in the same cinema as them at this moment.

——And sitting in couple seats at that.

At this time, it was ten past two in the afternoon.

The cinema, however, was full of people.

Luo Mo's films now have this kind of influence.

Let alone the golden time in the evening, even the afternoon is often packed.

Huo Yuan heard two young people in the row in front still discussing.

"Will it be any good? Domestic Science Fiction films are always boring," the boy said.

"It's fine, I can watch Luo Mo's handsome face for two hours, you can just sleep if you can't stand it," his girlfriend comforted him softly.

Huo Yuan found that hilarious.

Two minutes later, the lights in the Cinema went out.

The first thing to appear on the big screen was, naturally, the Dragon Mark, which is the public screening permit from the Review Department.

As the movie began, it showed a scene of Earth at night, followed by the sound of ocean waves.

"Quick, quick, look, it's Jupiter!" a man's gentle voice rang out, "The largest planet in the Solar System."

"Dad, there's an eye on Jupiter," a child's voice sounded.

"That's a big storm on Jupiter," the man explained.

At this moment, he was with his son, looking at the starry sky by the sea with a telescope.

"What's a storm?" the boy asked.

"Jupiter is like a big balloon, ninety percent of it is hydrogen," the man said.

The boy seemed to have a strong thirst for knowledge, and he turned to ask the old man sitting to the side, "Grandpa, what is hydrogen?"

"What is hydrogen?" Grandpa Han Zi'ang smiled and asked as well.

The man touched the boy's head and said, "It's the fuel for the big rockets Dad flies."

"Hydrogen is the fuel for the big rockets Dad flies!" the little boy even went to explain it to Grandpa.

Huo Yuan and the others only felt that this scene was quite heartwarming.

The man's gentle voice sounded again: "Liu Qi, when one day you can see Jupiter without a telescope, Dad will be back."

"Where are you going?" the boy Liu Qi asked.

"Dad is going to carry out a mission, the most important mission in the world," the man said.

It was very clear that this part of the content was meant to establish the story's background.

The audience began to look forward to it one after another.

It was very clear that the mission the man spoke of was likely the so-called—Wandering Earth Project—from the trailer!

After the boy Liu Qi fell asleep, Liu Qi's father Liu Peiqiang said to Han Zi'ang, "After I leave, you will be Liu Qi's only guardian. You don't need to draw lots; you can directly obtain the qualification to enter the Underground City to live."

"This is also the only way to let you and Liu Qi... both To Live," Liu Peiqiang said, "It has to be this way."

"Alright, say no more," the old man gripped the tag Liu Peiqiang handed over tightly, his voice slightly heavy.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Liu Peiqiang's eyes revealed self-reproach as he spoke to his father-in-law.

Huo Yuan and the others knew very well that the content here was actually establishing the character backgrounds; Liu Qi was likely the character played by Luo Mo, his mother was already gone, his father had gone to carry out a mission, and he would be raised by his grandfather alone.

At this moment, the camera finally gave a close-up of the Dahai.

The scene visible in the distance was not the Dahai everyone was familiar with at all.

Far away, one could see something that looked like a metal city.

A voice-over began to appear, starting to explain the world background in the movie.

"At first, no one cared about this disaster."

"It was just a wildfire."

The screen subsequently changed to a scene of a wildfire.

"A drought."

The screen changed to a land of scorched earth for a thousand miles.

"The extinction of a species."

The screen changed to rotting animal carcasses.

"The disappearance of a city."

The screen changed to a chaotic city.

"..."

"Until this disaster became closely related to everyone."

The content of this voice-over made Huo Yuan and the others' eyes light up.

"That's quite interesting!"

"It's written well."

In this, there was actually also a satire on human nature.

Immediately following, the background music changed, and the voice-over continued speaking.

"The sun is aging rapidly and expanding continuously; in one hundred years, the sun will expand to swallow the entire Earth."

"In three hundred years, the Solar System will cease to exist."

The preceding content already made it clear that the story took place in a future world, not the present.

This kind of doomsday setting regarding the sun was actually not fresh.

The sun is going to break, or "sun-broken" for short.

In many foreign Science Fiction films or Science Fiction novels, the reason humans migrate to other planets is also because the sun is aging rapidly and expanding continuously, and the current planet is no longer habitable.

Honestly, it's a bit formulaic.

Just hoping Luo Mo can put new wine in old bottles and come up with something new?

The voice-over was still continuing.

"Facing this catastrophic disaster, humanity displayed unprecedented unity."

"In order to let more people To Live, the United Government decided to push the entire Earth out of the Solar System and fly toward a new home 4.2 light-years away."

"This magnificent and long-term human migration plan was named—the Wandering Earth Project."

In an instant, the audience members who had those previous thoughts couldn't help but feel slightly stunned.

"Isn't everyone supposed to go live on an alien planet?"

"Holy crap, they're actually pushing Earth out of the Solar System!"

"Oh my god! This feels kind of awesome!"

Huo Yuan and the others listened to the story's background and exchanged glances.

"What do you think?" Huo Yuan asked Cao Tong.

Cao Tong looked at the big screen, a smile appearing on his face.

He was a man of deep emotions, and his assessment was: "I already feel that this is a very romantic film."

Yes, even though the film was describing a catastrophe and the resistance humanity put up.

Yet Cao Tong insisted on using the word 【romantic】.

Huo Yuan, also a master of the literary world, not only didn't think his word choice was wrong, but felt he had put it very well.

Now, he also felt that this would be a grand and romantic film!

The reason was simple.

It was a Science Fiction film that aligned with the Huaxia sentiment.

Huaxia people have a unique emotional connection to home, to their Hometown, and to their native land.

We care deeply about our homeland and native soil, holding our own attachments and cherishing them.

We are a people with roots.

Perhaps, in works created by the mindset of people from many other countries, it is mostly all of humanity abandoning their own planet to immigrate to an alien world.

But what about Huaxia people?

——A golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as one's own dog kennel.

As long as there is a way, we will not abandon our home, nor abandon our native soil.

On Earth, many viewers at that time gave this film a nickname, calling it 【Little Broken Ball】.

Because this Earth is, truly... a bit broken.

But, so what?

We will still choose to take the Little Broken Ball... to wander!

We are willing to fight for our home.

Always willing!

In the film, the voiceover continued, explaining what the Wandering Earth Project was.

"Humanity exhausted all resources to build ten thousand Planetary Engines on the surface of the Earth."

"To provide the power for Earth to fly away from the Solar System."

The scene changed, and the voice also shifted to the female voice from a news report.

"Each Propulsion Engine stands eleven thousand meters tall."

"They will provide a total thrust of one hundred and fifty trillion tons for the Earth."

Liu Peiqiang then appeared on screen, saluting the camera alongside many other navigators.

In the news report, the female voice continued:

"The Navigator International Space Station will officially be completed at the beginning of this month."

"Our country has selected three hundred and eleven elite pilots and seven hundred and nine mechanical engineers."

Liu Peiqiang sat inside the rocket, wearing a spacesuit, following the rocket as it flew into space.

The deep male voice of the narrator sounded again, continuing the introduction.

"At the same time, to ensure the safety of Earth's voyage."

"The United Government gathered global aerospace forces and spent 30 years building the Navigator International Space Station."

"The Navigator International Space Station will fly alongside Earth at a relative distance of one hundred thousand kilometers, providing early warning, navigation, and communication support for Earth."

Amidst the voiceover, images of space and the space station appeared.

The audience in the Cinema wore their 3D glasses, watching the special effects in the film, feeling that these stunning visuals were completely on par with Hollywood blockbusters.

"Holy crap, it really lives up to being a film that spent a fortune!"

"Visually, it's very satisfying."

"They put in the effort, they really did; but domestic special effects have indeed developed quite well in these past few years!"

After explaining the space station, the narrator then explained that the Earth's environment had gradually deteriorated, and people had begun to live in Underground Cities.

"Before Earth reaches its new home, this will be humanity's only sanctuary."

"Thus, humanity, this tiny race born in the Solar System, embarked on a two-thousand-five-hundred-year... journey of wandering."

As soon as this voiceover was delivered, a large number of viewers in the Cinema were once again stunned in their hearts.

But thinking about it, it made sense; that was a star system 4.2 light-years away.

Such a vast distance, isn't that a long journey?

It's just that the 2,500-year journey of wandering—this number truly made people's jaws drop.

Huo Yuan and Cao Tong also felt that the entire Wandering Earth Project was shocking; just the time span alone made one feel it was incredible.

However, the more that was the case, the more they felt this was a truly Huaxia film!

Because this is a people with many unique traits.

Just look at the Myth stories.

The old man moving the mountains, the Jingwei bird filling the sea...

Just look at reality; we built the Changcheng, dug the canals...

We have done no shortage of things that are long-term and span great distances.

It seems there is something different in our bones.

This nation is stubborn, unyielding, and persistent!

Or perhaps, only a nation that has stood in this world for 5,000 years could dare to imagine such a 2,500-year grand plan.

2,500 years—for many nations, where would such a concept of time even exist?

How many generations would it take to complete such a plan?

But so what?

But what of it?

Because we Huaxia people have our own way of thinking, and that is...

—Sons and grandsons, generation after generation, without end!

(End of chapter)