Chapter 38 4/4

In the end, it boils down to this: you deny, go ahead; we lose if we believe a single word.

In the visible chaos and confusion in the comment section, Ouzheng finally left a sentence and stopped responding: [Wait for it, I’ll contact the crew; maybe you’ll believe them when they deny it.]

While netizens were waiting, Ouzheng quickly forwarded a live stream link with a text that clearly showed his frustration:

The last scene of my livestream was meeting the director. You’ve seen her; she’s personally livestreaming with you. Live, not recorded! You’ll see I wasn’t lying! ]

This was definitely the most explosive livestream recently.

Countless netizens rushed in and were immediately kicked out, and those who persisted were kicked out again, taking several attempts to finally succeed.

Once inside, they saw a pretty young lady standing in front of a slowly moving dragon tail, stroking it.

While stroking, she turned her head to explain: “This is indeed a prop made by our crew. It works a bit like a camera, slowly moving with the activities within the line of sight, making it appear alive.”

The netizens who had finally entered were trying hard to identify her appearance and indeed found that she was the pretty girl who was recorded in the livestream.

The pretty girl introduced herself as Xu Man, the chief director of the movie titled “Cultivator.”

“Others wear ancient costumes; I wear modern clothes because I am the director. I don’t need rehearsals. As for the loudspeaker, it’s not some magical tool; it’s just a loudspeaker that directors often use for convenience in shouting. I basically carry it with me.”

She then brought the camera to a giant bird flying in the sky: “This is indeed a phoenix, but it’s made. It uses drone technology and can only fly a short distance.”

“This turtle is also a prop. It can’t even walk; it’s just used as a background.”

“The giant is also a background, so it will basically walk around here. Come, let me unscrew a screw for everyone to see.”

Up to this point, even those who were originally firm believers in “this is real” began to waver.

Mainly because the various creatures, big and small, seen in the video were basically revealed as “props” by Director Xu Man in the live stream.

This included hundreds of extras having their meals; their faces were recognized numerous times by viewers. Some young people even appeared excited and eager to “prove themselves.”

“I played a soldier in ‘Sentence Transmission,’ in Episode 7, for 32 minutes and 50 seconds. This should prove that I am an extra, right?”

“I am too. I played a palace maid in ‘Beautiful Ladies in the Palace’ and even cross-dressed as an eunuch.”

“I, I, I played a small vendor, a maid, and a passerby, respectively, in… you can search to see me.”

In this rare opportunity for the public to get to know them, these young extras were all very enthusiastic; some even approached with their phones, playing scenes from the dramas they had acted in.

Viewers watching the livestream: “…”

With such compelling evidence, even if they wanted to say, “I don’t believe it,” at this moment, they had no choice but to believe.

The video indeed had no special effects because everything was physical props.

Ouzheng really didn’t lie because he entered unknowingly.

The hundreds of “disciples” were indeed not fake people because they were all extras.

The featured Xu Man indeed had a high position and wasn’t an actress because she, despite being so beautiful, turned out to be the director.

The truth was so coincidental and absurd, there was even a feeling more absurd than a “crossing two worlds” portal.

Isn’t this too outrageous?

Which family films are like this?

This isn’t just a set; it’s like transporting a fairy palace from the world of cultivation.

And how much money does this cost? Even those who don’t understand can see that every detail in this set is burning money!

All this for a movie?!

Compared to “filming a movie,” “cultivator time-traveling” is easier to believe!

A skeptical netizen asked persistently: [If what you say is true, why does Ouzheng’s phone have no signal and can’t make calls, and why can he continue livestreaming without signal?! ]

A lazy voice came from the side: “Because we have wifi.”

“The signal here is not good, so we’ve set up wifi everywhere. You can connect without a password.”

Seeing the newcomer, Xu Man smiled in that direction: “How did you come over?”

“I came to join in the fun. After all, I’m an investor.”

The next moment, the person speaking entered the frame. She handed her phone to the camera, showing everyone the “Mystical Palace 520” she was connected to. Looking below, there were even nine other fairy palaces’ names for wifi.

The netizens watching the live stream were shocked.

They didn’t even care about the WiFi names.

[“Oh my!!! Sheng Quan?”]

[“Sheng Dong is actually an investor!”]

[“Seeing Sheng Quan, suddenly I understand why the crew is so extravagant.”]

[“What’s wrong with you? Who is Sheng Quan? Is she also a celebrity?”]

[“For those who don’t know Sheng Dong, let me introduce you. I’m Sheng Dong. I bought a building in the city center of the Magic City to build a company. Also, I’m Sheng Dong; in a charity entertainment show, I generously donated one billion! This is the woman who can directly go to her own library to finish watching an ongoing series!”]

With Sheng Quan’s appearance, everything became reasonable.

After all, she had a history of spending money.

Sheng Quan affectionately leaned on Xu Man’s side, indicating a good relationship between her and the director.

“Cultivator is a surprise for the viewers, but it’s not bad to show a small part in advance. With everyone giving such high praise to our set, we are confident.”

“For those interested in fantasy dramas, you can come and watch ‘Cultivator’ after it’s released. Although Ouzheng livestreamed a part, fortunately, it was only a small part. More surprises with the props we’ve prepared are on the other side, more detailed than this, and haven’t been leaked. It’s not considered to have ruined the viewing experience!”

Netizens were shocked again.

So many impressive props, and it’s only a small part?

There’s even more shocking stuff!

They quickly shifted from “I don’t believe it” to “I want to see, I want to see.”

[“Oh my god! When is it going to be released? Even if it’s just to see these props, I want to see it!”]

[“Sheng Dong, so generous! To think there’s someone making props like this!”]

[“Ah, ah, ah, ah, I want to see. I want to see. When is it going to be released?”]

[“Too excited! To think there’s a movie making props so realistic that everyone thinks it’s real!”]

[“Oh my god! And this is just a small part! I want to see for real!”]

[“As long as I see the movie, I’ll definitely believe these are movie props!”]

Sheng Quan signaled the crew members operating the livestream: “Although we leaked a small part of the set, it’s also a way to promote the movie in advance, which is a good thing. Let’s send some red envelopes to everyone for good luck.”

This grand marketing performance ended with Sheng Quan sending out a bunch of red envelopes.

The red envelope rain had both big and small amounts, and many people grabbed the small ones, while the large amounts were enough to make those who grabbed them happy for several days.

Due to this incident, Ouzheng gained countless new followers, and the program “Having a Laugh” also gained exposure. With the approval of the crew, they could include Ouzheng’s recording in the next episode, which was expected to be another win-win situation.

The “Cultivator” crew, even before its release, had garnered considerable anticipation from viewers both domestically and internationally.

Audiences suddenly realized that they weren’t averse to fantasy movies. Even if the plot is mediocre, they are willing to watch just for the grand scenes.

And who knows? This movie might turn out to be really good.

Because of this surge in online discussions about immortals and cultivation, quite a few novels in the cultivation and modern crossover genres emerged, effectively boosting the popularity of the entire genre.

After the extravagant exposure of “Cultivator,” Xu Man’s career took a sudden leap forward. Although not by much, it still added three months to Sheng Quan’s lifespan.

This successful marketing campaign gave confidence to all the investors. Although the movie hadn’t been released yet, they were actively working to secure additional benefits for the shared cake.

The only ones possibly unhappy were the paparazzi.

They had planned everything, from how to take secret photos to how to upload them, but in the end, they couldn’t capture anything.

Pretending to be drone enthusiasts, the paparazzi were extremely angry: “Why aren’t they letting the drones fly? This isn’t their home.”

The next day, when they came back, they found signs inserted around the filming site.

[“Private area, do not enter.”]

The paparazzi: “…”

After some investigation, everyone was dumbfounded.