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Chapter 572: Chapter 479: Masterpiece for the Ages (Please subscribe!)_1
Looking at Zheng Lin’s changing expression.
Chai Ren then sped up his explanation: "My friend’s movie company focuses mainly on the production of science fiction films. Only those that can gain international recognition, propagate Chinese culture and technology, are produced. The question of money is not a big deal, and the issue with special effects, my friend said, can be resolved using our very own domestic special effects technology."
Chai Ren finished in one breath.
Zheng Lin’s expression had completely changed from before.
What did he just hear?
Movies that can go international?
Films that propagate Chinese culture.
Special effects technology is domestic?
Zheng Lin couldn’t help but find these points questionable. He frowned, "Is it true that we can solve the issue of special effects with our own national technology?" This was no joking matter – using foreign special effects technology would render the whole endeavor meaningless.
Zheng Lin, of course, was deeply familiar with the state of domestic special effects technology. However, when he saw the results, his heart sank. These cheap special effects could just about fool the less demanding domestic audience, forming a sort of cultural artifact like swords, and ’inner powers.’
However, in terms of foreign audiences, only the action scenes were worth watching. Science fiction, to put it bluntly, was a prohibited area for domestic films. With the current technology, filming one would only disgust the audience while also ruining not just the reputation but also the good scripts.
Chai Ren immediately nodded, "Yes, my friend wouldn’t lie to me. There’s no significance in that. This friend I’m talking about is Tang Qing, a very capable... high school student."
"A high school student?" Zheng Lin exclaimed.
When did Chai Ren collaborate with a high school student?
At their level, their circles of collaboration were generally of the same age or above thirty. That’s because those in their twenties were still in their growth stages in terms of background and ability, and mentally immature. Apart from a few exceptional ones, they seldom worked with individuals under twenty-five, let alone those under twenty.
High school.
Was Chai Ren joking?
Zheng Lin looked at Chai Ren.
"Yes, but don’t underestimate Tang Qing, I wouldn’t recommend an unreliable collaborator to you." Chai Ren reassured.
Hearing this.
Zheng Lin turned to look at Tang Qing, who was still gently smiling at him.
"Hello, brother Zheng." Tang Qing said with a light chuckle.
"Hello, what will you offer to persuade me to invest?" Zheng Lin asked in a frown.
Tang Qing shook his head, spoke softly: "Brother Zheng, you might have misunderstood me. I’m not in need of money or technology; I just want to get to know you, Brother Zheng. I welcome the possibility of a collaborative opportunity."
Tang Qing felt that he was being particularly bold that day, but he had no inclination to beg anyone for money.
Zheng Lin was stunned by Tang Qing’s words.
Get to know him?
Did he not know his background?
Was he not here to solicit his cooperation?
"Are you sure our cooperation is not crucial?" Zheng Lin said, half-smiling as he tried to probe further, his tone slightly harsh.
But Tang Qing’s strong perception told him that Zheng Lin was not angered. He then laughed, "Of course, I don’t lack money, or technology, and the main distribution market is overseas. If it weren’t for the fact that I think Chai Dashaoh’s friend is reliable and that your hobby somewhat relates to my movie company, I wouldn’t bother to explore it further. Otherwise..."
Tang Qing didn’t finish, but everyone understood his implication.
Chai Ren was perspiring with anxiety for Tang Qing. The Zheng family was almost on par with the Chai family. Tang Qing’s calm demeanor made him seem a bit arrogant, but this was consistent with his performance during his interactions with Tang Qing. He was neither arrogant nor humble, and remained calmly composed.
Listening to Tang Qing’s words.
Zheng Lin looked at Tang Qing’s unchanged calmness. His smile grew deeper, and finally, he burst into laughter, "Ha ha ha ha ha, good, good. Chai Ren, your friend is interesting, very interesting. Let me introduce myself formally. My name is Zheng Lin."
Zheng Lin extended his hand for the first time.
Tang Qing smiled and extended his hand as well.
Their hands joined.
"Tang Qing." these two words bounced out from Tang Qing’s mouth.
Three seconds later, their hands still hadn’t parted. Tang Qing wanted to pull his hand back, but he was being held by Zheng Lin. Tang Qing didn’t want to exert force and roughly yanked his hand back. Feeling the increasing strength in the handshake, Tang Qing looked at Chai Ren in surprise. It was clear: "Is this guy violent? So immature, still testing his handshake strength."
Chai Ren noticed the oddity between the two as well. He found it strange that Zheng Lin was having an arm-wrestling contest with Tang Qing. This was rare, unless Zheng Lin was extremely delighted, he wouldn’t play along like that. Usually, he would stop after making his point, and wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Looking at Tang Qing’s unchanging expression and feeling the smooth skin of his hand akin to a woman’s, Zheng Lin felt strange. Damn, couldn’t you at least show some reaction?
Tang Qing realized that Zheng Lin was trying to overpower him but... that was impossible. Considering that strong parties always receive preferential treatment, thus, Tang Qing also began to increase his grip.
Slowly, Zheng Lin’s face began to turn red.
Was this force originating from the young man in front of him?
This wasn’t logical!
This was a pair of hands that could not tell its age, but could someone tell him how this brute force was coming about?
Tang Qing knew that Zheng Lin hadn’t reached his limit yet, so he increased his strength. He wasn’t afraid that he would break Zheng Lin’s hand. Now, as a level 5 gene lock unlocker, he had almost complete control over his level 1 abilities.
Put simply, the strength of his hand was like a hydraulic press, except this hydraulic press could adjust and stop at any time. Even if the thing being squeezed was suddenly removed, it wouldn’t squeeze out of inertia and break the other persons’ hands.
"You can stop now."
He looked at Zheng Lin, whose face was now a beet red.
Tang Qing instantly relaxed his grip and let go of his hand.
"Brother Zheng, your skills are impressive. I admire you." Tang Qing stated with an amused fist salute.
At this point, Zheng Lin’s face hadn’t returned to its normal color. Looking at the immature and handsome face in front of him, which hid a potency that was beyond his expectation, Zheng Lin stared for a moment and then sighed, "The waves behind drive on those before. I lost. I never imagined I’d lose to someone like you, Tang. Good job. I acknowledge you as a friend."
"Haha, perfect! All’s well that ends well. Let’s all sit down now and have a drink," said Chai Ren, eager to smooth things over. At the same time, he looked at Tang Qing with newfound respect.
A seemingly frail person like Tang Qing was strong enough to beat Zheng Lin so decisively, without him even noticing. He couldn’t help but recall the shocking combat power of that ’Elder Brother Yuan’ last time.
Could Tang Qing also be a martial artist?
Highly possible.
This thought stirred a desire to spar with Tang Qing in Chai Ren’s heart.
Shen Yi, full of envy, watched how Tang Qing was able to become friends with Zheng Lin so quickly. However, he knew he could never do it. Not the dismissing and being calm beforehand, he just didn’t have the audacity. Let alone the handshake after, he knew he’d surely kneel.
Tang Qing was becoming more and more mysterious.
"Alright, everyone sit down. Let’s have a good chat," Zheng Lin suggested with a laugh.
After the men took their seats, Zheng Lin sat down next to Chai Ren.
"Brother Tang, I have no doubts about your abilities. But this is business. I’m not afraid of losing money, only irrelevant of ruining a good literary work. You know, if it’s a bad film, it’s just a waste of the script," Zheng Lin said as he zeroed in on the main issue.
Tang Qing replied: "That’s a minor issue. Here, let me show you a little something my friend made. We can maintain this quality level of special effects going forward."
After that,
Tang Qing took out his mobile phone and after a few taps on the screen, he played a video and put it on the table.
Spurred by curiosity, the three crowded close to watch the film.
They had no other choice; they didn’t have a computer handy.
The trio huddled up, while Tang Qing, not interested in the bustle, sipped his tea from his own spot, ready to enjoy the show.
Previously, when he was bored, Tang Qing had Little Two create numerous sci-fi short films based on existing movies. Some were original; some were enhanced versions of existing films.
What he showed Chai Ren and the others was an original short film that ran about 10 minutes.
Not only was it a decent movie,
Tang Qing mischievously had Little Two create a ’romance action movie’, which was... absolute perfection. The cast was a blend of Eastern and Western beauty with perfect bodies, set in perfect settings, complete with perfect details and plot.
If it were to be released, it would immediately ascend to the realm of god-tier movies and stay a supreme masterwork for at least a hundred years. It would forever become the only film people needed to watch. Because, goddammit, the thing was twenty-four hours long and contained every conceivable element and plot of action films, satisfying all every man’s fantasies.
But this ’divine film’, Tang Qing won’t let out. It was enough to save it for himself to enjoy. If it were released, the world’s ’action film industry’ would shrink by at least half.
It could definitely reach the point of ’once this film comes out, all other films bow down’.
No one would be interested in other films after that.
The other short films made by Little Two were mainly about extraterrestrial planets and interstellar warfare. He showed Chai Ren’s group one of the intense battle scenes from that series.
In the high-quality video on the phone screen,
A huge fleet of hundreds of ships was zooming through the cosmos. Each shuttle-shaped warship was protected by a silver, net-like protective shield. They were so unstoppable that they would crash straight through asteroid belts without slowing down, with no damage to themselves.
The screen switched scenes.
On a distant green planet,
A giant creature was devouring the planet’s core magma. The cities on the planet were all destroyed. Not a single person was visible. The whole planet was engulfed in a massive fire. Only the dilapidated city buildings bore witness to the civilization that had once thrived there.
When the fleet arrived, they immediately launched a ferocious attack on the monster, but it was in vain. The creature’s offspring shot pillars of light from their mouths, destroying the warships. In no time, over half of this batch of warships were lost.
At the same time, ten times as many warships rushed in to launch a saturation attack on the monster.
No people appeared.
There was no dialogue.
Only battle, battle, and more battle.
...
After ten minutes, a giant steel planet capable of space-jumping emerged as the overwhelming victor. The giant creature—now a corpse, its flesh scattered in the cosmic space.
The remaining warships began to clean up and chase down any fledgling creatures.
The screen went black.
The end.
At this point,
The three were speechless.
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