DKIE CH79: Premiere

As Moke City’s popularity soared, it inevitably attracted a mixed crowd. Luka had noticed some abnormalities recently, but as long as there were no incidents of theft or robbery in the city, he didn’t mind.

After confirming the premiere date, Luka quickly posted an update on the community forum:

[The final chapter of “The Real and Fake Young Masters of a Wealthy Family” is about to be released! [Fireworks][Explosion][Heart]

Repost + Comment to select 300 viewers for a lucky gift package, including 1 premiere press conference ticket (travel and accommodation included) [Let me see]

On March 31st, you are invited to witness this journey of revenge~]

In less than a minute, the comments easily surpassed ten thousand. Regardless of their true feelings, the comment section for the lottery post was filled with praise and anticipation. Many media outlets tried every means to contact Luka, hoping for a chance to attend. With the popularity of “God of Forging” still high, “The Real and Fake Young Master” successfully shot to the top of the hot topics list with just an invitation to its premiere.

A day later, at eleven o’clock at night, Luka randomly selected three hundred viewers from the millions of comments. Soon after, the official account opened pre-sale channels both online and offline for the first time. The pre-sale price was actually three silver coins higher than the previous two movies! “God of Forging” was a true blockbuster production with on-location shooting and tens of thousands of real actors, yet it hadn’t raised its price. This move left many people baffled.

[Has he been possessed?! Even when opera was at its peak, tickets never sold for ten silver coins!]

[It’s not about the money, I can’t stand the exorbitant pricing. Does he really think he has a monopoly on the market?]

[Then just don’t watch it, right?]

[He’s just scamming fools like the person above!]

Factions connected to the Holy Court seized the opportunity to jump out, making veiled criticisms of Luka and announcing that they had already begun preparing their own films, which attracted considerable support.

[We support conscientious merchants cleaning up the market! We’ll definitely go see it!]

[That’s right, I wouldn’t watch the second movie even if you paid me.]

The wave of public ridicule set a new record high. Groups that already disliked Luka used the issue to stir up trouble. The commotion was so great that the network crashed for a period of time. The poor Wisdom Tree was forced to be vigorous in its old age. The official account not only offered no special explanation but played dumb, continuing to promote the offline pre-sale locations. From start to finish, it acted like an emotionless ticket-selling machine.

Seeing the heated arguments online, Quill advised Luka not to look at his terminal for the next two days and to focus on his cultivation. In truth, Luka was being a conscientious merchant this time; the production cost of the 3D glasses was not cheap, so the ticket price wasn’t actually high.

However, as soon as the words were out, a low chuckle was heard. Luka was sitting by the door, scrolling through the comments with a gentle look on his face, a strange smile playing on his lips. “The noise is still too quiet.” It was the netizens’ fault for not being forceful enough; otherwise, the hype could have gone even higher.

Quill: “…”

“The concern right now isn’t the quality of the film, but the location for the premiere.” After letting the Moke City Lord experience it, Luka had found other test viewers from different races and classes, and the feedback was excellent. The immersive “crematorium” scenes, combined with the gimmick of being the first 3D film, would surely allow him to make a brilliant comeback after the premiere.

–

On March thirty-first, in Moha County, a place adjacent to the capital of the dwarves, security was a perennial issue. Moke City was too weak to handle all the work of hosting a premiere. So, a short while ago, Luka had chosen to borrow a venue, using two sentences to firmly secure the cooperation of the Dwarf Clan Chief.

“There are too many eyes on me right now. It can’t be ruled out that someone might want to attack the audience during the premiere to create a scandal.”
“…The dwarves’ territory is a ‘forbidden zone.’ I believe no race would dare to cross the line if the conference is held here.”

The two parties currently had a long-term, mutually beneficial cooperation. After being flattered to his satisfaction, the chief waved his hand and approved the use of a venue. To showcase the dwarves’ craftsmanship and impress the guests, he even had his people do some last-minute renovations on the site.

On that day, the press conference was held smoothly. Many tourists who came for the excitement arrived early. In fact, Luka’s words weren’t entirely boasting. The dwarves were notoriously sharp-tongued and ill-tempered, and indeed, no one was foolish enough to cause trouble here.

Dozens of well-known media outlets had been waiting at the venue’s entrance since early in the morning. “Friends in the audience, we are currently in Moha County. As you can see on camera, the surrounding area is completely gridlocked.”

A temporary worker who was adding railings ran over and said, “You’re the ones causing the gridlock!”

The reporter: “…Today, the venue has specially hired ten grand magi for security. They will also be responsible for escorting the audience home safely afterward.”

During the live entertainment news broadcast, comments in the chat scrolled by at lightning speed.
 

[My ancestors, what a huge investment!]

[I think the director should be more concerned with hiring magicians to protect himself from being beaten to death by an angry audience. The first movie was garbage; who knows what the second one will be like?]

[To be fair, Iliad himself is a tenth-rank grand magus.]

[…Really!!]

There were many wealthy and idle onlookers, and the comment section remained lively like this for nearly two hours. When it was almost time, the various media outlets began to pack up their equipment. “The director and actors have already entered through the back door. Recording is prohibited during the premiere. We expect to see you all in about two hours.”

[Don’t! Don’t you guys even have basic hidden cameras?!]
The commenters were practically shouting. A dwarf who scrolled past this comment felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth. They had developed the rhombus crystal, but unfortunately, the rights had been bought out by the now-deceased Alec.

Media and audience members entered one after another. After checking in, the staff inside handed out strange glasses. “What are these for?”

The staff briefly explained that they needed to be worn during the viewing and got to the main point: “Would you like the regular or the designer model? The regular is free, but the designer model requires an additional fee.”

A paid item. The question was dispelled by those last four words. Many in the audience frowned. Was he really as money-crazy as the outside world claimed? In real life, magicians generally didn’t have nearsightedness unless they entered old age, yet the director wouldn’t even let this small amount of money go.

The newspaper reporters’ eyes lit up; they would have something to write about later. Someone deliberately said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, “Paying extra at a premiere? My eyesight is fine, I’m not spending a single copper.”

The staff member calmly opened another box. “Limited edition designer model.”

The golden legend was no myth. The moment it was opened, it used exploding magic elements to create a small-scale dazzling effect. Even to the naked eye, the texture looked extraordinary. Even the person who had just been deliberately stirring up trouble couldn’t help but be stunned by the design.

“If you’re not buying, can you please not block the way like the reporters?”

The reporter: “…” This was an uncalled-for second personal attack.

Seeing that the movie was about to start, quite a few people ended up paying extra for the designer glasses. Unlike many modern press conferences, Luka chose to let the audience watch the movie first. Otherwise, given the patience of the people on this continent, no amount of introduction would do anything but put them to sleep. It wouldn’t be too late for the main creative team to do interviews after everything was over.

At twelve o’clock, all the audience members were seated. The venue lights dimmed in unison, and the broadcast gave three warm reminders. “For a better viewing experience, please put on your glasses.”

While most were still hesitating, a man in the front row was the first to put his on. The first movie had left him with deep psychological scars, and a knot remained in his heart from not seeing the protagonist get his revenge.

“Demon brat, tone down your demonic aura.” The man turned his head impatiently and was instantly silenced when he saw the audience member next to him. “You, you are…?!” Wasn’t this person fighting Prince Nordin? Why was he here watching a movie?

The Red Banyan City Lord gestured with his eyes for him to be quiet. With the addition of Alicia’s army, the battle had ended early this morning, and he had specifically rushed over to see this thing that was once so hard to speak of.

The screen lit up, and the entire venue fell silent. Without further hesitation, the remaining audience members put on their glasses.

The instantaneous visual impact was intense. Through just a thin layer of lenses, the distance to the screen became infinitely closer. They uncertainly took them off, and the stereoscopic effect vanished. When they put them back on, the unique perspective returned. “What a magical feeling.”

The stereoscopic effect created by magic was even better than ordinary 3D, and it was different from an illusion, providing a completely fresh experience. As they experimented back and forth, the plot officially began without them noticing. The dilapidated slums and the bustling sky city were all within arm’s reach. At this moment, they felt like they were living in the movie.

Just as the audience was marveling at the effect of the glasses, all the scenes from the previous movie suddenly flashed by in a rapid montage. It wasn’t just the visuals; the playback equipment specially designed by the dwarves made the sharp criticisms of the wealthy family’s patriarch resound in their ears in surround sound.

“Your younger brother is still young, can’t you just let him be?”
“With such poor grades, you bring shame to the entire family.”

In a golden sixty seconds, the protagonist was replaced, abandoned, misunderstood… The suffocating scenes that some had forgotten were now being rapidly replayed. The bizarre parents’ fingers were practically poking out of the screen, as if they were pointing at their noses and scolding them. It was a full-frontal assault, and the audience was so angry they almost stood up on the spot.

A recap! How could there be a recap that was infuriating enough to kill the audience? Series films often use recaps. However, when summarizing the literature of a “crematorium” plot, it was a finishing blow. In the 3D perspective, some hot-tempered audience members even felt the urge to tear the roof off.

A reporter from a well-known newspaper was the first to come to his senses. He briefly took off the glasses and studied them with a playful expression. “So that’s how it is.” They were trying to use the novelty of the glasses to cover up the new movie’s shortcomings. His industry was the best at playing this game. Seeing through the attempt, the reporter curled his lip in disdain.

When he put the glasses back on, the long one-minute recap had ended, and the scene froze on the funeral at the end of the first film. Expensive frost flowers were arranged into wreaths along the road. Since the real young master had fallen into the sea and his body was never found, the coffin only contained some clothes. The guests who had been invited were all from prominent families. While alive, he had enjoyed nothing. In death, he received a top-tier funeral. The “white lotus” younger brother knelt by the coffin, practically wailing.

Although they knew it was all fake, watching the fake young master mourn up close still made their fists itch.

“Do you smell that? It’s a strange smell.” The surrounding audience sniffed the air and finally identified it: the smell of onions. The smell was coming from the back of the fake young master’s hand; he was clearly using an irritant to fake his tears.

How was that possible? The reporter took off his glasses again and confirmed that he couldn’t smell anything special in the air, which meant it wasn’t an effect generated by the surroundings.

The most excited was the professor who had bought his ticket at a high price from a lucky winner. He observed the 3D glasses as if looking at a work of art. “A stroke of genius, an absolute stroke of genius!” His voice was so loud that the audience member behind him, who was focused on the plot, kicked his stool.

The professor was unfazed. He had figured out the principle of the special effects. The arms of the glasses were engraved with different magic runes that sent false neural information to the viewer, achieving different experiential effects. When the actor covered his face to cry, he was actually chanting a spell to briefly activate the runes.

Outside, everyone was criticizing Luka for charging three extra silver coins. But now, the professor only felt that he was covered in the labels of a philanthropist.

The rest of the audience was in no mood to study the construction. The 3D glasses were actually creating a nearly 5D effect. The 360-degree, no-blind-spot performance had an immense visual impact.

The fake young master cried, “If, if I could, I would be willing to take your place, I…” His grief-stricken appearance touched the hearts of the parents, who had been neglecting him out of remorse these past few days. “Your brother was the kindest; he wouldn’t blame you.”

“How despicable,” someone said, voicing the thoughts of the masses. A despicable family. Forgiving on behalf of a ‘dead man’.

The Red Banyan City Lord, who had just told the demon next to him to restrain himself, was now starting to emit demonic aura himself. The scene was too real. From the recap until now, the feeling of suffocation was relentless, as if they had all experienced being hurt, only to have their parents actively issue a letter of forgiveness for the perpetrator.

Suddenly, the fake young master’s gaze inadvertently swept to the doorway. His pupils dilated violently, as if he had seen a ghost, and he stumbled backward, knocking over a wreath. The audience followed his gaze.

Standing outside the main door was a thin, frail figure. The exhilarating, vengeful BGM suddenly kicked in. The camera panned up from the soles of his shoes, finally settling on a face identical to the one in the funeral portrait.

Chaos instantly erupted in the hall. Amidst the noisy commotion, a tall figure pushed through the panicked guests and strode forward. At that moment, he finally saw the figure outside clearly. The older brother called out the real young master’s name in disbelief, murmuring, “Is it you?”

“It is me.”

After receiving confirmation, the older brother could no longer hold back and hugged him tightly. The audience felt as if they were being hugged through the screen, and a sense of physical discomfort arose. The real young master tearfully recounted how he had been washed ashore and saved after falling into the sea.

After the initial shock, the fake young master also pretended to be excited and walked forward. “Brother, if you’re not dead, why didn’t you contact the family earlier? Father and Mother invited so many people for you…”

Here it comes, here it comes. The audience’s lips twitched. The despicable act was starting again.

However, this time, before he could finish, the real young master’s body staggered. The older brother caught him in time and asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

“I hit my head on a reef; it hurts a little. Big brother, let little brother take me to the car to rest first. You guys stay and entertain the guests. It’s all my fault, blame me, for causing everyone…” He looked pale, as if he could faint at any moment.

The surprise in the fake young master’s eyes was magnified on the screen. The viewers outside the screen felt as if they were standing right next to the protagonist, perfectly in sync with him, and a sentence automatically popped into their minds: You have this day too.

The surrounding guests’ attitudes changed quickly, repeating like tools, “How considerate.”
“That’s right, to still be thinking about his parents’ face at a time like this.”

The jumble of voices became the most perfect accompaniment. Hearing them, the audience felt a little light-headed. The sense of immersion was too strong. The revenge hadn’t even officially started, but they were already getting a premature taste of satisfaction.

The fake young master had no choice but to help the real young master leave. The audience watched with a superior gaze, their postures straightening.

As soon as they got into the car, the real young master suddenly stood up straight.

Slap.

Without any warning, a crisp slapping sound rang out. It was impossible to film a slap in one take using camera tricks, so they cleverly used a face double. Practice makes perfect. After making thousands of puppets for “God of Forging,” Quill’s craftsmanship had reached its peak. At first glance, the puppet was indistinguishable from a real person, but its corresponding facial expressions were a bit stiff. This stiffness was perfectly suited for the moment, successfully portraying the fake young master’s shock at being slapped!

The audience was stunned. No schemes, no prior planning, just a direct slap right at the start? Such a bizarre plot, yet no one complained. Even the reporters adjusted their glasses, watching intently. How many ridiculous plots and injustices had they endured in the last movie! At this moment, it felt so good!

Hit him again! That last slap came too suddenly, no one had time to react or savor it. Left and right, at least twenty slaps to start!

Fake young master: “You!” The post-production dubbing sounded a bit faint, but who cared about that now.

“Slap!”

As if hearing the audience’s call, the protagonist slapped him again with his backhand. In the multi-dimensional perspective, even the whoosh of the slap was crystal clear. The supporting character seemed to have rushed out of the screen and was being slapped right in front of them. The audience’s immersion was extremely strong; they felt as if they had thrown the slap themselves, a wonderful sense of physical catharsis.

The Red Banyan City Lord gasped. “How could…” The feeling of defeating Prince Nordin couldn’t even compare to the viewing experience of this one real slap. Was his taste really so base?

The sound of footsteps suddenly came from a distance, drawing closer, as if they would arrive in the next moment. The audience’s hearts tensed. They had only been happy for a short while; were they about to be exposed?

“Big brother, he hit me!” Seeing the person arrive, the fake young master clutched his face and ran over, crying and tattling.

The older brother was stunned.

“I, I didn’t… I…” The real young master slurred his words, only occasionally clutching his head. There was a severe bruise on the back of his head.

The fake young master’s tears streamed down. “Big brother, he…”

“Shut up!” the older brother roared. “Didn’t you hear him say he hit his head on a reef? He can’t even stand steadily, how could he possibly hit you? And leave a red mark at that.”

What a simple and crude plot. It was clearly a cheesy, cliché trope, but watching it immersively sent a thrilling tingle down their spines. Who could resist the pleasure of slapping a scumbag in a “crematorium” plot, and then giving them a taste of their own medicine by falsely accusing them?

The fake young master’s aggrieved expression delighted everyone. He glared at the protagonist. “You’re framing me.”

Their eyes met. The audience, facing the “white lotus’s” defeated gaze, nodded repeatedly. That’s right, we know you’re being framed better than anyone. And we’re going to keep framing you!

The older brother anxiously drove the real young master to the hospital. On the way, the seemingly weak real young master suddenly leaned close to the fake young master’s ear and whispered, “This time, I will take back everything that belongs to me.”

The super-charged BGM swelled up again.

In the projection room, Luka was sitting quietly, taking in the changing expressions of the audience below. Quill frowned. “Their taste…”

“What do you know?” For once, Luka wasn’t sitting properly, but leaning back with his legs crossed. He waved a finger in front of Quill. “A straightforward plot, stimulating character relationships… even a ferret would stop to watch for two seconds.”

No nutritional value, just a massive amount of emotional value!

Luka’s Diary Excerpt:

[Demon spreads wings][Muzzle][No one is allowed to defy the value of a satisfying story]
Alex: The most perfect silencing spell in history, bar none.
Luka: ???

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