I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 539 - 539 538. Is This Hype (Additional for Alliance

Chapter 539: 538. Is This Hype? (Additional chapter for Alliance Hierarch “xiū lǐn”!)_1 Chapter 539: 538. Is This Hype? (Additional chapter for Alliance Hierarch “xiū lǐn”!)_1 At four in the morning, the medical student Zheng Li still hadn’t slept; he had just won the first victory of the New Year, which was a hard-fought battle.

Though dead tired, he still picked up his phone while lying in bed.

Tired he truly was, and browsing his phone he also truly was.

[Man Burns Tongue Performing Reverse Smoking Trick, Sues Cigarette Manufacturer]

[Man Attempts Suicide by Jumping into River, Beats Up Urinating Bystander and Throws Him In]

[New Year’s Gala Comedy Skit Sparks Hot Debate, Audience Exclaims It’s Hilarious and Creative]

[Man’s Swaggering Walk Provokes Three Bystanders into Stabbing Him Seven Times]

[“Doomsday” Ends Theatrical Release, Switches to Free Online Streaming]

[Girl Devours a Pound of Garlic, Claims Detection by Search Dogs Will Be Quicker in Event of Earthquake]

[Three Schoolchildren Throw Firecrackers into a Manhole, Triggering a Methane Explosion]

“What the fuck?”

Zheng Li hurriedly clicked on the video of the methane explosion and saw three kids tossing firecrackers into a manhole cover as they walked along, waiting to see the explosion.

It turned out there must’ve been methane gas from decomposing waste underneath, which caused a blast that blew off the manhole cover. The three kids peering in were sent flying by the impact, scattering in the air like feathers.

Zheng Li had seen plenty of kids doing deadly stunts over the New Year, but this was the first time he found it so satisfying.

After watching, Zheng Li prepared to keep scrolling through short videos.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had just seen something.

Scrolling back, Zheng Li saw the news about “Doomsday”.

He hadn’t bought a presale ticket for the premiere, mainly because the local cinema was a bit rundown, and he felt he should go to a bigger cinema to watch it in IMAX, which would do justice to the special effects.

Therefore, seeing the theatrical release now canceled, Zheng Li’s head filled with question marks.

He clicked into the news article.

“…It is reported that due to severe snowstorms around the world which have heavily impacted cinemas, Lu Ban has decided to cancel the theatrical release of his new film “Doomsday” and instead broadcast it for free on television and video websites. This move has attracted widespread attention. According to our Journalist, the movie had previously seen significant promotional investments…”

The rest was an introduction to the movie and Lu Ban.

After reading the news, Zheng Li was completely awake.

“What’s going on here?”

He knew that the domestic snowstorm situation was quite severe, but he didn’t realize that it was this bad.

After another search, Zheng Li discovered that most other Lunar New Year films had postponed their release dates, but only Lu Ban’s “Doomsday” had chosen not to be released in cinemas, but to broadcast directly on television.

This was truly unprecedented!

“Has Lu Ban lost his mind, or does he just have too much money, offering the movie for free?”

Zheng Li wasn’t an industry insider, but he knew that Lu Ban’s previous movies had all started with several billion in box office. Not releasing this one in cinemas would be a direct loss of several billion.

That’s not how you play even when you’ve got money to burn!!!

Moreover, even if various reasons prevented a movie from being shown on the big screen, producers would usually choose to charge for streaming on video websites. Broadcasting on television stations would typically come after squeezing out the last bit of the movie’s residual value, selling it to TV stations to play repeatedly during extended holidays.

Lu Ban’s move, although it maximized publicity and might even set a record for audience numbers, what was he aiming for?

Could it be that Lu Ban really was some kind of saint sent from heaven, choosing to let everyone watch a blockbuster for free in order to elevate the aesthetic taste of the global audience?

Zheng Li sat up, the central heating made the room very warm, and he was even wearing only a short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts—thankful that the heating plant was still working; otherwise, the winter in the north would definitely be miserable.

Zheng Li had heard many people from the south talk about the magic damage of winter, but in his opinion, the temperature was the greatest damage. In temperatures tens of degrees below zero, where even peeing could create icicles, it didn’t matter whether it was magic or physical, it was maxed-out real damage.

Lu Ban’s piece of news was the real first bombshell of the Spring Festival, even overshadowing those catchphrases criticized during the New Year’s Gala, and it shot to the top of the trending searches within a matter of minutes.

At first, Zheng Li wondered if this was some kind of modern April Fool’s joke, but when he saw Silent Media’s official Weibo and the discussions below, he realized this didn’t seem like a joke at all—it was real!

[Holy shit, has Lu Ban lost his mind? Giving out the film for free is going to cost a fortune!]

[Are you guys still worried about Lu Ban losing money? The guy makes billions off a single movie, a small loss is just a drop in the bucket.]

[Exactly, it’s not like you invested money in the movie. Are you all nothing but armchair capitalists?]

[I had bought a ticket for the first day. I was worried about how to get to the cinema with all the snow outside, but now, I can just watch it at home.]

[To ensure everyone could watch his movie during the New Year, he chose this approach. Lu Ban, you’re so kind!]

[I remember Lu Ban’s films are always quite thrilling and suspenseful, right? Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to play them on TV during the first day of the New Year?]

[That’s still better than those TV series that have been repeated for several years. TV stations take a holiday during New Year too, it’s all reruns. Isn’t it nice to have a new movie?]

[What if I don’t have a TV at home, oh, it’s also online, then never mind.]

[Such a pity, I wanted to watch this movie on IMAX, the TV at home just isn’t big enough!]

[Holy crap, is the snowstorm that serious now? It’s just a little snow where I am.]

[Brother upstairs, I’m by the coast, where it’s usually over twenty degrees in winter, and now it’s started to snow, that’s just ridiculous!]

[What? The movie’s not showing in cinemas? Which website, which channel is it on, and at what time?]

[It’s late at night, and the firecracker sounds outside have stopped, and you’re still here surfing the net?]

[This must be Lu Ban’s hype for the New Year, making a buzz on the first day.]

[Who uses billions in box office revenue to create hype? If this is really hype, then all I can say is I’m all for Lu Ban!]

[Am I the only one hoping it’ll play in cinemas again later? Disaster movies like this just aren’t compelling on a small screen!]

Zheng Li followed the comments and did a search.

What a deal, prime time on New Year’s Day, nine in the evening, airing on several major TV and video websites, no membership needed, no registration required, and you get the best picture quality and resolution.

Was Lu Ban truly doing charity work here?

Zheng Li immediately went to a group he had joined when he made a bet online to watch “Cry” and forwarded the news, but it was too late, and hardly anyone was online, so his message went unanswered.

It wasn’t until the next morning, at around eight o’clock, that someone in the group suddenly spoke up.

“Holy shit, my friend and I have arrived at the cinema, and now you’re saying it’s not screening?”

*

Alliance Hierarch added 2/2