Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
One year had gone by since Jiang Chen last visited Nippon.
Nowadays, the traces of the tragedy last year could no longer be seen on the streets of Yoto. The Shinagawa area under the control of the UA military was also returned. The shops reappeared, looking brand-new and bustling with life.
The reality proved Jiang Chen’s judgment was correct.
The Kurofune collapsed, the T virus disappeared, and the housing prices in Yoto returned to a “normal” level. Although the prices has yet to return to top ten in the world, it wasn’t too far away from regaining its former glory. At that time, companies that tossed out real estate like hot potatoes were in despair.
No one thought that the crisis would end so quickly.
Jiang Chen’s Shibuya 109 Building bought for 60 million US dollars was now his cash cow under the management of a professional property manager he hired. The Shinjuku Commercial Street he purchased already appreciated more than ten times its original value. Even Akihabara, which he bought because he felt like it, was transformed into a street combined with holographic and augmentative technologies by Future Technology.
The mood of the Nippon government was in a complicated state as they witnessed the transformation brought by Future Group in their own country. On the one hand, Future Group basically rubbed money from people’s hands, but on the other hand, they also really benefited in joy and agony.
Just like the UA, 50% of its citizens would protest if Future Group no longer existed. The Nippon government was now facing the same problem. Although they wanted to learn Future Group’s technology then kick the company out, they couldn’t do that.
However, the reaction of the people was dull, and most of them didn’t seem to be bothered by who transformed their city.
The mansion at the foot of Mount Fuji, once a golf course open only to upper class, was completely transformed into a private manor after being bought by Jiang Chen. The green lawn that covered a thousand acres naturally became his private garden.
In order not to waste space, Jiang Chen also learned from the European aristocracy. He hired a French gardener and designated a piece of land to turn into a vineyard. Although the soil at the foot of Mount Fuji was rich in sulfur and the grapes produced weren’t sweet, he viewed it as a decoration.
Jiang Chen didn’t expect to use the grapes here to make wine.
“Master, please enjoy.”
“Mhmm, put it there for now.”
“Okay.”
Qian Xia, in a maid’s outfit, leaned down and gently placed the brewed black tea on the table. When she left, she inadvertently made eye contact with the beautiful woman sitting across from Jiang Chen. She immediately bowed in embarrassment and fled.
“You certainly know how to enjoy yourself.”
Liu Yao pouted and expressed her dissatisfaction. She picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and suddenly “squeaked” in surprise.
Jiang Chen smiled and didn’t speak.
It seemed that during the time when he wasn’t there, Qian Xia didn’t stop practicing as her tea craft improved.
“Why don’t you talk? Did you not miss me?” Seeing as Jiang Chen had no response, Liu Yao acted sad as she put down the teacup.
“How could I not have missed you? I’ve just been too busy lately.” Jiang Chen laughed and changed the subject. “Right, speaking of which, how come you suddenly came here?”
“I’m participating in the premiere here; I told you on the phone the day before yesterday.”
It seemed that Jiang Chen didn’t pay enough attention to her, and Liu Yao was pouting even more. However, Jiang Chen didn’t mind her attitude.
“The premiere? Is the ‘Time Curtain’ not already released?” Jiang Chen was surprised.
“Not the same movie. I was just a nobody in ‘Time Curtain’.” Liu Yao stuck out her tongue. “Before ‘Time Curtain,’ I also starred in another movie. Future Technology is the biggest investor—don’t you care about your company’s business at all?”
Jiang Chen thought about it. It was probably before Ning Jianhua’s promotion to CEO of the head office. Although Jiang Chen never disclosed his relationship with Liu Yao, there were rumors of similar anecdotes on the Internet.
A domestic film required an investment of around 50 million US dollars at most. Compared to Future Group’s profits in Hua, it was negligible. As long as this small investment followed the procedure, his subordinates didn’t need to report to him.
In his memory, Liu Yao mentioned this to him before, but too many things happened recently and he didn’t remember.
Just as Jiang Chen was awkwardly trying to Google her movie without her noticing, Liu Yao read his awkwardness like a book and said the name of the movie herself.
“It’s ‘The Three-Body Problem,’ a domestic sci-fi blockbuster.”
“The Three-Body Problem?” Jiang Chen was genuinely surprised. His first reaction wasn’t to ask Liu Yao, “What role are you playing?”
“Is it finally filmed?”
Finally filmed?
Speaking of The Three-Body Problem, it was a treacherous story. From the initial advertisement to the CEO’s ambition of creating Hua’s own sci-fi blockbuster, to the CEO’s announcement of his resignation two months before the release, to the removal of the special effects team and the director, these all seemed to cast a shadow on the seemingly bright future of the country’s science fiction genre.
Although the company responsible for production didn’t give up on the rights to create the film, the budget burned in the beginning netted nothing and all the created content was abandoned. Investors all withdraw their investments on the film they previously had shared optimism on. Even the parent company held a cautious attitude.
Emotion was worth nothing in front of capital. A project filled with risks even directed by the best director would make investors cautious.
Because of a lack of suitable investors, this masterpiece that won the Hugo Award was put on hold for an indefinite period of time.
Fortunately, however, the new team that took over the adaptation of The Three-Body Problem took the opportunity to collaborate with Future Technology—or collaborate with the woman of an important individual.
Although many netizens were very dissatisfied with the lead female actress being someone with big breasts because they thought it was disrespectful to the original, the crew eager for investments didn’t care much. The right for adoption had a time limit and they couldn’t wait forever. What’s more, Liu Yao now possessed the ability to draw box office numbers. As for the fact that the female protagonist in the original didn’t have a big chest, who would care other than diehards?
Besides, did the image of the female protagonist really matter in a science fiction film?
Just like that, the blockbuster film with a treacherous road was finally put on the big screen in early 2019.
As the investor, Future Technology also inserted advertisements into some of the scenes in the film based on the contract. For example, the VR helmet in the original directly appeared as the Phantom helmet. The trademark of Future Technology was also printed on many high-tech products.
In any case, after this arduous journey, the crew responsible for filming finally put the film on the big screen in 2019 and shattered the rumors that it would be delayed until 2020.
