Chapter 605 - 313: I Don’t Think That’s Enough
The viewers in the livestream were a bit baffled when they heard Wu Jing shout and saw him run off.
The video call connected, but the other side was completely empty. There was no one in sight.
But with over 1.4 million people now in the stream, the scene only made them more curious. Why did this person want to start a video call in the first place?
Meanwhile, inside an office building, Wu Jing was calling out as he searched for his good friend. It wasn’t long before he spotted Guo Fan, who looked utterly dejected.
Just one look at him was enough to know that another attempt to secure funding had failed.
"Old Guo, I’ve been calling for you! Didn’t you hear me?" Wu Jing rushed over.
Guo Fan sighed. "Ah, the talks fell through. They’re all worried our budget is too high and that the special effects will burn through even more cash. They don’t see any possibility of making their money back."
"Lao Wu," he continued, "I’m afraid I’ve really dragged you into this. I made you sell your house to invest in this film... I won’t be able to face your wife after this."
Wu Jing was rendered speechless.
The whole affair with *Nameless* and *Huaxia Blue Helmets* was blowing up online, but they were in no mood to pay attention to the drama.
Not long ago, Dawan Film and Television had pulled its funding for their movie, *Wandering Blue Star*.
Dawan Film and Television had cited numerous reasons for pulling out, namely that the budget was too large. It exceeded 500 million, and with all the miscellaneous expenses, the film would need to gross 1.5 billion just to break even. They deemed the costs unreasonable.
To be honest, even they weren’t fully confident, so it wasn’t surprising that Dawan had pulled out at the speed of light.
After all, how many domestic films in Huaxia could actually break 1.5 billion at the box office?
And damn it, this was a sci-fi movie! The domestic sci-fi scene was a barren wasteland; there was no telling how large the audience would even be.
But them pulling their 60 million was a fatal blow. The special effects were at a critical stage of production, and the effects were the single most important part of the film.
They had been on track to finish production within three months, but who could have expected this wrench in the works?
Hearing this, Wu Jing immediately said, "There’s still a chance. We have to go for it."
Guo Fan frowned. "I’ve already asked everyone I can. None of the investors are willing to bite. If they were, I wouldn’t have had to convince you to sell your house for this."
Wu Jing quickly replied, "There’s someone else—that Chen Jincheng! He just acquired LeTV Film and Television, and he mentioned on his stream just now that he has plans for film investments. Maybe he’d be willing to invest in us."
"Chen Jincheng," Guo Fan repeated, surprised.
The internet had been buzzing for the past two days, all because of Chen Jincheng.
It all started when Chen Jincheng backed the small-budget film *Nameless* over the big-budget production *Huaxia Blue Helmets*.
And now, the results were in: *Huaxia Blue Helmets* had completely bombed, while *Nameless* had become the biggest dark horse of the year.
It was a testament to how sharp Chen Jincheng’s instincts were.
At this thought, a sliver of hope ignited in Guo Fan. "Let’s contact him right away."
"Come with me! I’ve already started a video call with his livestream," Wu Jing said, pulling him hurriedly back toward the room.
...
Chen Jincheng saw that Wu Jing still hadn’t appeared after all this time and was about to end the video call.
’I can’t just keep over 1.4 million people waiting, can I?’
Just then, on the video feed, Wu Jing reappeared, pulling a scruffy, bearded man into the frame.
He recognized the man. It was Director Guo, the man behind *Wandering Blue Star* in the other world. ’This guy is an absolute sci-fi genius.’
When Guo Fan got in front of the camera and saw the "1.4 million+ viewers" count, he jumped.
’So many people.’
’With an audience this big, even a little promotion for *Wandering Blue Star* would be amazing. It could make the film known to so many.’
"Mr. Chen, let me introduce you. This is Director Guo," Wu Jing immediately said to Chen Jincheng. "He’s currently directing a hard sci-fi film—Huaxia’s only true hard sci-fi movie."
"But because the budget is so high, Dawan Film and Television pulled their 60 million in funding, citing cost overruns and other issues. Now the film’s financing is in trouble, and we can’t move forward with the post-production special effects."
"So, I wanted to introduce you to the film."
His words made everyone in the livestream understand immediately, and the bullet comments flew across the screen:
"Introduce the movie: Pitching for investment!"
"They’re here for an investment!"
"666, some ’introduction’!"
"..."
Of course, some people’s attention was drawn to the mention of Dawan Film and Television:
"Dawan Film and Television again."
"Dawan just got slammed by Chen over *Huaxia Blue Helmets*, and now this happens by sheer coincidence?"
"Haha, if Chen invests in this, he’ll really be starting a feud with Dawan."
"..."
Chen Jincheng, however, was inwardly ecstatic.
’After all, what could be better than free money falling from the sky?’
’Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television has just launched. The best way to establish a firm foothold is to get a project out there for everyone to see.’
’And if it’s this movie, it would be the perfect project to do just that.’
’Most importantly, he remembered that the first film in this series grossed over 4.5 billion at the box office. He couldn’t recall the exact number, but the profit share from ticket sales alone was nearly 2 billion.’
’A 60 million investment for a 12% stake would mean a return of 240 million.’
’Moreover, the original film’s copyright sales and merchandise revenue were also excellent. This investment could ultimately bring Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television a total profit of around 400 million.’
’This deal alone would be enough to let Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television plant its flag firmly in the industry.’
’The best part was, it looked like he was about to make a name for himself by stepping on Dawan Film and Television again. After all, he’d be swooping in right after they pulled out.’
’But something felt off. In the other world, he recalled Dawan pulling its funding even earlier, supposedly to invest in the *Detective Tang* franchise.’
’But in this world, there was no sign of *Detective Tang* yet.’
’Another small difference between the two worlds.’