Super Zoo

Eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying life, these are the four delightful things in life, and eating is definitely at the top of the list.

Since Hong Feifei joined Animal City, Suming's reception duties had become utterly relaxed, and he started his 'laissez-faire' career. Whenever guests arrived, he, the boss, would not accompany them for shopping or sightseeing; instead, he would send them straight to the Whisperwind Pavilion, letting Hong Feifei prepare a table of food and drink.

Fortunately, Hong Feifei was skilled both in beauty and artistry. Eating her meals was not only a feast for the taste buds but also a visual delight. With mastery over the eight major cuisines plus a specialty in Hong Family Private Kitchen dishes, she was versatile, and all who had been to Whisperwind Pavilion, rather than feeling snubbed, had nothing but praise.

Mr. Cage was no exception. Ever since the day he arrived when Hong Feifei shamelessly showcased her signature skills for a signature and a photo, preparing an eighteen-course feast with river tuna as the main ingredient for Mr. Cage, he was utterly captivated by Huaxia's splendid cuisine.

Suming basked in the reflected glory, realizing that having the ability to transform the humble river tuna into eighteen distinct and flavorful dishes was a rare opportunity for food lovers, and he almost swallowed his own tongue with delight.

However, he was quite dissatisfied with this and raised a protest: Why didn't he receive the same treatment normally? Hong Feifei contemptuously said it was because you're not a big star...

Suming was left speechless.

No one knew how many secret skills Hong Feifei had up her sleeve. The Whisperwind Pavilion was like a surprisingly powerful magnet; during Mr. Cage's three or four days in Yangchuan City, he hardly left Animal City.

He lived his days strikingly simple yet full of anticipation. He'd get up before dawn to enjoy a variety of local breakfast delicacies, then go back to sleep until noon. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he'd head straight to the Whisperwind Pavilion for a grand Huaxia-style meal. In the afternoon, he'd lounge there drinking tea and nibbling on pastries while listening to parrots babble. Then, he'd have some snacks in the evening, visit the peach orchard behind the hill, and return around nine or ten o'clock, just in time for supper.

Under Hong Feifei's culinary skill, Mr. Cage had already tossed God's teachings out of the window and did not hold back on his diet. Especially the barbecue, anything that flew in the sky, swam in the water, or crawled on the ground was fair game. Feeling adventurous, he'd grab a fishing rod and go fish in Shuijun Lake. There was even a time when Suming saw him emerge from the hill, grubby and dust-covered, carrying a bag full of scorpions he had apparently dug up somewhere... Rumor had it these critters were crunchy and delicious when fried in oil... Suming tried quite a few himself, finding the taste reminiscent of chicken legs...

Cage hadn't done any publicity since arriving in Huaxia, and he spent his days at Animal City 'disguised.' He mostly wore large black sunglasses and enjoyed a few quiet days.

However, no walls in the world are impermeable to sound. Even though Cage's whereabouts were limited to inside Animal City, the media managed to discover his presence. One afternoon, the gentleman, wearing round black sunglasses and dressed in traditional Tang attire, looking like a fortune teller at the Temple of Heaven, was sitting upstairs in Whisperwind Pavilion sipping tea when suddenly a horde of reporters burst in, setting up their long and short cameras in a blitz...

The scene was instantly frozen, and even Cage got a fright, momentarily thinking he was on a movie set.

The interview lasted almost ten minutes before the Animal City security finally arrived and 'escorted' Cage away from the scene, leaving behind a troop of reporters still hungry for more.

This unexpected disturbance served as a wake-up call for Suming; Cage was a big shot, after all, and though he didn't bring bodyguards, Suming couldn't neglect safety. An accident happening in Animal City on his watch would be a face-losing affair for him.

The Lure bodyguard team was freshly assembled and promptly deployed to the task, providing Cage with four 'security advisors' trained to international first-class standards.

Seeing these energetic and highly professional security advisors, Suming's thoughts flew to Ludmila, far away in Ukraine.

He wondered how many baddies that she-bear had taken down for getting on her nerves!

He sent his wishes for her safety from afar.

News of Nicolas Cage's mysterious appearance in Yangchuan City was quickly published.

Just as Suming had expected, although Cage had starred in a string of rotten movies over the past few years and seemed to have vanished from the big screen with no notable works, his fame remained high in Huaxia.

Especially among the 30-to-40-year-old demographic, a group with a massive base of film fans and significant economic potential.

Many media began to speculate, wondering if this international superstar's sudden appearance at Animal City indicated a new filming project?

Even after a long silence, the series of classic characters he had portrayed would not be diminished. A truly exceptional actor is remembered through time.

Taoyuan Film Industry's headquarters was also in Yangchuan City. Could there be a connection between the two?

Reporters even contacted Suming to confirm whether Taoyuan Film and Television planned to collaborate with Cage on a new film.

Since Terror Animal City, both the industry and the market had been curious about this extraordinary film company capable of filming with real animals, eagerly anticipating Taoyuan Film Industry's next move.

In fact, from the perspective of a film enthusiast, Suming himself hoped that Cage would have a new film. Some actors rely on effort, others on talent, and Cage quite clearly possessed both, with the only thing lacking being luck.

Strictly speaking, he wasn't lacking good luck but was simply too unfortunate. With a bit less misfortune, it would be easy for him to make a comeback.

From the perspective of the company's leader, Suming could not allow himself to make rash decisions based on personal preference. Taoyuan Film and Television's first movie had made the money necessary for survival and establishment; now, the goal was to use that money to quickly strengthen the company internally, solidify the foundation, focus on cultivating in-house talent, and improve the organizational structure, which is why it had remained quiet externally.

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Mr. Cage, in his casual conversations with Suming, also steered the topic toward filmmaking on more than one occasion. Having come all the way to Huaxia, he was certainly not just there for food and fun, but also in hopes of finding new opportunities.

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Suming had considered and concluded that it wasn't quite the right time to invest in movies again.

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His scouting team had not yet fully mastered their skills and returned, so making a hasty move without sufficient talent reserves was not wise. Besides, he wasn't interested in the small profit from low-budget productions, and he didn't have enough money for a big-budget film. He wasn't ready to adopt the approach of someone like Long Wu, who could burn one or two billion in one fell swoop just to promote his son.

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In Mr. Cage's case, it amounted to fostering a good relationship, and as long as he remained in the industry, there would surely come a time to collaborate.

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As for the reporters, Suming's response was that Taoyuan Film Industry's primary focus in the near future was to cooperate with Huaxia Star to promote and distribute the new film.

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After this casual mention, the media then remembered that Huaxia Star's new movie, known as the first domestic fantasy film, "Legend of Deification," with its release impending, featured a significant number of 'characters' truly played by animals from the zoo.

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It was another movie that involved real animals, although this time they weren't the main characters... The main characters consisted of a large group of humans dressed up as various birds, beasts, and little monsters.

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As a result, the focus of the reports slightly shifted, following Taoyuan Film Industry's mention to Huaxia Star's new movie.

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"Legend of Deification."

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It was half a week earlier when Suming offered his opinion that Long Wu urgently convened an internal meeting at Huaxia Star to specifically discuss whether to re-promote the film according to Taoyuan Film and Television's suggestions.

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At the meeting, a minority expressed their agreement. Taoyuan Film and Television's analysis indeed had foresight; theoretically, the repromotion could indeed play to "Legend of Deification" strengths and avoid weaknesses;

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But most people remained neutral, as the human and material resources required for repromotion were too substantial, posing too much risk.

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Except for a few particularly experienced seniors who had close personal ties with the Xiang Family, most people, even if they agreed internally, did not openly express it.

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In such decision-making meetings, it's common for the majority to be undecided, with fewer people expressing outright approval or disapproval.

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Strictly speaking, there was only one person who strongly objected.

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And this person held both a very high importance to Long Wu and an eminent position within Huaxia Star Company.

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Long Wu's wife, Mrs. Xiang.

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Mrs. Xiang had played an integral role in Huaxia Star's growth; despite possibly being overly domineering, the company owed much of its size today to this formidable woman's contributions over decades of ups and downs.

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Such a strong personality inevitably comes with excessive confidence, true of her attitude toward the company and even more so toward her precious son.

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Taoyuan's suggestions were pretty straightforward, pointing out two things: first, that Xiang Zuo's acting was a weakness and he should follow the idol star route, promoting a positive, sunny, and proactive image. Second, that "Legend of Deification," as a fantasy blockbuster, was just barely passable even without playing up the "Deification" gimmick.

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Both points made this assertive Mrs. Xiang somewhat displeased.

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Her confidence in "Legend of Deification" and her son had been unwavering until then. This was akin to having a bucket of cold water poured over her head, and it's no wonder she wasn't happy.

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Although opposed, she didn't target Suming personally, who was trying to help out of goodwill. She could at least distinguish that much, instead attacking the issue directly, believing that Taoyuan Film Industry, with its short establishment and lack of industry experience, offered advice that was merely theoretical and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

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Mrs. Xiang's obstinacy wasn't without reason.

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The film's actual investment was roughly 1.5 billion yuan and according to earlier estimates, a box office revenue of 4 billion yuan would be enough to comfortably recover the costs.

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Based on experience, even a genuinely terrible movie, loaded with top-tier stars and special effects, alongside the clout of Huaxia Star, would have no trouble making 4 to 5 billion yuan nationwide.

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This was the more cautious approach, not a guarantee of big profits but at least it wouldn't result in losses.

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On the contrary, following Taoyuan's suggestion to repromote the film would mean spending tens of millions more, and the total box office would need to correspondingly increase to around 7 billion yuan to make a profit.

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Moreover, if they started repromoting, it would amount to an admission that Huaxia Star had deceived the audience, akin to slapping its own face. The so-called repromotion wouldn't be much different from an apology. It could even affect the mainland audience's trust in Huaxia Star.

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With these factors combined, the strong-minded boss lady stuck to her guns at the meeting, and it was ultimately decided, to stick with the original promotion plan and release schedule.

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