novelden Chapter 623:
Chapter 623:
After returning to Shanghai and handling the company affairs of Heguang Technology, Xiao He followed up with several promotional events for "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2."As Spring Festival approached, the publicity for "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2" officially kicked into high gear. Several trailers and individual clips were released one after another, doing their utmost to generate buzz.
During a rare break from work, Xiao He finally found some time to watch the trailer for "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2."
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The first scene opened with Shi Ji's distinctive voice:
"Hey there, dear nephew, come save me quick! This place is absolutely terrifying —"
"Thump, thump —"
The pitch-black screen suddenly lit up, revealing Shi Ji and Lu Xiaokong standing in a bustling perfume market, staring at each other in bewilderment.
"Ah-choo —"
Shi Ji let out three sneezes in a row as the background shifted continuously behind them, eventually landing the two in front of a magnificent manor.
Shi Ji's eyes lit up. He smugly bumped Lu Xiaokong's shoulder and said, "Take a good look! If I hadn't brought you here to broaden your horizons, you'd probably never see a sight like this in your entire life!"
Lu Xiaokong, however, looked like he wanted to grab his unreliable uncle by the collar and roar in fury, "Fine, fine! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been tricked into coming here!"
As his words trailed off, the manor gates before them slowly creaked open —
The butler stood at the entrance, smiling warmly at the pair, and finally spread his arms wide. "Welcome, everyone, to this place —"
"Toot, toot, toot, toot —"
The background music instantly switched to the unique classical instruments of France, and the screen flashed with images of the country's iconic architecture and scenery before settling on the exquisite perfume bottles.
Lu Xiaokong's voice narrated slowly: "Grasse, the perfume capital of France, supplies two-thirds of France's natural fragrances. It boasts numerous perfume museums, laboratories, and production facilities, earning its reputation as paradise for the sense of smell..."
Various perfume models appeared before the audience's eyes. A massive display wall transported viewers to the 18th century, the peak era of perfume manufacturing, where countless renowned fragrances were born, continuously evolving and iterating into even more varieties.
It was at this point that Lu Xiaokong and Shi Ji finally learned the target of their mission —
In the scene, the uncle and nephew spoke in unison: "Steal perfume?"
A line of bold text deliberately appeared behind them: 【Black Marie】.
"Huh?"
Shi Ji quietly asked Lu Xiaokong, "Does the owner of this place have...?"
He tapped his head. "A problem up here?"
The background music immediately picked up pace, and the scenes grew more intense. Various characters began appearing one after another, balancing seriousness with comedic moments. It all had a certain dark comedy flair, feeling lighthearted and fun, perfectly suited for the festive Spring Festival slot.
Even the poster had a celebratory vibe, with a large area of red as the base color. Several key characters were huddled together, seemingly fighting over something, but the beautiful glass bottle was squeezed out of their grasp, flying toward the top of the poster.
Outside this group, there was another mysterious master thief lurking along the boundary between red and black, faintly circling the edges, as if they had been eyeing the prize for a long time.
Among the clearly featured characters, such as the hacker with black clothes and white hair, his figure was gradually becoming prominent and eye-catching. But there were also those who had yet to appear, figures who only existed in the legends of the master thief ranking, such as rank one and rank two. Their silhouettes were completely blacked out, entirely hidden within the dark shadows.
But Xiao He also noticed that although the "glass bottle" everyone was fighting over had slipped from their hands and flown into the air, based on the layout logic of the poster's composition, if the "glass bottle" were to fall along its natural trajectory, it would ultimately land in the hands of the white-haired hacker —
So from the very beginning, this poster hinted at who the final winner would be.
Finally, the title "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2" appeared in gleaming gold.
After watching this, Xiao He couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
Zhuang Hongyi really was an interesting character.
And it was clear he had ambition. If "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2" could also achieve box office success, then this time they would have firmly established themselves in the Spring Festival slot. Future installments would definitely be strong contenders for that release window as well.
Great, looks like that kid was about to make another killing!
Xiao He couldn't resist opening the comment section to take a look.
The comment section hadn't yet discovered the clever details hidden in the "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2" poster. Most comments were focused on the plot. Upon learning that the sequel's setting was in France, everyone immediately started cracking dark jokes about Louis XVI, and they were eagerly anticipating the film's release on New Year's Day.
[Our favorite phantom thief duo is finally back! I'm already planning to watch it on New Year's Day!]
[Wait, the setting is actually in France this time? And it's all about perfume? I'm so excited — I feel like I can smell it through the screen!]
[Does Black Marie actually exist in real life? Kinda curious.]
[Probably not? But antique perfume is really expensive. I remember at a French auction, an antique perfume sold for three hundred thousand pounds.]
[Whew, thanks to Shi Ji and Lu Xiaokong for broadening our horizons!]
[So this is what the world of the rich looks like?]
[Isn't this just Director Zhuang's own life?]
[Nice! The white-haired hacker finally shows his face! I'm already hyped!]
[Every time I see Brother Xiao's white-haired look, I just want to lick the screen. So handsome.]
[You're a guy, right? Huh?]
[No way! Hands off that white hair! Let me handle it!]
[Speaking of which, we still don't know this white-haired guy's actual name. We just keep calling him white hair. It's hilarious.]
[It's fine. Actually, the script calls him that too. Dog head emoji.]
Clearly, this trailer had successfully built up everyone's anticipation. With Xiao He's increased screen time, it also attracted more Little Box fans to join the discussion.
Xiao He found it amusing. He followed up by sharing the promotional trailer to help boost "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2."
As soon as he posted, a wave of fans rushed over to watch and started gearing up to help drive up the pre-sale box office.
It was clear that Xiao He's box office appeal was truly extraordinary now.
Fortunately, Xiao He was only a guest star. Director Zhuang didn't ask him to join the production team for roadshows, so Xiao He just needed to wait for the film to release without having to work too hard.
...
Over the next few days, Xiao He wrapped up all his work commitments in Shanghai.
He glanced at his now-clean work schedule and felt a strong sense of accomplishment as a competitive king.
Finally, he could take a break.
He decided to start his vacation before Spring Festival.
But it was around this time that Xiao He learned a small group of his fans were charging at his company to help him enforce his rights.
When Xiao He found out, he was utterly dumbfounded.
"Huh? Charging at which company? Helping whom enforce their rights?"
Inside the Linghui Entertainment office, Xiao He worried he might have processed the information too quickly and suffered from auditory hallucinations. He immediately asked the operations team member Xiao Zhou for confirmation.
Xiao Zhou looked a bit embarrassed too. "Uh, it's a group of fans saying that our Linghui Entertainment team is overworking the boss. They claim you're accepting scripts like crazy, causing you to work year-round without a break. Their current demand is that you take some time off and not push yourself too hard..."
Xiao He leaned back in his chair, making an exaggerated expression of shock.
Huh. Talk about turning things upside down.
What was this?
His own fans leading the charge — but charging at his own fortress?