Chapter 730: So This is What Movies Are Like
The grand theater quickly filled with people.
Such a powerful and wealthy man as Qiu Qianfan naturally occupied one of the prime seats at the very front, surrounded by a throng of high-ranking officials and dignitaries.
It wasn't until the very end, after all the attendees had taken their places, that Lao Nanfeng strolled over and settled into the seat beside him.
Qiu Qianfan chuckled. "Commander Nan, you truly enjoy the Heavenly Lord's favor! To think one of these Divine Mirrors would be specially installed right here in your grand theater!"
Lao Nanfeng swelled with a touch of pride. "I fought for this with my life! How many bandit chiefs did I slay in the Battle of Houjia Village? Only then did the Heavenly Lord bestow this treasure upon me!"
Qiu Qianfan sighed, genuinely envious. "Ah, I, too, long to earn some merit for the Heavenly Lord!"
Lao Nanfeng laughed. "You? Not a chance! Everything you know would be utterly outmatched by our Gao Family Village middle schoolers!"
A flush of embarrassment touched Qiu Qianfan's face. He lowered his voice. "I've already sent my son to the Gao Family Village School, hmph. Once he emerges, having studied the Celestial Heavenly Books, he will absolutely not lose to your Gao Family Village middle schoolers."
Lao Nanfeng just shrugged. "We'll see about that. Ah, enough chatter now, it's about to begin..."
The audience murmured, "Huh?"
Usually, their song and dance concerts were brilliantly lit. Lao Nanfeng had spared no expense, hiring the finest lantern makers to craft a dazzling array of colorful lights, and when all were ablaze, the theater's atmosphere was truly enchanting.
What was happening tonight? Were they playing some sort of 'dark room' game?
It was at this moment...
The massive tablet screen, set on the stage, flickered to life.
A ripple of excitement went through the crowd. "The Divine Mirror is on! So this performance has been recorded and is being played through the Divine Mirror. That's quite novel!"
Everyone had already seen the trial broadcasts of the Divine Mirror in the market square, watched various news reports, Shi Kefa's legal education programs, and other shows. So, they weren't entirely unfamiliar with the Divine Mirror; at least, they didn't look completely bewildered.
Slowly, a line of text materialized in the center of the giant screen.
"Mu Guiying"
Below it, a slightly smaller line of text appeared: "A Li Daoxuan Production."
Upon seeing this, the audience gasped in astonishment. "Wow, was this made by the Heavenly Lord?"
"A Heavenly Lord Production!"
"My heavens! This ticket has already paid for itself!"
"It hasn't even started, and I already feel like I've struck gold! What's happening?"
As the audience buzzed with excited chatter, the credits continued to scroll downwards...
"Starring: Cai Lin"
"Featuring: Lao Nanfeng"
"Featuring: Chen Qianhu"
Line after line of credits scrolled down...
Meanwhile, an AI-generated voice began to narrate: "During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yang family generals either fell in battle or were assassinated by treacherous ministers... When the Western Xia King rebelled, the Tianbo Mansion found itself with no man left to lead the army... It was at this critical juncture that Mu Guiying stepped forward..."
The audience, however, had little interest in this part. Who didn't know *this* story?
Just as they expected this "movie" to transition to Cai Lin appearing and performing a song and dance.
...the on-screen credits abruptly vanished.
What appeared instead was a vast, desolate landscape, an aerial shot sweeping across the wide expanse of the frontier.
Li Daoxuan had utilized old battle footage he'd recorded. The scene swept past two clashing armies, which were originally footage of the Gao Family Village Militia fighting against bandits.
Using AI synthesis technology, their uniforms had been altered, transforming them into Song soldiers battling Liao forces.
This aerial footage was astonishing. As it zoomed past, every single audience member was utterly dumbfounded.
Only Li Daoxuan himself shook his head. "Terrible. These shoddy, cheap visual effects... Ugh! Next time, I really need to hire someone to do this properly."
Qiu Qianfan watched, trembling. "Ah? That scene just now... Was that... was that truly a depiction of a real battle between the Song and Liao armies? Is the Heavenly Lord using the Divine Mirror to show us events from centuries ago?"
He wasn't the only one thinking this; every single person in the audience harbored the same thought.
Just days earlier, they had seen the Heavenly Lord show them footage of a thief stealing. They didn't realize it was recorded by the Heavenly Lord; they believed the Divine Mirror could conjure up past events, making them appear anew.
A spectator suddenly leaped to his feet. "That's incredible!"
"Sit down, you're blocking my view!"
After its aerial survey of the entire battlefield, the camera swiftly zoomed in, descended, and finally plunged through the clashing armies, weaving between them, offering close-up shots of several instances of combat.
Blood splattered, an utterly shocking sight.
Everyone was stunned into silence by the scene, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
Again, only Li Daoxuan was shaking his head. "Fifty cents! I'd rate these effects at fifty cents, and not a penny more."
The camera finally settled on the face of a man clad in Liao armor. Beside him, a line of subtitles popped up, reading: "Xiao Tianzuo, General of Liao."
Although the text identified him as Xiao Tianzuo, General of Liao, everyone instantly recognized him: wasn't this Chen Qianhu, Lao Nanfeng's trusted subordinate?
There stood Chen Qianhu, dressed in Liao attire, wielding an enormous hammer. He wore a ferocious grin as he slammed a Song soldier to the ground with a single blow, then roared with laughter: "Song soldiers are nothing but soft eggs! Die, all of you! Hahahaha! With the Yang family generals gone, no one in the Song realm can stand against me! Hahahahaha!"
Those in the VIP section spun their heads in unison, all eyes turning to Chen Qianhu, who was also seated among them.
Chen Qianhu's face flushed with acute embarrassment. "Don't look at me, everyone! Watch the movie! I really didn't want to play such an obnoxious character, but I had to obey Commander Nan's orders!"
The crowd collectively "hmph"-ed, then turned their attention back to the movie.
Then the camera abruptly soared skyward again, piercing through the clouds until the screen was filled with nothing but white. It then plunged back through the clouds, descending once more.
Below them lay an imposing mansion!
Qiu Qianfan exclaimed, "Huh? Isn't that the home of Li Xiangui, the wealthy merchant from the south of the city?"
Lao Nanfeng grinned. "Heh, indeed! We borrowed Li Xiangui's house to film the Tianbo Mansion."
The audience fell silent, dumbfounded.
Li Xiangui, also in the VIP section, burst into hearty laughter. "My house! My house is on screen!"
The camera focused on the entrance of Li Xiangui's residence. The plaque, which originally read "Li Mansion," had been magically altered by Li Daoxuan's divine Photoshop skills to say "Tianbo Mansion."
The alteration was rather slapdash, and the effect was undeniably cheap.
But the audience didn't care in the slightest; they watched with unbridled joy...
The camera glided through the main hall and passages, finally arriving at a side chamber.
Cai Lin stood there in full military regalia. Normally, she exuded a gentle aura, but today, she appeared dashing and heroic, instantly capturing the hearts of more than half the audience.
Beside her, a line of text materialized: "Mu Guiying."
After experiencing these few 'fifty-cent special effects' shots, the audience finally understood: movies were vastly different from traditional opera. Opera was performed on a fixed stage, using performance styles instantly recognizable as theatrical.
But this thing called a "movie" pursued realism!
It was like a whole new world had opened up before them!
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