Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 679 The Age of Games (1)

The fact that Wang Hao was able to achieve an astonishing box office of 6.4 million yuan (including previews) on the first day of the National Day holiday, breaking his previous box office record, must be due to a variety of reasons.

On the one hand, perhaps due to the external environment this year, everyone stayed at home in the first half of the year and did not go to the cinema.

Although online entertainment was available for them to pass the time during this period, the entertainment of watching movies offline was actually suppressed. Now that they have some relaxation, there will naturally be a retaliatory rebound.

On the other hand, of course, the quality of the movie "Game Era" itself is very good, far surpassing several other movies released in the same period, which is why it attracted a large number of movie fans to buy tickets.

It's not just movie fans; many industry insiders are also very interested in this new style of film that Wang Hao has never directed before.

On October 4th, renowned director and actor Xu Zheng appeared at the entrance of a cinema in Shanghai, and was then photographed by paparazzi buying tickets for the movie "Game Era".

Upon entering the screening room, Xu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief after glancing out of the corner of his eye at the paparazzi leaving.

Yes, the paparazzi photos were actually premeditated, and he even found the people himself.

Unfortunately, the failure of "Lost in Russia" has undoubtedly brought difficulties to Xu Zheng's film and television career once again.

Over the years, his career has been on a downward spiral.

Leaving aside the "Lost in..." series, the lead role in the movie "Dying to Survive" from two years ago was also changed to Wang Baoqiang.

Although his other works still propelled him to the top tier, he was still a little short of reaching the next level.

Even with the combined pressure from Wang Baoqiang and Shen Teng, his niche isn't as irreplaceable.

Therefore, this time he once again actively tried to get closer to Xinghe Group and show goodwill to Wang Hao.

As for whether it will actually work, he doesn't know.

Anyway, once he entered the screening room, he obediently started watching the movie.

It's still the opening animation from the third phase of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe], and then the screen is filled with a rich yellow hue.

As the camera zooms out, the scenery gradually comes into focus: desolate and lifeless. It's a desert, stretching as far as the eye can see, devoid of any life. Under the magic of photography and lighting, just one glance is enough to make your mouth water.

The camera pans across the sand, the wind blowing the sand grains to form the movie's opening credits, and the occasional small creature darting out of the yellow sand is a delightful surprise for the audience.

As the camera pans across the monotonous yellow sand, new scenery gradually emerges.

It was a small town with only one street, lined with low, gray houses, looking like an ancient ruin forgotten by God in the Gobi Desert.

Amidst the chaotic, yellowish ruins, scattered patches of verdant green provided some respite for the restless hearts of the audience who were engrossed in the scene.

Because all the greenery depends on the bitter, salty well water at the end of the street, the three characters "Saltwater Town" are engraved on the stones at the street.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! You're not dead yet, are you?"

The sudden sound broke the silence that had lasted since the beginning of the movie, bringing a touch of life to this town that resembled an abandoned ruin.

The audience soon saw that next to a house that looked like a post station on the street, several Western Region merchants with headscarves and full beards were looking at the man half-lying in the corner with scrutinizing eyes.

The man was disheveled, covered in dust, and had chapped lips; he looked like he had been down on his luck for a long time.

Given the state of this town, he might even become a dried-up corpse on the street in a few days.

Fortunately, this group of merchants from the Central Plains who were preparing to travel to China needed to replenish their manpower due to an unexpected incident on the way, and they happened to take a liking to him.

However, when asked, this down-on-his-luck man couldn't even remember his own name. Only Gao Weiguang's shadow could be vaguely seen on his face. Thus, the taciturn man was jokingly called "idiot".

And so the "idiot" joined Mr. Samba's Egyptian caravan, preparing to cross the "Sea of ​​Death" together.

That place is dozens of miles east of Xianshui Town. It is called the "Sea of ​​Death," but it is not actually a sea. It is a boundless desert.

At the edge of this "Sea of ​​Death" desert lies the paradise of all merchants' legends—the land of silk.

That place is a paradise that all adventurers yearn for.

Legend has it that people in the land of silk use gold and silver for utensils and white jade for houses, but the most precious items are shimmering silks of various colors and patterns.

The silk was as thin as a cicada's wing, smoother and more delicate than a young girl's skin.

Whoever can bring that silk back to the West can immediately exchange it for an equal weight of gold!
The only problem is the "Sea of ​​Death," a hell that lies on the road to heaven.

Not to mention the long journey without food and water, and the unpredictable sandstorms, even the notorious bandits who move like the wind in the desert would be enough to deter any adventurer.

However, the "idiot" who has lost his memory doesn't know what danger is, nor does he have the concept of "fear" in his mind.

So when he joined the caravan with nearly a hundred camels and dozens of warhorses, the film gave the caravan a final shot of its backs as it walked into the desert.

Then the artistic font of the film's title, "Game Era," appeared on the big screen, and this journey became the starting point of the "idiot's" fate.

The title disappeared, and the brightly lit desert environment quickly transformed into night.

While the caravan rested in the desert, "Idiot" was resting like the other laborers who had temporarily joined the group, when he was awakened by a very faint vibration.

The most fearsome bandit in the desert, "A Gust of Wind," launched an attack on their caravan. The dozen or so riders who attacked were dressed in black and rode black horses, their curved swords held upside down gleaming coldly in the silvery moonlight.

Fortunately, "Idiot" was alert enough to escape the massacre and earned the respect and following of the laborers by personally killing a sand bandit.

But even after repelling this attack, the dangers of the journey ahead did not diminish.

Later, during the journey across the "Sea of ​​Death," the caravan was attacked by "a gust of wind" several times. In critical moments, "Idiot" also showed extraordinary fighting instincts and strategic thinking, using earthenware pots to listen in and launch surprise attacks, and setting traps to counterattack. Although he did not completely repel the enemy, he bought the caravan time to escape.

However, during their journey across the desert, the caravan was caught in a sandstorm and stumbled into an abandoned settlement known as a "ghost town," where they encountered deadly crises such as bloodthirsty maggots devouring their flesh and a demonic spring poisoning their companions.

During this period, "Idiot" also resolved crises many times with his extraordinary calm judgment and intuition, but in the end, the caravan and the sand bandits fought to the death.

In that ghost town, the sand bandits lost most of their men, and the caravan also suffered heavy losses; even Lord Samba lost his life.

However, in the final moments of his life, he entrusted his granddaughter Daisy to Tony, the captain of the caravan guard, and "Idiot".

Just as they were about to escape the desert, "Idiot" was plunged into the deepest darkness by the deadly venom of the sand snake.

"Sir, wake up! Sir, please wake up!"

Light began to flash across the dark screen, and at the same time, a soft and pleasant call came from the speakers. "Idiot" lay in bed, suddenly opened his eyes, and a soft blue light entered his vision from above.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, then closed his eyes tightly, treating everything before him as an illusion.

Before he was poisoned, his guide, Old Man Harry, told him that those poisoned by the sand snake would experience terrible hallucinations.

However, the smiling girl next to him wasn't going to let him just lie there.

"Sir, please wake up, sir!"

The following plot is a humorous story about an ancient person who comes to the modern world and rediscovers his identity.

When the audience watched the "idiot" make a big fuss about everything around him, they couldn't help but laugh, which helped relieve the tension they had built up from the first part of the movie, a tense desert chase.

After accepting that this was reality, "Idiot" also learned his true identity.

His name was Xia Feng, an extreme sports enthusiast. In this era, however, he was just an unemployed man who made a living by carrying corpses.

The world he was in before was just a virtual reality game world called "Real Illusion," which was so realistic it could fool anyone.

Of course, Xia Feng didn't seem to believe it. He hadn't recovered from the incredibly realistic world and still thought that the world he was in was just an illusion.

However, moviegoers were surprisingly accepting of this and had already grasped some of the truth.

Many of them had seen the works of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] and were very familiar with the "subconscious healing device" technology featured in them.

It's worth noting that in the movie "Inception," this device, developed by Dr. Ma Zhao, was enough to create a dream world that was indistinguishable from reality.

In "The Three-Body Problem," they were even able to use devices to connect the dreams of more people, forming a super-large virtual digital space.

The virtual game called "Real Illusion" is clearly following the same path.

However, Xia Feng, who had lost his memory, was unaware of this. After receiving enough wages, he quickly returned to the game company, lay back on his bed, put on his helmet, and entered the dream world once again.

However, this also left the audience wondering: why did Xia Feng lose his memory? Was it because of this game?
Or is it like the previous movies about "subconscious healing devices," where Xia Feng is actually a patient, and playing games is actually a form of therapy to help him regain his memories?
The audience was very curious about this, but Xia Feng, who had returned to that sea of ​​sand, was startled, because as soon as he opened his eyes, a cold light flashed in front of him.

Fortunately, Xia Feng, upon waking, immediately rolled over and dodged the fatal blow.

It turns out that the group that escaped the ghost town was once again caught up by "a gust of wind".

The good news is that "A Gust of Wind" also lost a lot of manpower because of the Ghost City, and after Xia Feng woke up, they had to retreat hastily once again.

However, during the retreat, Qi Danyun, the leader of "A Gust of Wind," also uttered some harsh words.

"Hand over that woman, or you'll all die!"

Xia Feng could no longer hold back, because his laborer friend had also died in the attack.

They sacrificed so much to protect Daisy.

Faced with Xia Feng's persistent questioning, Daisy finally told them the reason behind all the conflicts.

The story begins in Egypt, another ancient Western civilization thousands of miles away from the land of silk.

It turns out that this Daisiri is a saint of the Egyptian Sun Cult, her grandfather Samba is the high priest of the Sun Cult, and her steward Flett is his disciple.

They were entrusted with a mysterious mission by the Egyptian Holy Church to travel to the Silk Road, another ancient civilization, in order to unravel the mysteries of the world that have troubled them and all the sages and philosophers of the past.

Xia Feng seemed somewhat dismissive of Daisy's explanation. In his view, Daisy and the others had traveled a great distance only for a vague and unrealistic goal.

Daisy, of course, disagreed, stating that long ago, the forefathers of their religion had noticed that religions around the world had legends about gods, and these legends often had many striking similarities.

Even different sects in different regions have their own legends about creation, catastrophe, heaven, and gods.

What is particularly astonishing is that the records and legends about gods in the ancient Silk Road country of the East have similarities with those of Egypt, which is located in the far west and thousands of miles away.

Even though these descriptions have become somewhat blurred due to the passage of time and the process of dissemination, the near-coincidental similarities are undeniable.

Especially in ancient texts, the records about deities are more abundant, complete, and similar, and this is true in both the East and the West.

"So what are you trying to prove?"

Xia Feng looked at Daisy, and out of politeness, he didn't show any disdain, but he still couldn't help but say:
"That's just a legend, and you actually believe it?"

Daisy sighed softly.

"That's because you haven't been to our country."

In my country, there are many great engineering projects and natural phenomena that cannot be explained by common sense, such as the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx.

You might not be able to imagine that hundreds of years ago, the rulers of that dynasty had already built themselves enormous tombs, hundreds of feet high, constructed from massive stones.

Even today, with more advanced technology and a more abundant labor force, our king still cannot accomplish that massive project.

There is also the Sphinx, an exquisitely designed structure that remains intact to this day despite thousands of years of desert wind and sand erosion.

None of these things can be explained by technology; in our minds, they can only be explained by miracles!

"miracle?"

Xia Feng finally revealed a hint of mockery because of Daisy's words.

"If miracles really exist, why don't they turn this desert beneath our feet into an oasis?"

Daisy ignored Xia Feng's sarcasm and simply gazed at the fiery red sunset on the horizon, saying softly:
"In any case, we firmly believe that many gods once lived on the ancient land."

They left traces of their activities in the world. Various religions and myths are based on their deeds, which is why Eastern and Western myths are so strikingly similar.

However, for reasons unknown, they later disappeared from our world.

Therefore, we have never seen a true god again.

(End of this chapter)