After thinking it over, everyone present realized that this story truly met their requirements in many ways.

The story’s greatest strength was that it didn’t vilify the boss character. Instead, it repeatedly emphasized that he had amassed his enormous fortune through hard work, exceptional intelligence, and legal means.

So by conventional moral standards, he should be considered a good person in the ordinary sense.

And wasn’t Mr. Pei exactly the same?

If the film tried to smear this character and use him to indirectly criticize Mr. Pei, the audience would likely reject it.

Because most viewers would come with a preconceived notion that Mr. Pei was an excellent entrepreneur without fatal moral flaws!

And this massive corporation that controlled 90% of the world’s wealth and covered every industry across the globe—this indeed resembled the future development direction of the Tenda Group.

If they had to find the most fitting counterpart in reality, Tenda would undoubtedly be the prime candidate.

The most crucial point was that this film neither maliciously denigrated certain people nor forcibly imposed concepts on the audience. Instead, it used a very cautious yet bold approach to showcase a possible future development.

The story itself was compelling enough to naturally generate extensive discussion among viewers.

Combined, these factors made it the optimal choice with a high probability of success!

Someone asked curiously, “Why is this film called ‘My Property’?”

Lu Xiaoping explained, “Because in the film, the vast majority of things on the entire planet, including the air, are this boss’s private property.”

“People on this planet are no exception. They’re basically all this boss’s employees, though some perform more dignified work while others merely hold empty positions in his company.”

“In this sense, the child from the poor family—who was the boss’s childhood playmate—has effectively become the boss’s property as well.”

“So the title ‘My Property’ carries strong satirical implications.”

All the bosses nodded in wholehearted agreement.

Clearly, Lu Xiaoping understood the situation well.

Earlier, when he and Nie Yunsheng secretly decided to invest in this film, they had already considered these long-term implications!

However, someone soon expressed concern.

“Director Lu, Director Nie, I have a question.”

“If this film actually gets made, won’t we be hurting ourselves while attacking our enemy? From the current situation, it seems that we ourselves, including our companies, are also within the scope of this film’s satire!”

“Is this really a good idea?”

Nie Yunsheng smiled slightly. “This is a sacrifice we must make to achieve victory.”

“In fact, the more Tenda develops, the more similarities it will have with us. So most of the arguments we use to attack Tenda could be applied to ourselves as well. It’s precisely for this reason that we must wait until the balance of power changes, with Tenda gaining the upper hand, before we can use this final, desperate measure!”

“If we abandon this strategy just because it might cause some damage to ourselves, then we truly have no options left.”

“We’ve already proven that in the conventional arena, we cannot beat Tenda no matter what we do!”

“So ultimately, we’ll use the failure of all our companies to elevate Tenda to the position of the ‘boss’ in the film.”

“Our final goal isn’t to make Tenda completely decline or disintegrate—that’s unlikely! But as long as we can sever the connection between Tenda and ordinary consumers, or prevent Tenda’s various departments from coordinating so smoothly, we’ll count it as a success.”

“I believe this risk is worth taking, and we must take it!”

Nie Yunsheng’s speech completely unified everyone’s thinking.

Indeed, this was their last resort!

The film’s story was excellent enough, and it belonged to the recently popular science fiction genre. Once released, it could potentially trigger a heated response.

And if they had to name the company that best matched the film’s corporate image, it could only be the Tenda Group!

Centered around this film, the anti-Tenda alliance could employ many tactics. Their public opinion offensive would not be from the perspective of various enterprises, but from the perspective of ordinary people, collectively attacking the behemoth that was Tenda.

Even ants could kill an elephant if there were enough of them!

Zheng Hao seemed to have an insight and said, “Director Nie, Director Lu, this move of yours is truly brilliant!”

“Most importantly, you’ve found a new path.”

“We can no longer stand from the perspective of companies and enterprises to oppose Tenda. That would be conventional business competition, and we probably would never be a match for Tenda!”

“Now that the Tenda Group has developed to its current stage, to advance further, its opponents are no longer competing companies like us, but millions of ordinary people!”

“The most difficult thing isn’t defeating every competing company, but gathering the consensus of millions of ordinary people.”

“Tenda is walking this path, so we must spare no effort to cut off this path!”

“In fact, most people are mediocre and disorganized masses who are easily misled and manipulated. Most harbor an instinctive vigilance against such super-large enterprises.”

“As Tenda grows and fights against big capital, many people will stand on Tenda’s side. But once Tenda’s development crosses a certain boundary, these people will immediately stand against Tenda with just a little influence.”

“Tenda can defeat all competing companies in business, but Tenda cannot overcome human hearts.”

“That’s why I’ve always said that Tenda’s creation of its public image is actually a very dangerous behavior. It’s like walking a tightrope—one misstep and it will fall completely from the clouds.”

“To make an analogy, Mr. Pei is walking a path to immortality. He could have been an ordinary immortal, living freely and easily. But he insists on shouldering the heavenly tribulation to ascend to the higher realm. So he must be prepared to be struck dead by the lightning tribulation at any time.”

Everyone nodded as they listened.

This analogy truly resonated with everyone.

Tenda was already invincible in the business field, and Tenda’s final step was to gather everyone’s consensus.

Tenda’s enemy was no longer certain competing companies, but all ordinary consumers.

This behavior was somewhat like enduring the heavenly tribulation. If Tenda could endure it, it would directly ascend to the higher realm, reaching a height that no company could match.

But if it couldn’t endure, it would perish, with its established image instantly backlashing, resulting in abandonment by everyone!

Everyone turned to look at Lu Xiaoping: “That being the case, Director Lu, we’ll await good news and the film’s release!”

…

…

European time, September 7th.

At the awards ceremony of the 70th Venice International Film Festival.

Huang Sibo, Zhu Xiaocai, Lu Zhiyao, and the main cast and crew of “The Future You Choose” sat in a row below the stage.

Huang Sibo couldn’t help but feel emotional—this moment mirrored that past moment!

The scene resembled the situation when “Beautiful Tomorrow” attended the Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony.

Still the same grand occasion, still the same presentable appearance, still completely unable to understand what was being said on site.

However, compared to last time, they were much calmer this time, as the saying goes, “Once familiar, twice at ease.”

Last time, Huang Sibo and his team hadn’t considered participating in an international film festival, so they had released “Beautiful Tomorrow” in China first. For the Cannes Film Festival selection, this was a small disadvantage.

This time, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaocai were determined to aim for the Venice Film Festival. The timing was also suitable, so naturally they had postponed the film’s premiere date.

If they could win a significant award at this film festival, it would naturally boost the film when it was released, affecting the box office!

Of course, no one could guarantee whether they would win an award.

However, relatively speaking, “The Future You Choose,” like “Beautiful Tomorrow,” used a Western setting. For the festival judges, there wasn’t much cultural barrier. It was easier to understand.

Besides, Zhu Xiaocai had also noticed that there weren’t particularly outstanding film works participating in this Venice Film Festival, which meant they still had a good chance!

So far, “The Future You Choose” had not been released in China, and the secrecy work had been done extremely well, with few people knowing about it.

For most domestic netizens, this film remained a mystery.

And that was perfect!

If they could win a significant award at the Venice Film Festival, the news would quickly spread back to China, laying a solid foundation and preparation for the release of “The Future You Choose”!