April 14th, Saturday.

12 AM, midnight.

Lu Xiaoping, the Vice President of Fanqi Media, arrived punctually at a theater near his company along with the person in charge of promoting “Raging Sea Battleship.”

This theater was considered large even by the capital city’s standards. Lu Xiaoping had specially purchased two tickets for the IMAX theater, which was two stories high with a super-large screen and panoramic sound system, guaranteeing the best audiovisual experience.

“President Lu, here’s your popcorn.”

The person in charge of promoting “Raging Sea Battleship” held two large buckets of popcorn, handing one to Lu Xiaoping.

On the surface, he wore a smile, but inwardly he was cursing.

This promotion manager felt quite wronged. Watching a midnight premiere movie should normally be an enjoyable experience, but that depended on who you were watching it with.

Watching a movie with your direct superior somehow felt wrong no matter how you looked at it.

Moreover, he had been working overtime until midnight before coming here from the office.

After already working overtime for four or five hours, this movie should strictly be considered work business, so the manager was extremely unhappy and not in the mood to watch a movie at all. He just wanted to go home and get some good sleep.

But there was nothing he could do. He was just a high-level corporate drone—he could throw his weight around with subordinates, but when facing Lu Xiaoping, he had to be subservient.

As for why things ended up this way, it’s a long story.

After hearing that “Mission and Choice” had moved up its release date, Lu Xiaoping felt that Tenda had chickened out and further deduced that the film’s quality must not be great. So he deliberately hired some paid commenters to stir up trouble.

Initially, everything was going smoothly. Tenda’s side didn’t immediately fight back, making Lu Xiaoping feel he had found an easy target. The trolling was going so well that he was reluctant to stop.

But what he never expected was that two days before the film’s release, the situation suddenly changed!

Posts about “Mission and Choice” suddenly exploded online, with netizens discussing it frantically as if possessed. Despite having virtually no basic promotion, the film had gained tremendous attention!

Furthermore, GOG had updated with a new version, officially introducing the new hero “Skylark.” Her appearance and backstory strongly hinted at “Mission and Choice,” triggering another wave of discussions!

Undeniably, GOG’s influence in China was enormous. The release of this new hero was like pouring oil on a fire, instantly igniting the initial buzz for “Mission and Choice”!

Of course, this was only relative—it was more popular than ordinary films but still couldn’t compare to blockbusters with massive promotional budgets.

Even so, it was enough to sell out all of “Mission and Choice’s” tickets for the first day.

Although “Mission and Choice” didn’t have a high screening rate, this still demonstrated the audience’s enthusiasm.

The previous series of events had made Lu Xiaoping quite arrogant, but now he was beginning to worry.

So, Lu Xiaoping ordered the person in charge of promoting “Raging Sea Battleship” to work overtime with him until midnight, then come watch the midnight premiere of “Mission and Choice.”

His purpose was to finally determine what this film was actually like and whether it would pose a serious threat to “Raging Sea Battleship.”

Although Lu Xiaoping felt this possibility was small, since the release dates had already been separated, it was better to be safe than sorry. He didn’t dare to be careless and definitely had to come see for himself.

For ordinary people, tickets might be hard to get, but for Lu Xiaoping, this wasn’t a problem at all.

Lu Xiaoping’s expression was serious as he waited for the film to start.

He had seen the online discussions where some people said “Mission and Choice” moved up its release date not because it was afraid of “Raging Sea Battleship,” but because it had something to do with “Fantasy War Remake.”

Although Lu Xiaoping didn’t agree with this view, he had to admit there was such a possibility.

He began to vaguely realize that it seemed Tenda’s side hadn’t given up resisting, but rather was brewing something terrifying…

As for the person in charge of promoting “Raging Sea Battleship,” after working overtime all evening, he was yawning constantly, completely unable to muster any energy. He just wanted to go home and sleep.

Why wasn’t Lu Xiaoping tired?

Because as a company vice president, he had a dedicated car for transportation and a special rest area in his office where he could sleep anytime.

Many bosses boast about working fifteen or sixteen hours a day and sleeping only four or five hours, using this to motivate employees and paint rosy pictures, trying to prove they became bosses through hard work and that employees could become bosses through hard work too. That’s complete nonsense—only a fool would believe it.

In any case, the two men fell into silence for different reasons, occasionally eating some popcorn while watching the warm-up advertisements on the big screen.

The audience had already filed in, and the IMAX theater was now full.

“Mission and Choice” hadn’t arranged a premiere ceremony or any preview screenings, and Tenda’s confidentiality work was remarkably good, so until now, no spoilers had leaked online.

The audience in the theater was discussing in low voices. Lu Xiaoping wasn’t deliberately listening, but he still roughly determined the origins of these people from the conversations of nearby audience members.

Some were die-hard fans of Lu Zhiyao, coming specifically for him;

Some were loyal fans of Tenda Games and faithful supporters of domestic games—because “Mission and Choice” was the “shame of Chinese gaming,” they came specifically to see how Tenda would film it;

Some couples just wanted to watch any random movie and spend the night out, but today’s showtimes were relatively poor with few good options. Having heard this film was made by the same team as “Beautiful Tomorrow” and should be of guaranteed quality, they decided to book tickets…

In short, the audience’s origins were diverse.

Lu Xiaoping felt this was concerning, as it meant “Mission and Choice” had a fairly diverse audience base.

If the audience were more homogeneous, for example, if the vast majority were Lu Zhiyao’s fans, then the film’s staying power might be weaker. After all, there were only so many die-hard fans, and if the film couldn’t break out of this circle after they had all seen it, subsequent box office returns would definitely plummet.

But a diverse audience meant the film had a greater chance of breaking through to wider circles!

Of course, the key still depended on the quality of the film itself.

Soon, the theater lights gradually dimmed.

On the big screen, after a bunch of logos, the film officially began, and the theater quickly fell silent.

The film opened with Qin Yi waking up in a hibernation pod, conversing with AEEIS and becoming the new commander.

For players who had played the “Sea Fortress” DLC, this opening was actually very easy to understand, as it connected to the DLC’s content.

For those viewers who hadn’t played it, it didn’t affect their understanding, because this opening scene was interspersed with fragments of Qin Yi’s memories, mainly showing the previous decapitation mission in the insect hive where his teammates had all perished.

Although these scenes were fragmented and brief, they were enough to give the audience background information, preventing them from being completely confused.

Moreover, as the film’s plot progressed, at certain key points—such as during “simulated training” missions—more memories of the “decapitation operation” would be interspersed. Though not lengthy, these were sufficient to ensure the story’s completeness.

As Qin Yi took control of the console and familiarized himself with the operations, the audience, along with him, saw simulated images of the United Fleet’s first encounter with the insect race, and through AEEIS’s explanation, they understood the story’s broader background.

…

Lu Xiaoping stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. The light from the big screen illuminated his face, rapidly changing between brightness and darkness, reflecting his somewhat dazed expression.

He was stunned by the film’s cool scenes!

Previous domestic sci-fi films often showed carelessness and lack of attention to detail. For instance, characters’ costumes, the layout of space cabins, electronic equipment, etc., would clearly show cheap and patchwork traces, demonstrating a serious lack of care.

This was partly due to budget issues, partly due to capability issues, but mostly due to attitude problems.

Many directors of domestic sci-fi films didn’t pay enough attention to these details. They just wanted scenery with a “sci-fi feel” and focused their attention elsewhere, such as how to modify the script according to investors’ requirements.

Without the right attitude, these details could never be done well.

But “Mission and Choice” was completely different.

These differences in detail didn’t even require careful observation—just a glance and the difference was obvious!

The IMAX screen presented every detail to the audience with perfect clarity, including Qin Yi’s space suit, the hibernation pod he slept in, the commander’s control panel, and so on. They truly looked like products of future technology and had a strong sense of realism!

Of course, one important reason they could achieve this level of quality was that the film only had this one real set.

Using the same elements repeatedly, Director Zhu Xiaocai could naturally invest heavily, repeatedly modify and redesign, continuously improve, and achieve the most perfect state.

But viewers didn’t know this. As soon as the film began, they saw a space cabin scene with a sense of realism that instantly outclassed all other domestic sci-fi films. Every single element left a deep impression. This kind of impact was incomparable to films of other genres and could quickly immerse the audience!

Even cooler were the images displayed on the cabin walls when Qin Yi used the control panel.

According to the plot setting, the moment Qin Yi sat down, the surrounding cabin walls would be covered with holographic imaging technology. He would appear to be in the midst of endless stars—looking in any direction, up, down, left, or right, he would seem to see the real scenery of the universe.

Moreover, Qin Yi could continuously change perspectives using the control panel. Whether moving, zooming, or jumping to different views, the surrounding scenery would change in real-time.

In traditional films, the commander and the actual battlefield visuals are separate, shown only through cutting between shots, creating a slight sense of disconnection.

But in “Mission and Choice,” the commander’s actions and the actual battlefield visuals were integrated. Qin Yi moved like a ghost through endless space, commanding battles, making the entire sequence not only more fluid and cohesive but also more visually impactful.

In reality, during filming, everything around was green screen, and the intense space battles were all created with special effects.

But given the massive investment in special effects, and the fact that creating ships with special effects tends to look more realistic than creating humans, the special effects combined perfectly with the elaborate set design, making viewers feel as if they were truly there!

For sci-fi films, the most terrible adjective is “fake.”

Once scenes or details make the audience feel fake, even the best story won’t hold their attention.

But “Mission and Choice,” whether in its real sets or special effects, achieved extreme realism, so it had a captivating effect right from the start, stunning all the viewers!

Lu Xiaoping realized the situation was somewhat problematic, and his previously calm expression had become rigid.

In contrast, the person in charge of “Raging Sea Battleship,” who had been drowsy earlier, instantly became wide awake at this opening!