Chapter 203: Ideological Invasion

Chapter 203: Ideological Invasion

"Movie?"

Aphnora instinctively furrowed her delicate brows, a flicker of confusion passing through her clear, watery eyes.

This guy always had the strangest terms popping out of his mouth!

She really wanted to see what his true form looked like—how could he have so many bizarre and ingenious ideas?

"You can think of it as a secularized version of opera! The actors aren’t performing on a stage but within a story world—though, of course, this world is an artificially constructed, fabricated setting. For example, if there’s a scene where the actors need to be in the mountains, we’ll film it in the mountains, then edit and combine all the clips to form a smooth, coherent video story."

Yu Sheng'an did his best to describe the concept of movies using terms this world could understand.

He realized that many things taken for granted on Blue Star weren’t so easy to explain in just a few words.

Seeing Aphnora still frowning slightly, her expression caught between comprehension and bewilderment, Yu Sheng'an simply stood up and began illustrating the concept of movies in detail, using gestures and sketches to break it down.

"For example, one of the most common plots in opera is the story of a knight rescuing a princess from an evil dragon. We can find a knight to act out this entire process."

"From the dragon appearing and kidnapping the princess, to the king issuing a bounty, then the brave knight accepting the mission, and finally overcoming countless hardships to rescue the princess from the dragon’s clutches."

"This process would involve scenes like the Imperial Palace, a city, a forest, and the dragon’s lair. We’d do our best to recreate these settings for filming."

"Of course, we can’t exactly invite a real dragon to participate in a movie—the Dragon Clan probably wouldn’t be willing to bear such infamy. Instead, we can use illusions to simulate the dragon, as well as dangerous scenes like a city being destroyed or a fierce battle in the dragon’s lair."

Faced with Yu Sheng'an’s detailed explanation, Aphnora finally showed a look of realization.

"I think I understand now. It does sound quite interesting."

"Of course it is! It’s definitely more entertaining than opera! This is what you call ‘appealing to both refined and popular tastes’! Once we produce this and put it on the internet with the support of my godhood—automatically translating languages across all domains—it’ll sell like crazy!" Yu Sheng'an declared.

"Sell?" Aphnora looked puzzled again.

"You can think of it as a kind of virtual product! After all, making this requires time, effort, and resources—just like your Music Temple. If people want to watch, they’ll have to pay!"

"But… the God of Death’s operas are free. If we charge, won’t we drive users away?" Aphnora hesitated.

"Don’t worry. In the early stages, we can release some free movies for everyone to watch. Once we’ve built up a substantial library, we’ll start charging. We have to ensure the creators stay motivated! Only if they can make money will they invest the time and resources to produce movies."

"The better the movies, the more users they’ll attract. It’s a win-win!"

"Of course, as the platform, we’ll need to set reasonable prices. For example, a single movie could cost no more than 10 Interconnected Coins to rent. We could also offer a monthly subscription where users pay a fixed amount of Interconnected Coins to watch unlimited movies that month. Besides that, we can introduce a free movie section where films earn revenue based on views—slow but steady income."

"Additionally, we can create celebrities! By controlling the stars through contracts, we indirectly control their fans, which inherently binds a large group of loyal users," Yu Sheng'an elaborated, his thoughts flowing faster the more he spoke.

Aphnora stared blankly at Yu Sheng'an's eloquent speech, a glimmer of admiration flashing in her eyes. Though she didn’t fully understand, she still felt it sounded incredibly impressive.

"Then let’s do it right now!" Aphnora said excitedly.

"Sure!"

After this brainstorming session, Yu Sheng'an couldn’t help but feel eager. Back on Blue Star, he had only ever watched others film while he sat on a tiny stool as a spectator. Now, he could personally take charge and play the role of a director-teacher—how exhilarating!

Hah, could I even pull off some shady casting couch… Tch, what kind of ambition is that? I’m a god now, and I’m still thinking about such trashy things!

Yu Sheng’an inwardly scolded himself before growing even more excited.

After all, with his power, the resources he could mobilize were practically limitless!

As for making movies? He wasn’t worried in the slightest.

Special effects?

What special effects? I’ll just give you the real deal.

Actors struggling with emotions?

No problem—just play some divine music to set the mood. Easy.

Plot?

Plot? Who cares about plot? In this cultural wasteland, even if I make some cliché power fantasy, it’ll still blow these bumpkins’ minds, believe me.

Lighting?

No need to worry—I literally wield partial authority over light.

As for the ongoing war between the Empire of Infer and the Farlay Dynasty? That wasn’t an issue either.

He had already gradually delegated command authority.

With their overwhelming technological superiority and his demonstrations, the fall of the Farlay Dynasty was only a matter of time—unless the Four Primordial Gods interfered.

Truth be told, Yu Sheng'an had delegated command not just to train his subordinates but also because the frontlines were too vast for him to micromanage.

Delegation was different.

With the aid of the internet, the Empire of Infer’s high command could issue orders down to individual tanks—even individual soldiers—with precision far beyond what he could achieve alone.

All he needed to do was ensure the overarching strategy remained on track and leave behind a divine projection to monitor the situation. If anything went wrong, he could always step back in and take full control.

"Let’s gather in Willis City first. I’ll go find a few illusion-specialized mages."

"No need, I can cast illusions," Aphnora said with a proud smirk. "I can even simulate a dragon for you!"

"Really? That’s perfect—we won’t even need to hire actors! Let’s go shoot a few movies and crush the God of Death!" Yu Sheng’an exclaimed in delight.

Unexpectedly, Aphnora’s expression suddenly stiffened.

"What’s wrong?"

"I just thought… what if the God of Death copies our movie industry too? What if he plagiarizes all the films we painstakingly produce?" Aphnora said with a grimace.

After all, the current Dark Web had essentially copied every function of the internet.

Especially the Music Sanctuary—every song they released, the Dark Web copied. It was downright infuriating.

If not for the "divine music" acting as a moat for the Music Sanctuary, the Dark Web’s market share might have been even higher.

Still, despite this, Aphnora loathed the God of Death with a passion.

After all, the market he had painstakingly cultivated was now being carved out by the God of Death, and even if the share wasn’t large, it was still infuriating!

Yu Sheng'an frowned upon hearing this.

He had set up numerous contractual barriers to prevent the God of Death from copying.

However, aside from increasing the cost of plagiarism for the God of Death, they held little significance.

Aphnora had a point—what if the God of Death copied them?

In this multiverse where violence was the only order, he couldn’t possibly declare war on the God of Death!

Even if he were to wage war, now was not the time.

Food supply strategy, trade sanctions, financial dominance… One by one, the strategies he had been laying out flashed through Yu Sheng'an’s mind, only to be dismissed in the end.

The Six Great Gods Treaty had just been signed, and the God of Death had already secured a batch of food aid—there was no immediate worry about shortages.

As for the products he could offer, such as firearms, bicycles, and airships, they were already in high demand, with most being dumped onto other factions. The God of Death naturally received little, making sanctions meaningless.

As for finance, it was similar to trade—still in its "cosmic infancy," with limited destructive power against the God of Death.

Thinking this, Yu Sheng'an couldn’t help but feel somewhat helpless.

This didn’t mean his strategies were useless, but rather that they were long-term plans requiring time to bear fruit.

In fact, as time passed, his strategies would gradually evolve into open schemes, tightening like a noose. The only way to break free would be through violence—or a Dimensional strike!

Just like the ideological invasion he had recently summoned Hubert to prepare for—it, too, was a long-term plan.

Some histories might have little effect on contemporary Farlans now, but what about in ten, twenty, or fifty years?

Would the Farlan youth, raised under the constant influence of the internet, still believe the history they saw was false?

Wait—

Ideological invasion?

"Haah…"

Yu Sheng'an exhaled deeply, a faint smile curling at his lips. He knew how to deal with the God of Death’s copying now.

"Don’t worry, I have a way to counter the God of Death!"

"What way?"

Aphnora immediately turned to him, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.