Shadow Empire

Chapter 1070 Local Features and Movies
The screams of pedestrians on the street and the sirens of police cars kept getting closer. Barbara, who was talking to Lance in the back seat, couldn't help but look towards Detland Street.

"What happened?" she asked, cupping her cheeks, which were burning hot.

In Patricia's eyes, Barbara was always a brave, bold, avant-garde girl who was ahead of the curve.

But in reality, she was far less...bold than she appeared.

Lance also looked towards the street in the distance, and then, to Barbara's astonishment, a small black dot fell from a building, followed by a second one.

"My God, what happened?" Barbara was a little startled. She leaned back and looked at Lance in disbelief.

Lance quickly looked away. "This is Detland. Do you know this place?"

Barbara nodded, still somewhat shaken. "Yes, I know Detland, but what does it matter?"

She used to be considered a marginal figure in the financial industry, working for a company involved in a fundraising fraud scheme, which could be considered part of the financial industry.

It is indeed related to finance, since both are jobs that purely involve manipulating money.

But to say that fraud is part of the financial industry seems a little... like a joke.

However, when they recruit, they tell people that they are in the financial industry.

Anyone working in the finance industry, or who considers themselves to be in the finance industry, will find it difficult to be unfamiliar with this place.

Detland, a financial mecca in people's minds.

This place boasts the best traders in the federal government and even the world, as well as investors and financial tycoons.

Investors worldwide have heard about what happened here and are deeply drawn to this place.

Barbara, the former "financial lady," had also heard of this place and longed for it. If she hadn't become part of a scam herself and then, by chance, become an actress, perhaps she would have eventually come here to find another way out.

And this is precisely what allowed "Detland" to remain in her heart in a relatively sacred and perfect way.

Meeting her confused gaze, Lance didn't mind explaining, "Those people must be those who failed in their investments."

"Faced with debts they were unable to repay, they ultimately chose to escape by ending their own lives."

“Such things might only happen once or twice every few years in other places, like Golden City or Likale State.”

"But here, it happens almost every month, every week."

"It's just that there might be a slightly larger number of participants this time."

Barbara found Lance's explanation hard to believe. "They bought stocks, and even if they lost money, they could just sell them. Why would they be in debt?"

She had barely finished speaking when she seemed to know the answer: "Could it be that they borrowed money to invest?"

“I’m afraid so!” Lance pursed his lips, revealing a rather regretful expression. “There are always some people who want to use someone else’s hen to lay eggs. If they’re lucky, the hen will lay some eggs for them.”

“These eggs are hatched and raised by them to become chickens that continue to lay eggs for them.”

"But there is also the possibility that the chickens they borrowed ran away or died before they even laid eggs, for some other reason."

“They will have to take on the responsibility and debt of repaying a chicken, which may be three or five thousand dollars, but these…” Lance flipped his wrist, “may be thirty or fifty thousand, three or five hundred thousand, or even more.”

“Bank loans, usurious loans, and even embezzlement of public funds.”

"Human desires are endless, Barbara. Haven't you ever wanted to achieve financial freedom through some simple logic?"

Barbara was initially moved by these people and their experiences, and felt some sympathy for them.

Lance's last sentence made her slightly embarrassed and annoyed. She rolled her eyes. "Please, don't say that. It's embarrassing!"

She caused her and her family to lose a sum of money, and more than 20 years of hard work were wiped out overnight, leaving her feeling extremely guilty.

Things are better now, though, in terms of my mood, because being a female celebrity can still earn me some money.

Lance is very generous; she can earn tens of thousands of dollars for a single movie, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in the Federation.

Those losses from the investment have already been recovered.

Perhaps because there were more people jumping off buildings today, the police started directing traffic, and the congested streets quickly became clear.

Barbara's emotions gradually calmed down after leaving that bustling intersection.

"I never imagined that the first profound impression this city would leave on me, one that I will never forget in my life, would be like this."

Lance seemed quite nonchalant, saying, "Once you live here long enough, you'll get used to everything that happens here."

People always come and always go.

The convoy quickly blended into the traffic and disappeared.

Barbara came to attend the premiere. The company has high hopes for this film, hoping it will not only win awards but also perform well at the box office.

After all, this relates to the future development of the screenwriter, director, and other actors.

The following evening, after taking Barbara around New Gold City, Lance was invited to attend today's premiere.

Today's premiere was attended by many celebrities from the film industry, including directors, producers, and shareholders and board members of various companies.

Wanli Pictures still holds considerable weight in the Federation at this time. They are bringing out their film as a contender for this summer's box office, and whether it's due to personal connections or to see the quality of the movie, they will participate.

The premiere was held in the largest movie theater in New Gold City. By 8 p.m., the area outside the theater was packed with stars, and a large number of reporters were there to take pictures of the celebrities attending the premiere. It was a very lively scene.

There were also many fans watching at the scene. As each star stepped out of the limousine, the fans would call out their names with the greatest enthusiasm!

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why people want to become stars.

Real life tells us that the world doesn't revolve around us, but when you become a star, with your fans all around you, you are the center of the world!

When Lance's limousine arrived, more reporters raised their cameras. The welcoming host recognized Barbara; as a currently popular female star, who wouldn't know her?
Not to mention, she was already on the list of attendees for the premiere, and was also the film's female lead. However, to the surprise of the welcoming host, Barbara didn't walk the red carpet with the male lead, which was somewhat unusual for a premiere.

The crew members, the male and female leads, and if there are other important supporting actors, they will also leave together.

Of course, there is another possibility: the director and the female lead walk together. However, such a pairing is relatively rare. If it happens, it often means that the relationship between the director and the female lead may be somewhat unusual.

Besides, the male lead just entered the movie theater alone, so how could Barbara possibly be behind him?

This doesn't make sense!
The emcee, microphone in hand, looked at the guest list and announced loudly, "Next, let's welcome the leading lady of this film, and currently the hottest actress, Ms. Barbara, and..."

He paused for a moment, but quickly continued, "And Mr. Lance White, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wanli Films and Honorary Chairman of the Film Association!"

The moment the door of the limousine opened and bright red high heels stepped out, the fans erupted in screams and cheers!
Barbara flashed a charming smile and waved her arms at the crowd, which elicited even more frenzied screams from the fans.

Sometimes Barbara also finds it hard to understand these people. Some fans are too crazy, to an unimaginable degree.

She had heard before that some fans would rummage through the film crew's trash outside the set, looking for props that might have been used by a certain star and collecting them.

That sounds disgusting, considering there are all sorts of things in a garbage bag.

Previously, someone claimed to have found a blood-stained cotton pad used by the opera queen during her menstrual period and had even kept it.

This thing is said to sell for several hundred dollars in the film fan trading market!
These incomprehensible behaviors all happened here, which only shows that the mentality of the Federation people is as abstract and ridiculous as the freedom they always tout.

After Barbara came out, Lance got out of the car, and the flashbulbs went off even more wildly.

Although moviegoers didn't know who Lance was, and weren't particularly interested in the long list of titles he'd just mentioned, their focus was entirely on Barbara.

But journalists in the media know who Lance is and understand his position in the film industry.

The fact that they were able to invite such a prominent figure shows that they have great confidence in this film.

Barbara walked down the red carpet arm in arm with Lance. When a person has absolute confidence in their influence and status in this field, they will not linger on the red carpet for too long.

Soon Lance and Barbara arrived at the movie theater. Some people approached Lance, greeted him, and exchanged a few words with him.

Some of them were people Lance knew, and some were people he didn't know, but everyone wanted to get to know him.

The Film Association has developed very well in recent years, which is inseparable from the strong support of Lance and Wanli Pictures in various aspects, such as funding, influence, and even eliminating competitors.

Although he rarely, if ever, attends film association meetings, his influence is unparalleled.

If I can chat with him and become acquainted with him, I might need to rely on Lance's influence someday.

After dealing with them for a while, Lance was led to the front by the host.

Barbara was by his side throughout the entire process, including socializing with these people. She seemed to handle everything with ease and confidence, which was where she was better than Patricia.

If it were Patricia instead, she might be more reserved and feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She was too naive; naive people couldn't adapt to such complicated situations. This made Lance recall what Barbara had said to him in the car.

"Are you daydreaming?" Barbara asked, noticing Lance staring absently in a certain direction as the lights began to dim.

Lance turned to look at him. "Thinking about something else."

As he spoke, his attention turned to the movie.

The content of the film is actually very simple and straightforward. Not many geniuses emerged during this period. If we were to use "artistic conception" to describe the content of the film at this time, it would be "mountains are mountains, water is water," with everything expressed in the most superficial way.

There is no point in making movies that are too obscure when people's education levels are still low.

They don't win awards or make any money at the box office, so every film they make is very straightforward.

Love is love, and hate is hate.

The core theme of the film is war, and the story of two, or more, people who are forced to separate due to the war, as they continue to move forward amidst war and pain.

Some people eventually reunite, but many more do not.

This kind of tragic narrative doesn't have a happy ending; it's precisely this kind of incompleteness that gives it a deeper impact and makes it more memorable.

The film is predominantly dark in tone, with tanks and armored vehicles constantly speeding past overhead in dimly lit trenches.

The mud kicked up by the explosion fell like rain.

Interspersed throughout are real footage shot from the battlefield. The editor's superb editing skills make it difficult for viewers to distinguish between a movie and real events, leaving them only with constant exclamations and amazement.

As the main storyline progresses, fewer and fewer of the young people who were once together remain, and each of them develops injuries or disabilities.

When the war ended, the protagonist stood under the Union flag and, with his crippled hand, saluted the countless tombstones.

He placed the precious photograph he had in his pocket in front of the female protagonist's tombstone.

The camera finally zoomed in on the photo, which showed more than 20 or 30 people standing together with big smiles on their faces. Their young faces were full of unbridled youth and smiles.

The image shook slightly, as if time had traveled back to before they went to the battlefield. The people in the photo came to life, embracing and greeting each other, but the male protagonist was missing.

They waved to the male protagonist, and each of them said a goodbye to him.

Each person was "fixed" in that spot again, eventually becoming another photograph.

The camera pulls back to the male protagonist, who turns and leaves, leaving behind only tombstones scattered across the hillside and the national flag fluttering in the wind.

As the cast and crew list began to appear, the lights in the movie theater came on, and Lance stood up, holding onto the armrests of his chair, and began to applaud.

More and more people are applauding the film, seeing things in it that they haven't seen in other movies.

The brutality of war has brought about even more brutal and realistic reflections!
A masterpiece!
(End of this chapter)