Chapter 408 - 277: Zog’s Little Trick (Part 2)

Chapter 408: Chapter 277: Zog’s Little Trick (Part 2)

Asmodis realized he’d almost said too much and quickly cut himself off. "Even small evils are still evil. Thank the Magic Goddess for forgiving our sins."

That being said, Asmodis remembered clearly that back when he was just a Little Devil tricking people into signing Contracts, he had seen many Humans who were more excited to sign than he was. It was as if they had been eagerly awaiting the day they could trade their souls for power.

"I’m planning to set this Shadow of Evil in the near future, in a world where Humans and Devils have established diplomatic relations. The story will take place in Deepwater City. Hannibal will be played by a Human, while the female lead, Clarice Starling, will be played by a Devil."

"A Devil for the female lead? If the audience finds out, won’t they refuse to go to the Magic Cinema?" Asmodis asked with concern.

Zog replied bluntly, "I just won’t tell the audience. Don’t you Devils have plenty who are skilled with the Transformation Technique? They can turn into a Human, and no one can tell the difference."

"We’ll set the female lead’s backstory as a Devil living amongst Humans. Although the two sides have established diplomatic relations, there’s still lingering hostility among the common people. The heroine is heavily discriminated against at the police station. Then, after the Shadow of Evil has been showing for a while, once the audience has seen it and come to love and sympathize with the main character, *then* we’ll announce that the actress is a real Devil."

"At that point, driven by the affection they already have for her, the audience will first say she’s different from other Devils. Then, they’ll take it a step further and say that maybe Devils aren’t really like the rumors claim. And just like that, doesn’t the public perception of Devils start to improve?"

’This was a classic fandom tactic. Even if the stans discovered their beloved idol was a Devil, they would definitely forgive her. They would even spontaneously take control of the narrative, working hard to prove that Devils were actually good.’

’Besides, what was so wrong with being a Devil in the first place?’

’However, this plan couldn’t be too aggressive. The fandom’s rhetoric would need to be properly managed. Otherwise, it could easily backfire, causing the general public to despise the actress and, by extension, hate Devils even more.’

After hearing the plan, Asmodis broke into a cunning grin, looking just like a villainous Devil from a fairytale.

"An Evil Dragon truly lives up to the name! So wicked... No, no, I mean shrewd! Brilliant!"

The Legendary Evil Dragon and the Lord of Hell were truly two of a kind.

"However," Asmodis asked, "what kind of Devil do you need to play the female lead?"

Zog thought for a moment, then said, "Acting ability comes first. This role is very important. She has to be able to hold her own opposite Hannibal. Their scenes together are the most critical part of the Shadow of Evil. Hannibal will be played by an exceptionally talented actor. If she can’t keep up, it’ll be incredibly awkward."

’The original *Silence of the Lambs* was a masterpiece that swept the Oscars, winning Best Actor and Best Actress, as well as several other major awards.’

’Although Hannibal left a stronger impression on most people, the female lead’s performance was far beyond what an ordinary actress could handle. She was by no means just a decorative role in the plot.’

"I get it. Acting is just deceiving people, isn’t it? Devils have never been short on good liars," Asmodis said, indicating it would be easy.

"Next, she has to be good-looking. A pretty face alone isn’t all that useful, but a pretty face plus acting talent, a great script, and a massive marketing campaign... that’s a fan-reaping machine!"

Asmodis signaled his understanding.

’Good-looking? Oh, he understood that. He’d watched plenty of Shadows of Evil online, where each lead actress was more beautiful than the last. He’d also heard the tabloid news about directors, investors, and actresses having... scandalous relationships.’

’An exchange for mutual benefit? He understood that. The nobles had always loved playing that game.’

Seeing the strange look in Asmodis’s eyes, Zog quickly explained, "It’s not about any of that sordid stuff you’re imagining, alright? It’s just that being good-looking and photogenic makes it easier to attract fans. Besides, unless a specific role calls for it, why wouldn’t the audience choose to look at someone beautiful on the big screen?"

"And she needs to have a distinctive kind of beauty. The character of Clarice Starling seems vulnerable because she’s constantly discriminated against and has childhood trauma, but on the inside, she’s incredibly resilient and sharp."

’Since Feilin’s Shadow of Evil industry was still in its infancy—even if it was off to a high-flying start—it was still a new business. The childhood trauma storyline wasn’t common yet.’

’The arts and entertainment industry was like that; once a trope was found to be effective, it would be used to death. It couldn’t be helped. Creativity was a finite resource, and not everyone could come up with good ideas.’

’He figured that after *Silence of the Lambs* came out, everyone would realize that childhood trauma was a great way to shape a character. From then on, any character with a major role would have some kind of abnormal childhood.’

"In short, she’s a detective who’s like a rabbit—agile, focused, and rather cute," Zog summarized.

’The character of Clarice Starling influenced quite a few films, the most famous being the rabbit officer from *Zootopia*.’

’In other words, the rabbit officer Judy was a complete homage to the heroine of *Silence of the Lambs*. Even the name Judy sounds very similar to the name of the actress who played the heroine, Jodie.’

’But one is Judy, and the other is Jodie.’

"Right. A detective who’s like a rabbit," Zog stressed again.

"Understood. I’ll go to Hell and scout some actors for you. I’ll pick out a batch, and you can choose the most suitable one. After I’m done finding the actors, I’ll explore Feilin."

Asmodis was fully invested in the plan to improve the image of Devils. He decided to personally return to Hell to find an actor for Zog, which possibly made him the most high-profile talent scout in history.

"Thanks for your trouble."

"It is my duty."

"You remember what kind of actor we need?"