Chapter 512 - 322: Demon Shadow Festival Opening (Part 2)

Chapter 512: Chapter 322: Demon Shadow Festival Opening (Part 2)

She soon reached a conclusion.

From the Treasure Chest Monster, she pulled out a stationary exercise bike.

Another perk of the Zog Group was the on-site gym, so they had designed quite a bit of exercise equipment.

As for Elsa’s stationary bike, she had won it in a raffle at the annual company party.

Then, to Zog’s astonishment, she hopped on the bike, stuffing her face while pedaling away.

"Eating salty food is unhealthy, but exercise is healthy. If I eat and exercise at the same time, it cancels out!"

For once, Zog was at a loss for words.

’Is this girl a genius?’

She had managed to replicate the legendary feat of fitness bloggers who, while stuffing their faces on camera, were secretly pedaling an under-desk bike.

Zog decided to ignore Elsa’s performance art and opened the tourist statistics report.

The report tracked where tourists in Deepwater City went during the Demon Shadow Festival, what places they preferred, and even what they disliked.

Zog had no intention of letting the tourism money slip by. Moreover, he wanted to earn repeat business, not run a one-time scam that gouged out-of-towners.

That was why the tourist experience was so important.

The Demon Shadow Festival wouldn’t officially open until tonight, but as of yesterday, over sixty thousand tourists had already arrived in Deepwater City.

Considering Feilin’s population, this was a rather impressive number.

The entire permanent population of Twin Tower City was not yet one hundred thousand, which already placed it at the forefront of second-tier cities in the Sutton Kingdom.

And with the start of the Demon Shadow Festival, even more tourists were expected to arrive.

Thanks to Zog’s prior preparations and Deepwater City’s relatively modern infrastructure, handling so many tourists, while stressful, was still within manageable limits.

These tourists were primarily star-chasers and Shadow of Evil enthusiasts.

Every Shadow of Evil star of any renown in all of Feilin was currently in Deepwater City.

Zog had used his special ability: the Face-Fruit!

All the actors, directors, and other professionals who made their living from the Shadow of Evil industry had to give face to its creator.

They had to come even without an appearance fee, though Zog did provide accommodation.

Outside the official hotel, fans were now gathered around the clock, camping out all night just for a chance to glimpse their idols.

"Raw photos," pictures taken outside the hotel without any post-processing, would immediately appear on Weibo, seen as the ultimate test of a star’s condition.

To be honest, this crowd of fans was somewhat disrupting traffic and putting considerable pressure on security.

But considering the fans’ spending power, these drawbacks were acceptable.

Tourists with the leisure to chase stars were rarely low on funds; they weren’t coming to Deepwater City for a budget trip.

When they had money, they really spent it.

Besides the invited stars, there were also many unknown small-timers who paid their own way to attend.

You couldn’t call them stars, just ordinary actors—actors looking for a shortcut.

They were all hoping to ride the coattails of the Demon Shadow Festival, perhaps one of their pictures would go viral online. Once they had some fame, film offers would be easy to come by.

Or if they caught the eye of some big shot, that would be even better.

The entertainment circle had always been a world of very direct exchanges of benefits.

In truth, such exchanges were common in any circle with a lot of wealth. It was just that the entertainment industry was a bit too direct about it, and if anything leaked, everyone would recognize the names involved.

Zog now received a daily flood of subtle and not-so-subtle propositions from unknown actresses, and actors too.

Who knew if a Dragon was picky about gender, after all?

Zog was furious about this.

It wasn’t that Zog was particularly virtuous, but that these people hadn’t even bothered to figure out his preferences.

Was he, Zog, the kind of Dragon to fall for a honey trap?

’Bring your own funding to the project! If you want to film something, just cough up more Gold Coins than the projected box office, and you can film whatever you want! Really...’

Similarly, as Zog’s confidante and the Group’s number one assistant, Elsa also received a flood of "invitations" every day.

To put it simply, she could take her pick of handsome young men who hadn’t yet made their debut.

However, Elsa refused them all.

In her view, this kind of "unspoken rule" behavior would fundamentally harm the Zog Group’s overall interests. As the boss’s assistant, she had to set a good example and resolutely reject such practices.

Such astonishing professionalism.

Zog was so moved he almost considered giving her back a little bit of the bonus he’d docked.

But aside from her professional ethics, there was another reason Elsa refused: she simply looked down on these young actors.

As a former, by-the-book "small-town grinder," this kind of promiscuous lifestyle disgusted her.

Just as Zog was about to finish the statistics report, a knock came at the door.

"Come in."

The visitor was Asmodis. "You were looking for me? Whoa, what’s going on here?"

He saw Elsa off to the side.

Even the long-lived Lord of Hell had never seen such a wild act—someone pedaling a bike while wolfing down horse meat.

"Never seen it before, have you? She’s practicing a special skill. A normal Human would’ve gotten a side stitch doing this long ago," Zog replied.

But the Lord of Hell was, after all, the Lord of Hell. A strange Human wasn’t going to distract him for long. He got straight to the point.

"Did you call me here about the Devils in the city?"

Asmodis was well aware that Deepwater City currently had the highest population of Devils on the Continent. Although their reputation was gradually improving—especially in Augustine City, where they were treated like heroes—they were still a foreign concept to people from other places.

And this Demon Shadow Festival would attract tourists from all over.

"Yes. The Devils in the city must be kept in line. They need to set a good example and show the tourists that Devils are a race you can interact with amicably. This will be beneficial for Deepwater City, and for the Devils," Zog said.

The matter of a race’s public image had to be managed at the individual level, and only Asmodis had that kind of authority over the Devils.

Judging a whole group based on an individual was a form of prejudice, but it was an incredibly common one.

One person does something bad, and everyone from the same region or race gets blamed. Nothing could be more common.

That was the origin of all those jokes stereotyping people from certain regions.

Every place has its share of idiots.

But the Devils were in a transitional period. Even the smallest bit of negative news could easily be blown out of proportion.

It was also a common phenomenon for people to resent the success of others. Now that the Devils were becoming popular, plenty of eyes were watching them.

Therefore, during the Demon Shadow Festival, it would be best if the Devils in the city caused no problems whatsoever.

"I understand. Don’t worry. My Devils will absolutely follow orders."

Asmodis answered with confidence.

"Good. By the way, the opening ceremony for the Demon Shadow Festival is tonight. You’re welcome to attend."

"Me? Attend the opening of the Demon Shadow Festival? I don’t have much to do with the Shadow of Evil."

"But your attendance would generate a lot of goodwill. The great Lord of Hell, mingling with the common folk... it’s bonus points..."

—————————

「Night fell. 7 PM.」

The opening ceremony of the Deepwater City Demon Shadow Festival.

If there was one thing that set the Demon Shadow Festival’s opening apart from other ceremonies, it was definitely the red carpet.

All the invited stars, along with the lesser actors who fought tooth and nail for a chance to chase some clout, would showcase their meticulously prepared outfits on the red carpet.

These looks would be judged by countless people.

A good showing could sometimes generate as much buzz as playing a good role.

Lavin nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead.

’I’m so useless, getting this nervous just from walking a red carpet.’

The cast and crew of *Silence of the Lambs* had invited him to join them, but he had politely declined. He probably wouldn’t have been so nervous walking with the *Lambs* crew.

But he chose to stand with his own crew.

A crew comprised almost entirely of Augustine People, from the refugee camps.

He had managed to finish shooting his feature-length debut before the Demon Shadow Festival began. It had successfully been accepted into the exhibition category and had even received high praise from Mr. Zog.

Lavin didn’t expect his film to get a huge response; he just hoped it wouldn’t get torn apart.

"Uncle Lavin, what is that big sister wearing?" a young actor asked, pointing to a distant actress who was currently being lifted out of a car.

Yes, lifted. Her dress had absolutely no give, making it impossible for her to get out of the car on her own.

"Uh, maybe... maybe it’s art," Lavin answered, uncertain.

He had seen more than enough bizarre and outlandish outfits in the last few dozen minutes.

"Then are our clothes considered art?" the young actor asked again.

Lavin’s actors, also former refugees, had performed very well.

Because the somewhat sorrowful story was, for the most part, their own lives.

"Of course they are," Lavin lied to the child.

In truth, their formal wear didn’t fit properly. They were cheap rentals.

He simply didn’t have the money to get them custom-made.

"Come on, it’s almost our turn."

Lavin’s voice trembled slightly as he gazed at the brilliant sea of flashing lights.