I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 225 An Unstoppable Rise!

2:15 a.m.

Liu Jinghua, who was resting, was woken up by a series of phone calls.

After vaguely finishing the call, I was instantly shocked and rushed to [Huashang Brothers].

3:00 AM, [Huashang Brothers] Data Monitoring Center.

Liu Jinghua stared at the real-time updated data panel, his fingers trembling slightly, his expression somewhat incredulous.

The projector projected two sets of data onto the pristine white wall: on the left was the box office curve of the Hollywood epic "The Lord of the Rings," and on the right was Zhou Yang's "The Lord of the Rings: The Second Ring," which was merely riding on the coattails of the original film's popularity...

On its third day of release, The Lord of the Rings grossed 28 million yuan, while The Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings defied the trend and grew to 635 million yuan!
The box office figures are so glaring.

Of course, this didn't shock her!

What shocked her the most was...

Their "The Lord of the Rings" breaking the global single-day box office record was surprisingly pushed down to second place!
The number one spot is actually that damned Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings!
"This is impossible!"

Liu Jinghua's voice trembled slightly.

She forced herself to calm down, but...

The more I forced myself to calm down, the louder my head buzzed, as if I could suddenly hear nothing at all.

She shook her head in a daze, and subconsciously pinched her fingers. When a sharp pain came from her palm, she realized that she was not dreaming!

Yes, it's not a dream!

They really got overtaken!
Their epic film was actually surpassed in popularity by that knock-off version of "The Lord of the Rings: The Second Ring"!
At that moment, data analysts were frantically accessing the real-time data stream.

Suddenly someone exclaimed, "Mr. Liu! Quick, check the racing forum!"

The screen switches to [China Racing Forum].

Liu Jinghua stared at the racing forum.

This once niche forum with only 900 members now displays 39,000 online users.

The pinned post is a complete analysis of the cornering technique in drainage ditches, just released by Han Cheng, accompanied by a still from "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings" showing Zhou Yang driving the Qin Zhou G1 at high speed.

Furthermore, below the last sentence was the text: This is the kind of passionate movie that China needs!

Of course, this post doesn't seem to be the most popular. The most popular are the two new posts that followed. One post is titled: "[The Formula 1 International Racing Committee announces it will be in talks with 'The Lord of the Rings: The Second Ring' and may spend 30 million RMB to invite Mr. Zhou Yang to serve as the F1 China Ambassador!]"

Clicking on the post, Liu Jinghua saw that Lin Guodong had turned a cool photo of Zhou Yang driving a race car in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings" into a huge advertisement and posted it at the entrance of the training ground in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai F1 racing circuit, which usually receives little attention, was packed with media and reporters...

Another new post is titled "[Audi China launches limited edition commemorative race car!]"
Liu Jinghua clicked on the post.

The concept image of the Audi A8 commemorative race car that caught her eye on the screen shocked her!

Immediately afterwards...

"Actually, our connection with Mr. Zhou Yang had already begun before this."

"The picture of Mr. Zhou Yang at [Yanying Academy] from last June is still circulating on the internet..."

"We've also seen many young people using this image as their social media profile picture..."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou Yang, for your support of Audi, and thank you to all our online friends for your support!"

"To repay this support and passion!"

"From this moment forward, Audi China will provide Mr. Zhou Yang with lifetime free car maintenance service..."

"For those who purchase a car between April and May, we will provide three free maintenance services. At the same time, we have reached a movie-watching agreement with [Xuanshi Entertainment]. As long as you come to any of our Audi 4S stores in China for a test drive, we will give away free tickets to 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings'. First come, first served!"

"..."

Liu Jinghua saw an official interview with Audi.

After watching it, she felt her head explode with a "boom," and a buzzing sound came from her ears again.

Her face gradually turned pale.

This is impossible!

Why would Audi endorse a copyrighted film?!
impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Moreover, in this movie, the Audi A8 lost, defeated by a domestically produced car...

Isn't this slander?

A slight, intense shock ran through her mind!
And at this moment!
"Mr. Liu, take a look at this." Li Wei, who was equally shocked, pulled up another set of data.

She instinctively looked ahead.

The projector in front projected a set of curves onto the wall.

The graph shows that since Audi's official announcement at 6 a.m. yesterday, the online search volume for "The Lord of the Rings: The Second Ring" has skyrocketed, exceeding "The Lord of the Rings" by nearly 5% by 2 a.m.

Even more alarming is the real-time public opinion monitoring chart, which shows that the public opinion surrounding *The Lord of the Rings: The Second Ring* is being rapidly eroded by *The Lord of the Rings*, and new data is constantly emerging, including hashtags like #AudiCo-branded#, #GutterCorneringTest#, and #ZhouYang'sSameRacingCar#.
One topic after another trended on social media. Although it didn't drag "The Lord of the Rings" box office down again, it was still in serious danger!

Just then, Liu Jinghua suddenly realized something and rushed to the computer to access the internal database.

When she saw the overlap between last year's Audi A6 sales curve and Zhou Yang's online popularity, she belatedly gasped in shock...

That bastard has been playing this big game since June of last year!

Is this all we've been waiting for?

"Mr. Liu!" The head of the marketing department pushed open the door: "I just received news that the 14 cinema chains that partnered with Zhou Yang have increased their screenings of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Kings'... They've already inserted some prime-time slots..."

4 Month 17 Day!
【Shanghai F1 Circuit】

The racetrack was packed with reporters and fans.

At this very moment, the hype has already started!

In his office, Lin Guodong looked at the reporters in the distance, clutching a newly printed data report in his hand.

"Have we still not been able to contact Zhou Yang himself?"

"We couldn't get in touch with him, but we did get in touch with Zhou Yang's agent, Zhang Jingya, at [Xuan Shi Entertainment]. Zhang Jingya said we need to consult with President Zhou, but she doesn't know where Zhou Yang is either. Without Zhou Yang's permission, do we really have to put Zhou Yang's name on the list?"

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures! I will personally explain this to Zhou Yang later!"

"it is good!"

In his office, Lin Guodong hung up the phone.

Although he still couldn't contact Zhou Yang himself, Zhou Yang's influence exceeded his expectations...

They simply held a "drift show" and hung a Lord of the Rings movie poster at the entrance of the stadium, yet they attracted so many reporters and spectators who came specifically to see it!

Audi's official statement last night was an unexpected and timely help, a real lifesaver!

"Mr. Lin, the people from the International F1 Organizing Committee have arrived." The assistant walked over quickly and reminded him in a low voice.

Lin Guodong nodded, then walked out of the office. He took a deep breath, straightened his suit, and walked into the distance.

A few minutes later, he stood downstairs and saw what lay ahead...

Ahead, John Wilson, chairman of the International Formula 1 Racing Committee, is leading an inspection team, followed by several international media outlets.

Upon seeing himself, Wilson quickened his pace...

"Lin, the racing atmosphere in China is more exciting than we expected!" Wilson looked around, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Outside the track, the stands, densely packed with people, were completely full!

On the track, a series of racing games themed around "drifting" are unfolding, with thrilling and exciting chases taking place one after another!

And with each drift, the audience screamed excitedly!

This would have been almost impossible in the past.

The Chinese motorsport market is too small. F1 races attract very few spectators in China. When applying for the hosting rights last year, the international organizing committee even bluntly stated: "Without spectators, there is no commercial value. Let's wait and see!"

And now!
“Mr. Wilson, look over there.”

Lin Guodong pointed to the large screen.

The big screen was divided into two parts.

The left side is playing classic racing clips from "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings," including cornering through drainage ditches, extreme drifting, and a father and son racing together...

The right side, on the other hand, recreates scenes from the movie "The Miracle" on the field...

A series of screams, as loud as a mountain collapsing and as loud as a tsunami, rose and fell in waves!
"Zhou Yang! Zhou Yang!"

"The drainage ditch goes around a bend!"

"Takumi! Takumi!"

"..."

Wilson was slightly taken aback when he saw this: "This is...a movie?"

“Yes.” Lin Guodong suppressed his excitement, but his voice still trembled slightly: “In the three days since the movie was released, the discussion volume on the China Racing Forum has increased 40 times. Our training grounds are fully booked, and some people have even come from other places just to experience the feeling of ‘drainage ditch cornering’. This is a movie, but it is more than just a movie; it represents the Chinese racing market…”

Wilson was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Lin, you Chinese people really know how to have fun!"

Lin Guodong's heart skipped a beat. He knew that this time, the real opportunity had arrived!
“Mr. Wilson, we are applying to host an F1 Grand Prix in Shanghai next year!” He handed over a document directly. “This includes our audience data, potential commercial sponsorships, and…”

He paused, then pointed to Zhou Yang on the big screen.

"We can invite Zhou Yang to serve as the F1 China Promotion Ambassador!"

"You may not know that Mr. Zhou Yang, just yesterday evening, Audi officially announced that they would personally design a limited edition race car for Mr. Zhou Yang..."

"Mr. Zhou Yang's influence in China is terrifying. These racing fans came because of one of his movies..."

"..."

Wilson took the document, flipped through a few pages, his expression gradually becoming serious, and nodded silently.

Then, his gaze fell upon the large screen not far away, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face: "I know this Chinese director..."

"Huh?" Lin Guodong was taken aback!
"The only Chinese person in history to refuse an invitation to the Berlin International Film Festival caused quite a stir in the international film industry last month... I was fortunate enough to see his film 'The Mine'..."

Lin Guodong was stunned when he heard this.

"Lin, we rejected your application from last year."

"Yes."

“But this year, perhaps we can reconsider…” Wilson closed the file, a serious expression on his face. “You should sign Zhou Yang first. To be honest, I quite like this Chinese director who dares to challenge authority… I have an idea for a racing movie about family, car chases, crime, and redemption. Maybe we can talk to him about it…”

(End of this chapter)