Entertainment to the death, make a tokusatsu film that will crush the entire internet.

Ma Zhiyuan worked as the technical director at Rongsheng for more than ten years.

After retiring, he started his own small factory, specializing in air conditioner compressors. It wasn't large in scale, but the technical foundation was solid.

Zhou Jianguo gave a brief introduction to the Land of Light over the phone.

After listening, Ma Zhiyuan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Yang Qian, who makes animation? What does he want with me?"

Zhou Jianguo didn't explain much, only saying that they would talk when they met.

That afternoon, Ma Zhiyuan flew to City A.

Yang Qian received him in the conference room.

There were no pleasantries, no formalities, and not even a cup of tea was served.

Yang Qian got straight to the point: "Mr. Ma, I want to make an air conditioner, an air conditioner that everyone can afford."

Ma Zhiyuan looked at the young man in front of him.

He was almost thirty years younger than him, worked in animation, and had absolutely nothing to do with the air conditioning industry.

Logically, he should have thought it was a joke.

But when Yang Qian said this, her tone and eyes didn't seem like she was joking.

Ma Zhiyuan has spent his entire life in the air conditioning industry and has seen too many big bosses who want to jump into other fields on a whim.

They start by saying they want to disrupt this industry, but then they know nothing about it.

But Yang Qian didn't say it was revolutionary; she said it was affordable for everyone.

"Director Yang, do you know how much an air conditioner costs?"

Ma Zhiyuan asked.

That's why I came to you.

Yang Qian answered.

Ma Zhiyuan talked with him for a full three hours.

Yang Qian listened most of the time, occasionally asking questions.

Three hours later, Ma Zhiyuan leaned back in his chair, took off his reading glasses, and wiped them.

"Director Yang, are you kidding me?"

"I never mess around with serious matters."

Ultimately, Yang Qian chose a medium-sized air conditioner manufacturer, Yuehua Electric Appliances.

This factory has 23 complete assembly lines, skilled workers, and a mature quality control system.

However, due to the fierce price war in the industry in the past few years, the company's cash flow has been disrupted and it is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Yang Qian did not choose to rent a production line, did not choose to use an OEM brand, and did not choose to collaborate with other brands.

He acquired it outright.

On the day the acquisition agreement was signed, Ma Zhiyuan was officially appointed as the chief technical engineer of the new company.

Three days later, the official Weibo account of the Land of Light posted a new update.

A product image on a white background and a row of parameter labels.

In the center of the photo is a wall-mounted air conditioner indoor unit with a pure white panel.

There are no superfluous decorative lines, and the blue logo of the Land of Light is printed in the lower right corner.

The words "Land of Light Air Conditioner" are written in bold above the image.

The product information table below the image lists various parameters.

1 horsepower (2600W cooling capacity), pure copper tubing

Level 1 energy efficiency, variable frequency

Free on-site installation and eight-year warranty.

Furthermore, during installation, a professional engineer will strictly perform a 15-minute vacuuming process.

The last row of the table is in bold text.

Nationwide unified retail price: 998 yuan.

Excluding national subsidies.

If you include the 15% government subsidy for home appliances, the actual price you get is even lower.

This Weibo post was published at 9:00 AM.

At 9:05, the comment section exploded.

At 9:10, the topic became a trending topic.

At 9:30, it topped the trending search list.

At 10 o'clock, the server experienced a brief lag.

"Wait, wait, wait??? The Land of Light??? Air conditioning???"

"Am I seeing things?? Is this the Land of Light I've been following?? The Land of Light that filmed Ultraman?? They're making air conditioners now???"

"998? 998?? A 1-horsepower, energy-efficient, pure copper-pipe inverter air conditioner for 998??"

"The apartment I rented last month had a no-name brand fixed-frequency air conditioner installed by the landlord. It was only cooling, had a level 5 energy efficiency rating, and used iron pipes. Now you're telling me that the Land of Light has released a level 1 inverter air conditioner that costs 998 yuan???"

"Eight-year warranty, free on-site installation, strict adherence to the 15-minute vacuuming procedure—what kind of service is this?!"

"If you don't understand, just ask: what is vacuum sealing? Why don't other brands do it?"

Reply: When air conditioners are installed, there may be air and moisture in the pipes. If these are not completely removed, it will affect the cooling effect and the life of the compressor.

National regulations stipulate that a vacuum pump must be used for evacuation, and the pump must be evacuated for a sufficient time before it can be used.

However, in practice, most people just want to save time and do it quickly by just pulling a few buttons.

The Land of Light specifically emphasized fifteen minutes, indicating that their requirements for the installation process are not just empty words.

Of course, doubts and criticisms followed.

The ninth most popular comment was posted by a home appliance review blogger with 300,000 followers, and the wording was quite impolite.

I won't comment on the Land of Light's animation, but it's truly impressive.

But making air conditioners is a different matter.

An air conditioner involves a compressor, condenser, evaporator, electronic control system, and refrigerant piping, each of which has extremely high technical requirements.

At a price of 998, it doesn't even cover the cost of a proper compressor.

Either they're losing money to gain publicity, or they're cutting corners; neither approach deserves consumers' trust.

This comment has been liked over 20,000 times.

The comments below were divided into two distinct camps.

One group consists of die-hard fans of the Land of Light, who firmly believe that anything produced by Hikaru is of the highest quality.

Neither animation nor air conditioning will damage their own reputation;

The other group consists of industry professionals and those adopting a wait-and-see approach.

The difficulty of venturing into hardware manufacturing is seriously underestimated. The Land of Light has taken too big a step this time and may very well crash and burn.

Others choose to express their attitude in a more direct way.

A user with the ID "Apple Lifestyle - Hu Chenfeng" posted three photos.

The first picture is a panoramic view of his living room, decorated in a modern and luxurious style, with a Daikin central air conditioning panel hanging on the wall.

The second picture shows a Mitsubishi Electric wall-mounted air conditioner in the bedroom, the most expensive flagship model on the market;

The third picture is a selfie of himself sitting in an air-conditioned room, holding a cup of iced Americano with the air conditioning on.

With text:

"When it comes to air conditioners, you get what you pay for. Even if you gave me a 998 yuan air conditioner, I wouldn't hang it on my wall for fear of it exploding. Once you're used to good things, you can't go back."

Some people are criticizing him, saying, "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"

Some people agree with him that "you get what you pay for" is an age-old truth.

Hu Chenfeng himself sat in the 23-degree air-conditioned room, scrolling through the comments one by one, a superior smile on his face.

Many people in his fan group joined in the commotion.

Some say the Land of Light's crossover is just a way to fleece young people who don't understand air conditioning, using low prices to trick them into spending money.

If something costing 998 can last a year, you're lucky.

At the heart of all this excitement, Yang Qian was sitting in her office at the Land of Light Studio.

The computer screen in front of me simultaneously displays the Weibo comment section, the product order backend, and the factory's real-time production data dashboard.

The numbers in the order backend kept jumping up.

Within an hour of its launch, several thousand units had already been pre-ordered.

The factory's final assembly line has completed a round of capacity ramp-up testing.

Ma Zhiyuan increased the daily production capacity from the original target of 300 units to 800 units.

Ma Zhiyuan reported over the phone that the inventory of copper tubes might not be enough and that urgent procurement was needed.

Yang Qian didn't hesitate: "Buy it, the Land of Light will make up for any shortfall."

When Su Xiaoran knocked on the door and came in, Yang Qian was browsing the comment section for a post that had over 20,000 likes and was questioning the issue.

"Director Yang, the order growth rate is three times faster than expected. The production line might not be able to keep up. Also..."

She hesitated for a moment, "That blogger named Hu Chenfeng has quite a few followers."

"His comment showing off the expensive air conditioner has become a hot topic, and many people are joining him in questioning the quality of our products."

Yang Qian's expression remained calm after reading Hu Chenfeng's Weibo post.

He hired a team with technical backgrounds, acquired production lines, streamlined the supply chain, and set the right prices.

As for what others say.

"Whatever."

"Air conditioners aren't high-tech, so why are they so expensive?"