I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

The system says there will be a return of 5 billion, but it doesn't restrict investment.

To take it to an extreme, Lu Ban could spend hundreds of millions to achieve a profit of five billion, which would also be considered a successful mission.

"However... even professional teams need to be evaluated."

Lu Ban wasn't questioning the professional competence of those renowned film studios, but rather because the images in these videos possessed extraordinary qualities. Lu Ban felt that if ordinary people were constantly surrounded by such images, they might eventually develop mental problems.

Of course, on the other hand, if ordinary people do not develop mental problems after being exposed to such visually stunning images, it would indirectly confirm Lu Ban's conjecture that moderate mental pollution can help resist mental pollution.

This may sound absurd, like how you can only get better treatment if you have an illness, or how you can better abide by the law if you don't break it, but it's true.

For Lu Ban, enhancing its ability to resist pollution at the cost of small-scale pollution is just like using a vaccine!

With this in mind, Lu Ban decided to post a job advertisement to recruit some production staff.

He immediately contacted Li Zijian.

"Brother Li, I need to ask you for a favor."

"Are you going to inspect the mental hospital again?"

Li Zijian's first thought was this. Last time Lu Ban went to the mental hospital, he caused quite a bit of trouble, and a reporter was even locked up there and couldn't get out. Li Zijian just hoped that Lu Ban would go to the mental hospital less often, so that he wouldn't have to clean up the mess himself.

"No, no, I'd like to hire some people."

"You're going to hire people to work in a mental hospital?"

Li Zijian blurted it out subconsciously.

"?"

Lu Ban was stunned, not expecting that the other person's imagination would leap so far only in the context of a mental hospital.

"No, I want to recruit some people in the film and television industry, mainly in post-production and video production."

He quickly explained.

"You're hiring?"

Li Zijian was even more surprised.

Lu Ban initially seemed to be a one-man army, without any help in these movies. Li Zijian initially found this strange, but over time he just assumed that Lu Ban was a superman who could handle everything, or that he had his own house-elves who could help him with chores after he went to sleep at night.

Hearing that Lu Ban is recruiting people now feels like a distant memory.

"The specific requirements are roughly... excellent salary, the highest in the industry, and double the salary for those with exceptional skills. By the way, I need to conduct the interviews in person. Brother Li, if you have a suitable candidate, just let me know."

Lu Ban sent over his requirements, then extracted a portion of the previous video clips and edited out a short sample for the interview.

Simply put, even if you're technically skilled, you still have to withstand the content of the video. If you can't handle it, then Lu Ban can't harm anyone. It's better to be less skilled than to have enough willpower.

This mission has a one-year time limit, so Lu Ban has plenty of time to hone his skills.

When "The Mouth of a Madman" surpassed 3 billion yuan at the box office, Lu Ban finally received his first job interview resume.

This is a post-production engineer who works abroad and has participated in the production of many Hollywood blockbusters, boasting an impressive resume.

Lu Ban interviewed him in the newly rented company office.

"Hello, Director Lu, my name is Ke, nicetoetyou."

The other person shook hands with Lu Ban, then glanced around.

It still looks like it was just renovated; there's nothing there, not even the plastic wrap on the desk has been completely removed.

"It's Zheng Shuo, right?"

Lu Ban glanced at the resume.

“You can call Mike.”

The friend who insisted on using an English name twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Okay, Mike, I've looked at your resume, it seems pretty good. Why do you want to return to China to develop your career?"

Lu Ban didn't engage in the impolite behavior of saying "Okay, Zheng Shuo, I understand, Zheng Shuo." He knew that after living abroad for a long time, some people get used to using their English names, and being called by their Chinese names feels unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

"Because I think Director Lu, your vision is very attractive to me. As a creator, I believe we should be able to resonate with each other..."

He spoke at length, a mix of Chinese and English, which Lu Ban found very difficult to understand.

Although this person may be very skilled, it's not a good idea for them to talk like that.

Lu Ban thought to himself.

After the other party finished explaining their thoughts, Lu Ban turned the computer screen around.

"Well, since a large portion of the films I produce here are thrillers and horror stories, I need to test your tolerance for these scenes to prevent the staff from having any negative reactions. Is that alright?"

Lu Ban asked earnestly.

"Noproble Director Lu, I often came into contact with these when I was around, and this type of Horrorfil is a piece of cake for me."

The other party patted his chest, looking as if he was unafraid of any danger.

"He can even use idioms now."

Lu Ban muttered something to himself and pressed play.

Ten minutes later, Lu Ban pressed pause.

"Are you okay?"

He patted the other person on the shoulder.

This slap made the other person jump up, looking at Lu Ban with eyes full of terror, as if they had seen a ghost.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

He spoke in Mandarin that sounded like he was speaking his hometown dialect.

Before Lu Ban could catch him, the man ran away down the stairs without even looking back.

"Hiring is so hard..."

Lu Ban felt a headache coming on.

Chapter 278 Interview

Lu Ban's job posting quickly spread throughout the industry.

It caused quite a stir not only within the industry but also outside of it.

Some believe this reflects Lu Ban's insufficient production capacity, and that Lu Ban's film production speed will slow down in the future, allowing many film and television industry professionals to take a breather for the time being.

Some people believe that Lu Ban's decision to recruit people only now actually indicates that his previous production capacity was extremely high. He completed a large-scale film with only a small number of people, and recruiting more people now will only make the film's production speed even faster.

Some people believe that this is a great opportunity to learn from Lu Ban. Talented professionals can join Lu Ban's team, learn his special effects production techniques and filming methods, and then start their own businesses. Given Lu Ban's current dominant position in the horror and thriller genre, even learning just a little bit would be enough to make a living.

Lu Ban himself received even more resumes, and some reporters even pretended to be job applicants, trying to find out more about the situation.

Feeling that he couldn't afford to waste his time like this, Lu Ban improved his interview strategy.

In mid-May, a group of interviewees arrived at the office of Lu Ban's company, "Silent Culture".

This place has changed a lot since the beginning. The tables and chairs are all arranged neatly, and it looks thriving, but it's just missing some people.

Bai Qiquan was among this group of interviewees.

He was about to graduate from Yannan Media University, and with the thought that since it was free, he might as well give it a try, he submitted his resume, hoping to join Lu Ban's company.

What Bai Qiquan didn't know was that he was quite lucky. He submitted his resume just when Lu Ban felt that carefully selecting resumes was too inefficient and started to collect resumes in large quantities, which is why he got the interview opportunity.

Otherwise, a recent graduate like him might not even be able to get started with the job right away, so it would be really wishful thinking for Lu Ban to work for him.

Companies that recruit a large number of fresh graduates are usually large companies that have no shortage of money or people. They can maintain a stable talent pool to prevent talent shortages. Startups like Luban, on the other hand, mostly require immediate action, so that employees can start working as soon as they arrive.

Holding his resume, Bai Qiquan nervously read through his prepared interview self-introduction. His suit was rented, but when he arrived at the office, he found that no one around him was dressed so formally.

And

"Is this the special effects artist from that popular movie? He actually applied for a job?"

"This person looks a bit like one of the alumni who gave a speech before. Could it be him?"

"Are all the interviewees big shots except me?"

Bai Qiquan felt cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and he forgot what he was supposed to say when introducing himself.

The other interviewees seemed to know each other to some extent and were whispering among themselves.

"I heard that this interview is very difficult. A friend of mine came here before. He didn't talk about the specifics, but he said that Lu Ban seemed to torture the employees from the very beginning of the interview."

"No way, is he really that arrogant? I always thought he just had a weird personality."

"He seemed to have gone to a mental hospital to gather material before, maybe he's gotten some new inspiration. Speaking of which, if he gets the job, will we have to go to a mental hospital too?"

As a result, since no one had passed Lu Ban's previous recruitment, and those who failed the interviews never mentioned the interview process, as if they had some kind of PTSD, it only made things more mysterious.

Hearing those people's words, Bai Qiquan felt out of place.

"Hey buddy, where were you before?"

At this moment, a man with a ponytail came over and greeted Bai Qiquan.

"I am from Yannan Media University"

Bai Qiquan said somewhat hesitantly.

"Being a teaching assistant at the Communication University of China? That's impressive for someone so young."

The other party made a business compliment.

"Uh, it's a recent graduate."

Bai Qiquan had no choice but to explain, forcing himself to do so.

"This year's graduates are indeed not very good. Yannan Communication University has not had a good student body in the last two years."

The other person then proceeded to read and try to understand the text on their own.

"..."

Bai Qiquan felt he couldn't explain it clearly.

Fortunately, Lu Ban appeared in time, easing his embarrassment.