Chapter 151: We Need to Expand Our Horizons and Respond with Sincerity! / Who on Earth is Next Door? Are They Insane?! (Seeking Subscriptions)

The post-production of Goodbye Mr. Loser involved a series of issues such as editing, soundtrack composition, and dubbing. However, relying on his memories from his past life, Su Mu simply copied the correct answers directly.

He knew exactly where cuts needed to be made, which details to retain, and where background music should be added after a character appeared. He shared many such nuanced details with Zhang Huaimou. With Su Mu's assistance, the efficiency of the post-production process improved tremendously.

...

At that moment, laughter drifted out from the editing room. Perhaps realizing the sound was too loud, it abruptly cut off a moment later.

Wang Jun smoothed his expression and looked around. Seeing no one else besides Zhang Huaimou, he finally felt relieved.

"Ahem... It's all right, I suppose."

"I wonder who was just saying that they had never laughed once in their life watching a comedy. You're really eating your words now."

Wang Jun: "......"

Zhang Huaimou smiled. After all, Wang Jun was the head of Huayi, so he still deserved some face. Zhang Huaimou didn't press the matter further and shifted the conversation: "Director Wang, how should the screening schedule at Huayi Cinemas be arranged?"

"About this..." Wang Jun hesitated slightly upon hearing this.

To be honest, when Zhang Huaimou invited him to watch the completed film, he hadn't expected any surprises. Furthermore, this year's New Year box office season also featured heavyweights like Johnnie To entering the fray. Meeting the target of one billion at the box office seemed virtually impossible.

Yet now, having watched the final cut, he felt a prickle of guilt. Although he was reluctant to admit it, the film was genuinely hilarious.

So, returning to Zhang Huaimou's question, how should Huayi arrange its screenings?

This was a question worth pondering. If this film turned out to be a massive hit with a massive screen allocation, it might actually propel this kid into becoming a dark horse. Wouldn't that mean a fifty-fifty split in power?

After a long silence, Wang Jun said, "Actually, regarding this matter, I think—"

Zhang Huaimou preempted him, "Actually, regarding this matter, I think Director Wang should adopt a clear stance."

Wang Jun: "Huh?"

Zhang Huaimou then patted Wang Jun's shoulder, speaking with deep earnestness, "Little Jun..."

Wang Jun: "......"

Zhang Huaimou: "Don't you understand where the true benefits lie in all this? I thought you had already figured it out, but your hesitation just now makes me think you still don't get it."

Wang Jun was dumbfounded: "No, what do you want me to understand? Spit it out."

Zhang Huaimou: "To put it bluntly, in this box office showdown between Su Mu and Lin Haoming, what truly benefits us isn't how much this film makes at the box office. The real core of the matter is Su Mu."

"Huh? Su Mu?"

"That's right. We aren't choosing this film; we are choosing Su Mu as a person. We must be very clear on this concept. The box office of a mere single film is really no big deal. Even if it actually hits one billion, so what? Is one billion really that much?"

Wang Jun: "???"

If it's not much, why don't you fucking WeChat transfer me fifty bucks?

Zhang Huaimou continued, "Huayi is certainly not lacking in one billion. But a once-in-a-century talent like Su Mu is whom we must strive to win over. Do you think he only writes one script a year? No, let me tell you, this kid definitely churns out four or five scripts a year. He is the kind of person who always has trump cards up his sleeve. Since he can pull out a script like Goodbye Mr. Loser, he undoubtedly has even stronger ones in his hands!"

Wang Jun's eyelids twitched: "Four or five scripts a year, and even stronger ones? Was he raised on a diet of screenwriters?"

Zhang Huaimou: "Pretty much."

Wang Jun: "!!!"

Zhang Huaimou: "So think about it. If we don't show sincerity this time and make him feel that we lack even this bit of vision and breadth of mind, what happens if he digs out an even better script later and takes it to our competitors instead? What do we do then? It was meat meant for our bowls, only to be eaten by outsiders. Wouldn't that feel agonizing?"

"Agonizing."

"If it feels agonizing, then you know it's right. Shouldn't we broaden our horizons? Allocate screens to him without holding back?"

Having heard Zhang Huaimou out, Wang Jun's gaze darkened slightly. After thinking for a long while, he asked, "Wait, why didn't you say this earlier?"

Zhang Huaimou replied, "It's not too late now. I understand Su Mu. He is upright, sincere, and most importantly, the bastard is fiercely principled! Even though his previous remark about 'never tasting defeat' was a bit arrogant, he's still quite modest. As long as we show our attitude and broaden our vision! Trust me, given Su Mu's personality, he will definitely give us even greater returns. Besides, I have a premonition that this time's box office is definitely going to exceed expectations."

Wang Jun stroked his chin and slowly nodded. "Hmm, that makes some sense. You've always been a good judge of character, I trust you on that. Since you say he's a sincere person, we certainly need to open up our vision. Otherwise, people really might think Huayi is a petty company."

Zhang Huaimou gave a thumbs up: "Director Wang is truly wise."

...

Meanwhile, in a hotel room, Su Mu was holding his phone, preparing to string along various buyout bidders.

After months of serialization, Tomb Notes had already become a massive blockbuster of the current era. Initially, Su Mu had wanted to publish it on a web literature platform. However, signing with a platform might complicate copyright issues, so he ultimately had Sun Liaojun create an official account online to publish it.

Sun Liaojun was naturally adept at operations. In the early stages, he had many major accounts push the content, and naturally, readership grew over time. Moreover, he also advertised Tomb Notes under his "Black Materialist V" account, channeling traffic from his fanbase. Combined with the currently trending subject matter, it quickly attracted widespread attention.

Over the following months, it skyrocketed to fame, establishing a solid reputation within the web novel circle. The pen name "Old Driver" became remembered by even more readers.

Simultaneously, investors looking to buy out and incubate intellectual properties all turned their gazes toward this book. In truth, a brief investigation would reveal which book with this theme was truly exploding in popularity right now. Most of them had professional editorial teams reviewing texts, and after layers of screening, they had all decided they must fight for the copyright buyout of Tomb Notes.

Su Mu was available. Initially, he had Master Zhu handle them, but later he felt Master Zhu was just too honest, so Su Mu ultimately decided to handle it himself.

[Kiwi Literature Investment Department/Message: Hello, Big Brother Old Driver. We are from the Kiwi platform. Can we chat? We are very interested in your book and can offer a buyout price of 500 RMB per thousand words!]

[Youku Culture & Creativity/Message: Come on, Big Brother Old Driver. Our side wishes to seek a buyout starting at 800 RMB per thousand words. Please consider it and contact us!]

[Aolai Film Investment/Message: Hello, Author. We are the Aolai Investment Department. We've read your work and want to discuss a copyright buyout. We don't know what your target price is, but please feel free to contact us.]

[Penguin Literature/Message: The Penguin Empire sincerely invites you to join us. We can sign you to a God-tier contract, offer you the best revenue-sharing terms, and provide a full suite of IP adaptation services! We will help expand your business across multiple ventures including gaming, animation, film, television, audiobooks, physical publishing in traditional Chinese, and overseas markets! Let your work be discovered in more fields! Please contact us!]

[......]

Looking at these messages, Su Mu smiled inwardly. As expected, these were truly the faces of capitalists.

500 per thousand words, 800 per thousand words... And they had the nerve to come talk about IP? Trying to brush off middle-class workers, are we?

Of course, for an ordinary author, this actually calculated to a very decent figure. Just think, eight hundred bucks for a thousand words, and with a book spanning several million words, the final amount would be quite considerable.

But that only applied to ordinary authors.

Was Su Mu an ordinary author? No. He was a guy who couldn't even afford a luxury RV worth over ten million. Expecting to buy out his work for a few million was pure daydreaming.

Presumably, if the original author from his past life—who made hundreds of millions off this book—saw that he was only being offered a few hundred per thousand words here, he would probably be furious enough to die.

Su Mu naturally knew the value of developing an IP with this kind of theme. Trying to get their hands on it for just a few million might fool some otherworldly, naive author.

After a moment of thought, Su Mu sent a unified reply:

[Old Driver replied to you: Thanks, but the guys next door are offering me 2000 per thousand words and I still haven't sold it. I know the derivative products and projects of the Tomb series IP much better than you do. Think again.]

Once the messages were sent out, all parties immediately received replies. Right after that, they all began holding meetings.

To be honest, it was truly unexpected!

...

At the Kiwi Building, Zheng Quan looked at the reply sent back by his team and fell into deep contemplation.

Five hundred per thousand words was already a lot. Even if the book was popular, he couldn't have made that much yet, right? Was his appetite really that big?

Besides, why did the tone of the reply feel vaguely familiar?

After pondering for a long time, Zheng Quan called his bidding team.

"Didn't he say someone offered 2000 per thousand words? Let's give him 3000! Keep making offers! Let's see if he can hold out!"

...

At the Youku Video Building, Zhao Zhouming looked at his team below: "I want to know what you guys were thinking with an offer of 800? Didn't I instruct you to cut through the gordian knot with speed? Why didn't you just hit him with an offer he couldn't refuse right from the start?"

"Director Zhao, we just wanted to test the waters first."

"Test the waters?" Zhao Zhouming's expression turned serious. "I've said it before, Youku is determined to secure this IP! From the looks of it, he's no rookie author; he probably understands how things work by now. So let's lay our cards on the table. Give him a higher price, but don't expose our upper limit."

...

At the Penguin Building, Yu Hong looked at the people below him: "Does Penguin not have similar books?"

"Director Yu, we do have some, but they aren't as popular as this one, and there's still a significant gap in terms of content."

Yu Hong: "Invite him over. Even a God-tier contract won't do?"

"They didn't specify. It looks like a standardized mass-reply, but buyout prices have already been bid up past 2000. A God-tier contract might not hold much attraction."

Yu Hong: "Then reply again. Offer him Penguin Literature's Platinum contract, attach buyout channels, and raise the price to over ten million."

"Director Yu, wouldn't that be too high?"

Yu Hong shook his head: "This author goes by the pen name Old Driver, and at a glance, he really is an old hand. He understands everything and won't be swayed by minor gains. If we don't offer enough benefits, there's no way he'll let go. We have to hurry; plenty of eyes are watching."

...

At that moment, having finished sending his replies, Su Mu turned around and opened WeChat. Coincidentally, he saw a message sent by Zhang Huaimou.

[Zhang Huaimou: OJBK.]

[Su Mu replied: (⌐▀͡ ̮▀͡) Awesome.]

[Zhang Huaimou: Should we tell them in the chat?]

[Su Mu: Fine, whatever.]

[Su Mu's Bidding Group:]

Zhang Huaimou: Forwarded Weibo post《Loser Wraps Up!》

Su Mu: Forwarded Weibo post《Loser...》

Zheng Quan: 666!

Yu Hong: Keep it up!

Zhao Zhouming: Massive box office success!

Li Rong: I'm buying out a screening, having my employees go watch it!

Liu Qiangxi: +1!

Su Mu: Thanks/jpg.

2 minutes later...

Su Mu: By the way, three investors, what have you all been busy with lately?

Zheng Quan: Nothing much.

Yu Hong: Just busying ourselves with nothing.

Zhao Zhouming: Tsk, did you see that, Su Mu? Neither of these two says a single honest word. I'm different; Youku Culture is upright. I'll speak the plain truth: your previous Ghost Blows Out the Light made this theme explode, so we're planning to look into buying an identical work to adapt ourselves. Will you come on board when the time comes? We'll give you a high paycheck!

Su Mu: Haha, is that so? I'll think about it then.

Zheng Quan: Su Mu! Don't! It's all a misunderstanding! I just typed that on a whim. Actually, I've been meaning to tell you all along.

Yu Hong: Penguin also wants to incubate an IP from the Tomb-raiding series.

Su Mu: Tomb Notes is pretty good.

Zheng Quan: 666, as expected of you, great taste.

Yu Hong: We've taken a liking to this book and are preparing to offer a Platinum God-tier contract. Stop fighting us for it.

Zhao Zhouming: Humph, look at you talking big. Is your Penguin Literature invincible?

Zheng Quan: That's right, Director Yu, I just don't like hearing you say that. Since you're putting it that way, I'll spill the beans too: we've prepared an incubation fund of 100 million for this project! If you guys can't cough up that kind of money, step aside.

Yu Hong: 100 million? Who are you trying to fool?

Zhao Zhouming: Do you take the two of us for fools? An incubation fund of 100 million means you'll at most allocate sixty or seventy million tops.

Yu Hong: Penguin has never spent over fifty million on a copyright buyout unless the author holds onto the copyrights themselves.

Zheng Quan: Believe it or not, we have the strength anyway.

Zhao Zhouming: Fine by you...

...

In front of the sofa, Su Mu looked at the scene of these three mutually exposing one another in the group chat and revealed a slight smile.

So after all that fuss, none of them had actually laid their cards on the table yet, huh? An incubation fund of 100 million and they only offer 500 per thousand words—have they no shame?

Su Mu switched screens and opened QQ Mail, then rewrote a new reply:

[Old Driver: Oh, I'm so sorry, I wrote the wrong reply just now. The guys next door aren't offering 2000 per thousand words; it's a 60 million full-copyright buyout price. But I didn't agree to the 60 million either—it's way too little! So you guys... think about it again? Hehe~(*^▽^*)]

...

A few minutes later:

Zheng Quan: "???"

Yu Hong: "???"

Zhao Zhouming: "!!!"

The three giants were utterly dumbfounded.

How did it feel like he knew the upper limit of their budgets? No, wait, did this Old Driver turn on wallhacks or something!?

...

At the Aolai Business Building, the conference room was somewhat quiet at the moment.

Huang Wenshan and Lin Haoming looked at each other in blank dismay, having no idea what had happened. The two of them had originally come to discuss cooperation for next year, but after Wang Taiming looked at a message, his expression completely changed.

After a long silence, Wang Taiming finally couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! 60 million? Wait... who the hell is 'the guys next door'? Are they out of their minds?!"

Lin Haoming: "!!!"

Huang Wenshan: "???"

(PS: I'll update as quickly as possible, big bosses, but I also need to ensure the pacing and quality remain consistent. Thank you for your support! I'll keep pushing harder! (And please, big bosses, don't skip chapters or read out of order~))
(End of Chapter)