People are sailing and making movies!

All entertainment superstars traveled through the world of One Piece and obtained one of the most powerful fruits, the Animal Fruit, the Bug-Bug Fruit, and the Image-Bug Fruit.

And he named it ‘Movie Fruit’!

Ask Vivian to shoot Roman Holiday, ask Nafilo to shoot My Sassy Girl, and ask Zoro to shoot Seven Samurai.

Empress Hancock wanted to play a beautiful but jealous queen. Now, who should play Snow White?

When everyone thinks that the Movie Fruit is just an aid in filming movies, Leon will let everyone know how powerful the Movie Fruit is!

https://youtu.be/AV2wuzzZZgM

Chapter 1: Image Fruit? Movie Fruit!
People are sailing, making movies! : Chapter 1: Fruits of images? Fruits of movies! Pictures and text
“It’s really magical to see a train running on the sea.”
Looking at the sea view outside the window, Li Ang couldn’t help but feel emotional. The world of One Piece is indeed full of magic.
Who could have thought of a train running on the sea? And why don’t the rails sink when laid on the sea? Aren’t they rails, but wooden rails made of other very light materials?
That’s not right. The train is heavy. How can the track bear the weight of the train and the passengers? Is it the principle of ductility? And what if there are storms?
Suddenly, he smiled. He really thought too much and thought this was the Earth. This is the sailing world of One Piece. There are so many magical things that cannot be understood by science.
In his previous life, Li Ang was an entertainment superstar, an all-round entertainment superstar! He was a director, actor, singer, writer, and even a fighter. Don’t doubt it, with the help of the system, it is not difficult to achieve this.
But there is no such thing as a free lunch. While he was accepting the help from the system, he was also working for the system to collect energy. Finally, after the energy was collected, the system awakened its will, and because of his unwillingness to surrender, it directly exiled his soul to this dangerous world.
The person he traveled through and possessed was named Wester Leon (surname West, given name Leon), 22 years old, 188 cm tall, with short black hair, handsome looks, and perfectly proportioned body. He was the illegitimate son of the escaped Baron Wester.
Three years ago, the daughter of the Earl fell in love with the handsome Leon and decided to marry him. Baron West agreed to the marriage without hesitation.
As an illegitimate child, Li Ang had never been welcomed by his family. Of course he was willing to marry the earl’s daughter, until he saw her appearance.
Li Ang, who had always been submissive, completely exploded at that moment. After making a big fuss, he broke up with his family and went out to sea to make a living alone.
After wandering on the sea for two or three years and experiencing life and death several times, by chance he obtained the secret treasure of the sea, a devil fruit.
As long as you eat the devil fruit, you can gain extraordinary devil power. Although you can no longer touch sea water, when faced with the opportunity to change your destiny, Leon chose to eat the fruit without hesitation instead of selling it for money.
However, fate played a joke on him. The devil fruit that could change his life was neither a natural devil fruit nor a superhuman fruit with unlimited potential. It was the worst animal fruit!
It’s okay that it’s just an animal-type devil fruit, but it’s one of the worst animal-type devil fruits.
Animal Series-Bug-Bug Fruit-Image-Bug Fruit!
One of the most garbage fruits in the world!
Can you imagine how desperate it would be to become a mollusk, especially a snail, which is known for its slowness? !
The inheritors of the Image Bug Fruit, without exception, became the laughing stock of the time. Even some of the powerful ones did not rely on the power of the fruit at all.
What are the abilities of the Image Bug Fruit? Can you talk to people thousands of miles away, or be a paparazzi?
In short, this fruit has almost no effect on improving strength, and the limited auxiliary abilities are just so-so. Its greatest role is probably to become a laughing stock.
After eating such a devil fruit, one can imagine what kind of blow the original body would suffer.
An illegitimate child, escaped from marriage, was expelled from the family, vowed to make a name for himself, and then, became a laughing stock?
Unable to bear the blow, the original body suffered a mental breakdown, and as a result, his body was taken over by a soul exiled from another world.
“Huh, the Image Bug Fruit? One of the worst fruits? That’s because you don’t know how to use it.”
Leon looked into the distance and saw the huge fountain above the city. He knew that he had arrived at his destination, the ‘City of Water’.
His purpose in this trip was to solicit sponsorship in the Water City. As a former world-renowned director, if he wanted to make a movie, he had to attract investment first.
······
At the headquarters of Carrera Corporation, the residence of Mayor Acebargo, Khalifa, a secretary with a stunning figure and golden glasses, walked into Acebargo’s office with documents in her arms.
“Mr. Bingshan, there’s a young man outside asking to see you. He said he’s here to solicit sponsorship.”
Ace Bago looked up from the documents. “Soliciting sponsorship?”
Kalifa: “Yes, a strange new word. He said he has a way to make Water City more prosperous. I thought, maybe you would be interested in meeting him.”
“Can it help make the Water City more prosperous? It is indeed worth seeing. Please invite him in.”
“OK.”
When Leon walked into the mayor’s office, he finally met the mayor of the Water City, Espagu, who was also known as Mr. Iceberg. In addition to being an excellent mayor, he was also a powerful businessman and one of the most powerful shipbuilders in the world.
Bingshan has short ice-blue hair, a full beard, and a serious expression, making him look much older than his actual age.
Acebag was also looking at the young man in front of him. He was very young and handsome, with a pair of eyes full of wisdom. He had a faint smile on his face and looked calm and confident.
“Mr. Iceberg, nice to meet you.” Li Ang took the initiative to greet him.
Bingshan nodded, “Hello, please take a seat. What’s your name?”
“Leon. West Leon. A director.”
“director?”
“Yes, an upgraded version of the photographer. To be honest, I am the one who ate the Image Bug Fruit.”
“The Imaging Bug Fruit? It’s one of the worst devil fruits.” Kalifa, who was standing nearby, said in surprise.
Although the World Government has banned books about devil fruits, those with connections have certainly read them. Among them, the most impressive ones, apart from the powerful fruits, are the dozen or so fruits that are generally recognized as the worst.
The strongest and the weakest are always easy to remember.
Li Ang looked at her and asked knowingly, “This beautiful lady, what is your name?”
Kalifa’s face hardened: “Are you harassing me?”
“Of course not!”
Li Ang denied it flatly, but his eyes unconsciously glanced at the other person’s long legs. It was indeed the temptation of uniform!
“lie!”
Kalifa roared and kicked out dozens of times with her long legs like lightning whips.
Li Ang was kicked and fell down on the sofa, feeling pain all over.
Opposite him, Bingshan, who was sitting behind the desk, was also not spared. His left cheek was kicked with several large lumps, and there was also some bruises under his eyes.
Bingshan’s expression was still as stiff as before, but his tone was full of helplessness, “Don’t make Khalifa angry. When this woman gets angry, she really can’t tell friend from foe.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Iceberg.”
Kalifa seemed to realize that she had done something wrong. She pushed her glasses with her slender fingers and apologized in a gentle and guilty tone. “I’m so sorry. I always lose my temper. Please forgive me.”
“It’s okay. Mr. Leon, are you okay?”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” What else could Leon say? He had experienced Kalifa’s temper. What a fiery big horse!
After adjusting her mood, Kalifa stood a little further away. Bingshan and Leon both breathed a sigh of relief.
Iceberg said: “Where were you just now? Oh, you said you were the one who ate the Image Bug Fruit.”
Li Ang nodded, “Yes, but I prefer to call it the fruit of movies.”
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ActivityRegister as a Filo member and get 200 points![Register Now]Chapter 2: A ten-minute short film! (Old version)
“Movie fruit?”
“What’s the movie?” Khalifa and Bingshan were both curious.
Li Ang said: “This is a new term I created. All you need to do is edit what you filmed and add a storyline. In this way, a movie is born.”
“Editing?” Another new term.
“Yes, there is no way to edit video bugs. Unless you use multiple video broadcast bugs to broadcast and record, and arrange them with each other, you can also achieve the effect of simple editing, but it is too complicated and no one wants to try it. Because of my fruit ability, I can arrange all the captured images freely, and editing will become extremely simple. So, I created a new mode of movie.”
“That sounds interesting.”
Although Bingshan said this, it was obvious that he didn’t quite understand.
In the world of One Piece, there are many black technologies, but universal technologies are not popular. Some of them are because there are similar items, which limit people’s imagination. Therefore, things like live broadcast exist, but no one has thought of how to make movies.
Of course, because the main theme of this world is the pursuit of power, people naturally don’t focus on these things.
Li Ang smiled and said, “I shot a short film in the carnival town, Saint Falter. How about we take a look at the finished product first?”
“good!”
Bingshan became interested and agreed readily.
“Ms. Kalifa, could you please help me close the curtains?”
Kalifa’s face hardened, “Are you trying to harass me?”
“No, no, absolutely not!”
This time, Li Ang looked the other person in the eye seriously and said sincerely, “Because we need to play the video, we need to draw the curtains.”
“Is that so? All right.”
Kalifa turned and walked to the windowsill, ready to close the curtains.
Li Ang couldn’t help but glance at the other person’s hips and long legs, and he sighed in his heart, what a graceful curve, an absolute uniform temptation.
In his previous life, he had close contact with many top beauties, including top Hollywood stars, but in terms of figure, Khalifa was undoubtedly the top one.
Khalifa seemed to sense something and turned around, only to see Leon sitting upright, sipping his tea slowly.
“That was close!”
Li Ang was secretly afraid. Being attracted to a woman’s figure was a man’s instinct. He couldn’t really blame him. He could only blame Khalifa for having such a good figure.
Also, the fighting power of the people in this world is too strong.
In his previous life, with the help of the system, he had mastered traditional martial arts to the master level, and modern free fighting was also at the master level. But even with such a high level of martial arts, he was helpless against Khalifa’s kicks.
Moreover, Kalifa has not yet shown her true strength. What’s worse is that Kalifa’s strength is only at the level of an average master in this world.
Therefore, we still have to improve our strength!
Li Ang came to Water City not only to solicit sponsorship, but more importantly, the development of the Image Bug Fruit required him to shoot many, many movies, and he needed more people to see his movies and like his movies. This was the main reason why he came to Water City.
He already has a complete plan. If he follows the plan, he will be able to gain enough strength to protect himself within three to five years.
The curtains were drawn, and the room became dim. Li Ang took out a video bug and inserted a cassette.
Immediately, a white image was projected onto the wall.
There is a window in the picture, with several flower beds on it. A few small flowers are emerging from the green potted plants, and in the distance is the rising sun over the sea.
Following a few clear and pleasant piano sounds, a female voice sang a cheerful song. The lyrics were simple, with only one word, but the singing was beautiful, full of vigor and joy.
Darlingdarlingdarlingdarlingdarlingdarlingdarlingdarlingdarlingdarlingdarling
This is a song used by Leon, (I caught a cold in that corner.)
But this is not the point. In the picture, a girl who just woke up suddenly stood up and appeared in front of the window, blocking the beautiful view outside the window. As the song continued, the girl got up, washed, danced, spun, prepared breakfast, put on beautiful clothes and went out.
When she met her neighbor with a smiling face, the girl also returned the bright smile.
The camera follows her as she walks through the streets, through all kinds of stalls, and meets all kinds of people. Everyone’s face is filled with smiles. With the background singing, everything seems so beautiful.
The girl helps passers-by, the girl meets acquaintances, the girl works hard, the girl enjoys delicious food, the girl gets off work, plays, goes shopping, and finally comes to the beach. Under the setting sun, the girl sitting on the bench has such a sweet smile.
The ten-minute short film fully reproduces the girl’s energetic day. At the end of the short film, the house falls into darkness again.
“It’s so beautiful~” Iceberg exclaimed.
Khalifa didn’t say anything. Leon looked at her and seemed to see tears in the corners of her eyes.
Kalifa immediately turned around, walked to the window and opened the curtains. When she turned around, her cold and arrogant face returned to its original state.
Did he see it wrong? Li Ang was a little unsure.
“Is this the movie? It’s really good.” Bingshan praised.
Carly Law analyzed seriously: “Shortening a day to ten minutes, is this editing? And how did you get this music?”
Li Ang shrugged. “That’s the power of editing. Only with editing can there be a movie. Of course, this is just a short film at best. The real movie is a hundred or a thousand times more exciting than this.”
“Really? So, do you have the full movie?”
Li Ang shrugged, “No. If necessary, we can expand on this short film. For example, the girl’s hometown is attacked by pirates, and the girl survives by chance, then joins the navy or the government, becomes stronger, and then seeks revenge on the pirates who attacked her hometown. This is a complete movie.”
“Great! It sounds very interesting.” Bingshan gave his praise without hesitation.
“Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Iceberg. When you watched the video just now, what did you think of the girl’s hometown?”
Bingshan shook his head. “Great! I know that’s Saint Falter, the carnival town. I’ve been there before, and after watching the short film just now, I want to go there again.”
“That’s right!” Li Ang snapped his fingers and said, “I have a complete script here. The background is going to be in Water City. I have even thought of the name of the movie. It’s called Water City Holiday, or Holiday Water City.”
“The plot is this: a princess from a kingdom visits the Water City. She is beautiful, dignified, and her every move shows the royal demeanor. However, the princess is just an ordinary girl. She also wants to play happily, wants friends, and wants to enjoy the life of an ordinary person happily. So, at night, she sneaked out of the room.”
“A princess who has never known folk life suddenly breaks into the lives of ordinary people. Many interesting stories will definitely happen. Also, we can give the princess a friend…”
Feilu novel, Fei will make you look good!
Turn on lazy reading mode
Chapter 3: The highest realm of freeloading! (Old version)
“In the end, the reporter who originally wanted to make a fortune by exposing the princess’ whereabouts chose to return the photos to the princess. The princess smiled in response, knowing the other party’s intention. From then on, the princess was still a princess, and the reporter was still an ordinary reporter. They may be from different classes, but they have had different friendships and beauty. That encounter was like a holiday in the Water City.”
Li Ang smiled and said, “Mr. Iceberg, what do you think of this story?”
Bingshan came back to his senses from his reverie of the story and clapped his hands, “Great! If it’s filmed, I think it will be very exciting.”
“That’s right!” Li Ang said, “A movie like this will definitely sell well and will be loved by people from all over the world and all countries on the Grand Route. Then, will the Water City, which serves as the background, become famous? Will more people come here to travel, sightsee, and shop? Believe me, after the movie comes out, the prosperity of the Water City will be beyond imagination.”
The future Li Ang described made Bingshan a little excited. If the movie he was talking about was really as exciting as described, perhaps Water City could really go a step further. In any case, it was worth a try.
So he nodded and said, “Okay, I support you in making this movie. If you need any help, just let me know.”
Li Ang smiled. He knew that he had made the right decision this time.
Bingshan is indeed an excellent mayor with foresight. Even if he only saw the tip of the iceberg of the new thing called movie, he could see its value and immediately decided to give the young people in front of him the greatest support.
Li Ang said seriously: “First of all, I am here to solicit sponsorship, which means I need financial support.”
“Borrow money?”
“No, it’s a sponsorship fee. It’s free.”
Li Ang explained: “Water City sponsored me to make the movie, and I used the influence of the movie to expand the reputation of Water City. When Water City becomes more famous, there will be more tourists and more prosperous business. Residents can take the opportunity to make more money, and the municipal government can get more tax revenue, etc. It’s a win-win situation.”
“That makes sense. So, how much sponsorship fee do you need?” Bingshan understood what Li Ang meant and was not opposed to providing sponsorship fee.
Li Ang smiled and said: “The budget of my film is 100 million Baileys.”
“One hundred million Baileys!” Bingshan and Khalifa were a little surprised. They didn’t expect that it would cost so much money to make a movie.
“Yes, we need to hire actors, staff, food and accommodation, costumes, makeup, props, etc. We also need to rent a venue, hire a band, do post-production, publicity, etc. Money is needed everywhere. This is because this movie is relatively simple. If it were a big-scale movie, it would be normal for the funds to increase ten or a hundred times.”
Bingshan was stunned by what he heard. He had no say at all about this new thing called film.
Li Ang was kind and didn’t ask for too much. The so-called 100 million Baileys was equivalent to 10 million Chinese yuan in his previous life.
In this world, 100 Baileys can buy a copy of the World Economic News. But it should be noted that this newspaper contains a wanted poster. Given the difficulty of delivering newspapers, the value of the newspaper is not one dollar, but 10 dollars.
This is also the value of Bailey that Leon determined after comparing prices many times, which is roughly equivalent to one-tenth of the value of the Chinese currency in his previous life.
Considering that movies are a new thing, if the sponsorship fee is too high, it will scare away the other party, so he asked for 100 million.
In fact, he is the user of the Movie Fruit, and he doesn’t need film to shoot movies, and editing is also very simple. In this world, the pay for actors is definitely not high. One hundred million berries is definitely more than enough to shoot a movie.
He was even prepared for the other party to bargain. Even if it was only 10 million Baileys, or even 5 million Baileys, he could still shoot the Roman Holiday of the Pirate World.
“If it’s 100 million Baileys, I agree.”
Unexpectedly, Bingberg didn’t bargain at all and directly agreed to a sponsorship of 100 million Baileys.
He asked: “When will this film, Holiday Water City, be filmed?”
Li Ang suppressed his excitement and said, “It takes one or two months to prepare in advance. The post-production editing is also simple. The main thing is the shooting time, which depends on the performance of the actors. So, three or four months should be enough.”
“Three or four months?”
“Yes, at the fastest, it will take three months, and at the slowest, it will not exceed half a year. Don’t worry, I will not leave the Water City until the movie is finished.”
Bingshan nodded. “I believe you on this point. I believe that the future of movies will definitely not be worth only 100 million Baileys.”
Bingshan understood what Li Ang meant when he said he would not leave the Water City. The other party was telling him that he was not a liar and was not here to cheat people out of money.
“Thank you for your trust, let’s talk about personal sponsorship now.”
“Personal sponsorship?”
“Yes, the 100 million Baileys just now is the sponsorship fee for Water City. I hope you can also provide me with some sponsorship personally.”
“Why? Is the money not enough? And what’s the difference between the sponsorship fee of Water City and my personal sponsorship fee?” Bingshan was puzzled.
“Of course it is different.”
Li Ang explained: “The sponsorship of Water City is because the background of my movie is in Water City, which has a publicity effect on Water City. By the same token, don’t you want to promote your Carrera Shipbuilding Company in the movie?”
“In the movie, I can arrange for the princess to visit the Carrera Shipbuilding Company and praise the company. At the same time, I can also let the extras, that is, ordinary passers-by actors, say some good things about the company. I can even arrange a conflict, such as the princess being attacked by pirates, and the employees of the Carrera Company helping her.”
“You see, after all these plots, everyone who has seen the movie will know that Carrera Shipbuilding is the best shipbuilding company in the world, and the company’s image is very positive. I believe that in the future your shipbuilding company will be able to receive so many orders that it will be impossible to fulfill them all.”
Bingshan and Kalifa were stunned after hearing this. After a while, Bingshan murmured to himself, “Can movies be like this?”
“Of course, movies are a very good means of publicity. So, Mr. Iceberg, how much financial support are you personally prepared to provide?”
“If the movie is as good as you say~”
Under Leon’s smiling gaze, Bingshan still had that icy expression, but his words made Leon very happy.
“Okay, I’ll also provide 100 million Baileys in sponsorship fees.”
Li Ang was pleasantly surprised. He just wanted to cheat as much as possible, thinking that 10 or 20 million would be good. Unexpectedly, the shipbuilding tycoon was really rich and asked for 100 million.
“Thank you, Mr. Iceberg. I believe you will never regret your efforts today. The 100 million Baileys you spend now can bring you 10 billion or even 10 billion in additional income in the future.”
“I’m looking forward to it. So, Leon, if you need anything else, just tell me.”
Chapter 4: Ask the Princess to Play the Princess (Old Version)
“Okay, I’m going to start a film company and open a cinema in Water City. I need your support in this regard. The venue I need is a bit large. I wonder if you can provide information in this regard. Of course, these are not free. Whether I buy or rent it, I will pay for it.”
“That’s a good thing. How big a venue do you need?”
“The bigger the better. For a cinema, a complete building would be best. I can just renovate it and use it. The venue can be used as a studio in the future. It will always be useful.”
Iceberg said: “According to your needs, an idle dock should be suitable. As it happens, I have an idle dock. If you want, I can rent it to you for 10 million Baileys per year.”
“I wonder how much it would cost to buy it?”
“You want to buy it? Then 10 billion Baileys will do.”
Li Ang nodded, “Mr. Iceberg, now, I will borrow 1 billion Baileys from the municipal government in the name of the film and television company.”
“You really are~”
Li Ang said: “Sir, I am seriously planning to start a business. I plan to use this 1 billion loan to buy your idle shipyard. Believe me, I can pay off this loan in less than one or two years.”
Bingshan was speechless. This was the most powerful business genius he had ever seen, or a liar might be more appropriate. This guy named Li Ang made a short film and not only took away 200 million in sponsorship fees, but also wanted to take his shipyard for free, even though it was just a vacant piece of land.
However, he really admired the other party. At the same time, he also had more expectations for the so-called movie.
“Okay, I will lend you 1 billion Baileys in the name of the municipality, but you will need to pay interest on these.”
Li Ang shrugged, “Of course.”
Bingshan nodded, “I’ll let Kalifa take you to see Dock No. 4 later.”
“Thank you, Mr. Iceberg. I have one last request.”
Bingshan was speechless. This guy in front of him showed him a so-called movie, and then cheated him out of a billion in loans and 200 million in free sponsorship. He actually still had a request? However, he was not stingy, and was also very curious about the extent to which the so-called movie could achieve.
“Tell me, what else is there?”
Li Ang said: “I would like to ask you to invite the theater troupes from several nearby islands to come here in the name of the municipal government. At the very least, invite some of their actors to participate in this film. Because this new model of film does not have professional actors, we must have some actors to make up the numbers.”
Bingshan nodded and said that it was not about money, which was an easy problem to solve.
Leon continued, “Finally, I would like to ask you to extend an invitation to the royal family of the Kingdom of Alabasta and invite their princess to visit the Water City for an exchange. At that time, I will invite her to appear as the protagonist of the movie.”
Bingshan frowned: “The princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta, I remember. Six years ago, she passed by the Water City. She was a very lively and intelligent little girl. I still vaguely remember what she looked like.”
He suddenly looked at Li Ang with some suspicion in his eyes, “Do you know Princess Weiwei? What are your intentions towards her?”
Leon quickly shook his head. “I heard that Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom is very smart and very popular among the people. Mr. Iceberg, do you think it would be interesting if a real princess played the role of a princess?”
“This? It sounds great.”
Li Ang added, “The reason why I invited her is that besides it’s more interesting for a princess to play a princess, the temperament of a royal princess is hard for ordinary people to imitate. For this movie, as long as the heroine is chosen well, the movie is half successful. As for why it was Princess Weiwei, it’s because I only heard of her name. I don’t know the princesses of other kingdoms.”
Iceberg thought for a moment and said, “Okay, I’ll try my best, but I can’t guarantee success. The Kingdom of Alabasta is a superpower after all. Okay, let Kalifa take you to see the dock first. As for the funds, you can take them away when you come back and complete the formalities.”
“Okay, thank you, Mr. Iceberg.”
Watching Li Ang leave, Bingshan thought about it and decided to trust his own judgment.
This Li Ang gave him a good feeling and didn’t look like a bad guy. Also, if the new product of the movie is really as he said, then the Water City will have more industries, which is a good thing.
In the royal palace of Albana, the capital of the Kingdom of Alabasta, the captain of the guard Ikarem with white curly hair walked in holding a Den Den Mushi.
“Your Majesty, a call from the Water City.”
“Water City?” Cobra was a little confused. Water City was not close to the Kingdom of Alabasta, and there had been almost no contact in recent years. How come there was a sudden call?
Sitting next to King Cobra is a beautiful girl, she is Nefertari Vivi, the princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta. Although she is only 14 years old, she has grown into a graceful young lady. Her eyes are as white as autumn water, and her long sea-blue hair makes her particularly lovable.
She asked curiously, “Ikalem, who is calling from the Water City?”
Ikalem said, “Your Highness Weiwei, the other party claimed to be the mayor of Water City, Acebagu. By the way, he said that people often call him Iceberg.”
“Uncle Iceberg, he’s a very good person. Dad, Uncle Iceberg called me suddenly, it must be something important.”
Cobra looked at his daughter lovingly and smiled, “Iceberg? I remember that too. He owns a shipyard and is a very good shipbuilder. I remember that the last time I saw him, he was just a city councilor.”
He picked up the phone and answered, “Aisibagu, hello, I didn’t expect to hear your voice again. You are now the mayor of Water City.”
Den Den Mushi imitated the other party’s respectful appearance and said at the same time: “Your Majesty Cobra, long time no see.”
“Uncle Iceberg, do you still remember me? I passed by the Water City when I went to the Sabaody Archipelago.”
“Oh, is it Her Highness Weiwei? Long time no see.”
“Yes, it’s been five or six years. I really miss the Water City. The blue boats, the water meat, and the sea train. It’s really an interesting and beautiful city.”
“Your Highness, thank you for your praise. I called you today because I hope Your Highness will visit the Water City again.”
Cobra frowned. A person he hadn’t contacted for a long time suddenly called and invited his young daughter to go to such a faraway place. Something seemed wrong here.
“Aisibagu, just tell me what you want to say.” As a father, he had no good feelings towards any man who dared to set his sights on his daughter.
“Your Majesty, I called you this time because I really want to invite Princess Weiwei to visit the Water City.”
“Why?” Cobra became more and more unhappy. Could it be that the blue-haired iceberg wanted to take advantage of his daughter?
“Your Majesty, to tell you the truth, I met a young man today who showed me a new thing, something called a movie.”
Chapter 5: Pirates on the Road (Old Version)
After hanging up the phone, Weiwei said, “Father, I want to go to the Water City to see this movie.”
Cobra said unhappily: “Do you really want to act in that movie? You are the princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta, how can you do such a thing?”
“Father, Uncle Iceberg also said that we are just going to take a look first and we don’t have to act. Besides, the situation in Alabasta is not ideal recently.”
She was talking about the strange things that happened in Alabasta in the past year. It often rained in Albana, the capital of the kingdom, which was a good thing for a desert country. However, drought began to appear in places other than the capital, which was not good.
Father Cobra often worries about this matter, and Vivi feels that it is time for her to help her father.
She said excitedly: “Although Water City is just a small island, its shipbuilding industry and commerce are very developed. If we strengthen cooperation with them, it should be helpful to Alabasta.”
Cobra was still hesitant, but he couldn’t resist his daughter’s coquetry, so he finally agreed. He thought that Weiwei had been unhappy recently because of the kingdom’s affairs, so it would be good for her to go to the Water City to relax.
So, the itinerary to visit the Water City was decided. Because there is a permanent pointer directly to the Water City, it only takes one month to reach the Water City.
When Iceberg received a definite reply from the other party, Leon was inspecting the idle shipyard accompanied by Khalifa.
He was very satisfied with the place. The entire No. 4 dock covers a large area, as large as two football fields, with three buildings, a villa, and a row of spacious warehouses.
Such a large site, and so many buildings. Fortunately, the real estate market has not taken off in this world. Otherwise, even 5 billion Baileys, let alone 1 billion Baileys, might not be enough to buy this place.
He decided to use the villa as his residence. Of the other three buildings, he planned to renovate the tallest building and use it as a cinema. As for the other two buildings, one would be converted into a hotel and the other into a company office building. As for the warehouse, it could be converted into a studio or other uses.
On the way back to the city hall, Leon was excitedly telling his ideas, while Kalifa next to him said nothing. She felt that this person who suddenly appeared should be investigated carefully. Could this person really play a new trick with the Image Bug Fruit?
Anyway, I hope he is not here for CP9’s mission. Otherwise~
As she was thinking this, Kalifa suddenly found Leon standing in front of her. In front of them, a group of people blocked their way.
“Hahahaha! I’m so lucky. I didn’t expect to meet such a gorgeous girl when I was lost.”
“Hehehehe, Captain, you said it very well. It’s rare to see such a top-notch girl.”
“Captain, bring this girl on board so you won’t be lonely during the voyage.”
“Yes, yes, take this girl back, the captain will be happy.”
Standing in front of Leon and Kalifa were a dozen guys who looked like bad guys. The leader was over 2.2 meters tall, with a mouth full of rotten teeth and an arrogant look. He was wearing a tights that revealed his explosive muscles, and was obviously the captain that the group was talking about.
Leon stood in front of Kalifa, of course not because he was worried about the safety of the people behind him. Kalifa was a senior agent of CP9, and her fighting power was terrifying. These little pirates in front of her were not enough for Kalifa to fight.
However, Khalifa didn’t know that he had seen through her identity. He could now act as a beauty and win her favor. Maybe Khalifa would be moved and teach him some fighting skills.
From behind Leon, Kalifa’s calm voice came, “Looking at the tattoos on your bodies, you should be members of the Berserker Pirates.”
“Hahahaha, girl, that’s right, I’m from the Berserker Pirates. Are you scared? Tremble!”
“Hehehehe, this girl is pretty calm. I hope she won’t be too sad after getting on the boat.”
Kalifa ignored the pirates’ arrogance and continued speaking in the same tone as when she was giving a work report.
“The leader of the Berserker Pirates, Berserker Zeus, has a bounty of 47 million berries. The one in front of you is the first captain of the Berserker Pirates, Berserker Iron Fist Willis, with a bounty of 12 million berries.”
She closed the file and asked Leon, “Can you defeat a pirate with 12 million berries?”
Li Ang shrugged, “I have defeated pirates with a bounty of 3 million, but I think my strength should be more than that.”
He was talking about his previous life, who was born in a small noble family, and had practiced swordsmanship and fighting. Later, he spent more than two years on the sea, and most of the time he was a bounty hunter. Of course, his strength was that of a rookie, at most he was a bit stronger among the rookies.
But even with such a weakling’s strength, judging from his physical fitness alone, he would be at the level of a top boxer on Earth in the previous life.
Now with his superb fighting skills, I believe his combat power can be greatly improved. As for whether he can defeat the pirate with a bounty of 12 million in front of him, that is hard to say.
Now is a good opportunity, an opportunity to test the fighting power of this world. His physical fitness and fighting skills would definitely make him a super boxing champion in his previous life on Earth. I wonder what level he can reach in this world.
Fortunately, with Kalifa here, he doesn’t have to worry about his life. Kalifa won’t let him die like this.
“Hahahaha, a 3 million reward, you dare to brag about beating this kind of trash here.”
“Get out of the way, pretty boy. Otherwise, I’ll bring you aboard as well. You’ll be welcomed just as well with your pretty face.”
“Hehehehe, that’s right, Luca isn’t picky about men or women.”
The pirates laughed wildly, but Kalifa just said “oh” lightly, then turned around, walked to the stone steps at the side and sat down elegantly.
Her actions stunned Leon and the pirates.
Kalifa still spoke in that leisurely tone: “Then, Mr. Leon, everything is up to you. Please don’t let these pirates capture me.”
Upon hearing this, the pirates laughed even more wildly.
Li Ang complained in his heart, you are quite good at pretending. With your strength, I am afraid that even the captain of the other team may not be your opponent.
Although he thought so in his heart, he readily agreed: “No problem, protecting women is a man’s duty.”
“Haha, pretty boy, you’re quite good at being a hero. I’ll show you what I can do later.”
Li Ang looked at the pirates and said seriously: “In that case, let me show you my abilities. Start! Filming begins!”
Writer’s words
Chapter 6: Skills, Shoot! (Old Version)
Movie Fruit Abilities:
1. Shooting. (1. Summon multiple image bugs and shoot from different angles as you like.) (2. Hidden camera, summon invisible image bugs that can follow instructions to track and shoot.)
As soon as he finished speaking, four video broadcast bugs floated in the air, each aiming at the pirates from a suitable angle.
There was also a stealth imaging bug, but it was aimed at Kalifa. The angle was a little bit low, shooting from above at her thighs.
Li Ang dared to swear that he was not being a hooligan, but was testing whether the invisible image worm would be discovered by an expert.
The result was naturally good, and nothing was discovered.
The pirates all changed their expressions when they saw the four floating image bugs.
“This? Could this be?” The pirate who spoke began to tremble his lips.
“It’s the legendary Devil Fruit user!” a pirate said in horror, and all the other pirates were so scared that their legs and feet began to tremble.
Even the captain with the violent iron fist and a bounty of 12 million showed fear. He didn’t expect that he would actually encounter a devil fruit user.
Devil fruit users are definitely the most terrifying existence. Their abilities are so strange that ordinary people cannot deal with them.
Li Ang showed a proud smile, “Haha, that’s right, I am the user of the Devil Fruit! Are you scared? If you are, get out of here!”
Furious Iron Fist Willis swallowed and spoke calmly, “You, what devil fruit did you eat? What ability is this?”
He asked this question, perhaps without even thinking of the answer, and just asked it subconsciously. Leon was about to speak to scare the other person away, but unexpectedly, Kalifa’s voice came from behind.
“His ability is the Animal-type Image Bug Fruit, which is known as one of the worst fruits. Well, it looks pretty good and is very convenient for filming.”
Leon’s forehead was full of black lines. He didn’t expect that Kalifa was such a sinister woman. She was eager for him to fight with the pirates.
He turned around and smiled helplessly, “Ms. Kalifa, I don’t think you need to explain it so clearly.”
Kalifa pretended to be innocent and regretful, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I accidentally revealed your ability.”
The pirates, whose legs and feet were shaking with fear, heard Kalifa’s words and when they looked at the image worms, the fear in their eyes disappeared, and they became more eager to try.
For them, being able to defeat a devil fruit user is definitely a proud achievement worth bragging about for the rest of their lives.
What a woman who deserves a beating! Li Ang complained in his heart, but he couldn’t do anything about her.
He turned around and said to the pirates who were ready to make a move: “She is wrong. My devil fruit is not the image bug fruit, but the movie fruit.”
“Movie Fruit?” The pirates who had just breathed a sigh of relief became alert again.
“Yes, the Movie Fruit. The Movie Fruit and the Image Bug Fruit are completely different.”
Li Ang said incessantly: “Image bugs actually have many uses, such as live broadcasts, and they can also be used to shoot TV series or variety shows. You don’t know about variety shows and TV series? It doesn’t matter, just know that these two formats are not suitable in this world.”
“Why is it not suitable? Of course it’s because the ocean is too big, the land is too small and too scattered, and the islands of various countries have not formed a large scale. Without scale, there is no market, and without a market, it is difficult for these two things to appear. In addition, due to the magnetic field, long-distance broadcasting is difficult to achieve.”
“In short, after comprehensive consideration, I feel that movies are the best imaging mode. Believe me, movies will definitely become the most popular entertainment. From now on, no one will dare to belittle the Image Bug Fruit, because it is a very great devil fruit.”
After hearing this explanation, all the pirates were confused.
Leon fully enjoyed the pleasure of crushing these stupid pirates with his intelligence.
However, Kalifa’s voice sounded again, “So, you just changed the name of the Image Bug Fruit and it became the Movie Fruit?”
Li Ang smiled bitterly and turned back: “Ms. Kalifa, if I was beaten to death, how would you explain to Mr. Iceberg?”
At this time, the violent iron fist also reacted. He stretched out his hand and crushed an image broadcasting bug that was floating not far from his eyes.
“Asshole! How dare you play tricks on me!? Guys, kill him!”
These image broadcasting bugs floating in the air were not transformed by Li Ang’s ability, but were just ordinary image broadcasting bugs that were controlled by his ability. Therefore, when the image broadcasting bugs were crushed, they did not cause any harm to him.
When a group of pirates saw that the image broadcasting bug floating in the air was crushed so easily by their captain, all their doubts disappeared immediately, their courage increased, and they hated the pretty boy on the opposite side for playing tricks on them. Everyone shouted, raised their swords and rushed forward.
With Leon’s combat skills, he was naturally not afraid of fighting with bare hands.
Drill, punch and hit!
Half-step collapse punch!
Monkey climbing a branch!
The old ape hangs up his seal!
Elbow to the heart!
Tieshankao!
Flying knee!
Side kick!
Continuous attack with inch force!
A series of dazzling blows, cleanly and neatly knocked down all the dozen pirates. Even Kalifa, who was sitting on the steps at the back and watching the show leisurely, became serious.
The fighting skills displayed by Li Ang were completely beyond her imagination. His movements were clean and neat, and each move was natural. Although she had never seen these moves before, they all seemed like well-honed killing moves.
What’s even more interesting is that some of these moves are very similar to their CP9’s techniques.
Kalifa looked at Leon with a look of inquiry and curiosity. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she murmured softly, “Oh, interesting man.”
Leon, who had no idea that he was being targeted, knocked down a dozen pirates and let out a long cry to the sky.
“Cool!”
In his previous life, although he relied on the system to upgrade his fighting skills to a very high level, he had never fought as unreservedly as he did now. After all, this was a peaceful world with sound laws, and it was difficult for him to find someone to fight. Moreover, there were very few people who could be his opponent. Even if he encountered a fight, he would not dare to let go, because that would really cost lives.
But now it was different. He had no psychological burden in beating these evil pirates. All his moves were aimed at killing the enemy. Even if he killed all these pirates, he would only be applauded.
Another point is that these pirates have strong physical fitness and fighting ability, which allows him to fully indulge his desire to fight.
He began to like this world a little. Although it was dangerous, it was perfect for a passionate man.
Just then, a contemptuous voice came.
“Oh, pretty boy, it’s too early for you to be happy.”
It’s the captain, the violent iron fist, Willis!
Chapter 7: Hard Fight! (Old Version)
Furious Iron Fist Willis showed a ferocious smile, “Do you think fighting is just a game? Fighting well is useless! Come, let me teach you what a real fight is!”
Looking at the other person’s body shape, Li Ang also became serious. The body shape of this violent iron fist is a muscular version of Shaquille O’Neal.
Li Ang took a sudden step forward and rushed forward without any further ado. He accumulated strength for more than ten steps, then leaped up and threw a flying knee, concentrating all his strength on his knee and hitting the opponent’s heart.
Willis groaned, took three steps back, and started vomiting.
However, the one who was more shocked than him was Li Ang. His current physical fitness was top-notch even on Earth in his previous life. He used the flying knee in Muay Thai to hit the opponent’s most vulnerable heart. If an ordinary person encountered such a blow, fainting would be considered a minor injury, but Willis just vomited due to the pain and did not seem to be seriously injured.
Kill him while he’s sick! Li Ang didn’t hesitate, and took advantage of the opportunity when Willis was vomiting and couldn’t fight back, and hit the opponent with a series of moves.
The temple, neck, cervical vertebrae, heart, and ribs. It can be said that except for kicking the crotch and poking the eyes, he used almost all his strength and hit the opponent’s soft spots.
But what shocked him was that Willis never fell down after enduring such a fierce attack.
Li Ang was shocked. He knew how strong his attack power was. It was definitely not lower than that of boxing champion Tyson. He hit the opponent’s defensive weakness and did not cause any real damage to him. This guy’s physique was too abnormal!
His bounty is only 12 million Baileys! How can he be so resistant?
Just as he was stunned, Willis grabbed Leon’s right hand. He was shocked and quickly pulled his hand back, but found that his hand was like being trapped by an iron hoop.
Willis had blood oozing from the corner of his mouth and bruises on his face. He looked extremely miserable, but he had a smug smile on his face.
“Hehe, that’s pretty powerful! Pretty boy, it feels good to be beaten, right? Unfortunately, your strength is too weak. At most, you can only tickle me!”
As he spoke, Willis’s other fist whistled down at Leon’s head with a strong wind. If the fist, which was as big as a sand bowl, had hit him hard, he would probably have lost half his life.
Li Ang’s eyes remained unchanged. He tilted his head to avoid the opponent’s fist and raised his elbow to hit the opponent’s chin.
That was not all. He raised his left knee and pushed it towards the opponent’s crotch. This time, he didn’t care whether the move was cheap or not. If it was really pushed, no matter how good Willis’s physique was, he would be defeated.
However, Willis subconsciously raised his legs and turned sideways, just avoiding the direct attack. As expected of a pirate who has been in battle for a long time, when facing a crisis, he almost doesn’t need to think about it, and can make the most appropriate response with just his fighting instinct.
However, although it did not hit Willis hard, it still caused considerable damage to Willis. His hold on Leon’s hand loosened a little, and Leon took the opportunity to pull his hand away from the other party.
“drink!”
In just a moment, Willis endured the pain and punched forward with his huge fist.
Li Ang had just freed his wrist and had no time to respond. He could only use his arm to block in front of him, and was directly knocked away by the huge fist.
After rolling on the ground for more than ten times, blood was oozing from the corners of Leon’s mouth. Before he could adjust his breathing, he heard the ground shaking. He immediately did a lazy donkey roll and then a dragon flip, just avoiding Willis’s big swing punch and at the same time widening the distance between the two men.
call!
The huge fist, with a whistling gust of wind, smashed towards Leon like a violent storm.
Dodge left and right! Li Ang’s body shape changes, and his Baguazhang body movements are fully utilized.
However, it was not easy for him to deal with it. Hiding all the time was definitely not a solution, especially when Willis’s fists began to turn into palms and grabbed him, and the situation became more and more critical.
Li Ang would rather be hit by a punch than be caught by his opponent. The difference in strength was too great. If he was caught and restricted from moving, he would become a lamb to be slaughtered.
When dodging Willis’s palm again, Leon kicked the opponent in the waist with a side kick. Willis just groaned and punched back, knocking his opponent away.
Li Ang spun and rolled in the air like a puppet. When he fell to the ground, he spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled for a long time before he stood up.
A dozen meters opposite him, Willis opened his mouth wide, gasped with a smug smile.
Even though he only hit one punch in the end after several minutes of violent attacks, he still consumed a lot of energy. That was why he didn’t take advantage of the situation to attack.
Another thing is that Willis has seen victory is just around the corner.
Li Ang shook his dizzy head and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, only then did he feel better.
This won’t work. He knew that his attacks would be like scraping the opponent. If he was hit by the opponent, any blow would be a serious injury. He would definitely not win if he fought with consumption.
Just as the two men were about to continue fighting, a figure jumped lightly down from a tall building.
He was wearing a sports shirt and a baseball cap, and what was particularly striking was his long square nose.
Piroca?
“Oh, it’s Miss Kalifa. Did I miss something?”
The person who was speaking was not very old, in fact he was very young. According to the time calculation, he should be only 20 years old now, but he was the second best player in CP9 after Lucci. Moreover, he was 5 years younger than Lucci, which showed how talented he was.
He is Long-Nosed Kaku, nicknamed ‘Mountain Wind’, who is particularly good at jumping.
Khalifa said calmly, “Oh, it’s Kaku. This gentleman is Leon, Mr. Iceberg’s guest. The one opposite is Violent Iron Fist Willis, whose bounty is 12 million berries.”
Kaku nodded, “I see. It seems that you are in trouble. Mr. Leon, are you protecting Miss Kalifa? You are such a brave man.”
Li Ang waved his hands and pretended to be indifferent and said: “Ha, it’s just a small matter. Isn’t it right to protect girls? However, the opponent is very strong. Can Mr. Kaku beat him?”
Li Ang said this on purpose. He certainly knew how powerful Kaku was. To deal with the tough guy in front of him, Kaku only needed to move a finger to deal with him. Of course, as they were meeting for the first time, he certainly couldn’t say that he knew how powerful Kaku was. He could only ask Kaku for help with words.
However, Khalifa spoke up, “Mr. Kaku, this is Mr. Leon’s battle of faith, you should not participate.”
Li Ang was speechless, “When did it become a battle of my beliefs?”
Kalifa said as a matter of course: “Haven’t you always been protecting me?”
“You don’t have to fight to the death alone to protect someone. Kaku must be very powerful to jump from such a high place.”
“That’s not what a warrior should say, am I right, Mr. Leon?”
At this moment, Leon seemed to see the devil’s tail swaying proudly behind Kalifa.
Chapter 8: Turning defeat into victory (old version)
“Hey! Have you guys had enough chatting? Act as if I don’t exist!”
Willis was very angry. “Little white face, you don’t want to fight anymore. How can such a good thing happen? You want to escape? Did you ask me?”
Li Ang’s plan to ask for help failed, and he was in a bad mood. He said in a deep voice: “Big guy, do you want to die so badly?”
Willis seemed to have heard a huge joke. He laughed wildly, “Death? Haha! Come on! Come and kill me! Hahahaha…”
Li Ang didn’t waste any time. He flew over and kneed the opponent in the heart again.
Willis would not let his opponent succeed with the same move. He stretched out his hand to block the opponent’s knee while grabbing the opponent’s collar with his other hand.
But Li Ang would never use the same move to fight the enemy. This time, the flying knee was just a feint, and the real killer move was the sinking elbow. This is a killer move in Muay Thai.
The hardest elbow hit Willis’ bald head directly. This blow was so powerful that Willis trembled all over.
However, his physique was really strong. He roared, pushed Li Ang out with both hands, and pushed him out.
Then, Willis’s big swing punch came whistling towards him.
Li Ang rolled over awkwardly to avoid the attack. Just as he was about to stand up, Willis’s big thick leg swept over him.
He quickly hugged the opponent’s calf with both hands. While being kicked away, he pulled the big guy Willis with both hands and made him sit in a split.
It was extremely painful for a big man to be forced to do the splits. Willis screamed and tried to fall down slowly, so that he could be freed from the restraints.
However, Li Ang would not do as he wished. He stood up quickly and kicked the football directly at the opponent’s head.
Willis blocked with his arms, but was kicked and rolled backwards.
Li Ang continued to attack, but was punched in the stomach by Willis who was half-crouching. He retreated six or seven steps in succession and it took him a while to recover.
On the other side, Khalifa was watching the fun and chatting with Kaku.
Kaku: “What does this Leon do?”
Khalifa: “A liar.”
“fraud?!”
“Yes, he came this morning and chatted with Mr. Iceberg for a while, and he got a sponsorship of 200 million Baileys. Oh, that’s 200 million Baileys for free. In addition, he borrowed 1 billion Baileys from Mr. Iceberg, and used this 1 billion Baileys to buy the idle No. 4 dock site.”
Kaku was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, “Haha, that’s really interesting. Mr. Iceberg is not someone who is easily deceived.”
Kalifa, “He is the user of the Image Devil Fruit, but he calls himself the Movie Fruit. He came here to ask for sponsorship, and he is planning to set up a film company in the Water City to shoot movies.”
“Movie? It should be interesting.”
“Not bad. I only watched a short clip. It is indeed different from the past. I will go back and check this guy’s background. I hope he is not here to interfere with our mission.”
Kaku nodded, “I’ll inform Bruno.”
On the other side, the two fighters were covered in blood and gasping for breath. But overall, Willis was in a better situation, after all, his physique was too superior.
Li Ang was also amazed at his own physique. No, he was amazed at the physique of the humans in this world.
He doesn’t have any special bloodline or anything like that. He’s just an ordinary human being in this world. Moreover, he doesn’t have the physique of a master, just a little stronger than ordinary people.
If he had been hurt like this on Earth in his previous life, he would have died long ago. But now, after being hit so hard many times, he could still keep fighting.
However, he knew that if he continued to fight like this, he would lose sooner or later. He had to seize the opportunity to give his opponent a fatal blow.
Li Ang fought carefully while looking for opportunities. Soon, he took advantage of an evasive opportunity and wrapped himself around his opponent’s back like a giant python.
Naked choke!
Willis, who was strangled by the neck, also felt threatened. He grabbed the opponent’s arms with both hands, trying to break free from his opponent’s restraints.
However, the naked choke utilizes the principle of leverage to maximize arm strength, but Willis’ arms were unable to exert their own strength.
He desperately pulled the other person’s arm, but it only gave him a little breathing space. Slowly, he felt his brain begin to become dull.
This is caused by the compression of blood vessels, which leads to insufficient blood supply to the opponent’s brain. The power of naked choke is not to suffocate the opponent, but the real killer move is to compress the opponent’s blood vessels. It only takes a few seconds, and the insufficient blood supply to the brain will immediately cause the opponent to lose control of the body or even faint.
Li Ang gritted his teeth and used all his strength. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been knocked unconscious by this naked choke, but his opponent just wouldn’t fall.
Willis also sensed the danger. He jumped violently, leaped backward, and fell directly backwards.
Li Ang didn’t dare to let go, and as a result, his back fell heavily to the ground. His own weight plus the opponent’s weight of more than 400 kilograms hit him, causing him to spit out blood more than a foot high.
With a brief respite, Willis started to struggle again. Leon dared not let go, and tightened his hands again.
“ah!!!!!”
After ten seconds of holding on, Willis turned limp into a puddle of mud. But Leon still didn’t dare to let go, he continued to exert force and took the opportunity to twist.
There was only a slight sound of bone cracking, and Willis’ neck was broken by him.
Li Ang let go of his hands, lay on his back on the ground, looked at the white clouds and the blue sky, and laughed heartily.
“We actually won, which is amazing.”
Looking at Leon lying on the ground and laughing, Kaku was surprised and expressed his praise generously.
He had just witnessed the battle between the two. Li Ang was better than his opponent in fighting skills, but not in other aspects. Especially in terms of strength and physique, the difference between him and his opponent was too great. Under such circumstances, he was able to turn the tide and win. It was amazing.
Kaku walked over and smiled: “Not bad, we actually won.”
Laughing and coughing at the same time, Li Ang finally recovered and smiled widely, “Thank you, I didn’t expect to win.”
Kaku nodded: “Indeed, your real strength is much worse than his, but your fighting skills are good. Although there are still some fancy places, I believe that as long as you experience more actual combat, your fighting skills will become more refined and your strength will become stronger.”
Li Ang laughed and said, “Compared to fighting, I prefer making movies.”
“I’ve also heard Miss Khalifa talk about movies, and I really hope to see one.”
“Yes, in a few months you will be able to see the world’s first movie.”
Kaku reached out and pulled Leon up from the ground.
Kalifa stood up, still looking like a cold beauty, called out to the two of them, and was about to lead the way out.
“Wait a moment.” Li Ang called out to the two of them.
Kalifa and Kaku turned around and looked at him a little confused.
Three things to do when reading: read, collect, and reward!
Chapter 9: Skills, Item Box! (Old Version)
Li Ang pointed at Willis on the ground and said, “Just leave like that? This is 12 million Baileys. Do me a favor and take him to the naval base to claim the reward.”
Kalifa shook her head, “There is no naval base in Water City.”
“No? The Bounty Hunter Guild should have it.”
Kaku nodded: “I’ve heard of that place.”
“That’s good. Take it to the Bounty Hunter Guild and hand it over to them. Although they will have to deduct a handling fee, it will save you a lot of trouble.”
Kaku nodded, walked over, grabbed Willis, who weighed more than 400 pounds, with one hand, and carried him on his shoulder. He looked so relaxed, as if he was carrying a bag of cotton.
Li Ang was amazed, “Amazing! Kaku, can I ask you for some training methods?”
Kakul was stunned for a moment, scratched his head, and laughed: “I just did physical work for a long time, so I am a little stronger.”
Li Ang was a little disappointed. He really wanted to get some training methods from CP9. He didn’t expect the Six Styles, but he just wanted to get some training methods. But he couldn’t rush it. He had to build a good relationship with Kalifa and Kaku first.
He gave Kalifa an innocent smile and said, “Ms. Kalifa, can you help me?”
Kalifa hesitated for a moment, but finally walked over, put one of the other’s arms on her shoulders, and helped him walk slowly.
Li Ang lowered his head and saw the other party’s breathtaking greatness, his eyes almost popped out.
Big, really big, and very firm!
“You want to harass me?” Khalifa felt something was wrong and her tone was very unfriendly.
Li Ang quickly looked away and said in defense: “No! Absolutely not! I was just distracted by something beautiful.”
Khalifa snorted coldly and warned, “Then keep your eyes open. Otherwise, I will kick you half-paralyzed and you will never think about women like that again.”
Li Ang only felt a chill in his lower limbs, and immediately assured: “Understood! Understood!”
He turned his head towards Kaku and continued chatting with him, intentionally or unintentionally leading the topic to the topic of training methods.
Kaku is a good guy. Although he would not tell him the training method of CP9, he still revealed a little information. He said: “The training method is not limited to a certain way. As long as you can keep training and constantly break through your physical limits, you can become stronger. And your fighting skills are very good. I believe you will become stronger in the future.”
Li Ang nodded. “Thank you. As for exercise methods, I do have a little experience. But, is there anything I should pay attention to? Can you give me some advice?”
Kaku said: “If there is anything you need to pay attention to, it is that you should eat well while exercising. Also, you must pay attention to agility training. If you only train your strength, your body will get bigger and bigger. Of course, if you don’t mind your body size, training your strength is the fastest way to improve your strength.”
Li Ang smiled, “Thank you, I will be careful. I don’t want to become a muscle monster. If I do that, it will be troublesome to find a girlfriend in the future. Don’t you agree?”
Khalifa’s elbow ‘accidentally’ bumped him, and Leon cried out in pain, not daring to talk about topics related to men and women anymore.
The three of them arrived at their destination quickly, and exchanged the Furious Iron Fist Willis for 6 million Baileys. Although a 50% handling fee was deducted, Li Ang was still very satisfied.
He had been a bounty hunter before, and he knew that it was impossible to get the entire bounty. If he was unlucky and met a ruthless commander at the naval base, he would be lucky to get 10% of the bounty.
Li Ang wanted to split the money equally, but Khalifa and Kaku were unwilling to accept it. In the end, after much persuasion, Khalifa and Kaku each took 500,000 as hard work fee.
After leaving the Bounty Hunter Guild, the three of them found a tavern nearby to rest and have lunch. Coincidentally, the bartender of this tavern was Bruno.
Looking at this tall man with his hair combed into the shape of bull horns, Li Ang was wondering in his heart whether the other party had eaten the Menmen Fruit.
The Door-Door Fruit is a powerful space-type devil fruit, but it was developed into a useless fruit by Bruno, which is a complete waste.
If given a choice, Leon would rather eat the Menmen Fruit.
Unfortunately, this is just thought. The Gate-to-Gate Fruit must have been given to him by the CP9 organization and is not something he can covet.
Besides, he had already eaten the Movie Fruit and there was no way he could eat a second Devil Fruit, so he felt relieved.
After a rest, Kaku left alone and returned to Dock 1. Leon followed Kalifa and saw the iceberg again.
When Bingshan saw Li Ang, he was completely shocked.
He was fine in the morning, but when he saw him again in the afternoon, he looked like he had been trampled by an elephant. After understanding the situation, Bingshan praised Li Ang highly.
I admire his courage and think he is a gentleman who is willing to risk his life to protect Khalifa.
Li Ang hurriedly said modestly, but he was complaining in his heart, “Khalifa still needs my protection, you are really overthinking it.”
In the afternoon, the loan and sponsorship fee procedures were quickly completed.
The 1 billion Baileys didn’t even reach his hands, and it was transferred to Bingshan’s name. But he didn’t lose out, as he got an unused dock site.
The other 200 million Baileys were packed in two suitcases and carried in his hands.
“Do you want me to ask someone to escort you back?”
“Of course, thank you.”
Under the escort of a group of bodyguards, Leon found a high-end hotel to stay in. Khalifa had hired someone to clean the idle dock he bought, so he would need two days before he could move in.
After the bodyguards left, Leon looked at the two suitcases filled with Baileys and whispered, “Prop boxes!”
Following his command, a silver-white hard plastic box that was one meter high, one meter wide and two meters long appeared in the room.
1. Shooting. (Control multiple image relay bugs, which can fly, hide, and track.)
2. Prop box. (The prop box where the crew puts their equipment can be used to store items.)
The prop box is the second ability of Leon’s movie fruit, which is similar to a portable space, but of course it is different.
Compared with the portable space, the prop box is obviously of lower quality. You need to summon it and open the box to store and access things.
But it’s better to have something than nothing. He believed that as his strength improved, one day he would be able to turn the item box into a portable storage space.
“receive!”
As soon as he thought of it, the prop box containing 200 million Baileys disappeared out of thin air.
Having an exclusive collection space is really safe and convenient.
After collecting the huge sum of money, Li Ang finally felt relieved. He took a shower, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 10: Hollywood! (Old Version)
Li Ang lay in bed for three days. Apart from eating, drinking, defecating and urinating and some simple physical exercises, he basically spent the whole time sleeping. While sleeping, he felt that his body was slowly recovering.
If it were in the previous life, with such a serious injury, he would have been taken to the intensive care unit for treatment. Moreover, even with careful treatment and recuperation, he would not have recovered in two or three months.
But it was different now. He didn’t even go to see a doctor. He just slept for three days, and his injuries miraculously recovered.
It has to be said that the physical constitution of humans in the pirate world is really strong. Especially in terms of recovery ability, it is ridiculously strong.
According to his understanding, perhaps the human beings in this world have naturally strong cell activity. Therefore, even if ordinary people have average initial strength and physique, as long as they persevere in hard training and break the physical limits again and again, they can continue to become stronger.
Three days later, Khalifa came to visit Leon and told him that his villa had been renovated and cleaned, so he didn’t need to stay in a hotel anymore.
Leon was overjoyed. He packed up immediately and followed Khalifa to his home.
Seeing the newly renovated villa, Leon quickly expressed his gratitude to Khalifa.
This is a three-story European-style marble building. Each floor covers an area of ​​about 200 square meters. In addition, there is a large yard of more than 300 square meters where you can exercise.
“Thank you, Khalifa. The renovation must have cost a lot of money. I’ll give it to you now.”
“No need.” Kalifa shook her head. “The decoration of your villa is Mr. Iceberg’s intention. As for the rest, you have to figure it out on your own.”
“Please thank Mr. Iceberg for me. As for the decoration of the theater and the venue, can I ask you to continue to help? Although Carrera is a shipyard, I think the decoration of the theater is not complicated and you should be able to handle it easily. Oh, by the way, I will pay for it, so Mr. Iceberg doesn’t have to spend any more money.”
“Let Kaku come and take care of these. He is one of the foremen and can take care of it with some people. I am only responsible for collecting the money, but I don’t have time to accompany you here.”
“Haha, how dare I ask you to accompany me every day.” Li Ang teased.
As soon as she finished speaking, Kalifa frowned and looked over, “Are you trying to harass me?”
“Ah? Haha, no, no, don’t get me wrong. I am of course very happy to see such a beautiful woman like you every day. But believe me, I definitely don’t have any other thoughts.”
Receiving this disguised praise, Khalifa snorted proudly and had no intention of pursuing the matter further.
She added, “You asked the people who contacted the troupe to find out that many well-known troupes have agreed to send some people to take a look. Also, Princess Vivi of the Kingdom of Alabasta will arrive in the Water City in a month.”
“That’s great. When the princess arrives, the municipal government will probably arrange a grand reception ceremony.”
“certainly.”
“Very good.” Li Ang clapped his hands and said, “Please notify me when the time comes. I will go to the scene and shoot directly.”
Khalifa became interested and asked, “Is this how movies are made?”
Li Ang shook his head. “In most movies, actors rehearse before filming. However, no matter how good the rehearsal is, it is not as good as the real scene. I can directly shoot the reception scene and then cut it into the movie. By the way, please tell Mr. Bingshan that the reception scene must be grand and upscale.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Just as he finished speaking, a figure jumped down from the roof like a flying bird and landed in front of the two of them. It was Yamakaze Kaku.
“Oh, I am not late.”
Li Ang greeted him with a smile, “Of course not, Kaku, thank you for coming over, I still need your help with these decorations.”
Kaku waved his hand, “No problem, Kalifa has told me everything. Just tell me what you want to change.”
The three of them began to wander around the dock.
“I don’t need these shipbuilding tools and materials anymore. If they can be used for renovation, you can use them. If they are not needed, please help take them away. Level the site.”
“I plan to convert this building into a company office building.”
“I plan to convert this building into a hotel to make it convenient for actors and staff to stay in. It can also be open to the public to generate income during normal times.”
“I plan to convert this largest building into a large cinema. The floors are not high enough, so I have to demolish them to make each floor high enough, and then make the viewing seats into steps, so that the audience sitting in the back row will not have their view blocked by the audience in the front row.”
Based on the model of his previous life’s cinema, Li Ang converted the building into seven theaters.
The smallest one can accommodate one hundred people, has the most luxurious decoration, and of course has the highest ticket price.
The largest theater is on the first floor and can accommodate more than a thousand people to watch movies at the same time.
Considering the size of humans in this world, there is a screening room with specially made seats that can accommodate the little giants to watch movies. Of course, the ticket price for these seats is several times that of other seats.
The empty space behind the stairs is not wasted and can be used as a shop. In addition to selling popcorn and cola, the remaining shops will be used to sell movie-related products in the future.
A mature film market, the profits from peripheral products are no less than those from the films themselves. In the future, the Water City will inevitably become a film city, and I don’t know how many pilgrims will buy a large number of high-priced peripheral products here, all of which are money.
Kaku originally only brought his ears with him, thinking that decoration was a simple matter. But he found that there were so many tricks involved, so he simply borrowed a pen and paper from Kalifa and wrote down all the things Leon asked for.
Kalifa was also recording and calculating the renovation costs. After the final calculation, she found that it would cost 300 million Baileys.
There was no way. The renovation items Li Ang requested were too many, especially for the cinema, which almost meant starting from scratch.
Li Ang nodded and said, “No problem. Please start the renovation as soon as possible. I will pay 100 million for the renovation first, and I will pay the other 200 million in half a year, including interest.”
Khalifa: “I need to report this to Mr. Iceberg. But I think he will agree. It’s obvious that you are really ready to do something big.”
“Of course, I’m not kidding. Please rest assured that if you can’t pay back the money after one year, everything here will be collateral.”
Li Ang pointed to Building No. 3 and said, “Believe me, in the future, this will be the center of movies and a holy place in the hearts of countless movie fans. I have decided that this building will be called the Hollywood Theater, and my company will be called Hollywood Film and Entertainment Company.”
“Hollywood?” Kaku asked curiously, “I know this is a renovated idle shipyard, but does the name Hollywood have any meaning?”
“Meaning? Not now, but there will be in the future.”
Li Ang’s smiling eyes seemed to see the future.
Chapter 11: Skills, Rehearsal! (Old Version)
Three days later, Li Ang’s body was fully recovered. It was amazing that he could recover from such serious injuries as internal injuries and bone fractures in less than a week. However, in this world, this kind of thing seemed to be a matter of course.
That day, an idea suddenly popped into Li Ang’s mind, and he immediately decided to give it a try.
Fitness without equipment, practice of fighting skills, standing and practicing in Chinese martial arts, basic training of long sword, strength training, reaction speed training, almost non-stop practice. Li Ang summarized, integrated and optimized the training and fitness methods he mastered in his previous life.
He spent the entire day sweating and madly straining his physical strength. This was the limit of his physical condition.
He filmed all the training processes with a video camera, edited them, deleted all the rest time between the exercises, and made a two-and-a-half-hour movie.
This movie is absolutely the most rubbish movie. There is no plot at all. There are only shots of him working out like crazy, without stopping for a moment, and sweating profusely.
He found a screening room and gave the image-relay bug instructions to play the rubbish movie over and over again.
Something shocking happened to Leon. When he woke up the next morning, he immediately felt the difference in his body. His strength had increased, his speed had increased, his physique had improved, and his proficiency in fighting skills had also increased.
He felt these changes and found them to be almost equivalent to the effects of four or five days of exercise.
When he arrived at the playback room, Li Ang saw the video player worm eating young leaves while continuing to play the “movie”. But it was obvious that the video player worm was a little depressed after staying up all night.
Li Ang asked the video worm to stop and rest, and checked the playback status at the same time. He found that the video worm had played this cultivation movie more than four times, and had played most of it for the fifth time.
The effect of four or five days of exercise and more than four movie screenings, this is not a coincidence, but just as he guessed!
“Haha! Hahahaha! Great, that’s great!” Li Ang’s idea was verified, and he shouted excitedly.
His idea is, if he uses his fruit ability to record his own exercise and broadcast it, will he get the effect of the exercise?
Apparently, his idea was proven to be feasible!
One play of the movie was exactly the amount of training he would do in one day. From last night till now, the movie had been played more than four times, and he had just reaped the fruits of four or five days of training.
This was not an illusion, nor was it a coincidence. His guess was right! As long as he played his own exercise process, he could get the results of the exercise in the movie.
This is the third skill that Leon obtained from the Movie Fruit, which he named “Rehearsal”.
3. Rehearsal. (Film the practice scene and play it back, and you can get the practice results in the movie.)
Rehearsing skills directly increased Li Ang’s training progress tenfold!
In 24 hours a day, he can play the movie ten times, which means he can get ten times the amount of training!
After laughing for a while, Li Ang let out a long breath and repeatedly warned himself not to be proud, to keep his original heart, and never slack off because of this. Because there are too many monster-like strong people in this world. Apart from practicing faster than others and having a high level of comprehension, he has almost no commendable talents.
“By the way, can I continue to improve my rehearsal skills?” Li Ang suddenly thought.
For example, if multiple video bugs are used to play at the same time, can the effect of cultivation be doubled? Also, can the effect of cultivation be doubled by using montage techniques?
He did it as he thought. He copied the movie several times and let several video bugs play it at the same time.
As a result, his good wishes came to nothing.
Whether it was copying the movie and playing multiple copies at the same time, or fast-forwarding it, or using montage techniques to present the effects of one day’s practice in a five-minute movie, the desired effect was not achieved.
What is certain is that the training in the movie and the training in the real world are 1:1. For example, if he wants to get the training results of a thousand push-ups, the movie must show a thousand push-ups.
Although he did not get the desired result, Li Ang was not too disappointed. Being able to gain cultivation results by playing movies was beyond his imagination.
Ten times the training progress, the Movie Fruit, even if it only has this one skill, is the top devil fruit.
With the rehearsal skills, Li Ang finally had time to do other things in addition to practicing for two hours each morning and evening.
When starting a new business, there is always something to do.
Fortunately, in his previous life, he was not just an artist, but a self-made boss who founded China’s top entertainment company. He built a company from scratch and knew how to form, develop, and grow a company.
In one month, he built the general framework of the company, recruited company staff, formulated company rules and regulations, trained employees, and negotiated cooperation with other businessmen.
At the same time, some actors from the troupe invited by Bingshan also came to the Water City. Li Ang’s workload increased again, and he began to train these stage actors. In terms of acting skills, he is also top-notch.
In a month, Li Ang wanted to split the time into two halves. Fortunately, everything was slowly getting back on track.
Li Ang finally had some free time and started wandering around the Water City.
Liguria Square, water elevator, water waterfall, commercial street, bar street, shipbuilding center, residential center, and the tallest fountain in the city center with a diameter of hundreds of meters and an exaggerated spray height.
He filmed all of this, waiting to be used as material for the film “Holiday Water City”. At the same time, he was also conceiving the plot of the film in his mind.
Roman Holiday is of course a classic movie. He will retain the stories and wonderful scenes in it, and will also design some scenes based on the actual situation of the Water City.
For example, masks, blue boats, water slides, and getting lost!
Yes, I got lost! It is very normal for people who have just arrived in this city to get lost.
The Water City is really big, similar to the combination of Venice and Chongqing in the previous life, and it is very beautiful. The whole city is full of psychedelic colors, and it can be called the most beautiful, clean, tidy and unique city in the world of One Piece.
This is also one of the reasons why Li Ang set up his film company here.
“It would be nice if Kalifa could accompany me to visit the Water City.”
Thinking of this, Leon immediately remembered Kalifa’s long legs, her long golden wavy hair, and her cool and charming face. These conditions were much higher than the Black Widow Scarlett, who had had close contact with him in his previous life.
Just then, his telephone started ringing.
Chapter 12: The Young Princess (Old Version)
People are sailing and making movies! : Chapter 12: Young Princess Pictures and Text
“Mr. Iceberg, are you looking for me?”
“Leon, the ships from the Kingdom of Alabasta have arrived.”
Leon turned around and looked towards the distant sea, and really saw the shadow of a large ship. This was what he had agreed with Iceberg, and he had also discussed with Alabasta. When he arrived at the Water City, he should not rush to go ashore, but wait for him to get on the ship and contact the other party first. If the other party agreed, he could start filming directly.
“Okay, Mr. Iceberg, is the welcoming team ready?”
“Of course, with Her Royal Highness the Princess’ arrival, we in Water City will definitely have a grand welcome ceremony, and all the important figures in Water City will go to the dock to greet her. Regardless of whether the movie is being filmed or not, it is an honor for Water City to have Her Royal Highness the Princess here.”
Bingshan continued, “Go to the dock now. Kalifa is waiting for you there.”
“Okay, I’ll leave now.”
After hanging up the phone, Li Ang immediately asked Blue Xiaochuan to take him to the dock.
When he arrived at the dock, Li Ang saw from afar many people setting up the venue, planting flags, flowers, ribbons, and wealthy businessmen and politicians arriving one after another.
Whether it was the busy workers or the merchants wearing brand new dresses, everyone was smiling. It was obvious that the visit of the Princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta made everyone in the Water City feel proud.
Among them, Khalifa was looking around and saw him at once.
“Hurry up, don’t keep Her Royal Highness the Princess waiting for too long.”
Leon trotted over and greeted Kalifa, then the two boarded a speedboat and arrived at the Alabasta Kingdom ship.
As soon as I boarded the ship, I saw three people waiting at the side.
On the left was a middle-aged man with white wavy hair and wearing a butler’s suit, and on the right, one step behind, was a handsome warrior with a sword wearing traditional Alabasta Kingdom clothing. In between them was a beautiful girl with a height of about 1.65 meters and smooth sea-blue hair.
Li Ang knew that this girl must be Princess Weiwei. However, is she really 14 years old instead of 18? She has developed too well.
The white curly-haired man coughed lightly and said as if reciting a poem, “Welcome, both of you. This is Her Royal Highness Princess Nefertari Vivi of our Kingdom of Alabasta. I am Ikarem, the captain of the Kingdom Guard, and next to me is my adjutant Bell.”
The girl gave the two of them a bright smile, “Hello, I’m Weiwei. Thank you very much for welcoming me.”
Kalifa bowed solemnly and said, “Your Highness Weiwei, welcome to the Water City. I am Kalifa, the secretary of the mayor, Mr. Espagu. This is Leon, you should have heard of his name.”
The girl’s eyes sparkled. “Mr. Li Ang, I’ve heard of you. A big part of the reason I came here this time was because of your movie. But, what exactly is the movie? I’m curious.”
Li Ang Weiwei nodded and smiled, “Just call me Li Ang. Movies, you can think of it as moving a stage play to the big screen. Oh, the so-called big screen is the broadcast format of movies, the live broadcast of Image Bug, you should know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know. There is a live broadcast bug in the palace. Sometimes it receives news reports from the world government.”
Li Ang said: “Live worms can not only broadcast news, but also other things such as music, dance, or stage plays. So-called movies are a similar form.”
“Eh? That’s right! It would be very interesting if we could use the video bug to directly watch interesting stage plays or dance music. Mr. Leon, you are really amazing. You actually have such a wonderful idea.”
Li Ang smiled and shook his head. “That’s nothing. In the New World, many places already have this kind of live broadcast. But, you know, there are too many islands in this world, and many things are only circulated in one place. It always takes a very long time for new things to spread to other parts of the world.”
“You are right. Although our Kingdom of Alabasta is large, many places are still relatively backward. I really hope that the people of the Kingdom of Alabasta can live a better life.”
When the girl said this, her eyes were full of longing. It was obvious that this was what she had always dreamed of.
She is such a kind girl. It is rare for a princess to be so considerate of the people.
“Ahem~” Guard Captain Ikalem coughed twice and said, “Your Highness Weiwei, we should ask the guests to rest in the cabin first.”
“Ah! That’s really rude.”
The girl exclaimed, and quickly bowed to apologize, saying very embarrassedly: “Mr. Leon, Miss Kalifa, I am so sorry, please follow me, we will talk in the cabin.”
When we arrived at the cabin, we saw thick blankets, a specialty of the Kingdom of Alabasta. The cabin was also decorated very luxuriously, worthy of being a ship exclusively used by the royal family.
After they sat down, servants served them tea and brought them desserts and fruits.
Weiwei is a lively girl and a curious baby. She couldn’t help asking about the movie again.
Li Ang smiled and said, “It’s quite complicated to simply tell the story. Fortunately, I made a short film. After watching it, Your Highness, you should understand what the film is all about.”
“Really? That’s great.”
The ten-minute short film held everyone’s attention. Even Khalifa, who had seen the short film before, was also fascinated by it.
When the short film ended, there were almost stars in Weiwei’s eyes.
“Mr. Leon, is this the movie? It’s really great!”
Li Ang shook his head. “It’s just a short film. It doesn’t have a storyline, so it can’t be considered a movie. Movies are ten or a hundred times more exciting than this. Besides, a movie is usually about two hours long.”
His words made the girl’s eyes shine even brighter.
Li Ang looked at her and asked with a smile: “Have you noticed any difference between this short video and the live broadcast?”
The girl Weiwei fell into deep thought, and after thinking for a while, she said, “This short video is very interesting, even more interesting than the live broadcast.”
“What else?”
“What else? Yeah, right, live streaming is it~.” Weiwei thought for a moment and said, “This short video can capture a whole day’s worth of content in just ten minutes, but live streaming can’t do that.”
Li Ang snapped his fingers. “Yes, you hit the point. Editing is the key. Without editing, there is no movie. Movies can tell stories through editing.”
“I have a movie script here. It’s called Holiday Water City. It tells the story of a princess who visits the Water City…”
Chapter 13: Filming is easy (old version)
Weiwei’s big eyes flickered, “Mr. Li Ang, is this the movie you are going to shoot?”
“You can just call me Li Ang. Yes, this is my movie script. I invited you here this time because I want you to play the role of the princess in the movie. Believe me, there is no one in this world who is more suitable for this role than you.”
“It’s really interesting.” Weiwei nodded.
Ikalem, who was standing next to him like a butler, coughed twice and said, “Mr. Li Ang, Weiwei is a princess after all. It may not be appropriate for her to act.”
Li Ang responded with a smile: “Mr. Ikalem, you can regard this movie as a documentary of Princess Weiwei’s visit to the Water City, which is a real shot. Believe me, there is no intention to belittle the princess in the movie.”
“On the contrary, in this movie, the image of Her Royal Highness as a noble and well-mannered princess will be deeply rooted in people’s hearts. It will also be a positive propaganda for the Kingdom of Alabasta.”
“But you just said that Her Royal Highness escaped from the hotel and played wantonly outside. She actually had a complex about being alone in a room with a man.”
“No, no, the princess did nothing wrong. She was sick and took a sleeping pill, so she went to the wrong place. And even so, she didn’t do anything rude. As for playing outside~”
Li Ang looked at Wei Wei and said with a smile: “Your Highness the Princess should be only 14 years old, right?”
Weiwei smiled widely, “Just call me Weiwei.”
Li Ang nodded, “Weiwei is only 14 years old. I think a girl of her age should be innocent, romantic, lively and active. Being playful is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it can show her true character. I guarantee that more people will like to see Weiwei’s lively side.”
He straightened his body and continued, “She is noble and polite because she is the princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta. This is the embodiment of royal demeanor. And the lively, active, innocent and romantic Vivi is her true nature. It can also let countless people know that Vivi is also a little girl, a playful, greedy girl who wants to play freely and be happy.”
Vivi turned to look at Ikarem, “Ikarem, I think it’s okay. When I was in Alabasta, I could go out and play.”
Ikarem was still a little hesitant, “Your Highness Vivi, after all, this is not Alabasta, and you are now representing our kingdom~”
Weiwei shook her head and said, “Li Ang just said that when I meet other distinguished guests, I must behave properly and not be rude. As for going out to play, I think it’s great. Let everyone see my true side. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“It’s decided!” Weiwei looked at Li Ang, “Li Ang, I agree to shoot this movie.”
“Okay, let’s get started.”
“Ah, is it starting now?” Weiwei exclaimed, suddenly feeling very embarrassed, “But, but I don’t know how to film.”
“It’s okay, filming is easy.”
Li Ang said: “Just be yourself. No lines or scripts are needed. We only shoot one shot.”
He pointed in the direction of the Water City, “Weiwei, you can also see the big waterfall in the Water City in the distance, right?”
“Yeah!” Weiwei nodded, “Very beautiful! So spectacular.”
“That’s right!” Li Ang summoned the video bug and said to Weiwei, “You just need to replay the scene when you saw the waterfall.”
“Is that so?” Weiwei thought for a moment and said, “I was reading a book just now when I heard the sailor’s shout. I was wondering when Ikalem came in and told me that we had arrived at the Water City. So I ran to the cabin and saw the waterfall from the window. Then I felt that I couldn’t see clearly, so I ran to the deck to look.”
Leon snapped his fingers. “Yes, that’s it! You just need to recreate the scene just now. Mr. Ikalem, please go outside and inform the sailor who just shouted, and ask him to shout again, and then you come in and inform Weiwei, just like you did before.”
Ikalem, who had always been expressionless, looked a little embarrassed at this time, “This, I want to be included in the film, too?”
Weiwei laughed, and Li Ang also laughed: “Of course, you can regard this movie as a direct record of the princess’s visit to the Water City. Just be careful to ignore this image bug and pretend it doesn’t exist.”
Weiwei raised her little fist, “Come on, Ikalem, you can do it!”
“Okay, okay.” Ikalem walked out of the cabin and went outside to prepare. After a long while, a sailor shouted that they had arrived at the Water City. Obviously, this voice was also a bit doubtful and unnatural.
Then, Ikalem came in and told Weiwei that they had arrived at the Water City. His expression was very serious and obviously stiff, but Leon did not interrupt him. Instead, he controlled the image bug to follow and film Weiwei.
When it comes to the shots of Vivi, it is obviously much better. The girl doesn’t have so many concerns and the traces of acting are not obvious. The performances of Ikalem and several others are simply worlds apart.
Bell was equally nervous, but this cold-faced handsome guy just had to act cool and stand aside seriously.
After a shot was finished, Leon asked Ikalem to call in the sailor who had made the call, and then tell everyone what was lacking in their performance.
We filmed it again, gathered a few people together again, and discussed the areas that needed improvement.
But this time, Li Ang said at the end: “We won’t shoot this time. Let’s practice it again. Pay attention. Think about how you felt when you first saw the Water City. Just think about that feeling. As for what you said and did, don’t be so strict. Just like that, let’s practice it again.”
Li Ang put away the image bug, and he could clearly feel that everyone was quietly relieved. But in fact, Li Ang summoned the invisible image bug.
Without the camera bug, everyone relaxed and performed very well. However, Li Ang still pretended to film again.
The next shot was of Weiwei running onto the deck of the ship. This time, Leon controlled the image bug and followed Weiwei to the deck, then slowly focused the camera on the huge and stunning waterfall above the Water City.
Just at this moment, under the shining sunlight, a huge rainbow appeared above the waterfall, which was extremely beautiful!
While filming the waterfall, Li Ang summoned an invisible image bug to capture the surprised expressions of Weiwei and others.
Perfect!
Chapter 14: Don’t be rude to Her Royal Highness the Princess! (Old version)
“Is this really me? And that waterfall and rainbow are so beautiful!”
Inside the cabin, Weiwei watched the footage that had just been shot, covering her mouth in surprise, her eyes full of excitement.
As a former top director, he is absolutely adept at photography, training actors, and directing on the spot. With the help of the fruit of film, filming becomes extremely simple.
The same is true for editing. As long as Li Ang has his mind, the filmed material can be edited directly according to his wishes. What’s even better is that he has the original movie as a reference in his mind, and he has a plan for what clips to use and how to edit. Editing, which is as important as shooting, has become the easiest task.
When he showed the clips he had taken to everyone, everyone present was shocked, especially Weiwei, whose eyes almost sparkled with stars.
Li Ang shrugged, “Yes, it’s not difficult to make a movie. Of course, it’s not easy to make a good one. I have tasted the fruits of filmmaking, so I can make complicated things simple.”
“Oh! You are also a devil fruit user?” Vivi was surprised.
Kalifa said expressionlessly, “It’s the Image Fruit. He just changed the name.”
Weiwei smiled and said, “Is that so? That sounds interesting.”
When they arrived at the dock, Leon and Kalifa got off the boat first, followed by Vivi, Ikalem and others.
With Leon’s instructions, Weiwei performed very well, and Leon also carried a video bug and acted as a reporter, filming the scene of the grand welcome of the princess at the dock, which would be used in film editing and would become film material.
In the next two or three days, Weiwei was accompanied by Bingshan and others to visit the Water City, while Li Ang acted as a temporary photojournalist.
Reporters and photographers were not uncommon in this world and did not attract the attention of others, including the nobles and businessmen, who had no idea that they had become the background of a movie.
Two days later, Li Ang started filming the movie with Wei Wei. The main scene was the day when the princess got lost.
“Le Ang, do you really need to cut your hair?” Weiwei was a little reluctant to let go of her beautiful long hair.
Li Ang said: “If you keep your hair long, the people in the Water City will easily recognize you, and it will be troublesome to have people watching you during filming. Most importantly, cutting your hair off represents your return to a lively personality, which is a metaphor in the movie.”
“Just trust me. This is the best barber in Water City. You will still look beautiful with short hair.”
“real?”
“Of course! Take a look at this hairstyle and see if you like it.” Li Ang took out his own paintings. As an all-round superstar, with the help of the system, his paintings also reached the level of professional painters.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful. Is this the hairstyle?”
“Yes, Tony will give you this haircut later. Of course, the barber will be played by Jack.”
A handsome man with a mustache performed a standard gentleman’s salute, but his manner was hilarious.
Jack is one of the artists signed by Leon from the theater troupe. He selected several actors from the theater troupe, all of whom were not very famous but very talented in acting. Leon signed these people to his own company and of course let them play more important roles in the movie.
By the way, the male lead of this movie will be played by Li Ang himself. Acting is definitely a piece of cake for him. As the first movie in this world, Holiday Water City must be shot to perfection, so that this new thing, film, will be popular as soon as it appears.
When the filming started, Jack, who played the barber, was a well-trained artist on the stage. He acted out the look of being troubled by the sight of beautiful hair, which made Weiwei burst out laughing several times.
After the filming was completed, the real barber Tony gave Vivi a short haircut according to the hairstyle in the painting.
Weiwei looked at herself in the mirror and smiled happily. It turned out that she could be so beautiful with short hair.
She pointed to the portrait that Li Ang had just painted and asked, “Li Ang, can you give me that painting?”
“no problem.”
Weiwei happily asked Ikalem to put the painting away, and she planned to frame it and keep it well.
In the next half month, Li Ang took the crew to shoot at various scenic spots in the Water City. Not only did they capture the beautiful scenery of the Water City, but the plot also looked very funny.
Roman Holiday is originally a light-hearted and humorous movie, so of course Leon Leung kept the original tone.
As a result, the biggest problem during the filming was the actors’ laughter. Especially Weiwei, her laughter almost never stopped. This 14-year-old girl was loved by the entire crew. She was as perfect as a princess in a fairy tale.
Oh, no, she is a princess, a princess of a huge kingdom like Alabasta.
Li Ang also likes Weiwei. He feels that she is like a pretty and lovely girl next door. Especially, she doesn’t even ask for any remuneration. She is so conscientious.
Of course, he never told her about the pay. What is the pay for a princess? Right!
As for the troubles during the filming, the most troubling one was probably the kiss between him and the princess, a plot that Ikalem sternly rejected.
“You must not be rude to Her Royal Highness the Princess!” He actually wanted to kiss a 14-year-old princess. This was outrageous! In Ikalem’s eyes, Leon, who had originally had a good impression, immediately turned into an unforgivable bastard.
Even though Weiwei blushed and shyly agreed to film this scene, Li Ang still modified this shot in the end.
Well, Leon felt a little guilty, he just thought that Weiwei was suitable to play the princess, but he didn’t consider that she was a real princess and was only 14 years old.
In the end, the kissing scene was changed to a little ambiguity, but the love and reluctance in Weiwei’s eyes really didn’t seem like an act.
In more than half a month, the Holiday Water City was filmed at an extremely fast speed.
“Brother Li Ang, are you done filming now? I really can’t bear to leave you all. It turns out that filming is such a fun thing.”
Li Ang and Wei Wei have become very close. He ruffled her hair and said with a smile, “If there is a chance, we can work together again in the future.”
“Really?”
“certainly!”
“So, when will this movie be released?”
“It will be officially screened in a week.”
“Really? So soon?”
“Because I am the user of the Movie Fruit, the editing job, which was supposed to be the most difficult, is actually the easiest.”
In fact, with the original movie as a reference, Li Ang can complete the editing work in two days. In the remaining time, he needs to make copies of the movie and do advance publicity work. Of course, several dresses worn by Princess Weiwei in the movie are also being urgently customized.
When the movie appears, whether it is a copy of the movie or the surrounding dresses, it will become thick Bailey.
“A week? Okay, I’ll stay in Water City for another week and watch the entire movie before going back.” Weiwei made a decision.
“That would be great, of course. On the premiere day, you will be the most dazzling movie star in the audience.”
“Hehe, I don’t care. You have to accompany me to visit the Water City during this week.”
A girl’s feelings are always poetic. The 14-year-old Weiwei may not know what love is, but she has begun to develop an inexplicable affection for Li Ang.
Perhaps she herself did not realize what this meant.
Chapter 15: Movie Premiere (Old Version)
“Boss Franky! Boss Franky!”
Zambai, wearing small sunglasses and holding a newspaper, returned to Franky’s dismantling house excitedly. Before he even entered the door, he started yelling impatiently.
A dozen people in the room were drinking with their glasses, and when they heard the praises, they all turned their heads.
Franky, the cyborg sitting in the main seat, saw Zanbai coming in and laughed, “Zanbai, you’re back. Come on, let’s have a drink together.”
Zambai hurried forward, took out the newspaper in his hand and said, “Boss Franky, I heard from the newspaper boy today that there is a new movie in the city.”
“Movies? What are they?”
“I don’t know. Look at this.” He handed over the newspaper in his hand.
Franky took it and saw that the front page of the newspaper was a beautiful girl with short hair. The title was [Holiday Water City]“Holiday Water City?”
Franky started to check the newspaper, while the others stopped and waited for news from the boss. Except for the boss, Franky, no one else here could read.
“A brand new entertainment program! The premiere is free, and you have to queue up to get tickets? The original location of Dock 4 is now the Hollywood Theater? The official premiere will be at 10 am on August 15th.”
Franky looked up at the group of younger brothers below who were craning their necks, and asked, “What day is it today?”
A group of people looked at each other, and a girl with square hair and a long pointed nose said, “Today is the 15th.”
“August?”
“Uh-huh.”
Franky stood up immediately. “Oh, so it’s today. That’s perfect. Everyone, stop drinking and let’s go to the movies.”
“Boss Franky, what is a movie?”
“Oh, I don’t know either. It should be a very interesting entertainment. It’s free today. Let’s go together!”
“Yeah!”
“Boss Franky, that’s awesome!”
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
A group of people came to the original location of Dock No. 4 in a mighty manner. Following the crowd, they soon saw a huge houseplate erected on the originally tall building at the entrance of Dock No. 4.
【Hollywood Theater! 】
People who have seen this building before find it hard to recognize it. It has changed so much.
At the entrance of the theater, there was a long queue waiting.
Franky ignored the shops downstairs and cut in line with a group of his followers. Of course, everyone in the queue knew the notorious Franky family and no one dared to speak out to stop him.
After getting the ticket at the ticket window, Zanbai said, “Boss Franky, look over there.”
He pointed and saw a long red carpet next to the queue. The famous merchants and nobles in the Water City were all wearing high-end formal wear and entered the theater with arrogant expressions.
Franky snorted, “Don’t worry about them, let’s go.”
After entering the theater, everyone realized that they had not really entered the theater. There were all kinds of exquisite small shops around. There were small shops selling Coke and popcorn, and there were also shops selling clothes. I don’t know how these shops were mixed together.
Is this really a theater? Not a supermarket?
A beautiful girl in a maid outfit came up to them with a smile, “Sir, are you here for the premiere?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Okay, come this way, please.”
The maid-dressed girl politely led the way and introduced: “Over there is Screening Room 1, which is also the largest screening room in our Hollywood Theater. The premieres will be held in Screening Room 1. Please take your seats according to your tickets after entering.”
The girl then introduced the shops nearby and the small movie theaters on the second and third floors at a very fast speed. It was obvious that she had received professional training.
Franky was in a good mood and bought a bottle of Coke for everyone, but he found that the Coke here was more than twice as expensive as outside.
But he couldn’t care less about that now, as he was now full of curiosity about the so-called movie.
Entering the No. 1 screening room, I felt a sense of relief. This No. 1 screening room is really huge!
More than a thousand seats were arranged like steps facing the big stage below. On the big stage, a huge white curtain was stretched straight, and no one knew what it was used for.
The girl led them to a seat, then bowed and said goodbye.
The theater was brightly lit and buzzing with noise. Franky noticed that the seats in the front rows were filled with nobles and merchants in formal attire. He wondered if this was an intentional arrangement by the theater.
Also, around the theater, there were many men in black suits standing there with serious faces. They should be the security personnel arranged by the theater.
“Boss Franky, look over there.”
Zanbai pointed his finger towards a person diagonally below him.
He whispered, “The shirtless man with a sun hat around his neck seems to be the great pirate Ace the Fire Fist.”
“Ace the Fire Fist?” Franky frowned and shook his head. “Never mind him. Let’s see what the movie is about first.”
At this time, the No. 1 screening hall was almost full of people. There were about three or four hundred nobles and merchants sitting in the front row. These people were very dissatisfied with the noisy voices of the “untouchables” sitting in the back row. Similarly, the people sitting in the back row were also dissatisfied with the pretentious appearance of those sitting in the front row.
However, although everyone was unhappy, their curiosity about the movie made them wait patiently.
Soon, the lights in Hall 1 suddenly dimmed, causing a burst of surprised exclamations.
Then, the picture was projected onto the white curtain on the stage.
“It’s started, it’s started!”
Someone screamed in surprise and someone stopped them immediately.
“Shut up and stop arguing.”
“Isn’t this just a live broadcast? What’s so new about it?”
As an important node city in the first half of the Grand Route, the Water City has very developed business and entertainment. The people of this city are no strangers to live streaming.
“Stop arguing, or I’ll beat you up.”
“Shh~”
The buzzing sound of discussions gradually stopped, and the scene opened with a large ship. The camera then peeked in through the cabin glass and saw a girl sitting on a sofa reading quietly.
Behind the girl, stood a handsome man in Alabasta warrior uniform. Obviously, everyone knew the girl’s identity. She was none other than the Alabasta Princess Vivi who had made a big splash last month when she visited Water City.
Following the sailor’s shout, a man who looked like a butler came into the cabin and reported that they had arrived at the Water City.
The girl immediately perked up from her quiet reading and ran to the window to look out. Her expression was excited and full of curiosity, and then she turned around and trotted to the deck with a happy look.
The camera follows her to the deck.
Then, the huge waterfall and the charming rainbow suddenly appeared in the camera as the girl looked ahead.
It is so beautiful, like a fairyland.
Chapter 16: Holiday Water City (Old Version)
People are sailing and filming! : Chapter 16: Holiday Water City Pictures and Text
In the entire screening room, there was a loud “wow” and a burst of exclamations of surprise and admiration.
“Oh my god, our Water City is so beautiful!”
“It’s really beautiful. We are so lucky to live in a city like this.”
Then someone started applauding, and the applause became more enthusiastic.
However, they were quickly reminded that this was not a stage play and they should not disturb the movie they were watching.
Bingshan looked at Li Ang who was sitting next to him, his eyes full of admiration. Even with just this one scene, he felt that the movie was exciting enough.
The plot continued, attracting the attention of everyone in the screening room.
After the princess arrived in the Water City, she met countless nobles and merchants. Even though she was very tired, she still maintained her princess’s demeanor.
However, due to the long journey and lack of rest, Weiwei was in a bad mood. In order to let her have a good rest, the housekeeper forced her to take an injection of sedative.
After the housekeeper left the bedroom, the naughty girl left the bedroom through the window and ran outside to wander around alone.
Next was the night scene of the Water City, and then the sleepy girl fell asleep on a bench on the street and was picked up by the kind-hearted Le Ang and taken home.
Then, when all the audience thought that this handsome man was going to do something bad to the princess, he actually picked her up along with the quilt, threw her on the sofa, and slept on the bed himself.
This scene was very funny and unexpected, and the whole theater was filled with good-natured laughter.
After daybreak, Li Ang finally discovered that the girl was a princess, and an idea came to his mind.
That is, he would trick the girl into accompanying him for a day, and then ask his friends to take pictures of him and the princess together, so that he could get a big news in the newspaper.
Li Ang made an appointment with his colleague and quietly told him his idea. In order to prevent the princess from noticing something unusual, he could only wink at his colleague Eddie, which was so funny that the audience laughed.
Especially when Eddie recognized Weiwei’s identity and wanted to ask her about it, Li Ang kicked her chair down several times to interrupt him. This funny clip made the audience burst into laughter.
Li Ang heard the laughter in the screening room and chuckled and shook his head.
He found that the people in the One Piece world were very emotional. Even this little joke could make everyone laugh.
Weiwei was also smiling happily. She grabbed Li Ang’s arm and felt particularly satisfied.
She didn’t expect that the movie was so good, and there were those funny clips. Even though she knew what it was made of, she couldn’t help laughing out loud again.
After saying hello to Eddie, Li Ang took Weiwei to visit the Water City. This was simply a city scenery film, which fully reproduced the beauty of the Water City.
Of course, the plot is not dragged out at all. Li Ang borrowed a lot of essence from Jackie Chan’s previous movies and designed many interesting plots.
For example, when facing the agents who came to look for the princess, he and Vivi started chasing them on the blue boat, and there were also funny plots such as playing hide-and-seek with masks.
The laughter in the theater was getting louder and louder, and many people almost got their sides choked with laughter, including the young girl Weiwei, who almost fell into Li Ang’s arms and couldn’t straighten her back at all.
The cold-faced handsome guy Bell, who was sitting next to him, didn’t laugh out loud, but his mouth unconsciously grinned to one side.
Although Ikalem felt that Princess Vivi and Leon were too close, he was unable to remind Her Royal Highness the Princess at this time.
The only person who didn’t laugh in the entire theater was Lu Qi, who had a pigeon on his shoulder. This guy’s heart was definitely made of iron.
Kaku, who was sitting next to him, was very happy. He knew that Leon was going to make a movie, and he was in charge of the renovation of the Hollywood Theater. He was also curious about movies. Now he was very proud that movies were such a wonderful thing. He was very proud to be able to personally supervise the renovation of the Hollywood Theater.
On the contrary, Kalifa, who was sitting next to the iceberg, was smiling, but her eyes were a little cold when she looked at Leon. Especially when Weiwei threw herself into his arms, Kalifa felt inexplicably angry for some reason.
At the end of the movie, Li Ang personally sent Princess Vivi to the hotel where she was staying, and the two said goodbye reluctantly.
When we met again the next day, Weiwei, with short hair, had returned to being the noble and polite princess she once again.
At the end of the story, Leon’s photographer friend Eddie took the opportunity to return the photos of him and Weiwei that Eddie had taken.
When the princess saw the photo, she and Li Ang smiled at each other in tacit understanding, and then turned their backs and walked away.
Two people with different identities are destined not to be together. Their day in the water city is like a summer holiday.
“Wuwua …
Frankie burst into tears, and his wailing amplified his regret. Many viewers also started to cry.
The happier you were laughing before, the more reluctant you are to cry now.
The audience who were emotionally invested in the story felt really sorry and sad that Li Ang and Weiwei could not be together.
After a full minute or two, someone stood up and applauded.
The crowd, awakened by the applause, remembered that they were watching a movie.
Now they know what a movie is, it’s like a stage play, but a hundred times, no! A thousand times, ten thousand times more exciting than a stage play!
The applause became more and more enthusiastic, so that in the end, everyone stood up and clapped hard to express their love.
Jack, Eddie and Gene, who played several important supporting roles in the movie, had red faces and their excitement was beyond words.
It turns out that movies are like this, and they are ten thousand times more exciting than stage plays. Small supporting roles like them can also perfectly show their acting skills on the big screen.
It’s really great!
The way they looked at Li Ang was as if they were looking at a god!
The applause continued, and amid the applause and cheers, Li Ang walked onto the stage with more than a dozen main actors including Vivi, Jack, Eddie, Gene, etc.
They were greeted with even warmer applause.
“Weiwei! Weiwei!”
“Your Highness Weiwei! Your Highness Weiwei!”
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
The cheers made the young girl Weiwei almost intoxicated.
This is what a movie is, and the applause from so many people is so beautiful. She really likes it all.
Holiday Water City, premiered, was an unprecedented success.
Everyone who has seen the movie knows that this new form of entertainment, movies, will surely take the entire world by storm!
Li Ang was also very happy. His guess was correct. He felt that he had a stronger control over the movie fruit. According to this world, he was one step closer to awakening the devil fruit.
So, since he has obtained the Image Bug Fruit and cannot change his fate, let him develop this so-called worst devil fruit to a level that shocks everyone!
Chapter 17: Hollywood Theater (Old Version)
The premiere of Holiday Water City was an unprecedented success, and the final curtain call lasted for almost ten minutes. After the actors bowed three times and then disappeared, the audience left the screening hall reluctantly.
“Brother Franky, let’s watch another show.”
Zanbai’s words were echoed by everyone, and Franky laughed and said, “Oh, that’s for sure. It’s never too much to watch a movie like this as many times as you want.”
The group immediately went to the ticket window and found that there were seven ticket windows. The windows indicated the movie playing time, the number of the theater and the different ticket prices. Anyone who could read could understand it at a glance.
Frankie didn’t have the patience and cut in line. He learned that the No. 1 screening room needed to be cleaned again, and he could buy tickets for other screening rooms at 1,000 Baileys each. Of course, the ticket for the No. 6 screening room on the third floor was 5,000 Baileys each.
The ticket seller patiently gave a detailed introduction. Franky cut in line and bought a ticket for Screening Hall 3. The movie would start showing in 15 minutes.
After getting the tickets, Franky and his party excitedly went to the second floor and found that there were also more than a dozen shops there.
A group of girls dressed as maids stood at the door and greeted them.
“The same dress as Her Royal Highness, come and see it.”
“Her Royal Highness is wearing the girl’s dress in the movie, as well as the sun hat. Ladies are welcome to purchase them.”
“Mr. Li Ang’s suit will make you look like a gentleman. Gentlemen are welcome to buy it.”
“What are these?” Curious Franky walked into the store and found out that it was selling clothes. Just as he was about to leave, the two sisters Kiwimoz screamed, rushed into the store, and started screaming at the clothes.
There were other girls in the store as well, all of them with expressions of surprise and excitement.
A young girl exclaimed, “What! Ten thousand Baileys for a set! Similar clothes out there cost at most 2,000 Baileys. It’s too expensive!”
The maid-dressed salesgirl smiled warmly, “Yes, miss. These clothes are the same as those worn by Her Highness Weiwei. They are not sold outside.”
“Okay, okay, give me one set of each style.”
The two sisters, Kiwimoz, who had square hair, also spent their savings to buy three sets of uniforms and two hats each. A women’s sun hat that costs a few hundred baileys outside actually costs five thousand baileys here.
The two sisters said they were expensive, but they did not hesitate to buy them, because there were too many girls rushing to buy these clothes and hats in the store, and it was too crazy.
For these peripheral products, Li Ang designed a plot in which he bought three sets of clothes for Weiwei. I don’t know why three sets of clothes are needed in one day, but each set of clothes is very pleasing to the eye.
There were also several sets of dresses for receiving nobles. However, these dresses were more beautiful and more expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of Baileys each. And the people who went to these shops to buy dresses were obviously girls from noble families or daughters of wealthy merchants.
The two sisters, Kiwimoz, were short of money and could not afford such expensive clothes. Franky acted like a big boss and bought a set for each of them. He did not even wait for them to try them on and just left because the movie in Theater No. 3 was about to start.
As soon as the group checked their tickets and entered, a girl in maid clothes led a shirtless young handsome man to the second floor.
The girl introduced: “We have 7 screening rooms in the Hollywood Theater. There is only one large screening room on the first floor, where the premieres are held. The other screening rooms are on the second and third floors. Screening Room 6 on the third floor is the most luxurious and has the most expensive ticket price.”
“As for the shops outside the screening room, most of them are our own businesses in Hollywood, and a small number are franchised stores. For example, the first floor is mainly food shops, where you can eat the best food in the Water City.”
“The second floor is a peripheral store, which sells the same clothes worn by the actors in the movie, props used, etc., as well as some figurines, dolls, etc.”
“Please go to the third floor. The shops on the third floor also sell peripheral products, but most of them are high-end items, such as action figures and high-end dresses. For example, the three dresses that Princess Weiwei wore in the movie are also sold in two shops on the second floor, but most of them are on the third floor.”
“The movie cassette you want to buy is also on the third floor, sold by a special store.”
Ace followed the girl to the store that sold cassettes. Or rather, it was not a store, but a reception room. There were two bodyguards at the door, and it was obvious that they were quite powerful.
After entering the reception room, the maid asked him to wait on the sofa, then brought him a cup of coffee and sat beside him to chat with him in a low voice.
In the reception room, besides Ace himself, there were several people who were obviously nobles or businessmen, many of whom were followed by bodyguards.
When these people saw Ace coming in, they didn’t make any trouble. It was obvious that this shirtless boy was not someone to be trifled with, and he might even be a pirate. But in the Water City, everyone was used to seeing pirates, and as long as they didn’t cause any trouble, pirates were still good guests.
“Sir, a cassette worth 1 million is not expensive at all. Think about it, 1,000 tickets, as long as 1,000 people see it, you can make your money back. You can take it home and rent out a theater, and show it six or seven times a day, and you can make your money back in one day. The rest of the day will be pure profit!”
“You know the power of movies. They’re full every day, and you can earn at least three months’ income. It’s a huge profit, sir!”
“I believe you are a customer with a keen sense of business. This is a super, super good deal. You don’t need to purchase goods or pay for shipping. You just need to bring these small cassettes and buy a few video players. You can make money right away when you go back. Is there any better deal than this?”
A fat man who was negotiating the deal was finally persuaded, “Okay, I’ll buy one, no, two cassettes.”
After the man bought two movie cassettes and left, a noble signaled and his men immediately walked to the manager’s desk.
“Don’t be so long-winded. My master needs ten cassettes. Here are 10 million Baileys. Hurry up.”
“Okay, okay, right away. Your master really has good taste. This movie can not only make a lot of money, but also be kept at home and screened at any time. It is definitely the first choice for entertaining guests or making the whole family happy.”
When it was Ace’s turn, he also didn’t waste any time and bought a box of movie cassettes.
He was not going to do business with it, but was going to take it with him and show it to his brothers on the boat. Or at a banquet, pulling a piece of white cloth would be great entertainment.
Although a box of cassettes costs one million Baileys, which is almost as much as the price of a good sharp sword, it is great to have something like this to relieve boredom when sailing on the sea!
It’s a pity that the Hollywood Theater doesn’t sell video playback bugs.
Forget it, I’ll go downstairs to eat something and then go out to buy a video player.
Ace went downstairs and found that the number of people queuing up to buy tickets at the Hollywood Theater ticket window had not decreased, but increased.
As soon as this new thing, film, appeared, it was like an unstoppable whirlwind that spread directly to the whole world.
Chapter 18: Skills, Actor Profile! (Old Version)
“Brother Li Ang, the movie is really wonderful, a hundred times more wonderful than I imagined.”
“Brother Leon, I’m going back to Alabasta tomorrow. Will you come to Alabasta to see me?”
“Brother Li Ang, I really don’t want to leave Water City. This is simply the most beautiful place in the world.”
After leaving the Hollywood Theater, Vivi was so excited that she couldn’t calm down for a long time. She kept chirping non-stop, just like a happy little bird.
“Brother Li Ang, thank you. Thank you for letting me shoot this movie, Water City of Holiday. I may not have the opportunity to make movies again in the future, but with this movie, I will never regret it in my life.”
Li Ang smiled and nodded, “As long as you like it, I’ll give you ten boxes of movie cassettes. When you take them back, you can build a theater and play movies for the public. The ticket sales will be your pocket money.”
Weiwei shook her head. “No, I don’t charge admission. It’s free for everyone to see.”
“That’s not good.” Li Ang advised patiently: “Your intention is good, but if it’s free, everyone will definitely rush to watch it. In that case, the strong or rogue people will definitely occupy the seats and watch many times. People who really want to watch the movie will never be able to beat these people.”
“Is that so?” Weiwei thought about it and nodded: “It seems to make sense.”
She smiled and said, “Brother Leon, I found that you are not only good at making movies, but also good at doing business. You are also very talented, and what you say is always thought-provoking. You must come to Alabasta, my father will definitely like you.”
“I’ll go there sometime when I get a chance. Here we are.”
Weiwei looked up and saw that it was a shop selling image worms, and discovered that there were many people at the door.
“There are so many people here. It must be because the movie is popular. Everyone is here to buy video player bugs.”
Weiwei turned around and asked, “Brother Li Ang, why don’t you sell video bugs in your Hollywood Theater?”
Li Ang said, “When doing business, you should never eat alone. If you do so, you will have fewer friends and more enemies, and it will be difficult to do business.”
“So that’s how it is. It does make sense. I really want you to go to Alabasta. If you are willing to help father, our Alabasta Kingdom will definitely become rich.”
“Haha, that won’t work. I only know how to make movies. In fact, I don’t do the image worm business, mainly because this business is not exclusive and the profit is too low.”
Weiwei was stunned, remembering that the prices of the things sold in those stores in Hollywood were several times or even ten times more expensive than takeout, and she burst out laughing.
“Hehe, so you are a profiteer.”
Li Ang waited until she had laughed enough, then took out a Den Den Mushi and said, “I won’t send you off tomorrow, so you won’t be sad. Take this Den Den Mushi, and remember, try not to do anything risky. If you really want to go, remember to bring this Den Den Mushi with you, and if you run into danger, remember to call me.”
Weiwei took the Den Den Mushi and asked in confusion, “A risky thing? Brother Li Ang, what are you talking about?”
“It’s nothing. You just hold the Den Den Mushi just in case. Although it’s unlikely that anything dangerous will happen, after all, you are not an ordinary person, and they won’t alert them. By the way, if you really want to take risks, remember to dye your hair.”
Li Ang believed that even if Sand Crocodile knew that Weiwei was working undercover under him, he would not act rashly. How could Sand Crocodile, who was so smart and good at planning, do something impulsive?
Besides, Robin would definitely help cover it up, and it was not even certain whether Vivi’s news would reach Crocodile’s ears.
“It’s getting more and more confusing. Will I get into any danger? Why dye my hair?”
Li Ang patted her head and said, “Don’t think about it. Just remember what I said.”
“Okay!” Weiwei couldn’t figure out the meaning of Li Ang’s confusing words, so she simply stopped thinking about it and solemnly put away the Den Den Mushi.
As soon as the two walked into the store, Li Ang noticed a special figure.
He was of medium height, shirtless, with a strange sun hat hanging around his neck. He also had a dagger on his waist. Except for the lack of the Whitebeard Pirates tattoo on his back, he looked exactly like the man I remembered.
Li Ang’s thoughts turned, and he silently recited [Actor Information! ]Name: Portgas D. Ace
Age: 18
Dao force value: 1027
Devil Fruit: Flame-Flame Fruit
Domineering: None
Skill:??
It’s Ace! As expected of Ace! He’s only 18 years old, but his dharmakaya has exceeded 1,000. Also, he has obtained the Flame-Flame Fruit now, so he must have already made a name for himself in the sea.
[Actor Information] This is a newly developed ability of Leon that is similar to a detection skill and can detect the general intelligence of the target.
Perhaps because they are in the world of One Piece, the mainstream focus is on combat power, so, in addition to the target’s name and age, the detection skill only displays four attributes: dao power, devil fruit, domineering and skills, all of which are combat-related attributes.
Because you can only detect the general information of the target, if you don’t fight with the opponent, you can’t even detect the opponent’s skills.
On the contrary, the three attributes of Haki, Devil Fruit, and Daoli are part of the “body” and can be fully displayed.
Needless to say, Haki is a standard feature of the strong in the pirate world. A strong man without Haki is just like a crocodile in freshwater, which can dominate in rivers but is nothing in the sea.
Devil Fruit is a special feature of the One Piece world. If you eat it, you will gain a superpower. Just like the Vision Fruit that Leon ate. It should be noted that once you eat a Devil Fruit, you will become a landlubber and will quickly lose your power if you fall into the sea.
In addition, seastone is also the nemesis of devil fruits. Although devil fruits have various limitations, their power is unquestionable.
Finally, there is the Daoli value. The so-called Daoli value is a standard that purely tests the level of physical strength, excluding the influence of devil fruits, domineering, skills, weapons and other external factors. The comprehensive strength of the three factors of strength, speed and physique is the Daoli value.
The average Dao Power value of an ordinary naval soldier is 10 points, but if it reaches 500 points, it transcends the realm of ordinary mortals and can be called a “superman”.
Of course, this so-called superman is not the big super in American comics, but the title of a super soldier who is beyond the existence of ordinary people. Once you reach this level, ordinary people cannot defeat you by relying on numbers.
Leon also knew that in the CP9 department where Kalifa was, qualified agents all had a Dao Power value of over 500.
Unfortunately, he had the rehearsal skills and practiced hard for two months, which was equivalent to two years of hard practice for others. Even so, his Dao Power value was just over 200.
Name: West Leon
Age: 22
Dao force value: 288
Devil Fruit: Movie Fruit (1 shooting, 2 prop box, 3 rehearsal, 4 actor information.)
Skills: Combat Expertise, Kendo Elementary
Looking at his own attributes and comparing them with Ace’s, Leon sighed. It turned out that if he wanted to become a strong man, he would have a long way to go!
Chapter 19: Taking Stock of Profits (Old Version)
Just at this moment, Ace turned around after buying the things and his eyes met Leon.
Li Ang nodded and smiled at him, then walked over with Weiwei. Since they met, they might as well say hello and get to know each other.
“Ah! It’s Princess Weiwei! Oh my god, it’s Her Royal Highness Princess Weiwei!”
“Ahhh~, Li Ang, it’s Li Ang, so handsome, really so handsome!”
Just as they were about to move, Li Ang and Wei Wei were recognized and immediately surrounded by a crowd of people.
“Your Highness Weiwei, please sign for me.”
“Leon, look at me, look at me.”
“Your Highness! Your Highness, Your Highness Weiwei, please take a photo with me.”
Leon protected Weiwei and dealt with the excited crowd. When he turned around to look for him, Ace was gone.
Although it was a bit of a pity, he didn’t feel particularly sorry.
Ace is a good person and a friend worth making friends with. However, there are too many causes and conditions on the other party, and he doesn’t think he has to force himself to get close to him. After all, this is the world of One Piece, and being alive is the greatest luck.
Li Ang has no idea of ​​becoming a big shot in the world of One Piece. His idea is very simple. As long as he stays alive, he only does three things.
First, pursue power. Now that we have come to this world where power is enough to move mountains and overturn seas, wouldn’t it be a pity not to pursue the pinnacle of power?
The second, of course, is to promote the film industry. In his previous life, he was an entertainment superstar. Coming to this world, he wants to be an entertainment godfather again.
Third, enjoy life. Beautiful women, delicious food, and beautiful scenery are the three greatest pleasures in the world, so of course you have to enjoy them to your heart’s content.
As for the idea of ​​changing the world and saving the suffering people? Please, he is a time traveler. What does the people of this world have to do with him? As a time traveler, his sense of belonging to this world is very low.
Maybe his thoughts will change in the future, but who knows what will happen in the future? Now his idea is to avoid getting involved in major events as much as possible and just do what he wants to do.
After leaving the video store, Li Ang bought a mask for himself and Wei Wei. Wearing the masks while shopping, there were no more crazy fans chasing after them. Finally, he spent a day playing in the Water City with Wei Wei.
When Leon returned to the Hollywood Theater alone, the business was closed, the employees had finished cleaning, and were gathered together happily enjoying a midnight snack.
“boss!”
“The boss is coming, the boss is coming!”
“Hello, Boss!”
All the employees stood up and greeted each other. Although they were busy all day and very tired, everyone was very happy because the salary Li Ang paid them was much higher than the average salary in Water City.
Li Ang smiled and motioned for everyone to sit down. He said, “Hollywood’s success is the result of everyone’s hard work. I underestimated the audience’s enthusiasm. From 8 o’clock in the morning until now, you have been busy for more than 12 hours almost non-stop. In comparison, I am very grateful to you all, so I have decided! Everyone’s salary will be increased by another 30%.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd cheered.
“Ah! Really, that’s great!”
“Long live the boss!”
“Thank you, boss!”
“Thank you, boss. We will continue to work hard!”
The salary is already higher than outside, and with an additional 30% salary increase, the average salary is basically close to twice the outside salary. No wonder everyone jumped up and cheered excitedly.
Li Ang was not being kind-hearted, but because the intensity of work at the Hollywood Theater was too high. It was not 996, but 896. Work started at 8 am and ended at 9 pm. You could only rest one day after working for 6 days.
If the various capital bosses in the previous life saw so many energetic office workers, they would be so happy. Facing so many useful employees, Li Ang must pay them more money, support them well, and maintain their morale.
When the cheers subsided, Li Ang waved his hand and said, “Everyone continue eating. Go back and rest early after you finish. After dinner, the heads of each department will have a meeting in my office.”
Back in the office, Li Ang made himself a cup of tea. He didn’t have to wait long as the heads of various departments soon arrived.
“Okay, let’s report today’s results first.”
Everyone looked at each other, and the director in charge of screenings spoke first, “Boss, our Hollywood Theater has seven screening halls with a total of 3,200 seats. Except for the premiere in Hall 1 which is free, the other screenings are almost full.”
“After a full day of showings, we sold a total of 13,565 movie tickets, with a total revenue of 14.81 million Baileys. We have now reconciled the accounts with the Finance Department and completed the inventory.”
Hearing such astonishing income, everyone in the conference room couldn’t help but applaud excitedly.
Li Ang was also very happy. He waved his hand, signaling everyone to take a break, and asked, “Did the projection department encounter any difficulties?”
“Yes, boss. The main problem is the video player bugs. Working around the clock, even with rotations, I’ve noticed they’re getting tired. Tomorrow, our movie starts at 8 o’clock, which means we’ll have to play one more round. Ticket sales will definitely increase, and the workload will also increase. So, I hope to buy 10 more video player bugs for rotation.”
“Okay, the purchasing department will take note of this and go buy the video bugs tomorrow. You don’t need to report this to me in the future. Just buy what you need. The broadcasters should take good care of the video bugs.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Okay, continue.”
Another supervisor stood up to report his work. “Boss, I’m in charge of the movie cassette sales. Today, we sold a total of 112 movie cassettes of Holiday Water City, with a revenue of 112 million Baileys.”
His words caused an uproar in the audience. A daily revenue of more than 100 million Baileys was simply jaw-dropping.
He continued, “As the film’s influence grows, I believe that the sales of the cassettes will increase day by day. The problem is that we only have 2,000 cassettes in stock. I hope the boss can increase the inventory of cassettes.”
Li Ang nodded. He also used his ability to copy the movie cassette. The technological development in this world is very abnormal. Biology and black technology are everywhere, but there is a serious bias in the subject. Many basic technologies are backward or even non-existent.
For example, in the past, the copy of the video was played with a video bug and then recorded with a video bug. The effect was similar to that of a pirated CD, and it was a pirated version.
This is why Li Ang dared to sell a cassette for 1 million taels, because pirated cassettes can never be as good as his genuine cassettes.
The movie tapes copied by his fruit ability are exactly the same as the original tapes. Unfortunately, he can only copy 500 copies a day. If he wants more, his fruit ability must be improved again.
“Okay, I’ll take care of the movie cassette issue. Next one.”
Chapter 20: Money Printing Machine (Old Version)
“Boss, I’m Mars, the director in charge of movie peripheral sales. We have opened 31 movie peripheral stores on the second and third floors, and there are 43 more stores waiting to be put into operation after the renovation is completed.”
“Today, we sold 185 sets of high-end dresses, 1,285 sets of ordinary clothing, 651 hats, and 2,133 action figures, with a total turnover of 45.32 million Baileys. We have already communicated with the Finance Department.”
There was a buzz of discussion in the conference room. No one had expected that just ordinary clothes, the same style as in the movie, could earn nearly 50 million Baileys in a single day, which was several times higher than the income from movie tickets. This was simply a robbery.
Li Ang smiled, appeared calm, and nodded slightly, signaling the other party to continue.
Mars continued, “The problem our department is facing is also insufficient inventory. According to today’s sales data, the entire inventory can only support one week at most. And as the movie continues to be popular, I believe this sales speed will increase. In other words, the existing inventory may only be enough for four or five days of use.”
Li Ang thought for a moment and said, “Increase the purchase volume. If they can’t supply, then find more suppliers. In short, try to replenish the inventory. In addition, set a number for daily peripheral sales. For example, 651 hats were sold today, right? Then post a notice to tell everyone that we only sell 500 hats a day, first come first served.”
Mars said hesitantly: “Boss, those customers are very crazy. If they can’t buy anything, they will definitely make a fuss.”
“Try to appease them and ask them to come back to buy the next day.”
Li Ang continued, “In a word, increase revenue and cut costs. I want you to ensure that our store has something to sell every day, and it is very popular, which is just right for creating a hunger marketing campaign.”
Li Ang had no other choice. The industrial system of this world was very backward. Except for food resources, the production capacity of other industrial products was very low. It was impossible for him to complete the industrial layout and upgrade by himself. He simply turned the peripheral products into light luxury goods that were in short supply.
“Hunger marketing? I understand, boss. I know what to do.”
“Well, the actual operation will be determined based on the inventory situation. If there is a lot of inventory, increase the quantity appropriately.”
“Understood, Boss.”
Li Ang nodded, motioning him to sit down and continue reporting his work next.
“Boss, I’m Yumatai, the manager of the restaurants on the first floor. We have a total of 48 stores on the first floor, 24 of which are already open for business. Four of them sell snacks and drinks, two sell peripherals, and the rest are formal restaurants. I believe that with the rise of our Hollywood Theater, the remaining 22 stores will soon be occupied by merchants.”
Li Ang nodded, motioning for him to continue.
Yumatai said: “Today, our turnover is 37.35 million, minus the 7.35 million reserved for purchasing food, the remaining 30 million is handed over.”
Youmatai felt a little embarrassed. His restaurant employed twice as many employees as the surrounding stores, but its turnover was much less than others. He felt a little ashamed.
Li Ang saw his expression and comforted him: “Youmatai, don’t blame yourself. I don’t mean to blame you. I set the price standard for catering. There is no way to compare with the high profits of other departments.”
“As for the catering industry, making money is secondary. The most important thing is that the Hollywood Theater must become a gathering place for delicious food in the future. What you need to do is to build a good reputation for this industry. For existing shops, you can make a rating form and let customers rate the shops.”
“We use a last-in-first-out system. For four consecutive weeks, or one month, the restaurant with the lowest score will be closed and replaced by someone else. If it is a cooperative merchant, we will drive them away. If it is a store we directly operate, we will punish the store owner and employees and then split them up to work in other stores.”
Li Ang said to the crowd, “Other departments should also come up with a rating system to assess all staff. The staff who receive the most complaints each month will be fired directly.”
Everyone was shocked, and they felt the boss’s majesty. It turned out that the boss not only made money and gave benefits, but also punished those who cheated without mercy.
“Of course!” Li Ang changed his tone and said, “For those guests who are malicious and disruptive, their rating complaints will be ignored. We respect our guests, but we cannot let them bully us. We will not be polite to bad guests. Barry!”
“Yes, boss!” A 2.5-meter-tall strong man with explosive muscles immediately stood up.
His name is Barry, 30 years old, a retired champion boxer, who also worked as a pirate hunter for several years. Now he is married with a wife and children and settled in the Water City. Because of the generous salary and stable job, he applied to become the security captain of the Hollywood Theater.
Now Leon can only tie with the opponent. You know, Leon is confident that he can crush the violent iron fist head-on. If Barry’s strength is placed among the pirates, the bounty should be 20 million Baileys.
Li Ang motioned for the other party to sit down and asked, “No one is causing trouble today, right?”
Barry shook his head. “Today is the premiere. Everyone’s mind is on the movie. No one is deliberately coming here to cause trouble. Don’t worry, boss. Even if someone causes trouble, with the help of Philip and Joseph, we can handle any pirate with a bounty of less than 30 million.”
The Philip and Joseph mentioned by Barry are the two deputy captains of the security team. Philip is good at using a rapier and Joseph is a sharpshooter. Their strength should be similar to that of the pirates with a bounty of 10 million berries.
These three people are already the best players that Li Ang can recruit, and this is only possible with Bingberg’s recommendation.
Li Ang nodded. “That’s good. Our Hollywood will become more and more popular, and more people will definitely target us. So, we still have to continue recruiting people. In addition, you can have the security team rotate, half a day on duty, and half a day for training. Don’t worry about food, there are special chefs to provide enough meat for everyone.”
“Eat as much as you want, but also train more strictly. This industry of Hollywood, which is shared by all of us, depends on you to protect it.”
“Don’t worry, boss. We will definitely protect the theater.”
“Okay, Finance Department.”
“Yes, boss!” A middle-aged woman wearing glasses stood up and reported: “Boss, today’s revenue and accounts of all departments have been checked, and the total revenue is 201.13 million Baileys. The money has been brought.”
Barry stood up, carried two suitcases over and placed them next to Leon, and another 1.13 million Baileys were put in a small bag.
Li Ang did not open the suitcase to check. There was no need. He was very calm. In his previous life, he had built his fortune from scratch and became the richest man in China. He had long been immune to money.
However, he was still very happy that the daily revenue exceeded 200 million Baileys.
This is just the beginning. He believes that the entertainment empire he created in the One Piece world will become his own money printing machine.
Chapter 21: So emotional! (Old version)
What does it mean to have a daily revenue of 200 million?
It’s very simple. Leon bought Dock No. 4, which came with so many buildings, for only 1 billion Baileys. Of course, this was because Bingshan gave him a friendly price.
Let’s take another example. The Carrera Shipbuilding Company founded by Bingshan merged the other six shipyards in Water City and dominated the shipbuilding industry. Even so, the revenue of Carrera Shipbuilding Company from repairing and selling ships is less than 4 billion Baileys per month, and the net profit can be at most 2 billion Baileys. This is a month’s net profit!
What about himself? His daily revenue was 200 million Baileys, and most of it was pure profit. When all the shops in the Hollywood Theater opened for business and the film market became more popular, he believed that the daily revenue would increase again and the net profit would definitely reach 200 million Baileys per day.
In other words, in the future, the revenue from his industry, just from the Hollywood Theater, can bring him 6 billion per month, which is three times that of Carrera Shipbuilding Company!
This is the new thing, the huge profits brought by exclusive monopoly.
In the future, if I continue to expand my business around the film industry, I will definitely become a rich man like the king of amusement parks, the Golden Emperor Tesoro.
Such a large amount of money cannot be kept without strength. Thinking of this, Li Ang suddenly felt a sense of urgency.
He pushed the 1.13 million Baileys, and the bag of money slid directly from the conference table to the financial director.
He said: “For this money, simply set up an account, and deposit the change from the money handed over every night into it.”
He looked around at everyone and said, “This account serves as an insurance fund for all of us in Hollywood. If anyone in a family is sick, in trouble, or injured, we can use the money from this account to help them.”
His words immediately made everyone’s eyes red.
“Boss, wow, I’m so touched. You’re so kind to us!”
“Boss, from today on, my life belongs to you.”
“Boss, we are willing to follow you to the death.”
Leon was stunned. Are people in the One Piece world so emotional?
If his method of winning people’s hearts was used on Earth in his previous life, he would be applauded in person, but he might even be scolded in a sarcastic way behind his back. But here, he was touched by so many things.
Li Ang promised solemnly: “Since you have followed me, I have the obligation to take care of all of you, including your families. Barry, you security team members are all guarding our property with your lives. Tell the people below that if anyone dies in battle, I will support his family. If anyone is disabled, I will support him for life.”
Barry, a muscular man of 2.5 meters, cried like a tearful man, “Yes! Boss!”
Li Ang said: “The rule is that the disabled will be assigned to suitable positions. For those who died in battle, their salary will be paid according to the amount they received before they died, for 20 years. As long as Hollywood exists, this rule will always exist. Tell everyone below, this is my promise!”
“Yeah!” Barry was choked and unable to speak. He tried desperately to hold back his tears, but his tears kept flowing like a faucet that couldn’t be stopped.
The same thing happened to the others. They were all crying. At this moment, they wished they could cut out their hearts and give them to their boss.
After everyone calmed down, Li Ang said, “Okay, does anyone have anything else to say?”
A middle-aged man raised his hand and asked, “Boss, what are we doing over there?”
His name is Pal Sierra, he is in his thirties. Leon found that he has rich work experience and has the ability to coordinate, so he let him be responsible for all matters of the crew, that is, to be the producer. In the future, he may also work as a part-time agent.
“Of course the crew can’t be idle.”
Li Ang said: “We can’t just show one movie at the Hollywood Theater all the time. No matter how good the movie is, you will get tired of it if you watch it too many times. So, I decided to shoot the second movie within two months.”
It actually took Li Ang less than a month to shoot Holiday Water City. Including the early preparations and waiting, he originally thought it would take three or four months or even longer to complete the first film, but he found that it would not take that long at all. Including the early preparations, it only took two months in total.
He is an experienced director, and he has the original film as a reference. Most importantly, the movie fruit is so convenient, so filming a movie has become an extremely simple task. This is not a perfunctory attitude towards the quality of the movie, but a combination of strength and plug-ins that makes it easy and effortless.
If it weren’t for the almost harsh requirements on the actors’ performances, the shooting progress could have been several times faster.
Li Ang continued, “The second movie I’m going to shoot is called The Sound of Music. As the name suggests, it’s a musical movie. Sierra, you need to find an actress who can sing. Also, help me find seven children who can sing. They can be anywhere from six or seven to fourteen or fifteen, and try to stagger their ages.”
“The plot of the movie is like this: a naval captain who lost his wife has seven naughty children. In order to take care of these children, the colonel finds a nun to take care of them. The nun is a lively and cheerful girl. Under her care, the children become more sensible and have a better relationship with their father. And the nun also wins the colonel’s love.”
“The plot is roughly like this. The main actors are seven children who can sing well. The role of the nun must also be able to sing. She doesn’t have to be very beautiful, but she must be very approachable.”
“Within one month, I don’t care what method you use. Whether you hold a singing contest, directly release information, or ask someone to help find out, you must find all the actors within one month. As for the songs, I will write them, and the people I find will practice the songs first. The filming will start in one month.”
“Yes, Boss, I know what to do,” Sierra assured immediately.
The boss has actually mentioned three ways of finding people just now. He decided to use all three methods to find the most suitable candidate as quickly as possible.
“Okay, if there’s nothing else, let’s go.”
After everyone left, Leon summoned the item box and put 200 million Baileys into it.
When he went downstairs, he suddenly saw that all the employees had not left.
“boss!!!”
More than three hundred employees bowed together.
It turned out that these employees did not leave during the meeting just now. When the heads of each department came back and told them about the boss’ decision to increase wages and the insurance fund, everyone was deeply moved.
Now seeing their boss appear, everyone bowed to Li Ang to express their gratitude with the most sincere attitude.
“Thank you, boss. I have decided to work in Hollywood for the rest of my life. As long as you need me, I will always work hard and never leave Hollywood.”
“Boss, you are so kind to us. We don’t know how to express our gratitude to you.”
“Work hard! Boss, we can only repay you by working harder.”
“Boss, our security department will defend you and Hollywood’s safety with our lives!”
“Boss, I will cook more and better food to satisfy all the customers.”
The employees clamored for assurances.
Facing so many emotional employees and so many crying subordinates, Li Ang pretended to be flattered, patted one on the shoulder, punched another on the chest, and gave them the greatest encouragement and response.
“Thank you, thank you everyone. Let’s work together to spread the fame of Hollywood to the world.”
“Yes! Boss!!!”
Chapter 22: Nami and Kalina (Old Version)
People are sailing and making movies! : Chapter 22: Nami and Kalina pictures and text
In the Water City, in the lower city, in a small attic by the water, a girl with violet hair ran excitedly to the second floor and started shouting impatiently as soon as she pushed the door open.
“Nami! Nami! I did it! I did it! Hehehe, I passed the interview!”
At the desk by the window facing the water, a girl with long orange hair called Nami was quietly writing and drawing, and she seemed not to hear the other person’s voice.
The violet-haired girl grumbled in dissatisfaction, rushed over and lay on the other’s back, protesting: “Nami! Are you listening to me? Are you drawing your nautical chart again? How boring.”
Nami kept her hands busy and just shrugged, asking her friend not to disturb her.
Kalina didn’t care. She got up and walked to the bed, then lay down on it and moaned comfortably.
Then, she giggled, turned sideways, looked at Nami and said to herself: “You have also seen Holiday Water City. I can solemnly announce to you that the next movie star is me, Karina!”
Nami finally finished her sea chart homework, stretched, tilted her head to look at the other party, and said: “Karina, don’t forget the purpose of our coming here.”
“Of course I didn’t forget, but I changed my mind.” Karina giggled and said, “I think being a movie star seems to be a good choice.”
Without waiting for Nami to speak, Karina said, “I’ve asked before. As long as you sign a contract to become a Hollywood actor, you can get a salary of 100,000 Baileys every month even if you don’t have any movies to shoot.”
“It’s only 100,000 Baileys. Your taste has deteriorated, vixen.”
“Tsk, that’s not the case.” Kalina explained, “Didn’t you hear me clearly? Even if there’s no filming, you can still get paid. Although 100,000 Baileys is not much, it’s about the same as the salary of ordinary employees at the Grand Theater. This salary is twice the average salary in Water City.”
Nami put away her sea chart manuscript, but said disapprovingly, “Getting paid? If you were willing to get paid, you wouldn’t be a treasure thief.”
“Don’t worry, I haven’t finished yet.” Kalina sat up from the bed and counted on her fingers, saying, “What I just said is that even if you are not filming, you can still receive 100,000 Baileys a month. This is the minimum salary.”
“In addition, the company divides artists into five levels. DC, B, A and S. Level D is equivalent to newcomers, level C is an old artist, level B is well-known, level A is a real movie star, and as for level S, of course, it is a real big star. The kind whose name is known all over the world.”
“Each level has different treatment standards. Oh, by the way, 100,000 Baileys is the base salary for all artists. That is to say, even if you are not famous, you don’t have to worry about your living.”
“Do you know Jack, who played the barber in the movie? He was a bit famous in his original drama troupe, but he only played supporting roles. He had to perform hard every day of the month, but his salary was less than 100,000 Baileys. Now, in addition to the 100,000 base salary, he made 500,000 Baileys for just a short appearance in the Holiday Water City.”
“By the way, he only has a C-level contract. That journalist friend of Leon, the funny one, his name is Eddie, also has a C-level contract, but because he has a lot of scenes, he got 800,000 Baileys.”
“That’s not much.” Nami pouted.
Karina said, “That’s because they’re not famous enough. It’s just their first movie. If they were famous artists with B-level contracts, they would get at least a million for the same appearance. With A-level contracts, they’re basically the lead actors. It only takes two months to shoot a movie, and they can easily get a few million for it.”
“Also, once you become a star, the company will introduce you to endorsements or invite you to perform, all of which are lucrative. I think once you become a real big star, you can easily make tens of millions of Pele a year, or even hundreds of millions.”
Nami stretched out her index finger and shook it, “You said so much, but it turns out you were just guessing.”
Kalina put her hands on her hips and said, “I’m not just saying this, it’s written in the contract.”
“Where’s the contract? Let me see it.”
“The contract hasn’t been signed yet.”
“You just said you passed the interview!” Nami frowned.
“Isn’t this a matter of course?” Kalina spread her hands and continued, “Director Sierra just called me and said that the boss has read my information and has agreed to sign me. I can go over to sign the contract this afternoon. Haha, I’m Kalina, you know me, I’m so beautiful and I sing well, how could I be rejected!”
Nami rolled her eyes at the other person, “Tsk, vixen, you are really narcissistic. Well, I have something to tell you too.”
Karina laid back down on the bed, silent, waiting for Nami to speak.
Nami said: “While you were having the interview, I also went to the Hollywood Theater to apply for a job. Moreover, I have been successfully hired and will start work tomorrow.”
Kalina jumped out of bed and touched Nami’s head to see if she had a fever, but her hand was opened by Nami.
“I’m not lying to you, really.”
“That’s strange, Nami, this isn’t your style. Do you want to?”
“That’s right!” Nami snapped her fingers and said, “If you want to get more intelligence, you have to get inside the enemy. You’ve also seen how much money the theater makes. Let’s not talk about other things, just look at those clothes, they’re so expensive, but they’re selling like crazy.”
Kalina gave him a disdainful look and said, “Why are you rushing to buy it?”
Nami snorted and retorted, “You’re talking as if you didn’t buy it. I see you even bought such an expensive dress and you don’t even feel sorry for the money.”
“Haha, you have the nerve to say that to me, but you also bought some clothes. You are so stingy, but you spent nearly a million on clothes in one day at the Grand Theater. That’s crazy.”
Nami didn’t fight back, but nodded, “Yes, it’s just ordinary clothes, but because they are the same style as Princess Vivi, they are sold at such a high price. Tell me, how much money do so many stores make?”
“That makes sense. The Hollywood Theater does make a lot of money.” Karina’s eyes also began to sparkle.
“That’s not all. I asked around and heard that the Water City cassettes sold for one million Baileys each. Judging from the sales, they sold quite a lot throughout the day. I estimate that the entire theater earns at least over 100 million a day.”
Nami said, her eyes revealing her desire for Bailey. “Where would you put all that money? If I steal it once, it would be enough for my whole life.”
Kalina: “It’s not that easy, Nami, have you made up your mind?”
“Well, this time, it must succeed!”
“Okay then, I’ll move out tomorrow,” Karina said.
“What? Where are you moving to? Why are you moving away?” Nami was puzzled.
Kalina spread her hands and said, “I don’t know if you will succeed, but the probability is that you won’t. If you are caught, people will definitely suspect me if they know that we live together.”
Nami: “Tsk, you are really cautious.”
Karina: “Hehe, of course. For a girl to survive safely in the ocean, the most important thing is to be cautious and wise.”
Chapter 23: Naval Headquarters (Old Version)
Marinford, the headquarters of the navy. Located in the middle of the Grand Line, adjacent to the Sabaody Archipelago, the Red Earth Continent and the “holy land” Marijea, it is a holy place in the hearts of countless navy.
This is an island that belongs exclusively to the navy. In addition to more than 100,000 elite members of the navy headquarters, there are only hundreds of thousands of navy families living on the island. It can be said that Marinford is a paradise on this turbulent sea.
Intimidated by the strength of the navy, no one dared to act wildly in Marinford. Even the extremely arrogant pirate Golden Lion was defeated and captured during the attack on Marinford.
The people living in Marinford are undoubtedly lucky and feel very happy. Here, there is no oppression from the nobles, no disruption from evil forces, and no exploitation from profiteers. Because the people who run businesses and open shops on the island are also the families of the navy.
“Welcome back, General Borsalino!”
Kizaru got off the ship, and the navy soldiers who saw him stood at attention and saluted, their eyes full of fanatical admiration.
The three admirals are the symbols of the navy’s highest combat power, and are also the idols and goals to be followed by countless naval soldiers.
“Oh~, hello.” Kizaru responded to the navy soldiers’ salute with his signature tone, waved his hand and continued walking forward.
As soon as he left, he heard the soldiers behind him scattering like birds and beasts, and several of them were shouting anxiously.
“Hurry up, hurry up. If you go too late, you won’t be able to buy a ticket.”
“Yes, it’s a rare two-day holiday. I queued up all day yesterday but still couldn’t buy a ticket. I can’t miss it today anyway.”
“Yes, you must not miss this. Everyone who has seen it says it is extremely exciting.”
As a general, Kizaru naturally had sharp ears and sharp eyes. Even if the soldiers were talking from a long distance away from him, he could still hear them clearly.
“Strange, really strange!” Kizaru became interested and waved to call a soldier over.
“General Borsalino! What can I do for you?” The captain trotted over and saluted.
“Oh, may I ask, has anything happened in Marinford during this period?”
The captain thought for a moment and replied, “Everything is normal, Mr. General.”
Kizaru said again: “I just heard someone talking about queuing to buy tickets~”
“Ah! That’s it.” The captain suddenly realized and immediately said respectfully: “Mr. General, half a month ago, the theater suddenly started showing something called a movie. It was very exciting and tickets were hard to get. In the past half month, the topic of the soldiers’ idle chats was all about this movie.”
“Movie?”
“Yes, it’s something similar to live video. The name of the movie is Holiday Water City, which is about Princess Vivi of the Kingdom of Alabasta visiting the Water City. In short, it’s very exciting and you’ll never forget it after watching it once.”
“Oh, I see. Thank you, Captain.”
“For justice!” The captain was immediately excited after receiving the thanks. He stood at attention and saluted again before turning around and leaving.
Borsalino turned around and said to his adjutant, Fiennes, “I’ll go watch the movie first.”
“Ah?” Fiennes was stunned for a moment, and then he said quickly: “Why don’t you go to Marshal Zhan Guo first? The Marshal and Chief of Staff He must be waiting for you.”
“Oh~, there’s nothing else to do anyway, you can go and report on my work for me.”
After saying this, without waiting for his adjutant to persuade him further, Kizaru turned around and walked towards the town of Marinford.
As an admiral, Kizaru of course doesn’t have to queue. There are special seats for senior generals in the theater.
When Kizaru came in, he found that Vice Admiral Stolobe, Huoshaoshan, Doberman and many others were already sitting there. Especially Garp, who was happily eating a bag of donuts. There were also many other scattered major generals from the headquarters, all sitting there chatting.
“Oh, it’s so lively~”
Stolobe saw him, smiled and nodded in response: “Kizaru, you’re back. This movie is very exciting, you haven’t seen it yet.”
Huoshaoshan raised three fingers and said, “I have seen it three times. This is the fourth time.”
“Hahahaha~” Cap beside him laughed, “I’ve seen it~ Uh, I’ve seen it many times. Anyway, I have to watch it every day, otherwise I won’t be happy. Hahahaha!!!”
A few big guys sat in a row of special seats and chatted, while the other naval soldiers could only whisper and didn’t even dare to speak loudly.
Fortunately, the movie started soon. First the lights dimmed, and then the video player projected the movie onto the white curtain hanging above the stage.
The movie begins with a logo. People in this world certainly don’t know what a logo is. All they see is a pyramid-shaped city silhouette, and above the city is a fountain rising into the sky. Then the three big words “Hollywood” slowly unfold.
“Here it comes!”
“Shh! Don’t talk!”
“Shut up!”
With a few sporadic voices, everyone gradually fell silent on the movie screen.
The girl reading quietly is so cute and warm.
The huge fountain and the gorgeous rainbow above it made everyone in the screening room exclaim in amazement.
It is human nature to yearn for beauty. At this moment, everyone was shocked by the beautiful picture.
As the story continued, everyone was captivated by the elegance and cuteness of the young princess, and then attracted by the beautiful scenery of the Water City.
When Leon took Vivi to the city to avoid the pursuit of the royal guards, the laughter almost shook the entire theater down, and Cap’s laughter was especially loud.
When the movie ended and the male protagonist returned the photo that was originally intended for publication in the newspaper to Princess Vivi, everyone felt touched and regretful.
After leaving the theater, Kizaru leisurely came to Sengoku’s office.
Zhan Guo glanced at him and asked, “Have you finished watching the movie?”
“Oh~, I’ve watched it, it’s perfect! How come no one has thought of making a movie out of it before? It’s strange.”
“Just watch it once, don’t be like Cap, go there every day and don’t worry about getting tired of it.”
Kizaru shrugged and said, “I’m going to take a vacation.”
A black line appeared on Zhan Guo’s forehead. “Are you going to take a vacation too? It’s too late! Kuzan has already asked for leave three days in advance.”
“Oh, that guy is pretty fast.”
After leaving Sengoku’s office, Kizaru found his adjutant Fiennes and gave him orders.
Fiennes was stunned and felt like he was hallucinating.
“Mr. Admiral, are you saying that we are going to go on patrol tomorrow?”
Admiral Kizaru has always been a man who would not do anything unless he could. He had just come out of his tour this time and could rest in Marinford for a month. Why was he so impatient to go out and do something now? Did the sun rise from the west?
Borsalino nodded affirmatively. “That’s right. We will set sail tomorrow. The first stop should be the Water City. I heard that the shipyard there is very good. It’s a good opportunity for us to repair the warship there.”
Fiennes was confused. If they wanted to repair the ship, they could do it in Marinford. Why go to the Water City?
However, the general’s orders must be carried out to the letter.
After he notified his preparations for the trip, he remembered that almost everyone in the Navy Headquarters was discussing a movie that he had not seen yet, so he decided to go and see it now.
Chapter 24: Baroque Workshop (Old Version)
“Brother Leon, Holiday Water City has been showing in Albana for three days. Hehe, the response has been unprecedentedly good. Countless audiences line up to buy tickets every day. Even people from outside Albana specially come here to watch the movie.”
Weiwei’s voice was as joyful as a lark. Li Ang smiled and said, “That’s good. It means everyone likes you very much.”
“Yeah, yes, the people of the Kingdom of Alabasta all love me. But after watching the movie, they like me even more.”
“Haha, that’s because you acted well. Because you are such a lovely princess.”
“Really?” Weiwei’s voice was shy, “Does Brother Li Ang think I’m cute too?”
“Of course, who doesn’t love Princess Weiwei?”
After receiving a positive answer, Weiwei was so happy that her feet were lifted up. Her face flushed, and after a while, she said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: “I, I like you too.”
“Ah? What?” Li Ang didn’t hear the other party’s voice clearly.
“Nothing.” Weiwei quickly changed the subject and said, “Brother Leon, my father has seen Water City Holiday and he also liked it. Also, I told him some of the things you said and he was very surprised. He thinks you are very talented and wants to invite you to visit the Kingdom of Alabasta.”
“Haha, thank you for your father’s affirmation. I will go to Alabasta when I have time in the future. Now, I am filming my second movie.”
“Really? What’s the name of the movie? What’s the story?”
“The name of the movie is The Sound of Music. The story is very simple. It tells the story of a tutor and a group of children…”
Since leaving Water City, Weiwei has been using Den Den Mushi to contact Li Ang almost every day. If Li Ang has time, he will chat with her for a while. If he doesn’t have time, Weiwei won’t pester him, but will definitely call him again the next day. It feels like a little girl in love, who always has endless topics to talk about with her boyfriend.
“By the way, Leon, I want to buy fifty movie cassettes from you.”
“Haha, no need to buy. I’ll have someone send you another fifty boxes. The ten boxes I gave you last time were indeed a bit too little.”
“No, no, I’ll pay for it. Last time you gave me ten boxes, I realized how valuable these movie cassettes are. This thing must be expensive, how can I let you give it to me for free again?”
“It is indeed valuable. I sell one cassette for 1 million Baileys. And if the business is good, it will be easy to make 100 million Baileys from one cassette.”
“Wow! It’s so expensive, but it’s really valuable. I earn more than 10 million Baileys a day just by selling movie tickets. I didn’t expect movies to be so profitable.”
“Haha, that only works if the movie is good. And you, as the heroine, have contributed a lot. So, don’t refuse these fifty movie cassettes. We are friends, and it’s normal for friends to give each other gifts, right?”
Hearing Li Ang say this, Weiwei felt her heart melt. But, does Brother Li Ang only consider me a friend?
The little girl was confused for a moment, then she came to her senses, shook her head, and said, “Thank you, Li Ang.”
“It’s nothing. I already said we are friends.”
“Yes, this time I’m not thanking you personally, but on behalf of the people of the Kingdom of Alabasta.”
Weiwei said, “The Kingdom of Alabasta has recently encountered a drought. Although the royal family has provided relief, it is always a drop in the bucket for such a large country. Therefore, I used the movie ticket revenue from the weekend in Water City to buy supplies to help those in need. Now there are fifty more movie cassettes, and the movie ticket revenue will be even higher, so more people can get help. Thank you, Leon.”
Li Ang restrained his smile and said seriously: “Weiwei, you are amazing. At such a young age, you know how to care about the happiness of the people.”
“That’s because the people love me, so I have to love them too. Unfortunately, my personal ability is too limited to help everyone.”
As she spoke, Weiwei’s mood became depressed, but she quickly cheered up and said, “No matter what, I will do my best to help as many people as possible.”
“Well, I believe you.”
“Miss.allsunday, how is it going?”
“Very interesting.”
Nico Robin, with her long straight black hair, walked into the room and took out a small cassette. She said, “Your Highness the Princess has returned from the Water City and brought back something called a movie. This is a movie cassette I got from a merchant. You can take a look.”
Crocodile caught the movie cassette and frowned, “You said this little thing caused a sensation in Alba?”
Nico Robin smiled and said, “Of course! The movie is called Holiday Water City, and Her Highness Weiwei is the heroine. I’ve seen the movie, it’s really interesting, I haven’t had such fun in a long time. Mr. 0, you’ll understand after you’ve seen it.”
“I’ll take a look. I want to know if this thing has any impact on our plans?”
“There is some impact. I heard that Princess Weiwei is going to use the proceeds from the movie tickets to buy supplies to help those affected by the disaster.”
“Oh, how childish.”
Crocodile smiled contemptuously and said, “How much can a little bit of supplies do? You arrange some people to intercept those supplies. It’s ridiculous that you want to disrupt my plan with a small movie cassette.”
“Mr. 0, don’t underestimate this movie cassette. I saw the movie being shown in Albania. Tickets cost 1,000 baileys each and it was hard to buy one even if you had to queue up. I did a quick calculation and found that more than 10,000 people come to watch this movie every day. In other words, the revenue from movie tickets alone is 10 million baileys every day.”
“Ten million Baileys? Every day?” It’s no wonder that Sand Crocodile was surprised. The income of ten million Baileys a day was almost the same as the revenue of his casino Rain Banquet.
“Yes, this is still a conservative estimate. If there are enough cassettes and the film is shown in more cities, the revenue will increase exponentially.”
Crocodile pondered for a moment and said, “What a surprise, Miss AllSunday. Then, go buy me some more movie tapes. I want to show this movie in all cities outside of Albana. Baroque Studios needs this income.”
Nico Robin nodded: “I will arrange for someone to go to Water City to buy movie cassettes. During this period of time, we can book more theaters. I think the film industry will be a good source of income.”
“Then do it.”
Chapter 25: Seven Little Fortunes (Old Version)
The fame of the movie Holiday Water City continues to spread across the sea. It first became popular in the first half of the Grand Line, and I believe that within a few months, it will spread to the four seas and the New World.
As a new entertainment that has never appeared in the world of One Piece, it is inevitable that it will be noticed and loved by people. No matter what the person’s profession is, whether he is poor or not, as long as he still has a love for beautiful things in his heart, he will definitely fall in love with the new art of film.
At this moment, Li Ang was sitting in front of the camera, carefully watching the footage he had just filmed. Around him, a group of cute half-grown children were eagerly waiting for the final result.
Li Ang raised his head and walked away from the camera. Looking at the seven pairs of big, blinking eyes in front of him, he smiled.
“I declare! The filming of The Sound of Music is complete!”
“Great! We’re finally done, that’s great!” Kalina was the first to applaud, followed by the two youngest little girls, and then several other half-grown children and the entire crew of more than 30 people.
Everyone’s faces were flushed with excitement, they were dancing with joy, clapping, jumping up and down, and hugging each other to celebrate the completion of their first film.
Among these people, seven children were the most excited. They were the seven children of the Sound of Music, young actors specially interviewed and recruited by Li Ang.
Li Ang stood up and clapped and cheered with everyone. After everyone had been making a lot of noise for a while, he said with a smile: “Everyone remember to gather when we get back to the company. We have prepared a wrap-up banquet with delicious food waiting for everyone.”
“Long live!”
“Great! There’s something delicious!”
“That’s great, but unfortunately, the filming was too fast. It only took half a month to finish a movie.”
Li Ang only took half a month to shoot The Sound of Music. As I said before, as a top director, with the help of his film industry, he can shoot movies very quickly. The only thing that restricts the shooting progress is to teach the actors how to act.
He said again: “Don’t worry, let’s take a family photo as a souvenir.”
“Karina!”
“Leonardo!”
“Shirley Temple!”
“Golden wheat!”
“Li Jieming!”
“Mckenna!”
“Jennifer!”
“Seven of you, come stand beside me.”
Li Ang found a small stool and sat in the front row. Seven half-grown children crowded over and stood in a row beside him.
I don’t know if it’s the parallel world theory or something, but among these seven children, several have physical features similar to the movie stars in Li Ang’s previous life, and they are all very smart and talented in their performances.
Perhaps, if he hadn’t appeared, the fates of these people in this world would be different, but most of them were destined to be ordinary people. However, he picked out these familiar faces from among the many applicants at a glance, and naturally wanted to recruit them. He even called them the “Seven Little Fortunes” out of a sense of humor.
“Xin Doli.”
Seeing the heroine Xin Duoli still watching from a distance, Li Ang asked her to come over and take photos together.
Xin Duoli smiled when she heard that and walked to Li Ang, but she didn’t know where to stand because the front row was full of children.
“Stand behind me.”
Hearing this, Xin Duoli said “oh” and walked to the second row.
In the entire crew, and even in the entire Hollywood, it can be said that apart from Princess Weiwei and her boss Li Ang who have already returned to China, Xin Duoli feels that she is the most famous. She was originally a well-known stage actor. When she was invited to the Water City for artistic exchange last time, she had the opportunity to sign a contract with Hollywood. Unfortunately, like most well-known stage actors, she wasted a great opportunity because of contempt.
On the contrary, Gene Eddie and Old Jack, supporting clowns who were not valued in major theater troupes, became famous after participating in the movie Holiday Water City.
It was not until the Holiday Water City came into being that she realized what a rare opportunity she had missed.
So, when she heard that Hollywood was recruiting actors again, she decisively gave up her mainstay position in the troupe and came to the Water City to apply. Finally, she got the role of the heroine’s tutor with her outstanding ability.
Who would have thought that even though she signed a C-level contract and was the leading actress, she was not as valued as the seven children in the crew.
She could see that Li Ang cared about and loved these seven children very much, even more than she did!
“Boss, now that we have finished filming this movie, what are we going to do next?”
The person asking the question was Shirley Temple, a six-year-old girl with a chubby face and very cute.
Li Ang couldn’t help but pinch her round face and smiled, “Do you like filming?”
“I like it!” Temple answered seriously.
“That’s good. I’ll definitely ask you to act in a movie in the future. You’re a little actor in the company.”
Li Ang looked at the children around him and saw that they were all looking at him with embarrassed eyes, so he continued: “Denbol, Jin Xiaomai, McKenna, you three don’t have to think too much, just study hard.”
He specially opened a private school. In this world, there are almost no formal schools, and only nobles or wealthy businessmen can study. Occasionally, some people who are determined to teach knowledge can only open schools similar to private schools.
The company founded by Li Ang already has more than 600 formal employees, and there will be more in the future. Therefore, as one of the benefits, he naturally wants to run a school. He also wants to train his own team through this school.
“Jennifer, Leonardo, in addition to your daily studies, you two also need to perform at the artist training school.”
“Okay, boss.” The two agreed in unison.
Karina looked at Jennifer and felt unhappy. She was proud of her beauty, but this Jennifer was two points more beautiful than her. What made her even more angry was that the other party looked pure, but with a bit of charm, even more vixen than her!
“Karina.”
“Yes! Boss!” Kalina agreed quickly.
“As for you, you are in the artist training class, mainly learning singing. Your singing skills and voice are the best among everyone. In the future, I will train you to be an outstanding singer.”
“A singer? Not bad, thanks, boss!”
Li Ang smiled and looked at the last person. Li Jieming immediately said, “Master, I’d better practice martial arts with you.”
Li Jieming is worthy of being called the Kung Fu Emperor. Although he is only ten years old, he is truly a martial arts genius, especially his movements, which are graceful and elegant. Even though he is only ten years old and has just started to learn martial arts, he has already shown his talent in this area.
“Of course you will practice martial arts with me, but you can’t fall behind in your studies.”
“Yes, Master!”
McKenna looked at Li Ang with her big, twinkling eyes and asked, “Boss, why do we only study and not learn acting?”
Li Ang reached out and touched her little head, smiling and saying, “You three are still young, you don’t need to learn how to perform. If you learn too much, you will lose your spirituality.”
The three little girls nodded, not quite understanding what was going on. At this moment, all the crew members had lined up. Seeing this, Li Ang called the photographer back to the team, and then he set up the camera and took a photo of a large banner under his command.
On the way back to the company, Li Ang thought of a person who was imprisoned in the basement of a Hollywood company building. He decided to go see the person after dinner. After being imprisoned for half a month, he must have suppressed his arrogance.
Chapter 26: Hogwarts
At the wrap-up banquet, Li Ang sat with everyone for a while, then had someone pack up a roast goose, and leisurely left the theater and went to the basement of the Hollywood Film and Entertainment Company’s office building next door.
The basement has been specially renovated and reinforced, and is mainly used to store the company’s important assets, such as movie cassettes.
Some people also suspected that the company’s income was stored here, which attracted many strong men to come here to steal. Unfortunately, no one has succeeded so far because the security force here is not weak at all.
In a corner room in the basement, a strange man was lying on a simple bed.
Suddenly, he heard light footsteps, but that was not the point. The point was that he smelled the aroma of meat.
The strange man opened his eyes instantly, and excitedly climbed up from the bed slowly, moved to the door, and shouted in a hoarse voice: “Quick, give me food, I want food, I’m starving! Hurry up! Hurry up!”
After being captured here, he could only eat two pieces of bread a day and was already starving.
The iron door creaked open and two people came in. The strange man stepped back subconsciously, but his eyes were fixed on the bag the other person was carrying.
“Feed him first.”
Li Ang gave an order and sat down beside the simple bed. He smelled a stench mixed with urine, which turned out to be a flush toilet in the corner of the room. The toilet and the bed were together, and it was a secret room with no ventilation, so it would be strange if the smell was good.
The weird person took the roast goose and just picked it up with both hands and started eating it, just like a starving ghost.
Seeing that the other party had almost finished eating, Li Ang asked, “Tell me, why are you following my artist Xin Duoli?”
The strange man ate and drank his fill, and leaned back in the corner with satisfaction, holding the roast goose skeleton in his hand, reluctant to throw it away, as if he wanted to keep it and lick it clean slowly.
He burped and replied, “I mean no harm.”
“No ill intentions?” Li Ang chuckled. “Look at yourself. Your hands and feet are as thin as sticks, but your body is already getting fatter. With your face, people would believe you are an evil ghost. You say you have no ill intentions?”
“I really mean no harm!” The strange man seemed very angry and shouted loudly: “Also, what’s wrong with being ugly? I’m a genius doctor! Do you know how respected I am?”
“You don’t behave like a respectable person.”
“I~, I just want to watch Xin Duoli from a distance, I really have no ill intentions.”
The man paused and said, “I’m Hogback, a genius doctor in the Spring Queen’s City. You know how rare it is to be called a genius surgeon in a medical city like Saint Poplar Town.”
After a pause, he continued, “I like Xin Duoli very much. When Xin Duoli came to the Water City, I followed her.”
Of course Le Ang knew this guy. He would be an important subordinate of Moonlight Moria in the future. He had superb surgical skills. The invisible man stitched monster was his masterpiece. He could perfectly integrate animal muscles into the human body. This was definitely a super black-tech biotechnology and surgical technology.
If he hadn’t envied this guy’s art, why would he have gone to so much trouble to lock him up? Now, the other party’s arrogant temper has been tempered, and he can be recruited.
He said: “Xin Duoli doesn’t seem to know you.”
Hogbag shook his head. “Xin Duoli knows me. We met when she was performing at St. Poplar. However, she probably doesn’t have a deep impression of me. But it doesn’t matter. I just like her.”
“Dog licking?”
“What?”
“Nothing. What I’m asking is, is it worth it for you to like the other person one-sidedly like this? What if there’s no return?”
With these words, Hogbak’s eyes brightened as if he had received affirmation from others. He nodded seriously, as if he was making a vow.
“It’s worth it! As long as Xin Duoli lives a good life, I will be satisfied. I don’t ask for anything in return. As long as she is happy, all my efforts will be meaningful.”
Li Ang was speechless. He was truly the ultimate example of a bootlicker.
“Have you ever thought about pursuing Xin Duoli?”
“I thought about it, but before I made up my mind, she came to the Water City, so I followed her.”
Li Ang stood up, came to sit cross-legged in front of him, and said with a smile: “You should be aware of your appearance.”
Hogbag: “Xin Doli is not a superficial woman!”
“Really? Why don’t you take a gamble and propose to Xin Duoli to see if she will accept you?”
Hogback fell silent.
Li Ang continued, “Women are actually very easy to pursue. Of course, that requires you to be handsome, rich and have status. If you don’t have these, you can only slowly melt the other person’s heart, use your sincerity and time to slowly make the other person fall in love with you.”
He began to brainwash the other party, “You know, in my hometown, there was an ugly guy who proposed to the goddess 101 times and finally succeeded.”
“Really?!” Hobak’s eyes seemed to be burning with flames.
“Of course it’s true. Besides, that guy is not as good as you. He is not a powerful figure. You are different. You have excellent medical skills and are respected by others.”
“If you can get in touch with her often, you can convey your feelings to Xin Duoli. Oh, you have to be careful not to express your feelings before you are sure, because that will scare the other person. As long as you stick to your feelings, you will succeed in the end.”
“You, you can help me! What should I do?” Hobbag was a little impatient.
“It’s easy. Join my company. Then you and Xin Duoli will be colleagues. Wouldn’t that give you more opportunities to interact with each other? Also, you know about devil fruits, right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Well, there are some devil fruits that can change a person’s appearance. It’s possible for an ugly girl to become a goddess, or an ugly boy to become a handsome man. If you are willing to follow me, I will find a way to collect this kind of devil fruit for you.”
“When you eat the fruit and become a handsome man, plus the goodwill you usually have, I believe that when you propose to Xin Duoli, you will definitely succeed.”
“Really?” Hearing this possibility, Hogbag was really tempted. “Okay, I agree to join your company.”
Leon smiled and waved his hand, and Philip handed over a contract.
“This is a 30-year contract. From now on, you will be a member of the company, and I will form a medical team to serve everyone in the company. Your monthly salary is 50 Baileys.”
“So little?”
Even though he was emotional, Hogbag was still very sensitive about money figures, worthy of being a doctor who loves money.
“It will increase. Look carefully. If it increases by 100,000 every year, it will be 1 million in five years, 2 million in 15 years, and 3 million in 25 years. Note that it is monthly salary! Also, the company will give you a house, and a devil fruit. You know how precious it is. You can’t even buy it with money.”
“Okay, I’ll sign!”
“That’s right!” Li Ang patted the other person’s shoulder and said with a smile: “Come on, take a shower and change your clothes. From now on, you will be a Hollywood doctor.”
The three of them came out of the room and just before they walked out of the basement, they saw Joseph walking towards them with a brown-haired girl.
Li Ang smiled, “Oh, what a coincidence.”
Chapter 27: One Hundred Million Baileys’ Obsession (Old Version)
“Boss, the man has been caught.”
“Boss, I am innocent. They arrested the wrong person!”
Of course Nami knew Li Ang, and knowing that he was a Hollywood boss, she immediately cried out for justice. At the same time, she also acted aggrieved, almost squeezing out tears.
Li Ang looked at her with interest. She had a delicate little face, long willow-shaped eyebrows, and big, twinkling eyes. Although she was only 15 years old, her development was no worse than that of an average woman.
He laughed and said, “I’m a director and a great actor, so you’d better not show off your acting skills in front of me.”
“I, I am really innocent. I work for the company, they definitely caught the wrong person.” Nami was of course unwilling to give up.
Joseph’s speech was very precise, just like his marksmanship, nothing fancy, just precision and lethality.
He said: “We have been secretly observing her. Just today, she took advantage of the fact that there were few people around and entered Mendes’ office. In less than five minutes, she changed into a guest’s clothes and came out. If we hadn’t been keeping a close eye on her, she would have gotten away.”
Li Ang nodded and asked, “Are Mendes and the others okay?”
“Mendez and the guest were knocked unconscious, and the two bodyguards were knocked unconscious. When she was caught, she was carrying a box of money and preparing to leave the theater.”
“You, you already knew me?” Nami realized at this time that all her actions had been expected by the other party.
“Of course I know you, little thief. When Karina came to apply for the acting position, I guessed that you might come too.”
“Who is Karina? I don’t know her!”
“Oh, you are quite loyal. Of course you know each other, you are good friends.”
Nami’s face finally changed. She knew she had no chance. If Karina was also caught, there would be no one to save her.
“Well, we know each other, but this matter has nothing to do with her.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Of course, compared to becoming a big star and having a bright future, Karina would never steal money, something that doesn’t consider the future. She is much smarter than you.”
Hearing that Karina was smarter than her, Nami instantly went berserk, “How is she smart!? She’s just vain! She’s not in her right mind!”
“Haha.” Li Ang chuckled and turned away.
Joseph forced Nami to follow, and as for Hobgub, there was no one to guard him. Even if he was driven away now, he would not be willing to leave Hollywood.
When they arrived at the office, before Li Ang sat down, Nami spoke up, “Um, boss, I’d like to join the company.”
Li Ang shrugged, “You are an employee of the company, but you are here to steal money.”
“I~” Nami was speechless and stunned for a long time before she said, “I’m serious. I promise that I will never steal money again.”
“I don’t believe you. Besides, you stole money this time, probably more than 100 million Baileys. Tell me, how should I punish you?”
Thinking of the possible punishment, Nami’s eyes rolled around anxiously. She wanted to hold the man hostage, but she heard that her boss was the most powerful person in the company, and even security captain Barry couldn’t beat him. This idea was obviously useless.
Li Ang ignored her and continued, “You saw that ugly man just now. His name is Hogbag. He just stalked the company’s artist Xin Duoli, so I locked him up for half a month. He ate, drank, defecated and urinated in a small room, and only had two small pieces of bread every day. He was so hungry that he ate mud as biscuits.”
He stroked his chin, looked at the girl in front of him with interest, and said grimly with the acting skills of the ultimate perverted villain: “Tell me, you stole more than 100 million Baileys from me, how long should I keep you locked up?”
“Five years, ten years, or twenty years? You’ve been hungry for so many years, you should be skinny. But it doesn’t matter, for girls like you, it’s okay to be a little thin. The room just smells bad, but it doesn’t matter, you should get used to it after a while.”
Nami collapsed and fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed.
“Wow!!!! Boss, please spare me, I don’t want to starve, I don’t want to be locked up. I really don’t dare to do it! I didn’t succeed in stealing, please!”
Li Ang threw Hogbag’s contract over and said, “Let’s see.”
“Huh?” Nami quickly wiped away her tears, her little face was all red, but she didn’t care and picked up the contract to look at it.
“Five hundred thousand Baileys a month? An additional hundred thousand per year?”
She didn’t know when the tears disappeared from her face, and were replaced by the golden glittering light of Bailey. She looked at it and counted.
500,000 Baileys a month, and 100,000 every year. That means 6 million in the first year, and 18 million in the tenth year. It doesn’t take ten years, just seven or eight years, to have 100 million Baileys.
“Boss, give me 100 million Baileys and I will be like him and follow you.”
“Really?” Leon laughed, “Hogbak is a genius surgeon, he’s worth the price. What ability do you have that’s worth 100 million Baileys?”
Nami was speechless, and Leon said, “Besides, why should I believe you? You are a little thief. You haven’t been punished for this incident yet, and you want me to believe you?”
“Well, what do you want to do?” Nami gave up and asked angrily.
Li Ang looked at her and said, “In addition to the high salary Hogbak can get, I also promised him that if I get a devil fruit that can beautify and change appearance in the future, I will buy it for him and let him change his ugly appearance.”
Hearing this, Nami’s eyes sparkled again. Devil Fruits, I heard that the lowest value is 100 million berries. 100 million berries is just the asking price. The real value is at least ten times that!
What is ten times? One billion Baileys!
“One billion Baileys…” Nami murmured, her voice trembling.
“Boss, please accept me. I don’t want that much, just 100 million Baileys. Really, if you only give me 100 million Baileys, I will be willing to work for you for the rest of my life. Keep your word!”
“One hundred million Baileys, it’s not a lot.” Li Ang laughed, looking like a bad uncle seducing a little girl with a lollipop.
“You know, I can earn hundreds of millions every day at the Grand Theater. One hundred million Baileys is really not much. But first, you have to tell me, what do you want this one hundred million Baileys for?”
“I, I~”
Nami hesitated for a long time, but finally spoke and told the story of her hometown. At the end, she really couldn’t hold back her tears, and she cried while speaking.
Li Ang listened and knew that it was done.
He deliberately let Nami talk about her past, the situation in her hometown, and the reason why she came out to cheat money, just to break her psychological defense. As long as Nami is willing to reveal this, it means that she has opened her heart and there is no need to worry about her defecting in the future.
Throwing the tissue over, Li Ang said: “Your idea is too stupid.”
Nami raised her head and looked at the other person in confusion with a pair of tender eyes that she had never shown before.
Li Ang said: “Even if you collect 100 million and give it to that A’long, do you really believe that he can keep his promise?”
“I~I can’t help it, I can only believe it.”
“So that’s why I say you’re stupid. How can a bad person have any credibility? Okay, from today on, you will be my secretary. I promise you that within two years, I will go to the East China Sea with you to kill that Ah Long.”
“Isn’t it simple? Kill Aaron and get rid of all those bad guys. Then you don’t have to worry about whether they are trustworthy or not.”
“Your salary is 200,000 Baileys per month, and it will increase by 100,000 per year. If you do a good job, you will get a bonus. If you do a bad job, or if you steal my money and run away, I will kill all the people in that Orange Village. How about it? Deal?”
Leon smiled and stretched out his hand. Nami hesitated for a long time before stretching out her own little hand.
She said timidly: “Boss, can you give me a raise?”
Chapter 28: Little Secretary (Old Version)
Nami signed a contract that was like a contract of selling her body, with a monthly salary of 200,000 yuan, and an increase of 100,000 yuan every year. As for returning to help her get Aaron within two years, it was just a verbal promise, but she had no choice but to believe it.
As a secretary who was forced to do the job, Nami didn’t know what to do, and it was Li Ang who told her what to do. Fortunately, she was smart enough and learned things quickly.
For example, when attending a meeting, she had to write down the names of the heads of each department, and she wrote down the names of more than 30 people in one day.
But this is not the point. The point is that she was surprised to find that Hollywood’s daily revenue actually exceeded more than 300 million Baileys!
“You know what? Over 300 million Baileys, in one day! In one day! Over 300 million Baileys in one day, that’s faster than robbing a bank!”
Nami gritted her teeth as she said this, wishing she could grab another handful of money. Unfortunately, she didn’t even know how the boss took the money.
Karina looked at Nami’s gnashing teeth and smiled, “So, you’re the boss’s secretary?”
“What else? I have no choice.” Nami looked innocent.
“This doesn’t seem like the style of a thief.” Kalina moved closer. “If it was a thief from the past, it would have run away by now. Are you staying here to make a big move?”
Nami reached out and pushed the other person’s head away, saying unhappily: “If I run away, what will you do? He knows that we are in the same group.”
Kalina stretched out a finger and waved it in front of the other person’s eyes. “NONONONO, you are wrong. We are not in the same group. I did not participate in this operation.”
“Tsk, if I really run away, you will definitely be implicated.”
“Of course not! Nami, you still don’t know our boss. He is very kind. For example, the fact that you can sit here and have dinner with me and become the boss’s secretary says it all.”
“That’s because you don’t know his true face. Did you know that yesterday there was a pirate who offered a bounty of 30 million berries and was about to rob him, but he was beaten to death with his fists, and he took the body to the Bounty Hunter Guild in exchange for 15 million berries.”
“Pirates deserve to die. This shows that Leon is brave and decisive, and kind but not hypocritical.”
Hearing her friend say this, Nami stared into her eyes for a long time. Karina couldn’t stand it anymore and interrupted her gaze.
“What! Are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re not in love with the boss, are you?”
Karina shrugged. “So what if he likes me? He doesn’t even look at me. On the contrary, that Cornelius Jennifer is only 14 years old, but she has grown up to be a disaster for the country and the people. She is a strong rival.”
“Hey, you’re only 15!”
“So what? I’m growing up fast. Leon is so good, handsome, rich, talented, humble, and humorous. He’s also very capable, and almost a perfect match. If he’s willing to marry me, I definitely won’t refuse.”
Karina’s eyes sparkled, and she said with a look of longing: “If I could become a hostess in Hollywood, wouldn’t it be more comfortable than wandering on the sea?”
“Hmph! Stop dreaming. If it’s really that good, the position of hostess will also belong to Princess Weiwei. You have to stand aside.”
“Tsk, what a bummer! Can’t you let me think about it for a moment?”
Karina cut a piece of bread and put it in her mouth. After enjoying it intoxicatedly, she said, “The movie has been finished. The boss said it will be released in half a month. Nami, in half a month, I can become a movie star that everyone is paying attention to. Are you envious?”
“Tsk, you stinky ass.”
“Not only that, my boss said that I sing really well and asked me to practice hard. He is preparing to release a music album for me. Although I don’t know what a music album is, it must be an amazing new thing, just like a movie. If that happens, I can become a big singer, which is great.”
Nami ate her cake angrily and didn’t want to pay attention to her.
Kalina giggled, “Okay, let’s not talk about me anymore, let’s talk about you. What do you think? Are you really planning to stay and be a secretary?”
“What’s wrong with being a secretary? Not much work, and you can get 200,000 Baileys a month. I worked as a waiter in a theater, working more than ten hours a day, and only got 100,000 a month. Now it’s doubled.”
“Haha, you used to look down on these 100,000 or 200,000 Baileys.”
“That’s because I needed to save money before, but now I don’t need to save money.”
“Why?”
“No reason. Okay, I’m done eating. I want to take breakfast back. Boss, give me two large servings of sweet tofu pudding. Also, ten croissants, one pound of braised pork intestines, and two pounds of braised beef. Pack them up and take them away.”
Kalina smiled and said, “It’s only been a few days, and you’re doing a good job as a secretary. You’re even living in the boss’s villa. You should seize the opportunity.”
Seeing that Nami ignored her, she continued, “That Li Jieming is the only disciple the boss has accepted. He will definitely be an important figure in Hollywood in the future. Remember to get along well with him.”
“I’m just a secretary, I don’t care about that. As long as it’s within two years, forget it. He’s so powerful, as long as he’s willing to help, he’ll definitely be able to do it.”
Hearing this, Kalina leaned over and whispered, “What two years did you say to get it done? Is there any agreement between you and the boss?”
“None of your business!”
“Tsk, you don’t know how to appreciate a good person. Okay, I’ve finished eating too. I have to go back to practice singing. See you tomorrow.”
“Um.”
Nami returned to the villa with breakfast. Li Ang and Li Jiming had already finished their morning exercise and were taking a shower and waiting for breakfast.
Half an hour later, Li Jiming went to school, and Li Ang took Nami to the headquarters of Carrera Company.
When he saw Khalifa, Leon smiled widely, “Ms. Khalifa, I haven’t seen you for a long time. You have become even more beautiful.”
Khalifa frowned, “Are you trying to sexually harass me?”
“How can this be called sexual harassment? This is a sincere compliment and I am telling the truth.”
“Hmph! Slippery mouth. What brings you here today?”
“Of course I’ll find Mr. Iceberg. Oh, by the way, the little girl next to me is called Nami, she’s my secretary, can you let her learn from you for a few months? She’s a newbie and doesn’t know anything. Can you teach her how to be a qualified secretary?”
Kalifa adjusted her glasses and examined Nami, causing her to shrink her neck subconsciously.
“Do you like this one?”
“Nothing, I said I don’t have time and can’t teach her.”
“Don’t be like that. We are old friends. You don’t need to teach her anything advanced. It’s enough for her to know what a secretary should do. How about this? For two months, she will come to your place to study for half a day every day. The tuition fee is 1 million.”
“You’re going to bribe me? And then harass me?”
“Of course not. I heard that the famous fashion designer Mr. Gullian has designed some amazing costumes. They will look really beautiful if you wear them.”
Khalifa: “Just two months?”
“Yes, just two months, half a day at most, or even not at all if I have something to do. Anyway, whether you come or not, I have already paid the 1 million tuition fee.”
Kalifa nodded proudly, “Come with me, Mr. Iceberg happens to be free.”
Chapter 29: Billions in Profits (Old Version)
Iceberg Acebag was very happy about Leon’s arrival. He walked directly from behind his desk to the door and shook hands with Leon. Even a rare smile appeared on his icy face.
“Leon, I’m so glad to see you. Come, sit over here, and let’s have a good chat.”
Leon and Bingshan sat opposite each other on the sofa. Kalifa stood behind Bingshan without saying a word. Nami followed suit, with a stern face, and also stood behind Leon without saying a word.
Seeing this scene, Leon sighed inwardly. He still had to have a good talk with Nami when he got back. He couldn’t completely learn from Kalifa. At the very least, he had to take the initiative to pour tea and serve water when guests came.
“Le Ang, you told me that movies can make Water City better. I didn’t expect that it is really as you said, Water City is becoming more and more prosperous.”
“You’re too kind.” Li Ang said modestly, “It’s because of your good governance that the Water City is so prosperous. I’m just the icing on the cake.”
“Don’t be modest. I know. Last month, the city’s tax revenue increased by 30%, and this is just the beginning. In the market, everyone feels that business is much better, and even hotels are starting to fill up. And my shipyard is also doing much better business than before. All of this is thanks to you.”
“Haha, as long as you think the sponsorship fee is worth it, then I’ll be relieved.”
Bingshan nodded and said, “At the beginning, the city council members had some concerns about me sponsoring you so much money. After the movie was released, more and more people came to Water City, and business was getting better and better. Everyone praised me for my sponsorship.”
“Let’s make money together. Business will never be exhausted.” Li Ang echoed.
Bingshan asked, “I heard you are filming a second movie?”
“It has been filmed, and post-production is complete, and the finished film has been released.”
“So soon?”
“This is a feature film, there aren’t any big scenes, so it will be shot quickly. The first thing I’ll do when you come here today is to give you movie tickets.”
Li Ang took out a hundred movie tickets and handed them to the other party, and took out five movie tickets and handed them to Khalifa who was standing beside him. Khalifa didn’t hesitate to accept the movie tickets. She was actually looking forward to the second movie.
“It’s really exciting to have a new movie so soon. Why is it half a month later?”
Li Ang smiled and replied, “Holiday Water City has only been released for a month and a half, and the current daily attendance rate can still maintain more than 80%, so it can be shown for another half a month. In fact, even if a new movie is released in half a month, I will still arrange one or two shows for Holiday Water City every day.”
“The name of the new movie is The Sound of Music. I’d like you to give these 100 tickets to people in need.”
Li Ang doesn’t like dealing with the rich and powerful. In this world, as long as you have enough power, you can crush everything. There is no need to waste time and grind your teeth with those people. In addition, in the Water City, it is enough to just have a good relationship with Bingshan. He is the mayor and the largest businessman in the Water City.
If we say that last time, Bingshan gave movie tickets to others and asked him to treat others to the movie, it was like Bingshan was doing a favor to Li Ang. This time, it was the other way around. Bingshan gave movie tickets to others again, and others had to accept his favor.
Li Ang did this to repay Bingshan’s favor. Of course, these were just small matters. The two of them just smiled and let it go. Everything was self-explanatory.
When it came to business, Bingshan became serious.
“You said you wanted to buy my docks No. 5 and No. 6?”
“Yes.” Li Ang said, “The Hollywood Theater is just a temporary renovation, and there are still many imperfections. In addition, as the company expands and wants to shoot more good movies, we must continue to recruit people, whether it is a shooting location or an office location, but Dock No. 4 is definitely not enough. Don’t worry, I only want Dock No. 5 and Dock No. 6, and I won’t need more land in the future.”
Bingshan hesitated. Although Dock No. 5 and Dock No. 6 were semi-idle, it was obvious that the Water City was beginning to prosper, and these idle lands would gradually become valuable. As a big businessman, he understood this very well.
But Li Ang’s appeal also has his reasons. The film industry has already shown its power. If it continues to develop, it will surely make the Water City continue to take off. However, selling the land will affect his future income.
Seeing Bingshan’s hesitation, Li Ang continued to persuade him, “Mr. Bingshan, I know you have always been determined to build a good Water City. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have sold Dock No. 4 to me at such a low price. Since you are willing to trust me, why don’t you be more generous and give me a little more help. Believe me, Water City has your shipyard, and with my film industry, I can definitely show you a glory you never thought of.”
Bingshan was persuaded and finally gave in. “It’s not impossible to sell it to you, but I can’t give you the same price as before.”
“I understand.” Li Ang said, “Eight docks, each with a market value of between 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion. The land price has increased slightly during this period, and it should be around 1.4 billion or 1.5 billion. I am willing to buy these two docks for 4 billion Baileys.”
Nami’s face flushed red, and she felt like her whole body was burning after hearing so much Bailey. With so much money, stealing a handful was unthinkable. Unfortunately, she could only think about it now. She didn’t expect the boss to be so rich, definitely the richest person she had ever seen.
“Four billion Baileys. Your price is at least a billion more.”
“Mr. Iceberg has helped me so much. Now I want to buy your dock. Of course, I have to spend a little more money. It’s just a thank you for your help.”
Bingshan nodded, a smile on his face. He didn’t care about the 1 billion Baileys, he was not short of money, he admired the other party’s courage and gratitude.
“Okay, 4 billion Baileys. I’ll sell it to you. Also, after you buy these two docks, you will definitely start a lot of construction. I’ll take care of the construction materials for you. Just give me the cost price.”
“That’s great! You’re welcome. Thank you, Mr. Iceberg.”
Li Ang’s three dock renovation plans require a huge amount of construction materials, most of which do not need to be purchased from other places. The construction materials alone cost more than 3 billion Baileys. Now Bingshan is willing to use his fleet to help with transportation, and it can save at least 1 billion Baileys.
This is the other party’s goodwill, and we are not taking advantage of him at all. Moreover, with the other party’s help, the construction time can be greatly shortened.
The concessions between the two men amounted to billions of Baileys, and both of them had a feeling of mutual respect.
“You’re welcome, Li Ang. I told you that I have high hopes for you. Just like now, you have only been in Water City for more than three months, and you have gone from having nothing to a wealthy man with assets exceeding 5 billion, and you have also driven the prosperity of Water City. You are great, the most amazing young man I have ever seen.”
“You’re too kind. I’m just your little brother in front of you.”
The two continued chatting for a while, and then Li Ang said goodbye and left.
Next, of course, we have to do something big.
Chapter 30: Expansion Plan (Old Version)
“Boss, how much money do you have?”
On the way back, Nami struggled for a long time and finally asked this question.
She knew it was inappropriate to ask this, but she couldn’t help being curious. If she didn’t get an answer, she felt she would lose her appetite, or even get sick.
I thought there would be no answer to such a question, but Li Ang replied casually: “Oh, not much, only about 10 billion.”
“10 billion!!!!”
Nami’s high note reached its limit, even a little bit of breaking, attracting passers-by to look over here.
Some people recognized Leon and shouted his name, and some girls came over to ask for autographs. But most people kept their composure and just smiled and waved. Leon smiled in response, signed autographs for a few people, and took Nami on the Blue Boat.
“Really, are there really that many?” Nami’s voice was full of disbelief.
“Yes, as you know, we can earn 200 to 300 million every day. The theater has been open for a month and a half, which is almost 10 billion.”
“With so many, no wonder you dared to spend 4 billion to buy two docks and gave an extra 1 billion.”
“Haha, this little money is nothing. This is just the beginning. In the future, I may have more money than I can count. Ten billion is really not much.”
Nami wanted to hit someone, so she looked at the back of the other person’s head and wanted to hit him with a brick.
I racked my brains, tried every possible means to wander around the sea, cheated, deceived and stole, and at most I could make tens of millions at a time. I thought it was very comfortable and powerful to make money this way. But in the eyes of the other party, I was nothing.
“Boss, give me a raise. You are so rich~”
Li Ang said without even turning his head, “I have money because I know how to make money. That’s my business. Why should I give it to you? If you want to get more, then think carefully about how you can help me.”
Nami was speechless after hearing this again, and fell into deep self-doubt. What abilities did she have?
What she didn’t know was that Leon knew her very well. Nami was a top genius climatologist and a genius navigator. It would be best if she could figure it out. But if she couldn’t, it didn’t matter. She could be trained. At most, he could spend some money to send her to the Sky Island Climate Station to study.
After thinking for a long time, Nami still couldn’t think of any talent she had. Could it be stealing money?
She gave up and asked casually, “Boss, why did you buy the dock?”
“Oh~, of course, we’re going to build a new Hollywood Theater. The current theater was rebuilt on the original foundation and only has 3,600 seats. I’m going to build a new super theater. The largest theater on the first floor can seat at least 3,000 people. Together with the theaters on the upper floors, the total number of seats must reach more than 8,000.”
“Dock No. 5 corresponds to Carrera’s Screening Hall No. 1, where the new theater will be located. A studio building will be built at the back. In the future, some variety shows and talent shows can be held there.”
“Dock No. 6 and Dock No. 5 will be built at the same time. I plan to recruit a large number of people to do the work and pay them high prices. In this way, Dock No. 5 and Dock No. 6 can be completed within half a year.”
“The company building and company residences are being built at Dock No. 6. The residences are divided into three grades, and small apartments are rented cheaply to ordinary employees of the company. In the future, the land and housing prices in Water City will definitely soar, and renting them cheap apartments can be considered a kind of welfare.”
“In addition to small apartments, there are also large flats, about 200 square meters each, for the company’s middle-level staff and management positions. These houses can be rented or bought. It depends on their own wishes.”
“The most important thing is to build 50 villas around the sea. The kind with swimming pools and gardens, super luxurious. They will only be sold to the company’s top executives. Managers and famous artists are fine. If they work with me, they will definitely be very rich. Although the villas are expensive, they can definitely afford them. Because compared to the housing prices outside, they are still lower.”
“In addition to the company building and company residence, Dock No. 6 also has a studio and other facilities, which serve as a filming base for movies.”
“As I just said, Dock No. 5 is mainly a super theater and a studio building, and there is also some space that can be used as a shopping mall. For example, the bicycles that are popular in the Holiday Water City cannot be sold in the theater, and all the business has been snatched away by other businesses. In the future, the sales of peripheral products and large items will still require some shopping malls.”
“After Docks 5 and 6 are completed, Dock 4, which is where we are now, will be demolished and rebuilt. We will mainly build two buildings, one is a stadium that can accommodate 20,000 to 30,000 people, or you can call it an arena.”
“If our company has a great singer, we can hold a concert here. We can also hold a competition. In this world, everyone likes to fight, so a martial arts competition should be very interesting. Or we can hold a ball game. In short, there must be an arena.”
“Open a five-star hotel next door to make money from the rich. Believe me, the Water City will become a tourist destination. If you open a big hotel, the business will definitely be booming.”
“Now, this is the expansion plan for the three docks. The grand hotel, the arena, the grand theater, the studio building, and the company building and company residential area.”
“The place is still a little small. But it doesn’t matter. Some unimportant things can be put elsewhere. For example, a factory can be opened in the downtown area to specialize in the production of peripheral products. It will not only solve the employment of many people, but also provide a source of goods for the Grand Theater’s peripheral product store. The supply of goods cannot be outsourced to others. That would be like being strangled by others, which is unwise.”
“Besides that, if you have a lot of money, you can also buy up some real estate in the Water City. You can turn these places into hotels or shops. These will be profitable businesses in the future. Even if you just wait for the house prices to appreciate, it will still be a super profitable business.”
Li Ang shook his head and sighed, “What a pity! This world is too chaotic and the management costs are too high. It is not suitable to set up a cinema chain. Otherwise, I could open Hollywood all over the world.”
“It’s not bad now. Although we can’t make money from the cinema, the movie cassettes can still sell like hot cakes. In the future, we can not only sell movie cassettes, but also TV series made into cassettes for sale. And those talent shows can also be made into cassettes. I believe there will be people who are interested in buying them. Talent shows are not less attractive than movies.”
“The company can also select talents through talent shows, such as singers. I have too many good songs in my mind, and I must select outstanding singers to bring these good songs into the world. Music albums plus simple MVs, sold at the price of movie cassettes, are also good.”
“Well, Karina has a great voice. All of Britney’s songs will belong to her from now on. She will become a national idol.”
“Oh, and there are books. There are so many wonderful novels, we have to arrange them properly. It would be best if we cooperate with Morgans.”
“You know what? In this world, the most outstanding thing is military force. And I have culture and art. I am really looking forward to what kind of changes the new culture and art will bring to this world. Hehe~”
The boat Blue came to the shore. Leon stood up and saw Nami behind him with a confused look on her face. He smiled and said, “Okay, your brain can’t understand this. Hey, hey! Come back to your senses and get ready to work.”
“Oh, oh~” Nami got up dizzy and followed behind Li Ang. She heard everything the other party said just now, and understood every word, but when they were put together, she felt like she was listening to a foreign language.
So complicated, so scary!
Chapter 31: Big Move (Old Version)
Hollywood has made another big move, and people are spreading the word.
This time, they are recruiting again, and almost anyone is wanted.
The working conditions in Hollywood are well-known to be good. In a city like Water City where wages are high, the salary is double. As long as one person works in a big theater, it is easy to support a family.
However, in the past, they only recruited talents who knew how to manage and beautiful young girls. This time it was different. I heard that they needed countless people who could do the work, and they only needed strong arms. And the salary was paid daily! I heard that the daily income was three to four thousand Baileys, which was simply picking up money!
Countless people flocked to the shipyard and saw that Docks No. 5 and No. 6 were already under construction.
At the entrance of the dock, there is a row of tables and chairs with colorful flags on the side, and many people are shouting loudly into loudspeakers.
“Recruiting! Recruiting! Masons, come here to report!”
“Recruiting a chef who can cook big pot meals.”
“Women who come here just need to know how to wash clothes and vegetables and help out. You’ll get 2,000 Baileys a day. The salary is paid daily, and you get paid for the work!”
“The anti-packing team is recruiting people who are strong and have high salaries. The harder you work, the more you get. Three to five thousand a day, and you get paid based on the work you do. There is no upper limit!”
“Young men, come over here. Those who can endure hardship, we are only four short of a full team. Report in quickly, and you will be paid if you work.”
“For the earthwork team, we work in groups of 30. If a team is full, we will work. We will be paid 1,000 Baileys for digging an acre of earth. Come and sign up!”
The Water City is indeed prosperous, with a strong business atmosphere, thriving tourism projects, and relatively good city security. In fact, it is a good place to make a living on the sea.
But no matter where you are, not everyone is rich, not everyone has a stable job, and there are also many people who are struggling to make a living.
When they heard that Hollywood was building a large-scale project and recruiting people for the work, almost all the idle people in the city gathered there.
The team of more than 10,000 people was divided into hundreds of small teams, and each team was busy under the leadership of a team leader.
Li Ang built a high platform between the two docks, put a sunshade on it, and then held a loud speaker to be the on-site commander. Coordination is one of the abilities of a director, and his ability to coordinate is, to be frank, the best in the world.
Hundreds of engineering teams, as well as logistics groups, accounting teams, security teams and a bunch of other motley crowd, worked at full capacity under his command.
The leader of each group is a grassroots manager drawn from the company. They are responsible for leading a team of 20 to 30 people. They must not only clarify the tasks, but also supervise their subordinates in their work. There are also some teams that work by piecework, and they need to be responsible for distributing counting chips and recording how much work their subordinates have done.
It can be said that these people were in a panic at the beginning, especially in a large group of more than 10,000 people, their voices were almost hoarse.
Someone found the location of the central platform and told them the situation. Li Ang immediately had people make colorful flags, write numbers on them, and tie them to the sun hats of the team leaders. This immediately made management smooth.
Hundreds of teams, with various tasks and temporary emergencies, all gathered at Li Ang’s command desk.
He listened to the situation report on the spot and was able to think of a suitable solution immediately. In addition, he temporarily transferred Jennifer and Karina to serve as his secretaries to help Nami work together.
Not only that, Leon also asked Bingshan to mobilize the foreman of the Lareka Shipbuilding Company to lead the team to help with the work.
These people are all experienced and can be used as a force for attacking. When necessary, these capable foremen can also serve as a security force.
The makeshift team of tens of thousands of people, under his command, was like a bloated army, slowly getting used to each other and functioning.
“Nami, go inform the company cafeteria and ask them to boil a dozen pots of salt water. There are too many people, and drinking water is a big problem. Tell them to cook mung bean soup tomorrow.”
“Jennifer, go check on the chefs and ask them if lunch is ready. It’s almost noon and so many people can’t wait to eat. Don’t waste too much time. Tell them that they will also charge for the lunch boxes. Make it cheaper, 100 Baileys per box. If we don’t charge, the situation will definitely get out of control.”
“Okay boss, I’ll be there right away.”
“Karina, go to the company to find Hogback and ask him to organize a temporary medical team to wait at the construction site. Go to the recruitment department to notify them and issue a notice to recruit medical personnel.”
“Nami!”
“Boss, I’m back.”
“Record.”
“yes!”
“During the evening meeting, notify all the team leaders and ask them to keep an eye on the people working under them. Keep an eye out for those who have special skills and are hardworking. When the project is finished, these people can be recruited into the company.”
A huge rock weighing more than two tons was dropped, causing people around to exclaim. Locke took a breath and looked up to see the man on the high platform in the middle of the dock. He heard that he was the boss of Hollywood, and a trace of envy and admiration flashed in his eyes.
I heard that the other party is not only a movie star, but also a powerful master, and his ability to make money is unmatched. If I had this ability, my father’s illness would not be uncurable.
“Brother, what’s your name?” The person who asked the question was the team leader that Locke was in.
The team leader had noticed this young man a long time ago. Others would work together to lift a long stone, which weighed at most 300 to 400 kilograms. But this guy was so good that he directly carried the heaviest stone and did it all by himself. It was simply supernatural power.
Locke showed his white teeth and smiled shyly, “My name is Locke.”
“Locke, that’s right. Here are your chips. Take them. You’ll use them to settle your wages tonight.”
The team leader gave him ten chips. Others would run one chip per trip, so it wasn’t too much for him to take ten chips. Looking at the weight of the stone, it was at least ten times the weight of an ordinary stone, and he carried it all by himself, so it was definitely worth the price.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Brother Locke, how did you come here to carry rocks? If you have this ability, you can definitely apply for a security guard position in our company.”
“Can I? I just came to the Water City and I don’t know where to apply for a job.”
“That’s easy. I’ll take you to find someone when I’m done. Brother Locke, security pay is very good. Although it may not be as good as carrying rocks, it’s a formal job. Not only is food and accommodation provided, but there are also benefits. If you get injured or disabled in the future, our boss will support you for life.”
“Really?” Locke became excited and quickly agreed: “Then I’ll find you after I finish my work.”
“Okay, I’ll take you there when we get off work. My name is Colin, Wayne Colin.”
“Thank you, Brother Colin.”
“No, no, I just came a few months earlier than you.”
Seeing that someone else had picked up something, Colin said, “We’ll talk more about this in the afternoon. You can go and get busy first.”
“Okay.”
Locke left happily. He felt that he was lucky to find a good job not long after arriving in Water City. He had also heard about the generous treatment in Hollywood.
Chapter 32: Expectations (Old Version)
At noon, twenty long tables were lined up next to the dock construction site, and they were filled with food. Smelling the aroma of the food, the people who couldn’t wait any longer rushed over to grab some food first.
However, the men in Hollywood security uniforms beat these unruly men until they cried for their parents, and then shouted, “Line up! Line up!”
The world of One Piece can be said to be a chaotic world. When it comes to queuing, only large organizations like the Navy can enforce it. For others, it’s just a matter of grabbing. What is queuing? I don’t understand!
Hollywood is different. After operating for a few months, Hollywood employees are used to queuing. If they see someone breaking the rules, they will naturally not be polite.
The leaders of each team also ran over and organized everyone to line up.
Colin called Locke for help, and Locke naturally obeyed. He went over and grabbed the two rude and troublesome men one in each hand and threw them aside like two chickens.
After some adjustments, everyone finally knew what to do, and they followed suit and formed crooked lines.
A dozen teams of people were busy serving food. They put two meat dishes and two ingredients on special plates and handed them to the people eating. They charged 100 Baileys. It didn’t matter if you didn’t bring Baileys. One counting stick was 100 Baileys. You could get a box lunch with one counting stick you got in the morning.
Locke followed Colin and was very envious when he saw Colin get a free lunch box just by showing his employee card.
When it was his turn, he took three abacus sticks and handed them over, saying, “I, I’ll take three.”
In front of him was a black-haired girl of about 16 or 17 years old. She didn’t have a Hollywood employee card on her chest and was obviously a temporary worker at the construction site. But she was really pretty.
The girl smiled and said, “Take two first. You can’t take more. Come back after you finish eating. There is plenty of food here.”
“Oh, yes, okay!”
Locke stuffed the abacus into his waist, took out two and handed them over, took two lunch boxes, walked over to sit next to Colin, and started eating with big mouthfuls.
“It’s delicious.” Locke enjoyed the meal. A box lunch with both meat and vegetables like this would cost at least two or three hundred Baileys if eaten outside, but here it only cost 100 Baileys, which was a great deal.
Colin smiled and said, “When you become an employee of the company, you will eat better. Especially the food in the security team is better. Because they have to exercise, they can eat as much meat as they want.”
“Of course it’s true! The food we usually eat is much better than here. There were too many people today, and I guess the chefs didn’t put much effort into the cooking, so it’s not as delicious as usual.”
“It’s delicious.” Locke thought the food was good. The food he usually ate at restaurants outside was not as good as this.
Colin shook his head: “That’s because the food in our Hollywood is good. The food at the Grand Theater is famous, and the chefs hired by the company are all very good chefs.”
“That’s great.”
“That’s right. You will be able to become a member of the company soon. Don’t worry, I will take you there after I finish my work this afternoon.”
The reason why Colin is so concerned is, of course, because the company has a rule that those who introduce outstanding talents to the company can get bonuses and merit records, which will be helpful for his future promotion.
The scene of nearly 10,000 people eating together was very shocking. There were no tables and chairs, but everyone didn’t mind. They just found a place to sit down and chat while eating. There was laughter everywhere.
“Maria, you must be tired. Go eat. I’ll take care of this.”
“Okay, thank you Sister Mel.”
“You’re welcome. Go ahead.”
Maria, who had black hair, got a box lunch and sat down with the sisters behind her to eat and chat. Everyone liked to listen to the team leader talk about things in Hollywood. Work, salary, daily fun, and the boss.
When talking about his boss, the team leader’s eyes light up.
After she became a Hollywood employee, she earned more money than her parents combined, and her family could finally eat meat every day and buy new clothes. She didn’t have to worry about anything, and even if she went out in a uniform, people would still look at her with respect.
In the entire Water City, the only enviable jobs are the Carrera Shipyard and the Hollywood Theater. This is a job that is envied by the entire city.
The team leader saw Maria sitting next to him and said with a smile: “Maria, you are so beautiful, you will definitely be able to join the company in the future.”
Maria smiled embarrassedly. She did want to join Hollywood, but not to become an employee, but to become a movie star.
She was not from Water City, but from the countryside of the gourmet town of Puke. By chance, she saw someone playing a movie from Holiday Water City in Puke, and for the first time she knew what a movie was. Later, she heard that Hollywood was recruiting actors who could sing, so she immediately borrowed money and came to Water City. Unfortunately, when she came here, the actor recruitment had ended.
Maria didn’t want to go back, nor did she want to miss the opportunity. Even if she wanted to go back, she didn’t have enough money to buy a boat or train ticket. She worked odd jobs in the Water City, hoping to wait for the next opportunity.
Unexpectedly, after waiting for less than a week, she heard the news of a large-scale construction project in Hollywood. No matter what, she felt that she was one step closer to her dream.
“I’m going to tell you a secret, remember not to tell anyone else.”
The team leader’s words made everyone prick up their ears and come closer. She said, “You have seen the big move here. The big places like Dock No. 5 and Dock No. 6 have been bought by the boss.”
Everyone nodded. Of course they understood the matter, but they just didn’t know what the secret was.
The team leader said, “I heard that the company is planning to build a new, larger theater, a new company building, employee dormitories, and a big hotel. When the project is finished, more employees will definitely be needed. Do you understand what I mean?”
The girls’ eyes lit up. “Team Leader, are you saying that Hollywood will continue to recruit people?!”
“Of course. You’ve all seen that the Hollywood Theater alone has more than 600 employees. By the time the three docks are built into companies, there will definitely not be enough people to work. We will definitely need to recruit more people.”
“Really? That would be great, it would be great to be an employee in Hollywood.”
“Team leader, do you want someone my age?”
“Yes, the company is not strictly age-sensitive. The chef team and the logistics department need people who are willing to work hard. Everyone, please work hard. If the company recruits more people, they will definitely ask for our opinions.”
“Team leader, we must work hard.”
A group of girls expressed their opinions and decided in their hearts that they would work harder so that their team leaders could see their efforts, which would definitely make it easier for them to join Hollywood.
Maria also had a plan in mind. No matter what, if she couldn’t become an actor right away, maybe she could become an employee of a company first. As an employee of Hollywood, she would be able to know about the recruitment of actors at the first time.
Chapter 33: Advertising and Novels (Old Edition)
Locke successfully joined the Hollywood company’s security team.
In fact, Li Ang had noticed this young man a long time ago. He was only seventeen or eighteen years old, but he was born with supernatural powers, which were rare even in this world full of monsters.
He can carry a two-ton boulder by himself and walk briskly, but even now, he can barely do it. You have to know that his current Dao Power has reached 360 points, and he can easily defeat a pirate with a bounty of 30 million berries.
However, Locke is a complete novice who knows no combat skills at all. How could Le Ang miss such a good opportunity?
He immediately accepted Locke and gave him a position as a security team leader, with a monthly salary of 300,000 Baileys. Food and accommodation were all covered, and that was not all. Leon also accepted him as his second disciple.
This made the others envious. Their boss had only accepted one apprentice so far, the orphan named Li Jieming. Everyone knew that Locke, who had just joined the company, was lucky and would definitely be successful in the future.
Locke was of course very happy to join the company. Although his income was lower after joining the company (he could earn more than 20,000 Baileys a day by carrying rocks), he couldn’t do this job forever. But joining the company was different. He could earn 300,000 Baileys even without carrying rocks, and his income would increase in the future.
That’s not all. After becoming a formal employee, he doesn’t have to pay for meals. Another benefit that surprised him is free medical care for employees’ families.
Locke was overjoyed. After hearing the news, he immediately brought his father to the company to see a doctor.
Although Hogbag, the head of the company’s medical department, is proficient in surgery, he has no difficulty treating some minor internal medicine diseases. Locke’s father suffered from a common disease among old sailors, which is old rheumatism. After a simple operation by him, the symptoms were quickly relieved. In the future, as long as he takes medicine on time, although it may not be completely cured, he will no longer be in so much pain.
Locke, who had gotten rid of his worries, was smiling every day, either following Li Ang to listen to his instructions, or practicing martial arts with Li Jieming under Li Ang’s guidance, or going to the company to accept Barry’s training.
Barry was also very optimistic about Locke, who was a good talent. He was very concerned about him and taught him almost everything he knew, with the idea of ​​training Locke to be his successor.
In addition to the lucky Locke, several people with good physique were introduced to the company’s security team. In addition, some people who showed excellent management talents in their daily work were also included in the scope of investigation. After a few days of investigation, it was determined that their character was fine and they became members of the company.
As Hollywood develops rapidly, it naturally needs as many talents as possible. During the meeting, Li Ang expressed his stance to his subordinates and actively recruited useful talents to join the company.
In order to encourage everyone to actively participate in this matter, he rewarded employees who introduced talents to the company. For example, Colin, who introduced Locke, directly received a six-month salary bonus and a promotion.
With such a real-life example, the team leaders of each group naturally paid more attention to discovering talents, because in addition to the reward of promotion and salary increase, they also learned a sentence from the boss.
‘An employee who can recommend someone who is more capable than himself to join the company shows that he is loyal to the company, has a sense of justice, and is worthy of training and promotion.’
It is a great honor to receive such recognition. Naturally, everyone wants to be the one who is fair-minded and loyal to the company. And there are direct rewards, so why not do it?
In terms of centripetal force, in the entire Water City, only Carrera Shipbuilding Company can be compared with Hollywood Company. Carrera Shipbuilding Company relies on the sense of honor brought by time, while Hollywood relies on good treatment and benefits, as well as the personal charm of the boss.
Maria did not become a regular employee of Hollywood, although she heard about lucky people being recommended to join the company every day. But those people were all very talented people. Maria believed that she had no other talents except being beautiful and good at singing.
But she was not disappointed. After all, there were only a few people who could be recommended by the team leader to join the company. Most people worked hard as always. Here, as long as you work hard, you can get a generous salary, and it’s paid daily!
Although the work was hard every day, they were very happy to work together. And they also got a promise that when the project was finished, most of them would have the opportunity to join Hollywood.
The large-scale project of renovating the three docks will create many new departments, which will inevitably require the recruitment of a large number of people. Hollywood has promised that in the future, the first choice for recruiting employees will be those working on the construction site.
And on this day, Maria received a piece of news that surprised her greatly.
Hollywood Company placed an advertisement in the World Economic News for four consecutive issues. That is, Hollywood Entertainment Company is planning to organize a singing competition. Anyone under the age of 30 can participate, and the time is set in three months.
In this singing competition, all top ten contestants will receive a reward of 5 million Baileys.
The reward for third place is doubled to 10 million Baileys.
The prize for second place will be doubled to 20 million Baileys.
The first place winner will receive a reward of 50 million Baileys.
In addition, all promising singers will be signed to Hollywood companies for training.
Maria, who doesn’t read newspapers, went to the company to sign up immediately when she heard the news from her team leader. Then, in addition to her daily work, she would take out her spare time to practice singing.
She is very confident in her voice. She missed the chance to act in a movie last time because she missed the time. This time, she will definitely not miss it. She must succeed and become a Hollywood artist. If she can’t be a movie star, becoming a singer is also good.
Advertising in newspapers can be considered as a first for Leon in this world.
When the World Economic News heard that he was interested in cooperating, it immediately sent a general manager to negotiate. How could the World Economic News not know about Hollywood film companies? Even the World Economic News had made great efforts to make the new thing of film famous.
Li Ang’s cooperation with them was very simple, which was to authorize the serialization of the novel and give him four issues of advertising.
The name of the novel is “Dragon Ball”. Although it is a comic book adaptation, for him, a superstar in the entertainment industry with top-notch writing skills, the novel is still extremely brilliant.
The reason why I chose to write about Dragon Ball is that the biggest feature of Dragon Ball is its passion, as well as its various fantastic training methods and duels. For people in the world of One Piece, such a novel is perfect.
As a world with a severe lack of entertainment, just like the movies, the Dragon Ball novel immediately attracted worldwide attention once it appeared.
Chapter 34: Scalpers (Old Version)
Under the white seagull flag, on the huge battleship deck, Borsalino lay back in the recliner, reading the newspaper in his hand comfortably.
The gentle breeze, the cries of seagulls, the sound of huge warships splitting the waves, and the exciting training sounds of the naval soldiers around him could not affect his mind in the slightest.
After finishing the last paragraph, Borsalino flipped through the newspaper and found that there was really no novel in this issue. He sighed and shook his head in annoyance.
“It’s gone again. It’s really frustrating.”
“The Ruyi Rod, the Universal Capsule, the Dragon Balls that can make any wish come true, the Somersault Cloud, and the lustful Roshi-sensei. What an interesting story.”
At this moment, a sergeant ran over, saluted, and said loudly: “General, the Water Capital is almost here.”
“Oh~, really?”
Borsalino looked up and saw the huge fountain vaguely visible on the distant sea.
“Not bad, not bad, we’re finally here.”
After saying that, he stood up and went back to the captain’s cabin. When he came out again, he had changed into a set of loose casual clothes with patterns.
He said to his adjutant, Fiennes, “Fire.”
Fiennes frowned and said, “There must be a welcome ceremony in the Water City~”
“Oh, I know. They are all boring banquets. You can just attend as a representative. Rest in the Water City for three days. Don’t look for me during these three days.”
“Yes!” Fiennes had no choice but to signal to the gunner next to him.
With a bang, the huge cannon at the bow of the ship actually fired at the Water City.
At some point, a person appeared standing on the rapidly-shot round cannonball. It was Borsalino!
The whistling wind did not affect him at all. He felt as comfortable as standing on the deck of a ship, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the water city getting closer and closer.
The shell flew a distance of five or six miles and slowly fell into the sea. A ray of light flashed, and Borsalino was already standing on the street of the Water City.
Looking at the people coming and going around him and the smiles on their faces, he smiled.
“It’s a beautiful city indeed.”
He had been to the Water City before, but in the past, he seemed not to have discovered the charm of this city. It was not until he saw the Water City that he realized belatedly that there was such a beautiful and vibrant city.
Having rented a blue boat and holding a few skewers of water meat in his hand, General Borsalino looked very much like the tourists who came to the Water City for vacation.
“Oh, let’s go visit this place tomorrow. Let’s go to the Hollywood Theater. I heard that Mr. Leon’s second movie has already started showing.”
“Of course it’s true! It started in the morning. If you go to buy a ticket now, you don’t know how long you will have to wait.”
“There must be a lot of people lining up.”
“That’s for sure. Buy the ticket first.”
“A new movie? That’s definitely something you can’t miss.”
Hearing the discussions around him, Borsalino perked up. He said to Blue, “You know how to get to the Hollywood Theater, right?”
Blue looked back, nodding his head like a chicken pecking at rice. In his intuition, the human being he was carrying was definitely a hundred times more terrifying than the sea kings in the ocean, so he naturally did not dare to neglect him in the slightest.
“Oh, great, let’s go to Hollywood. What good luck that a new movie is released on the first day I arrive.”
Blue swung his tail high into the air, creating a line of water that twisted and turned, passed through a water elevator, and soon brought Borsalino to the door of the Hollywood Theater.
Looking at the long queue of people extending out from the theater, Borsalino was a little dumbfounded. How long would it take to get through such a long queue?
He was a little distressed. It was impossible for him to queue, but there seemed to be no special passage. Besides, with his identity, if people here didn’t know him, it would be very embarrassing to make a scene.
I thought about asking my subordinates to get some tickets, but I found that it might take a long time and be more troublesome.
When he was struggling with the issue, he saw a tall curtain hanging next to the theater and heard horns sounding from inside. He wondered what was going on inside.
Out of curiosity, he stopped a passerby and asked, only to find out that Hollywood boss Le Ang was planning to build a new theater and hotel.
“Why do we need curtains to cover a big theater?”
“Oh, I heard it’s to prevent dust. You know what, when we started construction a few days ago, it was really dusty here. Since the high curtains were hung, the dust has indeed decreased. It doesn’t affect watching movies in the theater.”
“Interesting idea.”
Hearing the sounds of busy work inside, he wanted to go in and take a look.
Just then, a man wearing small sunglasses came over.
“Hey, bro, want a ticket?”
Zanbai had already seen this tall man, and he looked wealthy from the way he was dressed. From the way he looked around, he must be a wealthy customer who wanted to watch a movie but didn’t want to queue up to buy a ticket.
“You got a ticket?”
“Of course!” Zanbai slightly turned his body to block the view of the theater entrance, and lowered his voice and said: “Tickets for The Sound of Music, the second movie directed by Mr. Li Ang. It’s in Theater 3, and I’ll be watching it in half an hour. How about it, are you interested?”
“Oh, so, is your ticket real?”
“Of course it’s true!” Zambai seemed a little angry because of the other party’s suspicion, and said: “Our Frankie family has been queuing up here to buy tickets early in the morning. You know, one person can buy a maximum of three tickets. These tickets were not easy to get. The movie is about to start. If you wait in line, it will take at least four or five hours to buy tickets, and you may not be able to enter immediately.”
“How about it? Only 10,000 Baileys and you can go in and watch the latest movie right away.”
Zambai was afraid that he would not believe it, so he took out the ticket and showed it to him. “Look, it’s written here, The Sound of Music, and the time starts at 3:30 pm. It can’t be wrong. We’re selling tickets outside, you go in with the ticket, and if it’s fake, you can find me when you come out.”
Borsalino rubbed his brow with his fingers and frowned, “Aren’t movie tickets 1,000 Baileys each?”
“Oh, of course. But you have to queue up for the 1,000 Bailey tickets. If you want to get in faster, you have to pay more. Right? You save the trouble, and we earn some hard-earned money. It’s good for you and it’s good for me.”
“Oh, I see. So that’s how it is.”
Borsalino certainly had plenty of money. He reached into his pocket, but only pulled out a five thousand berley note. He then remembered that he had forgotten his wallet when he changed his clothes. The money in his pocket was the pocket money he had left on his casual clothes.
“No money? Forget it.”
Seeing his expression, Zanbai left immediately. Movie tickets are easy to sell, so there is no need to lower the price. The Frankie family finally came up with a good idea to make money, so they can’t waste time on one person.
Seeing the other party turn around and leave without any hesitation, Borsalino was stunned for a long time.
“Well, I still have to rely on myself.”
At the ticket gate, a man was holding a movie ticket and turned back to chat with his friend. A flash of light passed by, but he didn’t pay attention. When he handed the ticket over, the ticket collector spoke.
“Sir, the ticket is over there. This is the ticket gate.”
“I bought the ticket.” The man said, shaking the movie ticket in his hand, and then he realized that it felt wrong. He looked and found that the movie ticket in his hand had turned into a five thousand Bailey bill.
“Uh~ What’s going on? I clearly bought the ticket.”
The ticket checker was still smiling, and even bowed slightly before saying, “Sir, you can only enter by ticket, not by cash. Sorry. Next.”
The man was confused and confirmed that he did not have 5,000 Baileys on him. But why did the movie ticket become a banknote?
However, turning a movie ticket worth one thousand into five thousand Baileys doesn’t seem to be a loss.
Behind him, Borsalino, wearing brown sunglasses, held a movie ticket for The Sound of Music in his hand and smiled obscenely.
Chapter 35: The Sound of Music (Old Version)
Borsalino followed the waiter’s instructions, found the corresponding seat and sat down, and found that all around him were audiences with excited expressions looking forward to the start of the movie.
In less than ten minutes, the lights in the screening room dimmed and everyone knew that the movie was about to begin.
The opening scene was a long shot. Of course, he didn’t know what a long shot was. He just thought that the aerial view of the water city was very beautiful and comfortable.
In the last movie Holiday Water City, the opening scene was a scene of looking at the Water City from the sea, which was also very shocking. This time, it gives people a feeling of beauty.
“How beautiful!”
“So this is the Water City?”
“It’s really beautiful!”
“Shh, everyone, be quiet.”
The first shot caused the audience to exclaim and whisper.
The picture finally freezes on a girl singing under the waterfall, a beautiful girl with short brown hair.
“Is this the heroine?”
“It’s so beautiful. Who is this?”
“Shut up and don’t make any noise!”
Borsalino also felt that the talkative girls around him were quite noisy, but it did not affect the viewing experience.
The girl was singing. She was a nun. Her liveliness made the nuns love and hate her. It happened that the colonel’s family needed a tutor, so the nuns let the girl go out to be a tutor.
The story continues when Li Ang, who plays the colonel, appears and a group of girls in the screening room exclaim in surprise.
“Oh my god! So handsome!”
“Leon is so handsome. He looks so cool in this navy captain uniform!”
The girls’ exclamations caused complaints and dissatisfaction from the male compatriots. However, the exclamations soon died down because everyone wanted to see what the first contact between the colonel and the nun was like.
When the lively nun saw the colonel using a whistle to manage his children, she was stunned.
The nun refused to tolerate the colonel and refused to use the whistle. She even used the whistle to mock the colonel, which caused laughter in the screening room.
The audience was inexplicably excited and looked forward to the story of the nun and the colonel. The group of cute and beautiful children also made the audience exclaim.
There are seven children, all of them are pretty and handsome, especially the youngest one. Just by standing there, people can’t help but want to pinch her round face.
It’s really cute.
Taking the opportunity of introducing themselves, seven naughty children put a toad in the nun’s pocket, which frightened the nun. Also, during dinner, a dried sea urchin was placed on her seat, and when the nun sat down, she screamed in fear.
Just from these two simple conflict scenes, the audience knows that the contact between the nun governess and the children will definitely not be smooth.
“The guy who delivered the telegram was also very handsome.”
“Her skirt is really beautiful. It must be sold outside. I will go buy one later.”
“See? This movie was shot in my house. I appeared in it several times. You’ll see it later.” A young girl, who was obviously wearing aristocratic clothes, showed off to her companions in surprise.
Unexpectedly, the girl sitting next to him turned out to be a noble lady. Unfortunately, she was too noisy. Borsalino was a little annoyed by these chattering girls.
When thunder and lightning and heavy rain came at night, the children ran to the nun’s bedroom. The nun encouraged the children with her enthusiasm and singing, and initial trust was established between the two sides.
When the colonel left home, the lively nun started to run wild with a group of naughty children. Their footsteps were all over the water city, and their laughter flowed along with the waterfall.
“It’s so beautiful. Using curtains to make clothes is so creative.”
“The Baroness’s clothes are the most beautiful. I must buy them!”
“That must be very expensive.”
“I’ll buy it no matter how expensive it is. It makes me look so elegant. I don’t know who designed this dress, it’s so charming.”
A few days later, the colonel brought back the baroness, and the nun took the children back on the blue boat. Because they were too excited, everyone fell into the water. The plot took a sharp turn. The colonel scolded the nun for corrupting the children. The nun did not show any weakness and refuted that the colonel was too strict and had no idea how to raise children. It was ridiculous to teach children the same way as the navy trained soldiers.
The angry colonel decided to fire the nun, and at this moment, beautiful singing was heard.
Next, when the colonel heard the children singing, he could no longer hold back and joined in. The singing brought the colonel and the children closer together. This scene was so warm and touching.
“I was so touched that I cried~”
“The colonel is so handsome. It turns out he can sing, too.”
“I’m so touched. Please don’t fire Xin Duoli.”
The colonel came to his senses, looked at the embarrassed Sister Xin Duoli, and chased after her to apologize. This scene made countless girls cry.
Borsalino certainly would not be moved by such childish emotions, he just felt that the children should love their father very much. However, the colonel was always strict, so the children did not know how to get close to him.
Next, a shepherd song with a unique style made the whole theater excited. People even couldn’t help humming along with the movie.
Borsalino also liked this song. Besides, there were many songs in this movie. He thought it was necessary to buy this movie and show it on the warship. It would be very interesting. There must be something to relax you on the sea.
The next plot is naturally the love between the colonel and the nun. After all her efforts, the elegant and noble baroness finally chose to withdraw gracefully.
“The Baroness is also a good woman, it’s a pity that the Colonel did not choose her.”
“If it were me, I would definitely choose the Baroness. She is beautiful, elegant, noble, and rich. Is this colonel a fool to choose a nun?”
“What a pity! Both the nun and the baroness are great. It’s hard to choose between the two.”
“The colonel probably loves his children more, so he chose the nun because of them.”
In this version of the movie, Leon did not join the German army’s complex, but focused on the emotional line, which ended when the Baroness withdrew and the Colonel’s family successfully won the singing competition.
When the movie ended, the performers’ names appeared on the screen and the audience stood up and applauded enthusiastically.
Li Ang followed the tradition of using the actors’ real names as the characters in his first film. Therefore, everyone in the theater cheered loudly for their favorite characters.
A good movie! Another good movie!
Watching a good movie always makes people happy. Borsalino had a relaxed smile on his face, thinking that this trip was really worth it. He followed the crowd out. However, he didn’t know that someone was already waiting for him at the ticket gate.
Chapter 36: So scary (old version)
There are two rows of girls in maid outfits standing at the ticket gate. Just like at the theater entrance, they are all attendants who guide people. Many audiences who have just finished watching a movie will go to buy costumes and figures, or movie cassettes under the recommendation of these girls, or if they want to eat, they will ask which store has what special food.
Borsalino was also very excited. He wanted to take a good look around this interesting theater and buy two movie cassettes. It would be fun to be able to play the movies himself during the voyage.
Unfortunately, he had no money on him now. Thinking of this, he took out the Den Den Mushi and prepared to ask Fiennes to bring him some Baileys.
Just then, a man wearing a mask walked up to him.
“Mr. Borsalino?”
“Oh~, it’s me. Who are you?” He looked down at the man in front of him. The other person covered most of his face with a mask, but he still felt a little familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere.
The person standing in front of him was naturally Li Ang. He looked up at the other person and felt pressured.
When a general-level warrior like Borsalino restrains his aura, ordinary people cannot feel the difference between them and ordinary people. Only those with strong strength can feel the pressure slightly.
And Li Ang could vaguely feel the other party’s powerful aura like a mountain.
Of course, part of the pressure also came from the opponent’s height. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, and in front of the opponent’s 2.8 meters tall, he was really a dwarf.
“Hello, I’m Li Ang, welcome to Hollywood.”
“Leon? Ah~, it’s you!”
Borsalino was surprised and his voice was a little loud, which instantly attracted the attention of several girls around him. When their eyes fell on Li Ang, even though he was wearing a mask, he was recognized by these girls.
“Ah! It’s Leon! It’s really Mr. Leon!”
“Oh my god! Aaaaaaaaaah~”
“Leon! Leon! Leon! I love you.”
“I love you, Leon, I want to have a baby with you.”
Looking at Leon who was instantly surrounded by crazy women, Borsalino raised his hands with a look of innocence and amazement.
“How scary~”
The women’s madness attracted the attention of other people in the theater, and more and more women rushed here like crazy.
Fortunately, Leon had witnessed the madness of crazy fans in his previous life, so he had a backup plan.
At his signal, music started playing from the circular platform not far from the ticket gate. It was the song of a lonely shepherd.
On the stage, the Seven Little Fortunes, Xin Duoli, and Baroness Taylor came out to sing, instantly attracting everyone’s attention. Even the crazy women stopped pestering Li Ang and involuntarily gathered around the stage.
Under the stage, security guards stood in a circle to ensure the safety of the actors.
Leon took the opportunity to escape, and when he came to Borsalino again, his hair was messy, his clothes were wrinkled, and even the mask was gone.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Borsalino, I made you embarrassed.” He took out a new mask and put it on, then extended his hand to the other person.
Borsalino shook his hand, exclaiming, “That was really scary!”
“This is the price of fame. Let me show you around the theatre.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You are so polite. To be honest, I am really honored and surprised by your coming.”
“You knew I was coming?”
“Of course I don’t know. My men saw the warship arrive at the port. The largest warships like that can only be used by high-ranking naval officers above the rank of vice admiral.”
In fact, the security department established by Li Ang is not just a security guard, it also includes his intelligence network.
Although the intelligence network dare not expand on a large scale due to the existence of CP9 in Water City, there are still some basic monitoring of Water City.
He knew all the information, such as the gang forces in Water City, the new pirates and so on.
Otherwise, how could he easily find so many pirates to hunt in these four months? Those pirates were carefully selected by him, and they were strong enough but not beyond his strength limit. Through fighting with these pirates, his combat experience and strength grew rapidly.
Speaking of intelligence organizations, the one Leon admires most is Crocodile.
Baroque Studio was established with a lofty ideal. Through this killer organization, Crocodile was able to complete a plan to usurp the country of a superpower in just a few years.
Compared to Crocodile, Doflamingo’s methods are crude and childish, relying entirely on the power of the fruit to push forward, without any technical content. And the Four Emperors, in front of Crocodile’s methods, are all a bunch of brainless thugs.
Unfortunately, in the end, this world still relies on strength to speak. Leon has a clear understanding of this and knows the importance of cultivating power. If possible, it would be best to ask Robin to be an advisor. However, Robin’s identity is too sensitive and needs to be carefully planned.
This is getting off topic. Ideals are ideals, and reality is reality. In just two or three months, all he could do was to conduct a rough monitoring of the Water City.
For example, when a navy ship arrived at the port, Leon knew it immediately. And his theater was full of surveillance cameras, so he naturally knew that General Borsalino came to the theater to watch a movie.
“The movie is great. I watched Holiday Water City in Marinford, so I want to see if Water City is really as beautiful as in the movie.”
“How do you feel?”
The two of them burst into laughter.
After a brief tour, Li Ang gave the other party two movie cassettes, one of Holiday Water City and one of The Sound of Music.
“Is there any completed work of Dragon Ball?”
Leon did not use a pseudonym when he published the Dragon Ball novel. When Borsalino heard that Dragon Ball was also written by him, he immediately wanted a complete version of the novel.
The World Economic News is a weekly publication, with only one serial published once a week. How can it be enjoyable to read?
“I don’t have a complete version, but I’ve almost finished writing the first part. I haven’t sent it to the newspaper for publication yet. Would you like to take a look first?”
“Really? That couldn’t be better!”
The two came to Li Ang’s office, and Li Ang made him a cup of tea. Borsalino couldn’t wait to read the manuscript of the novel.
Two hours later, he finally put down the manuscript of the novel with satisfaction.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I spent so much time watching it.”
“It’s okay. I feel honored to be liked and recognized by you. It’s noon now. Let’s have lunch together. I have some ideas for cooperation with the Navy. I wonder if you would like to hear them.”
“Oh, it should be very interesting. It doesn’t hurt to listen to it.”
Borsalino knew that the other party must be asking for something since he was giving gifts and showing his courtesy. He also wanted to know what this young man who was good at making movies was thinking.
Chapter 37: Possibility of Cooperation with the Navy (Old Version)
Among the three current admirals of the navy, Leon has a good impression of Aokiji and Borsalino.
Although the so-called “lazy justice” and “ambiguous justice” practiced by the two sound funny, but in this twisted world under the high pressure of the world government and the Celestial Dragons, what is absolute justice?
Akainu’s kind of ‘absolute justice’ is just treating himself as a mindless weapon. They don’t think more, nor do they want to think more, because the reality is cruel. They simply don’t think about anything, as long as they firmly believe that what they do is right.
If it was Akainu Sakaski who came to Water City this time, Leon would definitely roll away as far as possible and would never appear in front of him. Because he was afraid that the other party would go crazy and regard him as an enemy, and then he would really ignore the consequences and be rewarded with a big fire.
Borsalino, who was sitting opposite Leon at this time, heard that the other party was going to cooperate with the navy, which aroused his curiosity.
“Yes, cooperation. As you know, I am a director, and I am good at making movies.”
Li Ang asked, “If I could make a film that celebrates the Navy, do you think it would help the Navy recruit soldiers?”
Borsalino’s obscene performance made him fall into thought. He understood every word the other party said, but when they were put together, he didn’t know what they were saying. What does the movie have to do with the navy recruiting soldiers?
Seeing the other party thinking, Li Ang continued: “You have watched Holiday Water City and The Sound of Music, right?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s easy. You know, before this movie came out, Water City was prosperous, but definitely not as prosperous as it is now. I asked the mayor, Mr. Iceberg, and he said that the city’s tax revenue increased by 30% last month alone. This is because the movie was only filmed not long ago. When the entire ocean knows about Water City, it will inevitably become the most prosperous place in the first half of the entire Grand Route.”
“By the same token, if I can make a movie with navy soldiers as the protagonists, I believe that men all over the sea will enthusiastically sign up to join the navy, and even feel proud to be a member of the navy.”
“Just like Roger opened the era of pirates, countless hot-blooded and brainless people are proud to be pirates. What I want to do is to make a movie that praises navy soldiers and let everyone know that pirates are evil and only the navy can bring security and stability.”
Borsalino finally nodded and said in a leisurely tone: “That makes sense, let’s shoot it.”
After saying that, he started eating by himself, which made Li Ang feel uncomfortable as the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat.
Li Ang picked up the water cup to moisten his throat, then said: “Well, if we want to make a movie about naval soldiers, we definitely need the cooperation of the navy.”
“No problem, I will talk to Marshal Zhan Guo about this matter, I think he will agree.”
Well, Li Ang understood that the shining general in front of him was obviously playing dumb. So, he showed his hand.
“Mr. Borsalino, would you like to hear the story of this movie I made?”
“Yeah, that’ll be fun.”
When the food was served, Borsalino started eating right away, signaling the other party that they could start.
Li Ang was helpless and had to tell the story of the movie he had conceived.
“The movie is about a peaceful island where the inhabitants live and work in peace and contentment, and lead a happy life.”
“Suddenly one day a group of pirates came and occupied the island, enslaving the residents to build a manor for their enjoyment. Among them, a young man was unwilling to be humiliated and decided to resist.”
“But he was not strong enough. His father died trying to save him. The young man was injured and fell into the sea, but was eventually rescued by a passing ship.”
“Then, the young man went to find the navy and trained at the naval base. During this time, he met many interesting companions.”
“Finally, the young man and his companions found the pirates, fought with them, and finally won.”
“At the moment of victory, the young sailors saluted the navy flag together. The strong wind blew, and their navy cloaks and navy flags fluttered together.”
The story is very simple. This kind of routine was very common in the previous life, and Li Ang only needed to modify the story of “Shaolin Temple” and apply it. As for the love story line interspersed in it, of course it has a perfect ending.
After listening to the description, Borsalino praised it repeatedly, especially the last sentence of the other party’s description, which was like a movie scene in front of him.
“Not bad, not bad, very good. It will definitely be a good movie.”
Li Ang smiled and thanked him, then began to enjoy the food, slowly introducing the characteristics of the food and other food in his theater. As for the movie, he didn’t mention it at all.
Now that he is no longer in a hurry, it is Borsalino’s turn to be anxious.
This little guy in front of him had aroused his interest, but he gave up halfway and said nothing. How could he tolerate this?
He asked, “Um, when will the movie be shot?”
“Well, this requires the cooperation of the Navy. Also, I’m very busy here and may not be able to spare the time.”
Borsalino wanted to give the opponent a light-speed kick. How could this not be infuriating?
“Haha, no problem. I’ll contact Marshal Zhan Guo as soon as I get back. If you need any cooperation from the navy, we will definitely not hesitate.”
Seeing that he had almost whetted the other party’s appetite, Li Ang showed an embarrassed expression.
“It’s like this, it’s a little difficult here.”
“Tell me what difficulties you have.”
“Okay, it’s not complicated, it’s very simple. As you know, as a movie star, it’s easy to attract other people’s attention. Especially some daring pirates or criminals. They will definitely think I’m rich and will definitely find ways to cause trouble for me.”
“You see, my cooperation with the Navy will definitely not be just once. What if I run into a tough guy one day and get beaten by him? Wouldn’t that be bad?”
Borsalino nodded, thinking that the other party’s words made sense. So he said, “That’s easy. Why don’t you join the navy? That way no one will dare to bully you.”
You are not playing by the rules at all!
Li Ang even wanted to splash the drink in his cup on the other person’s face. This seemingly lazy and careless general was actually a scheming guy.
Li Ang showed a flattered expression and said, “It is absolutely my honor to be able to join the Navy.”
“But, as you can see, I’m building a lot of buildings here, and I have so many employees to support. And I’m determined to make the best movies in the world, so that people sailing on the ocean will no longer be lonely.”
“Compared to being a marine, I think being a director is more suitable for me.”
“You can make movies even if you’re a marine. You can join my team in the future. You don’t have to do anything else but just focus on making movies.”
Go! You really have no shame!
Li Ang decided not to keep the other party in suspense and to come clean.
“This is what I think. If the navy is willing to cooperate, I am certainly willing to do so. All they need to do is teach me the training methods of the Navy’s Six Styles and Haki. What do you think?”
Borsalino looked at him with a half-smile, his eyes inexplicable.
Li Ang swallowed subconsciously and felt that the clothes on his back were wet with sweat.
Chapter 38: Go to Marinford (Old Version)
Borsalino finally made a decision. He took out his Den Den Mushi and let Leon talk directly to Sengoku.
Well, to be honest, for such a small matter, Le Ang didn’t believe that General Flash didn’t have the authority to make a decision. He asked himself to talk to Zhan Guo directly simply because he didn’t want to get involved.
There was no choice but Li Ang mentioned again the plan of making a movie to promote the navy, and Zhan Guo was obviously very interested after hearing it.
As the admiral of the navy, he, who has the title of wise general warring states, certainly understands how much publicity such a movie can have on the navy. Don’t underestimate the natives of any world, especially the best among them.
Even though there is no concept of cultural propaganda in this world, Bingshan dared to support him the first time he heard about it. Similarly, Zhan Guo understood the significance of such a movie to the navy the first time he heard Li Ang’s story. And he also has a strong ability to make decisions.
After a brief thought, he agreed to Leon’s proposal of learning the Six Styles and Haki in exchange.
The Six Styles are indeed advanced combat skills, and can be said to be the essence of combat skills summed up by the navy, and domineering is the standard of the strong. It is extremely difficult for ordinary people to learn these two abilities, unless they are willing to join the navy and become the best among them.
However, such a precious thing is only relative. Within the navy, school-level officers can learn the six styles, and general-level officers can learn domineering.
Although Li Ang’s request was a bit out of line, compared with the benefits the navy could obtain, this small request was completely insignificant.
Of course, Zhan Guo did not agree to his request 100%, what if he could not learn it? The Six Styles are not so easy to learn, and Haki requires years of practice and fighting to master. Zhan Guo could not guarantee that he would learn it. He promised Li Ang that he could ask General Zefa for training methods during the filming of the movie, but whether he could learn it was his own business.
Li Ang was overjoyed and agreed to this condition without hesitation, and even guaranteed that the filming progress of the movie would not be delayed.
The reason why he is so confident, in addition to his confidence in his own comprehension and understanding, is also because of his fruit ability.
He could record the teaching contents of General Zefa. Even if he couldn’t master it at once, he could study it slowly after coming back. He didn’t believe that as a time traveler who had been exposed to the information explosion and had infinite divergent thinking, it would be difficult for him to practice the six styles and domineering.
After the matter was finalized, Leon and Borsalino chatted again, and even discussed the filming techniques of the movie. Of course, it was mainly Leon who talked, while Borsalino listened and expressed his appreciation.
The two agreed to set off together three days later, and he would take Leon directly back to Marinford.
The incident happened suddenly and time was urgent. After returning, Li Ang immediately summoned all his management to arrange matters for the next three months.
First of all, the construction project cannot be stopped, and among all the buildings, priority should be given to the construction of the studio and the new theater.
When he returns with the team, the third film can be officially screened in the new theater. This will be the first action blockbuster produced by a Hollywood company.
He has already agreed with Zhan Guo that most of the action actors in the film will be drawn from the navy, and he will be the one to choose who will play the role.
There is also a singing competition, which will accept applications and conduct auditions within the next three months. After he returns, the competition can be officially held and the recording can be completed.
In addition, the company’s management will be responsible for using the profits from the Hollywood Theater in the next three months. The money will be used for construction and real estate purchases.
The prosperity of the Water City will become inevitable, and the appreciation of real estate will also be inevitable. How can he not participate in it?
Besides, Hollywood companies always have to prepare some backup sites. Do they want to buy docks from Bingshan when they want to expand the company in the future? If that were the case, it would be asking for too much, and Bingshan would definitely not treat him well.
The last thing was the person to follow him to Marinford.
“Boss! Please let me go with you.” Barry was the first to stand up and express his willingness. Others also stood up and expressed their willingness to go together.
Li Ang smiled and shook his head, motioning for everyone to sit down.
“Barry, the company still needs your protection. You are the person I trust the most, and I’ll leave Hollywood to you. I can feel at ease when you are here.”
“Yes! Boss!” Barry was very moved. He stood up straight again and agreed loudly.
“Take a seat. We are going to Marinford on the admiral’s ship this time. You don’t have to worry about safety at all.”
“This time, in addition to the crew, I will only bring three people with me. Nami, Locke, and Li Jieming. The others will stay in Hollywood for three months. I hope everyone can work hard as always to build our common big family.”
“Yes! Boss!” Everyone stood up and responded.
On the deck of the warship, Nami reluctantly followed the navy soldiers in the drill. She really didn’t want to go to Marinford. As a thief, she was naturally very afraid of the navy, not to mention going to the navy headquarters.
But there was no way out. Roger asked her to go with him, and she really had no choice.
What made her most sad was that as soon as she got on the warship, Li Ang ordered her to train with the naval soldiers.
She is a secretary, not a security guard, so why would she do such a thing?
The baby was feeling miserable and wanted to speak out, but the boss wouldn’t listen to her complaints.
Not far away, Locke was fighting a naval captain. In terms of fighting skills, Locke was completely at a disadvantage, and he even had no fighting skills at all.
But he was extremely strong and had an astonishingly strong physique. He stood up again after being knocked down several times, and even seemed to become more courageous as the battle went on.
Under the parasol on the deck, there was a round table with two cups of tea on it. Leon was writing a movie script, while General Borsalino was watching the fight not far away with great interest.
“Leon, where did you find that little guy? He’s really talented. Why don’t we let him join our navy?”
“Don’t even think about it.” Li Ang responded casually while writing and drawing.
“This guy is my apprentice. I need to have a few capable people in my hands in the future. Otherwise, it’s hard to say whether I can keep this company.”
“Is that so? Then let the little one follow me.”
He was talking about Li Jiming, a twelve-year-old boy who was standing alone in a corner of the deck, practicing silently. His sweat soaked his clothes, which were then dried by the sea breeze. He punched forward one after another, his legs and feet were shaking, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, showing a strong and indomitable will.
“They are also my disciples. I only have two disciples, so don’t think of taking advantage of them.”
“How terrifying.” Borsalino took a sip of tea from the cup and sighed, “You have a really good eye for choosing apprentices. These two are rare talents even in the Navy Headquarters. They have great potential.”
Chapter 39: Nami’s Collapse (Old Version)
“Karina, I want to cry, I want to go home~”
The Den Den Mushi imitated Nami’s sad expression so vividly.
“What’s wrong?” Kalina was puzzled. Her partner was an optimist. When had she ever been so miserable? Did the boss bully her?
“I’m going to die, seriously!”
Nami’s voice came, nagging, “You don’t know, I came to Marinford, and before I had time to be happy, I was sent to the boot camp with Li Jiming. This is Marinford, and all the new recruits sent here are monsters. I train with them every day, and I am exhausted to the point of falling apart.”
Karina was speechless. She never expected that her boss Leon would actually send his secretary to the boot camp.
“How could this happen? Aren’t you going to Marinford to film?”
“We need to film a scene, but the actors are not here yet, how can we film it?”
“Didn’t the boss say that he would select actors from the navy? I heard that this is a fight scene, so it should be easy to choose actors from the navy.”
“Don’t mention it. We can find anyone to play the role of a navy officer, but no one wants to play a pirate. There is no other way, so the boss asked them to catch some pirates to act as actors.”
“Ah? Is this possible?”
“That’s right. Now we’re just waiting for the pirates to get in position. I thought I could have a good rest. You don’t know, I have been required to train with the navy soldiers since I got on the warship. Now it’s even worse. They directly threw me into the boot camp. This is the navy headquarters. Do you know how intense the training here is? I will really die, seriously.”
“Okay, a moment of silence for you. What’s the boss doing?”
“Him? He is very comfortable. When he first came here, he was as popular as a big star, especially the female soldiers, who couldn’t wait to climb into his bed at night. As for now, he is also in the training camp, but it is the highest level training camp. I heard that these people will become school-level officers after they graduate. Also, the instructor is Admiral Zefa of the Navy.”
Kalina was shocked. She didn’t expect her boss to be so powerful.
“Isn’t there another person, the new guy Locke, who is also in the training camp?”
“Well, he is also in the Supreme Training Camp, but he is just a burden there. But the boss is different. He is actually the best among them. I heard that Admiral Zephyr and Garp both want to take him as a disciple and want to recruit him to the Navy.”
“This? I don’t think the boss will agree.” Kalina was a little worried. If that were the case, wouldn’t her dream of becoming a singer be ruined?
“Don’t worry, the boss doesn’t seem to want to be a navy man at all. And Locke and that Li Jieming were both favored by the navy, but they both refused.”
“That’s good.” Kalina finally felt relieved and asked, “How long will you stay in Marinford?”
“It shouldn’t take long. The boss is currently filming while training. He is a professional when it comes to filming, and he doesn’t look anxious at all, so he should be confident.”
“Well, are you guys having a good time in Marinford?”
“It’s OK, except that the training is too hard, everything else is fine. The Navy is quite polite to people like us. Especially the boss, he is so popular here. There are many fans of his movies and books here, including Marshal Sengoku and Garp, who are all fans of his books. Admiral Zephyr is obsessed with recruiting him into the Navy, saying that his talent is the best after the three admirals.”
“The boss is so powerful? Then won’t he become a strong man like a general in the future?”
“Who knows? Anyway, there is only a white-haired smoker in the training camp who can tie with him. The others are no match for him. Forget it, let’s not talk about it anymore. Let’s talk about the company’s affairs so that I can report to him later.”
“Okay, everything else is fine at the company. We haven’t encountered any special difficulties, including the construction of the new project, which is also going smoothly. It’s just that those pirates are not honest. Many people want to make a fortune from the company. Recently, the company’s security team has been under a lot of pressure. Even Philip was injured.”
“So serious?” Nami knew that Philip was one of the seven deputy captains of the company’s security team and was quite capable. Now even he was injured? Was the situation that bad?
“Yes, everyone knows that we in Hollywood are rich. Now the management dare not keep too much money in the company. As long as there is extra money, they will buy houses and hotels everywhere. The house price in Water City has increased by half compared to three months ago.”
“Really!” Nami perked up, “Karina, don’t we still have five million? What do you think about buying a house and waiting for it to appreciate in value?”
“Do I need you to tell me this? I’ve already bought a house. When you come back, you don’t have to rent a house. You can live in our own house. When the company distributes houses in the future, we can sell this house and make a fortune.”
“Hehe, you are indeed worthy of me, Karina. Well done!”
“That’s right!” Kalina smiled proudly and said, “Also, there are a lot of people who have signed up for the singing competition recently. Xin Duoli, Teacher Emma and I have already started the audition. You don’t know, many of them are just shoddy and can’t sing at all. Listening to these people singing is simply deadly. You don’t know that feeling. It’s almost driving me crazy.”
“Tsk, is it harder than me? I feel like I’m going to die every day. I’m Nami, a thief, not a warrior. Why do you want me to train? It’s so hard! I hate my boss! I hate that bastard!”
“Hehe, just enjoy it slowly. Okay, let’s stop talking. I’ve finished my meal and I have to go to work now. We’ll talk next time.”
“Well, I am going to suffer too, dear sister, please pray that I don’t die on the training ground.”
After hanging up the phone, Karina came to an office in the Grand Theater. The corridor outside was already full of people, all of whom were contestants who had signed up for the singing competition.
Everyone was very surprised to see her walk straight into the office and the security guard didn’t stop her.
“Who is this person and why can she go in now?”
“Stupid, have you never even seen The Sound of Music? She is Karina, the one who sings the best among the seven children.”
“The Colonel’s seven children?”
“It’s her. I remember now. She’s the eldest daughter, the beautiful one.”
“I think the second daughter is the most beautiful.”
“Nonsense, there are seven children, all of them are pretty. Even the two boys are so handsome.”
“The most handsome one is still Leon. He looks so handsome in his navy uniform.”
Karina walked into the office and the other two judges, Emma and Xin Duoli, had already arrived.
“Teacher Emma, ​​Sister Xin Duoli, you are here?”
“It’s Karina, come and sit down, the show will start in a while.”
When the two met Karina, they were also very polite, even though she was only 15 years old.
Both of them knew that the boss would release a music album for her after he came back. Although they didn’t know what the music album was about, it was certain that the boss had high hopes for Karina. Her future achievements might even be higher than those of the popular Xin Duoli.
The three chatted for a while, and when they saw that it was about time, they told the security guard that they could start.
Chapter 40: Showing a Movie to the Pirates (Old Version)
In Marinford, on the training ground, a group of marines gathered in a circle and cheered loudly.
“Come on! Come on! Come on!”
“Smoker! Go ahead and trap him to death!”
There were also many female soldiers jumping and shouting in unison, “Li Ang! Come on! Li Ang! Come on! Li Ang! Come on…”
In the center of the venue, a handsome man was enveloped by a cloud of white smoke. The smoke seemed to have life, trying to trap the man. But the man was not panicked at all. He punched, kicked, elbowed, and kneed. It seemed that every part of his body could be turned into a weapon. He punched and kicked the smoke, and every time he punched, it was like a cannonball that dispersed the smoke.
At some point, the man’s fists were suddenly covered with a light black-gray color.
His eyes changed from indifferent to honor or disgrace to surprise, and he suddenly smashed his black and gray fist into the smoke, which caused the smoke to tremble. Then, before the smoke could change, he continued to punch the smoke, making a series of bangs and explosions.
The smoke dissipated to the side, revealing the image of a tall man. He had short, neat silver hair, a solemn expression, and sharp, resolute eyes. Unfortunately, blood was flowing from the corners of his mouth where he was biting two cigars, and he was obviously injured.
Among the crowd watching, Admiral Zefa showed a row of white teeth with an expression of relief and regret.
“Smoker! I told you long ago that it’s not good to rely too much on the power of the fruit.”
Next to him, Tina, with smooth pink hair, skin as white as jade, holding a cigarette and a proud look, mocked Smoker from time to time.
“20 fights, 15 draws, 2 wins, 3 losses! Smoker! You’ve lost three fights since Leon learned Haki.”
Smoker stood up and said unhappily, “Nonsense! He just happened to be like that. He didn’t fully master his Haki. Also, I was careless just now. If my fruit ability was stronger, he wouldn’t be able to hurt me at all.”
Tina snorted lightly but did not refute him. She knew Smoker’s character and he was just being stubborn.
Smoker glanced at Leon, turned and left, leaving behind a word.
“Come and fight again tomorrow. I don’t believe I can’t trap you!”
Li Ang shrugged to show that he didn’t care.
Zefa stepped forward and looked at Leon with expectant eyes again.
“Are you really not considering joining the navy? Your growth rate is unprecedented in my life. It only took you one month to go from a poor student in the training camp to one of the best. Moreover, you have mastered the Six Styles in one month, which is the threshold of domineering. With your growth rate, you will definitely be a candidate for admiral in ten years.”
Li Ang shook his head helplessly. “General Zefa, I’ve said it many times. I want to make movies and become an entertainment tycoon. Forget about being a general.”
Zefa was disappointed again, with a regretful expression, as if he saw a super-genius student who just didn’t study hard and wanted to drop out of high school to sell porn.
At this moment, a naval lieutenant ran over, saluted and said loudly: “Admiral Zefa, Mr. Leon, the pirates you requested have been delivered. Here is the list of pirates. Please give your instructions!”
Li Ang took the list and saw that there were thirteen bounties on it. The highest bounty was 74 million berries, and the lowest bounty was 30 million. In addition, there were more than two hundred pirate cannon fodders without bounties.
He nodded with satisfaction, “Yes, these people are just right. Is the screening room I need ready?”
“Yes, the venue can accommodate 500 people. The curtains have been hung and the scene has been set up.”
“Very good, please take these pirates to the venue, and remember not to remove their shackles yet.”
“Yes, Mr. Leon, take them there right away.” The major saluted and turned to leave.
Li Ang turned around and smiled at General Zefa, “General Zefa, the filming is about to begin. The trainees in the training camp will be loaned to me for the next month. Please bear with me.”
Zefa shook his head, “I don’t understand why you want to use the trainees from the training camp. This will delay their training.”
“No. Didn’t they bring the pirates here? They can also train while filming a movie. The trainees will actually have to fight the pirates. Please supervise them and ensure their safety.”
Zefa nodded and shouted loudly, asking the trainees who were in training to assemble.
Tina frowned and asked, “What are you going to do?”
Li Ang shrugged, “First we need to make the pirates obedient and willing to cooperate with the filming.”
“Really? Asking pirates to be obedient doesn’t sound reliable.” Tina didn’t disbelieve Leon, but asking unruly pirates to cooperate in filming a movie sounded like a joke.
At some point, Smoker the Smoker came up to the two of them. He didn’t say anything, but his expression betrayed him. He was also curious about how Leon could get the pirates to obey and cooperate with the filming of the movie.
Soon, nearly 300 pirates were taken to the conference room and sat down. These unruly pirates had never seen such a scene before. Many people felt uncomfortable. It was like a group of poor students being taken to an academic research venue, which made them extremely uncomfortable.
However, there were nearly a hundred navy officers sitting around them, and they were all very powerful, which prevented them from getting angry. After all, this was Marinford, and except for a few big pirates who were still quite unruly, most of the pirates were well behaved.
“Let’s start.” Following Li Ang’s instructions, the movie Holiday Water City began playing on the white screen in front of the venue.
Tina and Smoker frowned even deeper. They spent so much effort to capture these pirates just to let them watch a movie?
As the movie played, the cadets in the navy training camp and the pirates all fell silent. No one cared about their identities, and forgot about the fate they were about to face. They were all immersed in the movie, and they were happy, angry, sad, and happy with the plot of the movie.
Seeing the young Princess Vivi, many pirates decided that if they could escape, they would definitely go to the Kingdom of Alabasta to see Princess Vivi. It would be best if they could capture her, but if that was not possible, becoming a member of the Alabasta Kingdom’s guard would also be a good idea, so that they could see the princess every day.
At the end of the movie, both the naval cadets and the pirates felt a sense of loss.
Why are they not together anymore? Can’t the princess be with an ordinary person? That Li Ang is really stupid. He gave up such a good opportunity! It’s simply unreasonable.
Also, the Water City is so beautiful. The pirates who have been to the Water City look nostalgic.
The movie “Holiday Water City” ended, and the theater was buzzing with discussion. At this time, the second movie “The Sound of Music” began.
The screening effect this time was even more outrageous, and many pirates actually shed tears.
It was a happy story, but the pirates were very sad. Obviously, many of them missed their families and children.
When the Colonel chose the Nun over the Baroness, many pirates booed.
“Idiot! The Baroness is so rich, but she actually married a nun. What an idiot!”
“You are the idiot. The children like nuns. It is the best choice for the colonel to choose a nun.”
Seeing that the pirates were about to quarrel over the plot, a naval cadet couldn’t help but yelled, “Shut up, get out if you don’t want to watch!”
The unruly pirates didn’t even curse back.
It was obvious that the movie wasn’t over yet and they didn’t want to be kicked out.
Chapter 41: Mobilizing the Pirates’ Motivation (Old Version)
When the music ended and the curtains of the conference room opened, everyone realized that it was already evening.
At this moment, Li Ang walked to the podium in the conference room. His appearance immediately aroused cheers from many people, especially the female navy soldiers. They no longer had their usual heroic demeanor and turned completely into little fangirls.
Obviously, as the leading actor of the two movies that have just been shown, Li Ang seems to be covered with a halo in the eyes of everyone and has his own charm buff.
Smoker lit up his cigar and snorted in dissatisfaction.
Tina glanced at him and said nothing. She also lit a cigarette and smoked it slowly.
Li Ang pressed his hands together, and the girls stopped cheering and looked at him with admiration. The pirates looked at him unkindly, not for anything else, just because the guy in front of them was too handsome, why? Anyway, they were just unhappy!
Li Ang glanced at the pirates in the audience and said, “Everyone, you are pirates, but this is Marinford. I’m sure you are all wondering why we brought you here?”
A huge pirate replied with disdain: “What’s so strange about that? We’ve been caught anyway, so what does it matter where we take them?”
“Yes, what difference does it make where we catch them?”
“Yeah, you think I’m afraid of you, so just use whatever tricks you have!”
All the pirates started shouting, and they were all very dissatisfied.
Li Ang raised his voice and said loudly: “That’s right! You are pirates. Since you have been caught, your fate is already determined. Ordinary pirates deserve to be put to death, and pirates with bounties will be sent to the underwater prison and locked up until they die. Don’t think that it is a place of comfort. There are countless tortures waiting for you there. Once you get there, life will definitely be worse than death!”
The pirates became a little agitated.
Li Ang continued, “Do you want to resist? This is Marinford. We have Marshal Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, Aokiji, Kizaru, and Admiral Akainu. Even now, if you look back, Admiral Zephyr is right behind you!”
The pirates all turned around and saw Zephyr with handsome hair, and they immediately lost their temper. Their strength was not even qualified to challenge him, so whatever they wanted to do would be useless.
“You deserve to die! Think about what you have done in the past, robbery, murder, and all kinds of evil. You deserve to die!”
Smoker and Tina frowned even deeper, having no idea what Leon was trying to say.
Li Ang extended his index finger and said loudly: “Now, you still have a little bit of use.”
“We just watched two movies. Has anyone seen the movies before?”
The pirates looked at each other, and dozens of them raised their hands.
A pirate with dreadlocks said, “I’ve seen it. It’s the first one, the princess movie. We robbed a merchant ship and got a movie cassette. Then we would play the movie every day, sometimes watching it several times in one go, or watching it while drinking at a party.”
Many pirates laughed, “Yes, I have watched it many times, it is really interesting. It’s like going to the Water City. There must be a lot of rich people there.”
Hahahaha, the pirates burst into laughter. Obviously, they let go. Since they couldn’t escape anyway, they were not afraid anymore.
Leon stretched out his hand to signal the pirates to be quiet, and the pirates really stopped laughing and looked at Leon on the stage.
“Very good, the first movie is called Holiday Water City. The second movie is called The Sound of Music. Now, I called you here because I want you to cooperate with me to shoot the third movie in this world! An action movie, a movie about fighting.”
Without waiting for the pirates to reply, Li Ang continued loudly: “I know what you want to say. Are you trying to ask why you should cooperate with me?”
“Haha, that’s because you should thank me for giving you a chance. A chance to make the whole world remember you.”
“Look at you, you are such a loser! No one will know who you are even after you die. You are just trash, a bunch of forgotten trash. And you are destined to die silently!”
Several pirates with bounties were furious and looked at Leon with unfriendly eyes. If they were not chained, they really wanted to rush over and chop this pretty boy into seventeen or eighteen pieces.
“But now! I’m giving you a chance, a chance to show your faces in a movie. Your names, your looks, your ferocity, your will to fight, will all become part of the movie, to be seen and remembered by people. Even if ten or a hundred years have passed, when people think of the concept of pirates, they won’t remember Whitebeard or the Four Emperors. But they will remember you!”
“That’s right, it’s you, a bunch of rubbish, a bunch of pirates. Your appearance will be remembered by everyone. Whenever people think of pirates, the image that appears in their minds is you!”
“You will become a symbol of pirates, despised by ordinary people, admired by other pirates, and will not be forgotten by time. Just like Princess Vivi, even if a hundred years have passed, people will know that there was such a lovely and elegant princess when they see the movie Holiday Water City.”
“Now, tell me! Do you want to make a movie? Do you want to be remembered by people? Do you want to trade your fate of death for a chance to be remembered by the world?”
“Do you want to?!!”
Leon roared, glaring fiercely at the pirates in the audience.
All the pirates were breathing rapidly, their blood was boiling, and an irrepressible impulse was almost bursting out of their chests.
“I want to!!!” A pirate burst into tears and shouted, “I want to make a movie! I want to leave my name, I want everyone to see my face, I want people to know that I, Phoebe Cech, a pirate, once appeared in this world!”
The conference hall suddenly became quiet. It seemed like a moment, but I don’t know how long it took. All the pirates became excited.
“I want to make a movie!”
“I want all pirates to worship me!”
“I want people to remember my face.”
“I want to be famous, more famous than the Four Emperors!”
“I don’t want anyone to know that I’m dead. I want to die heroically, just like the Pirate King Roger!”
The pirates shouted loudly, tears and snot streaming down their faces. They raised their wrists that were burned by the handcuffs and shouted out their wishes.
At this moment, Le Ang is their God, their faith, and their salvation.
“Mr. Leon, please, please let me die heroically.”
“Mr. Leon, please let me make a movie, let me appear on the screen, please!”
Li Ang calmed himself down a little, and sighed again in his heart, people in this world are so damn emotional!
The looks that the female navy soldiers gave him turned into ones of complete intoxication.
Tina and Smoker blew out smoke rings together.
Smoker: “This guy is really good at fooling people.”
Tina: “Now if he asks these pirates to do a striptease, they will do it.”
Zefa looked at Leon and reaffirmed his determination. He must find a way to get this guy into the navy.
Talented people!!
Chapter 42: Fearless Moving Forward (Old Version)
After dealing with the pirates and gaining their full cooperation, filming the movie became much easier.
This movie named “Fearless Forward” has a very simple plot. It is about the protagonist’s hometown being invaded by pirates, then he joins the navy and trains hard, and finally leads his navy companions back to his hometown to take revenge on the pirates.
This extremely simple plot is particularly suitable for the aesthetic tastes of people in this world. It just needs to be passionate enough.
In the early training camp, Li Ang had already finished filming the protagonist’s story in the training camp. Anyway, he cut a lot of material, including the interesting process of getting to know the marines, as well as the passionate training process, with a background song “Sold Out”, which can immediately ignite the audience.
As for the final battle, filming was even simpler.
Because in the peaceful world of the past, fighting scenes needed professional martial arts instructors to direct, and more attention had to be paid to safety issues. But here, it’s not necessary, as long as the pirates and marines really fight each other.
The fighting scenes are real fights! Life-and-death battles! No one cares about life or death. Fortunately for the navy, with Admiral Zefa there, the naval cadets who lose the battle can always keep their lives at the last moment.
The pirates don’t have such treatment. If the pirates win, they will get a promise that they can watch the finished movie after the filming is completed.
If they lose the battle, the result is of course death. No one complains about the pirates’ death, not even the crew, the navy, or even the pirates themselves.
When these pirates died, they all died with smiles on their faces, as if they had accomplished a great mission. Some pirates even thanked Leon at the last moment of their lives, thanking him for letting them leave the most glorious moment of their lives in the movie.
It was a cruel world. Leon was probably the one who couldn’t bear to see these deaths. He even brainwashed himself every day, telling himself that these pirates deserved to die, that their death was inevitable, and that even if the filming was completed, everyone was doomed to die.
In short, there is no need to worry about the actors’ safety or design fighting moves for them. The battles here are more brutal, more real, and more gorgeous. There is no need for martial arts instructors to teach them how to fight. As long as Li Ang arranges what needs to be done, he only needs to concentrate on filming. The filming progress is faster than ever before.
Perhaps the slowest shot was the one where the pirates attacked the village. Of course, the pirates couldn’t just kill the extras. The pirates were really obedient, and they didn’t kill them when they were told not to, completely following Li Ang’s orders.
In just half a month, Li Ang completed the final filming of the movie. He spent a whole week on the editing of the movie. Because the movie added background music (SoldOut) and many of the plots were original. In fact, the battle process in it was so exciting that he even had a hard time choosing.
When the movie was finally finished, almost all the high-ranking officers of the navy came to watch the internal screening of the movie. The special guests were the pirates. Of the more than 50 pirates who survived, 13 pirates with a bounty of more than 30 million berries were left with only 5.
The pirates surrounded by the navy didn’t feel scared at all. They had completely let go of their minds, as if they had completed a redemption. The only thing they wanted to do now was to see the final movie. As long as they watched this movie they participated in, they would die without regrets!
The navy didn’t care what the pirates thought, they were also looking forward to this movie. Marshal Sengoku opened the door and let Leon, a little-known person, toss around in Marinford for two months, and they also wanted to see what he would come up with in the end.
The movie begins in a quiet village on a small island, where people live and work in peace and contentment, with smiles on their faces. On the edge of the village, a middle-aged man teaches his child martial arts, telling him that as long as he works hard, he can become a glorious navy in the future.
This scene was filmed on an isolated island around Marinford. The extras were recruited from the families of navy men, and there was great enthusiasm among those who signed up to be able to participate in the filming of the movie.
The next plot is that the village is attacked by pirates, the killing begins, the protagonist and his father fight desperately, and finally the father dies in battle and the protagonist falls into the sea.
The camera turns and the protagonist is rescued by a merchant ship. He wants to go back for revenge, but is stopped. The captain tells him that revenge without strength is suicide and has no meaning at all. Then the protagonist signs up to join the navy.
The hero made a lot of friends in the navy and made a lot of jokes. These friends of the hero were basically trainees in the training camp. Le Ang selected some unique characters in the training camp for focus shooting, among which Tina and Smoker were the most prominent characters.
This is a warm moment in the movie, and many people laughed unconsciously. Especially Cap’s laughter was the loudest, and it was simply unbridled.
The hero, who felt that he had learned his trade well, secretly returned to the village to seek revenge. After killing many pirates, he was finally defeated, but was finally saved by Tina. Tina said that she could ask the higher-ups to help, but the hero refused, as he wanted to seek revenge himself.
Next is the climax of the movie. With the background music (Sold Out), the protagonist trains harder and harder. No matter it is windy or rainy, he is always forging ahead, shouting and screaming. Under his leadership, all the students practice desperately as if they are competing.
I’m not like the person you used to know
[When people are looking for a way out, I have already rushed to the future][I will not give in or back down, and you can’t even make me cover up the truth][Because I have taken on a mission and I will not give up easily]In a world full of followers, I will stand out as a leader
[In this world full of doubt, I still remain steadfast in my faith][I take every step without hesitation, because the horn of victory has sounded][I can’t turn back and live for myself anymore]I follow my faith with all my heart, and I am ready.
【I want to give everything! 】
Finally, the protagonist leads his colleagues back to the island and has a final battle with the pirates.
When they returned victoriously to the Navy Headquarters, the protagonist, wearing a navy cloak, saluted the Navy flag, and the flag and cloak fluttered in the sea breeze.
When the movie ended, the audience burst into applause that lasted for a long time!
The look in Zhan Guo’s eyes when he looked at Leon was full of love. Garp’s slap on Leon’s shoulder almost broke him apart. Even Akainu Sakaski, this extremely serious man, looked at Leon with a much softer look.
He felt that this kid who had been struggling in Marinford for two months was not completely useless.
On the other side, more than 50 pirates hugged each other excitedly and cried. They were really happy. Although their brutality was highlighted in the movie, in the final battle, their bravery and determination were no less than the protagonist and the navy.
Even death is the highest honor!
Lieutenant General He nodded and said to Li Ang, “This movie is good. We can get more movie cassettes and send them to all the naval bases.”
“No problem. How many do you need? But first, I want to make it clear that movie cassettes cost one million Baileys each.”
“You little money-grubber, you underestimate us, don’t you?” Marshal Zhan Guo said, “Well, first you get us a thousand movie tapes, money is not a problem.”
“Haha, thank you very much.” Li Ang was also very happy. He knew that this third movie would also be a great success, even more popular than the first two movies. Because in this world, fighting and killing are the main themes, and it is bound to be loved by people.
“I like that song!” Cap suddenly said.
Zhan Guo nodded and said, “Yes, this is a song for our navy. From now on, it will be our navy’s military song!”
Chapter 43: Strength Growth (Old Version)
“35 games, 22 draws, 3 losses, 10 wins! Boss, you win again.” Nami stepped forward and handed over a wet towel.
Li Ang took it and wiped his face, then waved his hand and said, “It was just luck.”
Smoker turned around and left angrily. He was extremely unhappy with Leon’s pretentious attitude.
Since leaving Marinford, he has challenged Leon every day. The result is that in 15 battles, he lost 7, tied 7, and won only 1. He even suspected that the opponent deliberately let him win that time.
In short, this annoying guy Leon’s strength has increased terribly. In just over two months, he has gone from being disdainful of fighting with the opponent to losing more than he wins.
“Hey, don’t go. Smoker, according to the itinerary, we should arrive at Water City today. Come to my place and spend a few days to celebrate your becoming the base commander of Rogue Town in the East Sea.”
Smoker didn’t even turn his head. “No need. I’ll send you to Water City. I need to rush to Rogue Town as soon as possible. I don’t want to waste time on the road.”
Seeing Smoker enter the cabin, Nami muttered quietly: “Tsk, stingy guy, isn’t it just because you lost face because you didn’t win?”
Li Ang threw the towel back into her hands and said unhappily, “Why, have you finished today’s training?”
Nami’s face fell immediately, “Boss, you promised that I won’t have to train like this when we get to Water City.”
“Isn’t it time yet? Go quickly. Look at you. You can’t even beat Li Jieming now. How can you be my secretary?”
Nami retorted loudly in dissatisfaction, “Which secretary wants to fight? I’m a clerical worker, a clerical worker! Why do I have to train so hard?”
“Civil servant? Khalifa is also a civilian. Wait until you can defeat her.”
Nami was shocked, “Ms. Kalifa can fight too?”
“She’s very strong. Forget it, why don’t you go and train. I tell you, if you can beat her, even if it’s just a draw, you can go back to the East China Sea and deal with Aaron by yourself.”
After saying this, Li Ang ignored her and sat down alone under the parasol, closing his eyes and resting.
He thought about it and activated his skills and actor information.
Dao force value: 1355
Haki: Armament Haki (Basic)
Skills: Fighting (specialization), Kendo (intermediate), Shaving (intermediate), Moon Step (intermediate), Storm Kick (beginner), Iron Block (beginner), Finger Gun (beginner), Paper Drawing (beginner)
In three months, Li Ang’s Dao Power increased from 420 points to 1355 points, and his physical strength more than doubled. The navy’s training method was indeed more efficient. More importantly, he had already learned the six styles and domineering that he had been thinking about, which was the most important thing.
With the Six Styles and Haki, his fighting power is completely beyond imagination. Now, he is not afraid of fighting a pirate with a bounty of 100 million berries. Even if the opponent has a devil fruit, he has a way to counter it.
In addition, the three people who followed him, Locke, Li Jiming and Nami, have all improved their strength significantly.
Nami’s strength has been upgraded from a small fry to a captain. As long as the bounty does not exceed 5 million berries, she has the ability to fight. Although Nami’s strength is low, her combat quality and on-the-spot performance are very good. She is a very talented type.
Although Li Jieming is only 12 years old, he has a good fighting ability. His ability to learn fighting techniques has even reached the level of Li Ang. Unfortunately, his physical talent is also average, not as talented as Locke.
If Li Jieming is a genius-level player, then Locke is a gifted player. His physical talent even made Garp and Zephyr want to take him in as a disciple.
In three months, Locke made up for his shortcomings in combat techniques, and his physique improved in the Marine training camp. Leon estimated that his current combat capability should be similar to Barry’s.
By the way, I have to add that Barry’s strength has been steadily improving in the constant battles. Last week, we got the news that he defeated a pirate with a bounty of 35 million Baileys by himself, and now he is also a famous master in the Water City.
Li Ang decided to teach him the Six Styles after returning. It was such an honor to have such a loyal subordinate.
In addition to Barry, the company has six deputy security captains, who have also experienced a lot of battles during this period. Fortunately, the company has the ugly genius surgeon Hogback, because of his presence, the security team has very few casualties, and many seriously injured security team members were rescued by him.
I heard that the security team members now respect this ugly doctor very much and buy gifts to please him whenever they can.
However, the talented surgeon, who was full of ambition, was rejected by Xin Duoli. It can only be said that it is a long and arduous task for him to pursue the popular movie star Xin Duoli.
On the other hand, Nami, who was originally very reluctant to exercise, was also touched by Leon’s words.
She can defeat Aaron by herself!
How is that possible?
Nami couldn’t help but tremble slightly when she thought of Aaron. The shadow of her childhood had a great influence on her.
However, the thought of defeating Aaron with her own hands was like a deadly temptation filled with poppies, making her tremble all over at the thought.
If it is really possible?
Nami quickly shook her head to get rid of the random thoughts in her mind.
In any case, with the boss’s current strength, he can definitely win easily if he fights Aaron. She had seen with her own eyes the battle between him and the pirate with a bounty of 70 million berries. It was simply a battle between two inhuman beings.
The boss said that he would defeat A Long within two years, so there was no need to worry about his strength. As long as the boss kept his promise, the dream she had been pursuing could come true. Defeat A Long and rescue the villagers of Keko Yaxi Village.
After lunch, Li Ang just lay down to take a nap when he heard the voice of a sailor from the watchtower.
“We found an island! It’s the Water City! We’ve arrived at the Water City!!!”
Hearing this, everyone on the ship cheered. Not only the crew members brought by Li Ang, but also the navy soldiers, all were extremely excited.
They have seen movies before, whether it is Holiday Water City or The Sound of Music, the Water City in the movies is so beautiful. Now that they are in the Water City, of course they want to see this magical island in their dreams.
Smoker came out, still looking arrogant, with a cigar in his mouth and a defiant look on his face.
Li Ang patted his shoulder and said with a smile: “Let’s spend two days in the Water City and see these navy soldiers. They all want to take a stroll here.”
He turned around and said loudly to Nami: “Nami, give 200,000 Baileys to each of our navy friends. Let them have a great time in the Water City!”
Hearing these words, nearly a hundred naval soldiers on the warship all cheered loudly.
“Thank you, Mr. Leon!”
“You are truly amazing, thank you for your generosity.”
“That’s great. I can go to the Water City and have a good stroll.”
“Haha, I’m going to tell my friends about this when I get back. They will definitely be so envious.”
Smoker snorted and said in an unhappy tone: “Rest in the Water City for two days.”
When the navy soldiers heard this, they cheered even louder.
Chapter 44: New Theater (Old Version)
The warship docked, and Leon saw his subordinates waiting to greet him at the dock. In addition, Mayor Espagu stood in front of the crowd.
Li Ang quickly led people over and said, “Mr. Iceberg, long time no see.”
The cold face of Bingshan also showed a little smile at this time, nodded and smiled: “Yes, in the past three months, the Water City has been missing you, and it feels a lot less lively.”
“Haha, thank you for your care during this period. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to defend Hollywood with just my men.”
Li Ang smiled and replied, then he turned slightly and introduced: “This is Major Smoker, the new governor of East Sea Rogge Town.”
“Smoker, this is Mr. Iceberg, the mayor of Water City, also known as Mr. Iceberg.”
Smoker smoked his cigar, nodded slightly, and said nothing.
Bingberg also had a cold and hard personality. Even when facing the major from the Navy Headquarters, he did not flatter or smile, but just nodded as a greeting.
Li Ang laughed and said, “Mr. Iceberg, don’t mind it. Smoker has such a bad temper. We don’t need to pay attention to him.”
The group walked towards the city, but Kalifa, who was standing behind the iceberg, looked at Leon and Smoker in surprise.
She didn’t expect that Smoker, who came from the Navy Headquarters, was obviously an arrogant person. He didn’t care at all when he heard Leon’s “impolite” words!
This? Is Li Ang’s relationship with the other party so good?
Three months ago, Admiral Kizaru appeared in the Water City. Somehow, Leon led his team and left on Admiral Kizaru’s ship.
As a member of CP9, when faced with such a strange thing, of course I would instinctively want to find out what is going on.
However, in the end, they didn’t do anything unnecessary. They were CP9, an intelligence agency directly under the World Government, and their relationship with the Navy was not very close. In addition, the other party was a general, not someone they, CP9, could afford to offend.
Fortunately, they got the news from Hollywood that Li Ang led his team away and was said to be preparing to cooperate with the Navy to shoot a movie.
Making a movie with the Navy? That’s a really weird thing.
After the intelligence was reported to the CP chief, no follow-up information was received.
When she met Leon today, Kalifa discovered that he had such a close relationship with the major of the Navy Headquarters. Could it be that Leon had reached some secret agreement with the Navy?
Khalifa was lost in her thoughts, but she still felt like she was not getting anywhere. The only thing that touched her was that Leon seemed to have changed a lot.
What’s wrong?
She thought about it carefully and suddenly realized that the opponent was putting a lot of pressure on her. She had an illusion that even if she went all out, she would no longer be the opponent’s match.
Thinking of this, she was shocked. Li Ang, has his strength increased to such a high level?
I always heard about him hunting pirates before, and his strength has indeed increased rapidly. But it can’t be so exaggerated. It has only been half a year since he came to Water City.
Another monster?
How is that possible!
He’s just a user of the Movie Fruit, one of the worst devil fruits.
The group came to the Hollywood Theater, gathered together for lunch, and then dispersed.
Iceberg took Kalifa away, and Smoker was too impatient to listen to Leon’s nagging, so he let him wander around by himself.
The remaining few key Hollywood executives reported the company’s latest developments to Li Ang.
“Boss, during the three months you were away, the company’s total revenue was 8.5 billion Baileys, which is lower than in the past few months. The main reason is that our theater has no new movies to show. The Sound of Music has been showing for more than three months, and Holiday Water City has been showing for almost half a year. Basically, most of the people who come to the theater to watch movies are tourists from other places.”
“According to your instructions, we have purchased 20 medium-sized hotels, 35 ordinary-sized shops, and two nearly 10,000 square meters of vacant land. These two vacant lands are planned to be built into factories. However, because we need to give priority to building a new theater and studio, construction has not yet started on the two vacant lands.”
“The purchase of these shops, hotels and vacant land cost 5.5 billion BEL. The new theater and studio have been completed, and the two buildings cost a total of 2.4 billion BEL. Three months’ wages cost 500 million BEL, and now there is still 100 million BEL in the account.”
“Very good, show me the accounts later. Let’s talk about the hotels first. I plan to transform these 20 hotels into affordable hotels. They are the kind of hotels that ordinary people can afford to stay in. Nami, write this down. These 30 hotels will be renamed as ‘Home Inn’ hotels. Although the hotels are affordable, the decoration, hygiene, and services inside must meet the standards. I want everyone who stays in the hotel to feel the warmth of home.”
“We will select outstanding employees from the company and promote them to hotel managers and supervisors. We will also recruit waiters from outside and provide unified training.”
“Well, do a market survey. In the future, Home Inns must be the most cost-effective hotels. They must have the lowest prices in the same category and the highest quality in the same price range. They must have unified management and unified training.”
As they were talking, they had already arrived at Dock No. 5. This was no longer a construction site. Two large and luxurious buildings stood in an area the size of three football fields.
The new Hollywood Theater is three times the size of the original Hollywood Theater. Although it is not as magnificent as the super luxurious casino in Golden Empire Tezoro, it is also magnificent and magnificent. It can be said that the Hollywood Theater is currently the most luxurious building in the Water City.
The first floor of the Grand Theater is the largest screening room, with 3,600 seats. It is not only used for daily movie screenings, but also for hosting various evening parties, fashion shows, and concerts.
There are 12 screening rooms on the second and third floors, with a total of 6,500 seats. Together with the super large screening room on the first floor, the number of seats for watching movies has reached 10,000.
The new Hollywood Theater was designed by Li Ang based on the later commercial plazas. In addition to the most distinctive theater, the other two-thirds of the area is used for other purposes.
The first floor is for food, the second floor is for branded clothing, the third floor is for amusement parks and specialty shops, and the fourth floor is for casinos. Yes, casinos in this world are legal, and it is impossible for him not to participate in them.
However, the model he adopted is the water-collection model. The casino never gambles with the guests, but only collects water to increase the profits. In this way, it can ensure a steady profit without losses, and the guests do not have to worry about the reputation of the casino at all. Because the guests earn other people’s money, not the casino’s money, so there is no need to worry about the casino cheating them.
Of course, the most important reason why Leon did this was because there were too many strange abilities in this world. Let’s not talk about the devil fruit, just say that a slightly stronger master of observation Haki can win money in the casino with his eyes closed.
In short, he doesn’t care how others gamble, as long as the casino takes a cut, he’s sitting on the spoils.
The new Hollywood Theatre combines four major features: the most luxurious cinema, the best food, a casino and a complete range of specialty shops. It is definitely the most unmissable place in the Water City.
Under the Grand Theater is where the theater’s funds are gathered, and it is also the place with the strongest security. A basement is built here with super-thick boulders, and even the walls are covered with seastone. It can be said that the security and protection measures here have surpassed those of the big banks in the Water City.
After touring the new Hollywood Theatre and listening to his subordinates’ introduction, Leon was very satisfied.
So he ordered: “The theater will be closed for three days. During these three days, all shops will be moved here. And the cooperating merchants can also be allowed to move in. In short, the new Hollywood Theater will officially open in three days.”
“At the same time, my third movie is officially released. I will contact the World Economic News and ask them to do an advertisement to promote our theater and new movie.”
“Yes! Boss!” The subordinates responded loudly and started to get busy.
They knew that Hollywood’s expansion had finally begun.
Chapter 45: Underground Filmmaker (Old Version)
After a day’s work, Maria rode her bike home.
With the screening of Holiday Water City and The Sound of Music, bicycles have also become popular in Water City. Although bicycles are not as convenient as blue boats, and sometimes you need to carry the bicycle to climb, bicycles are cheaper and are a relatively convenient means of transportation in a water city like Water City with winding roads.
Maria was in a good mood because she learned the news that Mr. Leon, the boss of Hollywood, had returned. Moreover, the singing competition was scheduled to start in three days.
She took a day off and planned to go see a new movie tomorrow and visit the new Hollywood Theater. The theater only took three months to build, so she did her part.
Today, the team leader Fanny came to her and asked her if she was willing to join a Hollywood company. Maria was of course willing, which proved that her efforts were recognized by the other party. However, she wanted to become a Hollywood artist more.
She told Fanny about her idea, and Fanny was very surprised to hear that she had signed up for the singing competition and passed the audition. Finally, Fanny gave her her blessing and hoped that she would succeed.
Of course, Fanny also said that if things don’t go well, she can be contacted again. Hollywood is recruiting employees recently. People like her who are recognized can get good positions and titles after joining the company.
Maria was very grateful to Fanny, however, she felt that she would definitely succeed, and passing the singing competition auditions was proof of that, and she was getting closer and closer to her dream.
The bicycle turned into an alley and suddenly, a young man stopped her.
“Maria, can we talk for a minute?”
Maria braked and stopped with one foot. She was not panicked because she knew the man in front of her. His name was Nolan and he was her neighbor who lived in the same building.
The two had chatted a few times and could barely be considered friends, but what the other person had done made her afraid to get close to him for fear that something might happen.
Before Maria could speak, two strange men came over and handed Nolan 200 Baileys. After Nolan took the Baileys, he made way for the two men to walk into the room.
“Maria, I think~”
Maria raised her hand and spoke first. “Nolan, are you still doing this?”
Nolan shrugged and said seriously: “This is my dream. Just like you, I am also pursuing my dream. Besides, doing this can not only let people see my talent, but also earn a living. There is nothing wrong with it.”
“Of course it’s not good!” Maria looked around and said in a slightly lowered voice, “This is the Water City! This is Hollywood’s territory. If the people in Hollywood find out that you are showing your own movie here, the consequences will definitely be terrible.”
Nolan shook his head: “No, Hollywood sells movie cassettes directly. What do you think those cassettes are used for? Except for a few people who collect them for themselves, most of them are bought back and played for others to make money.”
“But, but you haven’t bought any movie cassettes. You’re showing the movie you made yourself, and the ticket price is so low, and it’s being shown in the Water City. This, this is not good.”
Maria couldn’t explain the reason, but she always felt that the other party’s behavior would definitely annoy Hollywood.
Nolan smiled bitterly: “There is no way. The movies I made myself are not as good as those made by Mr. Li Ang, so I can only show them at a low price. As for why I don’t buy movie cassettes, they are too expensive. Besides, I also want to be a director like Mr. Li Ang. If I don’t make movies myself, what’s the difference between me and those businessmen? They are just making money, and I am chasing my dream.”
“Also, I heard that many people are trying to make their own movies. Mr. Li Ang is really a genius. Really, no one has ever thought that images can be combined into stories. This is really awesome, isn’t it!”
“However, I don’t know how he did it. I can’t do many of the techniques used in movies. The only thing I can do now is to organize the stories and then shoot them separately according to these compiled stories. But it is still difficult. There are too many things in it that I can’t understand. And the shooting is also very difficult. Really, movies are a super interesting thing.”
“Forget it, I can’t explain it to you clearly.” Maria saw that the other party was in such a crazy state and didn’t want to pay attention to him. She pushed the car and prepared to leave.
Nolan came to his senses and stopped her, saying anxiously: “Maria, watch my new movie. Really, this one is more interesting than the original one. My house was robbed last time, and I was wondering what those thieves were thinking. Did they just steal things, or did they do it to satisfy their special curiosity?”
“I named this movie Tracking. Have you ever thought that when you find a stranger, would you want to know his information? That must be very interesting, right? Those who track may not have any bad intentions, but they must have a strong curiosity. Maybe they will sneak into the target’s home and find out what kind of person the target is.”
Maria frowned, “Have you followed me?”
“Ah?” Nolan was a little flustered and waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no, I just followed you to the construction site in Hollywood. I have never been to your house. Believe me, that’s a movie. I just thought so. I really didn’t do it!”
Maria’s face turned red with anger. She didn’t know whether she should believe the guy in front of her. If he really sneaked into her home. She had her clothes hanging out to dry at home, and there were a lot of underwear…
“abnormal!!!”
Maria cursed loudly, ignored the other person, and rode away on her bike.
“Huh? It seems like someone is calling me a pervert!”
Franky, who was walking on the street with a group of his followers, suddenly stopped, listened for a while, turned around and asked: “Did anyone hear it? Someone is calling me a pervert!”
The younger brothers shook their heads.
“That shouldn’t be the case. I actually heard someone calling me a pervert.”
“Boss Franky, let’s go do some business first. Come back here later.”
“Okay, is that Flower Pants Vera with a bounty of 38 million really in Old Gene’s tavern?”
Zanbai nodded, “It’s true, I asked Xiuzuo to keep an eye on it. We have to go there quickly, otherwise the other party might run away later.”
“Oh, then let’s go quickly. We can’t let this guy escape. Also, I’m stronger than Barry in Hollywood. How can I lose to him?”
“Yes, Boss Franky, you are the strongest boss in Water City!” A group of younger brothers responded quickly. The pedestrians around were frightened by them, and when they saw that it was the villain Franky family, they quickly hid far away.
Chapter 46: Underground Vault (Old Version)
When Franky and the two sisters Kivemoz arrived at the new Hollywood Theater, they found that the entrance of the theater was already crowded with people.
“So many people!”
“Oh my god, are all the people from the entire Water City here?”
Frankie looked up at the new Hollywood Theatre and exclaimed: “What a nice house, much bigger than the old theatre.”
“It’s a super luxurious building. It’s definitely the most beautiful and luxurious in the Water City.”
“What now, Boss Franky?”
“Don’t panic, I’ll contact Zanbai first. They should have lined up a long time ago.”
After more than ten minutes, Zambai wiped the sweat off his face and squeezed through the crowd to find Franky and the other two.
“Boss Franky, you are here.”
“Oh, how’s it going? Did you buy the ticket?”
“I got it.” Zambai handed Frankie three movie tickets and said, “There are really too many people. It may not be easy for us to buy more tickets this time. If we line up in a circle, it will be afternoon.”
Although the Franky family is on the underground blacklist of Water City, they dare not act recklessly in Hollywood. Even if they are scalpers, they can only queue up honestly and dare not conflict with the security team that maintains order in Hollywood.
“However, we can sell the tickets at a higher price this time. Even if the ticket is 30,000 Baileys, there will be many people buying it.” When he said this, Zanbai showed his white teeth, obviously very happy.
“Oh, good. Thank you for your hard work. I’m going to go watch Li Ang’s new movie first and talk to you later when it comes out. By the way, did you buy the movie cassette?”
In addition to the scalping business, the Frank family also runs several underground movie theaters, which mainly show movies bought from Hollywood at low prices, as well as some privately shot short films. Surprisingly, the business is very hot, and this has become the most important source of income for the Frank family.
Zanbai nodded, “I bought it! But there is a problem.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Philip from Hollywood found me and said that they don’t care about our screening room, but for new movies, we can only show them one month after the movie is released.”
“Hmm?” Franky frowned. If the movie is not released until a month later, how much money will it lose?
“Boss Franky, there is one more thing. Philip said that Mr. Leon is looking for you and said he has something to discuss with you.”
“Leon is looking for me? Oh, interesting. I want to meet him too.”
Frankie returned the movie ticket to Zanbai: “Where is he? I’ll go find him now.”
“It’s on the first floor of Hollywood, next to the Grand Theater. Just go there.”
“Okay, I’ll go meet this guy now.”
Zanbai quickly grabbed him and said, “Boss Franky, I’ll call the brothers and go with you.”
“Haha, no need. Who would Mr. Franky be afraid of?!”
As he said this, he pushed his way through the crowd and entered the Hollywood Theater, with the two Kivemoz sisters quickly following behind him.
The three of them entered the theater and were shocked by the scene before them.
Grand, majestic, bright and luxurious, this is the new Hollywood Theatre.
The four floors are in an oval shape. The cinema only occupies a corner of the theater, and the rest are all shops. Looking up, the fourth floor is even more magnificent, with the casino’s sign and announcement on it.
The center of the theater is hollow, and the ceiling is a large glass sunshade, which provides good lighting and is not afraid of wind and rain. There are many stages in the middle of the theater, and various singing and dancing performances are held at this time, attracting many people to stop and watch. There are stairs every fifty meters, and people are constantly flowing up and down.
“It’s so lively!”
“It feels like taking a stroll. I’m so excited!”
Franky saw an office on the side of the theater, where four security guards in black suits were guarding. He turned around and said to Kiwimoz, “You two go shopping. I’ll go meet that guy first.”
“don’t want!”
“We want to go too!”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect to meet Mr. Li Ang. I’m so lucky.”
“Boss Franky, let’s go.”
“Oh, okay!”
Walking to the door of the office, Frankie raised his head and said loudly: “Uncle Frankie is here, where is Leon?”
The four security guards looked at him in silence, while the young lady welcoming guests at the door immediately bowed and greeted him.
“Hello, Mr. Franky, the boss is waiting for you in the office, please follow me.”
Frankie nodded, thinking that he would be able to see the other party when he entered the office. Unexpectedly, this was just a reception room, and there were several offices, and he didn’t know what they were used for. Finally, he came to an elevator door. The receptionist said a few words to the security guard in front of the elevator, and the security guard opened the elevator door and several people entered the elevator.
“Where is this going?” The elevator was going down, and Franky was a little curious.
“Let’s go to the office. The one outside is just a simple reception room. Our office is underground. It’s very safe.”
Franky finally understood what safety meant. He didn’t know how many meters underground he was, but it turned out to be a huge underground space. The lights were on and there were many staff members busy at work. There were also security guards every three steps and every five steps.
After walking through a long corridor, passing those conference rooms and offices, we finally arrived at the last office, where a girl with short orange hair was working hard.
“Ms. Nami, Mr. Franky is here.”
Nami was learning about navigation. She looked up when she heard the words and saw the cyborg Franky. She nodded and said, “Okay, I understand. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The receptionist bowed and left.
Nami tilted her head and looked at the leader of the underground blacklist of Water City. She didn’t have much interest in him. She just pressed a button next to her and said, “Franky is here.”
A voice came from the microphone on the wall, “Okay, please ask him to come in, and make two more cups of tea.”
In the small office, a door opened by itself. Nami tilted her head and said, “The boss is inside. You can go in by yourselves.”
Franky was very unhappy with the other party’s attitude. Also, it was outrageous that an office could cause so much trouble, even more pretentious than Iceberg.
After entering the last door, Franky and the other two saw a very large office. The space was about 1,000 square meters, divided into several areas with different functions. There were offices, fitness rooms, a small screening room, and many monitoring screens. At the side of the door, a handsome man was writing something on his desk.
The man looked up, and Franky recognized him at a glance. It was Leon who had appeared many times in movies.
“Frankie, take a seat. I’ll be done with this chapter soon.”
Franky didn’t hesitate and sat down comfortably on the sofa next to the desk.
The two sisters, Kiwi and Moz, had been shocked by what they had seen along the way. They had originally wanted to ask for an autograph when they met, but now they did not dare to speak and stood obediently behind Franky.
Li Ang looked up and smiled, “Don’t be restrained, just sit anywhere.”
His smile made Kivemoz relax and sit down on the sofa nearby.
At this time, Nami came in and put two cups of tea on the coffee table. Li Ang said helplessly: “Nami, don’t you see there are four people here?”
Nami snorted and went back out to make some tea.
Li Ang sighed, stopped writing, walked up to Franky, and extended his hand, “Hello, Franky, it’s our first time meeting you. I have heard a lot about you.”
Franky didn’t reach out his hand, but said unhappily, “Uh, you’re such a pretentious guy. Kind of annoying.”
Li Ang smiled and took his hand back, sitting down on the sofa opposite Franky, shrugging and saying, “I can’t help it. You don’t know how much money this theater makes for me every day. Of course I have to find a better place to store Bailey.”
He pointed to the side and said, “This is actually an underground vault. It’s next door. It uses super thick stones to make the walls. There are also seastone steel plates for protection. It is definitely safer than a bank vault.”
Franky curled his lips in disdain and raised his neck, “Tell me, what do you want from me?”
Chapter 47: The Best Shipbuilder (Old Version)
“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what you want from me?”
Franky did not blindly worship Leon like others did. He did like the movies he made, but he was not interested in the leading actor in the movie, Leon.
Besides, he is Franky, a cool guy. When he saw Leon pretending to be cool, even though Franky didn’t understand the word “pretentious”, he just hated the other’s behavior.
Li Ang shrugged and smiled, “Two things. The first thing is to tell you that from now on, if you want to show any new movie in Hollywood in your underground theater, I won’t stop you from showing it, but you have to wait a month before showing it.”
“Impossible! Why?”
Franky was very upset. “I bought the movie cassette from you. It cost one million Baileys each. You made the money, so don’t worry about how we deal with the movie cassette. We can show it if we want to, and we can watch it if we want to.”
Li Ang smiled and shook his head. Underground movie theaters were like the pirated markets in his previous life. Even if the laws in that world were sound, there was no way to completely eliminate the existence of piracy, let alone the world of One Piece?
Also, he did not immediately start the cinema chain model in his previous life because the management cost was too high. If he built a theater outside the Water City, people might cause trouble every day. This was almost inevitable.
Unless he builds up enough power for himself, like Crocodile’s Baroque Works, with such a strong background, he can open the Hollywood Theater in other places.
In fact, this is also one of his long-term plans. The Grand Theatre is not just a cinema, but now it is a local version of the “Wanda Plaza” that combines casinos, food and movies.
Of course, he didn’t care whether this plan could be realized or not. The market of Water City was enough for him to make ends meet. What he needed to do now was to cultivate the entertainment industry of Water City.
“This is a notification, not a discussion.”
Li Ang said with a smile: “Now, anyone who buys movie cassettes must sign a statement, which means that I don’t care about places outside of Water City. But the theaters in Water City can only show my new movies one month after they are shown. Your little brother over there must have bought movie cassettes, and they must have signed an agreement. However, I guess he can’t read very well and doesn’t care.”
Franky was disdainful, “So, what? Do you want to beat me up, or do you want to find someone to mess up my screening room?”
“Of course not.” Li Ang shook his head. “I can tell you that I am the user of the Movie Fruit. These movie cassettes were copied by my ability. I can sense anything that is shown within the Water City, and I can also directly damage it. Movie cassettes cost one million each, you don’t want to waste money like this, do you?”
“asshole!”
Franky couldn’t control his temper and punched out with his right fist at the opponent.
With a dull thud, the huge steel fist was blocked by a palm.
Li Ang stretched out his left hand and pressed it directly against the opponent’s steel fist, just like a flesh palm pressing against the bucket of an excavator.
“Um?”
Franky was surprised, then raised his mouth, “Ha! So you are an expert, interesting!”
Li Ang held the teacup in his right hand, and some of the water in the cup rippled and spilled out. He sighed and shook his head, “Frankie, don’t do it. If you break something, you’ll have to pay for it.”
“Ha! Uncle Franky is rich! Powerful! Heavy hammer!”
Franky retracted his right hand and smashed out violently, but Leon dodged the attack by just slightly turning sideways, and then punched out with his right fist as fast as lightning, directly sending Franky flying. Franky hit the wall like a hanging painting and slowly slid to the ground.
The Kiwimoz were so scared that they hugged each other and trembled all over.
“Asshole!” Franky struggled to get up.
“shave!”
Leon disappeared on the spot, and when he reappeared, he was already behind Franky. With one step, Franky fell directly to the ground, looking extremely embarrassed!
“Frankie, I said, stop! If you want to fight, I’ll go to your junkyard another day. Fighting here will damage things.”
“Asshole! Asshole! I~”
Before he could finish his words, Li Ang pulled him back to the sofa and quickly sat him down, handing him a cup of tea.
Franky was so confused that he was about to stand up and smash the teacup in his hand.
“Don’t smash it, tell me the second thing.”
When Franky stood up, he felt like his breath was stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down, and felt extremely suffocated.
Li Ang said: “I asked you to come here because I need the best shipbuilder to help me build a ship.”
“Shipbuilding?” Hearing these two words, Franky immediately shifted his attention.
“Yes, I want to build the best ship. People say that the best shipbuilder in Water City is Mr. Iceberg, and I recognize his ability. Unfortunately, he is too busy. What I want is the best ship, and I guess he doesn’t have time.”
“Franky, I know you are also the best shipbuilder, even as good as Iceberg. Are you interested in building the best ship in the world?”
“The best?”
“Yes, the best! Use the best materials and the most advanced technology. The ship must be fast, stable, strong, and luxurious, and have all the functions. It can sail in the worst oceans and in the doldrums, and it will not be attacked by sea kings. In addition, it must have the best weapons and the strongest defenses.”
“In addition to common functions such as a kitchen, the ship must also have a gym, a screening room, a dance hall, a game room, an entertainment room, a study, and so on. It is a mobile castle on the sea. Of course, the ship must be large, but not clumsy, and must be able to sail around the world. When it is docked, a platform is raised, which is the best stage for concerts.”
“When using the sails, it has the fastest speed. When there is no wind, it must have its own sailing power. When surrounded by the enemy, it must also have the ability to escape at high speed. This ship will be the most perfect masterpiece of a shipbuilder!”
As Leon described, Franky’s shipbuilding soul began to burn.
“I just want the best, and I don’t care about the money. Of course, that kind of extravagant waste is unnecessary. Franky, can I trust you? If you can’t do it, then I’ll go find Iceberg. He should be interested in building such a ship.”
Bang!!!
Franky punched the coffee table, smashing it to pieces.
“Asshole! Bingshan is not the best shipbuilder at all. The ships he builds are all garbage, unimaginative garbage! I am the best shipbuilder!”
“Maybe not. You may be creative, but I really don’t believe in your aesthetics. If you make something weird~”
Franky grabbed Leon by the collar and yelled at him, “Asshole! Don’t you dare believe me? I am the best shipbuilder! The best!”
“OK, words are not enough. I will go find the iceberg. You can also get a set of shipbuilding blueprints. I will compare the ships designed by the two of you. I will use the one that is better. Later, I will drive this ship around the world and let everyone in the world see who is the best shipbuilder!”
“Just wait for a week!”
Franky said, and turned to leave. Seeing this, Kivemoz hurried to catch up with his boss.
Chapter 48: Young People Chasing Their Dreams (Old Version)
Maria returned home and the shopping bag in her hand fell to the ground. She stretched out her arms, turned around and fell backwards onto the thick bed.
“I’m so tired!”
“So happy!”
Close your eyes and rest. After three breaths, you will be revived with full health.
Maria jumped out of bed, took a shower in the narrow bathroom, walked out hurriedly naked, put on the new clothes, and then admired herself in the half-length mirror.
“I am indeed the most beautiful.”
“Unfortunately, there are too many good things and not enough money.”
Maria spent the day alone at the new Hollywood Theater, watching movies, enjoying delicious food, shopping in clothing stores, and even went to the 4th floor to gamble and won 5,000 Baileys.
She had never dared to go to a casino before, but the casino in the Hollywood Theater was different. She believed in Mr. Li Ang’s credibility and believed that the casino in the Hollywood Theater would not cheat customers. Just like the slogan of the casino, [You can take home whatever you win! ]Looking at herself in the mirror, Maria couldn’t help but sing happily.
[I have a dream, and I will work hard to pursue it][She is the meaning of my life, everything to me][Although the road is difficult, I will not give up][I have a dream, I am willing to give everything for her]“Knock knock knock!!!”
There was a knock on the door. Maria stopped singing and asked loudly, “Who?”
“It’s me, Nolan. Maria, you’re back?”
Maria hesitated for a moment, but still went over and opened the door.
When Nolan saw Maria wearing new clothes, his eyes lit up and were full of amazement.
“Oh, my God, you, you are so beautiful!” he couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Thank you, what do you want from me?”
Nolan lost his usual composure and became reserved in front of the gorgeous Maria.
“Oh, it’s okay. I just heard you singing and knew you were back.”
Maria tilted her head and looked at the other person without saying anything, as if to say, so what?
“I, I wanted to ask you to go to the movies this morning, but I didn’t expect you to leave early.”
Maria had been working on the construction site for three months and had long been accustomed to waking up early. However, Nolan had to run his small underground movie theater and always went to bed late and got up late, with an irregular lifestyle, so there was no way he could meet Maria, who was an early riser.
“I saw the movie and spent a day at the new theater. I just got back.”
“Really? That’s great. The movie Onward is really great! You saw it too, when it was showing, the cheers and applause in the theater were just amazing~”
Maria sighed and shook her head to make way for the door. “Come in and help me close the door.”
“Oh, ok, thank you.”
Nolan became more and more nervous. This was his first time entering Maria’s room. Could it be?
Maria walked to the other end, opened the small door of the balcony, made two cups of tea, and just as she was about to pick them up, Nolan hurried forward.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”
He knew he was overthinking it, so he quickly stepped forward to help, carrying two cups of tea and walking to the balcony.
There is a canal under the balcony. Because it is a small alley, there are not many boats passing by. Only some tourists’ blue boats pass by from the small side. On the balcony, many families hang clothes to dry.
Maria came in with a bag of biscuits, and when she saw her underwear hanging out to dry, her face turned red and she quickly went over to put it away.
Nolan also saw it. He coughed twice and pretended to drink tea to ease his embarrassment.
Maria put away her clothes and came to the balcony, sitting on the chair opposite Nolan.
Nolan coughed twice again and said, “When I was at the theater, I thought I could run into you, but there were so many people.”
Maria nodded. “Yes, I have never seen such a big theater, a shopping mall, and even a casino. It’s incredible! You know, I worked there as a temporary worker and saw the building take shape step by step. I didn’t expect it to be so crazy when it was actually open for business.”
“Yes, the theater is really huge. I heard that the largest theater on the first floor has 3,600 seats. The small theater I rented can only seat 50 people. There is no comparison.”
Maria chuckled, thinking that it was ridiculous to compare the small screening room run by the other party with the theater in the big theatre.
Nolan was also very embarrassed and scratched his head. “Really, the big screen is also very large, 30 meters wide and 15 meters high. I can’t even imagine it. To be able to show a movie on such a big screen, you definitely need the best imaging skills. I wish my movie could be shown there someday.”
“I guess you don’t stand a chance. I heard from the team leader that the construction of the Hollywood Theater cost a full 1.5 billion Baileys.”
“1.5 billion Baileys!” Nolan was so shocked that he was speechless.
“I heard that the mayor, Mr. Bingshan, has given a lot of preferential treatment. If it weren’t for these, it might cost 2 billion to build a building of the same size.”
“So exaggerated?”
Nolan’s mind raced, trying to calculate when he could earn 2 billion, but after calculating for a long time, he still had no clue.
“Forget it. I don’t think I can make that much money in my lifetime.” He shook his head and smiled. “Anyway, it’s good enough to be able to make a movie. Who cares?”
“Movies? When do you think you can make a movie like Go Ahead?”
“Uh~” Nolan smiled bitterly, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to film it in this lifetime. You don’t know, those battle scenes with pirates were all filmed for real. And those pirates, I checked the bounty list, those are real pirates.”
“Real pirates!” Maria was surprised! Although the movie had just come out, she knew that the characters in the movie were all played by actors, so how could there be real pirates acting in the movie?
“Yeah, it’s true. And the Navy Headquarters, it should be true too.” Nuo looked longing, “I don’t know how Mr. Leon did it, he could actually invite the Navy and the pirates to act at the same time.”
“Alas, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to make a movie like Go Forward in my lifetime. But I think I can try Water City and The Sound of Music. Although this filming technique is delicate, it’s not impossible.”
“Then I wish you the best. To be honest, compared to Forward, I prefer Holiday Water City and The Sound of Music. Especially The Sound of Music, it’s simply amazing.”
Nolan: “I understand. You’re a girl, and you like singing. But I think the movie “Go Forward” will be more popular with the public. You know, this world, pirates, navy, fighting. These things are naturally attractive.”
The two of them got along better and better as they talked. As young people pursuing the same dream, they naturally had common topics.
“I’m going to participate in a singing competition the day after tomorrow. I heard that one of the judges is Mr. Li Ang.”
“Really? That’s great. You sing so well. You will definitely be successful.”
“Not necessarily, but I’ll try my best.”
Maria looked at him and said, “What about you? Will you always stay like this? There are always positions like photographers in Hollywood. Why don’t you give it a try?”
“I~”
Nolan was silent for a while before he said, “I want to make my own movie.”
Maria shrugged. “I think you can give it a try. Mr. Leon is so amazing. If you can learn from him while you’re working there~”
“Hmm~!” Nolan looked up instantly, his eyes burning.
Chapter 49: The First Water City Singing Contest (Old Version)
“Hollywood Film and Entertainment Company!”
Looking at the pyramid-like building in front of her, Maria let out a long breath.
This is her future. She has persisted for more than three months just to get in here and become a member of a Hollywood company. Whether she succeeds or not depends on her performance today.
She was very confident in herself, but she couldn’t help feeling nervous. She took another deep breath to calm herself down, then walked towards the guard and took out her audition certificate.
A girl with a work badge greeted her with a smile and led her to a spacious lounge with many sofas that could accommodate hundreds of people.
The girl asked Maria to sit on a sofa, took her audition certificate, and exchanged it for a number plate with a number on it.
“Ms. Maria, this is your number plate. You will be the ninth singer to perform. Please pin your number plate in a conspicuous place when you go on stage.”
“If you need water or drinks, the front desk can provide them for free.”
“If you need to go to the bathroom, please prepare as soon as possible. When the game starts, a staff member will call out your number and name in advance.”
“The big screen on the wall will broadcast the progress of the game live.”
“Okay, that’s all. If you need any help, you can talk to the front desk. Good luck!”
“Thanks!”
“You’re welcome.” The girl smiled, turned around and left back to her post.
Maria looked at the clock on the wall. It was 8:30, half an hour before the game started.
She went to the bathroom and asked for a glass of lemonade when she came back. She looked up at the live broadcast screen on the wall and found that the audience was entering the venue one after another. The three seats in front of the auditorium, which should be the seats for the judges, were still empty.
In the lounge, whether it was a singer who came alone or a contestant who came with his family, all of them had an excited and nervous expression.
She saw many people taking deep breaths, while some closed their eyes and hummed songs softly to soothe themselves.
Maria felt her heartbeat quickening, so she immediately took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes to calm herself.
He kept repeating to himself, “Maria, you can do it. You can definitely do it. You are a singing genius. You can definitely do it.”
“Even if I fail this time, I can still sing in a bar in Water City. If there’s a first singing contest, there will definitely be a second one. I’m not afraid! I’m not afraid!”
“At worst, I can participate again next year. I’m only 17 years old. I’m not afraid!”
She prepared herself mentally and told herself that failure was no big deal. Thinking this way, she felt less nervous.
“ah!!!!!!”
Suddenly, screams were heard in the lounge. Maria opened her eyes and found that everyone was staring at the live broadcast on the wall.
In the picture, three people walked to the three judges’ seats to the applause of the audience. On the left was the popular movie star Xin Duoli, on the right was the famous opera singer Ms. Emma, ​​and in the middle was the Hollywood boss, the founder of the film and the movie star Mr. Li Ang.
Maria also stood up and applauded, and the entire lounge was filled with applause.
The applause continued for several minutes until Karina walked onto the stage.
“Thank you, thank you everyone! Welcome to the first Water City Singing Contest.”
Karina was not at all stage frightened and acted as the host with ease. She first introduced the rules of the competition, then introduced the three judges in the audience, and finally announced the official start of the competition and invited the first contestant to come on stage.
The first contestant to come on stage was a young man with a guitar on his back. According to the rules of the competition, contestants can sing directly on stage and cannot introduce themselves, unless they can get affirmation from two judges after the performance and have at least two lights on, passing the first round of selection, and then they will be allowed to introduce themselves.
In this world, there are no variety shows, but Li Ang recorded the singing competition as a formal variety show. Moreover, this competition will be an absolutely fair and just stage, because this program itself was created by him to select singers for the company.
As an all-round entertainment superstar, how can he only make movies? He also wants to bring so many excellent songs from his previous life to the world, and these songs must be sung by suitable singers.
Of course, in order to sell more video recordings, the singing competition is not just a simple selection of singers. He also set up the competition process, the first round, the second round, the top 16, the top 10, the semi-finals, the finals, etc. The main purpose is to make people who buy the video recordings like the show, and all this is money.
After the one-minute performance, Xin Duoli tapped the green light on the table, indicating that she passed. However, Emma and Li Ang did not say anything, which meant that the first contestant did not pass the first round of selection and was eliminated.
Xin Duoli is a well-known stage actress and the hottest female movie star at the moment, but her musical talent is just average. As a judge, she is mostly used to warm up the audience. The ones who actually select the singers are Li Ang and Emma.
Emma, ​​a stage singer, has outstanding singing skills. She has been signed by Hollywood as a singer and is also the company’s music director and singer training instructor.
“You performed very well, but you still need to practice your singing skills. I know there are many bars in Water City that already have resident singers. Perhaps you can practice there for another year. There will be the second Water City Singing Contest next year. I hope you can still participate then.”
Xin Duoli gave the first contestant some encouragement and thanked him for participating in the competition. The young man left the stage to the applause of the audience.
The host Karina did not come on stage, but stood at the side of the stage and let the second contestant come on stage.
There are more than 800 singers who have signed up for the singing competition this time and have passed the audition. Li Ang’s time is very precious, so of course he will not do a boring and long segment like the variety shows in his previous life. The main feature of the singing competition he set up is a fast pace to save time.
In the backstage lounge, Maria was concentrating on watching the contestants sing. This was the seventh contestant, and among the six contestants who finished the competition, only one person passed the first round of selection.
Obviously, the three judges’ review was very strict, which made the contestants waiting to go on stage even more nervous.
“Number 9! Number 9! Has contestant Maria, number 9, arrived?”
Suddenly, Maria heard the staff shouting. She came to her senses and immediately stretched out her hand, shouting, “I’m here!”
“Come on, come on!” The staff waved hurriedly, and Maria ran over quickly. She knew that she was about to go on stage.
In front of her, contestant No. 8 was putting his hands together and praying silently. Maria saw that her hands were shaking slightly, and it was obvious that she was very nervous.
“Relax! Relax! Don’t be afraid! Just perform normally.” The staff quickly comforted the two and reminded Maria to hang the number plate on her body.
Contestant No. 7 failed to pass, and contestant No. 8 was also eliminated. There were already two people standing behind Maria, contestants No. 10 and No. 11.
“Please invite contestant No. 9 to the stage.”
As Kalina’s voice fell, Maria let out a long breath. For some reason, she suddenly felt that she was no longer nervous.
Maria walked calmly to the microphone and seemed to hear a voice.
“Maria! Come on!”
It was Nolan’s voice, he was sitting in the audience, and Maria smiled.
Chapter 50: Dreams Come True (Old Version)
In the first round, singers only had one minute to perform, and they all sang a cappella. A cappella is the best way to test one’s skills, and Maria has confidence in herself.
She recalled the prelude of the song in her mind, and at the same time thought of the scene when Leon and the princess left in the movie Holiday Water City to put herself in the mood.
[Pick up a smiling flower and think about the changes in the world][In the end, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose][Day and night wax and wane; wealth and honor cannot last long][My face looks older this morning than it did last night][Put a word of width between your eyebrows, and see the scenery of the world]【Who doesn’t experience joy and sorrow】
[The sea is endless, and the grudges are hard to calculate]【Yesterday is not something you should forget today】
[The waves are rolling, people are far away, the bird of youth has flown away][Even if it is the eternal lover wandering in the world][The wind is whistling and the people are far away, the grass in the mountain of swords is happy][The various flavors of love and hate are blowing in the wind]The song sung by Maria is the only interlude in the movie Water City Holiday. Before the hero Li Ang sends the princess back to the princess’s mansion, the interlude of the movie is this song “Looking at Each Other”.
The song “Looking at Each Other” describes the sadness of two lovers having to separate. Even the prelude is the music style of the Kingdom of Alabasta, which is the most attractive. In addition, the singer of this song is Ms. Emma, ​​one of the judges.
When the performance ended, the whole audience couldn’t help but stand up and applaud, including the three judges.
Xin Duoli took the green light and smiled, “What a great song! It’s the best song I’ve heard today. Pass!”
Ms. Emma also gave the green light, “You sang really well, you are really talented. Although I sang this song, I think your interpretation is also very good. Pass!”
Maria bowed excitedly repeatedly. Two lights were already on, indicating that she had passed the first round and could participate in the next round.
However, she still looked at Li Ang with expectation, hoping to get his affirmation. Mr. Li Ang is the boss of Hollywood, a world-famous director, a pioneer of movies, and an idol in the hearts of people in the entertainment industry. If she could get his affirmation~
Bang! Li Ang also pressed the green light. This was his first time pressing the green light today. The whole audience was boiling! The applause became more and more enthusiastic. It was such a great honor to be recognized by Li Ang.
This made Maria so excited that she couldn’t help crying and bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude.
Looking at the young version of “Butterfly” on the stage, Li Ang really wanted to sigh, is this really a parallel world?
Of course not! There is nothing similar between the world of One Piece and the previous life. Even the structure of the planets is different. This is the world of the ocean. However, there are always some people who are very similar to those celebrities in the previous life.
Karina, for example, looks a lot like Ana de Armas, but sings like Britney Spears.
Well, this is purely because Leon compared the characters in this world with those celebrities in his previous life, which gave him the illusion of celebrities from another world.
However, the girl in front of him really looks like the top queen Maria in his previous life.
Li Ang smiled at the other person and said, “Very good, your voice is really great. What’s your name?”
Maria wiped her tears and said quickly: “My name is Maria, from Saint Falter.”
“How old are you this year?”
“17”
There was a burst of exclamations from the audience. They didn’t expect that this young girl was only 17 years old and was so amazing.
“Great, your voice is very special, clear and penetrating. Can you sing high notes?”
There is no high-pitched part in the song “Looking at Each Other”, and Li Ang simply wanted to see if Maria also had an extremely wide vocal range.
“Well, can you please perform a piece?”
Maria nodded repeatedly. Mr. Li Ang hardly said a word during the eight contestants’ performances, but now he was talking so much to her and even wanted her to sing the high notes. It was obvious that he was optimistic about her.
After calming down, Maria chose a song she practiced often.
When she opened her mouth again, the audience couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement. They didn’t expect that this girl was even better at singing high-pitched songs.
When the performance ended, warm applause rang out in the studio again.
Li Ang smiled and said, “Very good, you really have a talent for singing. Congratulations on passing the first round, thank you.”
“Thank you, thank you!” Maria expressed her gratitude again and again, and then returned to the backstage with excitement.
Along the way, she saw that almost all the contestants backstage were looking at her with jealous, envious and hateful eyes.
A staff member came running over and called her.
“Ms. Maria! Please wait.”
“Oh, hello.”
“Please follow me.”
Maria followed the girl to an office where a man seemed to be waiting for her.
The man stood up and greeted her enthusiastically, “Hello, Miss Maria, I am Fleet Root, the deputy manager of the agency department of Hollywood Company.”
“Hello, Mr. Root.”
“Don’t be nervous, please take a seat.”
After Fleet Root asked Maria to sit down, he smiled and said, “Actually, I asked you to come because our boss has decided to sign you.”
Happiness came too suddenly, leaving Maria unprepared. She didn’t even know how to express her feelings. Tears welled up in her eyes, she clenched her fists with excitement, and wanted to jump up and cheer.
Ruth waited for her to calm down a little before continuing, “Yes, the boss has decided to sign you. This is the artist contract, you can take a look first.”
Ruth handed the contract to the other party and patiently introduced the terms of the contract.
“The main contents are as follows. The first one is that you can get a basic salary of 100,000 Baileys after signing the contract. In other words, even if you do nothing, you can still get a salary of 100,000 Baileys every month until the contract expires.”
Maria nodded repeatedly. She knew that the salary in Hollywood was very high. Basic employees could get 100,000 Baileys a month, which was more than twice the salary of other jobs. Including her work as a handyman on the construction site for the past three months, she could only get 30,000 to 40,000 Baileys a month. Now she could get 100,000 without doing anything, so of course she was very happy.
“This is the basic salary, just a guarantee. In fact, the company’s artists have very high incomes. This brings me to the second point. In the future, the company will give you some commercial performances or endorsements. Don’t understand? For example, if someone invites you to sing, this is a commercial performance. Some products will ask you to be a spokesperson, etc. The company will arrange all of these, and you can get 10% of these earnings.”
“Of course, this is because you are currently signing the lowest level D contract. In the future, as your fame grows, the company will change your contract and you will get more.”
“Also, the boss will release a music album for you. A music album is like a movie cassette, you know that, right? Of course, a music album is definitely not as expensive as a movie cassette. In short, you can get 5% of the music album’s revenue.”
“Also, you will get housing allocated by the company in the future. You know the construction site over at the Grand Theater, right?”
Maria nodded, “I know, I’ve been working there for the past three months.”
“Oh, really? That’s great. You don’t have to work there now. Starting tomorrow, you have to go find Ms. Emma and practice singing with her to improve your skills.”
“Also, after signing the contract, you can live in the company’s Hollywood Hotel. When the new residential area is built, you will be able to get a new house.”
Maria had no choice but to nod. With so many terms and benefits, she felt like she was blessed by God.
The contract, of course, must be signed! Why hesitate? Maria signed the contract without hesitation.
“Mr. Root, should I continue to participate in the competition?”
“Of course, I hope you can win the championship. By the way, the company will not take a cut of the prize money for this competition. All the prize money you get is yours.”
Maria didn’t know how she got through the building, her head was still dizzy. However, the contract in her hand proved that everything that had just happened was not a dream.
Not far from the door, Nolan, who had been waiting anxiously, saw her and hurried over to say hello.
Chapter 51: When Happiness Knocks on the Door (Old Version)
“Maria! Congratulations on advancing to the competition!”
Nolan was really happy for his friend. Maria, like him, came to the Water City to pursue her dreams. Now that Maria had succeeded, he was also on the road to success. Yes, he believed that he would succeed.
“Thank you, thank you!” Maria was very excited. She finally felt like she was coming back to her senses and knew that she had finally succeeded.
He raised the contract in his hand and said with a smile: “I have signed a contract with Hollywood. They want to train me to be a singer.”
“Really! Look, this is the contract I signed.”
“contract?”
“Well, you can take a look.” Maria handed her contract to the other party.
Nolan took it solemnly and looked through it carefully. After a while, he said, “There’s actually a contract. I’ve never heard of a theater company giving an actor a contract.”
Maria smiled brightly, “Yes, Mr. Root also said so. Only Hollywood companies have contracts. Because Mr. Leon values ​​us very much and follows the rules, there is a contract.”
Nolan nodded. “Yes, this is the first time I’ve heard of this. However, there are indeed many great benefits. For example, there is a basic salary, housing allocation, and profit sharing! I’ve only heard of profit sharing in partnerships. If you’re not the boss, you generally don’t get this treatment.”
“Yes, so I signed without hesitation. It’s great, you don’t know that feeling, it’s like a dream come true, I finally found a new life. It’s really great!”
“Congratulations, Maria. Let me treat you to a meal. Congratulations on signing a contract to become a singer.”
“Okay, but I’ll treat you. By the way, I have to go to the Hollywood Hotel first.”
“Hollywood Hotel?”
“Yes, Mr. Root told me to go to the Hollywood Hotel, where they will arrange accommodation for me. He said it is more convenient and safer to live here. When the house at Dock 6 is built, I can also get my own house.”
“I’ll go with you. It’s not far away anyway.”
The two soon arrived at the Hollywood Hotel, which was originally located at Dock 4. Maria saw her new residence, which was actually a hotel room. It was much better than the place she rented. More importantly, she felt like she was entering a big family.
It feels great to be a part of Hollywood!
“Are you planning to live here today?” Nolan felt a little disappointed.
“Yes, starting tomorrow, I will study with Ms. Emma. It’s convenient to live here, and no one will disturb me.”
“Then I’ll go back with you to move your things.”
“Thank you. I haven’t treated you to dinner yet.”
“No hurry, let’s move our things first.”
The two bought some pork chop to eat on the way, and when they returned to the rental house, they found that a Hollywood employee was waiting for them.
Hollywood employees all have uniforms. Girls wear maid outfits, while girls in management wear suits and short skirts. Male employees also have their own uniforms. Ordinary employees wear samurai-like uniforms, while management wears casual suits. The security team wears black suits and sunglasses.
In addition, each person wears a metal company badge on the left chest, which is the silhouette of the Water City pyramid at the beginning of the movie, with employee information below.
In short, the people of Water City are extremely envious of the Hollywood employees who wear uniforms, because the treatment of Hollywood employees is definitely the best in Water City, even better than that of Carrera Shipbuilding Company.
The landlord saw Nolan coming back and said, “He is Nolan!”
The young man in a gray suit stood up from his chair, smiled and extended his hand, “Hello, Mr. Nolan.”
Nolan did not dare to be negligent, knowing that the man in front of him was from Hollywood, and he already had some vague guesses in his mind.
“Hello, hello!” He hurriedly shook hands with the other party, and even his voice became a little dry. Maria, who was standing next to him, also had some guesses in her mind and was very happy for Nolan.
The man smiled and said, “Mr. Nolan, the resume you submitted to the company has been reviewed by our boss, Mr. Li Ang. I am here today to formally inform you that you have been officially accepted by the company.”
Hearing the news, Nolan was stunned. Maria looked at him in surprise and said with a smile: “Congratulations, Nolan, you are going to realize your dream too!”
The landlord next door also looked at Nolan with envy.
Nolan finally came to his senses and didn’t know what to say except thank you. He submitted his resume yesterday and attached a cassette of a movie he shot. He didn’t expect that he would be recognized by Mr. Li Ang just one day later.
The man smiled and continued, “Congratulations, Nolan, we will be colleagues from now on. My name is Ford.”
“Also, the boss wants you to come to his office at 5:00 p.m. It’s in the new Hollywood Entertainment building, behind the new Hollywood Theater, you know?”
Maria said, “Is that where the singing competition is held?”
“Yes, that building will be the company’s office from now on.”
“Thank you, thank you, I will go!” Nolan agreed quickly.
Maria helpfully asked, “Mr. Ford, what position is Nolan applying for?”
Ford shook his head. “You need to discuss the details with your boss. But I heard a piece of news that may be related to your position.”
Several people pricked up their ears. Ford smiled and shook his head. “It’s not really a secret. The company asked the World Economic News to make an advertisement a few days ago. Maybe you will see it in the next few days.”
“That is, the company is planning to open a director and screenwriter class and an actor training class at the same time. You can sign up within a month, and there will naturally be people selecting actors for the actor class. What I know is that for the director and screenwriter class, it seems that you need to bring your own stories or short films for review. If they pass, you can join the director and screenwriter class.”
“You mean, I’ll join the directing and screenwriting class?”
Ford shook his head. “I don’t know. However, those who attend these two training classes are not considered employees of the company yet. When the training is over, the company will select the best candidates based on their learning results. Only then can they sign a contract with the company.”
“Nolan, you can sign a contract with the company directly now, although I don’t know what your final position will be. But the boss summoned you, I think it must be a good thing. You are already ahead of others.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for telling me this.”
Ford smiled and shook his head. “No, we will be colleagues from now on. The company has been recruiting more talents. Only in this way can the company develop better and we can have a better life. Let’s work hard together.”
“That’s great. We will be colleagues from now on.” Maria said with a smile.
Ford was surprised. He looked at the beautiful girl and asked, “Are you also an employee of the company?”
Maria held out her hand confidently and proudly, “My name is Maria. I participated in a singing competition this morning and have been signed as a singer for the company.”
Ford’s eyes lit up, and he quickly reached out his hand to shake hers. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect you to be an artist of the company. You must be a talented singer to be signed to the company for your first participation in a singing competition. You’re really amazing!”
“I didn’t expect my luck to be so good.”
The three of them looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.
Chapter 52: The Friendly Life of the Navy (Old Version)
A navy ship docked at the port of Marinford, and a tall woman came down from the ship. She had delicate makeup and a proud figure. Especially her pair of long white legs, which was simply “shocking”!
Captain Barr, who was in charge of port duty, tried hard to take his eyes off the amazing pair of long legs, looked up at the person who came, and saluted.
“Welcome back, Major General Gion!”
Gion nodded and suddenly asked, “Is there anything interesting happening recently? I mean, at the cinema~”
Onward has been playing in Marinford for more than two months, and Gion has seen it more than once. She has also memorized the plots and even the lines of Water Holiday and The Sound of Music.
Bal understood what the other party meant in an instant and shook his head, “I’m sorry, Major General Gion, there are no new movies showing recently. But~”
“But there are new music albums for sale at the cinema.”
“Music album?”
“Yes, it’s like a stage opera, with music and dance that can be shown and watched. There are three music albums for sale now, one for Mr. Leon, and the other two for Miss Karina and Miss Maria. They are all great music, and everyone who has extra money buys them.”
“Really? That’s very interesting. I’ll go check it out later. Thank you, Captain.”
Bal blushed instantly and waved his hand quickly, “No, no, you’re welcome.”
Gion came to Sengoku’s office and found Garp sitting on the sofa eating donuts.
Seeing her come in, Cap smiled and said, “Haha, Little Peach Bunny is back, do you want a donut?”
“Mr. Garp, Marshal Sengoku!”
Sengoku looked towards Gion, his eyes full of appreciation and satisfaction.
“Gion, you have completed this mission very well. In view of your outstanding performance and past achievements, I now officially appoint you as the vice admiral of the Navy Headquarters! I hope you will continue to work hard and continue to serve the cause of justice.”
“Yes! Marshal Sengoku!”
Gion was very happy, but did not show much excitement. This calm demeanor made Sengoku even more satisfied.
“The appointment letter will be sent to you later. Vice Admiral Tsuru has been waiting for you for a long time. You can go see her first.”
“Yes, Marshal Sengoku, Mr. Garp, I’m going to leave you first.”
Gion left, and Sengoku suddenly sighed. Garp was puzzled and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Sengoku shook his head. “Among the new generation of navy, only Gion and Chaton are outstanding.”
“Haha, what’s the big deal? There will always be an outstanding navy.” Garp was still as heartless as ever.
Zhan Guo shook his head, “I just feel sorry for Leon and that Locke. Even Zephyr was amazed at their talent. What a pity.”
Garp: “Isn’t this great? If he joins the navy, where will I go to watch movies? Hahahaha…”
The underwater prison.
A large room was converted into a screening room with more than 200 chairs placed inside. In front of the room, a thick layer of white lime had long been painted by the jailers to be used as a screen.
The movie being screened at this time was not “Onward”, but the newly purchased Holiday Water City.
Ever since Forward Bravely was distributed to various naval bases by the Navy Headquarters, the Undersea Prison finally had an entertainment activity that everyone enjoyed, and that was watching movies.
Almost all the prison guards and wardens would come here to watch movies whenever they had a break.
The more you watch Bravely Ahead, the more you want to watch other movies. Therefore, other Hollywood movies also appear on the supply list of the underwater prison, and they are highlighted as supplies.
Ever since the two movies Water City and The Sound of Music were sent to the Undersea Prison, everyone’s enthusiasm for watching movies has been ignited again.
There is another screening room that is used as a dance hall, where three Hollywood music albums are played.
Music and dance instantly became another favorite entertainment activity for the guards and jailers. In this dark place, in the past, the jailers had no other way to vent their anger except torturing the pirates.
Now, wonderful movies, pleasant music, and exciting dances have become their new channels for relaxing. The people here love these two new things more than those crazy fans outside.
Even one of the deputy warden Tomino invented a new punishment: to interrogate the pirates, let them watch half a movie, and then put them back in jail.
Whenever this happens, these pirates will reveal the truth in order to see the complete movie. Even if they are punished for it, they are willing to do so!
Not being able to see the full movie was like a death sentence for them. At this time, some pirates who resisted would honestly reveal their secrets just to be able to see the movie.
In Impel Down, the captured pirates love movies more than the jailers and guards. That is their only light.
Movies and music have become necessities in the process of advancement. Whether as a reward or a means of punishment, they have become indispensable.
The actors in the movie are naturally loved by almost everyone, except Li Ang!
Most people, whether they were jailers or guards, or pirates who had the good fortune to have seen the movie, were not impressed by him. Who made this guy so handsome? Especially Tomino and Little Sadie, the rare beauties in Impel Down, were all crazy fans of Leon, and were completely fascinated by him. How could this not make people angry! ?
Especially Tomino, he actually asked for annual leave and said he was going to the Water City for vacation, which is even more unacceptable.
East China Sea, Rogue Town.
Smoker was extremely angry! This was not the first time. Every time those small theaters played the movie “Onward”, the pirates who sneaked in to watch the movie would always cause trouble!
Smoker didn’t care what kind of losses these theaters would suffer. These guys all made a fortune by showing movies, and Smoker didn’t mind if they lost a few Baileys.
However, those pirates who cause trouble always hurt other citizens in their impulse. This is intolerable!
You guys, just watch a movie! Who told you to cause trouble?
Don’t you know this is Rogue Town? This is Smoker’s territory. Showing up here, not secretly resupplying and then slipping away, but actually daring to come out and cause trouble, is absolutely unforgivable!
Especially since it was caused by that guy, Leon, who could always cause trouble for him even in the Water City. This made Smoker even more upset!
“Damn it, next time I see him, I’m going to give him a good beating on that annoying handsome face of his.”
Marinford.
In the Marshal’s office, Staff Officer Lieutenant General He came in with a form.
“Sengoku, this is the monthly report sent by each naval branch and naval base.”
Zhan Guo stopped what he was doing, because he knew that He would not bother him with ordinary things. Even Garp, who was taking a nap, woke up, yawned, and rubbed his eyebrows.
Chapter 53: Fangirl, Empress Hancock (Old Version)
He handed over the information in his hand and said, “According to the information collected, there are two main things that are different from the past.”
“First, all naval branches and bases are required to take Leon’s other movies as supplies. Of course, including those ships that are sailing, they are also required to take movie cassettes and video player bugs as necessary supplies.”
Zhan Guo sighed, “In this case, it will definitely be a huge military expenditure. That guy Li Ang sells movie cassettes at super high prices.”
He nodded, “Perhaps we can send someone to discuss it with him. For large-scale purchases, it is reasonable to give a little discount. The little guy should agree.”
Zhan Guo nodded, “Then let Tina go. They had a good relationship during the training camp.”
He nodded as if to assent, and then said, “The second thing is that the number of people signing up to join the navy in the branches and bases has increased significantly in the past month. I compiled the data, and the number has increased by as much as 50%.”
This sentence made the usually serious Zhan Guo smile. “Haha, not bad! The propaganda effect that Li Ang talked about is finally showing results.”
Cap also came to his senses and laughed loudly, “That little guy is really capable. He, let Tina talk to him and ask him to make more movies like Onward. I’m tired of watching Onward.”
Zhan Guo said unhappily: “You’ve seen it hundreds of times, it would be strange if you’re not tired of it.”
“Haha, isn’t this interesting? Where in the past were there such exciting movies and novels? They are only updated once a week, which is too slow. So, I’ll take Tina to the Water City. If that kid refuses to lower the price, I’ll let him have a taste of my iron fist of love.”
Zhan Guo and He looked at each other and thought this was a good idea. Leon was obviously not easy to deal with, and Tina was afraid that she couldn’t handle him alone. Letting Garp go over and mess around might have a miraculous effect.
“Okay, then it’s settled. You take Tina with you tomorrow.”
“Why wait for tomorrow? I’m leaving now.”
He frowned, “We still need to summarize how much we need to buy.”
“Ah, well, we can just contact Den Den Mushi when the time comes.”
Vice Admiral Crane: “…”
Warring States Period: “…”
In the first half of the Grand Line, on a certain route, a very impatient female voice was heard from a large ship that was towed by two giant sea snakes.
“Why not? This is the third merchant ship, why doesn’t anyone bring Mr. Li Ang’s new movie cassette?”
“Sir Snake Princess, merchant ships on the sea are all about luck in getting supplies.”
“Nonsense! This is the third ship! It’s Mr. Leon’s third movie. The newspapers have reported it. It’s been out for two months. Why hasn’t it been found yet? How can my luck be so bad!”
“Sister Snake, we also want to watch Mr. Leon’s third movie.”
“Yes, Holiday Water City and The Sound of Music are really great. Lady Snake, why don’t we take these things back to Nine Snake Island first.”
“Yes, yes, the sisters on Nine Snake Island will definitely like these two movies very much.”
With the sound of high-heeled shoes, the cabin door was pushed open, and a tall, sexy, and extremely beautiful woman appeared. She appeared on the deck wearing a slit cheongsam and twisting her sexy waist.
The sea breeze blows, and the beauty under the cheongsam shows her graceful figure. Her skin is white and as round as jade, her thighs are round and straight, and she is very charming. Her chest is magnificent, and her beautiful contours make people unconsciously attracted.
Her body is perfect, and her face is also perfect. Her straight black hair, delicate facial features, and big eyes that attract people unconsciously all show her charm.
She is the most beautiful woman in the world – the Empress, Boa Hancock!
Nicknamed Snake Princess, she is a great pirate who is one of the new Seven Warlords of the Sea, the queen of Amazon Lily, and the owner of Nine Snake Island.
“Snake Lady?”
The empress turned around and showed a rare delicate gesture, which made the female warriors of Nine Snake Island’s heartbeats quicken. They were unconsciously conquered by the charm of their own empress.
“Oh my god, it’s so beautiful!”
“Lady Snake, you are indeed the most beautiful woman in the world!”
“Sir Snake, we will get you whatever you want!”
“Really?” Hancock asked, and the female warriors nodded repeatedly.
“Well, I’m going to the Water City!”
“Lady Snake, you can’t do that.” Someone finally reacted and was almost seduced by their own empress again.
“Sama Snake, you are one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea appointed by the World Government. Your purpose is to guard the pirates on this route. We can’t leave this route, in that case~”
“So what?” Hancock instantly changed from a delicate attitude to a domineering empress attitude, “I am the most beautiful woman in the world. No one can oppose what I want to do! Even if I do something, I will be forgiven.”
“Who made me the most beautiful woman in the world?”
The Empress despises!!!
The female warriors were once again conquered by the charm of their own queen.
“Snake Lady! Everything you said is right!”
“Snake Lady, you can do whatever you want!”
“Snake Princess, we will set off for the Water City now.”
“Yes, let’s go to the Water City!”
“That’s right, let’s go to the Water City. Let’s go see if the Water City is really that beautiful. And Mr. Leon, I really want to see him.”
“No! No! Mr. Leon belongs to Lady Snake!”
When Empress Hancock heard this, her body trembled, and she held on to the side of the boat, almost tottering.
Her face flushed, and even her breathing seemed to become weak.
A group of female warriors: “???????”
Hancock: “Mr. Leon, will you really welcome me? Will he really fall in love with me?”
“Yes, yes! You are the most beautiful woman in the world. Mr. Leon can only belong to you.”
“Yes, Xin Duoli is just a nun. What qualifications does she have to fall in love with Mr. Leon? And Princess Weiwei, although she is cute, how can she compare with Lady Snake?”
Hearing the name Vivi, Hancock once again transformed from a delicate girl to a domineering empress.
“Unforgivable! What qualifications does that yellow-haired girl Weiwei have to compare herself with me?”
“I will let her know, and let all the women in the world know, that the only person Li Ang will fall in love with is me!”
“Let’s go! Destination: Water City!”
“Yes!!! Lady Snake!!!”
Chapter 54: It’s Him! My Fiancé! (Old Version)
The Kingdom of Alabasta.
“Your Highness Weiwei, is this really okay?”
Ikalem was really helpless. He was the captain of the royal guard and it was his duty to protect the royal family members. However, he had watched Vivi grow up since she was a child, and he could not refuse Vivi’s wish.
“Ikalem, I’ve told you many times, don’t worry.”
“How can we not be worried? We don’t know much about Baroque Works. This is really too dangerous.”
“Ikareum! I am the princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta. I have an obligation to help this country and its people!”
“Your Highness Vivi, you have done a great job. You have united the people of the Kingdom of Alabasta, and you have used the income from the movie to buy food to help the people survive the disaster.”
“It’s not enough!” Weiwei shook her head. “It’s not enough, Ikalem, you know that. Movies can only be shown in the capital, Albania. Other cities are dominated by the Baroque Studio. We don’t even know what the background of this Baroque Studio is. Don’t you find it strange? I always feel that there is a mysterious force behind this country that controls everything.”
“Also, it’s impossible to help everyone in the Kingdom of Alabasta with just the income from the movie. We can only do this and see what’s hidden behind all this.”
“But this is very dangerous.”
“I’ve already told you that I’m the princess of the kingdom and I have an obligation to do these things. Don’t try to persuade me anymore. If you don’t want to help me, then I’ll go alone.”
Ikalem sighed. He was worried about Princess Vivi’s safety, but Princess Vivi’s golden character was unparalleled and he could not refuse.
“Your Highness Weiwei, why don’t you give Mr. Li Ang a call? He’s such a smart man, he should be able to help us.”
“Li Ang…” When Li Ang’s name was whispered softly, Weiwei was stunned and her face even began to turn slightly red.
Shaking her head vigorously, Weiwei shouted, “No!”
Ikalem: “???”
Weiwei: “No! Leon is very smart, but he is too far away from Alabasta. He has his own business. What’s more, everything that happened in Alabasta is just my guess. Maybe I just imagined whether it exists or not.”
“No matter what, we must first infiltrate the Baroque Works. Only in this way can we find out what exactly happened.”
“But, Your Highness Weiwei, your appearance has already been known to the world~”
“Don’t worry, didn’t I see I already dyed my hair?”
Weiwei threw her dyed black hair back and shrugged, saying, “Who would have thought that a princess would do such a thing, don’t you think, Ikalem?”
“Your Highness Weiwei~”
“Stop, change your name too. Don’t call me Weiwei anymore. Let me think about it. OK, I got it. Call me Natalie, West Natalie, from now on. It’s settled!”
The Grand Line, an island.
“Fufufufufu, it’s genius indeed! What a genius idea, I didn’t expect that movies could be used like this.”
Pica: “The movie is great!”
Diamanti: “Just a bunch of brats.”
Rao G: “There isn’t a single capable fighter. How can anyone like such a movie?”
Mahabas: “Young Master, what do you mean by the role of movies?”
The Don Quixote family cadres all looked at their leader, Don Quixote Doflamingo, not understanding what other functions he was talking about the movie.
Doflamingo laughed and said, “Didn’t you notice that when you saw the navy, did you have an urge to join it?”
Torrebol: “Well, there is such an urge.”
BABY5: “I wonder if Li Ang needs me?”
Seniolepik: “To be able to make such a movie, Leon must have cooperated with the Navy. The Navy allowed him to go to Marinford to make a movie, which obviously shows that Zhan Guo realized the role of movies.”
Doflamingo: “Fufufufufufu, that’s right! Using movies to promote the navy and make more people yearn for the navy, you are worthy of being a wise general, Sengoku!”
Dellinger: “What should we do? Are we still in the movie business?”
Doflamingo: “Of course! It’s a better deal than drugs and arms, so why not do it? It will be fun to broadcast “Forward” in the New World. Fufufufufufu!!!”
East China Sea, on board Miss Lab Daku.
In the large cabin, Coby huddled in a corner of the cabin. He used the excuse of cleaning to sneak in to see what the merchant called “the only entertainment in the world”.
Alrita robbed a merchant ship, and one of the merchants contributed a movie cassette of “The World’s Only Entertainment” and a video projection worm in order to survive.
Then, Alrita brought her things and played the so-called movie in the big cabin. There were constant exclamations in the cabin, and the curiosity in the timid Coby’s heart overcame his fear and he slipped into the cabin. Of course, he brought a mop, but after watching the movie, he completely forgot about cleaning.
And none of the pirates cared about him. Everyone stared blankly at the image on the white cloth hanging on the wall.
Coby was excited and worried because he noticed that something was wrong with Captain Alrita. Yes, something was wrong.
She was obsessed and angry at times. In short, Coby felt that Alrita was brewing a volcano.
The Sound of Music is really good, and Water City of Holiday is also wonderful to the extreme. Why is Alrita like this? Obsession is normal, but why is she angry?
After the movie ended, Alrita, who weighed more than 300 kilograms, subconsciously asked, “Anything else?”
The businessman said timidly, “No more, only these two movie cassettes.”
Seeing the other party’s unfriendly expression, he quickly added: “There is also a new movie called Forward. But, but it is not available in the East China Sea.”
“Then go buy them! I want all of Leon’s movies, all of them! Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Go! Go buy all of Leon’s movies! Go!”
The merchant immediately fled. Alrita looked at everyone and shouted, “Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?”
“It’s Princess Weiwei!”
A pirate answered subconsciously, and then was hit by a large iron rod and flew out, breaking through the cabin and flying out, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.
“Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?”
“It’s you! Miss Alrita!” All the pirates shouted in unison, their answers were as unanimous as if they had been tempered by thousands of times.
“That’s right! I am the most beautiful woman in the world! But do you know why I went to sea?”
Alrita roared loudly: “Because, my fiancé! He actually abandoned me, the most beautiful woman in the world, and went out to sea alone!”
“Now! I found him!”
Alrita raised the big iron rod and pointed at Leon who was frozen on the screen, “That’s him! My fiancé! West Leon!”
All the pirates gasped in surprise!
Alrita shouted loudly: “Let’s go! Go to the Water City! I want to see him and ask him why he ran away! Why did he abandon me, the most beautiful woman in the world!”
A pirate raised his hand timidly, “Ms. Alrita, the capital of water is on the Grand Line. We don’t have a navigator.”
All the pirates turned pale in an instant. The Grand Line?! Is that a place where humans can go?
Bang! The pirate who just raised his hand to speak was hit and sent flying again by the iron rod.
“I don’t care, I’m going to the Water City! I’m going to find my fiancé!”