Chapter 184: Surpassing the Light Demon

“President Xiao, we’ve succeeded! We really made it!”
As the conversation between Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling reached a tense moment, they were utterly surprised by these words as the person rushed in. Xiao Ran focused his gaze and saw that it was Zhong Zhihang, the head of the special effects team under the computer department.
Zhong Zhihang? Xiao Ran repeated this name in his mind quickly. At that instant, he remembered. In the original timeline, Zhong Zhihang had been the leader of Xiantao Digital, Asia’s largest computer special effects company, hailed as a pioneer of computer special effects in Hong Kong. He had even served as the visual effects supervisor for *Kung Fu*.
Zhong Zhihang was one of the early members to join the Phantom Computer Department. Among them, his skills weren’t the best, but his popularity and leadership skills were outstanding. That’s why he became the team leader. Yet this also showed how many pioneering talents Hong Kong’s film industry had lost, allowing Zhong Zhihang to eventually become the top expert in computer special effects in Hong Kong.
Xiao Ran also remembered that earlier this year, he had given the writing team the concept for *Terminator 2*, asking them to use it as a basis to create a logically sound script. To complete this script, the writing team even assembled four people to work together and sought guidance from renowned professors and scientists regarding the technological aspects.
Although the script for *Terminator 2* was completed, the task assigned to the computer special effects department—creating a realistic virtual human, specifically the liquid metal man—had never been successful.
And now, with Zhong Zhihang arriving here so excitedly, could it be…? Xiao Ran couldn’t help but tremble with excitement, even developing countless goosebumps on his skin. Countless thoughts raced through his mind. If it was truly successful, it meant they had surpassed Hollywood in computer special effects. And mastering computer special effects meant…
At that moment, Xiao Ran’s entire body burned with excitement, as if on fire. He forced himself to keep his voice calm, but when he spoke, he was shocked to find his voice so hoarse: “Ah Xing, are you saying that virtual human was created successfully?”
“Yes, President Xiao. It was fully completed just now!” Zhong Zhihang was equally excited, but he wasn’t blind—he could see that Xiao Ran was ten times more thrilled than him. “How about we go up and take a look?”
The Phantom Computer Department was actually on the floor above the headquarters. Of course, the security here was extremely strict, with all guards being retired military personnel or special forces soldiers from the mainland, showing just how much importance Xiao Ran attached to it.
Joke aside, how could he not care? This department had only been established for two years, yet 3 billion Hong Kong dollars had already been invested in it. Not only in Hong Kong, but globally, which company would spend billions on something that seemed utterly useless? Moreover, note that Phantom’s assets at the beginning of this year were only 70-80 billion Hong Kong dollars—this ratio was quite telling.

Xiao Ran could no longer hold back and pulled Wei Dongling along to head to the computer department with Zhong Zhi. The company employees, seeing the boss excited and the CEO puzzled, thought something serious must have happened and leaned in to take a look. This only left them more confused, as they saw those people almost running out.

Under normal circumstances, Xiao Ran would have greeted the security guards, but now he had no such intention—he just wanted to see that damned virtual human as soon as possible. Upon arriving at the special effects department, Xiao Ran immediately saw countless large and small machines inside.

Strangely, there wasn’t a single worker there. It wasn’t until they reached the door of a large room that they saw it packed with people, all talking and exclaiming in amazement. When they saw Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling, they smiled broadly and cleared a path for them.

In front of the large screen, Xiao Ran finally saw the virtual human he had long dreamed of. Under the control of the staff, the virtual human on the screen moved—running, standing, or lying down. After making a few more adjustments, the staff, filled with joy, “gave” the virtual human skin.

Instantly, the virtual human acquired facial features and very realistic skin, far surpassing the liquid metal man in “Terminator 2.” Both Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling were stunned—Wei Dongling in awe, while Xiao Ran was overjoyed and excited.

After a long while, Xiao Ran finally came to his senses. “Let’s try turning it into the liquid metal man form!” The staff immediately got to work. After a few adjustments, they saw the figure transform into other shapes, leaving Wei Dongling’s eyes wide with astonishment.

It really worked! Xiao Ran felt ecstatic and didn’t even try to suppress his emotions. Instead, he excitedly shouted to everyone around him, “We did it! Everything we’ve done today will surely leave a lasting mark in the history of world cinema, because we’ve created a more advanced film technology!”

Wei Dongling was still speechless until Xiao Ran, in his excitement, hugged him tightly. Then, regardless of status, he hugged other staff members who were equally thrilled by his words to celebrate their success.

When Wei Dongling regained his composure, he saw Xiao Ran hugging people frantically, including several beautiful women among the staff. Seeing this, he immediately joined in the unique celebration.

That night, Xiao Ran not only offered rewards but also held a party just for these staff members, including those from the animation department. There were quite a number of foreigners among them—experts brought in by Mei Ying from abroad—who played a crucial role in this development. Some local employees who had initially gotten along poorly with the foreigners became much closer after this experience.

At the party, everyone indulged in fun to relax their tired bodies and minds. Everyone was drunk, except for the four team leaders from the animation and special effects departments, who stayed sober to build on their success.

The party was held at Xiao Ran’s home. It was originally planned to extort Wei Dongling, but Wei Dongling refused to yield even at the cost of his life, so Xiao Ran had no choice but to use his own home. Fortunately, their whole family had moved to the large apartment after reuniting, also located at No. 11, Dalangwan Road, which was quite spacious.

By the swimming pool, divided into warm and cold water areas, the four team leaders found Xiao Ran, Wei Dongling, and Lin Qingxia. After finding a place to sit, Zhong Zhixing asked straightforwardly, “President Xiao, what should we do now?”

Xiao Ran smiled eerily. He had known from the start that *Terminator 2* had opened up a certain market for Western films in Hong Kong, which was why he deliberately brought up this script. Of course, it was just an idea; the actual plot was completely different.

Now that the liquid-metal man from the movie had been created, it was time to start filming. After pondering for a moment, Xiao Ran took a sip of water before smiling relaxedly and cheerfully, “I’m going to start filming this movie. You must assign the best people to work with the crew to complete it. However, I think that virtual character isn’t very flexible in terms of movements and expressions. Is there a problem?”

Zhong Zhixing scratched his head. That was a detail issue. He forced a smile and told Xiao Ran, “Actually, it’s not fully completed yet, but we believe we can finish it within a month and turn it into a realistic living being on screen.”

“That’s good, but it’s not enough!” Xiao Ran chuckled. He thought of special effects blockbusters like *The Day After Tomorrow*. If they could achieve this level, investing more money would definitely be worth it. “Your task for the next year is to create virtual environments and disaster scenes. For example, create prehistoric scenes that look lifelike. Can you do that?”

Zhong Zhixing’s mouth dropped open. That was definitely a huge challenge—it required a massive database. After thinking for a while, he stayed silent. Instead, the deputy team leader, who was also a foreigner hired from the United States, couldn’t help but speak up, “This is extremely difficult. I think it will likely take some time!”

“No problem. If you need money, I’ll give it to you. If you need equipment, I’ll provide it. When have I ever refused any requests from your special effects team?” Xiao Ran spoke honestly. He had never refused requests for equipment or funding from the computer department when they applied.

The two team leaders of the animation group felt a bit awkward. While the special effects team was making progress, theirs had barely moved forward. Xiao Ran wasn’t too concerned about this, as 3D animation hadn’t matured until after *Toy Story*, and it was still a long way off.

Seeing the animation group’s awkwardness, Xiao Ran laughed heartily. Wei Dongling couldn’t help but chuckle and say, “Don’t worry. President Xiao has already decided to make an animated film to test your skills.”

The film Xiao Ran assigned to the animation group was the classic *Beauty and the Beast*. What troubled him wasn’t the animation production itself—he believed the animation department could handle it. His confidence grew even more because modern animations didn’t rely heavily on technology; even simple hand-drawn animations were effective. The key lay in the plot and theme.

What once posed a great challenge to Xiao Ran was the scripting aspect. He handed the script to the Phantom Scripting Team, but the result lacked any sense of an animated film. Eventually, he had to seek out several relatively young scriptwriters and, with slight revisions to the theme and plot by the Phantom Scripting Team, things improved.

Even more difficult was the directorial aspect. Hong Kong had several directors, but historically, there hadn’t been a single one skilled in animation. This posed a serious problem for Xiao Ran, who ultimately decided to fund several young directors through a selection process, allowing them to work with the animation team. It was only then that a talented young person was chosen from the resulting ten-minute animated short.

This was actually quite amusing—no film company had ever done something like Phantom, investing heavily to give young directors a chance to rise. Yet this was precisely Xiao Ran’s strength. He undertook so many projects and made such large investments all for the sake of cinema. Otherwise, with the stocks he owned, he could have easily ranked among the world’s top ten richest people in ten years.

Undoubtedly, Phantom’s current special effects team consists of the best experts from across Asia and the world. Under such circumstances, it’s entirely normal for them to surpass Hollywood, which currently invests almost nothing in special effects. Moreover, the only competitor on a global scale in this field is Industrial Light & Magic, which is also part of Phantom’s business. According to Xiao Ran’s projections, Phantom can maintain a monopoly in special effects for at least a decade.

In terms of animation, Phantom is still a bit behind. Although there’s Pixar, it’s not yet powerful enough and will take a few more years to mature. In animation, Phantom’s main rivals are Disney and DreamWorks—though whether DreamWorks will still exist is uncertain.

As for sound effects, Phantom acquired Dolby Laboratories and Skywalker Sound. By controlling these two companies that set industry standards, Phantom will dominate audio and recording in the future.

Now, Xiao Ran truly felt as if he could look down on the world. He had prepared for all challenges to Hollywood and to take control of global cinema. Once he consolidated his position in Asia and developed the European market, even if Hollywood tried to fight back, it would likely be unable to resist Phantom’s onslaught. Besides, the cunning Xiao Ran might still have some hidden tricks up his sleeve.

After everyone else left, Lin Qingxia went to greet others as well. Only then did Xiao Ran resume the unfinished conversation with Wei Dongling, asking lightly with a smile, “After today’s experience, do you think what I said this morning is possible?”

Wei Dongling smiled bitterly. He didn’t know how Xiao Ran had predicted this, but now he had to admit it was indeed very likely to succeed. “However, I don’t think it necessarily has anything to do with breaking into the North American market!”

Xiao Ran smiled slightly. Since this technology was now in Phantom’s hands, applying for patents was unnecessary. In the future, Hollywood’s special effects production would be under Phantom’s control, which seemingly gave them a good chance to defeat Hollywood. But cinema is a highly cultural product that also requires a strong market foundation to compete effectively.

Since the situation in 1989-89 didn’t escalate severely, it wasn’t until the leaders’ southern tour in 1992 that large-scale entry into the domestic market became possible. With a domestic market in place, it would be no rush to compete with Hollywood, especially since Deppao and Tianluo still needed time to grow. Expansion is no longer the main focus for Phantom; the priority is to secure the Asian market and strive for the European market. Although this approach is somewhat similar to that of the Chinese Football Association, the strategy still encompasses those elements. Currently, South Korea’s policies make it difficult for cinemas there to continuously show Phantom’s films, and other countries and regions might do the same in the future. It’s essential to resolve the situation in Southeast Asia first, otherwise they could easily face serious problems.