Chapter 165: Maglev 1.0
“The Shifei Technology levitating car, Maglev 1.0, has been successfully manufactured. Maglev 1.0 utilizes physical phenomena perfectly integrated with Super-Intelligent technology, allowing the vehicle body to levitate directly above the ground without the need for any external tools.”
In the video, Liu Ji was giving Gu Wanrong and the others a detailed explanation of the Maglev 1.0.
The advantage of the Maglev 1.0 lay in using the chassis to replace tires for parking on the ground. Once started, it would levitate. While driving, it was unrestricted by the ground environment; sitting inside the car felt like lying on a bed, with no sensation of movement at all.
When an obstacle appeared on the ground ahead, it could automatically raise the car body to a height of within thirty meters above the ground in 0.01 seconds to fly over the obstacle. In this state, it could maintain at least half an hour of flight time.
The automatic detection Super-Intelligence skill covered the entire car body, capable of monitoring the surrounding environment in all directions. Furthermore, the overall car body used materials with the highest safety coefficient, ensuring excellent safety performance.
The car’s operating system utilized an anti-gravity control device. When starting, driving, or braking, the effect of inertia on the passengers inside was essentially zero.
Once Liu Ji finished his report, he turned his gaze toward the group of people in the meeting room.
“When can we conduct road tests? All the data you mentioned is derived from calculations and does not reflect actual conditions,” Tong Shenâer was the first to ask.
In fact, after production, it wasn’t just about the data. There were issues like when the production license could be handled, whether it would be managed by the ground traffic department or air traffic management after formal operation, and the level of market recognition for the brand’s products.
These were all problems that had to be faced and solved. There was still a long road to go from actual manufacturing to hitting the market.
“Alright, these things can’t be achieved in a short time.” As the discussion between Liu Ji and the executives reached a pause, Gu Wanrong ended her inspection of Shifei Technology. “Report back once you’ve made progress in the next stage.”
Gu Wanrong had not only provided technical support to Shifei Technology but had also successively invested over five billion for its research and development.
Fortunately, the results were gratifying. The tension in Tong Shenâerâs chest relaxed slightly.
After Liu Ji disconnected the video call, Tong Shenwu immediately projected her prepared PPT onto the large screen. It was her turn.
Since the beginning of the year, Yishang had signed contracts with several well-known studios in the industry, and several film and television projects were in preparation. The independently filmed long-form drama Fashion Queen had finished filming and entered the post-production stage. The poster and teaser for the first EP of the boy group Endless-9 had been officially released, and the EP was currently under urgent production and filming.
The script for Empress Zhangsu 2 by screenwriter Gao Zhimei had been completed and was currently under review and preparation. It was expected to officially start filming in the second half of this year.
When the PPT switched to the concept of the title track for the Endless-9 EP, Tong Shenwu explained, “The estimated post-production time for the title track’s MV far exceeds our expectations, so we’ve changed the album in the original plan to an EP.”
“Why?” In Gu Wanrongâs impression, the filming and production time for a song’s MV was usually quite short.
“Look, a large number of scenes from a future world will appear in the MV. Due to high-quality requirements and the Endless-9 team’s pursuit of perfection, there are a lot of special effects shots.” Tong Shenwu quickly pulled up the production sketches for the MV. The cool and magnificent design style indeed required meticulous special effects production.
Gu Wanrong remained silent, her gaze shifting from the screen down to the stack of documents at her side. On the very top, the words “Shifei Technology” were written in bold.
“All of these can be filmed using the physical Maglev 1.0. We just need to modify the paint on the Maglev.” A spark of inspiration flashed in Gu Wanrongâs mind, and a three-birds-with-one-stone idea emerged.
There were many scenes of driving flying vehicles in the MV. Using the physical Maglev 1.0 could cut out at least most of the special effects production time. While Shifei Technology was only visible to industry insiders, its public reputation could be established by appearing in the MV.
When the MV was released, they could use the title of the world’s first levitating car debut. This would serve as a market warm-up for the Maglev 1.0 and also attract a new batch of followers for Endless-9.
The moment Gu Wanrong spoke her thoughts, everyone present immediately understood her intention.
This idea was undoubtedly an extremely beneficial strategy for all three parties: Yishang, Shifei Technology, and E-Capital.
“If we follow your instructions, I’ll notify the Endless-9 team immediately to adjust the members’ subsequent schedules and shorten the release time of the EP accordingly. This way, it will be equivalent to directly releasing a full music album!”
While quickly responding to Gu Wanrong, Tong Shenwu efficiently recorded the details in the notebook she carried with her.
At this moment, as if suddenly remembering something, Gu Wanrong frowned slightly and said, “By the way, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a large number of negative evaluations about our companyâs artists have recently emerged online again.”
The negative reviews she mentioned mostly came from bloggers whose sole purpose was to “roast” others.
These people seemed to have found a shortcut to quickly gain attention and trafficâas long as they harshly criticized currently popular idols, they could easily make their accounts go viral with just one video.
Yishangâs Endless-9, as well as screenwriter Gao Zhimei, director Wu Yongzheng, and actor Ma Yuanzhi, had all been attacked.
They insulted Endless-9 for having “strange” looks and being unprofessional, claiming that as idols who debuted through a survival show, they weren’t focusing on singing and dancing but were instead participating in variety shows everywhere.
The reality was that it had only been a month since Endless-9 debuted, and they had only recorded two variety shows in total, one of which was a Lunar New Year’s Eve concert. As for the “strange looks,” it was truly making trouble out of nothing. They had to use photos taken from bizarre angles and sharpen them excessively before they could use them to hurl insults.
Gao Zhimei and Wu Yongzheng were being scolded because of Empress Zhangsu, a project they had no control over. All the blame for the idiotic plot, lack of logic, and the actors’ poor performances was pushed onto the two of them.
Ma Yuanzhi was even more miserable. Currently, there was no survival space for martial arts actors in the domestic entertainment industry, so Yishang had planned an international route for him. As a result, he was accused of “worshipping foreign things” and “licking the boots of foreigners.”
A quick thought about each point revealed that these were insults for the sake of insulting.
Gu Wanrong had suspected that other companies were using these means to suppress her artists, but after checking, she found that wasn’t the case. It was simply because such traffic was profitable.
Tong Shenwu knew what Gu Wanrong was talking about; it was a rather thorny issue.
As public figures, being criticized was unavoidable, and many people simply enjoyed watching such negative videos. If fans commented below to explain, they would be immediately labeled as “brainless fans,” and no one would want to listen.
If the company stepped forward with a warning, it would instead play right into the bloggers’ hands. If they went to court, first, it would take a long time and no one would pay attention, and second, if the matter blew up, the artist’s reputation would be directly cemented into what was said in the video.
Translator’s Note: “Maglev” (ä¸çŁ – Wanci) literally translates to “Ten Thousand Magnets” or “Omni-Magnet,” which sounds very sci-fi in Chinese! Also, the “roasting” culture mentioned is a real phenomenon in C-ent where “anti-fans” or “yxh” (marketing accounts) create “tucao” (roast) videos to gain quick fame.
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