"I hope the host will feature our magazine's front-page advertisement obediently later. Otherwise, I'll write about their toys as the worst in the world!" Huang Mao thought indignantly, while also surveying the entire venue.
Although few reporters attended, the venue itself was vast, covering an area the size of a football field, as the Bird's Nest was indeed a football stadium.
The press conference was located to the left of the stadium, surrounded by various cameras, recording equipment, and hundreds of staff responsible for audio, video, direction, and logistics, far outnumbering the reporters present.
Additionally, behind the venue stood a towering, massive iron box that Huang Mao found somewhat familiar, though he couldn't recall where he had seen it.
"This company clearly isn't short on money, so why wouldn't they offer some travel expenses? Don't they realize that offending reporters means no matter how well they organize the event, it'll still be met with harsh criticism!" Huang Mao muttered to himself. As the press conference was about to begin, the organizers wasted no time. The host and the company president, a somewhat short and stout man, walked out.
First, they spent a full 20 minutes delivering boilerplate speeches that listeners' ears were growing tired of. Then, another 20 minutes were dedicated to detailing what the company planned to do for players in the future. Finally, they began introducing their product.
"Distinguished guests, please behold the new assembly model our company is about to launch: Homeland: Pangu." As the president's words fell, a dazzlingly edited and produced promotional video began playing on the screen behind him. Simultaneously, staff pushed carts displaying a fully assembled mecha model.
"This thing looks quite good!" Huang Mao squinted, saying it involuntarily. The mecha in the video, despite having no flashy embellishments on its surface and a design that was purely humanoid mechanical structure, exuded a simple, unadorned yet technologically advanced aura.
"Damn, this looks like the original Gundam!" Suddenly, Mao Mao overheard two people nearby discussing.
"Come on, this looks nothing like the original. This is truly an original Chinese mecha!" another person replied.
"You're right, this mecha seems a bit too stocky. The original Gundam is much slimmer. This looks more like the Dynames Gundam!"
"Are you saying there's a Gundam hidden inside?"
"Who knows..."
Hearing the incomprehensible conversation from his neighbors, Huang Mao understood. He then wrote a small note in his notebook: "Daban Model, plagiarizing Dynames Gundam."
Huang Mao was delighted, feeling he had grasped the opponent's weakness. He was confident that by writing extensively about plagiarism, they would have to comply.
Next, the president began spouting jargon that Huang Mao couldn't comprehend at all, such as "built-in metal frame," "added full metal plating," "partially pre-painted parts," "includes three magnetic lamps," "magnetic backpack design," "comes with a display base," "original water decals and paintable figures," and "up to 22 articulation points."
Huang Mao didn't understand what any of these terms meant. However, every time the president mentioned one, the two people discussing Gundam nearby let out a loud cheer, as if these features were incredibly groundbreaking.
Especially when the president announced that the Homeland model would not cost 999, not 499, nor even 299, but a mere 199, the entire venue erupted into thunderous applause, startling Huang Mao.
It was then he realized with surprise that the venue had filled up unnoticed. However, some of the attendees did not seem to be invited reporters.
As he saw the few reporters present, sitting just as bewildered as himself, he wondered why these people were standing up and cheering.
"Friend, what's going on? Why are you all so happy?" Huang Mao couldn't help but ask a neighbor.
"You don't know this? Aren't you a plastic model enthusiast?"
"Uh, I'm a reporter!"
"Oh, we're applauding because the specifications and price of this model are incredibly impressive. Features like a metal frame, metal plating, and magnetic lamps, if it were from Bandai, would cost at least 1000 yuan. But now it's only 199 yuan, we're just too excited!"
"Also, looking at the sprues they showed earlier, the sharpness is quite good, with no visible burrs or flash. While water marks are unavoidable, Bandai's models also have water marks, and they're even more pronounced than on these sprues, so this model is truly fantastic!" the plastic model enthusiast explained excitedly.
"Wait, you just said you're all plastic model enthusiasts. Isn't this a new product launch event? Shouldn't only reporters be allowed in here!" Huang Mao asked somewhat bewilderedly.
"Don't you know? This new product launch is being broadcast live across the entire internet. It directly landed on the homepages of Facebook, AcFun, Bilibili, and Douyin, the four major platforms. And the stream mentioned there were still seats available at the venue, first come, first served. We all rushed here from nearby!" The plastic model enthusiast's words cleared Huang Mao's doubts, but at the same time, greater doubts arose, accompanied by a touch of horror, because simultaneously appearing on the homepages of four major websites was simply too bizarre.
The reason it was bizarre was that these four websites were fierce competitors.
Facebook was a social networking site created by Jiangnan Group in its prime, once commanding over 60% of the global social networking market. However, it was now in decline due to the emergence of three competitors.
AcFun was a website dedicated to user-created short videos with extremely high user loyalty.
Bilibili and Douyin were both recently emerging live streaming platforms. Bilibili primarily focused on the PC end, while Douyin had largely dominated the mobile live streaming market.
These companies were usually locked in a cutthroat competition, yet today, at the same time, they all allowed the live stream of the same company to be featured on their homepages. This wasn't something that could be achieved with just a lot of money; it would require incredibly powerful personal connections to accomplish.
It was no wonder the entire venue filled up in just over ten minutes; the reach of the promotion was simply too extensive.
"But this product seems too niche. Most viewers seeing this kind of live stream on their homepage would probably find it boring!" Huang Mao muttered, as he understood his audience and knew that most viewers were not interested in plastic model enthusiasts or models. xxs12
At this moment, the press conference reached another climax. The president of Daban Model, holding the microphone, addressed the packed audience: "In order to promote our new mecha IP, 'Homeland,' we have partnered with KyoAni to co-produce a series of animated television episodes for 'Homeland' as the initial installment. This series will be released simultaneously on all online video platforms in three days and will also premiere exclusively on CCTV's 'Big Windmill' program."
"However, I am now honored to invite you all to watch the first episode of 'Homeland' with me!"
"No way, there's even an anime now!" The plastic model enthusiasts in the audience became even more ecstatic. One of the biggest pain points for domestic models was the lack of a large-scale, content-rich mecha IP. Now, Daban Model seemed to be going all out, directly producing an anime, and even inviting KyoAni to produce a TV animation.
"Is KyoAni that amazing?" Huang Mao asked humbly again.
"KyoAni is the best animation production company in the world!" the plastic model enthusiast replied. Immediately after, the first episode of the 'Homeland' anime began.
"We always believed that defeating the Moni aliens was the end of this catastrophe. Only now, 100 years later, do we realize it was merely the beginning of the disaster!" The animation opened with a male monologue, followed by a scene of a mother struggling to lead two children.
The mother was emaciated, yet she still tried her best to support her two children as they moved through the vast expanse of yellow sand.
Suddenly, a purple gas permeated the air. The weak mother's face changed dramatically upon seeing this gas, and she immediately fled with her children.
However, maternal love could not compensate for her physical weakness. The mother eventually collapsed. Although she had thrown her two children a considerable distance before falling, she herself was swallowed by the purple mist.
Just as the mist was about to engulf the two children fleeing for their lives, a colossal hand descended from the sky, snatching the two children into its grasp. Simultaneously, a foot stomped down on the mist, completely dispersing the pervasive purple gas.
At this point, the focus shifted to the children. It turned out that the two children were standing on a pair of massive mechanical hands.
As the audience's curiosity grew about what was inside the machine, a deafening roar suddenly emanated from the purple mist, and a giant violently charged out of the fog. A fist was unhesitatingly slammed towards the mecha's head.
The machine reacted with incredible speed, blocking the fist with its other hand and also timely using its body to block the giant's incoming right kick. As the smoke cleared and both sides stood their ground, the picture gradually freezing, the audience was astonished to discover that the giant who had charged out of the purple mist was none other than the mother who had been consumed earlier.
However, this mother now seemed to have completely transformed into an mindless beast. She was naked, staring fiercely at the mechanical giant. What followed was a not-too-intense struggle, as the robot maintained a dominant position throughout. It then used a dagger pulled from the giant's thigh to pierce its heart. The giant then reverted to its original maternal form.
Her consciousness seemed to return, and she wanted to say something to her children. However, before she could utter a word, her entire body exploded into purple mist, dissipating into the air.
At this point, the audience likely understood the cruelty of this world. It was a post-apocalyptic world, filled with a purple substance that could transform ordinary humans into giants.
These transformed humans would go mad, wildly attacking everything they saw until they completely destroyed human civilization, unless protected by mechanical giants.
"What do you think?" a plastic model enthusiast asked his friend at this point.
"The production is very refined, the visuals are excellent, but the plot is average, and the setting isn't particularly outstanding. It's just a very ordinary robot anime!" Just as the plastic model enthusiast concluded this, the mechanical robot's palm suddenly extended an elevator. The two children entered the palm via the elevator, and then came a long steel passage.
Subsequently, an unimaginable scene unfolded before all the viewers' eyes.
After passing through the arm's conduits, instead of a cockpit, the audience saw a residential community where hundreds of people lived.
Inside the robot's chest stood a steel building that served as its spine. Outside this steel building, there were hospitals, shops, restaurants, and even bathhouses and restrooms.
These hundreds of people lived within the robot's abdomen; this was the home of humanity.
It was then that the audience understood the meaning of the name "Homeland." This mecha was a sanctuary for human survivors!
"This development... it's unbeatable!" The plastic model enthusiast, who had been dismissive earlier, opened his mouth wide in admiration. Then, the first episode concluded.