Chapter 310: Tech Expo Troubles

“Tech Expo?”

Not only was Luo Peng taken aback, but Fang Hou beside him also looked utterly shocked.

In these past two years, ever since the start of Su Province’s Tourism Festival, Mingsha City has been hosting a continuous stream of ‘expos’, each one bigger than the last! They had hoped that after this magic contest there would be a breather, but before they knew it, another tech expo had surfaced.

“Mm!”

Zhu Qiang casually pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit two, and handed one each to Luo Peng and Fang Hou.

“Tech Expo, huh? Is it just an opening ceremony? Or…”

After checking his phone,

Luo Peng took a deep drag of his cigarette before asking again.

“No, we need to set up an exhibit display case! Otherwise, Brother Hao wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

Zhu Qiang shook his head.

“Huh? Setting up a display case?”

Both Luo Peng and Fang Hou suddenly raised their voices as they exchanged glances.

“General Zhu, Mingsha City is all about traditional culture. Now they want us to set up a tech exhibit? It’s like forcing a duck to fly! Besides, the showcased products at the tech expo are meant to spark entire industries.”

Zhu Qiang continued, “Brother Hao said it’s the only way to ease the current situation! The news online has already stirred quite a buzz, and the effect is promising.”

He added,

“For attracting crowds?”

“Mm!”

“Did Brother Hao mention a rough direction?”

After a brief silence, Luo Peng couldn’t help but ask again.

“No! He just said that as long as it has any traditional tie-in, even a slight one, it’s fine. And if it doesn’t, we must figure out a way to incorporate pure tech products. There’s no rule stating that Mingsha City must stick to tradition.”

Zhu Qiang gave a slight shake of his head.

“As for the exhibition venue, Brother Hao said he’d handle that side!”

“So does that mean Brother Hao wants us to handle the display case?”

Luo Peng rubbed his chin and began to ponder.

“Mm! He told us to brainstorm and come up with a plan. It just needs to look decent.”

Zhu Qiang handed Luo Peng another cigarette.

“But Brother Hao’s idea of ‘decent’ is different from everyone else’s.”

Luo Peng shook his head and chuckled wryly.

He lit his cigarette,

exhaling a perfect swirl of smoke.

“Yes!”

Fang Hou, hearing this, nodded in agreement with genuine emotion.

“If all else fails, we can buy a tech company from outside and go all in on pure technology. The Tech Expo starts on September 15th, so we might still snag some patents in time.”

Zhu Qiang lit another cigarette for himself.

“Pure tech? That’s easier said than done!”

At these words, Fang Hou immediately waved his hand dismissively.

“Exactly. If we go for pure tech, netizens will surely stir up trouble! More importantly, it could tarnish Mingsha City’s reputation among the people.”

Luo Peng agreed, adding,

“But if we don’t go for pure tech, how do we showcase tradition? Nothing compares to what those big tech companies display.”

Zhu Qiang rubbed his temples.

He knew it all too well, but if it came to this, there was no choice.

“General Zhu, hold on! Let’s mull it over these next few days. Even if it’s a long shot, ancient wisdom shouldn’t be underestimated. Their artifacts might be as impressive as our modern tech.”

Luo Peng turned to glance at Langya Pavilion in the northwest.

Back when the Langya Pavilion first opened, the wooden mechanisms on its basement floor stunned many visitors; some even claimed that Mingsha City had infused modern tech into it.

That alone proved that tradition could evoke a tech-like vibe.

“That works too! But no matter what, the project schedule has to be tight.”

After a moment’s thought, Zhu Qiang nodded.

“Mm!”

Meanwhile, as Luo Peng fell into contemplation, in downtown Haishi,

inside a sixty-story commercial building, a man in his fifties frowned deeply after reading the news online, his expression remaining tense for a long while.

The man was Li Yan, CEO of Bai Fu in the Long Kingdom!

Bai Fu is a tech company specializing in core internet technologies and one of the giants among Long Kingdom’s internet firms — a name that immediately springs to mind when people talk about internet tech.

After a long moment,

Li Yan picked up his phone and dialed a number.

Beep beep beep… Soon,

the call connected.

“Manager Ma, have you seen the official news?” Li Yan asked.

Manager Ma replied,

“Yes, I saw it!”

In the next moment, a voice answered on the other end.

“Just because of one magic act, holding the Tech Expo in Mingsha City is too hasty!”

Li Yan continued,

“It’s not just hasty, it’s thoughtless. Just you wait – this Expo in Mingsha City is going to cause a huge ruckus.”

Another voice chimed in on the phone.

“Exactly! Even though we’re an internet tech company, it doesn’t mean we ignore any event involving Mingsha City. Every other organization just plays a supporting role when they’re involved.”

Li Yan felt genuinely frustrated.

Bai Fu had originally planned to launch an AI machine at this Expo – something that could chat, search, and execute basic commands. He was confident about the Tech Expo, but now his confidence was wavered! In fact,

even some of the higher-ups in the company had spent the entire afternoon sulking over the unexpected news.

Theoretically speaking, a top-notch tech company shouldn’t worry about a tourist hotspot born from traditional culture. Yet, Mingsha City now outshines its competitors in spooking them.

It was because many top executives had once visited Mingsha City; some had even pre-booked stays at Mingsha Fudi’s guesthouses.

“Sigh,”

another resigned sigh came from the phone, with no further comment.

“Manager Ma, what do we do now?”

After a short pause,

Li Yan couldn’t help asking,

“What can we do? We have to go through with it. We can’t skip this Tech Expo – not participating would damage our company’s reputation and shake public trust.”

“Go through with it?”

“Mm! If we don’t want to lose face, we need to unveil some of our strong cards. You know what will happen if we don’t.”

“Reveal everything?”

Li Yan was taken aback.

“Some of our secrets aren’t even fully developed yet! Imagine if something goes wrong at the event.”

“Undeveloped or not, the risk is worth taking. A mishap might even be a blessing in disguise—it’ll at least let the public know we’re in the game! Otherwise, we might not make a ripple at all.”

“That’s true. But the more I think about it, the sadder it gets. Who would have imagined that we, in the internet tech sector, would be outmaneuvered by a traditional culture event? The international giants would laugh us out of existence if they heard this.”

Li Yan bitterly chuckled once more.

“Then…”

“Let’s meet in a couple of days. At that meeting, let’s also call General Niu so that we can all talk it out. We can’t just sit by and let Mingsha City overrun the internet tech world.”

“I feel the same way. Once Mingsha City tastes success through tech, our days will be numbered.”

“Alright, I’ll get on the phone then.”

“No problem!”

After a brief chat, Li Yan hung up the phone.

Ding! Soon after hanging up, his phone rang again.

He answered, and

“Xiao Wang, what’s up?”

“Mr. Li, the head from the International Department just called. He said the Long Kingdom regional manager of Sk Corp wants to see you.”

Shortly after, a staff member’s voice came through the phone.

“Sk Corp?”

Li Yan was startled.

As a top internet tech giant in the Long Kingdom, he knew what Sk Corp signified. In many ways, Sk Corp was the leader of the Lanstarr tech world—against them, Bai Fu was merely second-best.

But why would Sk Corp suddenly reach out? “Mm, the regional manager seems to be inquiring about the Long Kingdom Tech Expo, even mentioning an invitation.”

“Tech Expo? They want to participate?”

He listened silently for a moment,

and then Li Yan’s expression changed; his eyes lit up with keen interest.

Night deepened, and

in Haishi, at the headquarters of Dino Park, Cole leaned back in his chair, frowning in disbelief.

It wasn’t until much later that

he turned to the staff member sitting across his desk and asked,

“What is Mingsha City trying to achieve with all this?”

Just yesterday, their own plan to attract visitors had almost backfired, and now Mingsha City was recklessly throwing caution to the wind. It was beyond his comprehension.

“Boss, it is really puzzling! Mingsha City isn’t renowned for tech. If they’ve been covering up their earlier oddities with magic, how do they plan to hide a tech expo?”

The staff member echoed his confusion.

If this happened at Dino Park, they’d have exploited every bit of this buzz; overrun with tourists, that’s exactly what they’d want to see.

“So, whenever something goes awry, there’s always something fishy behind it! Get someone to investigate tomorrow!”

Cole glanced at a stack of documents on his desk.

Due to the impact of the magic contest, Dino Park’s daily visitor numbers had been dwindling, even falling below acceptable levels. They had already prepared to

shift Mingsha City’s upcoming project right over to Magic Academy.

Moreover, the construction at Magic Academy had been ramped up to the maximum level.

What use is all their hard work if Mingsha City postpones its film projects due to some tech expo? What’s the point then?

“Alright!”

“And we need to find out about the schedule for movies and TV dramas as soon as possible,”

Cole said slowly as he leaned back.

“Boss, I doubt that even with a tech expo, film and TV productions will ever stop in Mingsha City!”

Noticing Cole’s concern, the staff quickly added,

“They won’t, will they?”

“No. This afternoon, a friend called saying that Yan City TV is preparing a schedule for Haofang Culture,”

the staff continued.

“When?”

“Supposedly in early May!”

“Early May? What kind of production is it? A mythological drama?”

At this, Cole’s face showed a trace of disappointment.

“Not a myth, but it’s that ancient sci-fi series Haofang Culture announced ages ago.”

“Ancient sci-fi?”

Cole’s disappointment deepened. If it were pure sci-fi, how could they possibly trap characters? You can’t just showcase a few ‘mecha’ and call it a day – it wouldn’t only be embarrassing, it could be downright laughable.

“Boss, although Haofang Culture’s TV drama isn’t ancient mythology, that movie is almost certainly related to myths!”

The staff hurriedly added,

“Oh?”

“A few days ago, Haofang Culture filed with the National Radio and Television Administration. The movie is called A Chinese Ghost Story – the title alone suggests it’s all about ghosts and monsters.”

“A Chinese Ghost Story? Seriously!”

Cole could hardly contain his excitement as he stood up.

“Fantastic! It’s like they always have just what we need! Now, put your heads together and try to secure the rights to that lead character from the movie.”

“Boss, I’ve already started asking around,”

the staff replied.

“Good job! I’ll instruct HR tomorrow to sort out a raise for you.”

“Thank you, Boss!”

The staff was overjoyed at the praise, feeling as if they had just made a monumental contribution to Dino Park.

Time flew, and before long it was the next morning at

Yan City Airport’s VIP lounge. Xu Hao was unaware that Mingsha City had already gained a bit of a notorious reputation in other industries.

At that moment, he was seated, studying a map not of geography but a layout of Mingsha City’s sand table, while Han Xiaoqing snuggled by his side.

“Are we really going to build that project you mentioned last night?”

After a long pause,

Han Xiaoqing straightened up and looked at Xu Hao.

“Mm! I think if we build that tech expo venue as discussed last night, it will alleviate some pressure on our booth.”

Xu Hao nodded.

They had spent the entire previous night obsessively planning the tech expo venue (believe it or not, they did nothing else all night). “That’s fine! In a few days, you focus solely on this. I’ll handle things over at Mingsha Academy.”

Han Xiaoqing snuggled closer to Xu Hao.

“Alright! This project is special. I’ll need to keep a close eye on it; any mishap and the whole thing will be thrown out the window.”

Xu Hao took a deep breath.

Honestly, with so many ancient structures already built in Mingsha City, including Mingsha Fudi, he had never felt so pressured.

“So, where do you plan to situate this? At Oasis No.9?”

Han Xiaoqing glanced at the layout.

“Oasis No.9 won’t do! I intend to place it north of the Qingming Scroll. That area is also considered part of the historical architecture. Besides, Oasis No.9 lies right at the center of the Mingsha plot—this building just isn’t worthy of that spot.”

Xu Hao shook his head slightly.

Oasis No.9 is located three kilometers west of Mingsha Academy, right at the heart of the Mingsha area.

“Not worthy?”

Han Xiaoqing paused for a moment.

“It’s inevitable—Mingsha Fudi has raised the bar so high with visitor expectations.”

Xu Hao replied with a resigned tone.

Sometimes, when something more advanced appears, even the best of what came before gradually seems ordinary.

“So when do we start construction?”

“Once the Mingsha Amusement Park is finished!”

After a moment’s thought, Xu Hao said,

“Huh? Finish the amusement park first? Little Luo always has crazy ideas. His projects aren’t exactly small scale. Will we have enough time?”

Han Xiaoqing was momentarily dumbfounded.

Though she had been busy with research projects in Yan City for the past several months, that didn’t mean she wasn’t following news about Mingsha City. In fact, she never missed any detail, however small, concerning Mingsha City.

Thus,

she knew that the directors in Mingsha City were no pushovers, especially Luo Peng!

“It should be fine! As long as we get the components ready, the actual usage time will be minimal.”

Xu Hao waved his hand dismissively.

PS: Brothers, everything’s settled. Normal updates resume from tomorrow.