Chapter 356: Turbulent Revelations at the Scenic Office

Seeing the situation unfold…

Han Lijun signaled Ren Long first. It was only after Ren Long left the office that he picked up the phone.

“Hello!”

“Hello, may I ask if you’re Director Han of Yan City TV?”

Next, a middle-aged man’s voice came through the phone.

“Who is this?”

“Director Han, we’ve just received a notification from our leader. In one week, there will be a seminar on cultural export. We hope you can attend on time.”

The man’s voice echoed once again.

“A seminar? In Yan City?”

“No, in Haishi!”

“Alright! I’ll be there on time.”

Tides come and go—a few days passed in the blink of an eye.

With the official opening of Mo Mechanism City and videos of various mechanical marvels—like Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse and Wooden Bird—circulating, netizens in Long Kingdom seemed to have forgotten all about the Technology Expo. Nearly every forum, public account, and short video was abuzz with talk of the Mechanism City.

Not a single discussion mentioned the technology companies anymore.

This only reinforced Li Yan and the tech companies’ belief that withdrawing from the expo had been the right decision. At the upcoming modern technology exhibition, their sole concern would be handling Mark Corporation, without the headache of dealing with Mingsha City.

However, while some celebrated, others seethed with envy. Fengdu Scenic Area, General Feng’s Office

Feng Xiangcai stared at a video clip on his computer for a full half-hour, completely silent.

In just one hour of visitor flow, Mingsha City had drawn more crowds than Fengdu Scenic Area did in an entire day, underscoring the enormous gap between them.

“General Feng, Mingsha City has really outdone itself—they even managed to unearth what was thought lost.”

Across the desk, Deputy Director Shi Yun’s expression soured dramatically.

The more visitors Mingsha City drew, the more people flocked to the ‘The Long Road of Life’ attraction. Once they experienced it, hardly anyone returned to Fengdu Scenic Area. That’s why major parks avoid copying each other’s themes.

“We must file a lawsuit against Mingsha City immediately!”

Feng Xiangcai narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low, steady tone.

“File a lawsuit immediately? General Feng, Mingsha City is riding high right now. Taking legal action at this moment could backfire and even turn netizens against us.”

At this, Shi Yun hesitated before finally voicing his thoughts.

“Turn netizens against us? So you’re saying we’ll just let Mingsha City continue siphoning off our potential customers? Hmph! Don’t forget, Mingsha City is never short on buzz. Today it’s a Mechanism City, and who knows what they’ll pull out tomorrow.”

Feng Xiangcai glared sharply.

“General Feng, you misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting we forgo legal action against Mingsha City. I’m saying we first push forward with the cooperation project we just finalized with Dino Park! If this project takes off, it should curb Mingsha City’s arrogance. Besides, once our profile rises, public opinion and netizens will be on our side when we do sue them.”

Sensing the conversation shifting, Shi Yun quickly added,

“New project? That may be true, but who knows…”

Boom, boom, boom!

“General Feng,”

Just as Feng Xiangcai was about to continue, there was a sudden knock on the door.

“Come in!”

Frowning, Feng Xiangcai composed himself and spoke again.

“General Feng, the Scenic Area Evaluation Committee has just released an official announcement—our scenic area has been awarded a 5A rating!”

Immediately, the office door swung open as a staff member entered with a beaming smile.

“The Evaluation Committee’s announcement?”

Feng Xiangcai and Shi Yun exchanged a quick glance.

Although both were taken aback, neither shared the staff member’s unbridled joy—especially Feng Xiangcai, who had put in so much effort behind the scenes and had already anticipated the outcome.

“Yes! This year, we even got the notice half a month ahead of schedule,” the staff member added.

“Alright, got it,” Feng Xiangcai said with a dismissive wave, signaling the staff member to get on with his work as he began typing on his keyboard to browse the web.

Even though he already knew his own park’s result, he was curious to see which other scenic areas in Long Kingdom had also reached 5A.

Minutes passed, and as Feng Xiangcai continued scanning the results,

his expression shifted from confusion to alarm as he muttered, “This is bad! Bad! How could this be…?”

“What’s wrong, General Feng?” Shi Yun asked anxiously.

“Mingsha City didn’t secure a 5A rating!”

Staring at the screen in disbelief, Feng Xiangcai simply couldn’t accept it.

“What? Mingsha City failed to achieve 5A? That’s impossible!”

Hearing this, Shi Yun’s face lit up with shock as he hurried over to the desk.

Although they had long had objections to Mingsha City, its 5A rating had always been taken for granted. This sudden reversal was truly unexpected.

“It really failed. Look—the announcement even lists the reasons for disqualification, and Mingsha City is included.”

Feng Xiangcai’s frown deepened further.

“Insufficient qualifications of management, major flaws in transportation facilities, and a lack of key historical and cultural sites,”

Shi Yun read aloud the reasons cited by the Evaluation Committee for rejecting Mingsha City.

For a long moment,

the office fell into an eerie silence.

Logically, having secured a 5A rating should have filled them with exuberance, while Mingsha City’s failure would have been cause for celebration—but neither could muster any joy.

After what felt like an eternity, Feng Xiangcai finally looked at Shi Yun and said, “This Evaluation Committee really doesn’t know what they’re thinking! Isn’t this just adding to our problems?”

“Exactly! Now that Mingsha City has failed—and who knows what antics they’ll pull next to grab the Evaluation Committee’s attention—netizens and the media will inevitably start comparing Fengdu Scenic Area with Mingsha City,”

Shi Yun sighed deeply.

“Hurry, check what netizens are saying online!”

“On it!”

Meanwhile, in Haishi at Dino Park,

in the President’s Office, Cole had just finished signing a thick stack of documents. The Magic Academy’s reconstruction was progressing rapidly, and if the pace held, the entire project would be wrapped up by early next spring.

By then, Dino Park was bound to be trending.

“Leader, good news!”

Just as Cole reached for another folder to sign, the office door burst open. Deputy Director Adam appeared in the doorway.

“Leader, the 5A evaluation results are out—our hard work hasn’t been in vain!”

he declared.

“They’re out?”

Cole paused, then set the folder aside and said, “It just goes to show: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Had we started earlier, we might have hit 5A long ago!”

Dino Park had long been stuck at 4A. Reaching 5A now not only elevated its status but also marked a major breakthrough.

“Leader, there’s even better news,”

Adam added cheerfully.

“Even better news?”

Cole raised an eyebrow.

“The announcement indicates that Mingsha City failed to get a 5A rating! That instantly puts Dino Park a notch above Mingsha City.”

“What? Mingsha City failed to get 5A?”

Before Cole could fully process the information, he abruptly stood up—not out of glee but with a trace of panic.

“You’re saying Mingsha City didn’t secure 5A?”

“Yes!”

“This is bad. Absolutely bad.”

In the next moment, Cole couldn’t afford to think about anything else as he sat down again, furiously typing on his keyboard.