Chapter 364: Groundwork and High Stakes

What exactly are they repairing on the ground?

At these words…

Luo Peng felt a surge of curiosity.

While everyone else was in the dark about the core area, he knew clearly that not only was the upper part crucial, but the ground work was equally important! In his mind, very few buildings could stand up to those in the air.

“The ground part is being repaired.”

But just as General Zhu was about to name it, there was a sudden knock on the office door.

“Hmm?”

Seeing this, General Zhu fell silent, cleared his throat, and said, “Come in!”

“General Zhu, someone from the county is here to see you!”

In the next moment, the office door was gently pushed open as a staff member peeked in halfway.

“The county?”

General Zhu and Luo Peng exchanged an instinctive glance.

“General Zhu, the county transport bureau leaders want to discuss the official handover date for Hongsha Gang Village’s bus station,” the staff member continued.

The staff member went on.

“Has the bus station been completed?”

General Zhu’s expression shifted noticeably.

The bus station was planned next to the Mingsha City High-Speed Rail Station, occupying the original site of Hongsha Gang Village and requiring a five‐kilometer green belt to reach the east gate of Mingsha City.

Right now, Mingsha City’s subway is almost extended to Hongsha Gang Village. Once connected, tourists will have a much easier time reaching Mingsha City. However, the city wasn’t involved in these projects—they were led by local authorities.

“That’s right!”

“Alright, bring them into the meeting room. Luo, come with me immediately.”

“Understood, General Zhu!”

Meanwhile,

On the middle stretch of Qing Brick Avenue from Qixia Town to Xianxia Zone, Daoist Master Cangshan and Canghai stood at a distant sand ridge, gazing down over a vast area.

Although the area had been filled with grass lattice and planted with saxaul, desert willows, and other shrubs, it lacked lush vegetation, making the environment look far worse than other regions—not to mention Mingsha Fudi and Wuzhuang Temple.

“I have to say, President Luo’s imagination is unbelievable. In all of Mingsha City, aside from the City Master, he’s in a league of his own!”

After a while,

Daoist Master Cangshan looked at his junior with genuine admiration and gave a thumbs-up.

They were now standing at the site of Mingsha City’s Sanhao Entertainment City. Honestly, even they were stunned for a long moment upon first seeing the name.

“Who would have thought that Sanhao Entertainment City would pull something like this off?”

Canghai nodded in deep agreement.

He even sometimes wondered if Luo Peng’s mind worked any normally—no sensible person would ever come up with such an idea.

“I bet if Sanhao Entertainment City opens in a month, not only Dino Park but all similar domestic projects will face serious challenges.”

After a pause, Daoist Master Cangshan added.

“Absolutely!”

Canghai stroked his beard as an idea suddenly popped into his mind: “Senior, what if we set up an incense altar outside Sanhao Entertainment City? Tourists might come by to burn incense!”

“It’s not impossible! But let’s scrap that. Sanhao Entertainment City isn’t part of Wuzhuang Temple. We just need to set up the altar within the area designated by the City Master.”

Daoist Master Cangshan scoffed.

Honestly, he was being conservative—even so, he was sure that sooner or later tourists would be burning incense near Sanhao Entertainment City.

“True enough!”

“Alright, let’s get to work! And be careful when releasing the water—don’t let it wash away the buildings.”

“Don’t worry, Senior—I’ve got this!”

Time flew by and before long it was noon. Under the blazing sun at a construction site in the core area,

Xu Hao glanced at the massive crane slowly entering the site, then at the blueprints in his hand.

“Engineer Li.”

Just as Xu Hao was about to brief Li Shaoqing, the deputy director of Mingsha Tourism and Engineering, his phone rang.

“Hmm?”

He excused himself after signaling Li Shaoqing and stepped aside to answer the call.

“Third Brother!”

The call was from Xu Chen.

“Old Six, what’s the situation over there? How many more days can the funds last?”

In the next moment, Xu Chen spoke.

“Funds? Third Brother, you—”

Xu Hao was taken aback. Before he could explain, Xu Chen’s voice came through again: “Second Sister already filled me in. Two months from now, I’ll transfer fifty billion Dragon Coins into Mingsha Tourism’s public account. As for the rest, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.”

“Fifty billion Dragon Coins? Third Brother, how do you have so much funding?”

To be honest, Xu Hao felt both gratitude and astonishment upon hearing this.

He knew all too well the situation with the clothing factory Xu Chen owned.

“Don’t worry about it—I’m just letting you know!”

Yet Xu Chen didn’t elaborate any further.

“Third Brother, make sure you don’t do anything rash. I’m short on some funds, but a few more projects should cover it.”

Seeing this,

Xu Hao anxiously asked,

“Old Six, trust me—I know what can and cannot be done. Alright, I have some other matters here. Talk later.” *beep beep beep*

In the next moment, Xu Chen’s voice came through again.

But without much explanation, he ended the call with a short remark.

“This…”

Staring at his dark phone screen and pondering for a moment, Xu Hao immediately dialed another number. “Second Sister, it’s Old Six…”

Meanwhile, as various departments in Mingsha City were busy with their own tasks, rumors online about the subway extension and Epang Palace escalated, even trending.

Yan City Long Kingdom Scenic Rating Committee

Qin Yuwen stared at his computer screen for a long time, his brows deepening. “Is this for real or not?”

“President, I’m almost certain it’s true. Some netizens have presented convincing analyses, and visitors in Mingsha City have reported similar sights.”

On the sofa across from his desk, Gao Shang massaged his forehead.

“So, Mingsha City is trying to strong-arm us with Epang Palace?”

Qin Yuwen narrowed his eyes.

He knew full well that neither Su Province nor Mingsha City would ever voluntarily apply for a 5A scenic rating again.

“Very likely! If Mingsha City actually builds Epang Palace and we haven’t given them a 5A rating yet, the public outcry will be hard to quell. Plus, Mingsha City is starting on the subway now.”

Gao Shang’s voice dropped to a low tone.

“Epang Palace isn’t just any ancient building. Without a 5A rating, it’ll really hurt Mingsha City. Still, they might be onto something—if they manage to build Epang Palace, it could force our hand, but only if they stay afloat. Judging by the recent activities of Haofang Agency’s artists, they’re clearly running low on cash!”

After a brief moment of thought,

Qin Yuwen visibly relaxed.

Four subway lines plus a mythical Apang Palace—if even a lower-tier city can’t support such projects simultaneously, it seems nearly impossible for Mingsha City.

“Running low on cash?”

Gao Shang paused, surprised.

“Yes! And more importantly, these projects are incredibly time-consuming. Epang Palace alone seems like it would take at least three to five years to complete! So let’s just focus on our tasks. Who knows, in three years Mingsha City might even collapse from cash flow issues.”

Qin Yuwen sipped the tea on his desk, his tension completely gone.

The more he thought about it, the more confident he became.

Whether it’s time or funding, the bottleneck issues seem unsolvable for Mingsha City.

“That’s true! Even for Mingsha City, Epang Palace would take three to five years.”

Gao Shang nodded thoughtfully.

“Alright, we’ll just sit back and watch. Perhaps Mingsha City will soon run into financial trouble.”

“Yes!”

In Yan City’s Third Ring, Qin Yuwen was convinced that Mingsha City was headed for a crisis, though some remained puzzled. Over at Yan City TV, Han Lijun leaned back in his chair after reading the news. “Epang Palace? That can’t be right!”

After a long pause, he couldn’t help but ask the Editor-in-Chief, “Director Ren, is our project with Haofang Culture actually a ‘Investiture of the Gods’?”

Originally, Han Lijun had already called Xu Hao, but with all the detailed online reports, he was truly confused.

“Leader, it’s definitely ‘Investiture of the Gods.’ I heard from a staff member at Haofang Culture that they’ve already started casting.”

At these words,

Ren Long quickly replied,

“But if it’s ‘Investiture of the Gods,’ why build Epang Palace?”

Han Lijun ran a hand through his hair.

“I suppose Epang Palace is specifically built for the core area of Mingsha City’s Xianxia Zone. I even heard that additional barricades have been set up on the north side of the Xianxia Zone—probably to stage ‘Investiture of the Gods.’”

After a pause, Ren Long shared his thoughts.

In his view, scenes from ‘Investiture of the Gods’ would be constructed in the Xianxia Zone, not in the core area.

“Xianxia Zone? That’s possible!”

Han Lijun’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

“It’s such a pity. If our collaborative ‘Investiture of the Gods’ project could be part of a cultural export initiative, just the real-life scenes in Mingsha City would attract many foreign visitors.”

At that moment, Ren Long glanced at the script on the table and couldn’t help but sigh again.

Just yesterday,

Yan City TV signed a new project with another cultural company—a martial arts drama called ‘Wuxing Quan.’

This drama would also represent Yan City TV in its overseas cultural push.

“This is really hopeless! By the way, how are the other TV stations doing? Has anyone managed to get theirs off the ground?”

Han Lijun sighed deeply.

Just thinking about it brought on a strange melancholy.

“Leader, all the major TV stations seem to be at the same stage. Eggplant TV’s remake of Journey to the West just held a press conference, announcing that actors had been chosen and that they’d soon head to various scenic spots in Long Kingdom—it’s all very showy.

Meanwhile, Mangguo TV’s remake of Dream of the Red Chamber is building sets! As for the remakes of Water Margin and The Three Kingdoms, because they need huge casts, their progress is a bit behind, but overall, it looks like these four channels aim to finish filming within a year.”

Ren Long immediately replied,

“One year. So does that mean our project will launch early?”

Han Lijun rubbed his chin.

“Yes! Our script doesn’t demand overly complex scenes or characters.”

“In that case, we can’t rush our project. Even if we finish filming, we must delay the release so that the other four TV stations go live first!”

“Their projects go live first?”

“After all, they’re remaking classic literature from Long Kingdom. You know how it is!”

“Leader, I understand. But if our version of ‘Investiture of the Gods’ finishes filming, should we wait for them?”

Ren Long suddenly realized and added,

“There’s no need to wait! As soon as Haofang Culture wraps up filming, we air our program. After all, we’re not part of the cultural export project.”

Han Lijun immediately waved his hand.

“Understood, Leader.”

Days passed—three in total. Meanwhile, numerous online updates about Mingsha City kept rolling in. Many netizens even posted raw images: some captured the barricade of Subway Line 2, others showed the metal fences in the core area along with the roar of giant machinery.

In Chongshi and Fengdu Scenic Area, General Feng couldn’t help but glance at Adam sitting across from him.

“Are you saying they’re suing Mingsha City in just these few days? Isn’t that a bit rushed?”

he remarked.

A few days ago, General Feng had met with a lawyer recommended by Deputy Director Shi Yun. The lawyer was indeed formidable—far more so than Zhang Yida—but General Feng hadn’t expected him to file a lawsuit against Mingsha City right away.

Who would have thought that Adam from Dino Park, while discussing a collaborative project, would mention this matter?

“Rushed? General Feng, you know what they say: ‘Seize the moment—for opportunity only knocks once. Strike while the iron is hot!’ If we delay any longer, Mingsha City might pull through!”

Seeing this,

Adam leaned forward and added,

“Pull through? Mingsha City’s funding gap is massive. It won’t recover anytime soon!”

General Feng furrowed his brows.

Even if Dino Park’s Cole and Adam hadn’t warned him, the online buzz made it clear that within three years, Mingsha City’s finances could falter at any moment.

“Recover? You seriously underestimate Mingsha City! Rumor has it that Long Kingdom Bank is planning to offer a 5 billion low-interest loan to Mingsha City. Besides, other banks have similar ideas! Once Mingsha City secures these loans—

Adam lifted his coffee cup and took a small sip.

“Loans?”

“What did you expect? The news of Epang Palace being built in Mingsha City came out from Long Kingdom Bank.”

“This…”

“General Feng, although the banks plan to lend money, such a large loan in Mingsha City’s hands will take time to materialize. In the meantime, this period is when their cash flow is most vulnerable!”

“Then—”

General Feng fell into deep thought.

Adam’s words made sense.

After a long pause, General Feng finally spoke,

“But the claim amount still hasn’t been set.”

“Claim amount? In past lawsuits, Mingsha City always threw out astronomical figures. For instance, Fengdu Scenic Area would start at no less than 5 billion—anything less wouldn’t pressure Mingsha City enough even if you won the case.”

Seeing General Feng’s tone relax, Adam eagerly urged,

“Come on, let’s make our move!”