Chapter 304: A Tangled Web of Magic and Schemes

Boss, we currently don’t have any evidence.

Seeing Cole’s fury, the staff member waited a moment until Cole’s temper cooled before speaking in a hushed tone again.

“No evidence?”

“Yeah! I just called the H Country delegation. That contestant, Park Dong-hee, is adamant he has no collusion with Mingsha City, and he keeps insisting he’s been wronged.”

“Wronged? That’s absurd!”

“Boss, something about this situation feels fishy. It might not even be the contestant’s fault.”

After a brief pause, the staff member couldn’t help but share his thoughts.

“What do you mean?”

Cole raised an eyebrow.

“I reviewed the contestant’s performance footage over and over. When the magic wand lit up, his genuine look of astonishment didn’t seem feigned. It appears he truly was clueless about what was happening.”

“Wait a minute, are you saying someone else is involved in colluding with Mingsha City?”

“Yeah.”

“That magic wand was handed over to Cui Xiaozhong by our people. Since our team is beyond reproach, the only other suspect is Cui Xiaozhong.”

Cole’s expression darkened.

“Boss, I’m only suspecting things. The full details might not surface until the investigation goes further.”

The staff member quickly added.

“There’s an old saying in Long Kingdom: ‘Better to believe something than nothing.’ The H Country delegation can no longer be trusted. Get on the phone right away and order that top magic competition contestant to withdraw immediately—he must not participate in the upcoming rounds.”

He stood up.

After a brief pace, Cole turned back to the staff member.

“Huh? You want Jin Shanfú to withdraw? Boss, Jin Shanfú’s act, ‘Sunlit Gold’, can not only disable Mingsha City’s altar if it succeeds but also serve to promote our Magic Academy. Besides, Mingsha City still has a traditional magician on their roster.”

“If Jin Shanfú pulls out, that traditional magician might just stir up more trouble.”

“Up until now, the magic world has been suppressing Long Kingdom’s traditional magic acts. If we let Long Kingdom’s acts rise now, then later—”

The staff member hesitated, clearly not expecting Cole to be so direct.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry!”

Cole waved his hand dismissively.

“Even without Jin Shanfú, David is still in play! As long as David’s side doesn’t slip up, we can still keep Mingsha City in check.”

“Oh, right! David’s magic and illusions are world-class. He should outshine anyone from Mingsha City.”

The staff member nodded instinctively.

In recent years, David has clearly become the pinnacle of the magic scene in Lanstarr. Every time he performs, he’s met with endless accolades—even earning the title of Magic Supreme.

“The magic competition itself is a minor issue. The real problem now is how to handle the witch imagery in Mingsha City.”

After a moment of silence, Cole spoke up again.

“Boss, at this point we must contact Mingsha City and see if they can dispel it. If they insist on opposing us, we’ll have no choice but to fight fire with fire!”

The staff member instinctively glanced at his computer.

“Fight fire with fire?”

“Yeah. Since Mingsha City had the nerve to humiliate us like that, we can do the same. They have plenty of IP characters, and once our Magic Academy is up and running, we can have the visitors ‘arrest’ those very IP characters under the guise of ‘magic’.”

In doing so,

we not only deliver a taste of their own medicine to Mingsha City but also boost the profile of our Magic Academy.

“Hmm? That’s not a bad idea.”

Cole’s eyes brightened at the suggestion.

If it works out, we can scrub away all traces from both sides and call it quits.

“So, what kind of characters should we design? Many of Mingsha City’s IP characters are quite popular.”

After a beat, Cole asked again.

“Boss, capturing Mingsha City’s old IPs isn’t very exciting. Online sources say they’ve cordoned off a huge area between Wudi City and Lutai again—

and if I’m not mistaken, it’s for a new movie or TV series.”

We should target the IP characters from their new project! That would have a much stronger promotional impact. By then, our Magic Academy should be completed too.

The staff member hurriedly added.

“Interesting! Then notify the Engineering Department right away and push through Phase II. We need to finish before Mingsha City’s new project launches.”

At that moment, when the Magic Academy finally opens its doors to visitors, it’ll be time to ‘arrest’ Mingsha City’s new characters.

“Yes!”

Meanwhile,

just as Dino Park was planning to exact revenge, in Mingsha City, Lutai, Fang Hou, Zhu Qiang, and Luo Peng were watching a construction site in the distance.

At that moment, numerous ancient building frameworks — with an exterior of three sides and an interior of seven — had already risen on the site.

“Today, the Demon-Locking Tower is packed with visitors!”

Turning to the northwest, Zhu Qiang remarked.

“Could it not be packed? I must say, Brother Hao’s move was absolutely brilliant.”

Luo Peng nodded in agreement.

When they received Xu Hao’s call instructing them to approach the International Magic Competition organization to claim compensation from the H Country delegation, they instinctively thought it was all orchestrated by Xu Hao behind the scenes, kept secret due to its high sensitivity.

That was all.

“By the way, General Zhu, what is the claim amount this time?”

Beside him, Fang Hou couldn’t help but ask.

“The initial claim is for 200 million M Gold, though Zhang Lu mentioned the final sum might fall short. Nevertheless, he’ll fight for every bit. If the H Country delegation refuses to negotiate, he plans to sue the International Magic Organization so they share the blame.”

Zhu Qiang smiled.

If the compensation comes through, it should cover the construction costs for both the Mingsha City Kindergarten and High School.

“Haha! Sue the International Magic Organization?”

Fang Hou was taken aback.

Zhang Lu, as usual, remained unfazed.

“There’s nothing we can do. In every respect, Mingsha City is in the right! Zhang Lu kept emphasizing that the Demon-Locking Tower suffered irreversible, permanent damage.”

Zhu Qiang continued,

in short,

this time Mingsha City really hit the jackpot—it’s like producing a blockbuster movie.

“By the way, Mr. Fang, how’s your progress on things? I heard Brother Hao is heading to Yan City in a few days. If there are any issues with the ancient structures, be sure to let him know in advance.”

After a pause, Luo Peng suddenly recalled something and quickly said,

“There’s actually a problem now.”

Regarding the TV project, Fang Hou furrowed his brows.

“Oh?”

“Here’s the situation: the ancient costume sci-fi drama we did with Yan City TV is fine. The problem now is with the movie project.”

Fang Hou looked over at Luo Peng.

“The movie project?”

“The other scenes in the film are fine, but there’s trouble with Lanruo Temple. It’s not that it’s difficult to build—it’s just that in the script, Lanruo Temple is supposed to feature ghosts. Our area is primarily known for ancient building guesthouses, and to the east lies Wudi City. Having a place like that suddenly pop up feels out of place.”

Fang Hou paused to explain.

“Lanruo Temple? And the script has ghosts in it?”

Before Fang Hou could say more, Luo Peng’s interest was piqued.

“Yeah!”

“Since the storyline calls for it, why not build it directly in the Xianxia Zone?”

Beside him, Zhu Qiang added,

“At the time, we secured the TV drama script first and earmarked an area here. We assumed everything could be done in one go, but when the movie script arrived, it was already a bit late.”

“Then, has construction for the other movie settings started yet?”

Luo Peng asked anxiously.

“Not yet! That’s why we plan to talk with Haozi to see if we can allot another area in the Xianxia Zone.”

Fang Hou shook his head slightly.

“That works! I’ve recently designed a concept for Mingsha Amusement Park that incorporates these elements. If we build it in the Xianxia Zone, not only do we add a new attraction, but it also ties in perfectly with my amusement park idea.”

Luo Peng couldn’t help but beam.

“Then…”

“Alright, we’ll go talk to Brother Hao about it soon. If we can make it happen, we’ll start immediately. These days, Dino Park is making all sorts of moves. According to Brother Hao’s plan, the announcement for Mingsha City’s amusement park should coincide with the launch of Dino Park’s Magic Academy, right after the magic competition.”

“Alright.”

Time flew by, and before anyone knew it, evening had arrived.

Mingsha Fudi

On three small islands, numerous figures began to appear—contestants from the large magic competition.

Due to the unique setup of the competition, each contestant gets over ten days to arrange their venue. The main event kicks off at 10 AM on April 13.

Moreover, unlike previous competitions, the broadcast will focus on each contestant’s pre-arranged venue, without a fixed judges’ table.

“Look, David seems to have gone to that island with the red-crowned cranes.”

By the lake

After a short while, several tourists peered through their binoculars before turning to their companions.

Since the claim against the H Country contestants by Mingsha City is an internal matter, ordinary netizens and tourists are unaware of it. They only know that this edition of the International Magic Competition is thrilling, making them even more excited for the upcoming rounds.

And in the hearts of these viewers,

the seed contestants have grown from three to four: Long Kingdom’s contestant Ma Qian, Country M’s contestant David, H Country’s contestant Jin Shanfú, and the late addition from Mingsha City, You Gong.

Of course, many tourists are eagerly waiting for the International Magic Competition to conclude so they can fully experience Mingsha Fudi.

“Ma Qian has gone to the island on the left. I’m really looking forward to seeing what grand magic act they perform there.”

Hearing this,

a companion nodded in agreement.

“Then either H Country’s Jin Shanfú or You Gong might choose the island on the right.”

Another tourist remarked.

“What’s going on? Did Jin Shanfú withdraw?”

Just as the discussion among the tourists was about to continue, a startled voice rang out from behind.

“Hey, brother, what did you just say? Did you say Jin Shanfú withdrew?”

At that, the tourist couldn’t help but turn around to look back.