Super Zoo

In a distant office building in the capital, Jiao Shou was in a meeting with key creative staff and investors of the series.

Spread over the meeting room table was a whole pile of materials, all kinds of data no one could have imagined for this episode.

The view count, number of fans, and likes had all shattered records. The Weibo fan count had also exceeded eight million, breaking all kinds of records for a single episode of a web series. In fact, the data for just this episode alone was much higher than many web series' entire seasons combined.

"So I think now is the best time to invest in making a 'Beyond Expectation' movie," Jiao Shou said confidently. "Strike while the iron is hot, leveraging the current enthusiasm of the fans, shoot as soon as possible, and we could even release it during the summer season."

Two sides sat opposite each other at the meeting table, Jiao Shou and the series crew on one side, and representatives of the three investors on the other.

Upon hearing Jiao Shou bring up the topic of the movie investment, the three representatives exchanged glances. The middle-aged female representative in the middle spoke, "Jiao Shou, we really appreciate your passion. However, after discussion, we investors still unanimously feel that it's safer to continue with the 'Beyond Expectation' web series right now."

Jiao Shou's expression suddenly became stern and he asked in disbelief, "Why?"

Before the meeting, he had already heard from other channels that the investors might discuss the possibility of making a movie, given the immense popularity of 'Beyond Expectation,' during this meeting. Thus, before the meeting, Jiao Shou had made extensive preparations and preliminary work, ready to discuss the investment details for the movie with the investors' representatives in detail. He had even enlisted a friend with a good reputation in the industry to make an appearance.

He hadn't anticipated at all that the investors had no such considerations and rejected his proposal outright without even leaving room for negotiation.

The female representative looked at the dumbstruck Jiao Shou and said calmly, "Jiao Shou, your energy is limited, and we hope you can devote your full attention to the production of 'Beyond Expectation,' and focus on doing one thing well."

Jiao Shou didn't hesitate, "I can absolutely spare enough energy to manage production on both fronts."

The investors exchanged glances again, but it was still the female representative who spoke, "Of course, we believe in your capability. But we also hope you understand, whether a big movie can make money is uncertain for any of us, whereas the 'Beyond Expectation' web series, being so hot right now, will definitely make money as long as we keep at it with care and ensure quality doesn't decline. Faced with one uncertainty and one certainty, we prefer the latter."

"Then…" Without investors, Jiao Shou's passion was futile. Since the investors insisted, Jiao Shou had no choice but to give in and asked with a negotiative tone, "Then, what if we make the movie after this season is finished, before the end of the year?"

The investors' representative hesitated for a moment before saying, "Our intention is to make at least another season..."

Sitting next to Jiao Shou was a slim young man with a beard of stubble that belied his youth and a subtle, unfathomable smile on his lips, arms crossed. He wasn't part of the crew, just someone who got along well with Jiao Shou, occasionally helping with script revisions. Today, he was brought by Jiao Shou for support, so he had been quietly listening without speaking from the start of the meeting.

Only when he heard the investors' representative say this did he raise an eyebrow and interject, "I don't really understand what you all are thinking. Web series like 'Beyond Expectation' have a limited lifecycle. Jiao Shou, no offense, but no matter how hard you try, it will be hot for at most three to four years. If you don't invest in making a movie while it's at its hottest, do you plan to wait until the fans start to leave?"

Although this slender young man hadn't been very noticeable, as soon as he spoke, almost everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.

The investors' representative explained with a smile after listening, "You make a good point, and it's basically in line with our thoughts. But you seem to overlook one thing—we believe that 'Beyond Expectation' hasn't reached its peak heat yet; there is still great potential for it to rise further."

While saying this, she tapped the materials on the table with her finger, "These results were indeed beyond everyone's expectations, but why did we get them?"

No one needed to answer the question—everyone understood it surely wasn't because Jiao Shou suddenly became smarter or more handsome; it was due to Yangchuan City Zoo's limelight.

Without the participating animals, without Dasheng Liquor Factory, this episode wouldn't be much better than the original standard.

"Yes, that's what we think too," said the production representative, turning to Jiao Shou, "Now that you've connected with Yangchuan City Zoo and audiences love watching animal performances, why not add animal elements to the following 'Beyond Expectation' episodes? We'll give the audience what they like. Jiao Shou, if you can take the production team back to the zoo and include animal elements in the next few episodes, then we can increase our investment."

Jiao Shou realized that the great success of 'Beyond Expectation' hadn't made the investors willing to invest in a movie as he had imagined. Instead, it led them to continue to exploit the value of the web series.

The current domestic entertainment industry was much like Xiangjiang's entertainment golden era in the eighties and nineties. Once a theme was discovered that could make money and was popular, capital would swarm in, frantically filming without restraint until the theme was completely worn out and exhausted of its value, to the point where audiences were repulsed.

For investors, those who entered the market first were sure to make a steady profit. But for the theme itself, it was a destructive blow.

If they kept making web series about animals, the audience's reaction would also shift from initial novelty and enthusiasm to rational calmness, and eventually even aversion.

By then, investors would have made their money and could simply walk away to invest in other themes. But the mess and infamy left behind would fall on the 'Beyond Expectation' crew and zoo.

Damn capital, from the moment it came into this world, every pore dripped with blood! Jiao Shou silently cursed. It seemed that the movie project would be impossible in the short term.

He felt like his dreams were shattering as he muttered, "What about my movie…"

"Haha, the movie will happen, just wait until we shoot another season or two of the web series, then we can talk," the investor's representative said, clearly giving him the brush-off.

Anyone with half a brain could tell that if the web series continued to be a hit for another season or two, the investors would definitely demand more seasons, squeezing the value out of the web series completely. On the other hand, if it wasn't a success, then finacing for a big movie would be risky, making it even harder to get funding.

The meeting ended quickly. The main reason the investors had come today was to convey their instructions: have Jiao Shou continue with the animal-themed web series. As for the big movie, it was nothing but Jiao Shou's wishful thinking.

Jiao Shou sat in his chair, his head lowered in dejection, looking rather forlorn.

Jiao Shou wanted to make money, but he was also an artist at heart, and like all idealistic fools, he harbored his own dreams. The reason Jiao Shou had given up a stable job and come to the capital alone, to struggle day and night, was because deep in his heart, he clung to a dream.

I have a dream!

The web series was only a stepping stone for Jiao Shou; his real dream was to become a true director, to make movies!

Although he had always had dreams, he never had the opportunity. But now, real live opportunities were slipping away from him.

The cruelest thing in the world isn't having no hope, but being given hope, only to have it taken away again.

The meeting room was empty save for Jiao Shou and the young man he had invited to support him.

The young man walked over, patted Jiao Shou on the shoulder, and advised, "Everyone has dreams, but sometimes dreams can also be a heavy burden. If you put it down for a while, you might live a little lighter."

Jiao Shou looked up, a bit bewildered, and said, "Do you think I'm deceiving myself? Maybe making movies isn't my dream, and it's just something I keep telling myself it is, so much so that I've started to believe it too."

The young man shrugged indifferently, "Does it matter?"

"Doesn't it matter?"

"Whether it matters or not, it doesn't matter," the young man said. "Yangchuan City Zoo has a great environment. I think you could totally live there for a while, shoot 'Unbelievable Deaths,' and relax as well. Consider it a vacation."

Then he flashed a grin, "Thanks to you, I might as well take advantage of it and play for a few days."

"You're going too?" Jiao Shou asked, slightly startled.

…

Over at the zoo, Shen Yan's company took just one week to develop the software system for the live streaming platform, astonishing Suming with their speed.

He had a basic understanding of software development. A project goes through stages like initiation, requirement gathering, modeling, coding, testing, and each step takes a considerable amount of time and effort.

"I heard you needed it urgently, so I took a few people from the project team and we worked overtime day and night, eating and living in the company to rush it out," Shen Yan said, looking exhausted.

Suming had mentioned to Shen Yan one day that he hoped it would be finished soon, as he had already canceled on Nangong twice. All he was waiting for was the platform to go live, then he would leave the zoo work behind for a while and travel to Xiangjiang with Nangong, returning to operate the live platform. He hadn't expected Shen Yan to take his casual comment to heart.

"You've worked hard! Once it passes inspection, I'll have accounting transfer the payment to you as soon as possible," Suming said, patting Shen Yan's shoulder.

Shen Yan and his technical team were deploying the software on the servers. Once the zoo had internally validated the live streaming platform and confirmed it met their requirements, Suming planned to announce the launch of the platform on Weibo, which would mark the end of one phase. The subsequent promotional work would wait until he returned from Xiangjiang.

Shen Yan hadn't finished the deployment when his phone rang. He saw it was Jiao Shou calling.

"Huh? Oh?! Damn! You're at the gate already?!"