Forty millenniums of cul.., p.196
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 196
"However, in the cases where a low-level Cultivator is unfortunately left alone in the wilderness due to an accident, a Demon Beast Detector would no doubt elevate his likelihood of survival."
Although the article was posted on a secondary page, the lavish praises still caught much attention.
The wilderness of the Grand Desolate Plateau was a place where anything could happen. Nobody could grantee that they could be safe all the time.
A team being scattered by a strong beast, leaving a team member in wilderness waiting for rescue… It was not unusual during a hunting task.
Who would say no to a piece of magical equipment that was both convenient and able to raise their odds of survival?
Li Yao continued to develop the cooperation with the Grand Desolate War Institution.
The Combat Department was no doubt the most influential and in the most need of the Demon Beast Detector inside the Grand Desolate War Institution.
For the two student organizations of the Combat Department, Ding Lingdang was the previous president as well as the incumbent instructor of the Iron Fist Club, and Fiend Blade Peng Hai used to be the legend of the Chaos Edge Hall who led it to its peak by beating the Iron Fist Club.
Supported by Ding Lingdang and Peng Hai, the Demon Beast Detector project met absolutely no trouble in the campus. Also, many students still remembered Li Yao's fascinating performance and soaring credits in the last semester and were curious about the red magical equipment that he had been wearing all the time.
The first five hundred Demon Beast Detectors were sold to the Grand Desolate War Institution at a price 20% below cost, which were then redeemed by the students with their credits.
There was no telling the actual performance yet. But five hundred students walking indifferently and intimidatingly in the campus wearing a scarlet monocle was already an impressive scene.
A few days later, when the students were back from their field trips to the wilderness, most of their trophies had significantly increased.
Thereafter, the Demon Beast Detector was on fire inside the Grand Desolate War Institution!
Chapter 285: Advertisement |
"Li Yao's Demon Beast Detector is truly good. It identifies demon beasts quickly and precisely. Today, I came across a Fiery Sparrow Rabbit in the wilderness which I would've mistaken for a Fiery Sparrow without the Demon Beast Detector. Thankfully, I was wearing one and I've made a fortune!"
"Yes. The demon beasts that I hunted down on this field trip are ten percent more than usual. No wonder Li Yao's credits were soaring last semester. This piece of magical equipment must've been a lot of help!"
"Haha. Did you notice that you are embraced by an aura of mystery when you put on a Demon Beast Detector? I'm going to stroll around the Medical Department and the Liberal Arts Department tomorrow with my Demon Beast Detector. I bet a lot of girls will find me very attractive!"
"Man, you're embarrassing yourself. The Demon Beast Detector is a piece of marvelous magical equipment designed to help you improve your hunting efficiency, and all you're thinking about is hitting on girls with it? I have but four words to comment on such irresponsible and selfish behavior—Bring me with you!"
"I have but three words for you two scumbags—Let's go together!"
A lot of such observations were appearing on the BBS of the Wasteland Battle Network.
Over the next couple of days, many students of the Combat Department were indeed wandering in the floating mountains of the Medical Department and the Liberal Arts Department wearing their Demon Beast Detectors.
As it turned out, students who were wearing their Demon Beast Detectors truly looked sharp and confident.
One of the students, who had been in an ambiguous relationship with a girl of the Medical Department although they were in love with each other, decided to tell her his true feelings with the Demon Beast Detector boosting his confidence.
Not that the Demon Beast Detector should take the credit. It was just a natural development of their relationship.
However, half a day later, the news that some ugly guy of the Combat Department stole the heart of a girl of the Medical Department had become a heated topic on the Wasteland Battle Network.
For the Combat Department which was almost exclusively dudes, such a by-effect of the Demon Beast Detector was even more important than the improvement of hunting efficiency. Their demand for the Demon Beast Detector soared overnight. The Mountain Sea Sect failed to satisfy them although it tried to ship more Demon Beast Detectors to the campus.
The students who got a Demon Beast Detector took selfies and posted them on the Nexus, inviting admiration and jealousy from their friends.
Those who didn't were not content with the situation. They asked for more and nearly caused a riot.
The fashion quickly spread across the entire Grand Desolate Plateau from the Grand Desolate War Institution.
Many combats sects were cooperating with the Grand Desolate War Institution. The military had sent many soldiers to study there, too.
The candidates received a lot of Demon Beast Detectors from various channels.
Compared with the frenzy of students, the Cultivation sects were more cautious about the new magical equipment.
Many of them compared the Demon Beast Detector with the probe magical equipment that was popular in the market.
A lot of differential analysis was posted on professional forums written by experienced Cultivators, who, although might not be magical equipment experts, were quite believable because of their expertise.
Their conclusions varied.
Some of them had got used to the probe magical equipment that was worn on the wrist and already built up a set of tactics based on that position. It was not easy for them to switch to something new.
Even so, they had to admit that the Demon Beast Detector had a groundbreaking design which entailed the possibility that it might stand up to the on-the-wrist probe magical equipment as an equal someday.
As a piece of brand new magical equipment refined by a fledgling, the Demon Beast Detector had won enough praises, which were disseminated at an exponential speed like a contagious virus in the Cultivation world.
Qiu Guanyu, the 'shark' of the Zephyr Guild, noticed the trend and immediately fought back.
He poured countless resources and promised many benefits to the dealers and the crystal camera suppliers in order to asphyxiate the Mountain Sea Sect, to the extent that it seemed that he was willing to perish together with his opponent.
If he had the dealers under control, the marketing network for the Demon Beast Detector wouldn't be able to develop.
If he had the crystal camera suppliers under control, the productivity of the Demon Beast Detector would be kept at minimum.
The high praises alone were not enough to be transformed into sales and profit.
As time went by, the Mountain Sea Sect's cash flow would run dry, which would be the harbinger of its doom.
This was Qiu Guanyu's plan.
However, there was one thing that was beyond his expectations.
…
Ten days later, in Ding Lingdang's home…
Li Yao and Ding Lingdang were sitting in the living room, their eyes focused on a vivid, life-like 3D advertisement that was being played in the Hologram Projector.
The first scene of the advertisement was the raging black clouds with lightning and thunder. The astonishing picture and music indicated that this advertisement had been made possible by large investment and that it boasted extraordinary ambitions.
The camera ripped through the clouds. Inside the picture was now a series of grand and marvelous mountains looming in darkness that was covered by glaring lightning bolts.
Savage roars of demon beasts reverberated with the earsplitting thunders.
Caption appeared in the bottom of the picture that read: 'Thunderous Sound Mountain, a land of perils and dominated by strong demon beasts.'
"Swoosh!"
An eagle-type demon beast with sharp feathers cut in the picture on the top right corner and dove down at the Thunderous Sound Mountain.
The camera followed. After a thrilling freefall, it entered the forest.
Then, the picture went black. Rustling noises came from the background, which were the sound of demon beasts fighting, chewing, and screaming.
Suddenly, the noises vanished. Heavy breathing filled the background, which sounded as if something appalling was happening behind the audience.
Captions showed up again on the black screen: 'A weak Refinement Stage Cultivator has lost his way in the Thunderous Sound Mountain. He is about to become the dinner of a demon beast.'
The picture blinked. A foot stepped into a pit of water, splattering the mud out.
A panicked man was running desperately in the forest.
Half a second later, a maddened boar rushed into the picture and charged at the man.
The next few scenes were switched very quickly, alternating between three or four perspectives every second. The full face of the man was never revealed. But one could feel the intense atmosphere by his anxious expression, his seeping wounds, his puffing chest, and the bloody tusks of the boar.
After a few scenes of running, it seemed that the man had gotten rid of the boar. Hiding in a bush, he unsheathed his saber and took out a Demon Beast Detector from his pocket.
The caption read: 'A saber and a Demon Beast Detector.'
The man put the Demon Beast Detector on his ear.
There was still not his full face in the picture. But his pressed lips indicated that he had recovered from panic and was ready to fight at his full strength.
Then, the camera was kept from the perspective of the Demon Beast Detector. All kinds of information was displayed in the Demon Beast Detector, showing its professionalism.
It seemed that the man turned from a fleeing prey into a predator that had everything under his control.
"Beep! Beep!"
Through the dark forest, the Demon Beast Detector easily discovered the boar that was hiding in the bush and displayed detailed information about it.
"Red Copper Boar, a middle-level demon soldier, had solid bone plates all around its body. The gap between the bone plates near its eyes is its only weakness. Meanwhile, just like all the other boar-type demon beasts, it cannot raise its head, which limits its view of above. It is recommended to attack from above!"
The camera descended. The man squatted, ready for the critical attack.
One second later, he dashed out like an arrow and jumped up. His saber slashed down like a lightning bolt.
"Shua!"
The picture turned crimson. The screams of the boar could be heard.
The caption appeared again: 'Bathing in blood.'
The picture blinked. More than ten different kinds of demon beasts appeared in the forest, which were all identified by the Demon Beast Detector. Data poured down like a waterfall, elaborating the specialty and weakness of the newcomers.
Then, the camera zoomed in. A few slaughter scenes where the saber flashed up and down proceeded.
The caption read: 'Ten days later.'
It was the darkness before dawn. Everything was unclear. But the Demon Beast Detector was still working dutifully and discovered many snake-type Demon Beasts and insect-type Demon Beasts which were all avoided by the man.
Then the caption read: 'Escaped!'
Outside of the forest, a ragged Cultivator full of bruises and scratches knelt down, raised his arms, and screamed at the sky with joyful tears.
An armed shuttle cut in from the top right corner of the picture and flew towards him, a long train of exhaust smoke trailing behind.
The Cultivator had not been featured from the beginning to the end.
To this moment, his face was still obscure.
Only the Demon Beast Detector was glittering very distinctively.
In the end, the picture dimmed and turned to black.
The red light of the Demon Beast Detector kept shining, which became a red spot in the middle of the picture.
Then there were two lines of captions:
'This is a true story. Learn more by scanning the rune in below.
'Demon Beast Detector, guardian of your life.'
"Pfff—"
Li Yao finally let out a long breath when it was finished.
There were no lines in the entire advertisement except for the captions.
Few scenes were shot from the third person perspective. Most of the story was told in the first-person narrative.
With the enhancement of the 3D manifestation, the audience would feel that it was themselves who were trapped in the Thunderous Sound Mountain and had to fight the demon beasts.
The performance of the Demon Beast Detector was well presented in the advertisement.
Although Li Yao had been in the Thunderous Sound Mountain in person, he still felt that his heart was beating fast as he watched the advertisement.
He turned around and asked Ding Lingdang in a smile, "How was it?"
"I feel that my blood is boiling, and I want to go to Thunderous Sound Mountain right now."
Ding Lingdang licked her lips and said.
Three days later, the advertisement was released all over the federation.
The real battle of the Demon Beast Detector had finally begun.
Chapter 286: Demon Beast Detector, Young Pioneer Version |
In the corners of famous websites, on the walls of the skyscrapers in major cities of the federation, and before popular entertainment shows were aired, this advertisement named 'Ten Days Among Demons' was played and replayed.
At first, many took it as just a random advertisement.
But soon, the delicate quality, the soul-stirring content, and especially, the fighting scenes from the first-person perspective of the Demon Beast Detector quickly distinguished 'Ten Days Among Demons' from cliché commercials.
Many people watched the advertisement more than once since it was so breathtaking.
'Ten Days Among Demons' was shot in a very skilled way. The protagonist never showed his face from beginning to end. The fighting scenes were controlled at the level of cold weapon. There were no dramatic, over-exaggerating scenes. The functions of the Demon Beast Detector were highlighted.
After watching the advertisement, the audience would feel that if they had a Demon Beast Detector, they could do exactly the same.
When they learnt that the advertisement was adapted from a true story, naturally, they felt more interested and scanned the rune with their mini crystal processor which led them to a website on the Nexus.
In the website, there was a brief introduction to Li Yao, as well as the interviews of several instructors of the Thunder Training Camp done by 'Predator', confirming the authenticity of the whole event.
Other than that, Li Yao provided a series of preliminary sketches of the Demon Beast Detector. Shang Tianling also hired several artists to decorate the website with highly distinctive concept paintings, which were handsome guys and beautiful girls fighting demon beasts in Thunderous Sound Mountain.
An interactive game was installed to the website, too. Once the audience uploaded their photos, the website would automatically generate pictures of the audience hunting down demon beasts in the Thunderous Sound Mountain wearing the Demon Beast Detector.
Every time they refreshed the website, there would be a different demon beast that they were fighting.
Many users on the site refreshed hundreds of times in order to find the most satisfactory photo of them wearing a Demon Beast Detector.
Through the aggressive marketing campaigns, the Demon Beast Detector became popular among ordinary people. The slogan 'Demon Beast Detector, guardian of your life' quickly became a catchphrase.
…
For Qiu Guanyu, the young master of the Zephyr Guild, and better known as the 'shark', the past month had been pretty rough.
To suppress the Demon Beast Detector, the Zephyr Guild had invested countless resources.
Once the measures failed, not only would the resources be completely wasted, similar magical equipment refined by the Zephyr Guild would risk losing a large portion of their market share, which was the fatal problem that was facing the Zephyr Guild.
Qiu Guanyu didn't have the slightest clue how the Mountain Sea Sect raised so much money and why it was spending the money in such a crazy way.
An advertising war was costly.
Qiu Guanyu had watched 'Ten Days Among Demons' dozens of times without leaving out any details.
He was certain that the advertisement was created by the most professional culture-type Cultivators. The production of the advertisement alone could cost several hundred million.
Now that the advertisement had been released to all the major media in the federation, the advertising expense of the Mountain Sea Sect this month would be astronomical.
Even Qiu Guanyu felt a little shocked at the money-burning rate and the Mountain Sea Sect's bravery, if not somewhat confused, too.
"The eligible crystal camera suppliers of reasonable scale have all been closely monitored, none of which had any plan to cooperate with the Mountain Sea Sect in the foreseeable future.
"The major magical equipment dealers haven't received any message from the Mountain Sea Sect to sell its product yet.
"Which meant that it's impossible for the Mountain Sea Sect to refine enough Demon Beast Detectors, nor can it sell the products to the terminal market.
"Then, why is the Mountain Sea Sect spending such a large amount of money on promoting a piece of magical equipment that it can't manufacture and sell?
"Based on the current speed, the Mountain Sea Sect is going to bankrupt within the next fortnight without me doing anything because of the huge advertising expenses."
Qiu Guanyu had thought that the Mountain Sea Sect might be able to find a new investor and raise another sum of money. But he had expected the Mountain Sea Sect to look for alternative suppliers to provide crystal cameras for the Demon Beast Detector to resolve the critical problem at hand. Then, it would need to renegotiate with several influential dealers to reestablish the distribution network.
