Entertainment: You're asked to make a graduation project, but you're asked to film Ultrama

Chapter 28, 59 Yuan Divine Light Rod! Pass the light on!

The meeting went very smoothly.

Signatures, photos, and interactions.

Every moment was filled with the enthusiasm of the fans.

However, at the end of the interactive portal, a small incident caught Gu Nan's attention.

It was a little boy who looked only seven or eight years old, riding on his father's shoulders, waving his arms frantically.

His hands, unlike the others, held the exquisite "Tiangong Exploration Commemorative Edition Light Stick".

What he was clutching tightly in his hand was a "sparkler"—a piece of cardboard cut out of paper, painted with gold watercolor, and with a candy wrapper pasted in the middle.

The workmanship is very rough, and it's even a bit crooked.

But in the child's hands, it seemed like a real magical artifact.

If this were a tokusatsu universe, maybe this homemade glow stick could actually summon that cosmic corpse-dumping king...

Gu Nan's heart skipped a beat, and he picked up the microphone: "And for the little ones riding on their fathers' shoulders, please come and interact with us."

The staff invited the father and son onto the stage.

Upon closer inspection, Gu Nan noticed that the father was wearing faded work clothes and had a slightly awkward and embarrassed expression on his face.

The child, though a little shy, kept his eyes fixed on the genuine, sparkling magic wand in the cabinet, looking longing but sensibly refraining from asking for it.

"Little friend, what's that sparkler you're holding for?" Gu Nan squatted down and asked gently.

"I made it myself!"

The child puffed out his chest and said in a childish voice, "Daddy said...that was really too expensive, and if we didn't buy it, we wouldn't have any meat to eat this month. So I made one myself! I can transform too!"

In that instant, the audience, unaware of what was happening, fell silent.

The father, blushing, rubbed his hands and explained, "...Director Gu, I'm really sorry. Your commemorative edition is indeed very good, and the workmanship is exquisite, but three hundred yuan... is indeed a bit over budget. And scalpers online are selling it for over a thousand yuan, which is too much for a family like ours..."

These words pierced Gu Nan's heart deeply.

Yes.

In order to counter Qiao Tianzun's "inferior plastic" and to create a brand premium, Gu Nan initially pursued a "collectible fashion" route.

Exclusive serial number, alloy material, original sound and lighting effects from the original series, etc...

These production methods and marketing strategies have indeed made the studio a fortune and established its reputation as a place where "anything produced by Chasing Light is a masterpiece".

But he overlooked the most important point.

Special effects are not just a sentiment for adults.

This is more like a fairy tale for children.

Light should be fair.

If, regardless of wealth, every child believes in the right to light, then every child should also possess the ability to "light".

If even a child who wants to transform has to give up because of the price, and can only use cardboard instead, then what is the essential difference between Gu Nan making this "Ultraman Tiga" and those capitalists who only know how to save money?

Gu Nan took a deep breath and stood up.

He walked to the display case, unlocked it, and took out the first-generation sample Spark Lens, numbered "0001," which he didn't know he intended to keep as a permanent memento.

"child."

Gu Nan solemnly placed the heavy, glowing crystal-clear magic wand into the children's hands.

"This is for you."

"Oh no! This is too expensive!"

The father was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly.

"Take it."

Gu Nan grasped his father's hand, his eyes resolute. "This isn't charity, this is... equipment distribution from TPC headquarters."

He took the stage, facing thousands of fans in the audience and countless cameras broadcasting live on their phones.

Gu Nan's voice, transmitted through the speakers, resounded throughout the entire venue.

"Everyone."

"What that father said just now woke me up."

"We make special effects films to create dreams. If that dream comes at a price so high that some children can only watch from the sidelines, then that's my dereliction of duty."

The audience fell silent, everyone staring at Gu Nan.

"Therefore, on behalf of Light Chaser Animation Studio, I am here to announce a decision."

Gu Nan held up one finger.

"Starting today, we will launch the 'Light for All' project."

"We have preserved the gameplay, intensity, and sound and light effects while eliminating the expensive alloy weights and collectible packaging to produce a batch of 'standard' Spark Lenses."

"No menu, no fancy gift boxes."

"But it can glow, it can make sounds, and it can transform you."

Gu Nan paused, then quoted a price that shocked everyone:

Price: 59 yuan.

boom--!!

The entire venue erupted in cheers!

You know, the Ultraman transformation device from the neighboring Qiao Tianzun, which doesn't even have a light and is just a plastic shell, costs 128 yuan!

Gu Nan is definitely going to flip the table!

"I do know that 59 yuan is not a price that everyone can afford without feeling pressured. For some younger children, it might take them a long time to save up their allowance."

"Our team discussed whether to launch a cheap product priced around 20 or 30 yuan, but ultimately decided against it. We want to avoid selling toys made of inferior plastic waste. We want to keep the core functions and quality up to standard while offering the lowest possible price. We apologize, but please believe us that 59 yuan is the most sincere price we can offer."

"59 yuan? Director Gu, are you crazy? How can you even break even?"

Fans in the audience shouted.

"We won't lose money, but we won't make much money either."

Gu Nan laughed, a carefree laugh. "Making money from adults is to keep the studio alive; making money from children is to keep 'Light' alive."

"Perhaps it's very little..."

"But I want every child in the entire Xia Kingdom to be able to afford this light with their pocket money, if they wish!"

applause.

Thunderous applause.

It was even more lively than when Daigo appeared earlier.

This time, it wasn't for a role, but for a form.

In the corner of the booth, a burly middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, holding a beer, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot.

That was the marketing manager of Qiao Tianzun.

He was there to spy on the enemy and hopefully find some dirt on them.

As a result, he witnessed a complete "dimensional reduction attack" against the Celestial Master Qi'ao.

If previous environmental issues had already raised the moral high ground, then the current "59 Yuan Magic Light Stick" is like directly digging up the ancestral grave of the Celestial Venerable!

Once these high-quality, low-priced toys hit the market, who will buy those overpriced industrial waste products?

"A madman...he's a complete madman..."

The manager, trembling, pulled out his phone and texted Zhao Rui, "Mr. Zhao, something terrible has happened! They're going to start a price war! And a suicidal one at that!"

……

After the comic convention ended.

Backstage lounge.

"Brother Nan, 59 yuan... can we really do it?"

Chen Bo, who had foreign exchange reserves, frowned. "Based on the current mold costs, plus labor and logistics, this price is practically running at cost. If there's even the slightest problem in the middle, we'll lose money."

"Who said we're using the current molds?"

Gu Nan unscrewed a bottle of water, took a sip, and a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

"High-end lines have their own conventions, and mass-market lines have their own way of operating."

"Do you remember those plastic factories that kept contacting us wanting to do OEM manufacturing, but I turned them down?"

Chen Bo paused for a moment: "Um, I remember... it's in the suburbs, the factory isn't big, and the boss is a bit simple-minded, right?"

"right."

Gu Nan nodded. "The factory owner made a mold by hand and sent it over to us in order to win our order. Although the precision is not high enough to be a collector's item, it is durable, sturdy, and the materials used are absolutely environmentally friendly."

Contact him.

"Tell him I'm going to give him a large payment order."

"Mobilize orders, 500,000 units."

"Tell him to put all the costs into 'safety' and 'durability.' Use the simplest blister packaging. I want this thing to be in every elementary school's convenience store and in every supermarket in urban and rural areas."

Gu Nan stood up and looked out the window of the lounge at the sea of ​​orange people leaving.

"Isn't Qiao Tianzun relying on its wide distribution channels and strong sales capabilities?"

"Then we'll use this cheap torrent to destroy their channels one by one."

"We want all distributors to know that selling Qiaotianzun's junk is a scam, while selling our magic light stick is the legitimate business."

Chen Bo watched Gu Nan's retreating figure and couldn't help but shiver.

That was a ruthless move.

This is the "Popularization of Light," but it is clearly the "Great Cleansing of Light."

……

That night.

The hashtag #ChasingLightStudio59YuanLightStick# somehow managed to trend on social media without any actual purchases.

Countless steps forward, countless children cheering.

Amidst the cheers, a commercial revolution in the tokusatsu industry officially began.

Inside the brightly lit building of the Celestial Master of the Universe, the sounds of breaking glasses were replaced by an emergency meeting that lasted all night.

Because they knew the wolves were really coming.

Moreover, this wolf is clad in an invincible armor called "conscience".