CHAPTER 844: CHAPTER 846: FALSE ADVERTISING

The fans, unlike the media’s "cooperation," had a different perspective.

Especially when most of the fans who won entry through a lottery were Jinxia’s fans, after waiting for half an hour without seeing their idol appear, their dissatisfaction finally erupted!

They sat in the audience, glaring angrily at the crew members on stage; everyone was furious, and during the fan interaction session, not a single fan was willing to raise their hand to participate.

They didn’t recognize Gong Hongyu or the other celebrities; they were here for Jinxia!

"What the hell, I went through so much trouble and spent a fortune to get this premiere ticket just for Jinxia, and she didn’t even show up. The crew deceived me!"

"Yeah, I also thought Jinxia would come this time. After all, every advertisement for ’Special Action’ featured Jinxia, and they even announced that all crew members would be present at this premiere. Why is Jinxia missing?"

"Boohoo, I regret it so much. I should’ve sold the ticket after winning it; that’s worth several thousand Huaxia Coins. My heart aches immensely; it feels like I missed out on a billion!"

"I don’t want to watch anymore. What do I do? I just feel deceived by the crew and Jinxia. Didn’t they say she was coming?"

"I just checked Jinxia’s personal Weibo. Her schedule still shows she’s filming in L Nation, with no mention of the premiere at all. Don’t blame Jinxia; it seems like she wasn’t coming in the first place."

"That damn director, using false advertising. I flew here just to see Jinxia!"

...

The fans’ complaints were loud, though unheard on stage, but the journalists mingling with the fans heard it clearly, feeling embarrassed.

They also wanted to say that they had been deceived by the director.

They had initially received news that Jinxia would attend this premiere.

When they arrived and found Jinxia absent, they realized the director had pulled a little trick.

He feared that revealing "Jinxia won’t be here" publicly would result in few media considering attending the event, so he kept it private to avoid a lukewarm turnout.

Director Qian’s approach wasn’t the first of its kind in the industry; many production teams often employ similar tactics.

For instance, hiring a major star for a cameo where they appear for only 3-4 minutes, yet using their fame predominantly for promotion, leveraging their celebrity status for buzz.

During promotional events, the crew might invite that big star to boost attendance and maintain popularity, pulling all sorts of tricks to increase the film’s exposure and discussion.

Compared to those practices, "actors at the premiere don’t match the advertised lineup" is pretty common and relatively benign, certainly better than using big stars to unjustly drive ticket sales.

Having major stars on screen for just a few minutes is different than mere absence at a premiere, making the distinction clear.

The media decided not to leave immediately after finding the discrepancy since ’Special Action,’ besides Jinxia’s performance, holds interview value.

The value lies more in Director Qian—why he shot such a film, what he sacrificed for it, how the screenplay was crafted, etc., these are points worth investigating.

Jinxia is indeed a popular star, but based on the previews of ’Special Action,’ the film itself offers notable attractions.

Jinxia’s popularity alone couldn’t account for the film’s high presale figures.

As more fans couldn’t tolerate the crew’s deceit and began leaving, one departure led to another, until a substantial number had left, stabilizing the scene gradually.

Those who remained felt that having a free premiere ticket was worth staying to finish ’Special Action’ before leaving.

Since it’s their idol’s film, they wanted to support it nonetheless.

On stage, Director Qian, noticing the emptying seats, felt anxious upon learning many Jinxia fans had left.

Director Qian felt both helpless and troubled; he wouldn’t have done this if he had any other choice!

But Jinxia was filming a crucial part, and when they contacted her agent, the agent replied that shooting would wrap up soon, making it impossible for her to attend the premiere.

If filming wrapped before the premiere, Jinxia would have attended, but if not, there was nothing to be done.

By the look of things now, Jinxia couldn’t make it back, likely still filming on the island.

Just as fans grew increasingly impatient, and Director Qian felt more uneasy, the film began screening!

The movie opened with Fang Yu, played by Gong Hongyu, preparing his luggage to depart for Y Nation.

Y Nation was a war-torn country where carrying firearms with a permit was allowed, though Fang Yu hadn’t secured a permit, he had another way.

He disassembled the gun parts, choosing to ship them by sea instead of by air, ensuring smooth transport.

The scene swiftly showed Fang Yu on a boat, where people were chatting joyously, a serene atmosphere disrupted when the boat reached the harbor—someone attempted a hijacking!

Suddenly, loud gunfire erupted; passengers lined up to disembark panic-stricken, everyone scrambling to dodge, heads ducked as they fled!

Fang Yu quickly moved to a strategic cover spot, which would be hard to target if someone shot at them.

Upon arriving, he spotted a crew member crawling shakily towards him step-by-step.

Amid the chaos and gunfire, Fang Yu pulled the crew member up sharply and demanded, "What’s on the cargo?"

The dark-skinned Y National shook his head, "Nothing, there’s nothing!"

Fang Yu dragged him to the edge of the boat. The crew member was dangling, supported only by Fang Yu’s strength, screaming immediately.

"No, don’t throw me overboard, please!"

"Look, no other ships are being attacked; why was yours? What’s the cargo on board?!"

The crew member’s gaze wavered, unwilling to speak.