Feature Shows Extravaganza - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: That’s All Money

Pan Da had won a prize!

There was no insider trading. He had really won a lucky draw!

He logged into his Weibo account to find a system message in his inbox, telling him that because of the comment he left the other day, he was going to receive a random popping ball from [The Rich Meng Boy].

Pan Da was so excited that he filled in his father’s name and phone name right away.

Three days after he filled in the information, he received the prize.

Pan Da got the package after he came back home from school. He quickly removed the packaging and took out the exquisite paper box inside.

As soon as he opened the case, he saw a small, strange-looking but pretty box with patterns.

He didn’t know what to do with this colorful thing.

There was a sticker on the bottom of the paper box with a line on it.

“Thank you for your support, and have fun with this small gift.

It was signed by Meng Lang himself.

Meng Lang probably had never thought that his autograph would be needed one day, so he had never made any special designs. Hence, Pan Da immediately recognized the name.

He made a mental note of it before crumpling up the sticker and throwing it into the bin.

“Who the hell is Meng Lang? Popping balls are much more interesting.”

The popping ball didn’t pose any difficulty for Pan Da, because there were instructions in the box.

“I see. It has to be used with cards…”

And there were so many types!

There were basic cards, battle cards, auxiliary cards…

Pan Da turned the thin instruction booklet from page to page before closing his eyes, but he still didn’t understand one thing: if this popping ball was supposed to be used alongside the cards, then where were they?

The only thing except the popping ball in the box was that sticker.

“Where are the cards?”

Pan Da thought Director Meng had forgotten to include them at first, but before he could leave a feedback, he saw that someone else had already raised the issue.

Director Meng had given his reply already.

“Please be patient. The cards are coming out soon.”

“So, I can’t play with the toy yet.”

Pan Da was frustrated. They had started promoting before the cards were out. What a killjoy.

“How am I supposed to play it without the cards?”

Wait!

Pan Da suddenly realized something.

“How does a popping ball ‘pop’?”

Apart from the cards that had an iron chip in them, other metal objects should be able to trigger the balls as well!

He picked up the popping ball and put it on his metal pencil case.

Click!

The popping ball opened, revealing the Saber-tooth Thunder Tiger within. He also saw a number inscribed inside when the ball opened.

It read 250.

“What’s that? HP?”

He found the answer in the booklet.

Each popping ball had its own specific popping value. The higher it was, the more powerful the popping ball.

“So… does 250 make this one a powerful popping ball?”

Picking up the open ball, Pan Da studied the Saber-tooth Thunder Tiger inside.

It was quite well made.

The thumb-sized animal had a ferocious expression and a vivid posture.

“Interesting!”

Pan Da closed the ball around the Saber-tooth Thunder Tiger and dropped it on the pencil case.

Click!

Pan Da smiled.

He closed the ball and dropped it again.

Click!

His smile broadened and he repeated the process!

Click!

That felt so good! One last time!

Click!

…

The feedback on the first batch of the popping balls turned out well.

All his followers who had received their prizes had given positive reviews on the popping balls and were all looking forward to seeing the cards.

“They’re already so much fun without the cards!”

When the cards were available, they would be able to battle their friends! That way, the toy would bring them even more fun!

No one would be able to resist it!

Pengda Toy Factory had gained a lot of confidence from the first round of feedback. Meng Minghui, their general director, went into the assembly floor himself to make sure that they had enough materials.

Meanwhile, Pengda Group made a strategic investment and purchased a printing house in the industrial zone with an annual output value of less than 10 million.

The design of the cards had been completed, and they were ready for mass printing.

The first batch had iron chips inside and the cards were mainly basic ones, so as to meet the needs of basic needs for battles.

After that, they would release warrior cards, auxiliary cards, commanding cards, special commanding cards, battle cards…

Meng Lang made a request while they were printing the cards.

They had to carefully monitor the number of the cards!

They could print as many common cards as possible. The number of silver cards would be limited at 50% of that of the common ones. Gold cards had a rate of 1%, and platinum ones had it at 0.01%.

For every 1 million common cards made, they would release 500,000 silver cards, 10,000 gold cards, and 100 platinum cards. The rate could never exceed that.

The customers would only find it necessary to keep buying if the rare cards were rare enough!

Otherwise, they would be able to collect the whole set after a short while, because there were only a few dozen cards in total.

Meng Lang needed to create an effect.

Ignoring the existence of some unnaturally lucky people, a kid would only be able to have a platinum card after they had bought a few thousand common cards, a few hundred silver cards, and several gold cards.

That wasn’t too bad.

Since everyone was doing this, why should he be blamed for such a tactic?

All card-collecting games were designed that way.

One would have to buy countless identical cards before they were lucky enough to find a rare card. Other people would never perceive the excitement and arrogance one felt at the moment of obtaining one.

It was especially the case when one casually took out their rare card when battling their friends. The surprise and envy in their eyes was so satisfying to watch.

What a wonderful feeling it would be!

Apart from the popping balls and the cards, the first launch also included things like popping ball launchers and storage boxes.

Of course, they were only accessories to the popping balls.

Only the most avid toy collectors would buy everything, and the accessories weren’t expected to sell as well as the popping balls and cards.

Meng Lang had put in a lot of effort in the post production as well.

He didn’t want to be criticized as being a director who put more effort in selling toys then directing his shows. He made sure that the show was as well-made as it could be.

The original Explosive Boys was made in 2008, and special effects nowadays were a completely different story.

Meng Lang wasn’t stingy when it came to special effects.

Thunderbird Studio used to be a special effects studio in Zhonghai that was struggling to make ends meet. It had been making a miserable living by taking outsourced jobs from domestic and foreign sci-fi movies.

As Pengda Pictures grew, so did Thunderbird.

Blazing Teens was only its trial run.

The quality of their work had improved in Balala the Fairies, and now came Explosive Boys.

The show needed much more details in its special effects, and it took them a week to finish designing the special effects of Gallon Flaming Dragon.

And there were the battle scenes.

The original Explosive Boys was so crudely made that the battle scenes looked like cartoon ones, not to mention the repetitive scenes. Gallon Flaming Dragon only had one stance throughout the show, and it became very boring to watch after a while.

Meng Lang was very professional in that aspect. Although he was only trying to sell toys, he wasn’t going to ignore the special effects. For the readying position of Gallon Flaming Dragon alone, Thunderbird had given him ten design ideas!

What did that mean?

Meng Lang had to pay them a lot more!