"What? The foot traffic at the Bird's Nest has broken through one hundred thousand people again today?" Boss Huang, just descending from the cockpit, received this surprising news from Hu Jing.
In fact, Boss Huang had been staying in the capital and at the Bird's Nest these past few days, all for the purpose of piloting Pangu Homeland.
As a matter of fact, Boss Huang himself had been the pilot for both the morning and afternoon performances since the exhibition began. However, Boss Huang never left the cockpit in front of the audience, so they naturally had no idea they were honored to see the world's richest man personally perform for them.
If this news were to be announced, the foot traffic would at least triple or quadruple, as the chance to see the richest man perform for you personally is likely a once or twice in a lifetime opportunity.
It wasn't that Jiangnan Group couldn't find other pilots to operate Pangu, but rather that Boss Huang monopolized the opportunity to pilot Pangu.
There was no other way; as a seasoned mecha enthusiast, Boss Huang was utterly unable to resist the allure of piloting a super-sized mecha. Although there were two more Homelands under construction in the Daiban manufacturing plant, these would take at least another three months to complete basic outfitting. Currently, the only mecha Boss Huang could pilot was Pangu Homeland.
Furthermore, with not much company business to attend to recently, Boss Huang naturally hogged Pangu, playing it daily under the guise of performing for the audience.
On this particular day, as Boss Huang emerged from the cockpit, he heard his secretary's report.
Recalling the audience situation he had seen through the cockpit's 3D VR projection, and comparing it to the somewhat sparse seating of previous days, it did seem like the stands were full again today.
However, this outcome left Boss Huang himself puzzled. "This shouldn't be the case. Logically, the locals in the capital who were going to come have already come, and the foot traffic should be decreasing!"
"This is indeed a perplexing matter. Neither the Bird's Nest operator nor our staff understands what has happened. It's as if so many more people have appeared overnight!" Hu Jing was also full of bewilderment.
"Since we don't know what happened, let's go and find out!" Boss Huang's lips curved into a slight smile. "I've been here for so long, always as a performer. So why don't we both be tourists today, and explore from a tourist's perspective to see what's happening?"
"..." Hearing Boss Huang's words, Hu Jing rolled her eyes. "Just say you want to have fun and don't come up with such lame excuses! With one order from me, my subordinates can find out what's going on. Why would you, the world's richest man, need to investigate personally?"
"You still have no sense of romance!" Boss Huang returned a glare to Hu Jing.
"Fine, you're the boss, you have the final say. But Boss Huang, there's something I must remind you of: with your appearance, it's impossible not to be recognized among the tourists. Even if you wear sunglasses and a hat, and put on a mask, I'm afraid someone will still recognize you."
"There are 100,000 tourists here, and more people are queuing outside to get in. If your identity is exposed, the chaos will be too great, and it might even lead to major casualties!" Hu Jing said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I know that without you saying it. It's precisely because of this troublesome matter that I've been separated from the common people!" Huang He said irritably. Ever since becoming the world's richest man, Huang He had truly not experienced the life of an ordinary person.
He couldn't go shopping, couldn't go to the movies, and couldn't even go to internet cafes. Boss Huang had been unhappy about this for a long time.
However, Boss Huang had been trying to solve this problem, and today was the time to get the solution. Boss Huang, along with Hu Jing, entered a dressing room in the backstage area of the Bird's Nest.
Three makeup artists were already waiting there. At Boss Huang's command, they began to busy themselves on Boss Huang's face.
Hu Jing watched as the makeup artists first applied several pieces of silicone-like material to Boss Huang's face, followed by various foundations, concealers, color pencils, and other cosmetics.
Twenty minutes later, a completely unrecognizable person appeared before Hu Jing.
He was a young man with glasses, a touch of student demeanor, seemingly untouched by the harsh realities of life. His appearance wasn't too unattractive, and he was worlds apart from the original Boss Huang.
"How is it? Can you recognize who I am?" When the familiar voice of Huang He emanated from this unfamiliar face, Hu Jing couldn't help but shiver. The sensation was too bizarre.
"Good, it's worth your monthly salary of 100,000!" Boss Huang nodded in satisfaction. The three makeup artists also breathed a sigh of relief. This was actually their first day on the job, and receiving recognition from the world's richest man meant they had secured their livelihood.
"Come, do my secretary too. Make her appearance worthy of mine now!" Boss Huang said with a chuckle, and the three makeup artists swarmed over.
Hu Jing immediately began to cry out, not in protest, but in exclamation, "Don't use this foundation, it's chemically synthesized, not purely natural plant-based!"
"Don't use this brand of face cream, this one has hormones added!"
"This one is a no-go. I know the owner's wife, and she personally told me that they add urea to this stuff!!" Hu Jing wailed, but Boss Huang laughed heartily and forcefully ordered the makeup artists to proceed. In the end, Hu Jing was reluctantly transformed into a young girl, also wearing glasses, who looked quite similar to Lin Wudi.
"I spend 500,000 yuan a month to maintain my face, and this time you've wasted at least three months of my maintenance!" Hu Jing said with a pained expression.
"Come on, I, the world's richest man, spend less than 200 yuan on my face each month. You, my little secretary, spend 500,000, aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan!" Boss Huang pinched Hu Jing's nose, and then the two of them slipped out the back door of the Bird's Nest and blended into the crowd queuing outside.
In fact, the entire perimeter of the Bird's Nest had changed. Since a model needed to be purchased to receive a complimentary ticket, a dedicated sales area had been set up at the entrance, selling only Daiban models.
However, as Daiban Models had just been established, the only product available for sale was the HG version of Pangu Homeland, priced at 49 yuan.
"Don't you have the MG version? I'd rather pay an extra 150 yuan for the MG version!" Boss Huang asked the salesperson with anticipation.
"No, the MG version will be available on January 1st. Only the HG version is sold now!" The staff member waved his hand, no longer bothering with Boss Huang, as he was too busy. A large crowd was gathered around his stall, wanting to buy models.
A newly opened box of models was sold out in less than two minutes. He was exhausted just from unpacking boxes.
"What an attitude!" Boss Huang grumbled. A young man also making a purchase nearby chuckled and said, "Classmate, if you want to buy the MG, just walk about 30 meters in that direction."
"There's a guy in a red leather jacket there who's selling the Pangu Homeland MG. He has stock and will sell it for cash!"
"In stock? That's impossible!" Boss Huang was stunned for a moment. According to his carefully planned scarcity marketing strategy, the MG version should have been held back for at least a month before its release, and it absolutely must not enter the market beforehand. How could someone be selling it directly at the Bird's Nest entrance? Perhaps he needed to purge some people again!
"Yes, it's in stock, and it's even the first batch commemorative PB version limited to the launch venue!" The young man said with a smile. "It's just a bit expensive. I think one box has already been marked up to 1599 yuan!"
"1599! How could it be so expensive!" Huang He's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this. This was more than eight times his intended price. Perhaps he had indeed set the price too low.
"No choice, there are only a few hundred boxes worldwide!" The other party said with a smile. "These were given away during the launch event on the 10th. Those selling them are just scalpers. They buy them from players who attended the launch for four to five hundred yuan and then sell them for 1600 yuan."
"Alas, it's a pity I don't have money. If I did, I'd buy it for 1600 yuan and put it in my cabinet to collect. I can guarantee you, in no more than three years, the price of this item will rise to over 5,000 yuan, as this is the very first model produced by Daiban. Its collectible value is unparalleled!" The player spoke with deep regret, clearly unhappy about missing out on this profit.
Indeed, in the mecha community, everyone is a profiteer.
The young man had said this casually, but unexpectedly, the other party hesitated for a moment and then actually went to find the scalper in the red leather jacket.
A short while later, he returned to the queue with a box of the first batch commemorative MG Pangu Homeland, priced at 1600 yuan.
"Brother, you're actually a big shot!" The young man couldn't help but say with an envious expression, then looked at Hu Jing. "Beauty, aren't you going to stop your boyfriend? 1600 yuan could buy you a set of SK-II!"
This person clearly intended to stir up trouble between the couple. After all, it was very painful to see something one couldn't buy being bought by someone else, so he wanted to ignite a conflict.
To his utter surprise, the girl wearing glasses looked at him with deep affection and said with a charming smile, "It's okay, it's his birthday today, so I'm giving it to him as a birthday gift!"
"You guys... are just showing off your affection!" The young man clutched his chest in pain, as if he had been hit. However, this scene was also observed by others around them. Someone immediately snorted, "Idiot, spending 1600 yuan on a pirated MG. For 1600 yuan, you could buy a Bandai PG or MB. I really don't know what's going on in your head!"